I've been watching the video calling space for a while now, dating back to before getting involved with SightSpeed. As time has moved along video calling seems to keep being tried and tried. MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Skype ooVoo are in the same league as SightSpeed, but all don't offer their quality, but each has their pluses and minuses.
But as months go by we have new players entering the game. For example, now we have Vidtel, a company that is offering what on the surface is another try at what Packet 8 has offered, but in my view with a better model, and a more standards based approach. They get a leg up in my book for that.
Then we have new players wanting to be in the mobile video space, working their timing for the explosion that's looming in mobile broadband. These players include Droplet, iVisit, Octro and a few more.
Then there's the Flash based, lightweights like DimDim, TokBox, etc. who are all banking on some kind of consolidation play in the Valley or having Adobe snatch them up.
Video has been the next frontier for a while. And it in my book is where the actions going next.
But one thing is missing...the links from the Flash based video call all the way up to Cisco's Telepresence. Without that, its all a tower of Babel that some can see, and some can't. To the company that makes all video calling interoperable goes the spoils of success. Who will that be?
There's a new player, similar to Vidtel: GlobalLinx.
And yes - as long as it is the tower of Babel it will be hard.
Posted by: Tsahi Levent-Levi | December 21, 2008 at 09:02 AM