Gadgetwise: A Video Chat App Called Spin Invites a Party

Not everyone can be home for the holidays, and although technology offers a solution, video conferencing seems a little sterile between family and friends. But a free iOS app, Spin, offers a kind of video conferencing that is less formal, simple and more fun. It’s like a souped-up version of Apple’s FaceTime.

What Apple managed with FaceTime was to make video chats simple: Press a button to see and hear the person you are calling. The Spin app, from Net Power & Light, has made it nearly that easy, but instead of calling one person, you can have a group of up to 10 (you and nine others). Once you are all connected, you can not only see and hear one another, but also share photos and videos from your phone’s photo collection, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Instagram.

What makes the app stand out is how easy it is to use. To invite people, you drag their picture down from the list of contacts at the top of the page to the center — your friends have to sign up to appear in the queue. There is a pulsing symbol that lets you know who is available online. To share pictures or videos, drag them up from the bottom. Everyone on the call can see what you share, but your private photos remain private.

Adding extra fun to the app, anyone in the meet-up (calling it a conference seems too businesslike) can draw over the picture with a virtual crayon to add a comment or point out a detail. The app also has a little menu of animations that lets you do things like throw a tomato at a picture or have an audience give a standing ovation.

Because you can’t expect everyone to be at your beck and call, there is an invitation feature that lets you coordinate in advance.

Although the app is simple, there are still a few rough spots. I often had to tell people to turn on the app so we could talk. It also takes a while to learn where to touch the screen, or which way to slide a picture to get the desired result. There are video tutorials to help, though.

For the holiday season, the app is also offering “Carol-Oke” singalongs for your group. You might be smart to fortify with some eggnog before trying it, but — believe it or not — I could find no eggnog app.

ROY FURCHGOTT