Yahoo rolled out last Thursday a new application that combines video calling not with audio, but with text messaging.
In the newly launched LiveText, users can share text in the middle of a video and see each other’s real-time expression “without having to take an audio call.”
“Yahoo Livetext blends the immediacy and simplicity of texting with the expressiveness of video without the audio, and it is now available around the world in every major language,” Yahoo said in a statement.
“While texting is quick and easy, you often miss the meaning of a message, have to explain your reaction (‘LOL’), or wait hours before getting a response. And to actually talk on the phone, you not only have to be available, but you also have to be in a place where you can speak,” it added.
Yahoo said it aims to make conversations more convenient and realistic with the new application.
“Connecting with your friends should be spontaneous, easy but also fleeting – just like a real-life conversation. Yahoo LiveText combines video to make your conversations more authentic, and text to bring you a quick and non-intrusive way to connect,” it said.
Yahoo has been testing LiveText in several countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. It may be downloaded from both Apple Store and Google Play.
