Factoids That You Can Use

Often technology far outpaces the public willingness to embrace a product. A case in point is the Picturephone, a two-way calling device unveiled by AT&T's Bell Labs in 1964 at the New York World's Fair. It captured the media's attention, but at its peak, only attracted 500 paying customers. Fast forward to the present and video calling is one of the hottest consumer services. Powered by online communications firm Skype and mobile smartphones, two-way video calls are rapidly growing. Soon video calling may also be coming to your television set this year when Skype-enabled Blu-ray players debut. By some estimates, video calling may already account for nearly 25 percent of international telecommunications traffic. Market researcher In-Stat estimates that 13.2 million people worldwide will make video calls this year, nearly quadrupling the number for 2010. By 2015, the firm predicts that 155.1 million people will place video calls. All that calling adds up to big bucks for providers. For example, In-Stat estimates that the wireless market for video calls will eclipse $1 billion by 2015. With that much money at stake, expect the biggest players in the field to amp up their marketing for video calling, while launching new devices.