I am a consultant who sometimes does executive search.  For the final
candidates in my search process, I do face to face interviews.  This
typically involves flying to see them which is costly and takes
considerable time.

I am looking for a more cost/time-efficient way to do this and am
considering purchasing a set of easy to use videophones, one of which
I would Fedex the candidate.

I am therefore looking for a videophone that:

- Provides reasonable quality picture.
- Is easy to hook up.
- Works through the telephone line.
- Priced less than $500 each.

The information I would like to have:

- The name of the product, cost and website for more information.
- It would be great to have information on user's actual experience
with the videophone.

I am not interested in teleconfercing services (such as Kinko's
offers) or videophones that work over the internet.

Hello find:

Thanks for the interesting question. I hope that together we can fill
your interesting need.

Having searched for videophones that:

* work over a regular phone line
* are easy to hook up
* have "decent" video
* are priced under US$500 each

I have so far only found two viable options. Don't get me wrong, there
are a lot of other videophones out there, but they either didn't meet
one of your criteria, got some pretty bad reviews, or were way too
expensive. At <$500 you are looking at the "bottom end" of the
available spectrum, I'm afraid.


The one I think is your best bet is the DV324 Desktop Videophone from
8x8, Inc.

More information on this phone can be found at the 8x8 website:

DV324 Desktop Videophone
URL: http://www.8x8.com/products/home_office/videophone/index.asp.html
Features: http://www.8x8.com/products/home_office/videophone/features.asp.html

The DV324 has 15 frames/second video (seems to be standard in
industry) and lots of interesting (though optional) features.

As they say at the site "With it's integrated high quality LCD screen
and wide-angle digital camera, the DV324 requires no adjustments or
software installations, and is ready to go with the press of a
button."

As for actually purchasing these phones, I've found them new from as
low as $469 each.

Today's Technologies
URL: http://www.todaystechnologies.net/cgi-local/store/commerce.cgi?product=Video&cart_id=


The other phone I found that fits your criteria is the Vizufon
GVP-1000 from C&S Technologies. The Vizufon GVP-1000 also has 15
frames/second video (seems to be standard in industry) and lots of
interesting (though optional) features.

More information on it can be found at: 

Vizufon GVP-1000
URL: http://www.cnstec.com/e-html/products/products-gvp1000.htm

Vizufon GVP-1000
URL: http://www.hyundaitrade.com/videophone/1000.html

The list price for these phones seems to be about $500, but I was able
to find sites that listed them much cheaper.

Overstock.com
URL: http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?cid=23485&PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD_ID=311805&fp=F
Price: $199.99

Kcusa.com
URL: http://www.kcusa.com/vidphonvizgv.html
Price: $248.99

FranklinCovey
URL: http://shopping.franklincovey.com/html/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=23070
Price: $349.95


Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any detailed reviews of either of
these phones. They were occasionally mentioned in larger articles on
videophones, and no-one seemed to have anything particularly bad to
say about either.

Why did I pick the DV324 over the GVP-1000? Well, a couple of reasons.
First, it seemes to me be be a better quality product from a more
reliable (stable) company. Second, having the GVP-1000 listed on so
many "overstock" websites gives me some pause. (You gotta think,
"Why?") However, if the cheaper price is enough for you to "take a
chance" on the GVP-1000, I'd certainly understand. :-)


I hope this information helps with your research.                  
                  
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
                  
Thank you.                   
                  
websearcher-ga                   
                  
                  
Search Strategy (on Google):                 

videophones "regular phone line"
videophones "no internet"
videophones inexpensive
vizufon
DV324
Vizufon GVP-1000
DV324 videophone
DV324 review
vizufon review

I did try using a POTS based 8x8's integrated videophone few years back.
I did work great most of the times(using international lines from U.S to India).
The issues I had were as follows:
i) If the line is noisy, it would drop the signal after few minutes.
ii) out of sync audio.
iii) Did not get very good quality with a continuosly moving subject.
iv) You do need a switching power supply instead of the adapter it came with
for widely varying foreign supply voltage.
You might be able to get one of those units for around $200 if they
are still available.
Just my two cents.

Regards
ldavinci-ga

Picture quality can be an issue with this type of device, since they
rely on low-bandwidth telephone lines.

The 8x8 products mentioned above seem to be popular.  However, there
is a new product from Vialta called the Beamer that may also be worth
considering.  Apparently, it won a CES award in 2003 and was reviewed
favorably by the Wall Street Journal.  Note that its best performance
seems to be 15 frames per second.  (Generally, the minimum for smooth
video is 24 frames per second, and the ideal is 30 frames per second,
though 15 fps seems to be the standard for a prouct limited to phone
line transmission.)  They sell 2 for $499.
http://www.vialta.com/

Reviews:
http://webreprints.djreprints.com/577170018414.html

http://www.edgereview.com/ataglance.cfm?category=Computing&ID=375

Amazon.com Reviews for Vialta Beamer
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000721YA/

I also note that Amazon carries a line of Aiptek products which are
more expensive, but may better suit your needs ($279-$469 each):

http://www.aiptek.com/products/products.htm

Aiptek 2000M (For use with a TV)... $279
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004K78J/

Aiptek 2000S (For use with a TV)... $299
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00002ESX9/

Aiptek 2000C (Built-in display)... $469
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00002ESX8/

Aiptek 2000T (Built-in display and phone)... $469
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00002ES6M/