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As we all know, FaceTime (two-way video calling) on the iPhone only works when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Fring aims to change that and allow you to do two-way video calling with 3G in the Fring app. 

With the new fring for iPhone you get lots of fring goodies including 2 way video-calling where you want and with whom you want!

Face-to-face video calls with friends on their Droids, Nokia (Symbian S60) and other iPhones

Video calls over 3G or Wi-Fi (Performance over 3G is subject to mobile operators’ 3G coverage & quality)

Download and Install

I did have a chance to download and install Fring on my iPhone 4 to test this feature out. Fring is a little cumbersome in that you actually have to register for a Fring id in order for the two-way video calling to work. I kind of wish I’d be able to simply select an individual from my contact list and begin the video call, minus having to register with Fring. 

Getting The Fring App To Load

I was able to get the two-way video calling over Fring to work after a little fiddling around. The Fring app on the iPhone took forever to load (the spinning ball at the top of the screen seemed to spin forever). I finally gave up waiting and restarted the iPhone. I then relaunched the app and after a few minutes the spinner stopped spinning and Fring had finally loaded completely. I could finally attempt my first two-way video call over 3G using Fringe. 

Testing Fring It Out

So I got my Fring app to load but the person with whom I was going to make a test call with had the same continuous spinning ball issue that I experienced earlier. I told him to restart the iPhone 4 and he did and then his Fring app worked. 

You need to add buddies as contacts for Fring to work. You can do this either by sending them an invite within the profile page of the buddy list menu. Or, you can go to the More menu and select Add New Buddy and from their you can input their specific Fring ID. 

Once they accept your invite, you will now see a video option in their buddy list profile page. As long as you both are online (have Fring launched on your phone), the two-way video calling should work.

When we were both online (had Fring launched on the iPhone) and did not have the continuous spinning ball issue, Fring worked. I was able to make video calls over 3G using my iPhone 4. However, it seemed the every time we exited the app and then relaunched the app, Fring would freeze up and have the continuous spinning ball issue. The issue would clear with a iPhone reboot (sometimes we didn’t need to reboot, we instead just waited it out), but you can imagine how annoying that can become. 

Final Thoughts

Fring works as advertised and I was able to make two-way video calls over 3G. However, the continuous spinning ball issue dampens the experience. I also wish that you did not need a Fring ID for this to work. In any case, you can finally make two-way video calls over 3G - just make sure your friends have Fring installed as well. 

Category: Social Networking
Price: Free
Company: fringland Ltd.

Get Fring from the AppStore.