Bear in mind, cell telephones had been nonetheless a nascent gadget that not everybody owned, and it was nonetheless a decade away from coming geared up with a digital camera. There was no such factor as Skype, Zoom, or Facetime that allow folks simply “attain out and contact somebody” in actual time whereas speaking with them. It was, fairly merely, revolutionary tech for the time.
Sadly, it price an arm and a leg. And possibly just a few fingers. Initially, the unit offered for $1,599.99. However it was utterly ineffective with out somebody having one other VideoPhone on the opposite finish. However hey, AT&T went the additional mile and conveniently dropped the value by $150 every if you happen to purchased two or extra of those buggers. Another choice, based on CNN Enterprise, was that you would lease one for $30 a day. If folks had that sort of cash, they may purchase it outright.
Among the advertising materials for the VideoPhone 2500 touted a “Self View” button that allowed the consumer to see how they might look to your different get together earlier than initiating the decision. Think about really caring about the way you look earlier than initiating a video name. Preposterous!
AT&T stopped promoting the VideoPhone two years later as a consequence of lack of demand (through CNN).
