iPhone iChat Application Mentioned in Survey

[brooklyn]

I just got an AT&T iPhone customer survey and I notice they ask me to rate my experience using iChat over WiFi. Did they let the cat out of the bag on whats to come or did they intend to say SMS?

[SRSound]

I really hope so - I also noticed that all the plans only allow 200 SMS text messages (unless you pay an additional $10 a month); iChat would be a wonderful way around that

[D1G1T4L]

Hummmm........

Odd that is does call it "iChat" while the SMS application is called "Chat"

Maybe we do have an update coming

Would be a NICE surprise!

[AaronHeth]

I would first assume they meant SMS, however, it is talking specifically about Wi-Fi.

Text messages are sent via the network, not over Wi-Fi, ever--meaning they had to have meant iChat

[JCluts]

Originally Posted by D1G1T4L

Hummmm........

Odd that is does call it "iChat" while the SMS application is called "Chat"

Actually, the SMS application has "SMS" on the icon, and the label below it simply says "Text". So "Chat" isn't used anywhere yet to describe an application.

I certainly hope this is a clue. The lack of an IM application is the one gaping, huge, obvious omission keeping me from declaring the iPhone the Coolest Gadget Ever.

[AHDuke99]

ince SMS isn't over wifi, its safe to assume that iChat will be coming very soon. Thank God!

[fart]

where did this survey come from? Who was it sent to? I didn't get one.

I'd love to have iChat, but hmmmm, just askin'

[Daiden]

Originally Posted by SRSound

I really hope so - I also noticed that all the plans only allow 200 SMS text messages (unless you pay an additional $10 a month); iChat would be a wonderful way around that

While that would be awesome, on my old phone AT&T tracked the IMs I sent out through the built-in AIM/MSN/Yahoo clients and deducted any messages sent from my pool of text messages for the month.

Hopefully it won't work like that, but AT&T makes a lot of money off of text messaging.

[Daiden]

Originally Posted by fart

where did this survey come from? Who was it sent to? I didn't get one.

I'd love to have iChat, but hmmmm, just askin'

Usually when a survey is done, they only sample a certain number of customers. In this case AT&T may have only sent out something like 10,000 surveys, so chances are that not everyone who owns an iPhone will be getting one.

[synth3tik]

I did the survey from Apple and it asked me to rate "SMS" and not iChat or Chat. I have a feeling that this was just a typo, but of course I hope it is not.

[FreeState]

Originally Posted by synth3tik

I did the survey from Apple and it asked me to rate "SMS" and not iChat or Chat. I have a feeling that this was just a typo, but of course I hope it is not.

I don't think its a typo - SMS doesn't work via WiFi (unless you are sending it via a website).

[brooklyn]

This is the link to the survey...

http://att.inquisiteasp.com/cgi-bin/...idx=AB6NAC&rk=

You need a "Respondent Key" which I believe is "Customer Identifiable" which is why I removed my number from the link. Plus you can only use it once as I tried doing the survey again to no avail.

[SirOmega]

I'm willing to bet $100 that iChat will work like other IM apps on phones - deducting from SMS messages. Which means that I'll have to change my data plan from $20/mo to $40/mo so I can get unlimited IMs and messages.

And I also came here to post this too - I was taking the survey and make sure to make my displeasure known about how slow EDGE is in my city (40-50kbit/s) as well as that if you have a long data transfer going, any incoming calls get routed to voicemail.

[FreeState]

One other thing about this survey:

"please rate the Wi-Fi network performance when using each of the following applications on your Apple iPhone."

Google Maps
Weather
YouTube
Search
Stocks
iChat
Email


(No mention of Safari ???)


Seems they want you to rate the performance of an application named Search....

[MacRumors]

A web survey from AT&T has been making the rounds as "evidence" that Apple is planning on launching an iChat client for the iPhone.

The survey, conducted by a 3rd party company, asks users to give feedback for various applications on the iPhone.

The applications listed include: YouTube, GoogleMaps, Email, iChat, Weather, Stocks and Search.

"iChat", of course, is not an application on the iPhone, but it seems very unlikely that this survey company would have any inside knowledge of Apple's future plans. More likely is that iChat was simply referencing iPhone's SMS client, which carries an iChat look.

Article Link

[iBookG4user]

That's interesting, although I doubt that I'd use an iChat client when I get my iPhone.

[wannger27]

I would only use iChat on the iPhone while in a WiFi hotspot, since I would not be able to answer calls if I were using iChat on EDGE.

[adrianm]

Originally Posted by wannger27

I would only use iChat on the iPhone while in a WiFi hotspot, since I would not be able to answer calls if I were using iChat on EDGE.

Why not? Are EDGE and voice mutually exclusive? I'm used to 3G so would find any restriction prohibitive.

[speedyj88]

in case no one has encountered this, voice takes precedence over any edge communication. you can do whatever you want over edge, and if a call comes in it cuts off your edge communication and asks you if you want to take the call.

[wannger27]

Originally Posted by speedyj88

in case no one has encountered this, voice takes precedence over any edge communication. you can do whatever you want over edge, and if a call comes in it cuts off your edge communication and asks you if you want to take the call.

According to Engadget's review of the iPhone:
"AT&T's EDGE network can't support simultaneous voice and data. Read: if you're moving data to or from your iPhone, calls will go straight to voicemail."

[EricNau]

I wonder if IMs will be billed as text messages or data.

[yayaba]

Originally Posted by EricNau

I wonder if IMs will be billed as text messages or data.

Depends on how AT&T lets Apple implement it. It could be a simple data based iChat or it could be the SMS based iChat.

I would use it definitely if Apple releases it. It's not a deal breaker for me by no means but it's something I would leave on all the time.

I figure if someone calls me what I hope to happen is that the servers would buffer everything that happened and then once I hang up, send it all to me in one burst.

Maybe I'm just wishing for too much though.

[Telp]

I dont understand cause like, every other phone out there has an AIM application, and heres this revolutionary phone without it. I am fine using the online ones, so if they bring it over, it better not cost any more money, because if im paying for unlimited data, iChat better be part of that.

[OnlyMarcusCannn]

Originally Posted by wannger27

According to Engadget's review of the iPhone:
"AT&T's EDGE network can't support simultaneous voice and data. Read: if you're moving data to or from your iPhone, calls will go straight to voicemail."

Yea, but that's only if you're either a) Loading/using data at the (exact) moment you're getting the phone call or b)wanting to browse the web while in a call, which doesn't work.

[Project]

I wonder if we will see iChat for Windows? It makes complete sense. Have conversations sync with the desktop client.