Today Google announced Video Chat for Android Phones starting with the Nexus S device as part of the Android 2.3.4 over-the-air update and will launch on other Android 2.3+ devices soon. This comes on the heels as Fring just announced their free four way video calling service and the recent Skype acquisition of Qik video calling platform. But as RWW posted when will video calling work across smartphones natively from the mobile OS? Example iPhone facetime video call to a google voice user and a google voice video call to a skype call? Only time will tell but this is a good start and I’m sure Android users are happy about the pending update.
The offering, when it ships, sounds like it will be more compelling than Apple’s Facetime but less useful than independent mobile video chat apps like Tango that offer iPhone to Android video chat. A number of mobile video chat apps have been launched in just the past few weeks from Skype, Qik, Fring (now with group video calling on iPhone!) and others. But how long will we have to wait until Android users can video call iPhone owners without any more thought than voice calls require today? via
Android Joins the Mobile Video Chat Party but We’re Still in the Dark Ages | RWW
via: Video Chat on Your Android Phone – Official Google Mobile Blog.
