Text messages are a great way to quickly contact friends and family, but sometimes words just don’t get the point across. That’s where video messaging comes in handy. LittleTV aims to make the process of sending short video messages a breeze.
How does LittleTV work? The concept is pretty much the same as a text message, in that you compose a short message and send it to someone. The difference is that your message uses video instead of letters.
You’ll need to create an account by either connecting LittleTV with Facebook or signing up with a phone number. Then set up a profile with your first and last name, and a profile photo. Once everything is set up, you’re ready to start messaging.
LittleTV requires users to grant the app a slew of permissions, from camera and microphone access to contacts and push notifications.
To send a message, simply open LittleTV and select “Send Video”. You can choose to record a brand-new video or import an existing video from your iPhone camera roll.
To record, just tap on the recording button and hold it down for as long as you want to record. There’s no limit to video length, but make sure you’re mindful if you’re sending messages over cellular data. The ability to send videos of unlimited length sets LittleTV apart from similar video sharing apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, and others.
Once the video is to your liking, you can choose who to send the video to. I did notice that LittleTV only allows you to send messages to people in your iPhone contacts. The only major issue with this is that I couldn’t find a way to manually enter a phone number to send the video to.
If you’re not in the mood to send messages, LittleTV features a public stream that allows you to browse uploads by other users, as well as subscribe to users and receive updates when they post a new video.
I really do like the idea and concept behind LittleTV, but I don’t like the fact that it limits users to being known only by their phone number. I wish users had an option to set up a username so they could send and receive messages from friends who might not be in their contacts.
Overall, I like the fact that LittleTV lives up to expectations when it comes to allowing users to record and share video messages between each other. Plus, you can share clips publicly. I do wish the app allowed users to sign up with usernames as well as phone numbers, though.
LittleTV requires iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
A small fee was paid by the developer for publication of this review