Traveler 2.0

Skype now does video chats on iPhones over 3G and Wi-Fi

Skype video chats on an iPhone are now a reality--more or less.

Here's the 'more' part: You can use the free Skype iPhone app to place and receive free video calls on an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4G. And you can receive video calls on an iPad and an iPod touch 3G. Given that both devices lack a camera, you can't place a video call from them.

Interestingly enough, you can video chat with Skype and an iPhone over AT&T's 3G network--something Apple doesn't let you do (yet) with FaceTime. Skype video calls can also be conducted over Wi-Fi networks, and that's probably the best bet for quality.

And now, the 'less' part: I can't imagine that a video chat on an iPhone 3GS would be worth the trouble. Because that phone lacks a front-facing camera, you'd have to stare at the phone's back to project your image--which means, of course, you can't see the person you're Skype-ing with.

At any rate, I just did a quick test, using Skype on my iPhone 4 to call another Skype account on an iMac. It worked really well. 

Related articles

• Skype finally brings video chat to the iPhone, one-ups Apple's FaceTime (venturebeat.com)
• Skype Releases Apple iOS Video Chat (informationweek.com)
• Skype, used by 124M a month, gets broader iPhone access (chron.com)
• Skype Looks to Accelerate Mobile Video Chat With iOS App (gigaom.com)

 

An iPad typewriter and a Google Voice phone booth

Remember that timeless tune, "Everything Old is New Again"? Well, here are two recent examples that shows the songwriters knew what they were writing about.

* USB Typewriter -- described as "a new and groundbreaking innovation in the field of obsolescence." As the name implies, this project takes a manual typewriter and transforms it into a physical keyboard for PCs, Macs, and even iPads. Practical? No. Cool? Definitely.

* Google Voice telephone booths -- Google will begin installing by year's end red Google Voice phone booths in public venues, such as airports and college campuses. The booths will actually make phone calls over the Internet, rather than traditional landlines. Again, I don't know how practical this is, but in terms of marketing, it's rather brilliant. 

Related articles by Zemanta

• Google Voice Phone Booths To Start Popping Up In Airports, Universities (techcrunch.com)
• Video: The Google Voice Phone Booth (thenextweb.com)
• USB Typewriters (flatchat.wordpress.com)
• iPad USB Typewriter [Video] (macstories.net)
• USB Typewriter Turns iPad Into Paper (wired.com)

A Few Early Impressions of Google Voice

Google Voice, announced in March, is still not available to the general public. However, I've been using Google's free voice over IP/centralized messaging service for a few weeks, and I'm impressed.

A few early impressions:

* Audio quality has mostly been good. A few times, the person I was talking to said there was some crackle on the line, or that they couldn't hear what I'd just said. But the majority of the time, call quality has been much better than a cell phone but not quite as good as a landline.

* I love the ability to send and receive SMS messages for free from Google Voice. Yes, you can do this in Gmail already. But with Google Voice, the replies to your text messages come to your mobile phone as well as to your Google Voice inbox. With Gmail, the responses to my text messages only go to my Gmail account--which means I have to be at my computer to get them.

* Voicemail transcription accuracy is better than I expected, though not as accurate as Vonage's voicemail transcription service. However, Google Voice transcriptions are free; Vonage charges a nominal amount per transcription.

Google Voice isn't going to replace any of my phone services, at least not yet. You can't currently port an existing phone number to a Google Voice account, for one thing. And unlike Skype or a softphone application, you must have a landline, mobile phone service, or other existing phone line in order to use Google Voice. (To place a call for you, Google Voice must call you on a phone. Once you answer, Google Voice connects you to the number you've dialed.)

When will Google Voice be available? It could be tomorrow, or it could be two months from yesterday. Google is being vague. Stay tuned.