Non-Obvious Challenges and Opportunities for VoIP and Video on the iPhone

Rarely can a new mobile device create positive disruptive change in the vast mobile culture we see today around the world.  The iPhone launched more than a year ago has gained tremendous popularity due to its multi-media capabilities. It is obvious that the iPhone, like any other modern Smartphone, can be VoIP enabled. It is, however, there does exist hidden challenges on how to actually enable it in a way that results in a high-quality VoIP experience even under adverse network conditions.  Offering a high quality service along with attractive pricing is a winning combination for market success. 

In this talk Jan Linden, the leader of the team that created the media processing engines that have enabled hundreds of millions of PCs and mobile devices with voice and video over IP will discuss the non-obvious challenges of designing high quality voice and video solutions for the iPhone. He will also talk about opportunities specific to the iPhone and how application developers are now able to create applications that let consumers and the mobile workforce best leverage the iPhone's IP communications capabilities. 

Challenges that will be discussed include technical details such as how to access the video camera, microphone, and speaker as well as higher level usability issues such as the fact that currently applications cannot run in the background.