Google may outgo Skype by means of mobile video

Video chat in GTalk (or more exactly, in GMail) has appeared more than a year ago. And we were confident that Skype will get the very strong competitor. Nevertheless, Skype's market share hasn't suffered at all. Even GMail users mainly continue using Skype for video calls. Probably, it's a question of a habit and Skype's great popularity. And perhaps, when Google adds calls to regular phones with the help of acquired Gizmo5 - this won't also change anything. Without offering some new revolutionary features, pushing Skype from the market will be extremely difficult. Especially now, when Skype introduced group video calling. However, it seems Google has a new idea. Today the company announced the acquisition of Swedish developer of VoIP and videoconferencing solutions - GIPS. GIPS technologies are used in Yahoo Messenger, Cisco WebEx and Lotus Sametime. And in addition, GIPS has created the best engine for video chat on Android.

Mobile video now seems geeky. But perhaps soon it will become a feature that most people can't live without. This is where Google has a chance to outgo Skype. The mobile market is very difficult now - a lot of (closed) platforms, a lot of operators who do not like VoIP. But Google has a great advantage - Android. In addition, soon, probably Google will unveil own tablet, which will be perfect for mobile video. So Google's position on the mobile video market looks more preferable. And if mobile video will become the tail wagging the dog, then the traditional videoconferencing market will be also reshaped.

See also: Top 10 VoIP services