Orgoo, the long-anticipated, all-in-one, browser-based communications suite that presented at TechCrunch40 last fall, is releasing a new video chat service to the public today. This comes ahead of a general release of its email, IM, and SMS tools, which remain in private beta.

Over the last seven months, Orgoo has been working on building a replacement to the Userplane video chat it has relied on. The new service is entirely browser-based and allows up to four people to chat via video together at a time (with an unlimited number of people who can join via text chat). For now, there will be a cap of 1,000 people who can broadcast simultaneously over Orgoo, although the company will increase that cap daily.

Orgoo is one of the first to provide this capability independently and all within the browser for private chat sessions. Yahoo Live, which we covered recently here, allows for five-person video chats but in a more public-broadcasting type of setting. ooVoo supports up to six people but requires a Windows-only download. Tokbox supports up to six people but only provides text chat when used with Meebo. And MeBeam supports up to 16 people but has a very primitive user interface. Paltalk has been at this the longest, and offers a 10-person video chat via PaltalkScene (a Windows-only download) and PaltalkExpress (a Web-based version in alpha for both Macs and Windows PCs).

When demoing Orgoo’s new service, there were some problems with audio echos and delays. However, I was assured that these issues would be worked out for today’s launch. If Orgoo’s video chat is able to function for several people as smoothly as Skype functions for two, then this will be quite an awesome service. Both businesses and casual users alike will find it very useful for connecting with people over long distances.

Orgoo video chats will soon be embeddable into other sites as well. The company is working with MySpace to provide its users with video chat capabilities while alleviating the obvious concerns about child predators.

Another cool feature is the ability to initiate one-on-one chats from within group chats. You can just select the person you want to chat directly with, and you’ll enter a dialogue only with them. Both group and one-on-one chats can be viewed fullscreen as well.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Sequoia backed Tokbox (they are actually working from Sequoia’s offices, just a couple of doors down from where YouTube was incubated), a video chat service that does not require any software downloads, is now allowing up to six simultaneous participants. Skype video, by contrast, only allows two participants, and it requires that all users be using the Skype software.

For now TokBox is only launching this feature via their Meebo integration - this also means all participants can simultaneously text chat during the session as well. SnapYap, a sponsor of our recent Boston meetup, is a competitor to Tokbox (and by the way, see some video footage of the event here).

Meebo

Loading information about Meebo…

Tokbox

Loading information about Tokbox…

cb_widget_report_widget(”cb_widget_1195552957″); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_0_1195552957″,”meebo”); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_1_1195552957″,”tokbox”);

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Can’t see the video? Click here

Sequoia backed Meebo launches Meebo Platform this evening, allowing third party developers to create applications for the Meebo web chat service. They’re celebrating the launch with a big party in San Francisco with hundreds of the company’s closest friends.

Like Facebook Platform and the recently announced MySpace Platform it consists of a set of APIs to give developers access certain user features and information. Developers can create applications that run within MySpace. Developers will be able to include Flash applets and Javascript snippets.

Unlike MySpace and Facebook, however, the platform is not open to all who choose to come. The company is announcing four partners this evening and opening up a sandbox area for developers to build potential applications. Those that Meebo thinks will make the user experience richer, will be permitted to launch.

Four partners are being announced this evening along with the launch: Tokbox (video chat), Talkshoe (conference calls on the fly), Ustream (lifecasting) and Pudding Media (PC to PC VOIP calls).

Meebo

Loading information about Meebo…

cb_widget_report_widget(”cb_widget_1193714753″); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_0_1193714753″,”meebo”);

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

TokBox, a cool new startup we covered in August that lets you set up video chat on the fly with no software downloads at all, gets a nice writeup by Brad Stone in the New York Times this evening. Note the comments in our original post - it got rave reviews from readers, which is rare.

Not a lot of new information in the article, except for the fact that Sequoia Capital has apparently put $4 million into the venture. Rajeev Motwani and Tony Bates (a SVP at Cisco) are also listed as investors.

The article also notes that Roelof Botha from Sequoia is involved, the same person who backed YouTube. “TokBox will face more formidable technical challenges than YouTube,” Stone says, which is exactly right. They’re solving a lot of problems YouTube never dealt with by handing two way, synchronous video communication without any kind of software on the computer beyond Flash and the browser.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0