videophone
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videophone
(VIDEO telePHONE) A device with a camera and screen for visual, real-time communications, commonly known as "video calling." After AT&T debuted its Picturephone at the New York World's Fair in...
Dictionary
Definition: videophone
(VIDEO telePHONE) A device with a camera and screen for visual, real-time communications, commonly known as "video calling." After AT&T debuted its Picturephone at the New York World's Fair in 1964, many expected videophones in the near future. Some 30 years later, AT&T introduced its VideoPhone-branded line at $1,000 per phone. Other vendors entered the market, but the bandwidth limitation of dial-up phone lines and the high cost of entry kept them from taking off.
Forty Years After the World's Fair
Due to high-speed cable and DSL, videophoning eventually became popular on the computer via software. Offering free video calling worldwide in 2006, Skype popularized the experience, and within a few years, Apple and Android phones and tablets would usher in a new world. See video calling, Webcam, Skype, videoconferencing and Picturephone.
An Early Videophone
Throughout the 1990s, several companies promoted videophones, but squeezing real-time video over analog phone lines was dreadful. This ViaTV from 8x8 produced respectable quality as long as nobody moved; otherwise the image would pixelate. Subsequent 8x8 models used cable modems and DSL. (Image courtesy of 8x8, Inc.)
The Videophone Wristwatch
In 2000, Hitachi used this illustration to advertise its SuperH series chips. The ad said the device of course did not exist, but the Hitachi microprocessor to power it was already available. (Image courtesy of Hitachi America, Ltd.)
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Cisco has been cagey about what price its Cius will cost when it is released next month. What do you think it should be?
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Skype embraces video phones
CEO Niklas Zennström leans on outside development but has begun testing an internally developed version of video telephony.
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Videophones get cheaper
Net phone operator 8x8 slashes prices to below $100, as it tries to jump-start the disappointing U.S. market for space-age telecommunications.
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New videophone highlights dropping prices
Product lets people make videophone calls by dialing someone's number from an IM-like window on a PC.
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New videophone zooms in on sign-ups
Japanese wireless giant KDDI launches a videophone service and handset that it hopes will spur its 3G mobile service--and snatch subscribers from rivals.
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First peek at mobile videophones
A demonstration shows the capabilities of Emblaze Systems' and Samsung's wireless videophones. The verdict? The phones are advanced, but there's still work to be done.
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