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I wonder if this is gonna happen with a iChat app I'm Surprise we havent heard anything on iChat for PC.
 
I think some underestimate what this brings to the table. I travel quite a bit and would love see my kids before bed time. They are 6, 2, and 1. I personally have been on the apple band wagon for years, but I think this really will allow apple to attack another demographic. I can see the commercials now with grandma and grandpa talking to the grand kids via iChat. They may not have computers or ipads but probably have cell phones. I think it will be bigger than we think. I wish I could have held out for the next iPad that will probably have iChat. Oh well.
 
It's important because it's on the iPhone. If it were on the Droid it wouldn't matter. Funny how that works. Personally I don't give a damn about that feature, but I would really love a built in turn by turn free GPS. Now that's useful. Flash support would be great too.

Yup, Apple knows how to package it right for mass appeal.

For me, those that don't appreciate Apple products is a litmus test telling me of they are driven by aesthetics or functionality.
 
I never use video chatting, but I'm not exactly sure why not. I think part of the problem may be that there's always something that someone is missing that's stopping a convo from taking place. Someone's always got a broken camera or mic or they're using their laptop in clamshell mode or what have you. Even if video chatting were easier to set up, I doubt I'd use it. It seems rather creepy to me, actually-- I don't like the idea of people being able to see me and everything around me and every action I make while I'm talking to them. Also, there's the noise factor-- right now, for example, everybody is asleep, but I can continue to have iChat convos because it's nearly silent. The loudest thing in the room right now is squeaky space bar :p
 
Given the high costs and low monthly caps of Canadian carriers, I don't care about the iPhone or any other cellphone for that matter.

Tell me when Apple stops treating the iPod touch as a second-class citizen, always one or two generations late on iPhone features.

Never :D

Considering iphone is way more important to them, than ipad or ipod touch.

If you think about it, ipad should also have had it from the get go, but nothing, maybe next year maybe, and ipod same thing, even more because it will be something teens will probably use more than adult.

I can see the camera been more of a video memo like you see in scifi movies, but how many people are going to walk down the street taking to the phone and doing video conference, and let me not get started on driving a car and video conference. :rolleyes:
 
Yes you video conference when you have kids, especially when theirgrandparents live interstate, or their cousins live in the USA.

Video chat on an iPhone would be good for late nights at work when the kids are going to bed, or you are on a work trip


That said, it wouldn't be used as often as the desktop version.
Another reason for the low use on mobiles in the past is that it had to be mobile to mobile. I assume iPhone iChat would also interact with a desktop machine?
 
If you think about it, ipad should also have had it from the get go, but nothing, maybe next year maybe, and ipod same thing, even more because it will be something teens will probably use more than adult.

What makes you think teens would be more likely to use it? They hardly call anymore even, all they do is text. It's silent, there's no record, it can be done in class, etc.. Video chatting really doesn't offer teens any advantage.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Totally don't get video chat. Never use it on my mac and would be far less likely to use it on a cell phone. But it's one less thing for people to whine about not having, so that's good. ;)

I assume you don't use Skype. Video Chat freakin rocks. I don't see how it could work on 3G, but for Wi-Fi, it's definitely an A+ feature.

I mean, just look at futuristic sci-fi movies. They have mobile devices where they communicate with people through video. It's one step closer to the future.
 
I never use video chatting, but I'm not exactly sure why not. I think part of the problem may be that there's always something that someone is missing that's stopping a convo from taking place. Someone's always got a broken camera or mic or they're using their laptop in clamshell mode or what have you. Even if video chatting were easier to set up, I doubt I'd use it. It seems rather creepy to me, actually-- I don't like the idea of people being able to see me and everything around me and every action I make while I'm talking to them. Also, there's the noise factor-- right now, for example, everybody is asleep, but I can continue to have iChat convos because it's nearly silent. The loudest thing in the room right now is squeaky space bar :p

Its more of something teens or say someone wants to let grandma and dad see the grandkids as they grow up 1000 plus miles away. If you know people but its all long distance then it makes sense to use it, even in video seen others gives more bond than just talking, and see how people react when your talking to them is much more natural than just voice.

Also if you feel ok in your own skin that good also, not exactly flattering when its 5 in the morning and someone wants to video chat. :eek:

But its great on new years and talking to family in Spain at another party. To funny way to funny. :p
 
I assume you don't use Skype. Video Chat freakin rocks. I don't see how it could work on 3G, but for Wi-Fi, it's definitely an A+ feature.

It works fine on 3G, but nobody uses it. Here in NZ the operators charge extra for it, so for it to "take off" it'll need to be billed like a voice call.
 
Yes you video conference when you have kids, especially when theirgrandparents live interstate, or their cousins live in the USA.

Video chat on an iPhone would be good for late nights at work when the kids are going to bed, or you are on a work trip


That said, it wouldn't be used as often as the desktop version.
Another reason for the low use on mobiles in the past is that it had to be mobile to mobile. I assume iPhone iChat would also interact with a desktop machine?

I hope it interacts with iChat on the mac. If it's strictly phone to phone it will be dumb move. You can't expect everyone to upgrade right away to this phone. You want it to get exposure as quick as possible and allowing an iChat conference to take place between a mac and a iPhone would achieve that.
 
Video chat will only be available through Wi-Fi. If AT&T can't handle our phone calls, how will they be able to handle our voice chats?
 
It works fine on 3G, but nobody uses it. Here in NZ the operators charge extra for it, so for it to "take off" it'll need to be billed like a voice call.

That's the thing. Nobody uses it. When they do, don't you think it'll become really congested?
 
I've had several computers with web cams and 5 phones with video calling capabilities, and to be honest the closest I've ever come to using video chat is being terrorized by penises on chatroullette.
 
Money says less than 10% of people would use this more than 3 times (basically after the novelty wore off)
 
That's the thing. Nobody uses it. When they do, don't you think it'll become really congested?

In the US, quite possibly; I know that the backhaul can be bad over there. If the Sprint/Verizon rumours are true then it should help to spread out the load, but I don't want to get too far off-topic here :)
 
I went from not understanding why people want video conferencing to actually using video conferencing once I had kids.

I suspect it's the same for many others.

arn


no, really dad, I'm studying really hard... that music you hear in the background is from the dorm room next door... love you... see you at thanksgiving!
 
My wife and I have Iphones and are on a family plan.

Because of the work I do touring in Theatre, I am away from home for months at a time. We iChat once a week and talk daily, but having a video chat feature on the phone would be ideal. I'd love to be able to see and talk to her more often. So for my work/lifestyle this could be a big deal.

I used to wonder about the utility of MMS before I had someone take a picture of the thing that I was looking for in a store and message me with it to help me find the correct item. That kind of usage has real utility, it's not just a novelty. For me, MMS last time around and video chat this time around are kind of a big deal. I'll use them regularly for something meaningful to me, not just as a gimmick.
 
What makes you think teens would be more likely to use it? They hardly call anymore even, all they do is text. It's silent, there's no record, it can be done in class, etc.. Video chatting really doesn't offer teens any advantage.

I was thinking more of home use, but your right how many teens will have the iphone to make it a normal thing. I stick with the video memo.

Since most teen and even adults are doing texting more than anything.

I for one do like video conferencing with close friends because I travel a lot and find my self away from family and friends for extended time periods.

But not everybody likes to do it, they don't feel all right in their own skin. It must be a social thing, since its not like they have the same issue face to face, yet there you get to see every imperfection.

I guess I was merging the use of video conferencing on a desktop or laptop to the phone, which has much less use for it. But like GPS or Compass who know what others will come up with that we can not even imagine.
 
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