New York — Merely days after Microsoft made the biggest gamble in its 36-year history–paying $8.5 billion for Skype — AOL Inc. has decided to dip its toe in the online video chat world with AOL AV, rolled out the first version of a free video chat service for its AIM instant messenger over the weekend that does not require users to log in or download any software.
It seems to be a very long time that AOL’s AIM was the go-to service for instant communication with friends, family and peers. In essence, it was the great form of text messaging before cell phones automatically offered this capability.
Interestingly, the recently released AOL’s AV video chat, which relies on Adobe Flash, but does not require any sign-in or download, can handle up to four people at once — and its free too.
Users just get their own personal chat link from AOL AV, and distribute it around to the people they want to chat with, and presto! Instant video conference. Once a friend with a webcam clicks on that link, a chat window pops up on the screen and shows live video of the user who started chat session.
Jason Shellen, a leader of the AIM team, said the service was conceived as a way to have quick, easy video chats. Although there are a plethora of other voice and video chat offerings available for computers and smartphones, there are few that offer the capability without a login or software download.
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To begin using the service, you simply go to the website: www.aim.com/av, where you say, truthfully or not, that you are over the age of 13. From there, the site provides a link that you can distribute to up to three other people that you would like to invite to chat, and poof, you are done.
Furthermore, AOL AV can handle video chats with up to three people at once, and the originator of a chat can both invite and remove other people. The system supports audio and video, along with text-based chat for easy sharing of links and other material. Also, the service requires zero software downloads or special logins. Participants are only required to have a webcam and microphone.
According to Shellen, AV presents several unique features including the ability for users to type messages while chatting and remove others from that chat (in case you are feeling extra exclusive), and a “Group Shot,” which allows users to take a photo of everyone in the chat at once — just in case you want to document your session, of course.
AOL AV relies on Adobe System’s Inc.’s Flash 10.3, which means it only supports relatively recent browsers (Safari 5, Mozilla Firefox 3+, Chrome 9+, Internet Explorer 7+), which means the new service will not work on an iPad or iPhone. AOL says it is looking into making mobile versions of AOL AV, and plans to add additional features to the service in the coming weeks.
Shellen said his team is exploring the ability of making the service available for other platforms and as a mobile app.
And if it becomes a hit, then no surprise that AV will likely prove to be a competitor for other video-only chat services, like Tinychat, Stickam, and the infamous Chatroulette.