Video call apps which are great for keeping in touch between friends and clients during coronavirus outbreak

Zoom

For Video call apps I use like Zoom mainly for business meetings and when we hold networking groups.

Zoom, the video-conferencing app that has seen a huge rise in downloads since quarantines were imposed around the world, is now being used by millions for work and social gatherings.

This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a picture of himself chairing a Cabinet meeting via the app.

Zoom Chat

Integrated persistent messaging streamlines workspace collaboration across the desktop and mobile clients.

Create private or public groups
Share files and search content
Seamlessly start a meeting

Pros: I find it great for multiple person conferencing (the pro version costs but you will not need if you can keep meetings under 40mins).

Cons: I found multiple person conferencing harder than Zoom.

Link: www.zoom.us

Skype

Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice one-to-one and group calls, send instant messages and share files with other people on Skype. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you – on your mobile, computer or tablet.

Skype is free to download and easy to use.

If you pay a little, you can do more – like call phones and send SMS. You can pay as you go or buy a subscription, whatever works for you. And in the world of business, this means you can bring your entire ecosystem of workers, partners and customers together to get things done.

Try Skype today and start adding your friends, family and colleagues. They won’t be hard to find; hundreds of millions of people are already using Skype to do all sorts of things together.

Pros: I find it great for keeping in touch with individual clients and the chat part works really well.

Cons: I found multiple person conferencing harder than Zoom.

Link: www.skype.com

WhatsApp is a free app for iPhones, Android smartphones, Windows Phone and Mac laptops and Windows PC.

It allows you to send messages, pictures, videos and even voice recordings, as well as make voice and video calls over the internet for free, rather than using your mobile network which costs you money. iPhone owners can do this already with other iPhones, iPads and Mac computers using iMessage and FaceTime but this is ideal if you want to communicate with someone who has an Android smartphone or vice versa. It’s worth noting if you’re not connected to wi-fi, WhatsApp uses your mobile data connection. As a guide, a 10-minute video call uses 5MB of mobile data.

Video callling is as easy as making a normal phone call.

Google Hangouts

Live stream events for a Google Hangouts Meet.

Live stream allows the Meet organizer to broadcast a virtual meeting to a larger audience without inviting them to be participants on the Meet itself. Perfect solution for virtual synchronous teaching requirements during the current COVID19 disruptions.

Great for streaming video on your webpage.