I wrote a blog entry on this blog a few years ago when the first iPhone came out. I thought it would change the direction of cell phone technology…it pretty much has.
🙂
Everyone was anxious today to see the latest announcement.
With regards to the videoconferencing capability. Maybe I have been around videoconferencing too long, but:
A. What has taken so dang long for cell phones in the US to get on board? (Don’t tell me BW…3G has been here for a long time now, and we have seen folks in EU use cell phone video for a loooonggg time now). Videoconferencing is, and always has been, a NO BRAINER. I like the back facing as well as front facing capability…
UPDATES (as I learn more):
1. Hmmm, it only works on WiFi. So 3G VC is not yet….
2. It only works iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 (and I assume only point-to-point)
Here is a CNN.com video where Steve seems to be enamored with this new thing called videoconferencing…update, Apple had it in the early 90’s (with the very first Desktop Videoconferencing systems) then dropped support (we even went to Apple HQ to argue for keeping it) and VC has been around a VERY long time!
It has been “real” for many many years. And yes….you can see family members, doctors, police, show the repairperson what is wrong with your AC, visit a museum, attend a meeting, and all the thousands of applications companies like Tandberg, PolyCom, VTEL, Zydacron, Sony, PictureTel, Accord, VCON, Radvision, etc etc etc have been working on FOR YEARS.
B. The reasons for using videoconferencing in the clip are so old, I laughed (or cried)….us early evangelists wrote most of those reasons in the late 80’s and early 90’s to deaf ears…but maybe, now, they will work.
We will see. It sure looks nice, be interesting to see how well it really works (and how much it costs!).
TechyMike: Technology Made Easy 