Skype never dominated the mobile space the way it has dominated the PC, opening the door for numerous OTT communications rivals. TextMe believes it has combined the best features of Skype, WhatsApp and Pinger into a single mobile app. Read more »
Skype 3.0 for Android is here, boasting improved audio quality thanks to Skype’s own SILK codec. After testing the new client on both Android phones and tablets, I can hear a bit of a difference, but some key flaws remain for video calls. Read more »
A preview version of Skype for Windows Phone 8 is available for those with new Microsoft-powered handsets. Although the app isn’t finalized, it offers a solid set of features such as People hub integration, calls in the background and presence in the contact list. Read more »
Bad hair days on video chats are a thing of the past with NTT Docomo’s hands-free video phone. Of course, a hat is a lighter solution because this heavy headgear has multiple cameras to render you as a finely detailed, and possibly better looking, avatar. Read more »
Despite the dust up over FaceTime, not all carriers see blocking or restricting over-the-top communications services as their option. VoIP player Sidecar thinks carriers will try and match the features of OTT apps, while T-Mobile says it actively encourage the use of competing IP communications services. Read more »
The lack of a rear camera on the Nexus 7 disappointed some and even the front camera is limited. The sensor is 1.3 megapixels, but only captures VGA video. Adding a few lines of code to a rooted Nexus 7 changes that to 720p video. Read more »
A group video chat that can be broadcasted to an unlimited number of viewers: Sounds like Google+ Hangouts, doesn’t it? Video chat Startup Spreecast believes it can compete with Hangouts by offering more interactivity, and it just raised a $7 Series A to prove its point. Read more »
With the Nexus 7 receiving good reviews, people are starting to enjoy the portability and immersive experience that small tablets offer over smartphones. Looking at the mobile trends, I can see how the tablet will replace the smartphone. And it may happen sooner than you think. Read more »
GMail users are now able to video chat with up to ten of their contacts, thanks to a new integration of Google+ Hangouts. The group video chat platform replaces Google Talk’s video chat, and is part of Google’s efforts to merge all of its messaging products. Read more »
I’ve been testing FaceTime over cellular data for a few weeks using the iOS 6 beta software. It works OK, but not as good as on Wi-Fi. Now, a new pop-up message indicates that carriers may charge for the service over their networks. Will you pay? Read more »
Skype is taking first steps towards a browser-based future, and key to these efforts is a technology originally open sourced by Google: WebRTC could allow Skype to run video chats int he browser without any plugins, and finally make the company open up its walled garden. Read more »
At WWDC Apple unleashed FaceTime on the 3G network. While you would think a high-quality video chat service would be poison to consumers’ restricted data plans, there’s another way to look at it: Compared to what mobile operators charge for voice, FaceTime is really a bargain. Read more »
Today’s launch event for Airtime, the Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning social video chat service, was a good representation of the product it was showcasing: the star-studded event was not well planned and showy without enough depth. Airtime can still succeed but it needs more substance. Read more »
Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker have finally taken the wraps off of Airtime, their social video chat service that is part Skype, part Chatroulette, part SocialCam with Facebook as the layer for matching users by their interests. Read more »
Just as the older members of my family are finally getting used to Skype and FaceTime, along comes a 3-D hologram concept project! Dubbed the TeleHuman, the system uses six Microsoft Kinect sensors and a 3-D projector inside a 1.8 meter tall acrylic cylinder. Read more »
Video chat startup Tango has raised another big round of funding, bringing in $40 million in Series C financing led by Qualcomm Ventures and Access Industries. That comes on the heels of impressive growth, with more than 45 million users signed up in just 18 months. Read more »
Nine months after purchasing Skype for $8.5 billion, Microsoft Windows Phone handsets have a beta version of the audio and video chat service. There are some notable limitations in this first release, but as the software gets refined and integrated, Microsoft’s platform could gain more momentum. Read more »
Previously, we told you how you can use your iPad as a telephone. Using a Bluetooth headset with your iPad makes that idea even more practical. The Jawbone ERA is the one I happen to use, but others should work just as well. Read more »
I don’t use FaceTime all that often, which is why this neat little Arduino-based hack is so cool: It basically guarantees someone will call me using Apple’s video chat service. Plus, that someone will also be a dog called Chewie. Read more »
Skype released new beta clients for both Windows and Mac on Thursday that introduce the ability to make video calls to your Facebook friends from within Skype itself. We went hands-on with the new feature using Skype for Mac 5.4 Beta to see how it handles. Read more »
Comcast announced earlier this year that it would soon introduce Skype to its subscribers, with an easy-to-use kit that will allow users to quickly turn up video chat services on their TVs. We got a sneak peek at the offering at Comcast headquarters last week. Read more »
Chrome will soon feature an open-source and open-codec implementation of Google Talk and Google+ Hangouts voice and video chat, thanks to the WebRTC framework the company open-sourced earlier this year. This implementation will replace the proprietary plugin that’s currently bundled with Chrome. Read more »
Vevo gets into the real-time collaborative media consumption game with a new feature called Vevo Rooms that allows music fans to program playlists and chat with one another while they’re watching music videos together, Turntable.fm-style. Vevo Rooms is launched in collaboration with Chill. Read more »
Rounds, a startup that makes a popular video chat app for Facebook, has raised $3 million in new funding. The Israel-based company says it will use the money to expand its video chat service beyond Facebook to other social networks and onto mobile devices. Read more »
Skype has updated its iPhone and iPad apps as of Tuesday, introducing some new features. Bluetooth headsets are now supported on select devices, and video has been improved with image stabilization, but these enhancements will cost you: The apps now display ads for non-paying users. Read more »
Google is bolstering the feature set of its popular Google+ Hangouts video chat service by adding the ability to broadcast Hangouts sessions to an unlimited number of participants. Hangouts users can also now chat with their mobile devices, share their screens and access other Google services. Read more »
Skype released a new beta for Mac users on Thursday, which features Facebook integration. You can now chat directly with your Facebook friends, check your news feed and update your status. But it comes at a cost: This beta also introduces ads for nonpaying Skype users. Read more »
One of the better features of Google+ is Hangouts, in my opinion. Now VoIP and video chat service Fring is hoping users want to take that kind of experience one step further with Playgrounds, which allows you to chat with strangers about shared interests. Read more »
Microsoft’s hardware requirements for Windows Phone 7 Mango devices will add support for front-facing cameras, and Skype will support them. To help broaden the appeal of Windows Phone 7 smartphones, Microsoft should deeply integrate Skype into the platform and consider adding unique services. Read more »
Skype just dropped an update for its Mac client. Version 5.3 includes support for HD video, so long as your Mac is equipped with one of the new FaceTime HD cameras introduced in MacBook Pros earlier this year, or a third-party camera that supports HD resolution. Read more »
Any video call between users of Skype’s newest Windows client automatically uses Google’s open video codec VP8. Being embraced by a company that’s soon part of Microsoft is a big boost for Google’s open video strategy, and it could quell potential fears of patent lawsuits. Read more »
Google+ Hangouts users can now watch live streams from YouTube together, and YouTube wants to improve this integration in the near future by featuring live streams both within Hangouts and on its own website. This could add an interesting real-time social component to live webcasts. Read more »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google is bringing Samsung’s Nexus S smartphone to AT&T’s network on July 24 for $99 with a two-year contract. Customers can preorder the handset today online or in a Best Buy store. Why launch a handset that’s a bit behind current hardware? Google Wallet comes to mind. Read more »
Indie singer Daria Musk explored the boundaries of Goole+ Hangouts this weekend when she played a six-hour live concert on Google’s new video group chat service. Musk’s concert and her experiences with Google+ hint at some big opportunities for the future of live streaming. Read more »
Michael Dell likes Google’s new group video chat service Hangouts so much he wants to use it as a tool for customer service and sales. Dell revealed his thoughts about Hangouts on Google+, the social network that Google launched at the end of last month. Read more »
Last weekend I had on of my eureka moments around mobile video chat. It’s gonna be big, perhaps as big as 29.6 billion video calls made in 2015. So to all the naysayers who think video chat is just plain weird, hear me out. Read more »
UPDATED: Last week, Facebook and Skype launched a new video calling application, hosted at facebook.com/videocalling. But Samuday Web Technologies says it was at that domain first. Samuday now says its video chat app was unceremoniously kicked off of Facebook to make way for the new Skype feature. Read more »
Deaf and hard of hearing users may soon get more use out of Google’s much-hyped new group video chat service Hangouts, thanks to a field test that looks at ways to add support for American Sign Language. Initial feedback from hearing-impaired users is enthusiastic. Read more »
As we migrate away from stationary computing, new software solutions are needed for mobile activities. SRI’s latest development brings image stabilization to Google Talk users with Honeycomb tablets. Along with an improved experience, SRI’s video-stability solution could improve battery life for heavy video chatters. Read more »
