Vimessa, a Y Combinator-funded startup, has launched a straightforward video messaging platform for mobile.
The app, now available in the Apple App Store, lets users record videos of any length, save them and send them to friends and family. It works best if the recipient has Vimessa, but it also works with phone numbers and email addresses.
Vimessa is available for iOS devices with a front-facing camera: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch and the iPad 2. Vimessa promises apps for Android and Windows Phone are coming "very soon."
"It was increasingly difficult to keep in touch with family and friends," says founder Peter Clark, who is from the UK. "If you travel a lot, it's useful."
Clark says that text messaging and phone calls simply aren't "emotional" enough for long-distance communication, and systems such as Skype require both sides to be on at the same time. And sending an SMS video message across the pond isn't cheap, either.
The Y Combinator seed fund and accelerator, along with the Start Fund, which invests $150,000 in every YC company, support Vimessa, though the company has yet to raise additional capital.
Vimessa faces especially difficult challenges as big players such as Skype begin to offer this type of functionality. Facebook-based Skype calls support video voicemail messages, and Skype just released Facebook support in its desktop apps.
The heavy competition doesn't deter Clark, though. "We want to be the SMS of video," he says.