There are lots of services out there these days that let you make VoIP calls on your cell phone. But how about video IP calls? That’s what Latvian startup Tivi is showing at VON.

Founded by three high school buddies, Tivi’s SIP software client turns smart phones running Symbian and Windows Mobile into VoIP and IP video phones. The video client lets users make video calls from a mobile phone to a PC. Tivi also offers a free softphone client that can be downloaded from the company’s website.

Calls are carried over a 3G cellular network. The software also supports WiFi, provided the phone is dual mode.

Tivi sells their software to carriers, so don’t expect to see any Tivi-branded handsets. The company is also planning Linux and Mac versions of its softphone.

This was my first VON show. Turnout appeared light and my peers confirmed that turnout was around 20% lower than past years. It’s been a while since I worked a trade show and maybe I’ve spent too much time in Berkeley, but it felt like we were nickel-and-dimed for every little thing at the show. It didn’t feel like the show was an effective use of resources.

I spent most of my time during the show working on our new website and forum. But I did get a chance to walk the floor and didn’t really see anything inspiring in the VoIP space. If you’ve seen one E-911 provider, you’ve seen them all.

One booth that did catch my eye was TiVi, a Latvian company with two-way cell phone video. The video quality was pretty good; the picture updated smoothly and didn’t have the typical video jerkiness. I like seeing innovative solutions from countries that aren’t traditionally known for technology.

Our industry has reached a plateau, even with VoIP usage increasing and more companies entering the market space. VoIP is at the point in the adoption lifecycle where it needs to transition from early adopters to general consumers. Manufacturers and providers need to transition their offering focus from novelty to simplicity.