TORONTO – Captain Kirk warped into Toronto today to help Rogers Wireless launch wireless video calling, a new service that will turn customers’ mobile handsets into a webcam for face-to-face calling.
Customers will be able to talk and watch their friends, family and business associates in real time and so far, Rogers is the first and only wireless carrier in North America to offer video calling. It’s a new part of the Rogers Vision suite of services that "allows customers on the go to enjoy the kind of hi-speed Internet and multimedia experience previously only possible on a PC," says the press release.
To celebrate the launch of Rogers’ wireless video calling, Canadian-born actor, William Shatner (the aforementioned Kirk), made the trek home to make the first official video call. "Canada is clearly known for its many talents," said Shatner, "but I am especially proud to see my home country again at the leading edge of technology."
"In addition to wireless video calling, Rogers Vision allows customers to communicate in an entirely new way with mobile multimedia and visual services like video-on-demand, including the best on YouTube, ET Canada, CSI, CNN; Mobile Television to access your favourite TV and video programs with incredible clarity; radio-on-demand, featuring live XM Satellite radio; and Rogers MusicStore, your complete source for hundreds of thousands of music tracks," explains the release.
"Rogers Vision is a quantum leap forward in wireless communications… the experience is like being there," says John Boynton, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, Rogers Wireless. "Beyond offering video calling, Canadians can now benefit from faster than ever download times."
The Rogers Vision suite of services operates on Rogers’ new high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) network. HSDPA is the latest evolution of GSM, which has become, to large extent, the worldwide standard for mobile wireless communications (In North America, however, large players like Bell Canada, Telus, Sprint and Verizon use the CDMA/EV-DO standard).
Rogers’ network improves download speeds on wireless devices, "providing a user experience similar to broadband hi-speed wireline services," says the release.
Video calling is only available in Southern Ontario right now as Rogers’ HSDPA wireless network is being built across the country through 2007.
"Canada is clearly known for its many talents," said Shatner, "but I am especially proud to see my home country again at the leading edge of technology."
As part of Rogers Vision, the company is first in Canada to offer subscribers access to the top 50 YouTube clips, updated on a weekly basis.
