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iChat and new data plan?

DaGreat01

DaGreat01

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
894
0
Atlanta, Georgia
So AT&T says that 98% of the smartphone customers use less than 2GB of data every month. BUT 0% of AT&T's smartphones support video chatting. So, if the new iphone supports iChat, how do they/we know if 2GB will be enough for the month.

This, the iAd issue, and apps using the new APIs in OS 4 (that i dont know the way they will affect my usage) are the reasons why im going to stick with my unlimited data plan when i upgrade.

Anyone else get what im saying?
 
DaGreat01 said:
Wow! That would SUCK!
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For me it wouldn't be that bad. I have wifi at home and work and those are the two places that I would use iChat if they put it on the new iPhone. Also most people don't have a phone that can do video chats so if they do put in on the phone and its wifi only then its not really a huge deal because most people won't use it anyway.
 
Nothing on the 4G iphone has been officially released yet so how can you begin to speculate?

If anything AT&T could release a iphone 4G only plan that caters to ichat, but again we don't even know if that will be included with the next release.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
For me it wouldn't be that bad. I have wifi at home and work and those are the two places that I would use iChat if they put it on the new iPhone. Also most people don't have a phone that can do video chats so if they do put in on the phone and its wifi only then its not really a huge deal because most people won't use it anyway.
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I'm making my first video chat to my friend at home to show off the new phone the second I am activated.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
For me it wouldn't be that bad. I have wifi at home and work and those are the two places that I would use iChat if they put it on the new iPhone. Also most people don't have a phone that can do video chats so if they do put in on the phone and its wifi only then its not really a huge deal because most people won't use it anyway.
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Though I'm sure it will be compatible with iChat to video conference with someone in front of a desktop and not just someone else with a 4th Gen iPhone. Though honestly Im expecting the feature to be WiFi only on AT&T. I think there were some messages uncovered in one of the developer builds that showed only wifi error messages for video conferencing and not for being connected through a cellular service, if I recall correctly.
 
i wonder, if we use an iphone to iphone video chat... that since it is mobile to mobile, i wonder if it would be free. if it was, then that 2gb limit wouldn't be to bad.
 
Hate to even metion this but im my JB days there were apps that could circumvent such things ...hmmm youd think that would be fixed by now but you never know
 
Diode said:
Nothing on the 4G iphone has been officially released yet so how can you begin to speculate?

If anything AT&T could release a iphone 4G only plan that caters to ichat, but again we don't even know if that will be included with the next release.
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Isn't that what speculation is?
 
I wonder how many people will actually use the video chat a few months after the phone comes out. It feels like a novelty that will wear off quickly.
 
Reaktor5 said:
I wonder how many people will actually use the video chat a few months after the phone comes out. It feels like a novelty that will wear off quickly.
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It's going to be weird video chatting on your phone in public. I don't even know that many people who will get the iPhone 4. The only little novelty I use on a day to day basis is voice control.
 
elephunkman said:
It's going to be weird video chatting on your phone in public. I don't even know that many people who will get the iPhone 4. The only little novelty I use on a day to day basis is voice control.
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Well I think it would be kind of neat for Skype/iChat, but I hardly use my iSight in my Macbook Pro as it is. The front facing camera would be neat for taking pictures with someone or using it for something like Dailybooth.
 
elephunkman said:
It would, but if you use video chat constantly, 2GB won't cut it.
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This is exactly what AT&T is banking on IMO.

If I'm AT&T and I know the next iPhone will have video chat, I would be scrambling TODAY, like they did, to announce a new pricing plan BEFORE the new iPhone comes out. If people are reacting negatively to the new pricing today, imagine the backlash if they unveiled the plans the same day as a new iChat capable phone was announced.

How could June 7th be a coincidence? New iPhone, new data price...June 7th.

They've disguised the new pricing tiers with tethering mumbo jumbo, but I say video chat over 3G is coming and we are all gonna pay for it dearly. They wouldn't bother rocking the boat if iChat was to be wi-fi only. Practically no one is tethering now, and tethering is waay below most end user's radar. These new pricing plans are all about iChat, and 2GB definitely won't be cutting it.

Reaktor5 said:
I wonder how many people will actually use the video chat a few months after the phone comes out. It feels like a novelty that will wear off quickly.
Click to expand...

Sounds exactly like comments made about the iPad/iPhone/Touch/iPod. Lately the more people that second guess an Apple product in pre-release, the more popular it is when it comes out.
 
There could be a charge for using iChat over 3G. Something like how Skype was going to charge for using their software to call other skype users over 3g.
 
I'm wondering the same thing. I use my iPhone CONSTANTLY and seriously run out the battery EVERY day. That being said, I've never used more than 800MB in a month and usually am around 300MB. So it seems like saving the few bucks and going down to the 2GB plan makes sense. But if iChat works over 3G or apps start becoming more data intensive, I'd hate to give up the unlimited plan.

Someone pitch some pros and cons. I'm leaning toward keeping the grandfathered plan just in case, but I like money, I like to save it, spend it... Why not save some every month?
 
DaGreat01 said:
So AT&T says that 98% of the smartphone customers use less than 2GB of data every month. BUT 0% of AT&T's smartphones support video chatting. So, if the new iphone supports iChat, how do they/we know if 2GB will be enough for the month.

This, the iAd issue, and apps using the new APIs in OS 4 (that i dont know the way they will affect my usage) are the reasons why im going to stick with my unlimited data plan when i upgrade.

Anyone else get what im saying?
Click to expand...

Most people wont use video calling that much. Here in Europe we've had it for ages and no one uses it. Plus, right now at least, it's not charged as data, it's charged as more expensive calls.

iAds won't really affect data unless you click on them. The new APIs won't affect data.
 
iphonetic said:
Exactly, but I think alot will try it at first just to "show off" to friends/etc. for a cool factor.
Click to expand...

Exactly, it's basically a novelty feature (on a phone that is).

Do you guys have any idea how uncomfortable it is to hold your phone in front of your face for video calls? And how ridiculous it looks? It's much easier to just use a laptop.
 
anjinhamarota said:
Exactly, it's basically a novelty feature (on a phone that is).

Do you guys have any idea how uncomfortable it is to hold your phone in front of your face for video calls? And how ridiculous it looks? It's much easier to just use a laptop.
Click to expand...

Can't wait for the jailbroken ChatRoulette! :D
 
Actually a lot of deaf people would love to use this. They can put their iPhone down on a table to hold up and sign to their friends and family. A lot of deaf people use VRS to communicate with hearing people on the phone.

In case some of you ask, VRS stands for Video Relay Services. It allows deaf people to sign to an interpreter who'll call and voice for them to the hearing people on the phone.
 
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