Forget Skype, Firefox Hello, wants to be the default video communication system to help you connect with your friends and family from just anywhere.
Whether you are using Mozilla’s Firefox on the desktop or for Android, Firefox Hello, powered by Telefonica wants to be the easiest way to connect for free over video with anyone, anywhere as long as you have Firefox.
According to the firm, “If you have the latest version of Firefox, you already have Hello. There’s no account or sign-in required and nothing extra to download. Just start a conversation, send your friend a link and ask them to click it. Simple.”
Hello allows users to invite anyone, anywhere and is targeting to help users to connect with their friends and family as long as they have Firefox. Those who don’t have need only sign up for a Firefox Account then add any contacts they want to connect with.
Users simply click the ‘Start a conversation’ button to create their first conversation which opens in a new window which opens showing a self-view until the person one has invited clicks on the link to join. The firm says each conversation has a unique URL for two people to communicate either over video or audio.
Users can also create multiple conversations with different names or labels and save them so that they can speak again without creating a new link as long as the people in the conversations are the same. Hello also allows users to import their Gmail contacts to its address book so as they can talk to them anytime they want to.
Like Skype, Hello is free to both connections and we are not sure how the firm aims to monetize but Firefox guys believe in open source and Hello might be free for a long time.Powered by Telefónica’s TokBox technology, Firefox Hello aims to add new features like screen sharing and online collaboration among other tools to give users more out of their video calls. Firefox Hello will also have planners for activities like vacation, shopping online or playing a game while on a video call together. This will make it an entreprise tool for work and not just a person to person communication tool. Skype is not browser based and will still have advantage over Firefox Hello.