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FaceTime - not very popular

B

BUFFBOY

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 23, 2010
158
0
Sydney
Hey, havint heard much in the tech world in regards to this new Facetime for the ipad and iphone.

how is this working for everyone ?
personally, sms is enough for me, dont want to see my gf all the time when calling her or anyone infact.

what are your thoughts.
 
Ehh... I used it a few times with my buddy and his wife when the iPhone 4 came out. Haven't used it since.

I can see circumstances when I "would" but not often. Also, needing to be on WiFi makes it hard... considering BOTH ends need to be on WiFi.
 
Personally I'm open to anything for video calling that isn't Skype <_>

However, neither I nor the person I'm conversing with will always be able to talk, as opposed to typing, so FaceTime won't always be practical :-/ I'm guessing that this will be an issue for other people, too.
 
For me, I use whatever I have in front of me. FaceTime, iChat A/V, Skype. Doesn't really matter. I do use it at least once a week. Great for talking to parents/grandparents across the nation/world.
 
I've used it a few times with family/girlfriend. usually freaks them all out, which is usually why i do it. Otherwise its just phone/sms/FB
 
i use it to talk to my gf. she is in boston for college and i am in danbury ct so its pretty far. we use it on our macs but the thing is it doesn't have share screen feature or a chat field. until then we use Skype even though the quality is horrible sometimes.
 
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Never used it myself (or other video calling technologies for that matter).

I find it odd holding a device in front of myself and much prefer a normal phonecall.
 
If people are calling each other less, they definitely aren't going to be using FaceTime.

For some - it great, but for the majority, it appears to be a novelty. The more recent trends show people using more texting to communicate. It's much easier to text someone a question than FaceTime.
 
Facetime will take off more when it's on Windows and Android. Right now it's limited to iOS and Mac. Neither of which the people I would want to Facetime are on...
 
It doesn't work for me. I'm on a legit iPhone AT&T plan, but when i try to turn it on it just turns back off in settings.
 
Everyone's situation is different. I use FaceTime depending on the situation. On some months i FaceTime on my Mac a lot, others not so much. It's just an amazing feature to have nonetheless.
 
I use it about 4-5 times a week on average about 60-90 mins at a time on my iPhone or iMac.

My home is in Modesto, Ca but I work in San Jose, Ca (90 mile difference) and also have a place where I stay at in SJ when I don't want to commute back home. So I travel and spend a lot of time between two cites and I have Family/Friends in both places, so I rely on FaceTime to stay in touch with them while I am away.

I feel that my conversations are different with people when I can see them, it feels more interactive and personal, like I can make them laugh more with my funny expressions (as I would if we were in the same room). I have a cousin with a 1 yr old baby and every time I FaceTime with her, the baby will be by her side and he sees me, so when i do visit in person weeks later he recognizes me right away and doesn't see me as a stranger.

You can't capture emotion over SMS or Phone Calls.

Those Ads from last year that showed the girl with a new hair cut, the young girl with braces or the woman telling her husband that she was pregnant, I feel that those ads were spot on and is the reason why a lot of my family and friends went out an bought an iPhone 4 or iPod touch.
 
I use ft every day but I've grown increasingly frustrated with both the quality and the reliability. Mine freezes and disconnects constantly and it's really ruining the experience for me.
 
AFAIR (As Far As I Remember), porn companies loved the idea of it but I doubt that worked out. TUAW was full of news articles about this. I use it sometimes to talk to my wife when away but Skype is usually the way to go.
 
Video calling never caught on with the general public and it has been around years before Apple called it FaceTime. It can be too personal and the person on the other line might be sitting on the john for all we know. Give them some privacy.

Texting is more convenient. Less intrusive. Video calling is nice to have, but more of a novelty. Just the idea of having it is good enough. Similar to people who use a compass or the pedometer to exercise. Nice to have when you do need it, but you generally don't always use those features.
 
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I use it all the time to talk with my wife and kids when I'm on long trips. I love it. I don't think I would use it for anyone else, but for immediate family it's nice. Heck, the grandparents just got an iPad and now they are connected to us from 1200 miles away.
 
i use it almost every day. the call dropping is annoying though - my longest ft call was only 5.5 hours.

plug two iPads in, ft each other and you have an 8,000 mile long intercom!
 
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