Skype testing group video chat format
Internet calling service Skype plans a public “beta” test of a group video chat function that lets up to five people participate in a video call simultaneously.
When the feature launches next week it will be free, but Skype Ltd. plans to start charging for it along with some other upcoming features in three or four months, said Neil Stevens, general manager of Skype’s consumer business segment.
Skype’s software already offers a range of free services, including the ability to make voice or video calls and send instant messages to other Skype users. Users pay for services such as making calls from a PC to a landline or cell phone.
Stevens said group video chat will first be available to those who use Skype on Windows PCs, and the company expects to roll out a Mac version later this year.
Stevens said the feature is the one users have requested most.
Skype, which was sold late last year by eBay Inc. for about $2 billion to an investor group that includes Skype’s founders, is also expanding its monthly subscription offerings to include calls to both cell phones and landlines in more than 170 countries.
The company’s existing subscription plans include one that allows calls to more than 40 countries, but they focus mostly on calls to landlines. That is generally cheaper for the company than routing calls from the Internet to cell phones.
Google on the prowl for startup
Google Inc. plans to feed its appetite for tantalizing new technologies by investing in more startups while it devours others by buying them outright.
The company told reporters Monday that its year-old venture capital division has been expanding so it can evaluate more opportunities brought to it by entrepreneurs. Google Ventures now has a staff of 16, up from just two people when it started early last year.
After investing in eight startups in 2009, Google Ventures has put its money in two others this year. Its latest investment is in Corduro, a Southlake, Texas, startup that provides payment services for mobile devices and traditional retailers.
Although Google plans to invest in more startups this year, the total amount it plans to collectively spend on them is expected to remain at about $100 million annually.
Bill Maris, managing partner of the fund, would not say whether Google Ventures hit the $100 million investment target in its first year. He said the size of Google’s investments so far have ranged from the “tens of millions” to less than $500,000, though he declined to be more specific.
The venture arm represents Google’s attempt to make money off the promising ideas of people working outside its company. Other big companies, including Intel Corp. and Walt Disney Co., also operate venture capital divisions in an effort to capitalize on hot concepts.
Just like other venture capital funds, Google eventually plans to sell its stakes through an initial public offering or in a buyout.
Google, however, would have to buy the companies outright in order to have special access to their technology in its products and add their employees to its work force. The company could gain insights into emerging developments at those startups, but it won’t be given any preferences or any right to match bids should the startup decide to sell.
Nintendo looks to spark Wii sales
Nintendo Co. is trying to expand U.S. sales of the Wii by throwing in an extra game and its MotionPlus accessory for making the console’s signature motion-sensing wand more precise. The company is also offering a black version of the system as an alternative to the game system’s white casing.
The packages will sell for $200, which is what the Wii, bundled with “Wii Sports” and the wand, currently costs. Nintendo said on Monday that it will add “Wii Sports Resort” and the MotionPlus to the bundle. The new packages and the black Wiis will be available in the U.S. and other markets in the Americas starting Sunday.
Black Wiis have already been available in Japan and Europe, and their U.S. announcement has been expected. Nintendo, based in Japan, did not give specific pricing for the console packages outside the U.S. but said it would be comparable.
The Wii is the world’s most popular video game console, its sales eclipsing both Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360. But both Sony and Microsoft are coming out with their versions of motion controllers later this year, potentially challenging the Wii’s popularity.
Associated Press
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