Computer companies have been touting video calling as the perfect way to hold conference calls and important conferences since the 1990s, but now it seems it’s all happening under their noses.
A Gartner report said that over a third of people aged 18 or over now use their smartphones to make video calls.
And the number increases if you count people under the age of 18, it appears.
Gartner surveyed 6,500 smartphone users in Germany and the USA earlier this year and estimates that 50 million people in America use their smartphones to make video calls. It also estimates that over eight million adult smartphone users in Germany do the same.
Software used includes Apple’s FaceTime, Microsoft’s Skype and Google’s Hangouts.
Gartner senior research analyst Atsuro Sato reckons that although the US results show higher penetration than Germany, it shows the shape of things to come in other territories too.
He said: “We believe one of the use cases that has seemed marginal for some time now warrants much greater attention.”
