Android 2.3.4 to bring FaceTime-like video calls

26 April, 2011

Video-calling has been available on Android for a while but only in its prime form - 3G video calls, which are charged by the minute by your carrier. Well, Google is about to add its own video chat feature to Android smartphones. It would work over the phone's Internet connection much like FaceTime by Apple.

Google did not invent the video calls nor will re-invent them. But the Wi-Fi-only video calling was something many users have waited to see run natively in the Android OS for a long time.

The video chats are already available for regular computer from within the web-based Gmail, you just needed to install a plug-in.

Now this same feature will be added into the next Gingerbread update - 2.3.4. Hopefully, you can even call other users that are accessing Gmail from their computers.

The information comes from a guy called Saad, who claims to be working with Samsung. He shared his experience with the new video calls on his Twitter account. Google is rumored to announce the new video calls during the Google I/O devcon that will be held 10-11 May in San Francisco.

Source

Reader comments

subbu
11 Oct 2011
uwZ

google should also add the earlier generation video call using the normal 3g umts network supported by carries and not using the data plans to make video call.. i checked various forums only to find that lot of people are ignorant of the fact that th...

Anonymous
27 Apr 2011
jbM

I know you are not talking about the US, right? I know a lot of people in the US were fooled that Iphone 4 was the first with a front facing camera. I imported phones with front facing camera but couldn't use it.

Feroz
27 Apr 2011
0BR

Lol, for a long time, say for more than 2 months i am using video call between my Iphone 4 and my Htc HD2 (i booted it with Android), i am calling on Fring Video Call, and its simply awesome, video quality is 7/10, and voice is 8/10, but...