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Wireless Video Phone
Switch writes "This article from CNN introduces the latest and greatest wireless technology. NEC is going to produce a "viewer" that includes a CCD camera, microphone, and 2" LCD display for wireless communication with video. And to make it cooler, the communication takes place via a radio link to your cell phone which could be in your pocket, briefcase, etc... " I don't even own a cell phone yet, but these look pretty cool.
The U.S. is just so pitifully behind in their digital cell phone services. Anyone ever try travelling around the U.S. with one? Whatever network you choose, it's far from all-encompassing. Now head over to Europe or Asia, and see just how much better their phones work. And how many more things you can do w/ it (pay bills, text-message, etc.).
And the accessories that are available to phone users. Like the bland outer casings for them Nokia phones that are marketed here PALE in comparison to the smorgasbord of designs you can get in - of all places - the Philippines. (You'd be surprised at just how many people in this poly-island country have cell phones. And text-messaging is now part of the youth culture there.)
Also a beef I have w/ the U.S. digital cell phone services is if you wanna switch companies, you have to buy a freakin' new phone for it. Because the phone you'd been using was meant to be used for just that one cell phone company. This explains why there're no longer long-term contracts like they had w/ the analog phones. This is how they getcha!
Check this article out. It's entitled Why your cell phone stinks from TIME. They blame the standards wars (CDMA, PCS, GSM) of years past to why the U.S. is behind.
Give me a 384 Kbps wireless link any day, but PLEASE don't make me go to the mall to use it.
I don't like shopping much anyway, but malls are the pits...
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
Scenario: You call in to work sick so that you can go and hang out at the brand new Nudie bar that just opened up down the street. Your boss calls you on your Video Phone... Your at the nudie bar.... Not good... And what if you leave it at home? Boss will be suspicious... Definate bummer.. Unless your the boss
--------========+++Dont Feed The Lab Techs+++========--------
Have a look at this one : http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/elect/9909EFCO BM.html cyborg suit with lcd and assorted stuff
To continue on that line of thought, when are they going to start adding features to cell phones to make them safer.
As a motorcyclist (and geek) I am constantly on guard against the morning commuter who feels the need to chat on the phone and check out something on their lap top, never mind what lane their Volvo just drifted into. Unfortunately, I think it will take a well loved celebrity being killed by one of these drivers to wake up the general population and have some changes made. I'm nomiating the Back Street Boys for this dubious honor.
What they really need to do is make more voice operated phones that can tie into the cars speaker system so people can pay attention to the road and not the phone in their hand.
But it hasn't picked up with the majority of the population, which is why it's something of the past. The reason is, the phone provides instantaneous communication. That's its fuction and purpose. The purpose is not to see the other, most of the times. Who would want to run out of the shower to answer an important call, then have to hide behind a sofa to speak on the phone?
So, this gadget will only be bought by senior management who somehow manage to bull$hi7 the accounting department into saying this is useful. Sure, on the off-chance that you're stuck in the bathroom (heh, little AY2K joke) for an important video conference call, it's gonna be great. Other than that, I think very few people will actually bother with it.
Yeah, it's cool. So that leaves senior management and geeks to buy it. :)
"There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."
I work at a distributed company, we have sites all over the world, and teams working on projects at multiple sites.
That said, I can say with authority that phone conferencing does NOT work. It's a pain in the ass. You never know if someone is there on the other line, or if they've left the room, or if they even showed up to the meeting in the first place. That's just one minor issue. Then you don't get facial expression, so people don't bother trying to make jokes, so meetings consequently end up very boring, then there are times when knowing who said what is very important. Being able to connect a face to a voice, and by association, a name, distinguishes the content of what they said. Over a speakerphone, half the time you have no idea who's saying what.
So, for personal use, I think videophones probably have no future, but for business use, I don't see how we're going to survive without this technology, as the trend towards globalization and mega-mergers continues.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
The postage stamp picture of your wife might not do much for you, but she might like to see the full size picture of you if she's at home. Or maybe you have some of those virtual display goggles in your pocket (another $2,500 - but what the hell!) that you plug into your cellphone/PDA.
As far as pizza guys/bathrobes, etc, I see the video portion of a call being off by default. So you're at home watching TV, the phone rings and you pick it up on the cordless phone and retire back to the couch.. It's the gf/wife - or someone else you care to see - so you hit the video button, and the picture pops up on the TV via the set top box interface (Bluetooth wireless connection again, perhaps). You could switch it to speaker phone too, if you wanted.
BTW, 300K bps is actually pretty good for MPEG-4 or H.264. The older Picturetel video conferencing setups used 128K, and were OK, even using what was probably worse compression.
You can almost set your calendar by it; every year since 1975 I've seen a story about videophones and how they're just around the corner. It's a bit like deorbiting Mir; everyone expects it to happen any day now but it just keeps being put off.
The difference? This time it looks like it might actually happen.
And if it actually does work at 384kbps... coolness epitomised.
I have a friend who is an internet entrepreneur. He works from home producing the back end of a bodybuilding supplement company. (shameless plug: www.massquantities.com>)
:-)
I was talking to him the other day about his work habits. Generally, he crawls out of bed early in the morning in his underwear, teleconferences with some people on the east coast, then maybe shaves, maybe showers, and most definitely sits down to a day of work. His most amusing comment was, "Thank god I don't have videoconferencing"
Personally I agree. I'd love to work at home, but most of the benefits come from being a slob in privacy. I personally work better that way. Videoconferencing has a nasty way of spoiling things.
'Course, if its only from the neck up, I guess he could throw on a tie and still sit around in his underwear...
-konstant
-konstant
Yes! We are all individuals! I'm not!
One fundamental issue that has always confused me is, "why do we need video phones?". I can understand the increase in the feeling of intimacy, since you could see your significant other as well as speak with them. What I fail to see is just how this would improve our lives. I know there are many subtle clues that facial expressions give us about the emotional state of the speaker, but I find it hard to believe that a 300 kbs+ video phone with a 2 inch screen is going to be able to convey them. Seeing a little postage stamp of my wife isn't really going to add much to the experience of communicating with her.
Likewise, for routine conversation/communication, a video connection seems undesirable. I don't want to see the pizza guy's face, and frankly I probably don't want him to see mine. Just the idea of hearing the phone ring and saying, "oh crap, it's the phone, let me put something on" is revolting. In the case of obscene/malicious calls, the added video stream could actually put people in danger. (oh, I see that you are home alone). Single women would probably need to switch off the video inputs of their phones just for safety purposes.
Fundamentally, it seems like a big can of worms, and not the tasty gummy kind either.
Nope. This technology has been hyped like the convergence between computers and TV. Neither of those technologies is going to be anywhere near as popular as everyone has said they will be. Can you imagine how fast your batteries would be drained? Even if there's a breakthrough in battery tech, can you imagine how much bandwidth you'd use? I can't see wasting that much bandwidth just to see the person you're talking to. In fact, the only place I see this being useful is before a blind date. Other than that, it's a little too frivolous to become standard, and without it being standard, you can only do the "vid thing" with other people with your kind of phone.
Can you say vaporware?