“Videoconferencing, instant messaging and collaboration on the iPad is gaining steam as more iPads make their way into the enterprise,” Tom Kaneshige reports for CIO.
“Companies have become more comfortable with these emerging methods of communication,” Kaneshige reports. “They’re pouring investments into Wi-Fi upgrades and videoconferencing networking technology from tech giants such as Cisco, IBM and Microsoft.”
Kaneshige reports, “The new iPad released earlier this year could provide an even greater lift. Its fast 4G LTE connection capability and Retina graphics display, which doubles the iPad 2’s resolution, seem to be built for videoconferencing. Eagle Investment Systems has some 200 employees using corporate-owned iPads with Jabber, a Cisco app for instant messaging, voice, video and conferencing that Cisco extended to iPad and Windows in March. In the next 12 to 18 months, this number should grow to 600 employees. Roughly half of these employees will be outside the United States, in countries such as England, China, Poland and the Arab states.”
Read more in the full article here.
When describing retina displays, I really think they should say “quadruple” or “four times” the resolution, instead of “double”.
Double makes it sound like the new iPad has the same resolution of 2 previous generation iPads combined, when in fact, the new iPad has the resolution of 4 previous generation iPads combined.
Even though it has 4 times as many pixels, it’s double the resolution. Don’t lose your head about it.
As much as I think FaceTime is better than Skype etc, apple needs to do two thing with it.
Windows client, sorry… Apple isn’t everywhere (yet)
Multiple video connection. 1 to 1 is good, but business needs more than 2 people in a video conference.
Completely agree. My company has been asking to video conference with more than one person and I had to steer them to WebEx. I wish I could’ve kept them on FaceTime.
Apple called it iChat. It is their 4 way video conferencing software that was offered for several years on the Macs.
At some point, Apple is going to have to open up some of these iOS apps.
And it continues to exist on Lion; not to mention that it works flawlessly. And on Windows, as well (except that on Windows, it uses just about the worst piece of software known to man, called AIM).
About the only disadvantage of iChat is that it requires too many ports to be open for a normal conference call, which is a non-starter for most corporations.
I agree that conferencing is needed – wait its coming.
I disagree with the need for windows clients – an Apple exclusive is so warm and fuzzy – its better this way.
Jabber is owned be Cisco? That’s news to me.
What we are doing now with the iPad & iPhone with FaceTime is like SciFi stuff back in the 60’s or 70’s movies. Aren’t you glad your alive to be able to actually do this for real? I am…soooo cooool! 🙂
Balmer’s Microsoft bought Skype about a year ago – what have they done with it? Microsoft Skype hasn’t revitalized the videoconferencing industry – but perhaps it could have.
strange huh – Skype was really doing well before MacroSloth bought it.
When you IT department is full of dinosaurs or RIM and Microsoft lovers you don’t get a chance to have a decent system.
Just a few months ago our IT get us a 12,000 Polycom system for video conferencing, and that is just for location.
I have a way lot better system with my iPad for just 399 (iPad 2) with friends and Family.
The real power of the iPad is not to act solely as a replacement for an expensive endpoint or a desktop video application. Instead, its power lies in being able to function as a truly multi protocol videoconferencing endpoint. More on the power of having a device that can connect via dozen of different video protocols: http://bit.ly/HMqBHp Perhaps this is what we need for video to “finally take off.” How about an Ipad and an Apple TV. Could that be the next corporate boardroom system?