Place a video response in your Apple iChat if you can’t answer

On Thursday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application filed by Apple Inc. that describes video answering feature to be added to the company’s iChat messaging application which also includes extending remote video messaging to the iPhone.

The application was filed on October 5, 2007. The filing describes a new option to be integrated into iChat that will allow Mac OS X users to record their message that could be played back to callers when they are not available to answer the video chat in person, or if they just don’t want to be disturbed.

Users can make their record using a Mac's built-in iSight camera or a third-party webcam. Certainly, users can select to record a message in audio only format. The function will also enable users to drag-and-drop a prerecorded out-going message into the iChat window.

The filing also says that a user can set a timeframe when the outgoing "I'm not available to take your call" video message should kick after receiving a video-call request. Having viewed the video mail a caller can leave their own message. What is notable users can set the time limit for the callers’ messages too which will allow them to avoid long multi-gigabyte messages in their inbox.

In addition to other numerous functions to be available with the new video answering feature users will also be able to embed this the video-messaging scheme into multiple applications (email, media player, browser, and so on), and the choice of storing messages not only locally, but on a "video chat server." That means Apple might use its MobileMe online service as said video chat server, and provide the capability of accessing video messages using an iPhone. The filing stated that "a call recipient could access video answering machine messages stored in a video mailbox within the video chat server through ... a mobile phone application."