BlinkMind’s video technology has allowed users around the world to experience communications like never before. The efficiency for business users and emotional connection for residential users is unprecedented. I’ve personally connected closer to family and friends along with co-workers and business colleagues alike. The communcation experience is truly remarkable for me.
Most of us have seen a video phone in futuristic sci-fi movies, but probably most of us have never used one.
The first videophone launched by AT&T way back in 1964 at the International World’s Fair caught the attention of everyone who saw it, but because of technical and financial problems nobody wanted to get one.
Recently because of the rise in broadband Internet around the country and the drop in the cost of high-definition cameras, video phones are now gaining popularity as an alternative to a regular phone line.
Increase in Video Quality
Previous video phones like the ones developed by AT&T in the early 1970s used analog phone lines to transmit voice and video which had the capacity of transmitting video at a maximum rate of 10 Frames Per Second (FPS). This is much lower TV-quality video, which is normally at 30 FPS. In these early video phones, the video looked choppy and was transmitted at a very low quality, and there were even long delays as the video was transmitted back and forth.
These technical difficulties have been overcome as companies like Blinkmind have developed new software and techniques for transmitting the video at a much higher speed. We’ve been able to achieve movie-quality video, even when you’re talking with more than three people at one time.
Lower Cost of Camera Optics
The initial version of videophones launched by AT&T cost around $160 per month in 1970, which was an enormous cost for a phone service in that decade. And, it only included 30 minutes of calling time per month - barely enough time for a single call with a far-away family member.
Low Adoption Rate
Aside from the technical and cost difficulties, there’s always the people factor. Because computers weren’t as widespread until the late 80’s, average people just didn’t understand the technical benefits to video calling. Moreover, it was a useless product since there was a high chance that if you had a video phone, the person you were trying to reach wouldn’t have one.
According to the 5 Forces Theory popularized by Michael Porter, the “availability of a close substitute product can lead to customers switching over in response to pricing”. This was evident in case of webcams which were accepted by people because it became economical to buy with near zero cost of operation. Webcams became very popular for video chats; however, there were certain limitations attached with it like lack of regular telephone features. People who are not familiar with using a PC or browsing the Internet can hardly use webcam for communicating with others.
Why Are Videophones Taking off Now?
With BlinkMind’s videophone service, you can have an unlimited residential calling plan which includes both voice and video calling for as low as $39.95 per month. This is a savings of almost 1300% compared to the cost of a video phone service from AT&T in 1970!
Best of all, anyone in the family including older adults with no computer experience (such as grandparents and great-grandparents) can use it because it works like a normal phone and doesn’t require you to even have a computer in your home.
