Although video calling has become fairly common in the PC market, it has just recently started becoming mainstream on mobile devices and TVs. While many of the players cross over between screen-types, the dynamics in each market are quite unique.
New NPD In-Stat research forecasts the total number of active video calling users will surpass 380 million in 2015, which is an increase from 63 million last year.
According to the senior analyst Amy Cravens, mobile arena has fueled much of the growth in usage over the course of 2011. As for the TV video calling market, it’s still quite small but is set for significant growth in the coming years.
Unsurprisingly, PC video calling will continue to account for the majority of video calling minutes. Skype as the market leader is already working across multiple platforms, including PC, mobile and TV. However, it’s the integration with other apps and services, namely social networks, that will be a significant market driver. In that sense, we’ve already seen Skype integration with Facebook, allowing users to send text messages and call their Facebook buddies via Skype…
And as usual, you can get additional information on In-Stat’s report from their website.