15
Aug
g logo

Google has released an update to its social network app on Android today that should please Hangout enthusiasts both young and old. For starters, now you can join Hangouts on Air via your mobile device (like the one we use to broadcast our weekly podcast every Thursday at 8pm EST hint hint). This is fantastic news as Hangouts on Air are among the most useful application of the already-awesome Hangouts feature. Unfortunately, until recently, you could only join via a desktop, but no more!

g update1 g eventabuse g hangouts

Additionally, Google is now allowing teens to create and join Hangouts via mobile. Which, apparently, they could not do before.

06
Jun
hi-256-4-a5fc1398aa93cc6b64e3f14fbcd773c04f375423

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!

13
May
image

While roaming around Google I/O and looking for answers to numerous questions you guys posed, I ran into Wei Huang, the tech lead on Google Talk for Android. Yup, the same guy who announced video chat two weeks ago on the Google Mobile blog. Here are some questions I had for Wei, echoing many of you guys:

  • Is video chat coming to other devices than the Nexus S and if so, when?
  • It's understandable why the Nexus One has no video chat (although 1-way video chat would still be better than none), but why did it receive no voice chat with the Android 2.3.4 upgrade?
28
Apr
Google-Talk

On Monday we told you that Google may bring video chat to Android 2.3.4, and that we expect an announcement at Google I/O. It looks like we got it half right - Google has officially announced Talk with Video Chat integration in Android 2.3.4, but we didn't have to wait until I/O to find out.

The service looks like it will work almost identical to its desktop counterpart: the status icon displays whether or not the person is available for video chat (or capable of it). Tap the icon to start a video chat session, and you're good to go. It's cross platform, too, meaning that you can chat with desktop users and other mobile users alike.

26
Apr
hi-256-0-bf3e169958cce7184f9e9802f44504816538a29f

As much as I love Android, I do have friends and family that are dedicated iPhone users. There has always been a barrier between the two platforms, but that is slowly changing with things like cross-platform games and now, thanks to Qik Video Connect, video chat.

Aside from being cross-platform, Qik Video Connect offers several other nice features, like video mail. If you can't connect live with someone and you just have to show them something, then video mail is the only way to go, right? This feature is free until June, but after that you'll have to pan an "optional fee" in order to use it.

25
Apr
SFGOOGLE2011stacked

The Google I/O rumor mill has been surprisingly calm this year - certainly calmer than it was last year, that's for sure. But a recent tweet from @MAFiA303, who reportedly "works with Samsung," changes that completely - have a look for yourself:

2011-04-25 18h05_40

Frankly, we were expecting to see more than a new iteration of Gingerbread at I/O, but hey - we'll take what we can get, and video chat is a seriously hot addition to mobile Gmail (especially given that "impressive quality" statement). And this is Google we're talking about, so expect a curveball - who can wait to see what surprises Andy and co.

11
Apr
Skype

Well, well, well, look at what we've got here - it's none other than the elusive Skype for the HTC Thunderbolt! If you remember, Skype was supposed to be pre-installed on the Thunderbolt but didn't actually make it onto the final product. We also told you that Skype Mobile for Android with video was coming to all VZW LTE devices back in January, and it looks like we're finally getting what was promised. I don't have a Thunderbolt myself, but from what I've heard from our own Justin Case, it works flawlessly on 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi, all with superb video quality.

02
Feb
image

Today has definitely been one of the more exciting days this year, at least in the Android department. Last week, Google sent out invitation for a Honeycomb-related event, where we, of course, were expecting detailed walkthroughs of Android 3.0 and hands-on with the Motorola XOOM.

Rumors of the web store that was promised almost a year ago as well as Google Music, teased at the same time at Google I/O last year, were flying, and one of them definitely came true today - we've finally got ourselves a web-based Market with over-the-air app installations.

Instead of Google Music, we got a different present in the form of in-app purchases, which will, hopefully, put an end to multiple variations of apps (Lite, keys, Demo, etc), help curb piracy, and allow for easier microtransactions within existing aps and games.

18
Sep
image

A couple of weeks back, Boy Genius Report got their hands on some photos of a very svelte looking, EVO-esque HTC phone that is supposedly coming to Verizon.

Now they have a suspicion that it is in fact Verizon’s model of the Desire HD, announced a few days ago in London.

There are one or two things to say about this - firstly, the handset they obtained images of has a kickstand, a feature notably absent in the super-slim Desire HD. Also, there have been no announcements as yet of a CDMA version at all, although that may well come in the future.

20
Jul
adobe air

Adobe has given us a nice taste of what Air is capable of. Using the upcoming version 2.5, Adobe developer Mark Doherty created a demo of video calling on Android on two Nexus Ones, which he cleverly called “FlashTime” (a not-so-subtle jab at Apple’s FaceTime.)

Doherty tells us that Air 2.5 adds support for many features, including use of cameras and microphones on a device, and that the Android version is on par feature-wise with its desktop equivalent; however, though these features are “working,” he also tells us that they may not make it into the final release of Air.

As for the video calling itself, it is not an Adobe product and will never be released as such.

Page 1 of 212