BT's videophone--will anyone bite?

(Credit: BT Shop)

As our extended family at Crave UK notes, the promise of a video phone seems about as old as Alexander Graham Bell. We too remember seeing one as kids at Disney's Tomorrowland circa 1970, when it was said to be just around the corner.

So it's perfectly understandable for the "BT Videophone" to be met with appropriate skepticism--or, as our continental cousins say, "piffle." BT is offering two models, a base version for 150 pounds and one with a Web browser for 200. (That's almost $300 and $400 to us Yanks.)

But the phone also requires subscription to a separate BT service, even though Crave UK notes that this is "something that you could already do for much less on a computer with a Webcam and some free software." Piffle indeed.