Hello Everyone,
It has been a long while since I last posted in the AC forums. I'm back and it's time we had a conversation about video calling (Or facetime, as the kids like to call it).
In truth, this is a big mess. There are too many chat apps out there in the wild. You got Tango, the two from Google (Hangouts and Duo), Skype, Facebook Messenger, a plethora of others in the Play store, and the most popular one, FaceTime, isn't even compatible with Android devices. Apple, for its part has managed to create a reliable method to video chat. While Apple built their app into their OS and it works seamlessly, Google has stumbled. They had something going with Hangouts, but they seriously dropped the ball on that - and it had so much potential. Google, a multibillion-dollar company cannot, for some reason, create an app that simply works with all android phones without the users having to go through all sorts of workarounds. I hate to say this, but it’s time for the phone carriers to step in.
My proposal is simple. But first, imagine this: If I want to make a phone call, I pick up my phone, dial the number and I am connected to that individual. It does not matter what kind of phone that individual is using. It does not matter, what OS that individual is using. It doesn’t even matter if its wireless or landline. It just works because connecting voice calls is a universal standard. I get that there is a reason for this, but we had the same problems in the early days of text messaging not too long ago. What happened? A standard was developed whereas I no longer had to worry about whether or not the person I was texting had the same phone company as I. So, I propose that the major carriers sit down with both Apple and Google. They can even invite Microsoft, for ***** and giggles (Seriously, their control of Skype makes them a serious player). They all need to come up with a universal standard for video calling.
Now, I’m not necessarily talking about making all the video apps obsolete. But, on Android, there are many sms apps a person can choose to be their default sms app. The same structure should be set up for video calls. A person should be able to pick up their iPhone, place a video call (via the facetime app), and the call connects through the wireless phone company via the universal standard in place. And the receiver receives the call on Android via whatever app the user chose as the default video call app (That would be certified to be compatible with the standard). This would make the lives of consumers much easier. A user should not have to know which chat apps each of user’s contacts use. Just open your video chat app of choice, dial number, video call connects.
There has been a lot of talk about the development of 5G networks lately. That is why standardizing video calls is something that needs to be happening NOW. Implementing a new, bigger and better network gives a unique opportunity to get this done. I call on the tech industry to not only push for this, but to demand it because the time to do this is now or else we miss this opportunity.
It has been a long while since I last posted in the AC forums. I'm back and it's time we had a conversation about video calling (Or facetime, as the kids like to call it).
In truth, this is a big mess. There are too many chat apps out there in the wild. You got Tango, the two from Google (Hangouts and Duo), Skype, Facebook Messenger, a plethora of others in the Play store, and the most popular one, FaceTime, isn't even compatible with Android devices. Apple, for its part has managed to create a reliable method to video chat. While Apple built their app into their OS and it works seamlessly, Google has stumbled. They had something going with Hangouts, but they seriously dropped the ball on that - and it had so much potential. Google, a multibillion-dollar company cannot, for some reason, create an app that simply works with all android phones without the users having to go through all sorts of workarounds. I hate to say this, but it’s time for the phone carriers to step in.
My proposal is simple. But first, imagine this: If I want to make a phone call, I pick up my phone, dial the number and I am connected to that individual. It does not matter what kind of phone that individual is using. It does not matter, what OS that individual is using. It doesn’t even matter if its wireless or landline. It just works because connecting voice calls is a universal standard. I get that there is a reason for this, but we had the same problems in the early days of text messaging not too long ago. What happened? A standard was developed whereas I no longer had to worry about whether or not the person I was texting had the same phone company as I. So, I propose that the major carriers sit down with both Apple and Google. They can even invite Microsoft, for ***** and giggles (Seriously, their control of Skype makes them a serious player). They all need to come up with a universal standard for video calling.
Now, I’m not necessarily talking about making all the video apps obsolete. But, on Android, there are many sms apps a person can choose to be their default sms app. The same structure should be set up for video calls. A person should be able to pick up their iPhone, place a video call (via the facetime app), and the call connects through the wireless phone company via the universal standard in place. And the receiver receives the call on Android via whatever app the user chose as the default video call app (That would be certified to be compatible with the standard). This would make the lives of consumers much easier. A user should not have to know which chat apps each of user’s contacts use. Just open your video chat app of choice, dial number, video call connects.
There has been a lot of talk about the development of 5G networks lately. That is why standardizing video calls is something that needs to be happening NOW. Implementing a new, bigger and better network gives a unique opportunity to get this done. I call on the tech industry to not only push for this, but to demand it because the time to do this is now or else we miss this opportunity.
.
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