A company is bringing a new twist to the rise of online video communications: TokBox. TokBox is a dead simple way to video communicate with one another, no downloads necessary. The offer is threefold: Instant videochat, video email, and video conference . The user interface is really user-friendly, and the team has developed a few tools to help you get in the loop.
The company was founded by Ron Hose and Serge Faguet in 2007. The idea of TokBox grew out of a personal need to create a richer way to communicate with friends and family. TokBox is different because you can start a face-to-face discussion in a single click, no downloads necessary. You will find a friend finder on the site to see who of the people you know are already using the service (and invite those you wish to interact with). For the socially outwarded, TokBox offers a ‘Meet New People’ feature. In this area, you get to call anyone who checked the ‘I’m available for calls’ at the top of the page.
TokBox’s technology creates a unique URL for each discussion. Say you want to create an improvised conference call, simply open a conference call page, copy the URL of the page, and send it via Twitter, email, or IM. The no-download factor is definitely a gate-opener in the case of TokBox. It takes down the barrier of: searching for a software, downloading it, installing it and setting it up (think Skype). Organizing a conference call for example is not that easy when none of the participants share the same video conf software.
The Founder of TokBox defines his product as a communication tool rather than a Web 2.0 software. TokBox is a private communication environment. TokBox is better to stay in touch with friends, family, and to handle professional videocalls. While no business model has been officially adopted, TokBox looks at the customer service market as a profitable outlet for the company.
One last thing I should mention about TokBox is the video quality. The video quality is the best of all the video chat systems out there: the image is cleaner, pixel-less. The purpose of video chatting instead of phone calling is to add facial expressions in the communication mix. Up until TokBox, video chat services have been doing a lousy job at providing a great video quality. TokBox doesn’t make video chatting easier, it also makes it better.
Read more:
Adobe Air app for TokBox – Today’s Review
#1 reason why I love Tokbox – Fan on Flickr
Video Calling Integrated into Facebook Chat – Hit Search
Dear World-wide Fan Base: Thanks! – TokBox blog