Well this is funny. A few weeks ago at CES, the CBC was at CES 2013 and interviewed the President of ooVoo with this statement:



BlackBerry and Windows apps? For CES exhibitors, they’re an afterthought at best.

“We’re in talks to integrate with [BlackBerry Messenger] and we’re working on a Windows version,” says Jay

Samit, president of ooVoo, a video chat service. “But they’re such a niche market.”

Then, exactly 3 weeks later, ooVoo announces a BlackBerry 10 app and support that seems to go way beyond just BBM integration. Also, if they’re such a niche market, why are you now so excited? Either the CBC misinterpreted the President, or RIM’s dev relations team are amazing at changing companies’ minds about the platform. Either way, it’s a win for upcoming BlackBerry 10 users. Keep reading for the press release.







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NEW YORK, NEW YORK and WATERLOO, ONTARIO - ooVoo, one of the largest independent social video chat provider with 66 million registered subscribers, and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced that ooVoo will bring its next-generation HD video communications service to the BlackBerry® 10 platform.

The BlackBerry 10 platform allows the ooVoo service to easily integrate with voice, video and the remarkably fast BlackBerry 10 browser, which will give BlackBerry 10 customers a multiplatform solution for video chat and instant messaging with friends, family and colleagues. With ooVoo, up to 12 contacts can connect at the same time, allowing customers to stay connected and share experiences.

“ooVoo serves more than one billion minutes of video each month to subscribers. By bringing ooVoo HD video chat to the BlackBerry 10 platform BlackBerry 10 customers will be able to video chat and share videos anytime with the millions of ooVoo’s daily active users on virtually any mobile or desktop platform,” said Jay Samit, President of ooVoo.

ooVoo will be integrated into the basic calling functionality in BlackBerry 10, making it easy for customers to flow directly from a voice call to an ooVoo video call. ooVoo’s cloud-based service provides remarkable video quality. BlackBerry 10 customers will be able to chat cross-platform, and take advantage of the social features that ooVoo provides, for free*.

“As a leader in communications, we understand the importance of bringing people together in an innovative way that is easy to use,” said Martyn Mallick, Vice President Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion. “ooVoo will be a fantastic choice for BlackBerry 10 customers looking for a multi-user video communications service that can connect them to their contacts on virtually any computer or mobile device, and we are pleased to work with ooVoo to help bring their service to our customers.”

ooVoo’s innovative Watch Together™ feature allows customers to have group video viewing experiences within video calls. ooVoo’s customers can incorporate video calling with friends and family into their daily lives by, for example, bringing friends along on shopping trips through ooVoo to get real-time opinions on choices, or mommy group members showing the latest happenings - whether milestone or mysterious spots - for opinions in real-time.

Pricing and Availability

ooVoo is a free service, and will be offered for BlackBerry 10 smartphones on the BlackBerry® World™ storefront later this year.