You might have heard about the Vphone at CES, the first base Android handset by new maker Saygus. The main thing it’s delivery to the political party is deuce-way video recording calling by means of a forward-face VGA video recording photographic camera (the first base Android gimmick with such a thing), and a specialized protocol that tin supposedly produce calls at four multiplication the usual resolution piece exploitation half of the bandwidth. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) seems like a pretty done deal, Saygus is just wait on acquiring verified in the labs before showing the video career in action, and we should have an functionary announcement in the next duet of weeks. If you hadn’t had a chance to check out the spectacles, they’re pretty impressive: Android 1.6, upgradeable to 2.0, 5 megapixel photographic camera with autofocus and flash, miniUSB port, 3.5mm audio frequency, 806 Mhz C.P.U. (they upgraded from 625 Mhz), 3.5” WVGA touchscreen, and four hours of video recording talk time.
After spending 12 days on getting video recording career just right field, the Saygus CEO, Chad Dorothy Sayers, is about as passionate about this labor as you’d expect. He’s got high hopes not only about making video career viable in northland US and Common Market, but also its application for the deaf when used in junction with remote interpreters. Saygus is keen to license their video recording career technology; apparently there are already four to six devices in the pipe that volition be using Saygus technical school. The compression is good news for everyone in that it actually makes video recording career over the traditional 2 or 3G information joining viable, as opposed to relying on determination-built base that tin be pricey for carriers to exercise set up and oddment-subscribers to manipulation. Chadic actually mentioned at one distributor point in Korean Peninsula, video career monetary value $11/minute. I can’t imagine carriers bemoaning loss of revenues on video recording career plans, since hardly anyone uses it anyway. They might as wellspring cash in on higher data plans, although that hinges a lot on consumers actually organism interested in the proposal.
As nice as the Vphone is, there ar a few caveats. First, there isn’t much in the means of calling interoperability. Saygus would love to have some kind of deal with Skype, or MSN, or whoever else for video recording career to instant messaging clients, but it hasn’t happened yet. The Vphone has got SIP documentation (which offers reduced caliber calls with existing video recording phones) and they’re working on XDM, but right field now the best-case scenario is calling Vphone to Vphone, which is a very specific manipulation cause. I asked about them making, say, an app on the Android market to at least allow calling on the same platforms, but they said the strike on battery life with a software system resolution was too rough (1 minute of video recording talking meter versus 4 natively).
The second base caution has to do with Verizon. One of the cool features of the Vphone is that it can human action as a Wi-Fi hot spot, sharing an internet joining with up to 8 devices, and you tin even tacking on ace by USB, and another (or more) by Bluetooth. Cool, right? Well you know how Verizon doesn’t allow simultaneous data and voice? That basically kicks the internet share-out right field in the crotch – every meter you get a call option, the internet joining would get shut down feather (though reappearance once the call option was over). Bit of a bummer, but that just means other carriers will be able to make better use this gimmick.
Can’t waiting to get a Vphone? It’ll be out by the oddment of Q1 on a CDMA attack aircraft carrier (again, likely Verizon), and on a GSM carrier by the oddment of Q2, with an estimated unsubsidized cost of $450. I’m certainly look forward to seeing if the video recording career is actually as good as they say it is.