There's no shortage of group vide chat services available, and that number increased by one this week as mobile VoIP provider fring threw its hat into the ring with an offering that's chasing the heels of Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Hangouts.

There is a twist though (isn't there always?), and it's pretty cool. Fring allows users to organize their group chats around trending topics of interest.

Want to debate the merits of this weekend's big college football rivalry game between Notre Dame and Michigan (being played under the lights in Ann Arbor), or pooh-pooh the latest bad line call at the U.S. Open? Fring has you covered.

In Playgrounds, fring users actively engage in four-way video discussions either by browsing a list of open Playgrounds or by creating their own video discussions about what is important to them. Fring users can jump into Playgrounds with other fring users from devices running Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS or Google's Android.

"Playground video chat empowers users to video and voice their opinions about things that matter to them. We let users do more than simply 'follow' their interests. Now they can actively engage with others via video chat, instead of waiting for character-constrained updates or time delayed posts," says Avi Shechter, chief executive and co-founder of fring.

Group video chat, and video chat in specific, has seen pretty aggressive uptake recently, but the jury is still out whether consumers would use it if it were anything but a free service.

For more:
- see this release

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Mobile VoIP software company fring is letting users know that some of its prices for fringOut--which allows users to call landlines or mobile phones of non-fring users--are set to change Monday, including increased costs to Luxembourg (and how many people does that affect?), as well as a drop in prices for calls to Belgium and Germany.

The price adjustments are due to changes in call completion costs, the company says, adding that most of its charges will remain the same.

Group video calling and calling other fring users remains free.

Fring launched fringOut a year ago, going head-to-head with Skype and, at the time, offering cheaper rates.

For more:
- see this post

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Oh yes they did. I don't think Skype has a copyright on putting 'Out' on the end of a company name to signify the ability to use a call service to reach regular telephone users, but if they do they might want to take notice. The newly minted Skype enemy, fring, who fell out of love with the VoIP provider after their licensing negotiations fell through, just released fringOut where users can call non-Fring users for one cent a minute the world over.

The rather cheap fringOut service allows global calls to landline and mobile phones over the fring VoIP service. Currently the app runs only on the Nokia S60, but there are plans to launch it for iPhone and Android ASAP. You will notice that in the world of Skype and Gmail calling, this wouldn't be too exciting news, however, fring is a mobile VoIP play to boot!

For more:
- read the release

Related news:
Fring went head-to-head with FaceTime, ended up fighting Skype
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Last week, Fring's iPhone 4 video calling app finally got approved by Apple. The new app directly competes with Apple's own FaceTime software for video calling dominance on the mobile platform. Who wins?

CNET originally compared Fring's one-way video calling app with FaceTime and obviously chose FaceTime as the winner, but now the fight's a little more fair with both apps offering 2-way video calling. Fring allows users to use the iPhone 4's user-facing camera to send video of you smiling face to friends when you make calls. The service allows calls over Skype, SIP and other chat services that offer video calling.

CNET reviewed Fring's new service in comparison to FaceTime and found that FaceTime still performed better than the new offering. Fring's (and Skype's) call quality was actually great and in real time, but there were some video hiccups and fails trying to connect. Fring does win in a few categories though. It works over 3G which might explain any connection or quality issues as FaceTime only allows WiFi which is a much faster and more reliable method of transporting data heavy video calling packets. Fring also trumps FaceTime in that it can connect calls to PCs, Android phones, Nokia and Symbian phones in addition to the iPhone 4. FaceTime only offers iPhone 4 calls.

For more:
- read the CNET review

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Fring is an all-in-one VoIP, video and IM platform for the Android (and iPhone as well as many others). The client works with many IM formats, but the real draw is that--with a Skype for Android app still MIA--Fring allows you to make and receive Skype calls. The kicker is that that includes Skype Video calls! Ok, so the reviewer in the linked article said it was a bit clunky, but it does work. Check out this review.

The first ever video VoIP calling software for mobile phones? Sounds like a first to me, but maybe those of you playing at home can chime in in the comment section. Nokia smartphones will now be able to make Skype VoIP video conference calls using fring.

Fring, a mobile Internet communications service that combines numerous IM and VoIP clients into one service, has added low-quality video chat to their offering. Claiming to be the first mobile over Internet Protocol video calling service, fring users can use it to make mobile video calls over 3G and WiFi to other fring users and Skype users on mobile devices and desktop computers.

Currently the service is for the Nokia X6, N97 mini, N97, 5800, N95 8G and N95 devices, but the basic fring software works for other devices like the iPhone, so I am sure we will see an announcement soon for video calling on other devices. 

For more:
- read this article
- read this release

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A new report from Unstrung says mobile VoIP may be primed to gain serious traction as incumbent operators give in to consumer preference for low-cost IP calling and VoIP feature sets. The report says some mobile VoIP operators like fring and Jajah could be acquired by carriers seeking to control the technology and revenue stream, instead of ceding it to these independent companies. The report also stresses that mobile VoIP allows for significant feature additions like IM and voice mashups that consumers will come to expect in a mobile package. The report's author, John Blau, predicts in 10 years that mobile VoIP will be as common as circuit-switched mobile calls are today.

For more:
- see a brief the report at Unstrung here