We can chat with Gmail friends with integerated chat in Gmail inbox. Hang on, Gmail is making things more interactive with introduction of voice and video chat in Gmail. So, besides typing ‘Hi’ ‘Hello’ – you can speak and see your friend saying ‘Hi’ ‘Hello’ and lots more.
This new feature is all free (as expected from Google) which offer high-quality audio and video and promises to be easy to use. To get started you need to download and install plugin for this new feature. After the install perform:
- Login to your Gmail account
- Click Video and more menu (bottom of Gmail chat window).
- Click Start video chat & wait till you see / hear your contact.
As explained by Gmail Blog, you can click the “pop-out” icon to make the video larger or click the fullscreen icon in the upper left-hand corner for a fully immersive experience. Checkout the video for all the action:
Don’t see this feature in your Gmail Account?
This feature is being rolled out in a phased manner, you will soon get this feature in your Gmail Account. This gives Gmail all new meaning with ability to interact with voice & video. Wonder what Skype thinks about this?
I’ve heard about Courts using video conferencing technologies especially in the rural areas and villages. Even though it’s an expensive approach but it’s a great way for developing these areas.