We saw some incredibly cheap, ill-thought, Android-based videophones at CES this year, but this wasn't one of them. The SoIP S1 from Inbrics is running Android, of course, but it's under that same fine UI skin that Inbrics has coated its
M1 Android slider in. The result is a finger-friendly device with nice software for making calls and sending messages -- though it could really benefit from an external text-input device of some sort, and luckily there's Bluetooth onboard to make that a possibility. There's HDMI, Ethernet, USB and an SD slot around back, and the device is designed to sling video calls and media playback to a TV over the HDMI plug or DLNA (there's also WiFi onboard, natch). For VoIP there's a wireless handset embedded in the base of the unit. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see a demo of the video calling in action, and the big hangup with most of these video calling stations is still here: there's no mention of the big standards in video calling like Skype, Google Talk or iChat, so it's hard to see this catching fire with people who
actually video chat. Still, at least Inbrics has roughly half of the software problem solved. Check out a video walkthrough after the break.
posted January 13th 2010 11:30AM
video phone, video video
@Acey
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext
@Banksta3 lol, SoIP -- something tells me other will still stick on their skype. I think inbrics may get a shot more on their smartphone models: Inbric M1 Details: http://bit.ly/inbrics-m1-details
but for this one... ah, the only comment I can say is the girl on the wallpaper looks enviably good.
When you see it on video, you'll be Shit inbrics.
I remember seeing a patent for an idea where ultra small cameras were placed in the corners by each LCD. Then software collectively gathers the smaller / low resolution images into one large picture. That way the screen itself is the camera allowing the callers to make eye contact.
I really think that is going to be a leaping point on the video phones. When you can look at one another. I use skype to call my family so my daughter can talk to grandma across the country and it is always a bit weird to have the other person be looking off to the side, or down below, or anywhere other than us.
Or as an alternate, maybe it would be possible to place 4 cameras, one on each side of the LCD screen, and use software to interpolate them into one image. The software could then, in theory, slightly change the perspective of the image so that it always makes eye contact. So if my video window is in the upper left of my screen, the top and left cameras use more data than the right and bottom changing my screen perspective to match where I am looking (or where the app is placed on screen).
once again companies fail to realize American culture.
The reason videophones sell in Asian and somewhat in Europe is nothing more then a cultural difference. We are a huge nation (land mass size) that has always embraced expansion. In our early days, this meant family's splitting apart living on opposite sides of the country, and only communicating by letter, later by the phone, and then by email. This is 300 years, of heavy non-face-to-face communication, embedded in our culture. People in America just don't care that much about seeing who they are talking to, and I don't think they ever will anytime in the near future, its just not in the culture.
I will stick with my netbook and skype etc, thanks and no thanks.
I'll video-call her any day of the week!
Who is that in the wallpaper?
Actually, I kinda gotta admit... for some reason the idea of just dropping that handset into that cradle while I'm already on the phone somehow makes video phone in general suddenly more appealing.
I still wouldn't buy one. But for the first time I'd seriously think about maybe possibly buying one.
That android based device has a really nice user interface and style to it
Still needs a little refinement for my tastes, but nowadays, there's no reason we couldn't all be replacing conventional landlines with one of these. Really, all it needs to be is a conventional landline (with your number) + a box capable of running Skype. You could use either as it suits you.
Better than those morons at ACN trying to get you to buy a video phone.
I don't get it, don't people have computers now?
@bigdave: Really? I've seen the ACN video phone and at least it works as advertised. We don't even know how (or if) this thing works. Even the article says it's the best of the worst.
Can it actually complete a video call? Is it H264?