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Anytime you like you can walk away from the thread.

My point was that if Apple have not fitted the camera because of bandwidth issues, then there's an easy way to provide it with a useful function while taking the bandwidth issue into account, pleasing everybody to a point.

I'm sure apple has considered all options and decided against it.
 
hmmm looks like the front facing camera is the "Mac G5" Speculation of the iPhone world :rolleyes:

Lets face it people...video conferencing on the go is not a viable or pleasant option.

Why do people still want a novelty feature on a phone?

Yep. Bad rumour. I'll only believe it when I see a photo of the back of an elevator taken by someone with an iPhone 3G....
 
Excuse me for being dumb but what are the advantages of a front facing camera? How do you take a picture of something in front of you whilst still seeing what you are taking a picture of?
Why do all of Apple's laptops have a front facing camera? You're right - it certainly makes it difficult to take a picture of something with my Macbook :rolleyes:
Lets face it people...video conferencing on the go is not a viable or pleasant option.
Why do people still want a novelty feature on a phone?
iChat is not a novelty feature! Apple uses it as a big selling point on their laptops. Given that the iPhone has wifi for watching Youtube, the ability to read rich email attachments such as Office documents and so on, it's being marketed as essentially a means of leaving your laptop at home. Do you watch movies or Youtube videos while walking down the street? Well why are they available on the iPhone then? So you can watch them at Starbucks or wherever. Same would apply to iChat - only that would actually be considerably more useful on a communication device than the ability to watch silly Youtube videos.
Don't get me wrong, it's no deal breaker for me, and it's obviously not going to happen on the 3G iphone which I'll be getting- but iChat AV certainly would be both viable and er "pleasant" to have as an option.
 
mark my words.

Mobile video chatting will be along the lines of those people who talk way too loud on their cellphones or wearing their bluetooth headsets everywhere.

Imagine how stupid you would look with your headset on talking into your screen or having to speak loud enough because you're out in public but you want your video chat buddy to hear you. Also has anyone considered the battery drain? Lets see...vid chat over 3g or wifi....screen HAS to be on...gotta power that camera...speaker has to be on...or not if you have bluetooth...oh wait bluetooth power needs to be on....man that's gonna be a power drain...oh but wait i can stay next to this power plug and power everything...wait how is this convenient and mobile? I can do this on my laptop/desktop.
 
But why do you want a front facing camera? I really see no advantage in it unless I am being completely stupid and missing something obvious
It's an additional camera, like most 3G phones; the 2nd camera is usually lower res than the photo camera as it's just for video conferencing.
Why do all of Apple's laptops have a front facing camera? You're right - it certainly makes it difficult to take a picture of something with my Macbook :rolleyes:...
It does, I can never get really comfortable using it for iChat as the fixed design is so limiting.
 
It's an additional camera, like most 3G phones; the 2nd camera is usually lower res than the photo camera as it's just for video conferencing.

It does, I can never get really comfortable using it for iChat as the fixed design is so limiting.

You just pointed out 2 things that would clearly make video chat on a phone something that I wouldn't want to do.
1. Low res video on my beautiful 3.5 inch screen? Blasphemy. (reason why I never used youtube over edge, too slow and the quality wasn't worth the screen)

2. How tired is that arm of yours going to get holding that fixed camera on that phone to point at your face without looking weird?
 
...1. Low res video on my beautiful 3.5 inch screen? Blasphemy.

2. How tired is that arm of yours going to get holding that fixed camera on that phone to point at your face without looking weird?
In answer to both points I'd say that video conferencing can be useful and or enjoyable in short bursts and doesn't have to be HD quality.
 
This thread is funny.

I love that since it's not on the phone, the outcry is "why would you ever want one? It shouldn't be on there!". If they'd released the 3G with a front facing video camera, you same lot would be all aflutter about how amazingly all-in-one the device is, and how awesome it's going to be to be able to video call your mothers back home, and see her shining face baking morning muffins, and how noble a phone no, a computer really, that the hearing impaired can sign back and forth on, and blah blah blah...

Which way is the weather blowing today?

I don't know which is more ridiculous, those know-it-alls who are so self-assured as to state their predictions as absolute certainties, or those who demand that others stop talking about it instantly, because they themselves had the conversation already. ...but still can't keep from coming back and reading & contributing to the thread. Whole world revolves around you, eh?

Cloud******Cuckooland in here.
 
Imagine how stupid you would look with your headset on talking into your screen or having to speak loud enough because you're out in public but you want your video chat buddy to hear you. Also has anyone considered the battery drain? Lets see...vid chat over 3g or wifi....screen HAS to be on...gotta power that camera...speaker has to be on...or not if you have bluetooth...oh wait bluetooth power needs to be on....man that's gonna be a power drain...oh but wait i can stay next to this power plug and power everything...wait how is this convenient and mobile? I can do this on my laptop/desktop.

Great post, sums it all up for me. I've had video-chatting with front facing camera on my 3G phones for 2+ years. Used the feature once for novelty when I got it - quality was cr*p, cost loads of money etc etc

I'm sure it'll be useful one day and I don't begrudge the people here who are clearly very keen to have it but it would be no use to me personally.
 
I dont care about video chat really.

But this rumor has been dispelled already, the cases were made that way to make room for the additional sensor they put on the left side of the speaker. The first model had just one on the right and they added one on the left.
No big conspiracy.
 
I thought Apple had already released information stating that the 3rd sensor is just another proximity sensor and not a camera.

Also, if there really was a front facing camera capable if video conferencing it would make sense for Apple to release this information instead of keeping it a secret. This would be a huge selling point for the phone.
 
mark my words.
....Imagine how stupid you would look with your headset on talking into your screen or having to speak loud enough because you're out in public but you want your video chat buddy to hear you. Also has anyone considered the battery drain? Lets see...vid chat over 3g or wifi....screen HAS to be on...gotta power that camera...speaker has to be on...or not if you have bluetooth...oh wait bluetooth power needs to be on....man that's gonna be a power drain...oh but wait i can stay next to this power plug and power everything...wait how is this convenient and mobile? I can do this on my laptop/desktop.

Yea this guy gets it entirely. it is pointless. not worth a damn.
 
Honestly I think a front facing cam would be nice to have. Video chat would be fun sometimes. And above all, it would sell more phones. I know some of you don't care for it, but I don't think you should discount how the majority would feel.

But I really don't believe it is included in this iteration of the iPhone, and it may not even be in next year's model. I think it has little to do with Apple's desire or capability to add it. I think it is 90% due to carrier data capacity bottlenecks.

Video chat is bandwidth intensive (especially 2-way video), and the major carriers are extremely busy right now upgrading their networks just to accommodate mobile browsing and other existing data services that they are trying to get more of their customers to use.

We've already heard in the news that AT&T struggled last year keeping the data flowing after the rush of new iPhone customers.

I think LTE will need to be fully rolled out before 2-way video makes sense. And I don't think Apple would bother with 1-way - it defeats the purpose of a video call, to see each other while you talk.
 
mark my words.

Mobile video chatting will be along the lines of those people who talk way too loud on their cellphones or wearing their bluetooth headsets everywhere.

Imagine how stupid you would look with your headset on talking into your screen or having to speak loud enough because you're out in public but you want your video chat buddy to hear you. Also has anyone considered the battery drain? Lets see...vid chat over 3g or wifi....screen HAS to be on...gotta power that camera...speaker has to be on...or not if you have bluetooth...oh wait bluetooth power needs to be on....man that's gonna be a power drain...oh but wait i can stay next to this power plug and power everything...wait how is this convenient and mobile? I can do this on my laptop/desktop.

...OR....Image how stupid you would look chatting with someone LOOKING into your computer!!! Oh wait...That's been around forever and gets used heavily. Okay fine, but picture how STUPID it would be for the screen to HAVE to be on! Along with a speaker that HAS to be on!...Oh wait, the iPhone plays movies, with the screen and speaker on....Oh well.

My point is...It's a personal preference...I personally would use it on my phone...If you wouldn't, who cares? Just leave it alone. I don't go into your house and tell you you're stupid for eating peas just because I don't like them.

It seems some people have taken a personal stand against the next iPhone having a front facing camera...Why? Aren't there more important battles to fight?
 
...OR....Image how stupid you would look chatting with someone LOOKING into your computer!!! Oh wait...That's been around forever and gets used heavily. Okay fine, but picture how STUPID it would be for the screen to HAVE to be on! Along with a speaker that HAS to be on!...Oh wait, the iPhone plays movies, with the screen and speaker on....Oh well.

My point is...It's a personal preference...I personally would use it on my phone...If you wouldn't, who cares? Just leave it alone. I don't go into your house and tell you you're stupid for eating peas just because I don't like them.

It seems some people have taken a personal stand against the next iPhone having a front facing camera...Why? Aren't there more important battles to fight?

Exactly.

No one should have anything against the front facing camera. It's just an extra. No one said that since it came with one that you had to use it. If you don't like it, don't use it. Like GPS, if you don't like it, don't use it. Don't flame somebody for using/wanting a front facing camera.

P-79
 
Exactly.

No one should have anything against the front facing camera. It's just an extra. No one said that since it came with one that you had to use it. If you don't like it, don't use it. Like GPS, if you don't like it, don't use it. Don't flame somebody for using/wanting a front facing camera.

P-79

That's what I'm saying exactly. Unless a cell phone's front facing camera ate their parents or something, there's really no reason for people to be getting worked up about some of us really wanting this feature. I'm surprised at the level of personal anger this front facing camera has created.

I want one, and I would use one. If you wouldn't, don't. Similar to how I feel about Stacks in OSX...Man i've never used those even ONCE...But I don't get angry about other people using them or wanting them.
 
Forget video calling the new 3G iphone does not even have video recording.

Good point.

I can see real potential for a 3rd party video recording app, so it may be a good thing that apple didn't include one. If apple had created the main video recording application it would basically have a start and stop function, however since third party developers will probably have to make it they can pack it with neat features.
 
Forget video calling the new 3G iphone does not even have video recording.

Good point.

I can see real potential for a 3rd party video recording app, so it may be a good thing that apple didn't include one. If apple had created the main video recording application it would basically have a start and stop function, however since third party developers will probably have to make it they can pack it with neat features.
 
2. How tired is that arm of yours going to get holding that fixed camera on that phone to point at your face without looking weird?

:D


how tired are people going to get typing all this garbage about a camera that does not, has not and will not exist..

battery drain isnt the only problem with video chat...

its crap!!!

its one of the most un-natural ways to communicate with someone..

either phone them, chat online to them, or go round and see them..

wheres the problem with that?
 
...its crap!!!

its one of the most un-natural ways to communicate with someone..

either phone them, chat online to them, or go round and see them...

How is talking on the phone more natural than talking to somebody you can see?

How is talking online different to talking on a video phone?

If I could go round and see people, I wouldn't use iChat.
 
How is talking on the phone more natural than talking to somebody you can see?

How is talking online different to talking on a video phone?

If I could go round and see people, I wouldn't use iChat.

natural probably wasn't the best word, but video chatting is awkward.
The only time I would want to video chat is when someone has something to show me. If they don't I would much rather text chat them. Plus with text chatting you can go off doing other things too, where with videochatting you basically have to stay staring at the screen.
 
...The only time I would want to video chat is when someone has something to show me...
Well duh!

Having the option to video chat would be of use to you then, and having it as an option doesn't mean you can't use just voice chat or just text chat.
 
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