Mobile Blog: Video, Media, Augmented Reality, Rich Media, IVVR

photo credit: phauly

In desktop video conferencing, the video conferencing application is normally bundled to an Instant Messaging software that includes text chat capabilities. Users can appoint or prearrange a video conference using textual chat. In contrast, the current evolution of video telephony in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) networks based on the circuit-switched 3G-324M service does not seamlessly combine video conferencing with other communication channels. The notion of video telephony in the mobile environment is nearer to standard voice calling than in the stationary world. Therefore, it is more likely that somebody will place a video call without prior announcement. This leads to privacy and inconvenience concerns. The callee might not want to be seen during a conversation for a variety reasons: A video call

photo credit: Iain Farrell

Even with a great deal of marketing, early attempts to convert users to the video telephony technology flopped (Jones and Marsden). In contrast, desktop video conferencing is incredibly popular for private person-to-person conversations and widely used for video conferencing in business environments such as telepresence for computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW).

In desktop video conferencing scenarios, typically a stationary computer is used. Camera and microphone are fixed and usually maintain the same distance from the person participating during the conversation. Moreover, lighting conditions are generally better than