TokBox aims to be the 'go to' site for video chat. With some heavyweight backers and a simple user interface, it might just succeed.
A new online start-up with backing from the founders of YouTube and Sequoia Capital might just be the next big thing on the Internet. TokBox is a free service that lets you talk with your friends over live video through a web browser.
The idea is simple: millions of people now have web cams either built-in to their laptops, or connected to their desktops, and TokBox makes it easy to send a video message or video chat invitation via email.
Once your friend clicks the link and configures their camera, the video chat takes place within a web browser.
If your friend doesn't have a web cam you can send them a video message that they can view at TokBox. Once you've set up your TokBox account, you can add friends from your AIM, MSN or Yahoo account, and ping them via IM when you want to video chat online.
TokBox also makes it easy to put TokBox on your social network profile, blog, or personal webpage. That means that anyone can come to your page and see a "Push to Talk" button. Personally, I find Facebook annoying enough without the video chat option - this feature obviously not aimed at me.
While video conferencing is already easy to configure with any number of stand-alone clients like Skype, MSN or iChat, there is something ingeniously simple about being able to do it within a web browser, with no software to be installed.
TokBox relies on Flash technology and while the quality of video and audio isn't up to par with iChat or Skype, the company says that improvements will be made with the next release of Flash Player 9. Like all great plays on the Internet, TokBox hasn't really got a strong revenue model yet, except the future promise of selling ads. But remember, neither did YouTube and they did OK.
In my brief play with the TokBox it worked well. I was able to send and receive Vmail messages, and perform a live chat with a friend (although the quality wasn't very good).
The thing that struck me about TokBox is how quickly and easily I was up and running. And while lots of other sites promise 'quick and easy' not many deliver. Add 'quick and easy', 'fun' and 'YouTube' together and TokBox might just be the next big thing.