ooVoo ooVoo

The default video call window looks very sleek. The well-designed, angled video screens are the same size and sit side by side. (With Skype, the look is very different: By default, one party's video screen is snapshot-size and is superimposed on a larger screen.)

Video quality on ooVoo was impressive. The video streams in my tests were generally smooth with little distortion. Skin tone colors seemed a tad bland, though. Audio quality was solid for the most part: Voices sounded clear, but I noticed a considerable amount of echo during calls, which proved to be distracting.

Speaking of distracting, the free version of ooVoo comes at a price of another kind: incessant ads that are anything but subtle. YouIn fact, they span the bottom of the videoconferencing window. Ads appeared in all the text chat windows, too; and I found their presence incredibly annoying and difficult to tune out.

The new version of ooVoo lets users who do not have ooVoo software installed call you over the Web. Here's how it works: Within ooVoo, you click a button where you type your friend's's e-mail address (and type a message, if you want). ooVoo pings the recipient with an invitation to start a Web call. Then, at the other end, your pal can call you, using a browser. As long as your friend has a Web cam hooked up, the same video call window pops up, and the overall experience is the same as with a regular ooVoo video call.

ooVoo also offers some fee-based services: For $10 a month, its Super plan includes six-party video chats, the ability to record video calls, and up to 1000 minutes of video storage. In addition, the ads beneath the video chat display window and the text chat dialog will go away. However, the ad in the buddy list does not disappear. And like Skype, ooVoo offers plans for calling landline and cell phone numbers, starting at $5 per month.

If you're not already hooked on Skype, where you connect with all your key contacts and friends, give ooVoo a try. You may have a higher tolerance for ads than I do. Of course, it means that you'll have to reach out to your contacts to call you using their browser or to install the ooVoo software.