iSkoot, the leading provider of carrier-friendly mobile VoIP solutions, has acquired Social.IM, the social network IM client. This acquisition positions iSkoot to grow beyond mobile VoIP and create a compelling and valuable consumer solution with a growing lineup of Web communications that can be integrated and pushed to your phone.

The acquisition is the latest in a series of significant developments for iSkoot. Earlier this year, the company hired CEO Mark Jacobstein, an experienced mobile services executive who played key roles at Digital Chocolate and Loopt. Also, after the success of the iSkoot powered Skypephone, Skype and iSkoot announced a new five-year agreement. As part of the deal, iSkoot received for the first time the exclusive rights to offer the Skype mobile services though carrier partners in eight countries.

“The story is interesting because Social.IM seemed to be in a bad situation: it focused on one platform only, providing Facebook users a way to chat, and then Facebook launched its own chat (which has several flaws, one of which is the fact that it’s so damn unreliable), which usually means you can close shop and wave goodbye,” writes Mashable’s Stan Schroeder. “However, iSkoot seems to have recognized Social.IM’s potential and will integrate it into its own set of services.”

“Social.IM has served as an instant Web communications desktop platform and we see a clear consumer integration with iSkoot’s upcoming suite of Web to mobile push services,” said Mark Jacobstein, iSkoot CEO. “Acquiring Social.IM is a key step in our path to introduce later this year a groundbreaking new communications platform that will revolutionize the mobile landscape.”

iSkoot doesn’t seem interested in using Social.IM’s Facebook connection as a selling point either. Their press release about the acquisition makes no mention of the social networking giant.

iSkoot already delivers mobile VoIP solutions for carriers and millions of consumers around the world. But this year, the mobile VoIP leader has begun to focus on the development of mobile products and services that integrate the mission-critical Web services that consumers value most into mobile handsets.