video phone calls

Facebook and Skype Partnering
rumor mill

Facebook and Skype Partnering For Call/Texting Service

Today rumors hit that Facebook and Skype will partner to create a communication platform that will integrate texting, voice calls, and Facebook Connect.
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Today rumors hit that Facebook and Skype will partner to create a communication platform that will integrate texting, voice calls, and Facebook Connect. This service will supposedly be available in a few weeks in the next version of Skype, 5.0, which is currently in beta.

The news at the moment is just rumblings on the web, but using Skype together with Facebook sounds like a great idea. With the new partnership you will be able to access Facebook friends in Skype to call and text, which seems not only a lot more convenient but also a natural progression as our online communication becomes more seamless (Facebook's response to Google Voice and Gmail?).

Both companies would benefit from the partnership, according to reports: Facebook would gain more popularity internationally through the European-based Skype's customer base, while Skype would gain access to Facebook's more than 500 million users. What do you think about the partnership? Will you be excited if this functionality is released?

 

Have You Ever Made A Video Telephone Call?
digital life

Have You Ever Made A Video Telephone Call?

With the popularity of webcams and video chatting online you'd think the market for residential video telephony services would be dead, but analysts say the industry will likely break a billion dollar barrier for the first time this year.
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With the popularity of webcams and video chatting online you'd think the market for residential video telephony services would be dead, but analysts say the industry will likely break a billion dollar barrier for the first time this year.

They predict an increasing number of households as well as individual cell phone users around the world will start making video phone calls. According to a recent study, residential video telephony is part of a worldwide push by carriers to create new IP-enabled services for consumers. The study notes that consumers of wireline services and mobile telecommunications services are adopting the video telephone
service along with other IP-enabled services such as fixed-mobile convergence services, file sharing services, streaming services, location-based services and presence-based services.

I've used Skype and iChat for computer-based video chats and meetings, but never ventured into the landline video chat world so these numbers sound outrageous to me. Of course, the analysts do not agree. "I believe everyone is underestimating the impact that video telephone services will have on our lives," says Robert Rosenberg, of Insight Research. "We are visual - not auditory - beings. My guess is that among all the IP services being rolled out worldwide, real time video phone could be the service that has the biggest impact on our daily lives."
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