14 DAY TRIAL // AT&T announced that its wireless customers will soon be able to use their phones to share live video and audio using an innovative 3G service called Video Share. The service will be rolled out this summer in more than 50 markets in the U.S.
Video Share, which is being shown in the AT&T booth at the CTIA Show in Orlando, allows users to send a live video stream to a recipient during a standard voice call. Beginning with a normal wireless phone call, customers can hit one button to add a live video stream, allowing the called party to see what the caller is seeing while they're talking. The service also allows customers to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. Customers must be in an area served by the company's 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.
"Video Share is a major breakthrough that delivers the future of wireless now," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chief operating officer. "It will let our customers use their mobile devices to stay connected to the important people in their lives in exciting new ways. Video Share creates an interactive experience of sight and sound that transforms the way people communicate."
For example, a real estate agent in San Antonio could use Video Share to show prospective relocating clients an apartment in New York City. While the New York agent is showing the apartment, the clients can immediately tell the agent to show them the kitchen again or scan the view outside the front window, all in real time and saving travel time and expenses in the process.
The Video Share demonstrations at the show are running on AT&T's 3G UMTS/HSDPA network in Orlando and use its recently deployed IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) platform. Information on Video Share availability, pricing and compatible devices will be announced in the near future.