I am NOT sure how but using 2 tablets, both setup using googletalk, videochat between tablets are working. Videochat from tablet to PC is not.

bun

I believe that the issue regarding Skype not doing video is related to processing power in the N8xx.

Gizmo can do the video with voice, and Gtalk between N8xx's can do video with voice too.....so why not Skype? I don't believe it is an issue of Skype (eBay) developers dragging their feet....it is that the N8xx hardware can't do it.

I think this is because the Skype package encrypts communications between two callers (it must) and the N8xx CPU is close to max'd out because it has to do the encryption/decryption. Gizmo and Gtalk do not have this crypto overhead, therefore there is "some" N8xx CPU power to spare and use for the Gizmo/Gtalk video. If I am correct, we won't see video on the N800 with Skype.

Use a BlueTooth headset during an N8xx Skype call and you have even more demands placed on the N8xx CPU (to the point where Skype can become unstable).

It is not my intent to defend Skype, or accuse Nokia of under powering the NiT. I am just stating what I believe to be the Skype / camera reality. I love my N800, and I am a heavy (and happy) Skype user. I am grateful for all of it. I also use Gizmo5, Gtalk, and the N8xx SIP client with several SIP / VOIP accounts. Great stuff.

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My buddy has the Google / T-Mobile / G1 Android device. To our joint dismay, the VOIP is crippled...... I can't help but believe it was T-Mobile that is reponsible. Even Google's Gtalk product won't do voice on the Google G1. Gtalk does Chat on the G1, but not voice. How lame is that?

I am glad I have the N800.
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Empathy on Ubuntu works in a fashion with the tablet for VoIP and video.

http://live.gnome.org/Empathy

1 chat works fine both ways using google account
2. I only get video sent from the tablet
3. the PC doesn't send pictures from my webcam, but this might be to do with the type of webcam
4. Empathy doesn't ring or make any sound when I get an incoming call, it justs flashes an icon on the panel

Rich

Don't you just love crippled devices?

I must insist.

I have used and succesfully received and sent video between the N800 and a PC.
This works with the default SIP client using a voipbuster SIP account and a PC using xlite with another voipbuster account registered.

(to download xlite follow this: http://www.counterpath.net/x-lite.html
to get a voipbuster account go to: http://www.voipbuster.com/en/index.html)

I need to say I tried to use Gizmo yesterday and it just crashed and crashed. I had not used since the last OS upgrade and maybe something broke.

BUT SIP VIDEO BETWEEN N800 AND PC WORKS!!!

Yep, I was talking about videochat IN the Gmail interface.

This was just released yesterday.

Videochat from tablet to PC just works with SIP right now.

problem with xlite and gizmo, if I want to do video, I have to ask another person, who may not be too fond of computers, to install and run programs that are not common, nor all that easy to setup. And ask them to get accounts and stuff. At least stuff like skype, msn or Gtalk are more user friendly (Gizmo has a really odd in-chat adding and removing of accounts) and more common to be found. Thats why I'd prefer to use some of this to get video going.

seems to be using the H264 codec. can the current tablets handle that reliably?

I agree 100% with you. The point is that the hardware and software are capable of doing video chat with a PC.

Let's hope Google or Skype finally decide themselves to push a little platform development on maemo to make them work with their services.

From the official Gmail blog:
"in the spirit of open communications, we designed this feature using Internet standards such as XMPP, RTP, and H.264, which means that third-party applications and networks can choose to interoperate with Gmail voice and video chat."

This keeps being messed up for the moment. H.264 encoding might be a bit heavy for the N810...

Google:

• Contact Nokia and find a solution for the N800/N810
• Please update up the Open Communications page
• The group "google-talk-open" is a mess, totally spammed. Don't refer to it - or clean it up
• Enable comments on your blog so that we can give feedback and won't have to post in ITT about such things...