Video calling, or the technology that allows mobile phone users to see the parties they are talking to at the other end of their handsets, is back in the news lately. Most of the credit for the media's revived attention for the mobile phone's videoconferencing feature should go to Apple's recent launch of the iPhone 4.

You see, the latest iteration of Steve Jobs' smart phone comes with the FaceTime video-calling feature. Surprisingly, or not, depending on how you view Apple's business strategies, Jobs and company had shown uncharacteristic willingness to present the FaceTime platform as an open source technology. Jobs and his cohorts hope that other smart phone vendors would use the technology to make their handsets' video-calling systems compatible with Apple's.

However, only consumers with iPhone 4 smart phones can use the FaceTime video-calling feature. Older versions of the iPhone, which do not have a forward-facing camera, cannot do video calling. Also, other smart-phone vendors are pushing their own video-calling technologies, and hence most likely will not adopt FaceTime.

Video calling has been with us for quite some time. Even on these third-world shores, phones equipped with this technology have been in the market for years now. But will it be as widely adopted as other mobile phone technologies such as SMS and MMS.

Nokia's N8

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone vendor, is seeking to reinforce its hold on the smart-phone market as well with the N8 smart phone. Equipped with a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash, and a sensor that rivals in size those found in digital cameras, the Nokia N8 enables users to create high-definition content.

The Nokia smart phone also moonlights as a portable entertainment center. Plugged into a home theater system, the N8 lets users enjoy HD-quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.

Xbox 360 Slims Down

Microsoft last week started selling a slimmer, yet more powerful, version of the Xbox 360 videogame platform in the U.S. market.

The slim version of the bestselling game console comes with a 250GB hard drive, built-in high-speed wireless connectivity. It is priced at $299, the same as the older, fatter version.

The slim Xbox 360's release coincided with Microsoft's announcement that the motion-sensing Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 consoles will be released in the American market by November 4. Kinect is the brand name adopted by the software giant for the game technology it developed under the codename "Project Natal."

The game device, described by Microsoft as potentially revolutionary, incorporates a 3-D camera and gesture-recognition software to enable gamers to play videogames using natural body movements in lieu of traditional, handheld controllers.

That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.