Video Calling in Android 2.3.4… When You Can Get It

Here’s a potential incentive to upgrade to the latest and greatest version of Android on your handset (manufacturer or third party ROM availability permitting of course).

Whilst video calling isn’t a new invention by any means with many first generation 3G phones offering choppy (and expensive) video calling we are starting to see it make a little bit of a comeback with the likes of Skype and Apple offering video chat on the iPhone 4. Not to be outdone, Google has enabled the use of video calling in its Google Talk application on Android. Video calls can be made over both Wi-Fi and 3G (are you listening, Apple?) and you can initiate a video call by tapping the video button next to a contact in your Google Talk list.

Personally, I wouldn’t use video calling all the time but it would be handy for when someone wants to show you something live when photos or words might not do any justice.

The only drawback is that 2.3.4 might be a while away in arriving on existing Android devices. Samsung, in particular, has been very slow in releasing updates for their phones and whilst they have arrived it is very slow compared to how quickly Google rolls out updates for the Nexus S. This is an area that Google really needs to address in the medium to long term if they are serious about preventing platform fragmentation and protecting customers from security vulnerabilities.

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