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Confirmed: T-Mobile blocking GTalk video chat over 3G on Nexus S
Many Nexus S owners received a rude surprise when attempting to initiate an Android 2.3.4 video chat on T-Mobile's 3G network. Rather than being greeted by a smiling friend on the screen, a terse message explained "You must be connected to a WiFi network to start a video chat." Ouch. Doing the responsible thing, we tested the issue and were able to confirm that T-Mo is blocking this headline feature -- which worked just dandily over Sprint's 3G network on the Nexus S 4G. While the latest Gingerbread update includes built-in support for 3G video chat, Google has left the decision to mobile carriers whether to implement the functionality. We know choice is great, but when it ultimately hinders consumers, we'd really prefer an iron-fisted display of strength from Mountain View.
Fring adds "dynamic video quality"
If you're a fan of FaceTime on your iPhone / iPod touch, but are frustrated with the Wi-Fi only restrictions, then Fring (the voice, video and instant chat app) is most likely your go-to app for video calling over 3G. Since there's no sign of Skype implementing video calling on the iPhone over Wi-Fi (let alone 3G), and no one's yet to turn up to Apple's "open" FaceTime standard party, Fring is left holding the video calling over 3G fort for the likes of us. But they're not sitting back while the others catch up. Fring has recently updated its app to include, amongst other improvements and enhancements, dynamic video quality, or DVQ, to its video calling. Basically, while always prioritizing audio, the quality of video will be automatically adjusted to the amount of bandwidth you have available at any given time. If you're outdoors with a strong 3G signal, your video quality will be good. But if you're indoors with a poorer 3G signal, your video quality will be reduced to compensate for the lack of bandwidth. This will all happen behind the scenes, allowing you to have a cohesive video chat. Audio will remain unaffected. We've tried it out for ourselves; it seems to work pretty well, though even on Wi-Fi we couldn't get anything near the quality of the video depicted in the Fring promo pictured above. Fring is available free on the App Store, or go to updates on your iDevice for the latest version. Check out DVQ in action after the break. [via Engadget]
