Qik two-way video calling on the Sprint EVO 4G is free, premium service is not
By Vlad Savov 
posted May 29th 2010 11:20AM
posted May 29th 2010 11:20AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted May 29th 2010 11:20AM
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Awesome.... June 4th can NOT come fast enough
@JerzyIroc : That's what she said?
@One Love
I guess premium fee will be for live broadcast..
anyways good to have the 2way for free. .
@coolkams03, NO! The premium service is for HD quality streaming.
@scorpeo
HD quality streaming?
Must be over wifi...I don't see 720p streaming working even on 4g.
@DoctarPeppar
It wouldn't as the upload speed on WiMax is only 1Mb/s and the EVO records 720p at 5Mb/s which already results in way too many artifacts. Even most home connections will only be about 1Mb/s so for the most part no one can do live HD video without a very beefy connection, not that they don't exist for home users just that it's rare in the USA.
@DoctarPeppar, not only will it work over 4G it will work over 3G as well, In one of the videos (can't remember which one) at CTIA a Qik rep does say there will be a premium service. I few weeks ago I confirmed this with Qik, the rep mentioned something about Qik using higher transcoding. Here is a video using a Nokia phone (select HQ before playing the video): http://www.mediabistro.com/mobilecontenttoday/nokia/qik_499_per_year_premium_service_offer_high_quality_video_playback_for_nokia_smartphone_users_153748.asp?c=rss
Correction, select "HQ" after the video starts!
@JerzyIroc OMG THE WAIT IS KILLING ME
@reallynotnick
I doubt the front camera records 720p video, so that shouldn't be a problem.
@coolkams03
Why would that be? live broadcast is already free on other devices.
@JerzyIroc i feel you i cant wait for the 4th
@reallynotnick Are you fucking stupid? Most home internet connections are around 8mbps not 1mbps... And WiMax runs more than fast enough to stream HD to the device. Fail.
@JerzyIroc
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/29/htc-evo-4g/
@Btbessey Did Steve Jobs write that article? I've actually had the honor of playing with this phone for almost a full day. There was ZERO lag. The battery lasted me almost 8 hours and trust me when I say i used it I used it. I live in jersey so I didn't get to use the 4g
@rhomaion
1mbps UPLOAD. Video calling requires a good upload and download speed.
Hey I'll take the free stuff, you bet.
Yay, my daily EVO fix has been met early. Thanks, Engadget!
Good to know.
Yes! That's what I like to hear!
Good as expected!
Does anyone happen to know if Qik will work on 3G? (vs. just WiMax and WiFi)
@Accidental Yes it will. you don't need 4G to do the video conferencing (i can always be wrong, but i'm pretty sure about this haha)
@Accidental If its anything like how it was on winmo then it should but what the hell do I know
Yes I got my Evo lastweek and have been doing video calls over 3g just fine with fring@Accidental
Give EVO GSM now.
@toharchitect This phone is built around the features that are enhanced, extended because it has 4G. Why would they make a GSM version?
It's like taking a BMW M5 to a go-cart track: it's still a fantastic car, but there is no way to experience it's performance in such a limited setting.
@dalex7777 The phone also has 3G and CDMA/EVDO. There's no 100% 4G coverage anyway. Yes, it would make sense to make a European version of the EVO: GSM/LTE.
@MaTdg, the EVO was built around enhanced 3G and 4G technology, the apps that use data had to be optimized for the enhancements and 4G. To build a GSM version is basically going backwards in technology. When folks say the EVO is advanced, it is advanced.
@scorpeo
3G.. 4G.. whatever, video calling has never taken off the ground for good reason, people dont want to do it.
Might work in a business environment but consumers have never taken to it.
@dansus, the reason why video chat was not successful in other countries was primarily due to the high carrier fees, not because people were not interested. This is the first time a major carrier will not charge for the service.
@scorpeo
No...
In places such as the UK a video call costs as much as a normal phone call.
It has never taken off because people look dumb talking with their phone in front of them, with the speaker on if they don't have a bluetooth headset.
@Goc Where I live its the same: videocall costs no more than standard call. The reason why it didn't became popular here is because only a few phones have front facing camera's, mostly midrange phones. I have about 100 contacts in my phonelist, only 1 of them owned a device with frontfacing camera (and not any more by now). Then there's the fact that operators don't promote it. I've yet have to see or hear 1 word about videocalling in there commercials and on there website's you can only find it after clicking on at least 10 other links. People just don't know about the possibility's of their own phones and operators.
@scorpeo We didn't mean GSM only, but an EVO that is compatible with European networks: GSM and LTE. And yes, even if it's all about the 4G, you still want support for the older networks. There's not a single phone that relies on 3G only let alone 4G only.
I used Qik on iPhone for the past two years for making live video streams from time to time. It was nice, but if you wanted to see old videos later - the loading times on the website were slooooooooooooooooooooooow...
5 a month? That's not so much if you ask me.
@MoonWalkerCTE
sh1t adds up...
@MoonWalkerCTE
But free is better
@MoonWalkerCTE
If this was Apple you would be playing a different tune. How many fees are EVO users going to pay?
Suckers
@MoonWalkerCTE plus the $10 already, plus $30 for hotspot (if you want it). Now ur talking $110 for one phone! Granted it's a beast and you get a lot for the $110, but that's still a lot of money per month for a phone.
@suicidebob
How many fees do iPhone users pay?
@MoonWalkerCTE
Yeah it's that attitude that led to you becoming bankrupt and faking your own death MJ.
@iamlilysdad BGR is saying that the hotspot will only work with wifi and 4G at launch as well. Why would you use it as a wifi spot when you could just connect the device to the original source?
That's a relief. Can't wait to start video calling some fools...
@MegaJapan
You're not going to pity them?
@ready 2 rumble
That was the plan all along ;].
only thing that can make this phone better is having international use
All I can say about this is Good on Qik for changing their mind. I might even get the premium service if I need it. I suspect Qik may do what drug dealers do. Give away some free crack to get you hooked THEN (Don Don Don DOOooon!) they start charging.
What Qik needs is some good ole competition so that they will stay mindful there are (Fring) and will be other providers that EVO 4G users go to for this type of service.
I hate living in the UK because of this phone.
@tracdoor You should be happy 99% of the time europe always gets the super nice phones before the US this 1 time is an exception