Qik-ly Get Mobile Video Online

This is so easy it’s stupid. Robert Scoble blurbed about Qik a few weeks ago and it took me that long to get my invite and actually try the service out. Qik is a new video service designed to allow you to stream live video from your mobile phone to the internet.

The name seriously could not be more appropriate. Currently it’s only available on S60 handsets such as my N95, but there’s no reason that WinMo couldn’t be added eventually. Qik is an application that you open on your handset, and it uses your phone’s data connection to stream live (well, with a 5-second delay) video to the internet. It then automatically saves said video so that others can view it later.

It’s so easy my mom could do it. There’s no setup. You give them your cellphone number and are texted with a download link. Once installed, open the app and there you go. Press the center button on your d-pad (or the softkey labelled “stream”) and you’re live. Press it again to stop. That’s it.

There’s literally nothing else to do. It’s uploaded, online, and you can give anyone your URL (mine’s www.qik.com/rcadden) and they can watch you semi-live or see your past videos.

It’s awesome to see someone making sharing multimedia so dead-easy. Try uploading photos directly from your handset to the web as easily as this. It can be done, but not with a bit more setup. Think about handing your elderly parents (or other stereotypically tech-illiterate person) a handset and within 2 clicks they’re streaming live video.