Biscotti could begin a new era of HDTV phones

About six years ago, I was at Disney’s EPCOT center and rode on Spaceship Earth so I can see the “world of the future”. In the exhibit, they showed a family gathered around a television, communicating with a videoimage on the other side.

I scoffed at that, and thought that EPCOT needs to update the ride, as that was a demonstration of present-day webcam technology. Now Biscotti’s TV Phone promises to be “the next generation of home video calling”.

Biscotti is so named because it is shaped like the popular dunking snack sold at Starbucks. You can place it atop your flatscreen, and it has a remote for popping up onscreen menus.

Biscotti allows the user to make free calls to other Biscotti and other devices that support Google voice and video. The user can set the Biscotti to answer calls from select contacts and turn on the TV when receiving a call from the TV.

So, is this the beginning of an age of TV communications, like we all have seen on the Jetsons? Biscotti certainly hopes so, as their press release states that video calling grows at fifty percent per year. The Biscotti is the first device as a home TV phone, and could start a whole new era.

The Biscotti is available now for about $199 at the official site.