AT&T has caught a lot of flak for being excruciatingly picky about what apps can do video chat over data on what kind of plans. It's been equal parts annoying and confusing for everyone involved. But now, the carrier is about to simplify it by letting everyone do everything by the end of this year. Finally.

When Apple launched iOS 6, it was happy to announce that FaceTime was finally going to be available over 3G. Great! But now, 9to5mac is reporting, based on leaked screenshots, that using FaceTime over AT&T's 3G network may require a paid-for contract bolt-on. Not so great.

It's rumored that Facebook is extending its standalone Messenger app for iPhone to include video chat capabilities, and 9to5mac reports that the current beta version is "smooth most of the time".

Like the horror movie villain that never dies, Google+ Hangouts is still somehow finding a way to slither into our collective mind even after we've forgotten about it. This time, the expected top two NFL picks in this year's draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, will host Google+ Hangouts on their teams page.

No—not an Onion article. A Washington, DC-area plastic surgeon is being hit with patients rendered so self-conscious by their video chatting visages that they're asking for phone-specific facelifts. Technology is great except when it's so, so awful.

Skype's been powering Facebook's video chat feature since July, but its new apps for Windows and OS X now let you use the Skype client to directly make video calls to your Facebook friends.

Not to leave iOS users in the dust, Google just updated their Google+ app to include video chat and improved group messaging. I have about one more reason to use my languishing account. Keep 'em coming, Google! [iTunes via Phonescoop]

Droid Bionic, where have you been? You've been teasing us since January, and now that you're finally coming, will people care or will you be out-shone by others who got to the party sooner and look at least as pretty?

Lee Allison had the brilliant idea of hosting a cooking class using Google+. He invited participants to video chat using Hangouts while he walked them through a recipe.

Boy, if you ever want to know what Facebook's planning next, just take a peek in its code. That's what one chap did yesterday when Facebook released its Messenger app, and discovered that video-chat will be added soon.