[peter9477]

Whoever said technology doesn't help bring people together hasn't used Video Chat on Christmas morning between three families with cousins who live over an hour apart, and also some grandparents wintering in Florida.

Phone calls are old, and cold, compared to the personal feeling you get with video chat, whether it's up close and into your nephew's nostrils because he doesn't know how to hold the tablet right yet :-), or being able to see a 360 view around your parents' mobile home in the warm south as they sit in T-shirts and enjoy the morning sun.

[Bob31464]

Does the video chat work only with the PB? I hope you don't mind me asking, I'm new to the PB and trying to find out how everything works, but loving it!!! Thanks.

[lnichols]

Whoever said technology doesn't help bring people together hasn't used Video Chat on Christmas morning between three families with cousins who live over an hour apart, and also some grandparents wintering in Florida.

Phone calls are old, and cold, compared to the personal feeling you get with video chat, whether it's up close and into your nephew's nostrils because he doesn't know how to hold the tablet right yet :-), or being able to see a 360 view around your parents' mobile home in the warm south as they sit in T-shirts and enjoy the morning sun.

And a widely used, cross platform app, like maybe Skype, to do this would be the best solution. Had to put down my Playbook, go up to my bedroom to use my Macbook Pro to chat with my parent's this morning via Skype on their Windows PC. Dad got an iPad2 for Christmas from my mom so he will be loading Skype on that later today. My sister talks to them via Skype also from their windows PC. So a Skype app for Playbook that can communicate with Skype apps available for a wide range of platforms would be much better than buying a Playbook for every household I want to video chat with with the proprietary Playbook video app.

[kbz1960]

I don't see why skype is so popular unless you're making international calls. Most of the IM apps have video and have for a long time. Of course none of them for the playbook yet.

[EWY]

Both MSN and Yahoo IM could do Video Chat. Too bad Playbook does not support either one.

[kbz1960]

Yep, if they build it, will it come?

[slalom]

i would prefer an interoperable system like kik for im so that all platforms can communicate

[kbz1960]

Yep one of those would work too.

[mccs]

My two cents: Skype is so popular because it's almost ubiquitous across all platforms -- EXCEPT the Playbook (so far)!

I have a Mac, a netbook, my iPod Touch and a Nokia n8 that all have Skype. My parents Skype on their two PCs. My adult daughter uses it on her Android phone; my two younger kids Skype through the Mac at home. blah, blah, blah.

Point is, it doesn't matter the platform the individuals use, we all have a common service to video chat and Skype is that service.

Heck, I watch news organizations (CNN, BBC, Aljezzera, etc.) use Skype to conduct live, on-air video interviews with folks around the world...

If RIM brings Skype to the Playbook by February and you'll have some happy folks.

[andgee]

As long as the Video Chat works for all the major devices as well as the playbook ie the ipad/ipods, PC/ac's, androids etc.

I know there is reelportal ReelPortal Video Chat - Home but it means asking people to use a service they are unfamliar with rather than one they use or have at least come across.

With the playbook having such a low userbase in most countries how likely is it your friend or relative will have the service? Now if they had made a special pc/mac version of the playbook videochat app and gave every user say two free liscences to use or distribute to a friend or family member with more they could purchase for a small fee?

[peter9477]

Jeez, what a bunch of grinches, scrooges, haters and downers.

To those of you who felt compelled to jump into this thread just to whine and complain: you suck. Go eat some Christmas sweets and make yourself feel happy.

Spoil sports.

[ciabo]

i was wondering, in the videochat app u can only videochat playboom to playbook right?

[BBBrooklynFAN]

Why wouldn't anyone prefer a communications service with 850,000 users over one with 663 million users?

[Trevante]

Jeez, what a bunch of grinches, scrooges, haters and downers.

To those of you who felt compelled to jump into this thread just to whine and complain: you suck. Go eat some Christmas sweets and make yourself feel happy.

Spoil sports.

No one was trying to be a "grinch, scrooge, hater, or downer", they were just pointing out the fact that the Video Chat app on the PlayBook only works on the PlayBook and nothing else. Unless your friends have a PlayBook, you won't be able to use that app. Most people do not have a PlayBook, they have an Android or iOS phone/tablet or a PC/laptop, and the PlayBook's Video Chat doesn't work with any of those. It looks like a pretty civil discussion, no need to catch feelings over it. They were just saying something like Skype, Yahoo, MSN, and other similar services would work better since they have much better cross platform support.

[andgee]

Jeez, what a bunch of grinches, scrooges, haters and downers.

To those of you who felt compelled to jump into this thread just to whine and complain: you suck. Go eat some Christmas sweets and make yourself feel happy.

Spoil sports.

Maybe we care if the Playbook and Rim do well and are trying to feedback what it seems from this and many other threads on here and elsewhere show that one of the things killing the playbook is the lack of a Videochat application which we can spread Christmas Cheer with our Families and Friends

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind and Rim need people to help them not smile and pass them sweets

Have a happy Christmas Peter

[Mike_Luchia]

Maybe we care if the Playbook and Rim do well and are trying to feedback what it seems from this and many other threads on here and elsewhere show that one of the things killing the playbook is the lack of a Videochat application which we can spread Christmas Cheer with our Families and Friends

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind and Rim need people to help them not smile and pass them sweets

Have a happy Christmas Peter

I think you made his point for him. Yes other thread contributors have "felt the need" to point out the shortcomings of the PlayBook but THIS thread was from somebody who just got a PlayBook, loved video chatting with family and is enjoying it.

You can't swing a cat in a thread without somebody feeling the need to take over the thread for their own agenda. Yes Video Chat is only PlayBook to PlayBook. The originator of this thread is doing just that, chatting with other PlayBook owners in his family.

Trust me, people do read the "other threads" that you refer to so it's pretty much common knowledge that the PlayBook has problems, but then again so do the other tablets out there, even Apple.

I wish the forums were covered by the Opps a bit more. To the originator of this thread, I"m with you. While I haven't used Video Chat yet, It's still a great device even WITHOUT Skype. If I'm desperate for a video chat on Skype, I have my laptop.

Try being stuck at work on Christmas day away from family and perhaps you will see that they fact that the PlayBook doesn't have Skype chat is really not a big deal, even the 1000th time it has to be brought up.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Mike

[deswayze]

I'm with the originator of the thread on the wonder of video chat on the Playbook. This morning my seven year old son used it to compare notes on toys from Santa with his 4 year old cousin two hours away and we were able to wish my 96 year old grandmother Merry Christmas. I often think of the amazing advancements she has seen in her life. She was born in Southern Italy where even a phone was rare. After she moved to Canada she first learned of the death of her only sister by letter, weeks after it happened. Now she can look at a flat 7" tablet and can see and speak to her great grandchildren in real time for free, anywhere in the world.

Later, I talked my Dad through how to use it Video Chat on his new Playbook and my son showed his grandparents what he got for Christmas.

My guess is that RIM has big plans for this app. When the new Blackberry 10 phones come out next year I expect to see video chat standard and perhaps integration with BBM. Let's not forget that the Apple IPad and IPhone have Facetime which is proprietary so I fully expect RIM to come up with something even better. The lack of Skype is not RIM's fault - it's Skype that refuses to build the app. So complain to Skype. In the meantime enjoy Video Chat and Season's Greetings to all of you.

[tekki]

which video chat app did you use and how was its performance? Merry Christmas

[conix67]

I have Beta 2.0 and the video chat is gone. Anyone know how to load it?

I'd like to see these things somehow inter operate with each other. I use facebook a lot and if PB video chat works with facebook, that would be awesome. I hope they establish some standard soon.

[lynntarbox]

And a widely used, cross platform app, like maybe Skype, to do this would be the best solution. Had to put down my Playbook, go up to my bedroom to use my Macbook Pro to chat with my parent's this morning via Skype on their Windows PC. Dad got an iPad2 for Christmas from my mom so he will be loading Skype on that later today. My sister talks to them via Skype also from their windows PC. So a Skype app for Playbook that can communicate with Skype apps available for a wide range of platforms would be much better than buying a Playbook for every household I want to video chat with with the proprietary Playbook video app.

yep. part of my xmas was definitely using skype and facetime for iOS. most people i know use one of these at least. no one else in my extended family has a playbook.

[lynntarbox]

My son is too sick to go to grandmas house. So we left him home with his mom's PB. I took my PB with me. We vid chatted with him so all the relatives could comment on how sick he looked. They all wanted to know about and try out the PB. Mostly Apple cult members them.

Vid chat worked perfectly to. clear and smooth.

umm...why would 'apple cult members' care about video chat. they've had facetime forever now.

[JeffyPooh]

We PB Video Chatted to Europe and Ontario today. It works well, even over 1Mbps connections. it's extremely easy to use, just need the other's e-mail address to link up.

By way of comparison to other ecosystems, Apple Facetime only works with Apple Facetime, and only on the latest Apple devices. PB Video Chat is similarly a closed network, just like Facetime.

Skype's stated policy is to be on as many platforms as possible. So they should have a PB app sooner or later. But I'd rather get a Yahoo video chatting app first.

[jonno_atamaniuk]

I got my playbook Christmas Eve (last night) and got to try out the video chat to coordinate with my dad as to when he'll be picking me up to head out to Kitchener for the extended family shindigs on boxing day. I've got a cleaner and faster connection than him (fiber optic in Southern Ontario versus basic DSL for him) but the chat had NO lag whatsoever - far better than skype to be honest in both audio quality and video quality - and even in low light we could see each other quite clearly. While I really do wanna see a Skype app some time soon and make good use of my skype subscriptions from the playbook, I'm happy to make use of this great quality video chat program for the time being.

[Unsure2]

I've beeen ablto get Skype to work where no other voip program would. QNX is probably the only OS in existence without Skype.

[rvision]

official skypes never been available on any rim platform, thats not likely to change and skype also announced they have no interest in developing for the playbook due to the small demand. if skype comes it will be via android but whether rim allow this is another thing alltogether... rim are worried about allowng other messaging platforms on their devices as bbm is the only jewel that have left. look how long it to im+ to arrive on pb, funnily enough missing video, my guess is they negociated that out since bbm2 on bb10 will be some kind of video chat hybrid between all rim devices. but if bb10 is delived to playbook deadlines that wont be arriving till summer 2020.

to the originator, happy you had a nice vc with your family, great to see you getting some use out of it. but was it worth the 1000+bucks you must have spent on pb. id love to use it but i dont no a single sole with a pb lol..