by The iPhone 4 was introduced on the market with its own built-in video conferencing software known as FaceTime. Although FaceTime is an excellent video calling app with good resolution and other talk like qualities, it suffers from a few limitations. For one thing, it’s unable to work over 3G networks. Because of this, you might be interested in several alternatives that are also available and contain more diverse features.
Skype for iPhone
The most famous video conferencing and chatting software in the world, Skype Mobile is an excellent alternative to FaceTime and works at least as well. Skype gives you video quality that can range from decent to great depending on connection factors. Setting up a Skype account and downloading the app is free, easy to do and the app can be used for both free Skype-to-Skype video chat and reasonably priced Skype-to-phone calls. Best of all, Skype is popular and can be sued across several platforms -allowing an iPhone user to talk with friends that are on an Android phone, laptop, PC or a Mac.
Fring
The Fring video calling app is one of the original iOS conferencing apps to become popular. Fring can be used for both the iPhone’s iOS operating system or Android based phones. This means your friend’s don’t need to have their own iPhone for some face to face chat time. Fring is free and easy to download and install. The app also allows for video calling between up to 4 different people.
OoVoo Video Chat
This free app lets you engage in video conference calls that are shared between up to 12 different people at the same time. Installation and use is also relatively easy and available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and even the iPad. Another feature of ooVoo is that it also lets you make calls to landlines at discount rates. OoVoo also has built-in social networking features that let you find friends on your Facebook or Twitter lists who also use the service and connect with them.
Tango Video Calls
This video conferencing app lets you make calls over 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi Networks. The service works for most smart phones or tablet brands and gives you access to free video chat, free text messaging and free video messaging capacities. Another excellent bonus of Tango is its extremely simple usability; the service lets you create an account in just seconds without requiring a username, password or any of the usual account creation steps. This makes it great for use amongst family in situations where some members might not be as tech savvy as others.
Free Conference Call
This app has a boring name but offers some excellent conference calling features. With Free Conference Call, you can’t use video calling but the app’s multiple listener options more than make up for this. The service lets you hold conference calls with up to 1000 people on your business or work team at the same time while being able to simultaneously control how you manage the conference from your phone. Control features include call holding of everyone at the same time, call dropping and the ability to record the conference for later review.
Yahoo! Messenger
The Yahoo! Messenger is free, versatile and almost as good at letting you make video conference calls as a lot of the others on this list. The app lets you send free sms messages to your Yahoo contacts and make free video or voice calls to the same group of people. Yahoo! Works on both iPhones and other smartphone brands or OS -allowing video calling across different brands. The only downside: You need to sign up for a Yahoo email account.
