I guess we can eliminate Skype from Yahoo's M&A shopping list amid reports Yahoo has acquired Dialpad for an undisclosed amount. Strategically, this means Yahoo will be able to add telephone features and bill capability into its IM client. This will make Yahoo a much bigger force in the VOIP market and put it in direct competition with Skype. At the same time, the deal will likely put pressure on Microsoft and AOL to level the playing field. And as the market accelerates, Google will also have to something significant if it really is serious about the telephony/VOIP market. This should put even more focus on Skypes's future given the recent flurry of Yahoo-Skype marriage speculation. ZDNet's Russell Shaw makes a good point about what acquiring Dialpad means to Yahoo's partnership with SBC. Rather than putting Yahoo in competition with SBC with a low-cost VOIP service, Shaw believes it will help both parties by encouraging more consumers to buy SBC's broadband service.
By the way, kudos to Lightreading.com for referencing the work done by Om Malik in getting a scoop on the Yahoo-Dialpad deal, and Andy Abramson for providing some quick-off-the-mark context.