The Hindu Business Line : Simply send video e-mail web clicks

Tired of typing never-ending e-mails? For, if you are the kind that does not enjoy writing or typing much, keying in messages constantly can be a pain. There’s also the fact that sometimes people may interpret your (text) mail in a different light. So, to say it without much hassle, or fear of misunderstanding, you could try video e-mail.

Here, instead of having to write each e-mail out and then proofread it, you can say what you want and send the video with a click of the mouse. Your contacts won’t have any trouble whatsoever understanding what you mean, not to mention the convenience factor. Spare your fingers and keyboard, with the following video e-mail services:

www.freegabmail.com – GabMail is a free, easy-to-use service that enables anyone with a Webcam or video camera to send, reply to, and forward messages to anyone else with an e-mail address. One of the best features of this service is that you don’t have to sign up to use it. It uses Adobe Flash.

According to the Web site, GabMail works with any video camera that can connect via firewire to your computer. You can record videos for up to five minutes.

GabMail is compatible with your preferred email client or Web mail service. Outlook, Thunderbird, Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail — any email client or Web mail program will work. It also has the option to put video on your Web page.

www.springdoo.com allows you to record or upload video and audio. To access it, you need to log into the Web site. It offers two features — SpringMails and SpringCasts.

SpringMail — a fast and free video email — has two facilities, an audio email (aMail) and a video email (vMail).

aMail is the new way of sending e-mails in your own voice whereas vMail allows you to record video e-mail messages with your Webcam and microphone.

You can record up to 10 minutes with aMail and up to 3 minutes with vMail. Simply log into your Springdoo account, enter whom you would like to send to, and press ‘Record’ to start recording your SpringMail; then press ‘Send’.

When the recipients open the e-mail from you, they simply click on your link and your audio will automatically start to play. They can also reply to you by text or SpringMail without having to sign up.

You can cast your videos on SpringCasts category.

These features will support files such as wmv, mov, avi, mpg, mpeg, mp4, flv, mp3, wma, m4a, wav. You can store videos up to 1,000 MB.

How do the video emails reach the recipient? Your recipient(s) will receive an e-mail from you containing a link to the video/audio message.

Recipients have to click the play button or the Springdoo link to listen and see your message. It is important that the recipient needs to be connected to the Internet to be able to view your SpringMail.

www.azoocamail.com – Once you get the free account, you can create, send, receive and store video and text messages directly from your Web browser.

Under ‘Creating your video mail message’, you can record your video messages directly online. With the playback feature, you can review your video mail message and fine-tune it to perfection. You can also add a brief text message to go with your video. When this is done, preview your message before you send.

In the ‘Managing Your Contacts’ head, you can add individual contacts and store their information to your contact list. Video mail also enables you to form your own customised groups of contacts for mass distribution. You can store messages up to 250 MB.

Like your regular (text) e-mail service, the Azooca video mail has useful ingredients, such as compose, inbox, sent, drafts, trash, etc. Apart from these, you can also upload existing videos, receive and store video messages and save contacts.

jaish@thehindu.co.in