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Asana adds video messaging because this meeting could've been an email
With help from Vimeo, it’s adding an asynchronous video messaging feature.
Skype Qik wants to become your "go to" video message app
After acquiring and retiring the Qik video streaming app, Skype has relaunched the service as Skype Qik: Group Video Messaging, a drop-dead-easy video messaging app. Similar to iMessage video chat, the app allows you to message your friends and family using video clips instead of text. Qik is designed to complement Skype's calling and messaging service, allowing users to communicate instantly with video. Qik users need only to launch the app, swipe down to launch the video interface and start recording. Users have 42 seconds to record a clip before they can send it immediately without further review or editing. The app has a Snapchat-like feature that allows for message deletion. By default, all messages are removed after two weeks, but there also is a manual option that permits a user to delete a video message and remove it from all recipient's phones. Skype Qik: Group Video Messaging is available from the iOS App Store for free.
Skype updates terms of service to make mention of 'Video Messaging' feature
Skype hardly has a history of keeping its forthcoming features secret, but then again, surprises aren't all they're chalked up to be. This go 'round, an updated terms of service page has outed a heretofore unannounced update: Video Messaging. While it's not possible to indulge just yet, we're left to assume that an impending update will enable Skype Premium users (who pay $8.99 per month for certain privileges) to "send and receive an unlimited number of Video Messages." For those taking advantage of Skype's free offerings, you'll be able to send a "limited" amount, though you'll be able to receive an unlimited quantity of 'em. We're also told that non-premium members will see their video messages expire within 90 days -- unless it was sent by a premium member or you upgrade your account in time, of course -- but the TOS makes no mention of when any of this will find itself under public scrutiny. Hopefully it'll be before those year-end fireworks go up, you know?
Vimessa: Video voice mail for iPhone and iPad
With the holidays coming up, it's a time to get together -- physically or virtually -- with friends and relatives. On those situations where you can't travel to be with your loved ones, wouldn't it be nice if you can send them a quick, free video message? That's the thought behind Vimessa, a free video messaging app from Serious Fox Corp. If you send a video message to someone who doesn't currently have the app, they'll get a text message with a link to your video. The messages are secure, and the only people who can send Vimessages are people who have your phone number. The developers say that they think of this as "video voicemail" for the iOS platform, and they plan on launching versions for other platforms soon. The app is free, although the company plans to also roll out special services with in-app purchases. As the developer notes, Vimessa gives you the immediacy of text messages with the emotion of face-to-face discussions. The messages can be viewed on your timeline, so you don't need to "answer" a video call. It's an interesting concept, and one that would be a wonderful addition to Apple's FaceTime.
FacePlant brings quick FaceTime chats and video voice mail to the iPhone 4
By now, everybody who owns an iPhone 4 knows how cool FaceTime is. They're also probably frustrated with the fact that a) you need to make a call at least one time in order to verify that a friend has an iPhone 4 and can actually do FaceTime chats, b) you can't see when friends are on Wi-Fi and ready to talk, and c) you can't leave them a video message when they're off a Wi-Fi network or have their phone turned off. An upcoming free iPhone app, FacePlant, hopes to change all of that. FacePlant is from the same folks who brought you 12seconds and Rally Up, so they had the necessary savvy to supply both the video messaging piece and the social networking feel that FacePlant provides. Here's the concept: you sign up for a free FacePlant account, which consists of your name and iPhone 4 number. The app goes through your contacts list, and if there's anyone in that list who is registered with FacePlant, they show up on a list of contacts. If they're ready and willing to talk, their name shows up surrounded by a bright orange bar; if they're offline, their name is outlined in gray. Tapping an active (orange) name displays a dialog that asks if you want to make a FaceTime call, a voice call, or leave a video message.
First Look: 12mail Video Messenger for iPhone
The first time I saw the classic movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," I was 10 years old. If the story and the underlying meaning were confusing to me as a kid, the futuristic technology wasn't, and I liked the video communications devices and the flat Newspad.It's almost 9 years late (2010), but we finally have a cool way to communicate with video, and it doesn't require using a wall-mounted AT&T pay phone. 12mail Video Messenger [iTunes Link] for iPhone brings clear, fast video messaging to your device in 12-second chunks. An offshoot of 12seconds.tv, 12mail Video Messenger grabs up to a 12 second video on the iPhone 3GS and delivers it to your Facebook and Twitter pals with push notification. If your buds don't have 12mail, they can view the video on their Facebook wall or through Twitter. While there's not a lot you can say in 12 seconds, the app is great for sending friends short video blips, showing them something funny, or inviting them to join you for a drink. Since 12mail uses geolocation, your friends will know just where you sent your message from.Some folks may wonder about the advantages of 12mail over MMS, particularly since AT&T is supposed to finally "flip the switch" on that service today. Those advantages are the integration with Facebook and Twitter, as well as the fact that this won't use up your text message allotment. 12mail is fairly simple to use, although I had some issues returning a video message to a person who had just been added to my Twitter "following" list. A query to 12mail's tech support got me a quick response, and I found out that I just needed to tap the refresh button in the top left corner of the list of Twitter users to get the latest people that I'm following. One other little bug seems to be that the "tilt iPhone to start recording" function doesn't work, at least not for me. If you don't have an iPhone that supports video recording, you can still record audio and take one picture to illustrate what's going on.If you're a Twitter or Facebook user, particularly one with an iPhone 3GS, installing 12mail is a no-brainer. It's fun, it's free, and it's a taste of the future. Check out the gallery for some screenshots of 12mail. %Gallery-74002%
AT&T boosting pay-per-use text and MMS rates -- again
Whoa there, didn't these just go up not long ago? Indeed they did, but in the fast-paced, money-grubbing world we call home, two price bumps spaced a year apart are sadly par for the course. AT&T has started informing customers that unless they're subscribed to a messaging plan, they'll be paying 5 cents more for both text messages and picture / video messages -- now up to 20 and 30 cents per, respectively. The change takes effect March 30, so we'd recommend you either tell all your peeps to cut it out with the messaging or sign up with a package by then. Follow the break for AT&T's full manifesto.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
