Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
No, thank you Accept
X
WWDC: How to WatchCNET CouponsSleep With Socks OnBest Solar CompaniesRemote Working in ParadiseBest Satellite Internet ProvidersCurrent Mortgage RatesMeal Subscription vs. Takeout

Sidecar dials up smarter smartphones

The new mobile app aims to let you easily share video, photos, and other information while you talk. It also provides free calling in the U.S. and Canada to non-Sidecar users.

jonskillings.jpg
jonskillings.jpg
Jon Skillings Director of copy editing
A born browser of dictionaries and a lifelong New Englander, Jon Skillings is director of copy editing at CNET. He honed his language skills as a US Army linguist (Polish and German) before diving into editing tech publications back when the web was just getting under way. He writes occasionally, on topics from GPS to James Bond.
Expertise language, grammar, usage Credentials
  • 30 years experience at tech and consumer publications, print and online. Five years in the US Army as a translator (German and Polish).
See full bio
Jon Skillings
Sidecar logo

Startup Sidecar wants to be the engine of change for smartphones.

The company, formerly known as SocialEyes, today launched its Sidecar mobile app, which has not one but two key features. First, the company says, it lets users share live video (or photos, contact information, and locations) while they talk. Second, it provides free VoIP calling in a variety of scenarios.

The goal is to bust the calling experience out of its limited, old-fashioned ways.

"Until now, voice calling has sat in a silo by itself. People who wanted to do more than talk had to toggle back and forth between voice calls and whatever else they wanted to share with the person they were calling," Rob Williams, Sidecar's CEO, said in a statement. "Sidecar tears down these barriers."

Calls made using Sidecar are free to other Sidecar users worldwide, and in the the U.S. and Canada, calls are free -- over Wi-Fi -- even to non-Sidecar users, provided you're calling a regular phone number. Standard carrier data charges will apply when the app is used over 3G/4G.

As SocialEyes, the company was founded in 2011 to provide videoconferencing services, but then "pivoted" to target the rapidly growing smartphone market. Its founders include Williams, Rob Glaser (former head of RealNetworks), and Jeff McLeman.

Sidecar is available as a free download at Apple's App Store and at Google Play.