Why this feature developed?
Zuckerberg is a big believer in VoIP, and it was noted saying he believes that high-quality VoIP audio replace our idea of traditional telephone services. Video calling is just a way to speed up this process. The social media giant has been in cahoots with Skype since 2011 when he presented his appeal desktop program. Over time, Facebook has developed a voice calling service for its users. And last week, the company launched its new video chat feature to Messenger application, the fight against other video chat options like Skype, Google Hangouts and FaceTime (for iOS users), which seem to gain popularity. In fact, Facebook claims more than 1 million video calls were placed in the first two days of starting the function.
What makes this so special new feature?
To see what all the hype was about, we decided to test the video call feature to ourselves. Here's the breakdown:
Price
Make a video call via Facebook is a free feature for its users. That said, you will either be connected to a Wi-Fi or data network via your smartphone to work. Although Facebook does not charge you, users can see an increase in their cell phone bill if they choose to use their data - depending on the data plan you have with your cell phone provider. If you have a limited data plan, it is probably best that you only use this feature through a Wi-Fi because it can cause you to go over your allotted data that can cost you a hefty fee.
How to call
Facebook is extremely simple video calls. You can open an existing discussion and click on the camera icon in the top right corner or select the phone icon from the home of the Messaging application screen. While the video icon will immediately start a video call, the phone icon will start a VoIP call, where you can select the camera icon to start the video. Be warned - the video chat will start in selfie mode, so be ready to be immediately face to face with your friend or family member. If you choose, you can also change the camera view so you can show your audience what you are watching.
If you intend to use this function, it is best to find a place to make your video call where you know that the Internet connection will be decently strong, reliable, meaning that he won "t cut randomly without warning, or you can choose to use the data from your phone. Facebook adjust the quality of the call according to the Internet or force data. the if necessary, users can choose to spend only audio momentarily while the internet is increasing, and if he will suddenly, Facebook will inform the user that their video call will resume once the connection returns.
call quality and functions
once we launched the call and the recipient accepted, we could see and hear them immediately. We were impressed by the sound quality of the call, we could hear everything that the appellant was said (and they reported the same experience). Unfortunately, the video was not as impressive. Although both of us were connected to broadband Internet, the video shifted slightly from time to time. Throughout the duration of our five minute call, which occurred once comprehensively call quality was not bad.
In terms of features, video calls via the Messenger application is somewhat lacking. Although it toggles the view of the camera in the front and back of your unit, switch and switch off the video aspect of the appeal, it does not provide more advanced features, such the caller group video. That said, for a free option of video chat features are pretty standard.
Bottom line
It seems that a traditional voice call is becoming a thing of the past, and as a pillar in the technology game garde, Facebook to keep up with the latest and greatest. Although the quality of the video quality is not perfect, the overall video calling experience was enjoyable. Hopefully, improvements will be made to improve the quality all around.
While being able to video chat with family and friends through Facebook is nice, users should also be skeptical about the functionality in terms of privacy. They must ensure that they do not share personal information using the video call feature, as they do with sending messages via the application. Remember that at the end of the day, you can not be completely sure what the company is doing with any information you share in a video chat or the site in general.