16 million to make online calls from the couch via connected living rooms

According to new research from analysis group In-Stat, the number of online video calls made from the living room will grow exponentially in the next few years. Talking face to face with distant friends and family from the couch could soon become the next creature comfort.

Living room video callers will balloon from last year’s meager 1.5 million to more than 16 million in 2015, predicted In-Stat. The boost means more than 550 billion minutes – quadruple the amount of time living room video callers racked up in 2010 – will be spent using Skype, Apple FaceTime and other home video teleconferencing software in that same year.

“The integration of video calling with social networks, such as Skype’s integration with Facebook and Google+’s incorporation of Hangouts, is bringing a fresh perspective to video calling,” said Amy Cravens, Senior Analyst, In-Stat. “Additionally, introducing this capability to the living room, enabling HDTV video chat, is an additional aspect of the market that is being endorsed by industry giant Microsoft as well as leading device OEMs including Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.”

The analyst added that Asia, not the U.S. or Europe, is set to become the market leader thanks to the disproportionate number of home video calling devices shipped to the region’s retailers.

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