Mobile phone video streaming service Qik opens public beta

Mobile phone video broadcast site Qik, which launched in private testing this spring, has opened today as a public beta. Qik is a live video streaming site that turns the user's mobile phone camera into something of a remote webcam. Users are encouraged to stream events and other happenings, which can be viewed live and later as video clips, to the Qik Web site. Thanks to a committed stable of users providing unique content to the service and support from notable bloggers, Qik has rapidly gained widespread attention. It's not clear whether the company has paid or otherwise rewarded these individuals -- such as Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington and XM Radio's Robert Eklund -- for using Qik, but the service has quickly outpaced rival Flixwagon as a result. Though it has been repeatedly inaccessible throughout the morning, Qik is... [read full story]