My earliest acknowledgment of the concept of videoconferencing was long before the cloud, or even the Internet itself, existed, and that was in the Dick Tracy comics. The early cartoon detective of course, spoke to headquarters via a two-way wristwatch videophone. The cartoonist was perhaps a bit of a futurist, and his amazing technology today is easily imaginable and indeed, technically possible. The question today is not whether or not it can be done – but rather, do we need it? Within the corporate and educational environment of course, videoconferencing can be invaluable. Sophisticated, bidirectional whole-room systems allow for things like interactive distance learning, corporate events held across multiple branches and telecommuting. But on a more personal level, we must ask: Do people really want their friends and relatives to see what they look like while they’re on the phone? The concept of seeing an image of the person on the other end of the line while you’re chatting about the latest gossip is at best, a novelty and adds very little to the conversation.
[ Videoconferencing offers businesses the opportunity to improve their corporate communications on a global scale. The Videoconferencing Solutions buyer's guide considers the options available, examines their place in business, and also discusses the costs and the primary vendors associated with this developing aspect of the small and medium-sized business world. ]
An article from a Quocirca analyst asks this question, especially as it relates to the new crop of tablet devices. Videoconferencing via smartphone is already a reality and the consumer market has responded with a big “so what?” The television adverts portray smartphone videoconferencing as perfectly clear with real-time motion, but in reality, in most cases the screen is still too small and the movement is choppy. Not to mention, it’s already annoying to be standing in line at the grocer’s behind some loud-mouthed bloke yammering on into his phone about tomorrow’s soccer match, completely unaware that the clerk is trying to get his attention to pay his bill. Imagine the same scenario, only this time he’s holding his smartphone in front of his face so his mates can see him in action.
That’s not to say, that in many settings personal videoconferencing wouldn’t be very useful, given a slightly larger form factor and enough bandwidth to actually see a good image. The tablet device may be the saving grace to personal videoconferencing. The tablet is gaining more functionality, although in my opinion, it still doesn’t lend itself to typing at length. In response to that criticism, I’m often told that a portable, attachable keyboard is the answer, but then, you no longer have a tablet, you have a netbook. The latest round of tablets have cameras, and it wouldn’t be a big stretch to come out with a tablet equipped with a webcam and full-screen-video platform; with the videoconferencing element integrated with other communications tools into a unified communications platform. Such a device would indeed be useful and may even cause me to switch from a netbook to a tablet whilst on the road.