If you’re the kind of person that wants to be on the cutting edge of mobile phone technology then there’s no doubt that you’re already well-versed in the art of text messaging. You probably also know all about sharing photos with others via your phone and you’ve at least tried to get on board with the new mobile Instant Messaging features made possible by mobile VoIP and mobile broadband technologies. But have you gotten on board with mobile video messaging yet? It’s not something that’s new but it’s something that’s just started to get some serious attention and it’s something that you’ll want to start trying out if you’re going to remain on the cutting edge of cell phone trends.
What Is Mobile Video Messaging?
Mobile video messaging is exactly what the name suggests; it’s the sharing of information with others via video transmissions on your cell phone. Many cell phones have the ability to record video footage and then to send the information through to another person’s phone. More advanced mobile video messaging includes not only additional features for recording your own content but also may include the download and sharing of other user-generated content. Mobile video messaging may take place entirely from one mobile phone to another or may include the use of a PC on either end of the interaction.
History of Mobile Video Messaging
Mobile video messaging isn’t actually all that new despite the fact that there aren’t a large percentage of people who are using this technology. Cell phone handsets became capable of video recording more than five years ago and there was some mobile video messaging launched at that time. For example, T-Mobile launched video messaging on the Nokia 3650 back in 2003 but it was limited in use because videos could only be shared with others who also had the phone.
Trends Causing Renewed Interest in Mobile Video Messaging
Mobile video messaging has started to gain traction just in the last year or so. This has happened as the result of several trends that make it increasingly possible to use this service on any phone. Some of the trends that have helped to generate renewed interest in mobile video messaging include:
- General increase in the use of the mobile phone for sharing information from multiple sources. The phone used to be primarily used for voice conversations but is now regularly used for sending text, photos and files to others. As people have gotten more used to this type of multiple-data sharing on the mobile phone, it has become much easier to integrate the use of mobile video messaging than it was in the past.
- Improvements made to handsets. More phones are now capable of recording and sharing videos. This makes it a lot easier than it used to be to create the video message as well as to send it to others.
- Changes in the way that carriers charge for data usage. We are slowly but surely seeing changes to the way that carriers charge for data usage and these changes make it much more affordable to consider regularly sharing videos with others. As we move towards flat-rate plans for unlimited data usage of all kinds, we will likely see an even bigger increase in mobile video messaging.
- Surge in user-generated video content. When the first phones capable of video messaging were released, there was no such thing as YouTube. Now we can hardly imagine a world without user-generated videos. Since we’re more used to viewing them and sharing them, we’re more interested than before in mobile video messaging.
- Social networking on mobile phones. The more that we begin to use our phones as tools for social networking, the more interested we’re going to be in mobile video messaging. Videos add another dimension to what we can share about ourselves with others and therefore are highly appealing to people networking on online sites. This will be true of mobile social networking sites in addition to traditional social networking sites.
Businesses to Watch for Mobile Video Messaging
It is possible that we will see mobile video messaging take off just as a feature from one handset to another without the need for third party mobile video messaging companies. However, there are some businesses out there that are doing some really interesting things in this area and they’re worth keeping an eye on because they could be where the major changes in this area are going to take place in the months to come. A few of those businesses include:
- Mogreet. This business offers a collection of videos on their website which you can peruse and select to share with others via the mobile phone. These “mogreets” come with a small charge which is automatically billed to your cell phone. The service is similar to sending text messages via PC. The company has raised over three and a half million dollars in funding this year and is therefore poised for some serious growth in the months to come.
- Clip In Touch. This is an advanced mobile video messaging service which essentially allows you to turn your phone into a miniature production studio. You can record images and audio around you with the phone and then use templates to create stunning videos. These videos can be shared via mobile phone with others.
- Veeker. This is a mobile video messaging service that allows you to send PC-to-phone and phone-to-phone videos and webcam messages. It also has a cool widget that allows others to send webcam messages to your phone so it’s great for social networking and for sharing videos with friends and family who are interested in this type of interaction.
Future of Mobile Video Messaging
Mobile video messaging is poised for some serious growth. It’s hard to say at this time whether that growth is going to come from consumers making greater use of mobile phone message functions available on handsets or whether it will come from the developments taking place within third party mobile video messaging companies. Either way, this is the form of communication that could dominate the mobile phone industry in the years to come so it’s something that the cutting-edge cell phone consumer is not going to want to ignore.
