The appearance of the popular video messaging app Glide has been a long time coming for Windows phone users. Back in 2014, the developers over at Glide mentioned they were working to bring the app to the platform.
Widely used on both Android and iOS, Glide found its niche by providing an effortless way to send inline video messages in a text-like format. The mechanics behind the app involve cloud-saves of the videos that help speed up processing as well as saving space on devices.
Through some channels (mainly their Facebook and Twitter accounts) Windows phone users were updated about the development process for the app early on. However, since the early 2014 announcements, the story of Glide’s appearance on Windows phones has seemingly gone dark.
However, thanks to a recent Twitter announcement, it looks as though the two years of silence from Glide developers was spent polishing up the app for Windows phones, and now users can get it from the Windows Store today.
The new app for Windows 10 Mobile devices now includes:
Live Video Messaging
Text Messaging
Group Video Messaging
Videos Stored on the Cloud
Video chat
Here’s the official description:
“Glides can be watched whenever you’re ready – chat live or later. You don’t need to wait until your friends are online to chat. All video chats are saved on the cloud and don’t take up any space on your device, so you can watch and rewatch videos as many times as you’d like, absolutely free.”
Beyond the high-level feature set, Glide users can also watch videos being made in both a one-on-one conversation as well as in group chats. Glide’s use of video messaging also enables deaf and hard of hearing users continue to make use of their smartphones beyond traditional means.
In a world where Instagram videos, Skype, and Snapchat are elevating the use of video in communication, it’ll be interesting to see if apps such as Glide become alternatives to text messaging for some.
