And the technology to do it is here - and has been for quite a while. And there are a lot of ways now to approximate making a video phone call - including Skype and a myriad of other video calling solutions. In addition, lots of big companies provide video conferencing facilities in their conference rooms - so that people can both see and here what's happening in a meeting that they are 'virtually' attending.
Despite all of this, the videophone as an artifact has really not yet arrived. And I have a theory as to why that is: there's a lot of value in not being seen. Having a telephone conversation without video ensures that the person on the other end - if they're engaged in the dialog at all - has to listen to the words you're saying (and how you're saying them) and doesn't get any of the visual cues about your body language.
You don't have to dress up to make a phone call. Anyone who's ever worked from home knows the value of being able to be professional and businesslike on a conference call, yet still be wearing that ratty old bathrobe that you got for Christmas 10 years ago and haven't been able to part with.
There are, of course, circumstances where you do want to be seen on a call - and there are now lots of options to do that. Those options are growing. When I purchased my latest cellphone last month, I noticed that it had front and back camera lenses for the express purpose of allowing video calls. Apple, of course, has made much of this feature in its latest iPhone.
But no matter how many lenses you put into a phone, I can't think of any circumstance under which I'd want to inflict the sight of me in a bathrobe - first thing in the morning - on the rest of the world. Only those who've built up the tolerance for such a sight should bear the responsibility for witnessing it.
And that, I predict, is why the videophone has been slow to become popular - despite the ability of technology to deliver it.
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