Hot on the heels of its competitor Qik, mobile video service Flixwagon has released an application for the iPhone 3G that allows users to stream live video from their cell phones. Qik released a similar application for the iPhone 3G yesterday. Unfortunately, like the Qik app, this will only work on jailbroken (hacked) iPhones, which severely limits the potential user base.

Here are the instructions if you’d like to install it:

-On Cydia, make sure you refresh all ‘Sources’ under the ‘Changes’ tab, and then Install Flixwagon from “Sections/Multimedia”.
-On installer 4: make sure you refresh ‘Sources’, and then install Flixwagon via “Categories/Multimedia”. The app is also available via Community resources like iSpazio.

Apple’s ban on applications using the iPhone’s camera is just one of the seemingly arbitrary restrictions the company is placing on developers. What makes the restriction especially annoying is the fact that the camera is actually designed to capture video. Some users speculate that the lack of a sanctioned video app may be because of Apple’s concerns with the iPhone’s already lackluster battery life, while others believe that the phone’s developers don’t have it very high on their priority list.
Update: A developer I’ve spoken to says that the camera buffer is simply a part of the phone developers are not given access to yet, but that this likely has more to do with creating a sandboxed environment than Apple explicitly forbidding video apps.

Either way, the fact that Apple is rejecting applications that have significant demand and no malicious qualities has frustrated users and developers alike. Apple’s lack of communication and hazy Terms of Service may cause the App Store to stagnate, as developers become wary of creating something truly innovative only to have it rejected.

Notably absent from the race to get streaming video to the iPhone is Kyte, a direct competitor to Qik and Flixwagon. Kyte may be trying to avoid any disagreements with Apple, as it already it has an Apple approved application available in the App Store (which can only handle images, not video).

Qik, the startup that allows users to stream live mobile video from their cell phones, has released an application that allows users to use the service from their 3G iPhones. Unfortunately, the application isn’t available through Apple’s sanctioned App Store, so users will need to jailbreak (hack) their iPhones to use it. And because Apple has yet to enable video capture on the iPhone, we probably won’t be seeing a “legit” application any time soon.

Last week Qik released support for iPhones running the old (1.1.4) firmware, which was made obsolete by the 2.0 software that was released in July and gives users access to Apple’s App Store. This new release also supports the older iPhone, but users won’t be able to stream over the slow EDGE network.

The following instructions are included in the company’s blog post:

You can get Qikking with the iPhone 3G (and earlier models running iPhone OS 2.0!) by doing the following:

1. If you have not already, you’ll need to sign up at http://qik.com/sign_up and receive an SMS from us to activate the application.
2. Launch Cydia.
3. Go to the “Sections” tab at the bottom and scroll down to “Multimedia.”
4. Under Multimedia, you will find Qik. Tap on it then select “Install” at the top right, then in the same spot tap “Confirm.”
5. Now you will see Qik get installed. You may hit the “Return to Cydia” button at the bottom or just quit Cydia when it is done installing.
6. You’ll now notice a “Qik” icon on your home screen - Go ahead and launch it.
7. As long as your initial signup SMS/text message is still in your inbox for the first launch, your account will be linked to your device.
8. Make sure you have 3G service or are on WiFi (edge is not sufficient enough to stream video) before you begin broadcasting.
9. Hit record and enjoy Qik!

Qik has released its mobile video streaming application for jailbroken iPhones to the public. The service allows users to broadcast video live from their phones using Wi-Fi or the EDGE network which can be viewed on Qik’s site or through its embeddable player. Unfortunately, the application is only compatible with phones running the 1.1.4 firmware, which has been obsolete for nearly a month since the introduction of the Apple App Store. If you’ve got a phone running the old version, you can download the app after signing up here.

Users running the 2.0 version of the software will need to wait for Qik to release a compatible version, which the company expects to do in the near future. Unfortunately, it’s likely that the application won’t be available through the official App Store, as Apple still hasn’t enabled video capture using the phone’s integrated camera. Until Apple changes its mind, you’ll need to jailbreak your phone - something that the vast majority of iPhone users are reluctant to do.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can try downgrading your phone to the 1.1.4 firmware using the instructions here, but we haven’t tested them and there’s a good chance that you’ll fail miserably (don’t try this if you have an iPhone 3G).

Qik has offered a private beta service for months, but only recently launched to the public. Besides the iPhone, the service supports a number of other phones, including models offered by Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung (you can see the full list here).

Qik, the video service that streams live feeds from your mobile phone, has finally launched its public beta. The site has also introduced a number of new features to the service, including support for restricted group access to videos, self-service event streams, and a new embeddable player.

The beta will support a wide variety of phones on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint, including support for software on the Windows Mobile platform that began testing in June. Qik says that it will be continually adding new phones to the supported list, which you can view here.

The site has also implemented support for Groups, which allow users to select who can upload and view selected clips. Among the included privacy options are allowance for public groups, which anyone can post to, restricted groups, which allow anyone to view (but only select users to post), and a private view, which restricts viewing and uploading to a specified group of users.

Qik has also introduced support for special Event sites, which are essentially temporary groups that are focused on a single event or conference. In the past users who wanted to create specific event pages would have to go through the company itself. Now, users will be able to create self-serve pages with custom logos where they can aggregate all of the content from a single event.

We’ve been using Qik for the last few months, and for the most part we’ve been pleased with the video quality and the convenience that comes from having a portable video camera that can stream directly to the web (although there have been some troubles with upload speeds that are largely the fault of network carriers). There are a number of very similar services in the space, including Kyte and Flixwagon. You can see a general comparison of some of the services here.

Over the course of the last year we’ve seen an explosion of startups looking to take streaming video to the mobile phone. Smartphones with high-speed data plans and video cameras are becoming increasingly commonplace, and many users are eager to turn their phones into handheld recording studios, even at the cost of video quality.

Well-known blogger Robert Scoble, who once said that he would “only use HD camcorders”, has become one of the new services’ most vocal supporters. Last month he predicted that Kyte would eventually overtake the competition, based on its interface and devices that support playback.

What he neglected to analyze was the audio and video quality of each service, which are obviously key components of media streaming. So we’ve decided to put them to the test. We’ve recruited Sarah Austin of Pop17.com, who has helped us record the same interview four times (once with each service). The questions may get a little repetitive, but at least the videos are easy on the eyes.

We’ve done everything we can to make the tests as consistent as possible. Each video was shot using the respective app’s highest quality setting on the same Nokia N95 smartphone. And we’ve used the same location, lighting, and Wi-Fi access point for each test.

Qik

Qik began testing in November 2007 with support for a limited number of Nokia smartphones. In March the site annouced a partnership with popular lifecasting site Justin.TV. The number of phones supported remains limited, but the site has recently announced support for the Windows Mobile platform (though only on a select number of phones so far), and the release of a version for jailbroken (hacked) iPhones. Qik has raised about $4 million in funding.

Video:
Audio:
Player:

Kyte

Kyte opened its media distribution channels in April 2007, but it wasn’t until almost a year later that it launched its streaming video service. Kyte has managed to recruit a number of big-name celebrities like 50 Cent, who prominently features the player on his homepage. Of the services tested, Kyte has by far the most funding, having raised a total of over $23 million.

Video:
Audio:
Player:

Flixwagon

Israel-based Flixwagon launched in a limited private alpha in January, and opened its doors to the public earlier this month. Like Qik, the company has also released a version for the iPhone, but it too is for hacked phones only. Flixwagon only has around $1 million in funding, and is reportedly seeking a second round.

Video:
Audio:
Player:

Livecast
Livecast (formerly known as ComView) supports Windows Mobile 5/6 and Symbian S60 phones. We began this experiment with the intention of comparing four services, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get Livecast to work. We successfully got the video to upload to the site, but Livecast’s video player is little more than an embedded .mov or .wmv file that never played. We managed to download a video file that worked locally, but that sort of defeats the point, doesn’t it?

Conclusions
We’re going to ignore Livecast for this comparison, because we couldn’t get its player to work at all.

In terms of video quality, Qik and Kyte are clearly a step above FlixWagon, with Kyte barely edging out Qik for the top position. FlixWagon seems to be using more compression on its videos, giving some shots a pixelated look that is especially obvious when there’s movement on camera. Kyte also seems to do this too to a lesser extent, but it’s nowhere near as bad.

Audio is another close call, but we think that Kyte takes the top spot here, too. Qik’s audio comes through clearly, though the volume is a little faint, while Kyte seems to have the ideal mix of loudness and clarity. FlixWagon comes in last - its audio has a very tinny quality that leads to an irritating staticy sound.

Preference in the embeddable players will largely come down to a matter of taste. Qik’s player has the best styling, but it lacks the embedded chat features that are found on Kyte (Qik has a chat button in the player, but it doesn’t seem to do anything). Again, FlixWagon falls short in this area - it’s overly simplistic player is neither stylish nor feature-rich.

What none of these services can offer is native, Apple-approved support for the iPhone, which is easily the most user-friendly smartphone on the market. The first app that can do this (if it’s even possible), will likely become the standard in mobile broadcasting.

The post below is written by Robert Scoble, a top blogger and the founder FastCompanyTV.

Robert has been one of the earliest adopters of cell phone video, which offers the ability to stream live to the Internet, with the primary tradeoff being relatively poor video quality. He’s extensively tested all of the major emerging services in this area, including Kyte, Qik and Flixwagon, among others.

This is a post I didn’t want to write. Why? For the last six months I’ve been using Qik’s live video service off of my cell phone. I’m the top user there, with most views, most videos, and all that. I’ve used that service to take videos inside the first production Tesla, Annie Leibovitz as she showed us around her latest photos of famous people, Google press conferences, Ansel Adams’ son at the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite, Bono at the World Economic Forum, and more than 700 other videos as well.

Qik has done something remarkable: it put a TV studio in my pocket. I can get live video onto the Internet faster than I can make a phone call (Qik takes two clicks to start streaming, a phone call takes 12 clicks on my phone’s keypad). Even better, while doing a video you can watch live and you can send text chat messages to my phone while I am filming. While we were racing around Santa Monica in Elon Musk’s new Tesla (he’s the chairman of the board and was giving us a killer demo) we had hundreds of people watching my cell phone along with Jason Calacanis’ phone, which was shooting the same view from his Corvette alongside. As Elon was driving we had hundreds of people asking questions about the new Tesla. This was interactivity the world had never seen.
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Not to be outdone by competitor Flixwagon, Qik has just released its own demonstration of live video streaming from the iPhone (see below).

The demo comes just hours after Flixwagon made a similar announcement. However, Qik is one-upping Flixwagon by promising to release its software next week, not further off in July. It will presumably work only with jailbroken iPhones as well, at least until the app store rolls around.

Seven months after we first saw video on the iPhone in action, Flixwagon appears to have beaten its better-known rival Qik to the punch by getting its streaming video service to work on unlocked iPhones (or at least by demonstrating to the public first that it has done so).

Qik is undoubtedly looking to support the iPhone but has so far been rather noncommittal. Perhaps it was waiting to see whether the new generation iPhone would have native support for video so the company wouldn’t have to hack its still camera functionality (which Flixwagon must have done since neither the current nor forthcoming model records video).

Don’t expect to see Flixwagon iPhone support rolled out to alpha testers until early July, perhaps when the official app store goes live on the 11th. If you’re interested in broadcasting from your iPhone or any other device, you can email Flixwagon at techcrunch@flixwagon.com and they’ll give you priority access to the service.

See the video below for a demonstration of Flixwagon on the iPhone. All iPhone broadcasts can also be found here.

Update: Qik has counter-punched by promising to release its iPhone support next week.