qik - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jun

Fring For Android Updated, Finally Supports Nexus S (2.3.4), Thunderbolt, DROID Charge, Galaxy S II, G2X

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Charge (i510), Flyer, G2x (p999), Galaxy S II, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Tips & Tutorials

So, you bought that fancy new Nexus S/DROID Charge/Galaxy S II/G2X/Flyer with a front-facing camera, and you were excited to make video calls. Then you noticed there isn't any native video chat client for Android (yet - Talk will have this integrated soon). Then you heard about fring, which is pretty cool. Then you tried to install it, only to discover it didn't work. Then you probably had a sad.

Well, frown no more - fring has been updated to support all sorts of front-facing camera-having devices (like the ones in the title, plus the HTC Flyer). The update has also included general bugfixes and improvements to audio quality, so head on over to the Market and check it out!

May

Qik Releases Video Chat/Mail App Optimized For Samsung Devices

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News, Samsung

While browsing some new arrivals this afternoon, I noticed that Qik, one of the large players in the mobile video chat business, today released an app called Qik for Samsung, clearly targeted at users of Samsung Android devices. Qik has been releasing apps customized to certain classes of devices, or even individual ones, for as long as I can remember, starting with the EVO 4G last year, so seeing yet another variant doesn't surprise me (see Qik for Sprint, Qik for T-Mobile, and Qik for Atrix).

What is not clear is exactly what is optimized for Samsung devices compared to the regular Qik app and whether higher resolution video is available, so I'm going to leave it to you, Samsung device owners, to figure out and report back.

Jan

Skype To Buy Qik For A Cool $150 Million

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Word around the web is that Skype is in the process of purchasing Qik for a cool $150 million. While not expected, the deal isn't exactly surprising, either: Skype is already a major player in the internet phone business, and in 2010, Qik substantially expanded its presence in mobile video calling and streaming. In fact, 2010 was huge for Qik: they expanded their customer base from 600,000 to 5 million users - roughly an eight-fold increase.

Clearly, the two businesses are extremely similar: Skype users can already make voice/video calls using Skype on various platforms, and again, Qik now has a substantial footprint in mobile video.

Jun

Qik’s Launch On The EVO 4G: Where Did It Go Wrong?

Posted by John Thompson in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Sprint

With the release of the EVO 4G on Friday, a lot of people were looking forward to using the front facing camera for two-way video chat. This was made possible thanks to Qik, a video sharing application on Android amongst other platforms. Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t as smooth as Sprint and Qik would have hoped it to be…

The few lucky people who attended Google I/O were each given an EVO 4G, only to find that they couldn’t use the two-way video chat, as Qik wanted to wait until the official launch date to update the software.

With the EVO in the hands of thousands of developers who attended I/O, Qik could have beta tested their new features to make sure the release was as smooth as possible.

May

UPDATE: It Will Be Free - Rumorama: EVO 4G’s Qik Powered Video Chat To Cost An Extra $5/Month?

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Applications, Apps/Games, Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Sprint

Update, May 29th, 7PM CST: Qik have updated their company blog and have cleared up the situation. Basically, the core Qik experience, meaning streaming from your EVO 4G to Qik, and the 2-way video chat will be FREE. Apparently, the subscription charge will be for “some advanced premium features” that they are working on. They’ll have an announcement on June 4th with additional details on these features.

The fees just keep on coming. On top of the $10 per month “you own an EVO fee” and the somewhat more reasonable $29.99 per month fee to tether your devices to the EVO, Android Guys are reporting that if you’re looking forward to the face to face video chat feature on the phone, you should expect to shell out an extra $5 a month.

May

Sprint HTC EVO 4G 2-Way Video Calling (and Qik!)

Posted by Neal Tucker in App Reviews, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

By now, we have all heard the news: Sprint announced yesterday the HTC EVO 4G will be available June 4th. Among a number of touted features, its two-way video chat capabilities are unrivaled.

With two cameras, one on either side of the phone, this device opens up new possibilities. You can take snapshots or video while watching the results in realtime, or you can turn the camera on yourself...without turning the phone around.

The primary camera boasts a whopping 8 megapixels, while the front-facing camera has a slim 1.3 megapixels. That being said, it is still an incredible feature, allowing you to video chat straight from your phone.