ViiF - your mobile entertainment company
Ever tried to use video calling on your brand new UMTS phone? Guess most of us will answer that question with a clear “No”. Rates up to 0,99 EUR, while a normal call is priced at 19 cent or is even free (since many of us have flat rates) this feature is still really uninteresting. It also requires UMTS connection enabled – and most us will switch of this feature, since it is power consuming. Well, I don’t want to write a statement on why not to use that feature, but rather point out a possibility on why it might be interesting.
The Berlin base ViiF mobile Video GmbH, which calls there product “your mobile entertainment community”, offers a service which could get you to at least try out the video call feature. There software uses this video call feature as interface to get videos of your phone and into the internet and vice versa. Currently this feature is free for customers using the German O2 network. All that is needed is an UMTS connection and a call to the service number 22557. No special software or data rate needed!
Especially the feature enabling direct vlogging caught my attention – media directly to your personal weblog is the promise you get at the ViiF homepage. Unluckily I’m currently at my parents place in Truppach with no UMTS coverage, so I won’t be able to try this feature before I at least visit Bamberg or Bayreuth. But I’m really curious, whether this vlogging feature will work any good, since I’ve tried to start a kind of mobile vlogging some while ago, but never kept up with it. If the ViiF service produces any reliable quality I might get back on track here 
Also it will be interesting to see, which kind of Media they will offer in there community. Probably some of me readers in an UMTS area could try the feature and comment a few words about this?
As long as the ViiF manages to keep there call rates low, considered an enabling technology – enabling to distribute and receive content without having to subscribe to expensive data rates, and without having to tweak your mobile phone too much. With all those mobile carriers still trying to get back the billions they invested in UMTS licenses and their UMTS network, I really hope this can be done, our mobile market needs such innovations - at decent prices, though! I’ve subscribed to the ViiF-Blog and will be watching their progress. Also expect me trying this vlogging feature soon.
