MOIP + Video = Happy Olly
Ok, so here’s a quick app request for all you developers out there
– one that doesn’t seem to exist, and would be a great way to use the
hardware that we’ve all come to know and love.
So I have a kid on the way, and her grandparents live 300
miles away. Because of that for this Christmas my wife got a webcam
from her mom, for that ‘face to face’ communication with the baby. So
it got me to thinking: why can’t I do that with my phone? I’m planning
on buying an n93i in the next couple months, which has a front facing
camera on it. Here in the U.S., phones such as the N93/N93i, N80, etc
with the forward facing camera don’t have a way to make use of it. The
lack of 3G, not to mention Video Calling services, have seen to that.
But
why can’t I use it to connect with someone for a Skype call over WLAN?
Sure, I may not have the capabilities of always on Video Calling, since
I lack 3G, but I’d love to be able to make a video call to my wife (and
daughter) when I’m in my hotel room on a business trip, since WiFi is
nearly universal in hotels nowadays. Why not?
There are some great apps out there, such as iScoot and Fring,
that are addressing the MoIP (Mobile (voice) over Internet Protocol)
issue right now, and addressing it well. Thanks to Fring, I can make a
MoIP call from my E61, bypassing the network altogether.
The only thing is this: I don’t really care. I’ve got more
minutes than I know what to do with, and perfect service at home, and I
don’t call internationally. So those three things effectively make
MoIP/VoIP calls a moot point for me.
But Video is another story! I wonder (speaking as a
non-developer here) how difficult it would be to allow Fring to, for
example, do the same thing it does now but transmit Video as well,
using the front facing cam. So my wife (and daughter) could be sitting
on the couch in front of her laptop, using her webcam… and I could be
in a hotel 1000 miles away using my phone. Video calling without the
hassle (or waiting for) of 3G service.
Think
about this: the reasons for me to take a laptop with me on the road are
becoming slimmer and slimmer. Using an N93i and a Bluetooth Keyboard,
I could:
* Create/Edit Word/Excel/Powerpoint Documents/Presentations
* Keep up with Email
* Check RSS Feeds
* Blog
* Make Calls
* Take Digi-cam shots
* Publish to the Web (Flickr, Video, etc)
* Instant Message
Keeping
all that in mind, the only reason I would really take my laptop would
be to have those family moments when I’m on the road for a long time –
which to me is the real value of video calling in the first place (and
at some point video conference calling for business too I’m sure). If
my phone could do it all, I’m that much closer to not needing to take
out my laptop at the security line, when I’m already struggling to
quickly take my shoes on and off!
So, a call to you developers out there — make use of that second camera!
-olly
N800 - Video Calling to PC and other N800s. Free over wifi.
Been thinking about getting one for my Dad for this reason …
we do use iCaht AV for video calling with family at times, but the N800 can go anywhere - as long as you have connectivity.
I still want that damn vga camera to work on the phones in some capacity beyond 3G calls which we won’t be doing anytime soon in the US with Nokia’s equipment.
Congratulations by the way!
Thanks Jonathan, I really appreciate it! As for the n800, I agree completely! I’m testing an n800 right now for womworld (will have a review up on my personal blog, http://ollywompus.wordpress.com/ soon). The cam is great for that, and works wonderfully… but still, I probably won’t end up buying an n800, so I want to use my camphone.
But I may end up buying my mom an n800, as she’s looking to replace her aging PDA but has recently become a Linux convert… and for vid calls that would work well!
-olly