This week Twitter announced a new version of its “Who to Follow” feature, making it a far more personal recommendation engine. The way it works, however, is that if you’re logged into Twitter in the web browser, any site that calls Twitter code — like a Tweet or Follow button — can report your presence on that site back to Twitter. Gadget sites. Car sites. Movie sites. Porn sites. Gaming sites. Any. Site.

We determine the people you might enjoy following based on your recent visits to websites in the Twitter ecosystem (sites that have integrated Twitter buttons or widgets). Specifically, our feature works by suggesting people who are frequently followed by other Twitter users that visit the same websites.

The cause for concern here is that it looks like it’s opt-out, and not opt-in for existing Twitter users. New Twitter users will be asked on signup, but existing users have to a) know about it, and b) find it and shut it off if they don’t like it.

Giving existing users a popup or overlay advising them of it would even that out. (Twitter is sending emails that include some of this and other information, but that’s not as effective as a specific modal request, with the default state being off and not on.)

If you trust Twitter and would value more personalized “Who to Follow” recommendations, then you may not care. If you don’t trust any big internet company, aren’t interested in social recommendations, and basically think your personal information is too high a price to pay for any free internet service, then you have some options.

Log out of Twitter.com

If you rarely if ever use Twitter via the website, one way to prevent Twitter from collecting your data is to simply make sure you’re logged out of Twitter.com.

1. Go to Twitter.com in your browser.
2. Tap on the Me tab.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on Log Out.

(As pointed out by @marcedwards, using a good password manager like 1Password, DataVault, RoboForm, etc. makes frequent logins and logouts for privacy reasons far less onerous.)

Opt out of Twitter’s personalized recommendations

Sadly, this method can’t seem to be done via the iPhone-optimized mobile Twitter webapp,so you’ll have to break out the full, desktop browser version of Twitter.com.

1. Go to Twitter.com in your desktop browser.
2. Click on the Account button to open the drop-down menu
3. Click on Settings
4. Scroll down and uncheck the Tailor Twitter based on my recent website visits
5. Re-Enter your password to confirm

Tell your browser not to let web services track you

Twitter supports “Do Not Track”, a system that users can opt into that prevents web services from following their browsing habits. Again, it would be better to have users opt into “Allow Track” than making them figure out how to opt out via “Do Not Track” but this is currently the hand privacy is dealt.

Unfortunately, not all browsers support “Do Not Track” directly yet, including Mobile Safari on iOS. For desktop Safari 5.1 or later:

1. Click on the **Safari* menu
2. Choose Preferences…
3. Check Show Develop menu in menu bar*
4. Click on the Develop menu
5. Choose Send Do Not Track HTTP Header

For information on how to enable “Do Not Track” in other browsers, when and if possible, check out Twitter’s knowledge base article.

• Twitter Supports “Do Not Track”

Here’s the gist:

The United States Federal Trade Commission has endorsed DNT as a simple way for users to inform integrated web services which offer content across the Internet (such as buttons, widgets, and other embedded features) that they do not want certain information about their webpage visits collected across websites when they have not interacted with that service’s content on the page.

The DNT browser setting is now supported by recent versions of major browsers, including Firefox 5+, Internet Explorer 9+, and Safari 5.1+. If you are using Chrome 17.0 or higher, there is a third-party extension that enables DNT.

Conclusion

iPhone users are massive Twitter users and vice versa. If any social network was made for mobile, it was and is Twitter. Because Twitter is so mobile, and because it defaults to making most things public (unless you deliberately make your account private or send a DM), Twitter has managed to avoid a lot of the privacy blunders Facebook and Google had experienced. Until this week.

Security and privacy are always going to be at odds with convenience. It’s faster and easier for social networks to simply turn things on, and it’s more powerful and feature-fancy for users to let them.

The price is our personal information.

There are arguments on more than two sides about the importance of this, but at the end of he day there are millions if not billions of dollars at stake for the networks and the details of personal and private lives at stake for users. So it’s worth arguing about. A lot.

In this specific case, if you’re okay with Twitter offering you recommendations based on your browsing habits, leave it on and enjoy. If not, turn it off and rest easy.

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

I think this is my first ever iBook recommendation here on iPad Insight – but I’ve been reading more and more books on the iPad in iBooks so I guess it’s about time.

I Suck at Girls is by Justin Halpern, the guy who created the massively popular and and always funny @shitmydadsays Twitter account that lead to a book and even a TV series. This book proves that as funny as the Twitter account and Halpern’s dad are, Halpern is a very funny and talented writer who can keep us laughing throughout nearly 300 iBook pages – not just in 140 character chunks.

The book is a hilarious look back at Halpern’s youth and his efforts to find the right girl – from terribly awkward elementary school efforts right through to meeting the woman he ended up married to. Halpern writes with sharp, often self-deprecating humor that had me laughing out loud early, often, and consistently while reading. He reminds me a little of Nick Hornby (author of titles like High Fidelity and Fever Pitch) who is one of my favorite contemporary authors.

(…)
Read the rest of Recommended iBook: I Suck at Girls (by the guy who wrote Sh*t My Dad Says) (209 words)

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iPad Insight

I’ve been using Tom Bihn Ristretto messenger bags for a few years now. When my original was stolen, I promptly bought another. I’ve used them for everything from going to the local coffee shop to going to Macworld and WWDC. 99% of the time, my Tom Bihn Ristretto goes where I go, because it carries most of the stuff I need to do my job.

The only problem I’ve had with the Tom Bihn Ristretto is the front organizer. The models I owned all left it open, barely covered by the flap that secured the two main and single zippered top pockets. That meant, while the pen holders and iPhone compartments were convenient, I couldn’t store anything in them for fear it would fall out.

Now, based on similar feedback, Tom Bihn has redesigned the Ristretto and attempted to make a great messenger bag even better. Did they succeed?

The Ristretto is a vertical messenger bag, available for iPad, 11-inch MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Air or Pro

The Tom Bihn Ristretto comes in 3 sizes, one optimized for the 9.75-inch iPad, one for the 11-inch MacBook Air, and one for the 13-inch MacBook air or 13-inch MacBook Pro. If you only ever want to carry around your iPad, or similar sized tablet device, the smallest of the Ristrettos is a slick, sophisticated option. I need both my iPad and my MacBook with me, so I’ve always gone with the 13-inch Ristretto. That they have options is the important part. You get only exactly the amount of messenger bag you need. (I’ve even used the 13-inch Ristretto to cart around my 15-inch MacBook Pro in a pinch, though it’s not ideal and I wouldn’t recommend anyone trying to get regular use out of that scenario.)

The Ristretto is a vertical messenger, which I far prefer. The outside is made of U.S. 1050 denier ballistic nylon, which Tom Bihn claims has “twice the abrasion resistance of 1680 denier fabric”. After two years of heavy use, my original Tom Bihn looked as good as when I’d bought it.

There’s a pocket on the back of the Ristretto, suitable for some papers or analog reading material — they type you’re forced to endure doing takeoff and landing. It’s open, so don’t put any valuables in there.

A flap folds over the top and buckles to keep the Ristretto closed. It’s a good, strong plastic buckle that holds securely. I did once have one break but after contacting Tom Bihn they sent me an immediate replacement.

The main, laptop pocket is padded, according to their website, with 6mm of open-cell foam laminated with 4 Ply Taslan on the outside, with super-soft brushed tricot inside, and 6mm of closed cell foam on the back. An extra, internal flap folds over to hold everything snug as a bug in a rug. If you buy the proper Ristretto size for your iPad or MacBook Air, the fit is excellent.

The secondary pocket, the one I use for the iPad, doesn’t have the same padding and soft interior, and it’s far roomier than an iPad requires, but it’s the most secure, most convenient place to put it. I’ve occasionally snuck a friend’s Air in their when we travelled together, but I wouldn’t recommend doubling up regularly.

The new Ristretto puts the organizer safely inside the zippered pocket.

The third, zippered pocket on the Tom Bihn used to have the organizer open in front of it, leading to the problems I mentioned above. Now the organizer is back inside the zipper where it belongs, and instead of being a single linear zipper, it’s now a bigger, rounded compartment with a pair of zippers. That’s right — it’s all grown up. It even uses a #8 YKK Uretek splash-proof zipper.

This is where I keep all my secure-ables: MagSafe power adapter, iPad charger (which I use for both iPad and iPhone), USB ethernet adapter, headphones, etc. While my main iPhone 4S is always in my pants or jacket pocket, I do sometimes have my old iPhone 4 in the Ristretto iPhone pocket, if I need it with me for some tests or reviews I’m working on. I also keep extra business cards and Mobile Nations and iMore stickers for serendipitous giveaways. A regular pen (to fill out analog forms like customs declarations) and a stylus (currently the Jot Pro) fill out the compartments.

There’s an O-Ring in the zipper pocket as well, for which Tom Bihn offers a couple of optional extras, including a variety of wallets, pouches, and key holders. I’ve gotten one of the pouches and tried it, but stopped. It didn’t fit my use case.

There's a strong handle on top of the Ristretto and a waist strap to keep it secure for walking or riding.

Regardless of the pocket, the new Tom Bihn Ristretto holds everything securely yet still keeps it readily available. The included waist strap can be used to keep the Ristretto secured for long term walking or riding, and can be positioned high or low on either side. There’s also a strong handle at the top to make it easy to pick up or hold when you have to.

For the shoulder strap, you can choose between the standard and the absolute. The standard is 1.5″ wide and nylon. The absolute is a bigger, thicker, better padded version. I prefer the absolute, especially when I’m spending 12 hours walking during a trade show. It’s an additional charge () but well, well worth it. (Just make sure you change shoulders regularly so you stay Superfunctional.)

For colors, you get your choice of black/steel, forest/steel, olive/cayenne, steel/iberian (gray). Green and blue options are also shown on the website but don’t seem to be available to order (yet?). This review unit is black/steel. The ones I’ve bought myself were olive/cayenne. They all look great,

The good

• Excellent design and craftsmanship
• Organizer secured inside zippered pocket
• Extremely comfortable, even for prolonged use

The bad

• Nothing left for me to complain about

The conclusion

The Ristretto doesn’t fit everything I need — it’s way too small to hold my DSLR and lenses, for example. But that’s the point. Hiking packs are hiking packs for a reason. The Ristretto is what you use when you want something light and essential — something to carry only what you need, that doesn’t make you regret buying an Air or an iPad because of the bulk and weight the bag adds right back to it. It’s zen.

If you’re looking for something in old worn leather, or something with loud patterns, look somewhere that is else. If you want a comfortable, stylish, svelte way to carry around your iPad, iPhone, and optionally, your MacBook Air, get the Tom Bihn Ristretto.

5 – Ristretto for iPad – Buy now

5 – Ristretto for 11-inch MacBook – Buy now

5 – Ristretto for 13-inch MacBook – Buy now

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can’t figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

• Weekly Photo Contest: Water!
• Do those red badges annoy you?
• Overnight 4s idle: 20% drop in battery life. Why?
• AppleCare+ vs Squaretrade
• Do you want the iPhone 5 to be thinner?
• What’s your favorite iPad Case Style?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

If you’ve been waiting on a jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1, an untethered version should be coming soon. That’s according to pod2g. But is it coming to iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV, and which versions of each?

Here’s the deal.

The new iPad

There is currently no jailbreak tool available that supports the new iPad under iOS 5.1.1 or iOS 5.1. Even though jailbreak developers showed off an iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak almost immediately after the software update was released, no tool has been made available and no timeline has been talked about. So if you’re using a 3rd generation iPad, you’ll have to be patient.

Apple TV

If you’ve got a 3rd generation Apple TV (1080p) you may have a little wait as pod2g is claiming his tool currently does not support it. Seas0nPass has been updated to support the 2nd generation Apple TV (720p) under iOS 5.1.1 and they’re currently working on making it compatible with the new Apple TV.

So if you’ve got a 2010 Apple TV you can go ahead and update and re-jailbreak under iOS 5.1.1. If you’ve got a 2012 Apple TV, sit tight for now.

iPhone 4S and iPad 2

If you’ve got an iPhone 4S or an iPad 2, you’re in luck. pod2g has successfully achieved an untethered jailbreak for both Apple A5-chipset powered devices under iOS 5.1.1. The Wi-Fi versions of the iPad 2 have already been tested and are confirmed to be working. The GSM and CDMA versions haven’t been tested but should also be compatible.

I’d still recommend holding off on updating until an official tool is released with an official support list. If you’ve currently got a jailbreak you’d like to keep, stay away from iOS 5.1.1 for a little while longer.

Phone 4, iPhone 3GS, and original iPad

The iPhone 4 and first generation iPad, Apple A4 powered devices both, are also confirmed under pod2g’s untethered jailbreak. The iPhone 3GS has not yet been tested but they believe it will also be supported as an untethered jailbreak under iOS 5.1.1.

You can currently tethered jailbreak the iPhone 4, original iPad, and iPhone 3GS via redsn0w but if you’re on an earlier untethered version, I’d hold off over taking a tethered version and just wait to update to iOS 5.1.1 until an untethered tool is available.

Unlocking

As always, if you depend on a software unlock for your iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, or iPhone 3GS, it’s probably smart to stay away from iOS 5.1.1 until an unlocking tool has been updated. If you’ve already updated your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS but saved your blobs, it may be possible to downgrade but if your baseband has been updated through a stock update, you probably won’t be able to achieve your unlock again (for now at least).

So if you’re unlocked, don’t update your iPhone until a software unlock tool has been updated or a new one has been released.

Conclusion

Even though we have a working untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 confirmed, it’s probably several weeks away and with WWDC 2012 right around the corner, iOS 6 could put a hold on whatever tools the dev teams may be working on.

If you’re currently jailbroken and just can’t live without it, stay where you’re at. In the mean time, I’d save your SHSH blobs in case you need them in the near future.

Additional resources:

• Can you jailbreak the new iPad, AppleTV, and iOS 5.1?
• Jailbreak terms A – Z
• Jailbreak help & discussion forums
• iMore downloads section

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

Every week iMore’s editors carefully cull through hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPad apps and games, and countless accessories, to find the three most interesting, innovative, and exciting iOS products for you to check out. They might might be the latest and greatest or the most newly updated, or they might be classics or hidden gems. The only constants are, they’ll always be among our very favorites, and they’ll worthy to join the exclusive ranks of iMore’s new picks of the week.

This week we have an old social favorite with new social hook, the sequel to the sequel of one of the best shooters ever, and way to give your iPhone an incredible new set of eyes…

App of the Week: Flipboard with SoundCloud

Flipboard is a dynamic, up-to-date, but highly personalized magazine created from everything being shared to you from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Reeder, LinkedIn, Flickr and most recently added, SoundCloud.

That’s right, now you can enjoy amazing sounds created and shared by your friends and people you follow on SoundCloud as well as explore dozens of recommended audio feeds in new Audio category in the Content Guide.

Using Flipboard is joyous. You simply flip through the different stories in your feeds that are displayed with big images and an expert of text. When reading an article, advancing through pages also requires the act of “flipping”. It’s actually pretty fun.

Flipboard is one of our favorite personal magazine apps, and it also supports our favorite read later services: Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability.

Free – Download Now

Game of the week: N.O.V.A. 3

This week, there was really only iOS game worth talking about: Gameloft’s N.O.V.A. 3. The franchise has long been meeting the needs of hardcore Halo fans looking for something similar on their iPhone, and over time, N.O.V.A. has very much come into its own.

You play the role of Kal Wardin, a reluctant (and supposedly retired) military man who’s the only one with the skills to fend off the usual intergalactic threats. Your standard assortment of shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, and missile launchers are supplemented by superhuman abilities like slowing time, telekentic force pushes, and freezing enemies. Though there’s a 10-level single player campaign, the real game takes place online, where you fight 6 v 6 across a variety of classic game modes, like team deathmatch, free for all, and capture the flag. As you play, win or lose, you gain experience points and level up, which unlocks new weapons, equipment, and add-ons to spawn with. One of the most exciting elements of multiplayer is the ability to hop into a variety of awesome high-tech vehicles, like walker mechs and jeeps.

This sci-fi first-person shooter boasts Retina-optimized graphics for both iPhone and iPad, but be warned new iPad owners – the price for razor-sharp textures is steep. In order to keep the framerate up, you’ll be sacrificing lots of cool effects like depth of field and motion blur. Gameloft is also trying to push in-app purchases for guns, which is a trapping generally left to free games, but luckily you can earn all the in-game currency you need through regular gameplay.

N.O.V.A. 3 provides top-notch action, great multiplayer, and graphics that you will have a hard time finding anywhere else on iOS. Although many scoff at dual-stick shooters on mobile, I find Gameloft has done a great job at integrating gyroscope control since Modern Combat 3, particularly for fine aim adjustments. I also take zero issue with the “inspiration” they pull from sci-fi games on other platforms; if Halo isn’t ever going to find its way to the iPhone and iPad, then more power to Gameloft for bringing it here. For action game fans, N.O.V.A. 3 is a no-brainer.

.99 - Download now

Accessory of the week: olloclip lens system

The olloclip is a compact, convenient lens system that easily slides over your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S camera and turns it into a fun, flexible, photography powerhouse. The olloclip contains both a fisheye and wide-angle lens, and you can unscrew the wide-angle to reveal a macro lens as well. That’s 3 extra options in one small package.

We used the olloclip extensively at both CES 2012 and Macworld|iWorld Expo 2012 and it worked fantastically well. The fisheye let us fit multiple people into frame for video interviews, and the macro let us get in really close for details. We even used the macro to capture the Retina display comparison shots for our new iPad review.

Combine it with the killer tips in our iPhone photography column and you’re on your way to one fairly incredible ultra-mobile photo kit.

.99 – Buy now

Curated by Leanna Lofte, Simon Sage, Georgia, and Rene Ritchie

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

Apple has reportedly sent out a shiny brochure to their new neighbors, detailing aspects of the futuristic campus they’re planning to build on the old HP lot. 9to5Mac got their hands on a copy, and shared some of the details, the most interesting of which is:

Campus 2, as it is currently called, won’t replace the 1 Infinite Loop campus. Instead, it will just provide ‘research facility’ office space for an additional 13,000 employees, more than 3,000 more than 1 Infinite Loop. There is 300,000 feet of expansion space for future growth.

And yes, that seems to mean no museum, no new Company Store, and potentially no next-generation offices for Apple’s executives.

Steve Jobs originally introduced Apple’s new “mothership” the day after WWDC 2011 with a visit to Cupertino City Council captured in the YouTube video below.

The images Apple introduced, and were posted by Cupertino and later updated, were stunning — an enormous circle of curved glass amid an orchard.

Steve Jobs said at the time of the introduction:

There is not a straight piece of glass in this building, it’s all curved. We used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curve all the way around the building… It’s pretty cool.

Some Cupertino residents have been concerned about what the influx of tens of thousands of new workers will do to traffic. Others simply see more tax dollars.

Apple is scheduled to begin work on the impressive new structure this year with a projected end date of 2015. Still no word on whether or not, due to its spaceship design, it will literally be able to abandon Earth and take to the stars, Wall-E style, should Google ever win the technology wars…

Check out the rest of the flyer pics and salient points via the link below.

Source: 9to5Mac

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

The unofficial, independent Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher, has gotten an official name — jOBS — a website, and has released some new details about the production.

The film chronicling the life of Steve Jobs, the Apple Inc. co-founder and charismatic master of innovation, begins principal photography in June and in keeping with the project’s commitment to accuracy and authenticity, will film early scenes in the actual Los Altos home where Jobs grew up and in the historic garage where he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple.

jOBS is produced by Mark Hulme and Five Star Pictures and directed by Joshua Michael Stern of Swing Vote and Neverwas.

jOBS chronicles the 30 most defining years of Steve Jobs’ life, as seen through his, colleagues’, and friends’ eyes. Dark, honest, and uncompromising, jOBS plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs’ life.

On the film’s website, thejobsmovie.com, Hulme elaborates on his motivations for making jOBS.

One of the great innovators and futurist patriarchs of our time, Steve Jobs was somehow simultaneously a prophet and a pariah for millions of consumers. His is a truly fascinating story that cannot properly be told in such a short space, and that is why we are determined to bring his tale –both the good and the bad, the regrettable and unforgettable, the villainous and heroic– to the big screen.

Just recently Ashton Kutcher was seen out and about in his Steve Jobs wardrobe.

jOBS current has the tagline “Get inspired” and is scheduled for a late fall, 2012 release. That should be well ahead of the official biopic produced by Sony and based on the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, which just hired Aaron Sorkin of The Social Network and The West Wing to pen their script.

Source: thejobsmovie.com

iMore – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog

You’ve got the new iPad, you have tried out your front facing camera with FaceTime, but now you realize that many of your friends don’t live in the iOS world. So, how can you video chat with your BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone friends?

The good news is that there really are a bunch of options for video chatting with Android, Windows Phone and Windows and Mac PC users.  The bad news is that there aren’t, as of yet, a bunch of great options.   We will take a look at a good cross sampling to help give you some choices in the realm of video chat. The only caveat here is that you will need to pick an app tied to a service that your friends actually use or are willing to use.

Using Skype on the iPad

Skype is arguably the most popular video chat service in the world. Chances are that some, if not most of your friends are already using Skype on their PC’s or Macs.

Finding and Adding Skype Contacts

Once you have logged into the Skype app, you will want to start communicating with people. To do so, you will have to find them and add them to your Skype contacts list:

1.  If you are not already in Skype, tap the Skype icon from your Home screen and log in, if asked.
2. Tap the Lists key along the left hand margin.
3. Tap one of the Contacts lists displayed, then touch the the “+” icon  at the top
4. Next, touch the Search Skype Directory and type someone’s name, email address or Skype Name. Tap Search to locate that person.
5. Once you see the person you want to add, touch his/her name.
6. Check the picture to make sure you have the right individual.
7. Tap Add Contact at the top.
8. Adjust the invitation message appropriately.
9. Tap the Send button to send this person an invitation to become one of your Skype contacts.
10. Repeat the procedure to add more contacts.
11.  When you are done, touch the Back key at the top or the Skype directory key if you are not already in your Skype group.
12. Tap the Contacts group you just added top from the Lists screen to see all new contacts you have added.
13. Once this person accepts you as a contact, you will see him listed as a contact in the group from which he/she was invited.

Making Calls with Skype on Your iPad

So far you have created your account and added your contacts. Now you are ready to finally make that first call with Skype on your iPad:

1. If you are not already in Skype, tap the Skype icon from your Home screen and log in, if asked.
2. Tap the Lists button.
3. Tap a Contact Group to see your contacts.
4. Tap the contact name you wish to call
5. Tap the Video Call or Voice Call button. Sometimes, you don’t want to “show yourself” so a voice only call can be helpful.
6. You may see a Mobile or other phone button. Making any other kind of call requires that you pay for it with Skype Credits.

Easily switch cameras using the Skype app

Switching Cameras with Skype

You can show the individual with whom you are talking on Skype your surroundings by “switching” to the back camera of the iPad. Just touch the Swith Camera icon to do this.All in all, the Skype options on the iPad are just as plentiful as those on your computer.

Free – Download now

Fring for iPad

Fring is a popular Android video chat app that has been around for a while for iOS users.

The killer feature of Fring is that it supports group video chat for up to four users simultaneously.

Like Skype, you can call landlines and other phone numbers for discounted rates – but our interest today is in video chat. Fring also works over 3G and 4G networks as well as over WiFi.

Adding friends in Fring

You add friends in Fring by looking for their User-ID. You can also add your networks, which will bring in your contacts. You can add your Address Book, your MSN Live account, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo or AIM.

Add contacts from many different networks

Placing a video call

Simply touch the Video Call button in the middle of the screen to chat with the highlighted contact.

Options on a call

Once a Fring call in initiated, you can: switch cameras, Mute the call, display the call in Full Screen or End the call.

Tap the Group video button and select participants. You can touch the + button to add friends to the call.

Tap the Group icon to start a group call in Fring

Get Fring here:

Free – Download now

ooVoo Video Chat for iPad

ooVoo is a newer service which tried to one up Fring by enabling group video chat for up to 6 people at a time. ooVoo has apps available for smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android) and Macs and PC’s. On Macs and PC’s, you can have up to 12 people on a video chat.

ooVoo also work over 3G and 4G networks as well as WiFi.

Adding friends to ooVoo

When you first start up ooVoo you are asked to upload your address book to their servers to look for friends. You can always Deny this request and input your contacts manually – or Allow it and ooVoo will search for your friends.

Choose to Allow or Deny ooVoo to upload your contacts and look for ooVoo users

Once ooVoo finds your contacts, you can choose which ones to add to your address book.

Placing a Video call

Just select someone from your Contact list and select Start a Video Call. Once they answer, the call is in session.

Options on the call

Very similar to Fring (and the other services) you can Add Friends to the call, Swap Cameras to show what is going on around you, Mute the call or End the call.

Using the Group Call option

There are two ways to do this on ooVoo: you can tap the Multiple Select option from your Contacts screen and just select friends or you can touch the Conference icon when on a call to add more people.

Choose multiple users to initiate a group call in ooVoo

Get ooVoo here:

Free – Download now

Yahoo! Messsenger for iPad

People still use Yahoo! People even still use Yahoo! Messsenger, so having the option of video chatting with Yahoo! Messsenger friends is a great option for your iPad.

With Yahoo! Messenger, video calls and chats are free to your Yahoo! Messenger contacts. Yahoo! also gives you the option of low cost calls to  landlines and mobile phones as well as free international texting to a few places.

Adding friends to Yahoo! Messenger

When you sign into the Yahoo! Messenger app, all of your Yahoo contacts will show up. You can also add contacts individually by touching the + icon at the top right of the app.

Placing a video call

Highlight one of your contacts and simply touch the icon of the video camera to initiate a video call.

Tap the video camera icon to initiate a video call on Yahoo! Messenger

Options on the call

You can make the call full screen (or reduce it if it is already full screen,) Swap cameras, Mute or Pause or End the call.

Yahoo Messenger is available here:

Free – Download now

Vtok – Google talk video calls on iPad

If you are a Google voice user, you might want to check out Vtok as an option for video calling using your Google Voice account.

As long as your friends are Google contacts using Google Video and voice chat- you can talk to them – and see them – for as long as you’d like.

Adding Contacts to Vtok

Simply sign in using your Google sign in information and all your Google contacts will show up.

Tap the + button at the top right to add contacts individually.

Placing a video call

If your friends are online, the video camera icon turns green. Simply touch the icon to start the video call.

Tap the green video camera to initiate a video call on vtok

Options on the call

Very much like the other apps, you can Switch the camera, Mute or end the call.

Vtok is available here:

Free – Download now

Tango Video Calls on iPad

Tango is yet another variation on a theme of apps that can be used cross platform for making Video calls. Tango adds some new features, such as the ability to send free video messages as well.

Tango works over WiFi as well as over 3G and 4G networks. Tango is an iPhone app that you need to run in 2x mode to fill up the iPad screen.

Adding contacts to Tango

When you first set up Tango you will be asked to let Tango match up your address book with emails and phone numbers of registered Tango users. If you allow Tango to do this, you will see all of your contacts who also have Tango accounts when you login.

You can also touch the + (invite) icon to send an email invite to friends to join you on Tango.

Placing a video call

The Tango video chat screen

Simply touch the Video icon next to the contact you wish to call and the video call will initiate.

Options on the call

Tango options are pretty limited. You can Switch the camera view, Mute or End the call.  The one thing that Tango adds is sort of a gimmick, but it can be fun; that is called Tango surprises. Tap the icon with the stars and you can choose animated surprises -  like balloons  – to come down during the call. You can purchase more surprises in the Tango store.

Tap the Surprises icon and choose from animated options like balloons

Tango is available here:

Free – Download now

Conclusions:

After looking at all these apps, there are certainly options for iPad and iPhone users if they want to video chat with non-iOS friends and family.

The simple reality is this; if your friends and family have an iOS device, you are hard pressed to beat FaceTime for ease of use and call quality. The one downside to FaceTime is that it can only be used over WiFi.

If your friends or family members are  non-iOS users, Skype may very well be the best alternative of the bunch.  It is popular, easy to set up and use and the picture and audio quality was generally pretty good – both over WiFI and over cellular networks.

Among the other Video chat services, the bottom line come down to where your friends, colleagues and families are.  If everyone is on Yahoo!, then maybe Yahoo! Messenger makes sense.  If everyone is on Google, then Vtok might work.

If group video chat is important to you on your iPad or iPhone, both ooVoo and Fring offer easy group video chat.  The challenge is that you need to get your friends and family to join the service and learn a new app.

Tango, Fring, Google (Vtok) and Skype are available as mobile apps for most, but not all platforms. Skype is not on BlackBerry and while it is on Windows Phone, it still can’t run in the background, which limits its usability on that platform.

Since each of the apps is free, try them out, see where your friends are and then enjoy yet another feature that helps make the iPad and iPhone so incredibly versatile.

Are you currently using a Video chat app regularly on your iPad or iPhone? Have you tried any of these out and can share your experiences? Let us know in the forums.

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