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ATT Checking Into Video Calling?

I was just checking out my ATT account and spotted this. I was wondering, does this just mean sending videos through texting or does it mean a future of video calling? Thanks.
 

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I was just checking out my ATT account and spotted this. I was wondering, does this just mean sending videos through texting or does it mean a future of video calling? Thanks.
AT&T technically already supports video calling. (Video conference calls)
It's considered data usage.
You just have to have a device that supports it.

What is Video Share?
NOTE: Video Share requires 3G coverage and both the sender and receiver must have capable phones.

Video Share allows you to share live video with another AT&T customer while you are on a wireless phone call.
 
WiFi Video Chat

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.


Totally agree. What's the point if you can't talk to computers or when you're away from WiFi hotspots? I live in Japan, and finding a hotspot is almost impossible. I guess you have to tether your iPhone 3gs and then use that as a hotspot. :D
 
Nothing wrong with AT&T in AZ... there are dead spots in Scottsdale and Glendale... big deal.
Every network has dead spots.
Verizon has a huge dead spot in my neighborhood and I'm 1/4 of a mile from a large mall.
Can't even place a call without having to go outside.

You had me believing you up until you said "outside". We all know people don't go outside in Arizona anymore. That would be risking your "state" given civil liberties.

:D
 
The Biggest Disappointment is...

The biggest disappointment is that the "Facetime" feature doesn't work for any other iPhone except the 4. Why can't a 3GS (or 3G) not accept a call and at least be able to see the other person? I think this is a real missed opportunity. There are millions of iPhones out there and if you enabled them to participate in the facetime feature (even if it is view-only) it would be huge...and something that no other phone manufacturer could match. I'm sure there has to be some sort of technical reason why they didn't do it because it seems to me to be a no-brainer otherwise! :( :(
 
anyone know what the background music is on the facetime video on the apple website? it starts at 0:50 - 2:50 and has cellos in it.

thanks
 
You had me believing you up until you said "outside". We all know people don't go outside in Arizona anymore. That would be risking your "state" given civil liberties.

:D
Save the political commentary for the proper forum. ;)

Everyone's civil liberties are just fine here.
Don't believe all the hyped up press and GROSSLY over exaggerated commentary.
 
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.

That must explain why so many people were asking for video chat right?

I don't use it myself, but to claim that nobody will use it is to be ignorant.
 
That must explain why so many people were asking for video chat right?

I don't use it myself, but to claim that nobody will use it is to be ignorant.

Apple will succeed where others have failed, Apple will revolutionize video chat. I just hope they patent it and Retina display so theives like HTC don't steal it.
 
FaceTime is nothing but a rebadged iChat.

- Just replace iPhone to iPhone with mac to mac.
- Both need a wifi (or network) connection.

There isn't really much advantage FaceTime has over iChat at the moment. Perhaps FaceTime over 3G will next year's WWDC "One more thing"?
 
this could be nice. but since only iphone 4 to iphone 4, i don't see myself using it much this year if i get the new iphone this month. i won't know anyone with a new iphone. not anyone i'd want to get some facetime with anyway
 
Okay we ALL know there's always that one feature the new phone has that the others don't. In this case it's Facetime (Stupid name but I'll live). Clearly this is a stepping stone and if you know Apple you know next year it will be iChat capable.

It's not Apple's fault. . . it's the carriers and to be honest, Verizon would be no better in this situation either.

I can't wait until some of you leave AT&T and complain about your version of the iPhone. It's just inevitable. Just shut up and either buy the phone or move the hell on. :rolleyes:
 
Of course, you all know what they SHOULD have done right?
They should have NEVER bothered with an utterly useless feature NO ONE will use and instead doubled the iPhones storage capacity.

I mean I will buy an iPhone 4, mainly because it's thinner and has a better camera, but the way they are blowing video chat... Jesus..... they haven't invented the wheel, just some piss poor implementation of a 5 plus year old feature!! And don't say it's easy to use, video chat was NEVER hard to use, non smart phones have had it for ages and still nobody bothers with it. And that's over the cellular network.

I take the implementation bit back as knowing Apple it will be very well integrated into the OS. Still useless though.
 
I caught that too.

We were talking about it in the office here and we think that iMacs and MacBooks will get a FaceTime app or iChat AV will be renamed to FaceTime.

The iPad will most likely get the forward facing camera on REV 2 also.

I knew it was going to be WiFi-only. Why are so many people bitching and moaning about this????? NO cell network could handle that kind of data stream from a bunch of users at the same time. Get real everyone! Even when traveling on the road and trying to iChat AV back home with my wife and son, we get a horrible choppiness to the video, IF we can even connect due to hotel router firewalls!

+1. People bitch about ATT's network now. I couldn't imagine a couple of thousand of these bad boys in the same place literally toasting all GSM cell towers in range. Looking at it now, this phone probably caused ATT to get rid on unlimited data plans. Considering most of the places I visit on a daily/weekly basis have open hotspots, having FaceTime be WIFI, for now, isn't a dealbreaker for me.
 
It's not Apple's fault. . . it's the carriers and to be honest, Verizon would be no better in this situation either.

The carriers already support video chat using the existing 3G H.323 standard. It's a standard for AV comms that has been around since the 1990s and nearly all 3G capable phones support it EXCEPT the iPhone.

Apple chose to come up with it's own standard for Facetime that uses essentially a VoIP SIP session alongside the normal voice call. It's more like an iChat session over the internet.

So, it really is Apple's fault that you can't do video over 3G as they decided to not support the normal industry standard method.

That's not actually a bad idea since the carriers rape you for video calls as they are outside your normal call minutes or data plan usually. That's why they're unpopular mostly. Here in the UK it's about 35-40p a minute.
 
WiFi Video Chat

The carriers already support video chat using the existing 3G H.323 standard. It's a standard for AV comms that has been around since the 1990s and nearly all 3G capable phones support it EXCEPT the iPhone.

Apple chose to come up with it's own standard for Facetime that uses essentially a VoIP SIP session alongside the normal voice call. It's more like an iChat session over the internet.

So, it really is Apple's fault that you can't do video over 3G as they decided to not support the normal industry standard method.

That's not actually a bad idea since the carriers rape you for video calls as they are outside your normal call minutes or data plan usually. That's why they're unpopular mostly. Here in the UK it's about 35-40p a minute.

Here here! Well said.
 
AT&T technically already supports video calling. (Video conference calls)
It's considered data usage.
You just have to have a device that supports it.

That's not actual real video calling though. It's a one way video transfer with a 3 minute max amount of streaming time. So for example you call me and if i have a device capable of video share i can stream a 3 minute feed to you of something. But it's a one way transfer
 
After reading the first comments on page one I am posting this ... I am so amazed at so many people bitching and complaining about a break through feature like this. Guess what ... Don't use it then.

I for one am sooooooooo excited about it. I cant wait for this feature! I have several friends and family who are iphone fanatics so this will become a norm for us.

If I am on the road I can see my children. I can flirt with my wife! I can see my Mom or friend I havent seen in awhile. I can see what my business partner is talking about instantly. There is so much potential here!

Can't wait!
 
have a little faith true apple users...

God I swear its like watching a bunch of Retards humping a doorknob in here sometimes!!

Think people... Ok so video chat is not "new", no *****...but to apples largest target audience, and Homeland.. it is new.
People aren't video chatting here in the states. Period. I never see anyone using it in Downtown Seattle. Ever.
So if they have to start it out on Wi-Fi only I'm all for it. For one I remember when the Iphone didn't have an app store, heck even 3G, which is such the standard now a days. And a mere 2 years goes by and apple still has these chumps on their heels. No one is touching the app store yet...and most likely wont. The facts are that the Face Time only works over Wi-Fi...but how long is that going to last?
You have to be immensely dense if you think the tech is going to stop at just WiFi...come on people am I the only person that has gone through new firmware updates that allow for new or better functionality?! Get real and quite bitching ...Im not saying that its not in an infantile stage (no over-network video calls, no Iphone to macbook video calls...yet) but that's just it...Its the effing baby that will grow up to stomp most of you nay sayers into the ground, Seriously just watch...If it wasn't popular before I think apples aim is to make it the mainstream thing we are all used to and taking for granted 2 years from now!
I love the people that tare At&t apart but don't take the time to think how any other carrier would be handling the iphone user base's data usage...Flat out they are already handling tremendously more data than the other US carriers combined. So anyone that thinks FaceTime should just be running wide open on the data infrastructure as is...is...well dumb. There I said it. Your dumb if you expect this to appear over night and for AT&T's network just be able to take it.

I don't own an iPad, and honestly I find it hard to justify owning one when I have an iPhone..but does that mean they aren't selling? Because I have no use for it currently? I Cant even think of another company that sells volumes of a new niche product like apple can...try it.

So there is little doubt in my mind that apple wont make this work.. Let this mature a little. I personally think that if Video chatting is not the "norm" yet that its actually smarter for apple to only be using stable WiFi connections and let users get use to this new feature while AT&T beefs up their network for the inevitable video chat via 3G. We have all determined that it is in fact not impossible to do 3G video chatting since "the world has been doing this for 6 years...blah blah" so why on earth would it make sense for the technology to just stop with WiFi here...it wont people.

Be thankful for:
-no more curved back
-Crazy strong glass..(anyone else catch that)
-Integrated antennas into the steel support frame. sweet
-A4 Chip..
-Bigger Battery
-Insane screen revamp
-Improved camera system
-HD video recording (maybe Im behind the times but if you told me yesterday that I would be able to shoot 720p video at 30fps from an iphone...i flat out wouldn't have believed you)
-Additional Front facing camera all while being THE THINNEST SMART PHONE
-Gyroscope
-5mp Camera with LED FLASH
-OS4 FREEEEE
-Highly recyclable hardware...thank you apple, I care about my planet and appreciate that if millions of these are gonna get cranked out and inevitably thrown away at some point, that they are highly recyclable and dramatically less toxic!!

/Rant
 
God I swear its like watching a bunch of Retards humping a doorknob in here sometimes!!

Think people... Ok so video chat is not "new", no *****...but to apples largest target audience, and Homeland.. it is new.
People aren't video chatting here in the states. Period. I never see anyone using it in Downtown Seattle. Ever.
So if they have to start it out on Wi-Fi only I'm all for it. For one I remember when the Iphone didn't have an app store, heck even 3G, which is such the standard now a days. And a mere 2 years goes by and apple still has these chumps on their heels. No one is touching the app store yet...and most likely wont. The facts are that the Face Time only works over Wi-Fi...but how long is that going to last?
You have to be immensely dense if you think the tech is going to stop at just WiFi...come on people am I the only person that has gone through new firmware updates that allow for new or better functionality?! Get real and quite bitching ...Im not saying that its not in an infantile stage (no over-network video calls, no Iphone to macbook video calls...yet) but that's just it...Its the effing baby that will grow up to stomp most of you nay sayers into the ground, Seriously just watch...If it wasn't popular before I think apples aim is to make it the mainstream thing we are all used to and taking for granted 2 years from now!
I love the people that tare At&t apart but don't take the time to think how any other carrier would be handling the iphone user base's data usage...Flat out they are already handling tremendously more data than the other US carriers combined. So anyone that thinks FaceTime should just be running wide open on the data infrastructure as is...is...well dumb. There I said it. Your dumb if you expect this to appear over night and for AT&T's network just be able to take it.

I don't own an iPad, and honestly I find it hard to justify owning one when I have an iPhone..but does that mean they aren't selling? Because I have no use for it currently? I Cant even think of another company that sells volumes of a new niche product like apple can...try it.

So there is little doubt in my mind that apple wont make this work.. Let this mature a little. I personally think that if Video chatting is not the "norm" yet that its actually smarter for apple to only be using stable WiFi connections and let users get use to this new feature while AT&T beefs up their network for the inevitable video chat via 3G. We have all determined that it is in fact not impossible to do 3G video chatting since "the world has been doing this for 6 years...blah blah" so why on earth would it make sense for the technology to just stop with WiFi here...it wont people.

Be thankful for:
-no more curved back
-Crazy strong glass..(anyone else catch that)
-Integrated antennas into the steel support frame. sweet
-A4 Chip..
-Bigger Battery
-Insane screen revamp
-Improved camera system
-HD video recording (maybe Im behind the times but if you told me yesterday that I would be able to shoot 720p video at 30fps from an iphone...i flat out wouldn't have believed you)
-Additional Front facing camera all while being THE THINNEST SMART PHONE
-Gyroscope
-5mp Camera with LED FLASH
-OS4 FREEEEE
-Highly recyclable hardware...thank you apple, I care about my planet and appreciate that if millions of these are gonna get cranked out and inevitably thrown away at some point, that they are highly recyclable and dramatically less toxic!!

/Rant

+1

See my post above ... I pretty much wanted to say everything you did but was too lazy to type all this out. Well put!
 
My wife and I will most certainly use this (talk to the kids). The wifi only is the only drawback right now but im sure this will change in due time...

Me too! My wife and I will definitely take advantage of this feature. And the pressure is on to get this feature to the G3/G4 network. So I see the wifi-only limitation as a temporary setback.

-Brad
 
+1

See my post above ... I pretty much wanted to say everything you did but was too lazy to type all this out. Well put!

I read your post right after mine went through and thought...hmmm there is someone else out there thinking about this rationally! Although I don't have a spouse or kids for that matter, I cant begin to describe how nice its going to be to look my parents in the eyes when I talk about my day. Or turn the other camera on the outside to show off an art project Im working on rather than dealing with the hassle of taking pictures, copying them to a text or email, typing an over elaborate text to go with so my parents can somewhat grasp what Im doing... Soon I will just show them live, mid conversation without skipping a beat.
Oh no but you have to use that terrible wifi thing to all do that!!!
Well its a good thing I have a nice router in my apartment, as do most out out there...including the people I have the desire to video chat with.
Then when video chat via network or some other solution arises in the near future, I will just be that much more thankful that I can now truly take video calls anywhere.
 
I read your post right after mine went through and thought...hmmm there is someone else out there thinking about this rationally! Although I don't have a spouse or kids for that matter, I cant begin to describe how nice its going to be to look my parents in the eyes when I talk about my day. Or turn the other camera on the outside to show off an art project Im working on rather than dealing with the hassle of taking pictures, copying them to a text or email, typing an over elaborate text to go with so my parents can somewhat grasp what Im doing... Soon I will just show them live, mid conversation without skipping a beat.
Oh no but you have to use that terrible wifi thing to all do that!!!
Well its a good thing I have a nice router in my apartment, as do most out out there...including the people I have the desire to video chat with.
Then when video chat via network or some other solution arises in the near future, I will just be that much more thankful that I can now truly take video calls anywhere.

Exactly! The sky is the limit on uses for this feature.

I say to the nay sayers And cry babies ... Did you pop out of your Mom's womb and speak a language? NO ... This has JUST been announced ... It is in its infancy!

Did the first iphone have any of its current features? Did many features improve over time? Did carriers give into demand of some things over time?

This is going to be awesome and will only improve with time!
 
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