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X introduces audio and video calls for Android users
The Premium feature was already available on iOS.
Google Meet's hand raise feature just got a lot more real
The new tool might feel a bit reminiscent of your school days.
Google Meet will soon send you a transcript of your meeting
Other Workspace updates include automatic frame centering when you're in meetings.
WhatsApp users will soon be able to join a call by tapping a link
Meta is also testing encrypted group video calls for up to 32 people.
Zoom brings end-to-end encryption to its cloud phone service
E2EE protection is coming to meeting breakout rooms as well.
Microsoft unveils system-wide video call upgrades for Windows 11
Live captions for all audio and an AI-powered feature that improves eye contact are on the way.
Facebook's video speed-dating service is shutting down January 20th
Along with Sparked, collaborative music-making app Collab is closing up shop.
Zoom starts showing ads to free users in limited test
For now, users in certain countries on the Basic plan will only see ads after a call.
Telegram's video calls can now accommodate up to 1,000 viewers
Telegram has expanded the group video calling feature it launched in June to be able to accommodate more participants.
Facebook's speed-dating app gives you four minutes to impress
The experimental video app Sparked has no public profiles or Tinder-style swiping.
Facebook adds Zoom video calls to Portal for TVs
Facebook's Portal TV now supports Zoom and GoToMeeting, bringing video calls to the biggest screen in your home.
Zoom adds additional security to fend off trolls
Hosts can suspend meetings while they deal with disruptive users.
Google's latest attempt at meeting room gear focuses on simplicity
As we begin to consider returning to our offices, Google wants to help make conference rooms more pleasant. The company is announcing Series One meeting room kits today that comprises a soundbar, a pair of cameras, a touchscreen controller, mic pods and a compute unit. Expect more details on when these go on sale in October, when Google’s hardware partner on this project Lenovo will have more to share.
Google Meet integration arrives in Gmail for Android
Google has been giving users more and more ways to access Meet these past months, making it a more reliable choice for video calls during the pandemic. One of the things the tech giant promised is the video chat service’s rollout inside the Gmail app for iOS and Android, and Google has stayed true to its word. It has just started rolling out Meet for Gmail’s Android app, one week after iOS users got access to the service within their application.
The first commercial video call took place 50 years ago today
The AT&T Picturephone Mod II helped pave the way for our Zoom and FaceTime-dominated reality.
Facebook expands Portal group calls to 50 people
It's bringing more Zoom-esque features to the device.
Slack adds Microsoft Teams video call options
More of us than ever are relying on video calling apps to chat with friends, family and colleagues. Slack, for example, has seen a huge increase in calls made and received through its app in the last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting today, the app will give you more options. For instance, you can now hop into a Microsoft Teams call directly from the productivity app, which said last week it was working on such an option.
Kim Dotcom launches MegaChat encrypted video calling service
It's been in the pipeline for more than a year now, but finally Kim Dotcom's Mega is ready to share its encrypted chat service with the world. 'MEGAchat' is pretty light on features -- it's basically just audio and video calls right now -- but the famous Megaupload founder says text chat and video conferencing are on the way. Here's how it works: After creating a Mega account, you simply log in via the web and hit the Conversations icon on the left-hand side. Contacts will need their own Mega account and after making a few calls you'll see a basic chat history on the right-hand side. To disregard it as primitive would be missing the point, however; MEGAchat is currently free to use and promises better protection than alternatives such as Skype and Google Hangouts. Who do you trust more to keep your communications secure? If the answer is Dotcom's Mega, you've now got a credible replacement.
ooVoo updates its iOS and Android apps to support four-way video calls
First ooVoo opened up four-way video chats on Facebook, and now the video calling service is doing the same for its Android and iOS apps. The company just updates both applications so that you can view up to four video streams at once, though you can carry on text chats with as many as 12 people. That's true of both platforms, though the Android version is admittedly getting a few more changes. The newest version of the app brings deeper integration with Google services, plugging into the native Android address book to show missed calls, as well as a list of which friends are available to chat. To that end, Android users get not just the app, but also a widget that displays these tidbits at a glance. Rounding out the list of improvements, the updates introduce push notifications as well as the ability to text chat in the middle of a video call. %Gallery-162942%
Airtime testing new video post features, improved buddy list
Remember Airtime, the Facebook-integrated video calling / media sharing service with a Chatroulette flavor? Well if not, we don't blame you -- usage stats suggest it hasn't quite taken off, but maybe the new features it's testing will secure a few more fans. No longer is the service restricted to the here and now, as the major change is all about video posts. Use Airtime to record a message and you can post it to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or via a traditional email to get the conversation started. Friends can then reply to your message through Airtime with a video post of their own, and so on. Its buddy list has also been given a little love, so now it shows friends as online, idle or offline, and details your interaction timeline. Whether the features are enough to inspire wider uptake is questionable, but for the few that actively use Airtime, the updates are out in the wild now on a "limited public release."
