Online face-to-face video communications has been around for a long time, and the introduction of FaceTime with the iPhone 4 made communicating face-to-face commonplace on iOS devices.
Some time ago a startup named TokBox released a Javascript and Actionscript library known as OpenTok enabling face-to-face video in web apps using their platform with a free licensing option. There is a premium price if you would like to enable archiving of video, but that is also currently free as the feature is in beta.
Here’s a video from a web based doodling app known as Scott Doodle demonstrating OpenTok in action:
Today TokBox released the iOS Objective-C version of their library along with a contest for the top apps that implement the library for which the winners will win an iPad 3.
The library includes example projects to get you started.
Just as with the web apps the base licensing option is free (in fact the premium options are free while in beta) allowing you to implement face-to-face communications at no cost.
Looks like a great way for making iOS apps more social and a great enhancement for the many collaborative iPad apps currently out there.
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