Some 19 percent of 3,001 American adults surveyed said they have
participated in a video call online from their computer or their
cellphones, according to new data from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Project.
Users joined video calls, chats or teleconferences from the Web via
their computers to the tune of some 23 percent, while 7 percent have
used their phones for such tasks. Often, people placed video calls on both the Internet and their cell
phone, but Pew only counted those who said they had used both media
to participate in video calling once.
The survey, conducted Aug. 9 – Sept. 13 2010, was Pew’s first to cover both online and
cell-phone video calls. What is becoming clear is that mobile video calling appears poised to
boom in the coming year, as front-facing camera are being included in
smartphones and tablet PCs.
Indeed, Skype is picking up traction on mobile phones, with new apps
surfacing to leverage the larger screens and more powerful browsers and
processors on modern smartphones such as the iPhone and devices based
on Google’s Android operating system. Apple launched its FaceTime video calling application for iPhone 4 in June, while Yahoo Oct. 12 launched Yahoo Messenger App for iPhone. Tablet computers are coming to the fore to leverage video calling, most
likely to enable video conferences for corporate road warriors on the
go. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab touts a front-facing camera for video chat, as do future devices from Dell and Motorola.
For more, read the eWeek article Skype, Apple FaceTime, Google Chat Spur Video Calling: Pew.