HDTV is the New Phone?

So you watch the biggest games with your buddies and your favorite shows on your brand new HDTV, positioned perfectly on the wall across from your sofa. And later on you’ll use it to call your mom in California.

Wait, what? That’s right—a TV used for a phone. The idea isn’t new (AT&T had the concept of a videophone back in the 1960s). But putting it into production could change the way we look at a television forever.

Quanta Computer, Inc., a contract maker for laptops, and OoVoo, a video chat software creator, have joined forces to discuss a new product. The device would connect your HDTV to the internet. You may see the resemblance to the computerized video chat available through iChat or Skype—except this would be completely high-definition. (You may want to put on your makeup before using this phone.)

Maybe you wouldn’t call your mom with it, but for corporate conferences this video messenger would provide great quality. Plus, it would allow connections to users that aren’t on the HDTV product, but using OoVoo’s software on a PC. With a prototype created and guesstimations that the product will be available later in the year, the “big picture” will be revealed when corporations start to pick it up…or skip over it for the next new technological gadget. [New York Times]