Chat and e-mail

Editors' note: This post was updated August 2, 2011, to reflect that the app is now publicly available.

Skype for iPad got off to a rocky start. It was meant to be available in the App Store in June, languished until August 1, was introduced, pullled for a few hours, and then, finally, settled in. Here's our original hands-on review from June; we'll continue using the app now that the final version is in.

The new iPad-optimized Skype client takes advantage of the tablet's larger screen real estate, making for crisp and clear video chat over Wi-Fi, … Read more

Update: CNET has a hands-on with the upcoming software, which you can check out over here.

Skype jumped the gun today by posting a video of its yet-to-be-released iPad application to its YouTube channel before quickly setting it to private. The software is not due in the App Store until next Tuesday.

A reader of Razorianfly managed to record the video while it was still up, and repost it to YouTube. We've embedded it below.

The video demos the application's video chat capabilities, which rival that of Apple's built-in FaceTime service with a window for both the person you're chatting with, and one to view yourself in. Also included is standard phone dialing and integrated text-chat, the latter of which can be used during a video chat.

Skype's had an application available for Apple's iPhone since March of 2009, though it only added two-way video calling a few months ago. When Apple added dual cameras to the iPad 2, it seemed inevitable that Skype would eventually bring its application over to that platform to make use of the extra hardware. … Read more

Heads up, Skype.

Shortly after releasing software for audio and video chat as an open-source project called WebRTC as open-source software, Google is beginning to build it into its Chrome browser.

The real-time chat software originated from Google's 2010 acquisition of Global IP Solutions (GIPS), a company specializing in Internet telephony and videoconferencing.

The obvious beneficiary for the project is Gmail, whose audio and video communications ability today requires use of a proprietary plug-in. Gmail chat is getting more important as Google's VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) efforts mature and integrate with the Google Voice service.

But Google … Read more

Skype is down for the second time in a matter of a couple of weeks, the VoIP service provider confirmed on its Twitter account this morning, saying it is working to address the issue.

"A small number of you may have problems signing in to Skype," the company wrote on its Twitter page today. "We're investigating the cause, and hope to have more details to share soon."

Skype users on Twitter aren't so sure it's just a "small number" who've been affected. One user wrote that he and "all … Read more

Your Gmail inbox will soon become a list-maker.

Over the next two weeks, Google is rolling out a new feature to its Gmail users, a "people widget" that tidily aggregates the content you share with your contacts.

Stashed away on the right side of the screen, the people widget will list the messages, phone calls, and chats between you and a contact. You'll also get a glance at e-mails, shared Calendar activities and Google Docs, and Google Buzz updates. You should be able to click an item to interact with the entry.

The widget also provides quick … Read more

Skype was down for some users this morning, but the VoIP provider fix seems to have quickly set things straight.

Around 5:00 a.m. PT this morning, Skype posted to its Twitter account that "some" of its users were having trouble signing in to the service and placing calls. The company didn't say what was causing the trouble. An hour later, Skype updated its Twitter account to inform users that it had discovered the issue and would roll out a solution as quickly as possible.

That fix, which the company posted to its blog shortly thereafter, … Read more

Google has shut down the ability to use Gmail with Chrome while not connected to the network, the last vestige of an older approach to offline Google Apps and Google Docs that the company is replacing.

To enable the offline feature, Google had been using a browser plug-in called Gears that could store data on a person's computer then sync with the Gmail server once a connection was re-established. Google phased out Gears, though, and yesterday was the last day offline Gmail worked with Chrome, which had Gears built in.

"As we move the Gmail Offline capability to … Read more

Last night, Yahoo announced the update for the Yahoo Messenger app to work with the iPad, adding voice and video calling for iPad 2 owners, a sleek new iPad-optimized interface, and improved spam management that lets you block one or all add requests from a single view.

Yahoo Messenger (Universal) had already been available on the iPhone and iPod Touch since April 2009. But with this Universal update, iPad users will no longer have to use the unoptimized iPhone client on their larger iPad screens.

No longer just for instant messages, Yahoo Messenger lets you share photos and videos, make … Read more

Trillian, the popular multiple-personality IM client, recently upgraded to version 5, giving it a refreshed interface, improved social integration, and, get this, all of the Pro features from previous versions, all for free. Now every user can enjoy themes, activity history viewer, and multiple location sign-in, along with the newly developed continuous client feature, which keeps chats synced across all devices. For now, these upgrades have only hit the Windows client (download) and the now free Android app (download). Mac, iOS, and Blackberry are all on deck.

While the idea of free is nice, as we all know, nothing ever … Read more