Video calls will be a minority interest even five years from now

Independent report says not even FaceTime will make video mainstream

Not coming to a mobile near you

Not even the launch of Apple’s FaceTime video calling feature on the iPhone 4 will drive mobile video calling into mass-market adoption any time soon, according to a report by Juniper Research.

Analysts at Juniper estimate that less than one in 10 smartphone owners, 29 million users worldwide, will be making mobile video calls by 2015.

“The use of video calling has had several false dawns and has remained flat in recent years,” said Anthony Cox, Juniper senior analyst. “In the longer term the growth of Wi-Fi and 3G in developing markets may make video calling an attractive option for international calls for those working and living away from their families.”

Lack of interoperability between different devices may hold back the market, he added.

The report says the value of global smartphone device shipments will reach $94bn in 2015. But smartphone functionality, such as a touch-screen and connectivity to app stores, will be run of the mill by then and included in 84 per cent of handsets shipped in mature markets like the US.

Nokia’s Symbian OS will continue to dominate in terms of market share, predicts the report, although the resignation of Meego’s head Ari Jaaksi, and the decision of both Samsung and Sony Ericsson to abandon Symbian will further boost the position of the Android operating system in the smartphone market.