I didn’t meet Scott Wharton of Vidtel in person, but I just watched his face on the Vidtel DSL video telephone they were showcasing at the Plug and Play Expo last week.
Vidtel’s big challenge is becoming the world’s first DSL video telephony service. For a very cheap monthly fee (can’t remember the details, but in the range of $30-$50) you get unlimited video calls and landline calls worldwide (almost) plus the device. Moreover, the service will not be limited to a certain country only, but will be available everywhere.
During the P&P Expo they were using a Grandstream video telephone which was working really well. Unlike mobile video calls, which wide adoption is prevented by some usability issues as the difficulty to be involved in a video call while on the go as well as for privacy issues, I think video calls at home might potentially become a major trend in the future.
All that said, my only concern is about the lack of match between their potential users’ demographic and the “normal” people. Advanced users would rather choose Skype or Sightspeed (both free) over a solution like Vidtel (BTW, Asus just announced the first Skype video phone ever). On the other hand, a grandpa who wants to see how cute is becoming his new grandson is likely not willing to use a service like that because of the lack of DSL connection in their home, probably (or a router…).
Anyway, the service is now in closed beta and should be available in December through selected channel partners (undisclosed at the moment). BestBuy?
In conclusion, aside from some reasonable concerns I have, it’s definitely a great service and, at first sight, a very challenging goal. Good luck to Scott and Mariette (his wife, VP of Marketing) for this new adventure (prestigious analysts wrote about them already).
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