Will telephones ever come with a video capability?

THink back to the NY World’s Fair in 1964–65. They announced and displayed the Picturephone back then. When I was a kid, we went to the Fair and I actually sat and used that phone for a minute. See link

It never caught on, for several reasons:

1) privacy, as you wrote, @LostInParadise

2) back in those days, they used TV (there was no internet in 1964) which took different technology and the average person didn’t have the proper lines coming into their house.

The internet makes it possible.

To answer the question, we already have it. iPhone Face Time, and Skype are phone services with video.

But both come with a no-picture option. So what’s your worry?

I will resist as long as possible. Why? Because when I’m talking I am doing any of the following: :
– walking around the house watering the plants
– at the office working on my pc
– eating
– running a test in the lab
– watching TV
– ablutions in the bathroom
– napping

I act polite and pretend to care but the truth is, I do not like the phone. The calls are always someone wanting something from me, either my money or my time. I cannot recall the last time someone called to give me money or help me.
Oh, wait… Yes, I remember now. It was on the Twelfth of Never.

What @zenvelo said. Everyone is already carrying a video phone in their pocket.

A few years ago I would video call briefly with my parents so that they could see the kids. I think the main reason I stopped was that Verizon stopped their unlimited data. Video consumes a ton of data, and it hardly seems worth it.

I’ve done some Skyping and have Facetime on my Apple devices but con’t care to use it.

ACN is a multi-level marketing company that has a video-phone product. I personally hate the MLM pyramid scheme.

Most people who want video communication, such as those who use sign language and people wanting to feel connected with family who live far away have embraced the internet-based services like those listed above. Why go to the expense of getting a landline with that option – especially since it would be in a fixed position and the ones I’ve seen have such small screens – when most of our computers and mobile devices already have the capability built in?

have you been living under a rock for the past 5 years?

Facetime

Uh, this is how a lot of us communicate already. And it’s free.

@zenvelo, What bothers me is if it ever gets to the point where you are expected to use video and have to apologize for not wanting to use it.

@Silence04 , Apparently so.

You are talking about the IPhone 8 I believe.

@LostInParadise “What bothers me is if it ever gets to the point where you are expected to use video and have to apologize for not wanting to use it.”

I’d guess most people feel that way about phone calls now. We’re more comfortable texting or emailing.

They do come with video capability. My new work phone has a video screen built in. I’ve not tried it yet. I’m presuming I can control whether I’m viewable or not. I’m also not thrilled with the idea of video telephone calls. I’ll use Skye/Google Hangouts on occasions, but I certainly wouldn’t want to do impromptu video calls.

Guess what? You can even cook ya dinner in a small TV, what will they think of next Beryl?

The reason they don’t have them is that they don’t sell. I’ve seen them hit the market in various forms over the years, yet aside from businesses doing teleconferences, there really isn’t much demand for it.

But I suspect the fact that phone companies are not throwing themselves into this business is that there’s no profit in it. With Skype, Facetime, and Google all offering free video conferencing, why would anyone pay for this? Likewise, why would anyone clamour for their phone company to provide it for a fee?