Lenovo adds even more video software

JUST A WEEK after Lenovo announced that it will be pre-installing Skype on all its Thinkpad notebooks and Thinkcentre desktops, the company has revealed that it will bung more video conferencing software onto some of its PCs.

From January, many of Lenovo's Ideapad laptops will have Lenovo Video Chat, which uses Oovoo as the underlying engine, pre-installed as part of an agreement between the two firms.

According to Oovoo, the software offers six-way video calls or text chats and allows users to record and send video messages as well as create video chat rooms to embed on a website.

Oovoo uses a mixed pricing model, with certain features such as two-way video chat being free, but other premium functions such as higher resolution video and including more participants requiring payment.

At the time of writing Lenovo couldn't confirm whether it will be applying the same business model or if it will be introducing its own pricing plan.

The move may do well for Lenovo, as our reader responses to Lenovo's Skype announcement were largely negative. µ