More confirmation Video Chat for the iPhone 4G

[chris200x9]

I don't think it's usefully unless your phone is a computer replacement for you, I mean it's a cell phone you use it on the go. Just a bad idea IMO if this takes off it looks like i will not only have to doge stupid people texting and walking but video chatting and walking

 

[Zaqfalcon]

I can't remember the last phone I had that didn't have a front facing camera and have always thought it completely pointless. I figured Apple knew it was a waste of space and that's why they've never implemented it. No amount of marketing will convince me to use video chat I'm afraid.

The "marketing" that you speak of is the other dozen people you know that have iPhones that would like to video chat with you, hopefully...

No one I speak to regularly has an iPhone and neither do I, and yet many of them have the ability to video chat on their phones and have done for a long time but never do. If this is the highlight feature of the new one it certainly won't be in my future either as the rest of it is little to write home about (not trying to get into a 'this or that phone' versus the iPhone flame war or anything I'm just personally not impressed by it).

The past video chat history was hindered by the low population of people with macs/laptops that had built in cams, the HUGE hassel it was to get video chat to work on PCs...

Most computers have had built in cameras for years and I've found video chat easy to get working on PCs even with external cameras. Actually now I have recently acquired a Mac it seems from having a read around that I'll have more hassle on this computer as I need to set it up to use Yahoo as this is the method of choice for my parents back in the UK (I live in Australia now).

...not many people wanted to go and make a call in front of their computers, nor were they in front of their computers to answer calls.

True.

This'll be great, although it really, hopefully represents the direction of the future because I seriously doubt that the current 3G networks can handle the bandwidth needed. So I won't be holding my breath for anything except wi-fi only vid chat.

Quite. Internet banwidth is crap enough here (and a great excuse, sorry I mean reason, to not have to use it with the folks) let alone 3G, and free WiFi is non-existant. So it'll be rubbish just like it is on the computer.

TRUST me, you'll want it lol.

All I'm saying is that Apple knows how to make things elegant/easy to use/smooth/snappy , so I think you're gonna like the way they go about the iChat.

It doesn't matter how easy it is to use, I've just never had much compulsion to hold my phone in front of my face to talk to someone whilst looking at theirs. I'd much rather be able to hold it to me ear and give the perfunctory "hmm, yeah, that's nice" replies whilst actually doing something good like surfing the net or watching telly. It's probably not really intended for the likes of me as my mobile usage as a 'telephone' is actually quite a low proportion as I don't really like doing that either. Yes I guess; I am a grumpy, taciturn, old b@$tard.

 

[TheOrioles33]

Yeah, Apple doesn't do ads...oh wait, one of their big announcements is how they're going to be bringing us boatloads of more ads. Psst, try a different argument.

Boatloads of adds? You obviousley didn't understand the keynote and what iAds is all about. How bout you try a different argument?

 

[TheOrioles33]

Just like Browsing via Safari on the iphone is slick and never crashes...wait, all it does is crash. Just like the phone never drops calls. Wait, all it does is drop calls. Apple is all about half-assing stuff out the door and then "enhancing" them down the line to get sheep to re-purchase the same hardware over and over. They give their fanboys too much credit though. Just put out all the features and perfect them in Rev 1 of the hardware and every year release a new color. The fanboys will still buy it. LOOK NOW ITS BLUE!

I love these haters that still use the term fanboy. Grow up. I can't remember the last time mobile Safari crashed.

 

[fblack]

My brother and his wife are waiting exactly for this before they buy their first iphones. They are quite excited about the feature and have even talked about getting Grandma one. I think it would be pretty cool, but its gotta be seriously draining on the battery...

 

[lifeinhd]

I am sorry but every text is recorded and saved. Once it goes digital and through servers, it's there for good.

I mean on the bill. What teen wants their parents looking at their texts?

I love these haters that still use the term fanboy. Grow up. I can't remember the last time mobile Safari crashed.

Really? I can. It crashes just trying to load eBay (the non-crippled (non-mobile) version) every time, without fail. Sometimes it will quit when I have one too many times open. Sometimes it will quit seemingly without reason. Sometimes when I reopen it, it will have lost all my tabs, even when it didn't crash on the last close. And then there's the problem of it refreshing my tabs almost every time I switch between them. My desktop browser (FireFox) doesn't do that, why should my mobile browser? It's really a huge inconvenience, especially when I'm without Internet and just wanted to check something in an already-open tab. And there's the behavior of when I hit the "stop" button. I usually use the "stop" button when I hit a link that I didn't mean to. So why, then, does it always put me on a white screen once I hit the "stop" button? Wouldn't it make boatloads more sense to leave me on the page I started on, instead of making me go back and reload the (potentially large) page? And when a page hasn't finished loading, and I've started scrolling down already, why the **** does it jump back to the top of the page once it's finished loading? There's simply no excuse for that. Thank God Apple allows other browsers in the App Store. /rant

 

[Stately]

I have no need for video chat, but i'm sure Apple will convince me I want it.

It's not about convincing you of anything. I'm sure you can make your own decisions. There are many people who have wanted this feature in an Apple product long before it came to other companies phones. Apple does things correctly, therefore making applications appealing to use on their products and their designs team is impeccable, but if Apple has to make up your mind for you, wow.. It will be good, because most likely it will be done right and that's the reason people gravitate toward Apple. Although not perfect, like any corporation, Apple makes mistakes, but as a whole they are one of the very best companies out there. This is why it has a fan base.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

We already have video chat

Believe it or not, we already have video chat through skype via fring ON 3G! The image is small, not much bigger than a postage stamp, but it's smooth and clear.

Obviously, because we don't have the front facing camera, we can only see the person we are chatting with - all they see from us is a static image.

 

[AMcBroom81]

Does anyone remember this video from 2007 when we were showed that Video chat could be possible on the iPhone. ( they were on Wifi at a starbucks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iew4rXsorTw