by Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator
Skype recently announced its rolling out its group-video calling services for iOS, Android and Windows Phones. The service is slowing rolling out and will be available to everyone in March.
With this new service, up to 25 people will be able to join in a Skype group video call. That’s more than the 10 people Google Hangouts can accommodate at maximum and currently Apple’s Face Time doesn’t allow group video calls.
The group calling feature will work with Skype users regardless of whether they are on mobile or desktop versions concurrently, and callers can send a link via email, or any other messaging platform that others can click on to join in a call.
This is fantastic news if you have a large group that already has their own skype accounts!
Frequently, I run into issues with having other people do the “invite dance” (please accept the invite that I just sent you, yes, it’s in your email… oh, you don’t use that email anymore?). If you are looking to do video calling between just a few users (up to 8) Appear.in is a great option. There are no sign-ups required and you can easily screenshare as well as do video/audio sharing with up to eight people. All you share is the URL and there’s no “adding people” to be able to chat with them. Check it out sometime: https://appear.in
Cheers, +A