In a nutshell:

Live web streaming from your mobile.

What’s it good for?

Broadcasting live events, webcasting to the world or just using your mobile as a webcam.

Judgement time…

There’s no understating it: Qik is revolutionary. Fire it up and within seconds your Nokia will be beaming live video and audio to the web. It’s so fast you’ll struggle to believe its using the mobile network, but if you’ve got Wi-Fi as well, then it’s nothing short of breathtaking.

Clips are automatically recorded online too, so everything you stream can be viewed again later. Whether that’s a good thing or not, we’re not entirely sure. It’s certainly impressive though.

As you’d expect, there’s the option to optimise your video feed for clarity or speed, with the former delivering eye-popping results over a fast connection.

It’s rare to find a mobile app that’s so completely ahead of the competition. Sure, we’ve reviewed webcam software before, and even streamed video via Bluetooth. But moving pictures direct to the internet? Surely there’s some Symbian voodoo at work here.

And now for the bad news. Qik is currently in Beta, which means you’ll need to be extra nice to the developers if you want an invite to test it on your own phone.

If you’re simply a nosey type, however, head to Qik.com and browse other people’s videos. There’s a lot to choose from already, from people wittering about nothing in particular direct to their cameraphones, to others capturing less innocent events.

Our favourite is the Qik user who streamed video direct from his ring-side seat in an American strip club. The latest technology and a dollop of brass neck cheek seem to go hand in hand.

So what’re the downsides? Seemingly none. Sure, it’ll drain your battery faster than almost any other app going, and risks broadcasting almost everything you do to a worldwide audience, but in the face of technological progress like this, those are minor concerns.