Apple is now putting FaceTime HD cameras in new Macs, which provides better video quality for Mac-to-Mac and Mac-to-iOS calling, but of course, FaceTime has a limited reach because it only works on Apple hardware. iChat, Apple’s IM client, supports video chat with other iChat users, and with those using the AOL Instant Messenger network, too, so it’s actually a little more flexible. Google Talk lets you make video calls from Gmail to other Google users, but it doesn’t have a native Mac app, which might be a problem for some. Skype works across different devices, but the recent Mac overhaul has left some unimpressed. Each has benefits and downsides, but which is usually your first choice?

You have nearly as many options when it comes to iOS video chat. Skype has a solid iPhone client, and an iPad version is supposed to be arriving in the very near future. Fring just updated its app to allow users to make 4-way group video calls with an iPad-optimized interface, and it also offers group video calling on the iPhone. FaceTime keeps extending its reach, and has the benefit of being pre-loaded on all current generation iOS devices, and requiring very minimal setup. Which are you using to stay in touch?

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Skype’s yet-to-be released app will offer cross-platform support, and should work on any broadband data connection, but there hasn’t been any indication yet that it will support group video chat. Plus, group video is a paid option for Skype users, so even if it is offered, it won’t be available for free, as it is with Fring. One disadvantage Fring has is that it can’t be used with desktop clients, only smartphone platforms, like Android, Symbian, and iOS.

Technically, users of the previous Fring app could make group calls on the iPad, but they had to run the app in compatibility mode, so quality and interface weren’t designed for the Apple tablet. The new version is much better, and worked great in a test call between me and my dog (he’s on the iPhone 4), as you can see in the images below.

Fring is doing a great job of staying a few steps ahead of Skype in terms of features for mobile devices. It was the first with group video calling on the iPhone, and the first with free video calling between Android devices, too. It may not have the network of Skype, but it is proving that it can hang with the best of the VoIP and video chat crowd when it comes to mobile, which is fast becoming the most important and most lucrative computing market.

I can’t help but think that Skype’s recent acquisition by Microsoft  will make it less nimble, not more so. This could mean that Fring stands a good chance of staying out ahead in the mobile space, so long as the Israel-based company can continue to successfully monetize its business through value-add purchases like FringOut credit.

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Fring is the first app that brings group video chat to the iPhone, beating out industry leaders like Skype, and also Apple itself. Code found in FaceTime for iPhone seems to indicate that Apple plans to eventually roll out group video chat for the service, but for the time being, Fring gets to be the only game in town (for iOS; there’s a group video chat for Android and Mac/PC called Oovoo). Best of all, video calling is completely free with Fring. Enabling group video chat in the Skype desktop client requires a paid premium account.

Group video chat may not be a feature many users find themselves pining for just yet, but if you do happen to need it, not having a mobile option is a considerable drag. And even if not many users actually take advantage of Fring video calls, the company still scores a significant victory just by being first to market, especially in a field like video calling, which is expected to become huge in the next few years, especially on mobile devices. That Fring also managed to bring cross-platform support for the two biggest mobile operating systems out of the gate at feature launch is also no small victory.

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Skype certainly isn’t making itself any friends by blocking these clients. Both boast a large user pool. Nimbuzz is used by 30 million people, on Mac, PC and all major mobile platforms. That’s a lot of people who are finding themselves seriously annoyed at having to look elsewhere for Skype support starting Oct. 31.

I’ve already said that Skype is missing the boat by not prioritizing its Mac and iOS clients above those for other platforms. Skype’s iPhone efforts are one of its major sources of revenue, but now, I think it may be on its way toward being squeezed out of the Apple ecosystem. Even if Apple doesn’t lock it out entirely, as it has done with Flash on iOS, it could render Skype redundant by expanding its FaceTime efforts. In fact, even the planned North Carolina data center could be part of an effort to prepare for increased server demand resulting from FaceTime. Nimbuzz already announced that it would be bringing FaceTime to its client, and it probably won’t be alone.

FaceTime’s arrival on the Mac as a standalone app from Apple also can’t be good for Skype’s prospects. If I can do phone-to-computer or vice versa between Apple-branded products using Apple-branded software, I’m not very likely to go looking elsewhere for a solution. And if Nimbuzz and other multi-service clients expand that capability beyond just Apple-made devices, then I’ll have an end-to-end video and voice calling solution that covers all the bases.

Apple probably won’t move to actively block Skype, but it will give preference to its own solutions first and foremost, like it’s beginning to do on the Mac by not shipping machines with Flash pre-installed in preparation for the arrival of the App Store on OS X. Skype may find itself on the outside looking in, especially if they continue to alienate third-party apps that could guarantee them a continued presence on Apple devices.

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So long as you have iPhone OS 3.0 installed on your iPhone, you should be able to receive video calls with Fring from desktop and certain Nokia phone users once you install the update. As with everything cool on the iPhone, you’ll have to have a Wi-Fi connection to use video calling features, just as you must to make and receive voice calls, too. This despite AT&T’s announcement that it would allow VOIP on its network.

Video calling works as advertised, but I’ll warn you that it can be an unnerving experience to talk to someone who can’t see you, but who you can see, for all parties involved. You can even initiate video calls from the iPhone, but obviously doing so still won’t enable video services on your end.

It’s a neat trick, and handy if you’re on the road and haven’t seen a loved one for quite a while, but until Apple gets wise to this trend (if it is one; some think video calling will never catch on in the mainstream), I’ll be placing my iPhone Skype calls the old-fashioned way, to avoid the accompanying feeling of slightly creepy voyeurism that comes with watching without being watched. The video below will help you fathom the system if you’re not interested or able to give it a go yourself.

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As of yesterday, the iPhone natively supports VoIP calls without jailbreaking thanks to fring, a multi-client instant messaging application with Skype, Skype-out, fring and other SIP support for voice calling.

Fring has previously been available on Symbian and WinMo phones, and for jailbroken iPhones. It supports IM through fring, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Skype, Twitter, and ICQ over all connections (EDGE, 3G, GPRS and WiFi).  In order to use the VoIP functions, however, you must have an active WiFi connection.  This limitation is in keeping with Steve Jobs’ earlier statement that “We’ll limit [VOIP applications] over the cellular network”, made when the iPhone SDK was originally announced.

I took fring for a brief test drive shortly after it was announced (although I had a nail-biting wait for it to appear in my iPhone’s App Store since I feared another NetShare type disappearing act).  Though it required a fring account sign-up (normally a pet peeve of mine when it comes to iPhone apps), the process was quick and painless and within seconds I was presented with an add-on selection screen with a list of supported IM and VoIP services.

At this point I was really only interested in Skype, so I selected that option and was prompted for my login information.  Here, the application threatened to disappoint, since after entering my Skype username and password it seemed to hang.  So much so that I restarted the process twice, but maybe I’m just impatient.  On the third try I just left it for a while, and it eventually connected and recognized my contacts without any further problems.

After a brief test call with the British-accented fring demo-bot confirmed that we were firing on all cylinders, I picked a friend at random for a true trial.  Despite sounding a little like I and my friend were on speakerphone (we weren’t) the app performed well.  So well, in fact, that I’m considering finally ditching my barely used (but expensive) landline once and for all.  The true test will come the next time I have to call home to bemoan life’s unfairness to my parents and try to cajole them into sending money so that the power company doesn’t shut off my electricity again.

Fring is available in the App Store now for the magical price of free.

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