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Apple Announces FaceTime for iPhone 4 Video Calls

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Apr 12, 2001
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The iPhone 4 was officially announced at today's WWDC keynote event and Steve Jobs reserved the "one more thing" announcement at the end of the event to talk more about its video calling capabilities.


144118-facetime_500.jpg



Video calling will require both parties to be using an iPhone 4. Video calls can be done with both the front and rear-facing cameras on the new device and requires Wi-Fi to work. Apple's protocol for video calling is called FaceTime and will apparently not use cellular data networks at all, thus the requirement for a Wi-Fi connection.

While describing the feature and its restriction to Wi-Fi only in 2010, Jobs said that they "need to work a little bit with carriers," presumably to make the feature available with cellular data connections in the future.

Article Link: Apple Announces FaceTime for iPhone 4 Video Calls
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/07/apple-announces-facetime-for-iphone-4-video-calls/
Meh... I'm not too impressed. WiFi only is a huge drawback...
 
PBF said:
Honestly, it wasn't worth the One More Thing announcement.

iPhone on Verizon, Safari 5 or Magic Trackpad would have been much more exciting. Really.
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agreed.

cool feature nonetheless. but the fact that its only sustained on wifi is a bit lame (although i have a feeling is mostly AT&T's fault). The biggest issue i see with it is IPHONE4 to IPHONE4 exclusitvity . at least iphone 3g/s should be able to see Iphone 4 users or use they're back cams.
 
At least I'm glad there is definitely going to be a front facing camera finally! This is quite useless to me though unless I can chat with my iChat buddies, or at least Skype. Hopefully Skype or another third party (AIM) will be able to tap into the front camera. WiFi only is also a shame. If I'm going to be on a WiFi network I might as well just use my MacBook Pro.

Was glad to hear they are making FaceTime an open standard, though. That will open the door for other app developers on mobile and desktop. We will probably see an iChat update with FaceTime... eventually.

DylanLikesPorn said:
Useless feature. Video chat was never popular — for good reason.
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It was never popular because it wasn't easy to do. Now all you have to do is make a phone call and tap the icon. Anyone who knows how to make a regular voice call is going to know how to make a video call now. And since it's open, it won't be iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 forever.
 
iphone4 to iphone4 only over wifi only means NOBODY is going to use this.
 
The fact that video only works over WIFI is a major flaw. At the moment, the video is a gimmick. Not much better / useful than conferencing with Skype.
 
tens of millions of FaceTime devices

"Apple will ship tens of millions of FaceTime devices this year so there's going to be a lot of people to talk to."

They can't all be iPhones, so they must also be counting:
- Macs?
- iPod touches (needs camera, next gen)?
- iPads (needs camera, next gen)?

Thoughts?
 
I HAVE to think that Apple will get this working with at least iChat in the very near future. Otherwise, iPhone 4-to-iPhone 4 only, wifi-only makes this a gimmick, not a useful feature.

If they get it working with iChat, that would be GREAT for people like me who want to videochat with family while I'm traveling. I usually stay in hotels with wifi access, so the lack of cellular connectivity is less of a problem for me.
 
Wifi only isnt surprising considering ATT can't even handle voice calls properly. But this is an epic fail on Apple's part. The best part will be watching the Apple fanboys dance around how lame this is. Wifi only. iPhone to iPhone only. Wow. Why not iPhone to iChat at the very least? What a joke.

Smaller screen, still no built in turn-by-turn navigation, awful phone service, idiotic pricing plans. Hi EVO, nice to meet you.
 
Open Standard

They said it is an open standard so you would think that you will be able to use the front facing camera in a skype app or something like that.
 
skyehill said:
Wifi only isnt surprising considering ATT can't even handle voice calls properly. But this is an epic fail on Apple's part. The best part will be watching the Apple fanboys dance around how lame this is. Wifi only. iPhone to iPhone only. Wow. Why not iPhone to iChat at the very least? What a joke.

Smaller screen, still no built in turn-by-turn navigation, awful phone service, idiotic pricing plans. Hi EVO, nice to meet you.
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You were never going to get one anyways, so just keep on trolling.

NorthZax said:
Did he really say "carriers" in the plural ?
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AT&T isn't the only network the iPhone is used on. Think the rest of the world...
 
MrCrowbar said:
So... no iChat to iPhone videochat?
WHY!? :confused:
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I'm guessing because iChat uses a user handle and not a number like FaceTime to establish/link the connection between devices.

Not a big deal though. I'm sure there will be tons of 3rd party apps that will bring us universal video chat.
 
DylanLikesPorn said:
Useless feature. Video chat was never popular — for good reason.
Click to expand...

agreed. another "magical feature that will change the world" from apple... too bad this one is a joke. every person on the planet that owns a mac can easily set up a video chat in a matter of seconds... yet virtually no one bothers.
 
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