App Of the Week: ooVoo

Image credit: ooVoo

App Name: ooVoo

Price: App is free; $2.99 per month for premium service.

Available Platforms: iOS (iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone), Android

What does this app do?
Video chat may seem as commonplace as email or text messaging with applications like Skype, Facetime and Fring, but instant messaging and video chat site ooVoo recently kicked it up a notch with an updated app allowing its users to take advantage of a 4-way video display. The app supports up to 12-way video chats and up to four video displays on your mobile screen at once.

ooVoo’s app lets users sync their contacts. One tab lets you see your ooVoo contacts, another your Facebook contacts, and a third tab displays them all in one list. Within the application, double click a contact to make a call. By tapping on the Facebook tab and double clicking on a contact, ooVoo will send a link to your contact’s Facebook account inviting them to call you through Facebook — not seamless, but getting there.

Some handier features include text chatting while simultaneously video chatting, as well as the ability to share links. Push notifications, too, for mobile users, allow people to see if they’ve missed a call or message even when the app is closed. You can also invite friends to join through Facebook, twitter, or an email.

Is it easy to set up? Once you download the free app, you can sign in using your Facebook login and password, or sign up through the ooVoo site.

Should I try it? The app’s strength, apart from its four-way video display and contacts integration, is in its versatility — it works across Mac and PC operating systems as well as multiple mobile devices including approximately 250 Android phones and tablets. This is a good option if you are looking for a multi-party video chatting solution.

Let us know if you have any app of the week suggestions on Twitter at@TechThisOutABC.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com