Video communications is (still) in the early adopter stage of the product lifecycle curve (PLC). As I hinted previously in my blog, it was given a big push up the ramp last week with the launch of the iPhone 4, but what it needs for mass success is ubiquity in the core network.
I believe that there are two good reasons why Apple might have chosen to provide the FaceTime video chat application over Wi-Fi only:
I believe that there are two good reasons why Apple might have chosen to provide the FaceTime video chat application over Wi-Fi only:
- Video chat is possible over a 3G connection, but is inherently limited to a low bitrate by the nature of the 3G network
- In contrast to 3G networks, IP networks are ubiquitous
A video call on a 3G mobile network provides a low bandwidth for the video, so that careful choice of frame rate and resolution is needed to keep within the constraints. When 3G video capable devices were first introduced, screen sizes and the resolutions possible over the network were well matched. Reasonable video quality (QCIF, 176x144 pixels) could be achieved, despite 3G bandwidth restrictions.
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