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Group Facetime/iMessage
- Thread starter nlr
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Group message will probably be the "killer feature" in iOS 7. 
Until then, use WhatsApp - works perfect and supports iOS, Anroid, WP, BB, Symbian. The problem is that you can't switch from iMessage to SMS easily, because you can only send SMS to one person.
Isn't Facetime P2P? I think it would require a server-based solution to get group Facetime to work properly, especially over 3G. Besides that, it doesn't make much sense on the small screen of the iPhone. Not even Skype supports group video chats on iOS. Would definitely be a nice feature on the iPad and on OS X, especially to save the money for the Skype premium account.
But in the end, proprietary solutions are not the way to go for communication, unless you select your friends by their mobile operating system.
Until then, use WhatsApp - works perfect and supports iOS, Anroid, WP, BB, Symbian. The problem is that you can't switch from iMessage to SMS easily, because you can only send SMS to one person.
Isn't Facetime P2P? I think it would require a server-based solution to get group Facetime to work properly, especially over 3G. Besides that, it doesn't make much sense on the small screen of the iPhone. Not even Skype supports group video chats on iOS. Would definitely be a nice feature on the iPad and on OS X, especially to save the money for the Skype premium account.
But in the end, proprietary solutions are not the way to go for communication, unless you select your friends by their mobile operating system.
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Apple is known to drip out features bit by bit, like the aformentioned Facetime over 3G "feature". It's safe to say that if it's not in the iOS6 beta, its being saved for a future iOS version down the road where it will be touted as a brand new feature of its own instead of what it really is, an enhancement that should have been there in the first place.
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Group video chatting can already be done on Fring for iOS, so its not impossible.
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I don't say it's impossible, but video group chat over 3G would be a mess if it was P2P, because you would have an additional direct connection for every user.
iMessage has group text chat, I use it all the time. And I have been since iMessage was released.
Like someone said above, group iMessages are definitely possible. I use them daily. There is a group of friends and I that have a seven person chat going and when people don't want to get the messages anymore (i.e. going to sleep) we just switch to another chat. It is one of my favorite things about iMessage tbqh.
Just wish it worked with my Galaxy Nexus, but I'm planning on getting an iPhone soon so I won't have to just do it on my iPad.
P.S. We obviously all have iOS devices (all iPod touches except for my iPad) and I'm sure we could use a more "open" chat system, but we already have thousands of messages in there and a lot of pictures too.
Just wish it worked with my Galaxy Nexus, but I'm planning on getting an iPhone soon so I won't have to just do it on my iPad.
P.S. We obviously all have iOS devices (all iPod touches except for my iPad) and I'm sure we could use a more "open" chat system, but we already have thousands of messages in there and a lot of pictures too.
