“Google Inc. on Tuesday broadened its assault on rival Facebook Inc. by opening its Google+ online social network to the public,” Amir Efrati reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Google+, which launched in late June and which up till now had only been open by invitation to users, is also putting a heavier emphasis on video, one of its main technology advantages over Facebook. Facebook, which has more than 750 million active monthly users, recently inked a deal with Skype SA to allow its users to communicate with each other through their computer’s built-in video cameras,” Efrati reports. “Google+, which launched in late June and which up till now had only been open by invitation to users, is also putting a heavier emphasis on video, one of its main technology advantages over Facebook. Facebook, which has more than 750 million active monthly users, recently inked a deal with Skype SA to allow its users to communicate with each other through their computer’s built-in video cameras.”
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Efrati reports, “Google also added a key feature to the version of Google+ that works on mobile devices powered by Google’s Android software. Google+ users who own devices with front-facing cameras participate in a “hangout” using those devices, similar to the feature on Apple Inc.’s iPhone that lets people do video chats face-to-face, also known as ‘face time.’ [sic]”
Read more in the full article here.
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