Mozilla adds video chat to its browser with Firefox Hello

Mozilla has added a new feature to the most recent beta build of its Firefox browser that allows users to make video calls across the web without the need for any sort of additional software or plugin. Released today, the Hello Firefox feature has been built in partnership with operator Telefonica, a strong supporter of Firefox OS’s mobile aspirations so far, and uses the WebRTC expertise acquired with Telefonica’s purchase of TokBox in late 2012.

Eager to infuse the Web with the communications interactivity of mobile apps, Mozilla on Thursday announced a video chat service called Hello. The technology, built into the beta version of Firefox, lets people set up free video or audio calls with others using Firefox. Mozilla will gradually enable the feature in coming weeks. There was a day when video chat was hard to do. Skype arrived just as Internet connectivity and video compression technology made it more feasible. Video calls once were a fixture for world’s fair predictions of a sci-fi future. Now it’s downright commonplace. So what sets Firefox Hello apart? It’s busting loose from the silos that can isolate users of today’s video chat technology.