Group collaboration services are becoming more popular and more viable but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Team Apart, a new service recently launched in private beta, is joining the growing number of startups trying to provide a better solution. The package includes web-based video and audio chat capabilities, a text editor and a whiteboard, all updated in real time.

“Team Apart is thrilled to open our (virtual) doors to a few good beta testers. Team Apart lets small workgroups create a shared website (we call them workspaces) with group video-chat and real-time collaboration tools [...] for online meetings,” the blog post announcing the release read. “Team Apart is launching in Beta, and that’s for good reason. We’ve made a valuable tool for online, remote collaboration (hence the name, “Team Apart.” Clever, huh?) but, we also know that we have a long way to go.”

There are a number of similar products out there but none offer the blend of features that Team Apart has. The service revolves around the video and audio chat capabilities with the rest of the tools there to augment the functionality. Participants in the meeting can scribble on the whiteboard or write down notes in the text editor and can even share files. All of the files created or shared are persistent and will be stored in the cloud but can also be downloaded separately. Joining a new meeting is as simple as clicking a link and there is no need for a separate plugin (though Flash is required).

The focus is on real time so one of the more sensitive areas is the chat capabilities, which should really provide a seamless experience if the service is going to succeed or stand apart. This may be part of the reason why the number of simultaneous users is limited to four for the time being, though this may change after the product leaves the beta period. The service is free, and will remain so after it becomes public, but for now it's invitation only.