While just about every week in Web-based real time communications (WebRTC) is filled with news on new products and new services, as well as considerations of same on the wider industry, this week was different. This week, after all, saw the WebRTC Conference & Expo, which recently concluded at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, Ga. With that show now one for the history books, perhaps even more news than normal emerged as companies showed off the best and brightest new developments. But what were the biggest such developments? Let's take a closer look at just that with our Week in Review coverage.
First, Bistri stepped up its free video calling service, expanding to be better used in small groups. The expansion would allow for four people per conference to get involved, and makes the whole thing as simple as providing links for the intended users to click in order to join the conference. No software is needed, no specialized hardware, and no registration needs to be done in order to take advantage of Bistri's lineup.
Next up, BrowseTel brought a line of products for demonstration at the WebRTC Conference & Expo, showing off how the BrowseTel platform could not only be useful for business users but also for personal use away from the office. BrowseTel is eager to not only show how its communications tools can be useful, but can replace standard desktop telephones by allowing calls to go through from a Web browser using the standard methods of WebRTC.
No less than Google then brought in the next major piece of news, running an entire WebRTC workshop to show off the benefits of WebRTC and provide some tips for developers on how to work with this new platform. Google's history in WebRTC development gave it plenty of insight to offer, with names like Jan Linden and Sam Dutton offering up topics of commentary as well on how WebRTC can change the field of communications and how developers can best use this new technology now.
Demos were the order of the day at the WebRTC Conference & Expo, and those interested in seeing the new technology in action had plenty to watch. We had something of a rundown in terms of the demonstrations offered, and there were plenty to be had, with Alcatel-Lucent, Bolder Thinking, Vonage Mobile, Voxeo Labs and several others showing new products in the field. One exciting development came from TokBox, whose Oscar interface allowed for easy connection in a fun package.
Finally, Vidtel MeetMe users got an exciting new feature to work with: MeetMe is now offering full compatibility with BurstPoint's Video Communications Platform. Now, MeetMe users will be able to use BurstPoint's video capture and recording technologies in conjunction with Vidtel's communications services to make for even better collaboration tools than previously realized, allowing for not only the recording of video conversations, but the dissemination of said video, which can be extremely valuable as a training tool.
It's clear that this week was rife with news, thanks to the WebRTC Conference & Expo showing off an enormous array of new products and services. In turn, all these new products and services are contributing to new uses for same, and are providing a massive array of possibilities in terms of communications. Our global online community brings back all sorts of news on this topic, so be sure to join us back here next week as the word from the expo starts to spread out, and every weekend for our Week in Review!
