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I think it is part protecting people from themselves and part carriers not wanting to empower people with the tools to actually use all their data. I have a 6GB data plan and make it my mission to use as much of that every month as possible just because I can.
 
Because Android Video Call software is made by Google.

And iOS FaceTime software is made by Apple.

And Apple is pissing to their customers faces blocking 3G from FaceTime. Not the carriers.
Nope... even Google Talk video chat is restricted to WiFi only.
But like I said earlier, it's easy to remove the restriction.
 
Carrier's choice, not Apple's. Plus it'd kill your data allocation in minutes. Running FaceTime over 3G on a jailbroken device gobbles up data with a quickness.
 
And iOS is also Apple's domain. And whatever they put in is also their decision. :rolleyes:

You're not making a very convincing case here... What would the carriers do if Apple showed them the finger and made Facetime work over 3G ? Not carry the iPhone anymore ? I'd love to see a carrier try that card...

Sorry, I'm just not buying it.
I don't have to convince you. That's the way it has been between Apple and AT&T since day one. AT&T has always had some say. Take MMS and Tethering as past examples. All were delayed or restricted by AT&T.

restricted with android phones?
Yes... very much so.
 
I don't have to convince you. That's the way it has been between Apple and AT&T since day one. AT&T has always had some say. Take MMS and Tethering as past examples. All were delayed or restricted by AT&T.

We've never had official word from either entity, only speculation by the media that it has been AT&T.

Seeing how AT&T allows tethering and MMS with other handsets/manufacturers, and video calling, again, seems to me people are just blaming the carriers a bit too easily.

Again, I'm not buying it this time.
 
We've never had official word from either entity, only speculation by the media that it has been AT&T.

Seeing how AT&T allows tethering and MMS with other handsets/manufacturers, and video calling, again, seems to me people are just blaming the carriers a bit too easily.

Again, I'm not buying it this time.
True... I don't entirely buy it myself, but what other reason would Apple have to restrict Facetime other than carriers saying they don't want it enabled on their networks?

I'm looking for the motivation behind the decision.
 
This is really sad, and frankly.... none of the carrier's business.

I travel frequently on business. While some hotels offer free internet, many charge $10 or even $15/day. Frankly... the speed you get from a hotel amounts to something marginally faster than a 56k dial-up modem. It's really pathetic.

I carry my own Verizon MiFi (LTE) with me because it smokes the hotel speeds. My original Comcast broadband (back when they first installed it) was only 6Mbps and the LTE will often gives speeds around 10Mbps. It's EASILY fast enough to do FaceTime.

The notion that the iPad can have it's own built-in LTE -- again, easily fast enough to do FaceTime -- and then cripple the FaceTime feature, is sad.

My biggest fear is that 10Mbps or faster LTE will become a thing of the past now that the iPad has LTE. Very few phones have LTE because up until now, the chips have been very power-hungry and a phone battery wouldn't last very long. So the vast majority of LTE users were those using cards for laptop computers, or the MiFi devices. And while they aren't "rare", it's not like everyone you know has one of these. With the iPad, there are going to be a LOT more LTE users competing for the same bandwidth.

I've personally witnessed LTE doing about 100Mbps and I've got reliable sources who have seen it go MUCH MUCH faster than that. 5-10Mbps was already really watered down.
 
Most of my family lives in another country so I predordered the new iPad with 4G mostly so I could talk to them on Facetime or Skype. Admittedly I wasn't planning on using those apps outside of wifi every month but rather to occassionally turn the data on so I can "bring" my family to special occassions and show them some of the other regular things they miss out on being so far away. I'll be dissapointed I spent the extra on 4G if it doesn't work for Facetime or Skype or if the carriers charge through the nose specifically for those uses. I'm still looking forward to getting the iPad regardless.
 
True... I don't entirely buy it myself, but what other reason would Apple have to restrict Facetime other than carriers saying they don't want it enabled on their networks?

I'm looking for the motivation behind the decision.

It's not like we know or understand Apple's motivation behind anything. Heck, like "multi-tasking", it could simply be battery life since the 3G chip is probably a lot more energy hungry than the wi-fi chip.

My point is it's just plain dumb to blame anyone, we just don't know. It is what it is for some reason unknown, no need to start pointing fingers blindly.
 
What if?

What if Apple just flipped the switch? Doesn't the iPhone/iPad have a big enough of market share if ONE carriers complained Apple could just threaten to drop them?
 
The average person, probably never.

The not so average entitled whiners on sites like this that are simply mad about being told they can't do something because they don't like being told that no matter what the reason, if you listen to them it is the end of the world that they can't FaceTime on a cell connection. Classic first world problem.

Step out of your bubble. Not everyone here uses an iOS device just for entertainment, you know?
 
Jailbreak will fix this lol! Once the jailbreak gets released whenever that may be you'll be able to do it over LTE an 3G. I have it on my iPhone 4S but who really even uses it? I know I rarely use it.
 
I don't get it.

The telephone companies are in the business of selling service!

They make their money by getting people to spend MORE time online.

The MORE tethering and Facetime that people use, the MORE money they make.
 
We're hearing more and more about capped Data on mobile networks - is anything being done to increase the amount of data mobile companies can provide?
 
It wasn't Steve's NeXT Cube.

Ok.

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I don't get it.

The telephone companies are in the business of selling service!

They make their money by getting people to spend MORE time online.

The MORE tethering and Facetime that people use, the MORE money they make.

Nobody in the universe cannot ever understand the way US carriers do business. Ever.

It is just so absurd that you have data limits, tethering limits, face time limits... lol soon you cannot do nothing with iToys

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We're hearing more and more about capped Data on mobile networks - is anything being done to increase the amount of data mobile companies can provide?

Yes, vote Ron Paul for president.
 
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