Qik, the video streaming device for cellphones that we’ve used to different degrees of success, is now in open public beta. Well, whenever the site comes back up, that is.

In addition to opening up its doors to the public, the beta adds a few new features that are sure to frustrate us the next time we try to use it (I kid). There’s a new embeddable player, better support for Windows Mobile-based devices, and a groups feature. Basically, you can make it so that viewers have to be part of a certain group—The Kop, to invent one—to view videos. It’s one of them there privacy features.

Similarly, you can create ad-hoc groups called Events, whose whole raison d’etre is for things like press conferences or concerts or whatever. Short-term groups that don’t necessarily have to be around forever.

The list of compatible devices can be found here, again, whenever the site comes back.

via TechCrunch