iPad 2.0 Facetime question/theory

[ericinboston]

Hi all. I am eagerly awaiting the new iPad 2.0 due to the rumors it will have a camera and thus Facetime.

So my question is:

Won't Apple need to have a gigantic server farm and internet connection to handle the millions of iPad users who, on top of the iPhone 4/iPod Touch Facetimers, will be Facetiming? As far as I know, Facetime from Machine A to Machine B goes through an Apple server for 100% of the duration of the Facetime call. If that is true, then essentially Apple will partially become a telecommunications company.

I am very hopeful the new iPad does have Facetime and sells for $500 or less(not reserving Facetime for the top of the line $799 iPad)...I would buy one for my mom and I and be able to Facetime her grandson.

 

[MrWillie]

Then again, you could just video chat via laptop or desktop. Skype and Yahoo work real well. It doesn't have to be 'Facetime'. It's just media hype for technology that has been around for years.

 

[SuperCachetes]

Won't Apple need to have a gigantic server farm and internet connection to handle the millions of iPad users who, on top of the iPhone 4/iPod Touch Facetimers, will be Facetiming? As far as I know, Facetime from Machine A to Machine B goes through an Apple server for 100% of the duration of the Facetime call. If that is true, then essentially Apple will partially become a telecommunications company.

What, you mean like this?

 

[Stetrain]

As many iPads as Apple sells as far as I know it still doesn't come close to the number of iPhones. If all the iPhone 4's and iPod touches with facetime aren't causing them trouble, then I doubt that the iPad will.

Also it would seem strange to me if the actual video feeds all went through Apple's servers. I know that the call gets connected through their servers, but that doesn't mean that the video feeds can't then go directly device to device. I don't really know for sure which way they do it though.

 

[ericinboston]

Then again, you could just video chat via laptop or desktop. Skype and Yahoo work real well. It doesn't have to be 'Facetime'. It's just media hype for technology that has been around for years.

Well...the video conferencing stuff like Skype has been around for a very long time...but it's never really caught on (except maybe country to country which really saves on phone calls) because a)it's a pain to configure and use b)newbies and non-techs like mom/grandma have difficulty c)and most importantly, it's a webcam mounted to a monitor which means you always have to be in the same room...yes, laptops have been selling very well for the last 7-10 years for average consumers, but basically before 2003 everyone owned a desktop. With the iPad, it's completely wireless (you could also argue for a laptop with a built in webcam)...very simple to use Facetime...and the iPad is very much designed for the computer illiterate.

What, you mean like this?

I forgot to mention that I know about that...but I thought it was more for Apple outsourcing raw power or doing Cloud stuff (iTunes/AppleTV distribution) than Facetime.

It would be interesting to know if 100% of the Facetime call goes through Apple servers or just the initial lookup of the devices.

 

[MrWillie]

c)and most importantly, it's a webcam mounted to a monitor which means you always have to be in the same room...yes, laptops have been selling very well for the last 7-10 years for average consumers, but basically before 2003 everyone owned a desktop. With the iPad, it's completely wireless (you could also argue for a laptop with a built in webcam)...very simple to use Facetime...and the iPad is very much designed for the computer illiterate.

So you are going to walk around the house, coffee shop, campus, office, or where ever you are on wifi with an iPad or laptop in front of your face so you can Facetime ??? (Please explain, I don't have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, so I have never "Facetimed")

 

[vastoholic]

So you are going to walk around the house, coffee shop, campus, office, or where ever you are on wifi with an iPad or laptop in front of your face so you can Facetime ??? (Please explain, I don't have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, so I have never "Facetimed")

That's probably exactly what he wants to do. It's been nice with my iPhone at home. I can walk around the house in Oklahoma showing my girlfriend and son in California our Christmas decorations and such. If they do implement FaceTime into the iPad i would hope it could support multiple calls with it's larger screen. I can see business users finding that handy. Mount it when you don't need to move and then pick it up to give a visual tour or whatever you need.

 

[samab]

Well...the video conferencing stuff like Skype has been around for a very long time...but it's never really caught on (except maybe country to country which really saves on phone calls) because a)it's a pain to configure and use b)newbies and non-techs like mom/grandma have difficulty c)and most importantly, it's a webcam mounted to a monitor which means you always have to be in the same room...yes, laptops have been selling very well for the last 7-10 years for average consumers, but basically before 2003 everyone owned a desktop. With the iPad, it's completely wireless (you could also argue for a laptop with a built in webcam)...very simple to use Facetime...and the iPad is very much designed for the computer illiterate.

3G phones in Europe have video calling for 10 years now. There is no set-up involved --- you just dial the telephone number. Nobody uses it.

 

[QuarterSwede]

3G phones in Europe have video calling for 10 years now. There is no set-up involved --- you just dial the telephone number. Nobody uses it.

Everyone cites that but it's absolutely different on the iPhone. Video quality is much better, not to mention the size being 4 times as large and the audio quality is fantastic. Takes the game to a whole new level in my opinion. My friends and family prefer to FaceTime over regular calls.

Oh and Apple's FT servers just connect the calls. FT from then on is device to device.

 

[samab]

Everyone cites that but it's absolutely different on the iPhone. Video quality is much better, not to mention the size being 4 times as large and the audio quality is fantastic. Takes the game to a whole new level in my opinion. My friends and family prefer to FaceTime over regular calls.

Oh and Apple's FT servers just connect the calls. FT from then on is device to device.

Hundreds of millions of Europeans bought billions of 3G phones with video calling in the last 10 years. It's not even an sampling --- it's the whole population. The only people that seem to be excited about video calling --- is Americans who had never seen it before.

 

[old-wiz]

Hundreds of millions of Europeans bought billions of 3G phones with video calling in the last 10 years.

hundreds of millions bought billions of phones???? You must be joking. Do you have real statistics to back up those numbers??? Have there even been 3G phones available for 10 years???

 

[Piggie]

It probably helps that like video calling that's been available to people with mobiles, or even a home phone it you wanted to buy one. Hardly anyone wants to use it.

Apart from the 1st actual test to see if it works.

The number of people who actually use video calling is probably only a fraction of 1 percent who own the phones.

 

[Dr McKay]

Hundreds of millions of Europeans bought billions of 3G phones with video calling in the last 10 years. It's not even an sampling --- it's the whole population. The only people that seem to be excited about video calling --- is Americans who had never seen it before.

I did get confused when Stevey at the keynote said

"for years people have dreamed of video calls, and now, thanks to Apple, it's possible."

I've been able to do it for years.

 

[Piggie]

I did get confused when Stevey at the keynote said

"for years people have dreamed of video calls, and now, thanks to Apple, it's possible."

I've been able to do it for years.

We've had white phones too!

 

[ericinboston]

So you are going to walk around the house, coffee shop, campus, office, or where ever you are on wifi with an iPad or laptop in front of your face so you can Facetime ??? (Please explain, I don't have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, so I have never "Facetimed")

No...of course not...but I'm sure some people want to do FT 100% and walk around like idiots with it attached to their head.

My use is pretty simple and I bet would be done by millions:

I have a baby and would like to show him to grandma and grandpa (and maybe others) every few days. Sometimes up in his bedroom, sometimes downstairs playing...sometimes on a nice day out in the back yard. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Grandma can just go "answer" her iPad just like she does her phone and get to see the little guy. Very cool and honestly pretty damn exciting.

That's my use case for FT with the iPad 2.0. It would be super light and easy to use compared to a laptop and certainly to a desktop. Instead of each consumer spending over a $1000 on an iPhone 4/5 with a 2-year calling and data plan, just grab an iPad 2.0 for $499 and use it to my heart's content for free over the existing WIFI in the home or wherever.

 

[ericinboston]

That's probably exactly what he wants to do.

No...see my reply a second ago.

 

[Piggie]

No...of course not...but I'm sure some people want to do FT 100% and walk around like idiots with it attached to their head.

My use is pretty simple and I bet would be done by millions:

I have a baby and would like to show him to grandma and grandpa (and maybe others) every few days. Sometimes up in his bedroom, sometimes downstairs playing...sometimes on a nice day out in the back yard. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Grandma can just go "answer" her iPad just like she does her phone and get to see the little guy. Very cool and honestly pretty damn exciting.

That's my use case for FT with the iPad 2.0. It would be super light and easy to use compared to a laptop and certainly to a desktop. Instead of each consumer spending over a $1000 on an iPhone 4/5 with a 2-year calling and data plan, just grab an iPad 2.0 for $499 and use it to my heart's content for free over the existing WIFI in the home or wherever.

You want to show your baby off to a variety of people every few days?

That's nice.

 

[touchmonkey]

"...nobody uses it."....made me think of the Yogi Berra quote about a certain restaurant: "Nobody goes there, its too crowded."

 

[ericinboston]

You want to show your baby off to a variety of people every few days?

That's nice.

I sense sarcasm. So you feel there's no point in me video conferencing to my relatives that live 1+ hours away?

I wouldn't buy an iPad 2.0 for that 1 use case...unless the iPad 2.0 was 1/2 price. The Facetime on a $499 unit plus all the other features (web, email, apps,) and especially ease of use would make it worth it for me...as well as for my relatives that don't use their current desktops much more than email, web surfing, and the occasional Solitaire.