From the Web: Video wars

Business video as a market is hot, as more companies consider videoconferencing and collaboration as a way to cut costs and work more efficiently. Not surprisingly, there is a flurry of action among companies offering options from HD-quality telepresence to mobile video on laptops and — coming soon — smartphones. Here's just this month's findings:

LIFESIZE was actually first to market with telepresence, but it doesn't mind losing the hype wars to Cisco because the vendor giant legitimized the space. That may be one reason LifeSize has been able to sell 20,000 systems in operation to 5000 distinct customers in 30 countries. The company's selling points: lower cost for high-quality telepresence, scaling, interoperability and flexibility.http://telephonyonline.com/video/news/lifesize-telepresence-gear-0220/index.html

POLYCOM launched a business media phone, which puts a 7-inch screen on an executive phone, along with an open application programming interface and easy video dialing. http://telephonyonline.com/videIOCo/news/lifesize-telepresence-gear-0220/index.html

TANDBERG introduced a mobility video solution that enables road warriors to use a laptop to join in a videoconference that can include other desktop units and higher-end video room systems. http://telephonyonline.com/business_services/news/tandberg-videoconferencing-systems-0303/index.html

IOCOMM has been selling business video software to enterprises and is now targeting the service provider market with its software-based system, which can tie together large telepresence rooms with videoconferencing, desktop, mobile and — soon to come — smartphone video. http://telephonyonline.com/video/news/iocom-managed-videoconferencing-0313/