We just got word about the new video chat app by Yahoo. As we are still loving the Yahoo app ‘Aviate’, which we talked about last year, we couldn’t hold back checking on their latest mobile solution. The new app is called ‘Livetext’ and it combines instant messaging functions from the legacy chat app along with the new silent video conferencing feature.
Some of you might think, okay why not just go for a normal video call or voice call? Well you certainly can but Livetext does not seem to attack the video conferencing market as such. It seems more like they wanted to enhance the interpersonal depth of a text-based conversation. People who like classic text chat might have come across the downside of it by missing out emotions that are usually transmitted in visual communication, such as a face to face conversation.
After all it is still fact that 55% of communication is body language, 38% is the tone of voice, and 7% is the actual words spoken, or text in this case. So possibly using the Livetext app, the gap of communication potential and gap in comprehension can be bridged or at least improved a bit.
In an interview with TechCrunch’s Anthony Ha, Arjun Sethi stated the following as reason for excluding voice:
“We took the sound away because we wanted you to use this product in any context, … So that means if you’re at a ballgame, if you’re at a concert, any noisy location or even if you’re commuting to work or going to school. … We wanted to make sure you can have those special Livetexting moments without having to think about where you are.”
– Arjun Sethi, Senior Director of Product Management, Growth and Emerging Products at Yahoo
Video is quite the trend in social media (so says trendspotter Silvia Spiva as well) and seeing the classical chat app developers pursuing to accommodate the fresh new user expectations of video is not a surprise because it is a very good idea. Companies driving the usage of video is also key for carriers to generate demand for more mobile data bandwidth and usage. The recent acquisition of Internet legend AOL by Verizon indicates similar strategies in driving the need for more data volume and speed.
So upgrade your data plan or stay in your Wifi while you are livetexting (oh, maybe thats a thing from now on). The app is free and available on iOS and Android as of now, so just give it a try. Let us know what you think and have a lot fun with it.
YouTube: Livetexting with Yahoo (by TechCrunch)
Photo credit: Yahoo
