I’ve been stuffing around with several of the video calling apps out there for the last couple of weeks and I have to give kudos to all the developers who have ventured into this realm on mobile devices. This is fantastic technology for keeping in touch and getting in touch. I feel like we can really use this to spend quality time with the important people in our lives.
Let me give you the rundown. I only focused on those that were cross platform, mainly between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, so that it didn’t matter which of these you use since you can talk to someone on the other without problem. All the apps were tested with 3 connection sets – both on wifi, both on mobile, and one on each. Obviously take into account available data speeds, network congestion and signal quality with all of it.
One thing to note on all of these is that the audio quality in my testing has been excellent. I think in all these cases the quality of the voice calls has been far better than that of a regular phone call. Definitely gives reason for your mobile providers to get their act together and get “HD Calling” going. By that I mean technology like Voice over LTE (VoLTE), etc. But that’s another topic.
So let’s get into the apps.
Skype
I’m starting with Skype as it’s very popular worldwide and has been used on computers for quite a while now. What they’ve done here is taken almost the full desktop client and moved it to your mobile phone with some interface changes obviously for smaller screens. Where it differs from your desktop is the ability to initiate group chats or calls. You can take part in them just not start them. Oh, and you can’t send files through it either. The chat works as well as it does on your PC and the audio quality for voice calls is quite good.
The video quality is good but not the best out there. It tends to get a little choppy even when using the phones side by side on the same network.
The biggest advantage with Skype is the ability to use it on virtually every platform under the sun which makes it incredibly easy to keep in touch no matter where you are.
Fring
Fring and Skype are really quite similar. On the instant message front Fring gives you the advantage of adding other messaging clients to its core program so you can chat with your MSN, AOL or Google Talk friends through the same program, which is nice if you use that a lot.
Video quality here is very good. Fring adjusts to your data speeds to keep the video quality as clear as possible. This is one of the two areas where Fring stands out above the crowd.
The other area is built in group video chatting right on your phone or tablet. Want to sit and talk with 4 of your friends? Feel free. It’s there for you.
Qik
No chat, no voice calling. Just pure video. And not just pure video.. it’s really good pure video!
This is where Qik shines. Of all of them I think this is the best video quality for calling. Okay, not only calling but for recording videos and sharing them on your Qik profile site. Yes, you can do the same with your video camera apps and YouTube or Vimeo or others… but it’s still quite solid and even though there are other options it doesn’t take away from the quality of what Qik has put together
The video mail feature is only really good for other Qik users but that’s a nice addition if you need or want it.
Tango
Tango is interesting in that there is no special registration. You put in your phone number and your email address and that’s it.
And you don’t have to use your cell phone number. Want to use a Google Voice number? Go for it. For those who have only a tablet or media device, that’s fine, you can use your home phone number if you want. This makes it incredibly simple for anyone to pick up and use.
There is a downside to that however. If you have multiple phone numbers – work, home, mobile, etc – or you’re like me and use Skype or other services to have international numbers… well you’re stuck with using one with Tango at this point. I have no idea if they’re planning on giving us some account options where we can add more numbers allowing more people to contact us.
Tango also integrates with your contacts on your phone giving you the option from their entry to call them on Tango for voice and video as easily as you would opening their entry and calling them using your regular calling plan.
Side note – Tango is coming out with a computer based version allowing the same type of video calling experience that Skype does from computer to smartphone.
Worth Mentioning – Google Talk
Nope. No video here yet unless you’re using a Nexus S and have the Android 2.3.4 update. But it’s coming. The folks in Mountain View have said so - http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/04/video-chat-on-your-android-phone.html
The Wrapup
This is tough as all these services have their good points and bad points.
Fring is the best out there right now. However, the most flexible is Skype. And don’t get me wrong. I use and love all of them but this is how I see it at this point. As that changes I’ll post something about it.
And I know that all this will change quickly. With more and more of these services coming out or current ones being improved on this will be a fluid market without question. I’m really looking forward to seeing what someone comes up with next!