Wire claims to be the modern way to communicate

A new communications app backed by Skype's co-founder plus a host of former Apple, Nokia and Microsoft employees is aimed squarely at the mobile generation.

Wire, officially launched on Wednesday, is focused on clarity and the app's simple, clean interface disguises the clever technology at play behind the scenes that enables HD voice calls and the easy sharing of images, video clips and songs as well as text messages.

'We asked ourselves how modern communications could look and work. How could we take full advantage of the latest devices and advances in cloud computing to deliver something that is really simple, very useful and truly beautiful?' said Jonathan Christensen, Wire's co-founder and CEO. 'Today's launch is the beginning for Wire.'

Janus Friis, who made his name as one of the men behind the development of Skype, and who is now one of Wire's backers, says that the new app is what the team would have created if Skype was launching now.

'Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then - we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets,' said Friis. 'It is time to create the best possible communication tools, as beautiful as they are useful.'

So Wire is as easy to use for group chats as it is for one-on-one conversations and it automatically syncs across devices. A call made on a user's smartphone will show up on the desktop version of the app, too. The system is also built on cutting-edge technology whereas other platforms are beginning to show their age in this respect.

However, one thing that Skype can still do that Wire can't yet is support video calling, although Wire's creators say that the feature is in the works. As is a version for the Windows desktop.

For the moment, it is only available for the iPhone, iPad, the Mac and for Android devices.