Last Thursday, Google has announced on the official Google Mobile blog that it is launching its own video chat service for Android-based phones.
If the Apple has the Facetime application on the iPhone, now the Android phones (finally!) have the Google Talk application with video and voice chat capabilities.
Using the Google Talk, you can now video or voice chat right from your Android phone (provided the phone has a front-mounted camera) with other Android phone (or tablet) users, or with users using Gmail with Google Talk on their computer. Both video and voice chats are supported over 3G or 4G data network (if your carrier supports it) or over Wi-Fi connection.
In your Google Talk friends list, a video or voice chat button will appear next to your contacts. To connect with them, simply touch on the corresponding button. In addition, any text chats from the person you’re talking with will be overlaid on your phone’s screen so you can read them without having to leave the video. Plus, whenever you need to check something else, the video pauses automatically so you can go back to your phone’s home screen or another app. The audio will keep going even though the video has paused.
Check out how the application works:
Google says that the new capability will be first rolled out to the Nexus S devices in the next few weeks as part of Android 2.3.4 update. Other Android devices (running Android 2.3+ OS) will get the update in the future, without giving the specified date or time frame.
