Verizon adds HD mobile video conferencing

From the Verizon Developer Conference in Las Vegas, the carrier today introduced cloud-based, HD multi-party video conferencing capabilities for businesses of all sizes. Also on tap: new developer tool partnerships.

Verizon's new mobile video app, FuzeMeeting (which was recently featured in an iPad ad) comes via a collaboration with FuzeBox and is now being offered through the Business Solutions Alliance Program on Verizon's 4G LTE network.

"In the last few years, telepresence and video conferencing have advanced to the next echelon, and, with 4G, we are moving business capabilities to the next level," Michael Toto, Verizon's director of Enterprise and Government Partnerships, said in a statement.

Toto added that mobile video collaboration is becoming mainstream for diagnostics and analysis, and Verizon expects the healthcare industry — think experts collaborating over video, or doctors consulting remotely with patients — to be a major adopter, along with education, finance and creative fields.

Verizon expects Fuze Meeting to complement existing conferencing solutions, extending video conferencing capabilities beyond board rooms, to any worker with a smartphone.

Among the new partners in the Verizon Developer Community: Kiip, an SDK for iOS and Android that offer gamer awards; Retailigence, an API for Web and mobile apps that pairs location-based services and information on more than 5 million apps and 65,000 store locations; and Footfeed, which offers a white-label check-in platform for building location-based campaigns and promotions.

A day earlier, Verizon introduced its redesigned, renamed mobile app store, an improved search engine, Chomp, and a new app store specifically for enterprise customers (CP: Verizon overhauls app store; targets enterprise smartphones).