In my post on the launch of the iPhone 4 Video Mobile yesterday I mentioned how Apple appears to be attempting to rebrand mobile video calling as “Facetime”. To me this is a really bad decision and in this post I’m going to try and explain why I think this.
First up I’m going to ignore the stupidity of Apple only making Mobile Video Calling available on WiFi. This is only forgiveable because they’ll probably issue a software fix that resolves this later. Making Video Calling only work on WiFi is silly for a couple of obvious reasons:
1. most importantly it prevents video calling benefiting from the 5th of the 8 unique abilities of mobile as the newest mass media because by requiring a WiFi connection it can’t be relied upon to be available at the point of creative impulse. In terms of mHealth forget about connecting 911/999 emergency callers via a mobile video call because out on the highway WiFi networks aren’t going to be found too easily (unless of course you’re using a SIM card in a MiFi style device to create a WiFi network!).
2. Freecomonics: a p2p video call takes up less network traffic than downloading movies/apps/music etc and due to the limited capacity of humans to converse over video calls it would also take up less bandwidth than downloading content (which you can do for example while sleeping). Why not at least charge for video calls like normal voice calls?
By passing these reservations, “Facetime” is without doubt a catchy term that I have no doubt would add nicely on top of social networking profiles like those on Facebook, and it’s exactly the type of impression Mobile Video Calling gave the marketing men when it was first launched in the UK in 2003. But, when you start using it and trying to leverage the technology to give value to customers you quickly realise it makes for a pretty pointless and restrictive term. This is because in my experience when a business starts trying to use mobile video calling to serve customers they’ll quickly realise that it can be even more effective if the customer isn’t always looking at the agents face but rather seeing/sharing their screen. To give you the idea think of the following scenario’s:
> Video Calling a bookmaker to place a bet
Why wouldn’t the bookmaker want to show their customer what they’re agreeing to? Can you think of a more straightforward and less interruptive way of upselling a customer into adding another bet/combination?
> Video calling a travel agent to book a hotel room
“Alternatively you could go for the 4 star for only $45 more… it even has this gorgeous pool!”
> Video calling an airline to book seats together for your family holiday
> A personal dietician checking in with their client after a big night out!
Commercial evidence for the benefits of screen sharing can be found by looking at the systems being used in roadside “drivethru” restaurants, as many have now upgraded the intercom’s on their ordering points to feature a screen – but it’s not used for you to see a video of your cashier (who’s watching you on the CCTV) but to show you your order being entered into the system.
Not only does this help the restaurant to give a better customer experience but it also effects the bottom line with quicker and more accurate ordering and by removing the “you said, I said” confusion/arguments that can effect productivity.
In mHealth this screen sharing has enormous benefits for patient empowerment (eg. screen share can assure the patient that the clinician is indeed referring to the correct case notes) and sharing images/video can also help when trying to explain issues.
Then again I might be wrong. Maybe at 3G Doctor we should even think about changing our slogan from “The Doctor Can See You Now” to “Get FaceTime with an Informed Doctor”? ha ha
If I recall from the wwdc keynote news, there was mention of facetime being ‘open’ for 3rd party developers. App makers could then rebrand it with some of the great uses you mention. I’m looking forward to see if it can connect from an iphone4 to other video mobile phone/device. For now both patient and provider must use iphone4.
Hi Faisal,
I think it’s very confusing what this “open” means.
I think it means that it will allow an iPhone App developer to embed code so that when a customer is using their application they can initiate a Video Call. So for example in a social networking application you could make a Video Call to another member.
I think for the time being the video calls will only be allowed to connect from one iPhone 4 to another iPhone 4 but as it’s included various standards (eg. H.264, AAC, SIP, STUN, TURN, ICE, RTP, and SRTP) I’m pretty sure this will be opened up to other mobiles and Video devices sooner rather than later.
While I’m unsure about the security of FaceTime video calls but from a medicolegal perspective the fact that the call may be carried over private (and potentially unsecured) WiFi networks on either end would make it unsuitable for Doctor/Patient consultations for the time being.
Agreed, ‘open’ will eventually be an API for developers to use in their app.
The standard iphone protocol for data, such as push notifications, runs on a secure port 5223 on the phone.
Privacy will be up to the user. I foresee a video consult as a much more intimate affair done at the home with a connected provider. As a side note, the iPhone4 display has a much large viewing angle than the 3GS. No one’s going to have a consult sitting next to strangers.
Hi Faisal,
In my opinion the prominent security issues arise from the unsecure private WiFi networks and man in the middle attacks (which can’t be conducted with the licensed 3G spectrum) rather than anything to do with the device.
Be cautious about making assumptions with how people will use mobile video calling… after all SMS was only meant to be used by Telecom Engineers!!!!
I can definitely see a future in which emergency services are called by patients at the scene of an incident using 3G Video Mobiles, likewise I can also see opportunities for family members to take part in Video Consultations with Doctors.
Maybe the large viewing angle will increase the potential for their carers/guardian to participate in the consultation – which is something our Doctors have already seen happening!
[...] is down. The necessity of ‘face-to-face’ for video consultations is debatable too, a point explored in detail at 3G Doctor Blog. FaceTime is an open standard, however, so many if not all of these points are likely to be [...]
Hi David,
Really interesting piece.
I’m a little unsure what ‘open’ here means too and I’m interested to see where this ends up in 12 months time. I do think FaceTime may popularise video calling with consumers and that when we have cross-device services there will be quite a bit more pick-up.
@Mark Fowler
As for the future I hope that within a few weeks we’ll see the Skype Video App working on the iPhone 4 in the same way it works on my Nokia N900. In 12 months time this handset manufacturer lead innovation will have woken the operators to the opportunity and they’ll finally start to take seriously the revenue and loyalty opportunities that secure/reliable 3G Video Calling can offer them when twinned with quality professional services.
[...] for a doctor to video call them and conduct the consultation. In light of the security the concerns raised with regards to the use of Wi-Fi only for FaceTime calls, 3G Doctor has stressed that patients [...]
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[...] via 3G Doctor Blog – great FaceTime use cases for mobile screen sharing – I liked this post. it's the use cases which make it more plausible. there's also a belief here that hasn't manifested itself on the desktop but perhaps will work on mobile. [...]
[...] In the next clip (again apologies for the poor quality I recorded these by just pointing my Smartphone at the TV) there are some major quality issues that highlight the need to use video calling services that use optimised codecs and have their own dedicated bandwidth (like you get with 3G Video Calls). It also highlighted the value of being able to share images during a P2P video call (a key feature that is all to often overlooked by the inexperienced designers of video calling servic…): [...]