Qik, a US mobile video firm, is to be acquired by leading VoIP provider Skype. Terms were not disclosed and Skype expects the deal, which was announced at CES, to close as soon as this month.  Qik enables smartphone users to capture and share video with other users.  Its app is downloadable and also comes pre-loaded on mobile handsets through partnerships with handset manufacturers and carriers. Its partners include T-Mobile, Sprint, Nokia and Samsung. The service is available on “over 200 mobile phones” based on Android, iPhone, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile, Qik says.

The Qik app enables a user to share video in real time (ie live streaming) or upload it to video sharing sites to be viewed later. The company has recently added video chat to the Android version. From Skype’s point of view, the purchase adds recording, sharing and storing capabilities to the VoIP provider’s video portfolio. In addition, Skype says it will be able “to leverage the engineering expertise that is behind Qik’s smart streaming technology, which optimises video transmission over wireless networks”.

Qik claims to have 5 million users at end-December 2010, up from 600,000 at the start of the year. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal but Business Insider says Skype paid US$150 million. This deal could signal a growing interest among industry players in acquiring video apps, and potentially the companies behind them, following the arrival of 4G networks with their greater bandwidth.

According to Skype’s CEO Tony Bates, “Qik’s deep engineering capabilities and strong mobile relationships will be an impressive complementary fit with Skype.” And Bates can foresee “the two companies working on new video services such as video voicemail”, according to comments made to The Wall Street Journal.

Skype is already pushing hard on mobile video services. It announced with US operator Verizon Wireless at CES that a version of its Skype mobile service with video calling will soon be available on the operator’s LTE network. “This new version of Skype mobile from Verizon Wireless will be deeply integrated into a wide range of 4G smartphones to be available by mid-2011,” said Skype. The companies hope the smartphones’ front- and rear-facing cameras, together with LTE bandwidth, will encourage greater video usage among mobile users. Separately, Skype announced at the end of December a new version of its iPhone app that enables iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to make and receive Skype video calls for the first time. It is available to download from the App Store.