Skype rolled out its version 5.8 software update for Windows users today, and it brings with it a couple of fairly notable features. That includes full HD video calling (provided you have a suitable webcam and internet connection, of course), video calling to Facebook users (regardless of whether they have Skype installed or not), and group screen sharing, which will let folks share either their entire desktop or a single application with other participants on a conference call. That last feature is only available with Skype Premium, though. Other new features include a "push to talk" option that will let you set up a hotkey to trigger your microphone (for multiplayer gaming, for instance), the ability to hide offline Facebook contacts, and one possible fruit of the Microsoft acquisition: Bing toolbar integration.Skype rolls out update for Windows with full HD video calling, group screen sharing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Who doesn't love a little bit of old fashioned synergy? Speaking to a Microsoft representative in the Microsoft CES booth holding a Microsoft microphone, VP of products for Microsoft-owned Skype, Rick Osterloh, made mention of the VoIP service's plans to make its way onto Microsoft's mobile operating system. Says Osterloh, "We're [...] working on a Windows Phone product that will be coming out soon." We've definitely heard that noise before.
Skype's Mac Beta software was anointed with another update this morning, adding an "improved" user interface and new voice call support. With version 5.5, users will be able to accept incoming calls with or without video, while taking advantage of the program's streamlined layout, which has apparently made it easier for them to mute, transmit videos, share screens and add others on to their calls. Skype is currently asking for feedback on the new build, so if you wanna give it a spin for yourself, check out the source link below.
At Panasonic's press event here at CES 2012, the company announced and briefly showed off a device it called a Skype tablet, then promptly whisked it away before we could get our hands on it. Well, we swung by the Panny booth to see it up close and some more info on the thing. As you can see in the gallery below, it's got what appears to be a webcam and a 7-inch LCD on the front, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD slot round back. Unfortunately, our attempts to gather more info about the device were rebuffed, but feel free to peek at our pictures and pontificate on what lies beneath its silver facade.
Warpia is showing off its latest wireless streamer on the CES showfloor with the ConnectHD, mating your HDTV with your computer for all of your wireless video needs. We had a chance to see for ourselves how Skyping from your couch feels. The ConnectHD features a 720p wide-angle wireless HD camera for video calls made directly with your HDTV, via apps like the aforementioned Skype. However, the main sell from Warpia is the wireless streaming of content from your computer to your HDTV through mirroring your computer desktop or by extending your desktop onto your HDTV. The Warpia ConnectHD through the use of the camera allows you to play PC Webcam games, because those are incredibly popular.
If you build it, they will come; so the saying goes. And robotics-loving Mindstorms NXT-enthusiast Leon built it. What exactly? Well, a car. But not just any old brick-mobile, one you -- yes you -- at home can control via Skype. How does one conjure up such sorcery? By training a light sensor on a laptop screen, for receiving Skype calls, a soup
No one is more pleased than us that Sony has finally seen the light and somehow found a way to condense last year's lineup of 27 TVs to only ten new models for 2012, all due in Q1 2012. All of which fit into either the BX, EX or HX line. We'll start at the top with HX. It is broken up into the HX850 or HX750, both available in 46 or 55-inches. All the HX models are Skype ready (optional CMU-BR100 camera and microphone) include Track ID, have built-in WiFi and provide access to the Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) as well as apps like Netflix and Hulu Plus. The key different between the 750 and the 850 is frameless Monolithic design and Motionflow XR 960 vs the 480 Motionflow flavor on the 750. The EX640 also has Motionflow, but the 240 type, and instead of having built-in WiFi like the HX, there's a dongle in the box. SEN is available on the both the 40, 46 and 55-inch EX640, but no other apps are. Rounding out the lineup on the lower end is the BX450 CCFL back-lit available in 40 and 46-inches and finally the BX330, only available in 32-inches. The complete press release is available after the break, but don't bother looking for any prices, because they aren't there.
If you've tasked Sammy with stalking your progeny and your house, what's another camera ontop of your TV? Samsung's inTouch is just that, running a skinned version of Android 2.3, replete with WiFi and a 3 megapixel camera. The combination of which enables apps like Skype, YouTube, and a web browser to be fed to your boob tube. Controlled by a QWERTY remote, it'll be yours for $199 come March. For those interested, we've embedded PR after the break.
About six months after we first heard Comcast would release a Skype webcam built for its cable boxes Wireless Goodness has uncovered the FCC filing for just such a unit. There's no pictures of the device itself, but scans from the manual and the diagram above give a good idea of the experience available, including the ability to have video as an overlay on top of TV content, or as a picture-in-picture. Video and audio calls are both possible, as well as instant messaging, and while the Xfinity-branded camera itself clips onto your flat-panel, a small adapter hooks into the set-top box. There's no word whether or not we'll see this accessory on display at CES, but the timing certainly lends itself to the possibility.
Video calling is leaving the PC behind and increasingly looking for a home in people's living rooms. Tely Labs is just the latest company to hop on that trend, but it's scored a powerful partner in Skype. The TelyHD TV Phone system doesn't look too dissimilar from a Kinect, but underneath its glossy plastic shell is an HD webcam and a Tegra 2 pushing a customized version of Android. The company promises other apps are in the works, but the star of the show is clearly Skype, which hopes to deliver HD-quality video calls wherever there's a TV (or a phone, or a computer). The TelyHD is available now for $250, check out the complete PR after the break.
