Motorola Ojo Adds Video to Internet Phone Calls

A few readers who checked in on our back-to-school posts recommended the Motorola Ojo Personal Video Phone for college kids and parents who want to keep in touch and see each other at the same time.

So I checked it out. Pictured right, it looks like the video phone we were told twenty years ago we'd all be using by now. If money is no object, the Ojo is the coolest videophone with the best video-audio synchronization, PC Magazine says.

When Craig Ellison reviewed the Ojo video phone in June 2005, he said most of us would be more likely to see it prominently placed in scenes on Fox's 24 and ABC's Alias than in homes (or dorm rooms) because of the cost. At the time, the Ojo was priced at about $800. You need two for a conversation, which also requires a $14.95 monthly service fee.

Since then, the prices have dropped to $300 for a black Ojo Shadow and $400 for the original silver model. But the $14.95 monthly subscription remains the same, and you need high-speed broadband Internet access to make the calls possible.

The video quality may be better than anything like it, but I'm not sure the Ojo would make it onto many parents' lists of must-have college gear, since those lists are already long on costly gear.

Another option, as Robin Raskin and Chris Null write, is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows you to make affordable calls over the Internet. Attach a webcam to your computers and you can see each other while talking. Some laptops come with webcams built in. The video quality may not be the same, but neither will the cost.

Has anyone used the Motorolo Ojo? Let us know if you think it's worth the additional expense when putting together your college-bound progeny's to-go gear.