Some rumor said Apple may be waiting on an improved iPhone before turning on FaceTime. Like iOS 5, the next iPhone is expected to ship in the fall. While it's unlikely to support LTE, it may support HSPA+ speeds up to 21Mbps, which would make 3G-level video calling more practical. Streaming video tends to degrade over regular HSPA, which has real-world bandwidth closer to between 1 and 3Mbps.
Apple Appears Set to Support FaceTime Over 3G in iOS 5, But Will Carriers Follow Suit?
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NedBookPro
macrumors 6502
This is great news if it happens. Being able to Facetime over 3G is the only missing thing from a great app.
Being able to see the one you love while on the road when there's no wi-fi, even if it's only for a couple of minutes, would be great.
C'mon Apple. Make it happen!
Being able to see the one you love while on the road when there's no wi-fi, even if it's only for a couple of minutes, would be great.
C'mon Apple. Make it happen!
net neutrality
this specific issue ignited a parliamentary debate here in Holland, because Vodafone and another provider were running deep packet inspection DPI in order to find out who was using Skype and Whatsapp... The providers then wanted to charge extra for use of those apps... then a heavy debate followed, parlement declared it undesirable, and now we are the second country in the world where netneutrality (no different fees for different use of data) is guaranteed by law.
Vodafone now wants to charge companies like apple and google for making machine that use a lot of data.... lol... well, good luck with that.
Providers act like little princesses whose milk cows are being taken away...
But i have the feeling too, that once iphone 5 comes out iphone sim locking might be something of the past. Apple has penetrated the various markets well enough now, so locking their phones seems rather pointless... In most european countries they are sold unlocked now... and since they dominate most of the US market, especially since the AT&T T-Mobile takeover, it would not surprise me at all if the open that market too...
Providers: look at the record companies and shiver... you're up next
this specific issue ignited a parliamentary debate here in Holland, because Vodafone and another provider were running deep packet inspection DPI in order to find out who was using Skype and Whatsapp... The providers then wanted to charge extra for use of those apps... then a heavy debate followed, parlement declared it undesirable, and now we are the second country in the world where netneutrality (no different fees for different use of data) is guaranteed by law.
Vodafone now wants to charge companies like apple and google for making machine that use a lot of data.... lol... well, good luck with that.
Providers act like little princesses whose milk cows are being taken away...
But i have the feeling too, that once iphone 5 comes out iphone sim locking might be something of the past. Apple has penetrated the various markets well enough now, so locking their phones seems rather pointless... In most european countries they are sold unlocked now... and since they dominate most of the US market, especially since the AT&T T-Mobile takeover, it would not surprise me at all if the open that market too...
Providers: look at the record companies and shiver... you're up next
Is anyone else tired of 'unlimited' being so LIMITED?!? I'm paying for data, and anything that is data should be fair game - INCLUDING FACETIME.
Let me know when the class action lawsuit gets started...
Well they haven't asked me to downgrade with skype and tango. And I watch Netflix all the time. No complaints from ATT.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)
3g video calling has been going on for years n years (well in the uk anyway), and on some phones the quality has been quite good.
3g video calling has been going on for years n years (well in the uk anyway), and on some phones the quality has been quite good.
It's not really Apple's call. It's the carriers.
Same thing with visual voicemail. Not all mobile operators support this feature.
You want them to treat fast and slow connections equally? Skype over 3G can be chancy and is pretty borderline of Edge.
res1233
macrumors 65816
The only reason they blocked tethering is because computers are generally even more data intensive than phones are. I really don't see why this would be a problem. The real question is why Apple took so long to get 3G FaceTime. As others have pointed out, Skype is just far more convenient due to it working on 3G, leaving FaceTime for the occasional high quality conversation when you happen to BOTH be near Wi-Fi.
I firmly believe that the carriers will someday stop placing limits on 3G. Personally, I'd be okay with a slightly bogged down network, if it meant I could use it 24/7 non-stop without having to worry about a cap.
Oh yah, and knowing Apple, I bet they have their own cellular network in the works. Carriers are just too annoying, and seem to do nothing but cause trouble for them. Perhaps Apple could buy an existing one?
I firmly believe that the carriers will someday stop placing limits on 3G. Personally, I'd be okay with a slightly bogged down network, if it meant I could use it 24/7 non-stop without having to worry about a cap.
Oh yah, and knowing Apple, I bet they have their own cellular network in the works. Carriers are just too annoying, and seem to do nothing but cause trouble for them. Perhaps Apple could buy an existing one?
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BLACKFRIDAY
macrumors regular
It is unlikely that Apple would ever run a cellular network.
Apple considers mobile operators and ISPs to be dumb pipes, a utility like the garbage collection company.
eNcrypTioN
macrumors 6502
I agree. They will make more money.
+100000 on this. I am in Japan now, I pay about $40 for unlimited data, plus free incoming calls and free outgoing between 1 AM and 9 PM. Unlimited means unlimited, I Skype (video) back home to NY over cell all the time, I download apps, listen to music, stream video, send tons of emails and msgs, all for $40 a month and most times its damn fast.
The greed and pathetic lack of reinvestment (despite what they say) into their own networks by the cell companies is pathetic....I am sure ATT will say this will kill the network, HA like that network isnt half dead anyway and has been like that since as long as I can remember. Since back in 2000 or earlier ATT was dropping most of my calls, what has improved?
Hmm I'm keeping my unlimited plan. AT&T can take it from me when they let be CEO.
(1st orders of business: All phones can be unlocked, standardize cell frequencies, LTE the country, bring back unlimited*, push for reform on cell phone tower installation, secret wish**)
(*practical way is to place speed caps, keeping the network strong. as the network improves, speed caps go up).
(**BUY VERIZON AND SPRINT, then merge all into one network and then allow companies to actually compete for business. Make govt 50/50 partner to take care of debt and allow monopoly)
(1st orders of business: All phones can be unlocked, standardize cell frequencies, LTE the country, bring back unlimited*, push for reform on cell phone tower installation, secret wish**)
(*practical way is to place speed caps, keeping the network strong. as the network improves, speed caps go up).
(**BUY VERIZON AND SPRINT, then merge all into one network and then allow companies to actually compete for business. Make govt 50/50 partner to take care of debt and allow monopoly)
algiris
macrumors 6502a
What difference does it make if (for example) i have bought a fixed amount of data? If i have 5 or 10 GB to use what difference does it make what device i'm using?
It's a huge problem, because mainly it's just an excuse for a carrier to rip off some more money for things you already payed in the first place.
For example a 3G internet plan for computers: http://www.omnitel.lt/privatiems/internetas/internetas-kompiuteryje/mokejimo-planai/49559
Wimax: http://www.mezon.lt/isigyk/planai/cat/69/
Basically what it says there is that for 55 LTL (that's under 25 USD) you get 10 GB a month for use between 8:00 and 00:00 the rest of the time you can stream and download non-stop if you want.
Speed is around 3 Mbps, but in some paces it goes up to 6-7 Mbps also 4G is available in biggest cities already (speeds up to 80 Mbps). We also have Wimax all country covered (10 Mbps A REALLY UNLIMITED INTERNET for 69 LTL or ~30 USD).
logandzwon
macrumors 6502a
Steve Jobs had mentioned that at first they did consider building a cell network, but decided against it.
Utilities like mobile operators and ISPs are just selling dumb pipes. Anything else from them is just marketing and branding.
About time, now I do not need to jailbreak my phone, this is the primary reason my phone is jailbroken. (The other is for the calendar on my lockscreen)
To everyone that says you get poor quality - that's you, I get perfect quality over 3G and its not much worse than over wifi. Just because your carrier can't provide good speeds in your area doesn't mean the rest of us should suffer. Your conditions are not what the rest of the world gets.
I facetime from Australia to Korea on 3G both ends with no problems so for me this is great news because we can call family for free overseas anywhere at anytime.
To everyone that says you get poor quality - that's you, I get perfect quality over 3G and its not much worse than over wifi. Just because your carrier can't provide good speeds in your area doesn't mean the rest of us should suffer. Your conditions are not what the rest of the world gets.
I facetime from Australia to Korea on 3G both ends with no problems so for me this is great news because we can call family for free overseas anywhere at anytime.
iMrNiceGuy0023
macrumors 68000
im jailbroken and use FaceBreak to FaceTime over 3G and love it, it works great!!!
dont see the difference between this and Skype or Tango
dont see the difference between this and Skype or Tango