Opera for Android gets native video calling thanks to WebRTC, along with new UI and bug fixes

Tired of trying to get all your contacts to use the same video-calling app? Well that won’t be necessary for long. With its latest update Opera for Android , video chatting is now possible through the browser itself.   Opera 20, which was released earlier today, brings full compatibility to WebRTC and GetUserMedia standards, which enables video chatting through the browser and others that support WebRTC. On Android, this includes Google Chrome (version 28 and above), Mozilla Firefox (version 12 and above), while on PC, the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Opera support this standard. In addition, Google’s Chrome OS also has this feature baked-in into the browser. So compatibility is not an issue at the moment. Last February, Google and Mozilla had the first ever cross-browser video chat using WebRTC.   This is how it works: You need to do is visit a site which allows video conferencing over WebRTC (such as appear.in), get a URL for your video conference and share it with anyone you’d like to invite. Up to eight people can connect to the video chat from their Android phones or computers, at the same time, the company says.   “The web is the ultimate meeting place for all forms of communication, so why not build video communication capabilities right into the mobile browser?” says Peter Wallman, SVP of Mobile Products at Opera Software. “We have worked with the folks at appear.in before, and their site is a very neat example of how to combine cutting-edge web technologies into a useful service that is free and simple to use, yet powerful.”   Just like the desktop browser asks for your consent before using the microphone and camera on your PC, Opera for Android will inform you of camera and microphone usage via on-screen requests.   Opera says the Chromium core of the browser has been updated to version 33, and multiple bugs in text-wrap and text selection have been squashed. In addition, Opera for Android now has a refined UI with a flat design for Speed Dial, customisable navigation bars and improved search features in the address bar.