But videophones have been promoted as the next generation of one-on-one communication for years and haven't become ubiquitous. Despite the advances in this generation of devices, the timing is unfortunate because of both the recession and the trend toward enabling mobility, analysts said.

"Phones have traditionally been the last line on the list ... for an overall upgrade," said IDC analyst Norah Freedman. "Because of budget constraints and economic concerns ... those phones haven't reached a business-critical threshold to justify the price range." Even high-end corporate VoIP phones without video, which sell for about half as much, aren't selling as quickly as they once did, Freedman said.

"People are using their corporate phones less and their mobile phones more now," said Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala. Despite advances in quality and ease of use for videophones, they remain niche products, Kerravala said, because there isn't enough reason for coworkers in typical enterprises to see each other when they talk. The phones may be better-suited to certain specific industries, such as health care, where a remote doctor may want more feedback from a patient, he said.

But videoconferencing itself isn't dead, IDC's Freedman said. Cutbacks have been good news for makers of larger, shared systems, especially less-expensive ones such as those from LifeSize.

"In some cases, travel budgets have just disappeared," Freedman said.