Since this thread is being flooded with people asking the same question, I thought this could be useful.
I'm curious as to why any "observers" thought that something that is wifi-only would use cell minutes.
Original post said:
Some observers wonder[ed] whether the phone connection would be maintained in the background as a fallback in case the video call fails, but eating up cellular minutes while doing so
Although I didn't think it would work this way, I can see why some would think it might. According to that scenario, which Apple has confirmed will NOT be the case, the phone connection would have been maintained in case FaceTime failed, and/or to continue the conversation after you decide to end FaceTime but want to continue talking over the phone (after you get tired of jumpy video because those 570 bloggers won't get off the darn WiFi network, for example
). So it makes perfect sense that the phone could keep your call connected, but fortunately in my opinion, Apple has chosen not to do this. Once FaceTime starts, the call ends, which is the way it should be.
It will be interesting to see how well (or poorly) FaceTime works over WiFi, in terms of
* initiating a FaceTime session: Hopefully it will be something better than Back to My Mac, which still gives people woes.
* and in terms of quality: How will it deal with slower or fluctuating speeds?
I am unfortunate enough to have AT&T not only as my cell carrier but as my ISP, and reliability is not their strong suit...Unlike some people though my 3G with them is actually pretty reliable, it's their DSL that gives me constant headaches. I'll have to see how iPhone 4's release affects both of these networks (any added demand on the 3G from increased # of iPhones, and any strain on my DSL connection when I use FaceTime).
