Commentary
Video Calling Now Possible With iPhone
Video calling is one of those features that has the "neat-o" effect on people. It's fairly common in some European markets, but has yet to make much of an impact in the U.S. Perhaps the newest version of fring for the iPhone will change that, as it allows one-way video sharing from the iPhone to another device running either fring or Skype.Video calling is one of those features that has the "neat-o" effect on people. It's fairly common in some European markets, but has yet to make much of an impact in the U.S. Perhaps the newest version of fring for the iPhone will change that, as it allows one-way video sharing from the iPhone to another device running either fring or Skype.Just last week, fring offered a new version of its software for the S60 platform. The new version for S60 devices allows for two-way video calling via both 3G and Wi-Fi networks. The new version of fring for the iPhone doesn't go quite that far, but it's still pretty cool.
fring for iPhone and iPod Touch now offers one-way video calling via Wi-Fi (gee, why not via AT&T's 3G network?) to other fring or Skype devices. That means if I want to share a live video feed of something I am witnessing to one of my fring or Skype contacts, I can do so with fring. The iPhone and iPod Touch can already make free voice calls to other fring users, Skype and GTalk contacts, and regular phone lines via Skype-Out. The application is social networking in nature, and lets users conduct live chats, update their profiles, share files and talk with friends from a handful of Instant Messaging services like MSN, AIM, GoogleTalk and Skype.
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As far as I am concerned, true video calling should always be a two-way conversations. Many Nokia phones, for example, have user-facing cameras that are used for this purpose, allowing both parties to see one another in a live video feed. The S60 version of fring makes it a reality.
The iPhone has no such user-facing camera, so this latest feature is more akin to video sharing, a service already offered by AT&T (though not for the iPhone). One of the hoped-for features of the iPhone 3GS before it was announced included a user-facing camera for just such applications. There's no doubt the iPhone's software is capable or running such an app. Too bad the current hardware doesn't support it.
Still, if sharing video live is your thing, check out fring. Here's a video demonstration of the software in action:
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