X50S5

A Telecommunications Paradigm is born!

When the VRS industry was first formed, one company innovated and grew into an industry giant with the adroit use of the ‘Network Effect’. For those who don’t know what a Network Effect (Source: Wikipedia) is, here’s a quick primer. Basically, a provider creates a service that is much needed by a certain population, and provides the necessary technological infrastructure to service that population. The more the population has the equipment, the more it becomes valuable to them, and the more they will use the service, and repeat… All of a sudden, TTY’s have gone into the Great Landfill in the Sky.

In Sorenson VRS‘s case, it is the venerable VP-100 and later, the VP-200 units that have helped propel them into an industry giant and have largely solidified its business in the highly competitive VRS market. From a business case perspective, I have much to admire about Sorenson VRS and how they innovated to where they are now. Unfortunately for them, their business model and approach to service for Deaf/HH consumers are akin to that of landline phones; Their ‘new’ paradigm is increasingly becoming stale.

Enter a New Paradigm!

We all are increasingly aware of anecdotal evidence and popular media glamorizing the ‘death’ of the landline phone. People are cutting the ‘cord’ in mass droves and resorting to their cell phones as their main telecommunications medium. Proliferation of VoIP technologies have largely driven the stake into the landline industry. This mass paradigm shift does not bode well for the VRS industry giant, as technological innovations have now reached the U.S. shores; cell phones with video calling capabilities. Currently, at this time of writing, it’s Sprint’s EVO 4G and the iPhone 4.

Interestingly enough, Apple seemingly is borrowing a page from the Sorenson VRS playbook, creating a ‘network effect’ of sorts with FaceTime, their video-calling approach exclusively for iPhone 4 devices. Granted, this is a phone designed for the mainstream population, so I’m sure the FCC can’t mandate interoperability for the new class of video cell phones just yet. The Sprint EVO 4G relies on 3rd party applications such as Fring and Qik for videocalling.

This will have a profound impact on the VRS industry over time. Many Deaf/HH people will ‘cut the cord’ with their high-speed internet provider and simply go with a cell phone that is capable of video calling and use VRS services at anytime and anywhere. (Ok, where there’s a signal, there’s VRS!) Thus, a new paradigm is now born, and the race is on for VRS providers to provide VRS services to cell phones with video calling capabilities. The VRS provider that first comes up with interoperable solutions for these new phones (i.e. VRS services and point to point calling) will become the dominant VRS provider of the future.

Who will win the Race?

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. I’m sure engineers at VRS companies are furiously working on interoperable solutions for this new class of videophones. I’m sure we’ll gain access to VRS services and point to point calling features on these cell phones fairly soon. My bet’s on the EVO 4G; it’s based on open-source Android platform and the Deaf/HH consumer can make video calls at anytime and anywhere there’s a 4G signal. (I’m not so sure about 3G signals, but WiFi is just as handy!) The iPhone 4 may eventually gain entry into the VRS arena, as Apple eventually opens up the FaceTime video telephony standard to VRS companies.

Exciting times are ahead for Deaf/HH consumers, indeed! May the next VRS industry giant lead the way.

If you haven’t done so already, check out my initial impressions of the Z-340 VideoPhone. I have been using this unit for one month now and have made/received P2P and VRS calls.

While not scientific, I did notice that the unit takes a while to recharge; took roughly 3 hours for a full recharge. The videophone’s ‘standby’ time (i.e., running on battery power and ready to receive calls) seemed to last for roughly 2 hours, 20 minutes. No idea how long the videophone’s battery would last on a ‘talk’ time basis, i.e., using the unit in making a call. (I suspect it won’t be as long as 2 hours, 20 minutes!) So, while the battery life of the videophone may be adequate, I’d suggest carrying the wall brick.

One annoying tendency is that when I power the videophone on, the battery sometimes can be depleted already, just when I know it should be fully charged. Maybe it could be the case that I didn’t ‘log off’ while turning off the unit for the day? I really didn’t test this further, as I can simply plug in the videophone and power it up.

I love its form factor! I can put it in my car’s glovebox compartment, or in a portable filing cabinet along with my files. Due to the nature of my job (I travel to different schools), this portability has been the videophone’s biggest asset. And connecting the videophone at various locations (either via Wi-Fi or ethernet) is really simple. No need to configure the router, adjust settings, etc. The videophone simply works.

As for making calls, the video quality is pretty good, quite clear, with very little artifacting and pixellating. This is probably due to the fact that I have high speed connections. I can easily make calls via ZVRS, and even have used ZVRS’s Espanol translation services. The wait time was fairly short (a few seconds at the most), and the quality of the interpreters were acceptable. Calls were made during normal ’9 to 5′ hours. I have not made any calls to any other VRS provider, so I really can’t comment on Z-340′s interoperability.

I also have made some P2P calls (admittedly to other users who have Z-340′s) and have been very satisfied with the video calling experience. Video was clear and smooth. My experience in calling Sorenson VP 200 users have been limited, though. I was able to call one person’s VP 200, but he wasn’t there. I haven’t received calls from a VP 200 phone. For what it’s worth…

My only snit with this videophone is the lack of a visual ring alert, and a lack of an alert for incoming P2P calls. (What is this “Who Just Called” feature?) The Z-Alert feature of ZVRS does work for missed VRS calls. I did get a ‘videomail’ sent to my regular email address instead of my blackberry email address. The end result of that snafu was that I did not receive this person’s message until I have gotten home. I have configured my Videomail settings and hopefully it’ll work this time around.

First of all, here’s the link to the official Z-340 website:
Z-340 Videophone

Secondly, I don’t have a relationship with Z-VRS, or any other relay company for that matter. I do know quite a bit of people working in Z-VRS, though.

I just got this unit in the past week. Turns out that it’s an ‘InPerson’ videophone produced and marketed by Creative Technology. At first blush, the build and feel of the unit seems to be excellent. I love the form factor! The unit is small and portable. The carrying case seems to be a little bit too ‘snug’ if you include the unit with its battery. Battery life seems to be quite good, although I really haven’t put it thru its paces yet. The unit folds; protecting its screen.

The video quality, while clear, is on par with ‘webcam quality’, and the interface seems to be somewhat intuitive. The camera’s angle of view can be adjusted. If one desires, this unit can be hooked up to a TV via A/V cables. In addition to Wi-Fi, the unit can be hooked up via Ethernet. There is a numeric keypad, a top row of color-coded navigational buttons, a navigational keypad, and a couple of other buttons. “Installation” of the videophone was quick and sweet, lasting 10 minutes. The videophone, thanks to its SIP protocol, easily connects to the Internet. It was definitely nice to have my own 10-digit phone number! No more proxy numbers.

Here’s the links to two high-resolution images of the Z-340;
Z-340 (Front)
Z-340 (Back)

I have used it a few times, but was disappointed in the performance of my DSL line. My video output was blurry; however incoming video was nicely rendered. I liked the fact that I could update my address book, info, etc. via the web interface at Z-VRS’s website. An upgrade to cable internet service is definitely in the cards for me!

There are two shortcomings to the Z-340, though. One, it has a limited keyboard. It doesn’t have a web-browser built-in. It means that you can’t ‘activate’ Wi-Fi hotspots at business establishments such as Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles, Panera Bread, etc. quite easily. You would have to ask the manager/clerk for the actual network numbers to access the Wi-Fi hotspots. According to my installer, he has had no problem in securing Wi-Fi access at these places, but your mileage may vary.

Secondly, it has no flasher unit. I have no way of telling if someone’s calling me, unless I happen to be looking at the unit while someone’s calling. However, the unit will alert you that there’s a missed call (or two!) and has a call history feature. According to Z-VRS’s website, they have this service called ‘Z-Alert’, which will send you a message on your messaging pager if someone’s calling you. I haven’t signed up for Z-Alert yet, but I suspect that it only works for Z-VRS calls placed to your videophone. Peer to Peer (P2P) calls will not send an alert to your messaging pager via Z-Alert. I would love to be corrected wrong on this one!

I intend to use this Z-340 videophone for my work, and I hope to give a more complete report on the Z-340 in a few months. (I start work in mid-August.) Overall, this is a nice unit, despite its shortcomings, and one I expect will easily serve my needs at work.