iPad could help launch mobile video conferencing

The new Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad is many things: an e-book reader, a video streaming device and an Internet tablet—it seems every day a new use for the iconic new handheld is envisioned. But Global IP Systems Solutions believes there is one other potential function of the iPad that has gone largely overlooked. The iPad could serve as an entry point for video conferencing into the mobile market.

A powerful processor; a large screen, yet a portable form factor; WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity—it’s all there, said Dovid Coplon, GIPS director of product management. The only thing it’s missing is a camera, but Coplon said he believes it’s only a matter of time before a front facing camera becomes standard in the device. Until that point, the iPad can easily support one-way video conferencing, he said.

Coplon isn’t just speculating on a far-off possibility. GIPS supplies core VoIP and video-over-IP technology to hundreds of Internet services companies and enterprises across the globe—including the likes of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Skype—and according to Coplon, it has had several conversations with its customers about possible iPad video conferencing applications. One of its customers (Coplon won’t say who) already has video conferencing applications for the iPhone and iPad in the works. So if you don’t believe him, Coplon says just wait a month or two.

“I can only say that they see a unique proposition in the iPhone and iPad,” Coplon said.

Mobile has always been a prime target for video conferencing, but while it has been technically possible to deliver two-way video calls to the handset, the small screen size and inconvenient form factor have discouraged many companies from trying it, Coplon said. The iPad could not only change that perception, it could also spur more video communications services onto handsets, creating a market for mobile video conferencing, Coplon said.

Optimizing video conferencing for mobile won’t be simple. Unlike LAN-based enterprise services or even consumer Internet video calling services, mobile devices add several more degrees of complexity. There’s an extra radio link tacked onto the connection, and unlike static video end points or wired PCs, the iPad is constantly moving. Bandwidth and signal strength can vary dramatically from second to second, and dual-mode devices like the iPad can switch between the WiFi and 3G network. It takes sophisticated stream management software, like that GiPS is developing for its customers, to account for those scenarios in real time, Coplon said.

“To build a solution for the LAN is one thing,” Coplon said. “To build it for Internet plus WiFi is another. And we’re building it for Internet plus WiFi plus 3G.”
IMS Research predicts that Apple has started a trend for tablet computers, turning them from mere wireless connected devices into fully mobile devices. While almost all tablets feature WiFi today, IMS said that device makers such as Sagem and Technicolor will introduce 3G tablets within the year. In 2010, IMS projects that 32% of all tablets will be through wireless operator channels, many of them iPads.

“Many consumers desire the flexibility that 3G data services are enabling in portable devices, eliminating the dependency on WiFi home networks and hotspots,” IMS analyst Anna Hunt said in a statement. “One of the more exciting developments is that carriers are becoming more flexible in their data offerings, which will further drive sales of 3G-enabled portable CE such as tablets.”

She pointed specifically to AT&T’s (NYSE:T) new pricing models for the iPad, which do not require a carrier contract but allow a much larger degree in flexibility in how customers purchase 3G access.