Sony has jumped into the Internet video telephone market, launching its Instant Video Everywhere service to businesses first, with a version for mobile devices – including gaming consoles and home entertainment – due to launch next week.
Launching at $500 a month for the standard version and $35 a month for the mobile version, IVE springs from a Sony partnership with Glowpoint, a New Jersey videophone service best known for its "All You Can See" unlimited video-dialing plans and video voicemail.
Those features will be included in the IVE business package, as will a live video operator service, a 10-digit direct-dial video number, "Lisa the Video Call Assistant,” a reduced-rate international dialing plan, and a video meeting room, Sony said at the launch.
Consumers haven't bothered with Internet video telephony because, among other reasons, businesses are the only ones able to afford the service and own the equipment. Video calling equipment brought in $40 million in 2004 revenue, considered disappointing even though it was 23 percent higher than 2003.
Analyst PointTopic says years of product development have made video calling easier to use and driven videophone prices below $100. Proponents say the market got a jump because of the standard Internet telephony now used by millions.
"We're seeing a real trend where people take what are normally business tools home with them for 'non-business' means," Sony vice president Eric Murphy said at the IVE launch. "We'll see whether it can transition to consumers."
