This month, Gmail has added a voice and video chat capability to all of its users. Gmail Video and Voice is a simple to install plug-in that supports IE, Firefox and Chrome on PCs and only Firefox on Macs. With the SMS addition (coming soon) Gmail would provide major communications channels in one place – free of charge.
Unlike Skype, Gmail Video and Voice can neither connect to regular phone networks nor record voice calls. The service is expected to be a bit better than Skype though cause all the traffic runs through Google services which have excellent resources.
To install the service, open a chat with someone. You will find the “Video and more” element at the lower left corner of the chat window. Clicking on it will walk you through the steps of installing the plug-in. You can invite people who don’t have the plug-in to get it as well.
By Yara Omar, Janus Networks
You can contact the author at press@janusnetworks.com