Gmail Video Chat - I’ll take that to go please!

Google just launched Video Chat for Gmail… Leave it to Google to be the first webmail service to incorporate video!  Basically, you can now use both video and voice within Gmail to have actual face-to-face conversations with friends, family members, business associates, clients, teachers or anyone else — For FREE!

All you need to do to use Gmail Video Chat is: 

Download the Gmail voice and video chat plug-in from within your Gmail account
Or access an installation link at Gmail.com/videochat
Quit all open browser windows, and install the plug-in
Sign in to Gmail

In the Chat section of your Gmail, select the contact you want to call. If they have a camera icon next to their name, you can make a voice or video call to them; just click Video & more. If your friend doesn’t have a camera next to their name in your chat list, you can invite them to download the Gmail voice and video chat plug-in from the Video & more menu in a chat window. Even if your friend doesn’t have a video camera, you can still make a voice call or a 1-way video call!  The plug-in requires an Intel-based computer running Mac OS X or a computer running Windows XP or Vista, a Webcam, and/or a microphone. 

Think of the possibilities of this application…  Companies can start shaving bucks off their travel budgets by having more free gmail video chats… and less face-to-face meetings…  Moms and dads can say a “live” hello to their little ones when they are on the road… or even in the middle of the day for no reason at all… Students and anyone else looking to save money on their phone bills can use the service a la Skype …Professional service providers of every variety can explode their productivity by cutting out their commutes and scheduling their clients back to back to back!  Psychics, tutors, coaches, consultants, the list goes on and on…

And now, a word from our Sponsor, Google…about gmail video chat….. 

Hey Serge… will Gmail video chat will work equally well from a mobile device? That would be super sweet! If not today, I bet it won’t be a long-time coming!  Good Google News!