Well we’re almost there, but every time I think we’re in the future we’re back in the present. Of course then all that stuff is in the past…

The image above, if you’re hopelessly clueless, is from the movie 2001. The main character, who would be much better captured by the great Roy Scheider in the sequel 2010, has just taken a Pan Am space shuttle up to an orbiting space station where he’s going to get a connecting flight to the Moon.

Ok already it’s like….Damn…We’re really slackers when it comes to getting out into space…

Anyway he gets up to the space station, talks to some Russians and then goes to call his wife and daughter before he heads off for the Moon. You know….Like he’s in Denver or something. Anyway the phone booth is comfy and spacious, and the phone is a video phone.  Now, this is something that actually is all throughout the 2001, and 2010 universes. While they have regular phones, most phones have transitioned to video phones. Wall phones. Etc.

The thing is we’ve had video calls for awhile now. Video conferencing, etc. it’s not anything new, but for some reason it’s just not become big or caught on. People have made all sorts of explanations as to why like people don’t want to be seen, but I just don’t think that’s it. Yeah people like their privacy, and maybe sometimes they’ll want to keep their camera off, but look at all the webcaming. Look at the youtube and vblogs and whatever. People want to be seen. Especially people in the most targeted demos.

So why no video calling on a mass scale?

It’s been free for awhile now. most computers come with a webcam, or if not they’re super cheap, and then the software to webcam is free. But that involves knowing it exists, installing it, arranging someone else to log on at the same time and maybe tney don’t etc. It’s got alot of usability barriers. The technology is there though. And I think the desire for it is there.

Enter today, possibly, the iPhone 4. Word on the street is that it has a front facing camera. For video calls. This could be it.

Or it could not. It’s all about how it’s implemented.

If it’s something wher eyou have to use ichat and call someone else with iChat it’s not going to be huge. Oh they’ll TALK it up, and some people will love it, but if it means that you have to log onto ichat and someone else needs to log onto ichat and then connect up that way over wifi….well that’s a problem.

Still it’s gonna be neat.

But we need a video phone that you can call ANYONE. If I want to call my relatives in England who just have a regular phone it has to be the same app. If they don’t have video, then fine. No video. If I call someone who HAS video though over an iphone or something, then the video should be there (with a suitable warning so that I am not picking my nose).

However if it’s like Skyping with my parents now to show them their grandkids, and I have to call them to arrange it first, then really that’s just too annoying and not good usability.

As soon as there is a video phone though, which now means on a mobile device because that’s what phones are, and it has good usability it’s going to become the standard overnight and within 5 years everyone’s phones will be video phone capable.

That’s my 2 cents. It’s all about usability. Make the thing usable and people will use it. People WANT to use it. People are going out of their way to find work arounds. Keep it simple stupid, and you’ll make millions.