ooVoo

Webcams offer a better chat experience, but most instant messengers have their limitations in this regard. You may be able to start a conference using traditional messengers, but it is a different matter if webcams are involved. ooVoo incorporates most functions that you would expect from a modern day messenger, but it also comes with its own unique features, to enhance your chat experience. The first thing you should know about ooVoo is the fact that it lets you create a video chat room. In other words, everyone who joins your chat room will be able to see each other in real time, if they have webcams.

It takes about one minute to install ooVoo on a modern day computer. It is supported by various operating systems, like Windows, Mac OS X, Android and iOS and you can chat with your friends, even if you are using different platforms.

Creating an ooVoo account does not take long. Instead of filling in countless fields on a web page and waiting for a confirmation e-mail, you just need to provide a few details on the application's interface and click a button to log in with your new account. Alternatively, you can sign into ooVoo using your Facebook account.

The interface is similar to other instant messengers, but ooVoo's functionality is a bit different. You can add friends to your contacts list much easier, thanks to the application's various options. When adding other ooVoo users, there is no need to insert a person's exact ID. The software places a search engine at your disposal, with different filters, like country, city, gender, age and others. It is also possible to import contacts from Facebook, Twitter, other IM applications, like Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, AIM or ICQ and e-mail services, such as Gmail, Hotmail and MS Outlook.

Added contacts can be filtered to show only ooVoo or Facebook users. If you connect with your Facebook account, your friends will appear on ooVoo's contacts list immediately. The chat window has an elegant design and it provides both traditional and new types of options. You can extend this window to reveal your contacts in a collapsible structure and invite them to chat. File transfers and video calls are done on separate windows. When you drag and drop your files on the application's interface, they are not sent immediately, because you can add multiple recipients.

When you make a video call, the software displays both webcam feeds, side by side, on a larger window. This is where you will notice ooVoo's true potential. It supports up to 12 simultaneous feeds (including yourself), on the same window. You can select contacts or phone numbers to invite people to join your chat room. When they join, they will see the same window, with the same feeds. ooVoo makes it possible to send video messages as well. You can record yourself on a separate window and add multiple destinations, like contacts, e-mail addresses or even YouTube.