Skype Video Conferencing Going Mobile In 2011?

In John C. Abell's First Annual Backward Compatible Tech Forecast, the Wired.com author takes a moment to speculate about the coming year.

His most intriguing speculation: that Skype will offer mobile video conferencing on everywhere data networks.

Could this fantasy actually come true? Abell notes that video phones have been rejected “by every human with bad hair since AT&T (NYSE: T) showcased one at the 1964-65 New York City World's Fair.” But that hasn't stopped people from jumping aboard the webcam bandwagon. Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) FaceTime feature seems to be pretty darn popular as well.

Of course, with FaceTime limited to a Wi-Fi connection, you have to wonder how easy it will be for Skype to fulfill its mobile conferencing goal. Assuming, of course, that's what the company plans to do in the coming year.