Fring, the combined messaging service for mobile phone platforms from the iPhone to Android, has launched a new version of its software that allows users to make video calls from their phone.

Fring users can now make and receive internet video calls from mobile devices (for free), picking up their fring and Skype video calls from the road, and seeing the person they’re talking to from their mobile phone.

Fring video is currently only available on?Nokia?touch devices such as the?Nokia X6, N97mini, N97, 5800, N95, N95 8G and N82, however is promised for the iPhone, and Android handsets. Strange considering the iPhone doesn't sport a forward facing camera, and nor does any of the mainstream Android handsets like the HTC Hero or G1.

Currently the software, which is available for most mobile platforms, only allows you to text chat and talk with other contacts.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phone apps Fring Skype Symbian Nokia iPhone

Skype video calling comes to Nokia phones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:20:05 +0000

A survey of 2000 internet users in the UK from GfK NOP has found that iTunes still remains by far the most popular music service, but that new entrant Spotify is shooting rapidly up the charts, despite having only just celebrated its 1st birthday.

The survey asked participants which music services they used, and 11% said Spotify. That puts it in fourth place behind Real Player (13%), Amazon (24%) and iTunes sitting at the top with 50% approval rating. Spotify sits ahead of the slightly older Last.fm (7%), MP3.com (5%) and Napster (4%). 60% of users stream music direct from the Web.

In the navigation arena, Google Maps dominates with 72% of those surveyed saying they used it. The AA came in second place with 40% and Multimap was third with 35%. Behind that came Mapquest (7%), MSN Maps (4%), Yahoo Maps (4%) and Streetmap (3%).

When it comes to social networking, new boy Twitter draws for second place with MySpace - but both only have 4% of people who use them as their main social network. Bebo is even lower with 2%, but Facebook romps home with over 74% of users picking it as their favourite.

IM is similarly dominated by one provider - Windows Live Messenger. 50% picked it as their main provider, with 16% going for Facebook chat, Yahoo IM coming in third with 8%, Skype at 6%, AIM at 5% and Google Talk coming in at just 2%.

Webmail is closer - 33% opt for Hotmail, but Yahoo Mail was chosen by 14%, 10% picked their own ISP's service, and only 6% have "Gone Google" and picked up a Gmail account. Interestingly, a further 6% said they used email provided by a social network - is this MySpace mail?

Lastly, Skype wins out when it comes to VoIP - 60% of respondents picked it as their favourite online voice-calling app. Google Talk was second with 13%, and VoIP.com and Gizmo came in third with 3% each.

Of course, while the best provider is winning the day in some categories, others are dominated by bloated former giants commanding the attention of people who are too lazy to make a change. Which would you pick as your favourite in each category? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags: Software Online Websites Music IM Mapping Software Social Networks Email iTunes Spotify MySpace Twitter Facebook Amazon Lastfm Gmail Hotmail Skype Yahoo Microsoft Google Statistics

iTunes still most popular music service by far originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:41:43 +0000

Rdio, the new music service from the founders of Skype, Joost and KaZaa, is beginning to show its face on the Web. A couple of screenshots of the interface of the app have appeared on ReadWriteWeb, complete with a short description of the service.

As you can see, it has a little bit of a a Zune-y look to it, though this is an image of the BlackBerry client's interface. That's right - there's going to be a BlackBerry app, expanding the music choice on the platform, which is already in testing. On top of that, it seems there'll be clients for Android, iPhone, and obviously the desktop.

It's not a straight Spotify or Last.fm clone, though. It has the on-demand aspects of Spotify, but requires a subscription for unlimited music and focuses on the connection aspects - sharing reviews and playlists. You'll also be able to stream collections, as well as find music in heavy rotation amongst your friends.

There'll be offline playback, and the team has already made deals with Warner Music and indie aggregator The Orchard. Deals with Sony, Universal and EMI are still in the works, however. Rdio is due to go live in 2010, but it'll very much depend on how keen the labels are to license to the founders of Kazaa - one of the bigger P2P networks of this decade.

Either way, whether Rdio sinks or swims will ultimately depend on its usability and its catalogue. If the team can get those things right, then Rdio will start with a considerable advantage over many of its competitors.

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Tags: Audio Music Rdio Skype Joost Kazaa

First Rdio screenshots appear originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:40:18 +0000

eBay's Skype has reached a settlement with Joltid over a breach of license that will now see the sale of the VoIP firm go through without litigation hassles.

Joltid Ltd, a Swedish firm owned by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, had claimed peer-to-peer technology owned by Joltid, and not eBay, was being used in a breach of license with every download of the Skype software.

It's now been announced that the investor group led by Silver Lake, which is to acquire a majority stake in Skype, has reached a settlement agreement with Joltid and Joost that gives Skype ownership over all software previously licensed from Joltid.

As part of the settlement, Zennstrom and Friis will join the investor group and the Skype board with a 14% share in exchange for providing Joltid software and a significant capital investment.

This now ends all litigation currently pending against the investor group and eBay.

"We'll be free to concentrate all of our efforts on building the world’s greatest communications software", says Skype in a blog post.

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Tags: Software Biz Skype Lawsuits eBay Joltid

Skype and Joltid settle originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:11:46 +0000

We're not all made of money. Some of us might just be after a cheap phone that works - maybe a second handset or perhaps something to buy as a present. Whatever your need, if it's budget you're after then that's exactly what we're bringing you today from Pocket-lint with the very best in PAYG mobile phones for under ?50.

5) Nokia 6300

It may be as old as the hills but the Nokia 6300 is a a mobile with class. Just a 2-inch QVGA screen on it and a 2-megapixel camera for trickery but it will shoot video and support up to 4GB of memory through a microSD card. The best thing about the 6300 though is the plain look and feel of the thing. It's got a lovely metal casing which not only makes it stylish but also gives it a wealth of protection. You can throw the thing on the floor as many times as you like and it's not going to break. It'd be nice if it had a 3.5mm jack or something to really call you to the handset, but you'll find all those additions at the more expensive end of the Classic range. This is the best from Nokia within the budget and just sneaks in at ?49.95.

4) Samsung B3310

Let's not beat around the bush here. There's nothing special about this phone apart from the QWERTY keyboard, but the fact is that you just don't get these things on phones under ?50 anywhere else. The whole handset is designed as a written communicator for SMS, e-mail and even built-in access to Facebook, MySpace and Photobucket. Elsewhere, there's a 2-inch LCD display, FM radio, and a 2-megapixel camera. The downside is that the only colour it comes in is pink. ?49.90.

3) Samsung U600

You have to look for small mercies in the budget phone department. Comparatively speaking the U600 is an imaging handset and otherwise it's its lack of glaring mistakes that raises it above the rest. It's got a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash that will shoot video and a fairly bog standard 2.2-inch QVGA to view your snaps on. That said, get them off the phone and you'll have something worth looking at. There's no 3G - not that you could really use it to much effect on this phone - nor is there a 3.5mm jack, which you could, but it's quad-band, stylish and certainly offers bang for one's buck. ?34.95 and not a hint of regret.

2) Skype Phone S2

Sexy this handset ain't, but beneath the plain Jane exterior lies just about the best budget phone you'll find. It measures in at 103 x 45 x 14mm, has a 2.2-inch QVGA screen, a 1150mAh battery, 50MB of on-board memory backed up by a microSD card slot that supports up to 4GB and both HSDPA speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and a mighty 3.2-megapixel camera. The real selling point of the S2 though is that it gives you free Skype to Skype voice calls and chat forever. As in, life. At no data cost at all. Know enough people on Skype, make a lot of calls overseas and this one will pay for itself in a matter of weeks. ?49.99

1) LG Cookie KP500

5 million consumers world wide can't be wrong, or at least if they are you'll have a very large support network. The Cookie has offered touchscreen technology to the masses with the KP500 and a nice chunky 3-inch display to watch videos on too. At 13.9mm slim, this 89 gram handset has an "intuitive" Active Flash user interface with haptic feedback and comes with a built-in stylus. The UI gives you widget control plus there's also a 3-megapixel camera, a MP3 player, FM radio, calendar, clock and motion sensing games too. What keeps it different to the big boys is that there's no Wi-Fi, no push e-mail, no 3.5mm jack and no GPS. Otherwise, it's about as smart as a feature phone can get. Very good indeed for ?49.90.

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Related links:

• Buy - Skype phone S2
• Buy - Nokia 6300
• Buy - Samsung B3310
• Buy - Samsung U600
• Buy - LG KP500 Cookie

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Samsung 3G Photos Cameraphones PAYG Samsung U600 LG KP500 Cookie Skype Skypephone S2 3 Nokia Samsung B3310 Nokia 6300 Features

Top 5 PAYG phones for under £50 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:24:37 +0000

If you do a lot of video calls across the Web, you'll be aware that they can be a bit of a pain sometimes. Between lossy connections and flaky webcam drivers, it can be a little tough to get things working how you want them to.

Asus is trying to simplify that process with its Eee Videophone, which also seems to go by the name of the AiGuru SV1T Skype Videophone. It has a 7-inch touchscreen interface and lets you use Skype to make unlimited free video calls to other Skype users. You can also make voice calls if you buy Skype credit.

The Videophone is available now, and costs ?240.

Tags: Hardware Asus Skype Video conferencing Videophones Asus Eee Videophone Photos

PHOTOS: Asus Eee Videophone Touch originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:41:23 +0100

Lenovo and Skype have announced a new partnership agreement that will see Skype for Windows software preloaded on "millions" of computers.

From now on, every ThinkPad laptop and ThinkCentre desktop PC distributed worldwide will include Skype software.

In a blog post Skype says: "If you buy a ThinkPad or ThinkCentre, you'll be able to get up and running with Skype quickly and easily by locating the Skype icon in the Start menu".

Bloatware or a useful pre-load that will save you time downloading the software? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below...

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Tags: Hardware Lenovo Skype Software Desktop PCs Laptops VoIP Phones

Lenovo to pre-load Skype on "millions" of PCs originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:04:54 +0100