Skype picture-in-picture mode allows you to multi-task during video calls, for tablets only

Skype 4.5 is rolling out today, and there’s actually a pretty useful feature being introduced: the ability to have a picture-in-picture window that can stay open and viewable even when in different Android apps.

In short, you can now participate in a Skype video call and still do other tasks like browse the web, play a game and so-forth. While Samsung might have multi-window support that allows for multitasking, this is one of the first apps we’ve ever heard of that actually allows you to “float” itself on top of the homescreen and even other Android apps.

It’s important to point out that this feature is exclusively for tablet users, so that means you’re out of luck if your looking to do picture-in-picture Skyping on an Android smartphone. Another tablet-only feature found in Skype 4.5 is the ability to pinch your contact list to zoom out to an alphabet, and from there you can simply tap a letter to zoom in.

For tablet and phone users, there’s also several general fixes, performance improvements and video messaging compatibility fixes. As you can tell, the most exciting changes are clearly for tablet users this time around.

To grab the update, you’ll simply need to head on over to the Google Play Store.

What do you think of the new picture-in-picture mode, impressed or not? Would you like to see more Android apps implementing floating p.i.p. mode? Let us know what you think in the comments below.