Video calling on mobile phones to go mainstream

(Credit: Global IP)

If talking over the phone is not enough (as it's never enough for me, personally), you will probably soon have the option to place video calls, too. That is, of course, if your mobile phone supports VideoEngine Mobile platform Global IP Solutions (GIPS), the company that introduced the VoiceEngine for iPhone recently, announced on Monday.

The technology enables peer-to-peer video calling as well as multipoint video conferencing on mobile phones. GIPS says that its VideoEngine Mobile pave the way for wireless carriers, application developers and mobile handset manufacturers to provide high-quality video calls, even under adverse network conditions.

The VideoEngine works by implementing GIPS' existing industry standard real-time communications capabilities to leverage network effects and hardware limitations. This results in a better way to solve the most complex voice and video-related challenges in IP communications, such as packet loss and lip synchronization.

Currently the new VideoEngine works only with Windows Mobile hardware that is powered by the Marvell chipset and Intel XScale PX310 processor, such as the HP iPAQ series, Samsung's SGH-i780 and Gigabyte's GSmart MS808. This is because GIPS has partnered with Marvell Technology to make sure that its new VideoEngine is optimized for the mentioned hardware.

Still, this is a first step. In order for video calling to work, carriers have to adopt the technology and handsets need to be designed for it. For example, you can't have a video call if the camera of the phone is facing the other way from the screen. It is predicted that mobile TV and mobile video services are going to be popular by 2013.

Future releases of VideoEngine Mobile will also support other popular mobile platforms, including Symbian and Apple's iPhone, as well as additional hardware platforms for Windows Mobile.

The question is: when this all happens, what would be the excuse when "seeing" somebody is still not enough?

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While video conferencing may be better than talking on the phone for some, for others (like telecommuting me), having the pressure to conduct professional conversations while seated, presumably at a desk, wearing 'work clothes' creates unnecessary steps to accomplishing the work task at hand. I'd prefer to continue with mobile calls on conference call lines. The service I use (and work with), Vello (www.vellocall.com) calls out so I never waste time looking for dial-in numbers, passwords nor waiting for others to join. And I get to work in my sweats!