Why are you dissing the kind of people that invented pretty much all of the technology you are using? Do you seriously believe that everyone should be like you? Are the people in Apple's ads seriously your ideals? Do you not find the kind of image of people they convey with their ads disgusting? What are those people except excessive, materialist and facile?
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More confirmation Video Chat for the iPhone 4G
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Why are you dissing the kind of people that invented pretty much all of the technology you are using? Do you seriously believe that everyone should be like you? Are the people in Apple's ads seriously your ideals? Do you not find the kind of image of people they convey with their ads disgusting? What are those people except excessive, materialist and facile?
Unfortunately I dont know a single person who sends MMS messages, because greedy carriers charge perhaps 30 pence for each message, where as an email is free. Most people I know have their email set up on their mobile now (iphone or not), so if I want to send someone a picture, I just email it. I agree, the integration of MMS is done very well in the iPhone, but it's simply not used because email is more advanced and well ... free.
If Apple can sort video calls as simply data transfer, they may have the chance of it taking off. If the carriers start smacking their lips, thinking how they can charge horrendous prices for "video minutes" as they have for every other video capable phone, then its doomed.
Whether video chat is useful depends on how the networks charge for it.
My current carrier (Vodafone UK) charge 35p per minute to make video calls to others on the Vodafone UK network and 55p per minute to call someone off their network.
I have a contract with bundled calls to any network, so when making a call, I have to make the decision of making a voice only call using my inclusive minutes or paying a total rip-off charge for making a video call.
Working in the telecoms industry, I know that the difference in actual costs to the networks is in the region of 0.25p per minute, so the charges above have a massive profit margin.
For video calling on iPhone to be a success, the carriers will need to include some minutes of usage within the contract and reduce the per minute charge to around 5p per minute to any network.
BTW, I have had phones capable of making video calls for a total of 8 years now, and yet to make one. To me, this is a lost opportunity for the networks. I would be very interested in understanding how many video call minutes carriers currently sell, and how many they would sell if the tariff was sensible.
Phil
My current carrier (Vodafone UK) charge 35p per minute to make video calls to others on the Vodafone UK network and 55p per minute to call someone off their network.
I have a contract with bundled calls to any network, so when making a call, I have to make the decision of making a voice only call using my inclusive minutes or paying a total rip-off charge for making a video call.
Working in the telecoms industry, I know that the difference in actual costs to the networks is in the region of 0.25p per minute, so the charges above have a massive profit margin.
For video calling on iPhone to be a success, the carriers will need to include some minutes of usage within the contract and reduce the per minute charge to around 5p per minute to any network.
BTW, I have had phones capable of making video calls for a total of 8 years now, and yet to make one. To me, this is a lost opportunity for the networks. I would be very interested in understanding how many video call minutes carriers currently sell, and how many they would sell if the tariff was sensible.
Phil
Except MMS is used. Massively. The numbers of MMS sent in the UK have skyrocketed every year since the iPhone was released.
The majority of the population still don't have email access on their phones, don't forget that. I know I get *a lot* more MMSes than I do emails from people on their mobiles rather than sat at a PC.
Phazer
Seems like you posted your comments whilst I was writing mine, but as you can see, I totally agree with you. I don't know if it is just a UK thing, or if all countries suffer like this.
At the end of the day, everything that is received and sent by a mobile phone is data. To have tariffs which differentiate between different types of data is nonsense.
Can you imagine if your broadband provider charged based on how many emails you sent, how many webpages you viewed, how many VoIP calls you make, how many characters you typed in instant messengers or how many pictures you posted to websites such as Flickr. In essence, this is what mobile carriers currently do.
The standard charge for a text message (outside of bundled texts) is around 5p, yet the amount of network capacity a text consumes is equivalent to a fraction of a second of a voicecall.
How did we get to this?
True. It's pretty funny that carriers have four different prices for the same kind of data: voice, text (to a certain extent), online, video-chat.
I think skype has this (could easily be a different program). I could be wrong but I remember seeing this a few weeks back. the options were a dog, a clown, and a old lady, and it was slow and painful to use. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I looked but couldn't find it again. I'm not imagining it though.
I think you're going to find the complete opposite is true. Video chat is never going to be as convienient as simply talking on your phone. Sure, you'll use it a lot the first month you have it, just because of how cool it is, but reality is quickly going to set in just how pointless it is to try and walk down the street and have a video chat, or while driving a car, or just about anywhere else where you're not completely stationary.
Naturally people vary in how they use their phones, I can count the number of MMS's Ive received in my lifetime on one hand. My circle of friends always email images instead of MMS and I've had my email set up on my mobile for the last 3 or 4 years. But yes, I don’t mean to make my personal experience sound like 'fact'
Ah yes, if everything was priced as "data" I would be a happy camper. Isn't the whole SMS scam that the 140 bytes of data fit within a signal ping or something?
I haven't read the whole thread yet...
The one thing that would make this a cool feature for me would be if you can establish a video chat from the new iPhone to an iChat user on a Mac.
I don't expect my parents to get an iPhone, but I think that it would be fun to do a video call and show them their granddaughter doing all kinds of crazy things.
Hickman
The one thing that would make this a cool feature for me would be if you can establish a video chat from the new iPhone to an iChat user on a Mac.
I don't expect my parents to get an iPhone, but I think that it would be fun to do a video call and show them their granddaughter doing all kinds of crazy things.
Hickman
I probably wouldent use it but it's a great feature. I bet many apps like aim and obviously Skype will integrate this.
I've had video chat available on phones for several years now.
Nobody uses it. It's one of the most pointless features on a mobile phone.
I can see it being useful on the iPad though, if you have a decent mount so that it was looking directly at your face, not up your nose. Video chat just seems more useful from home. Then again a PS3 + EyeTV + VOIP could do the same in the home.
New ATT Ad Tag Line:
More People Busted In More Locations
Seriously, you better behave w/ your new video chat powered phone b/c girlfriend/wife is watching. If you say you can't go to the ballet b/c have to work late you better not be at a sports bar when she calls you at intermission.
I predict green screens will be popping up in bars and strip joints worldwide.
More People Busted In More Locations
Seriously, you better behave w/ your new video chat powered phone b/c girlfriend/wife is watching. If you say you can't go to the ballet b/c have to work late you better not be at a sports bar when she calls you at intermission.
I predict green screens will be popping up in bars and strip joints worldwide.
Not the video chat that excites me
It's not the video chat that actually excites me. Assuming it is a version of iChat, which allows text chat, finally there is the possibility of an IM program that runs in the background. Isn't this what a lot of people have been waiting for?
It's not the video chat that actually excites me. Assuming it is a version of iChat, which allows text chat, finally there is the possibility of an IM program that runs in the background. Isn't this what a lot of people have been waiting for?
What about Deaf people?
As a Deaf person, I have been unable to hear on the phone. The mobile iChat would allow me to communicate with my partner in sign language. I have tried this before with other phones but it is always so complicated and expensive to use.
In fact, in Sweden, when video conferencing over 3G first came out, the main customers were Deaf people.
Thanks Apple, you are finally thinking about people who want to communicate in a different way. When it arrives in the UK, we will be straight to the shops.
As a Deaf person, I have been unable to hear on the phone. The mobile iChat would allow me to communicate with my partner in sign language. I have tried this before with other phones but it is always so complicated and expensive to use.
In fact, in Sweden, when video conferencing over 3G first came out, the main customers were Deaf people.
Thanks Apple, you are finally thinking about people who want to communicate in a different way. When it arrives in the UK, we will be straight to the shops.
So there we have it!
I hope it makes its way to the iPod touch. I'd buy one for me and one for my girlfriend if that happened!
I wonder how they'd do it (for the iPhone)... during a call could you switch to video maybe? Would there be an additional app just for video calling/IMing (iChat)? Can't wait to see how they implement it.
I hope it makes its way to the iPod touch. I'd buy one for me and one for my girlfriend if that happened!
I wonder how they'd do it (for the iPhone)... during a call could you switch to video maybe? Would there be an additional app just for video calling/IMing (iChat)? Can't wait to see how they implement it.
Is this possible? If so this needs to happen, it's all well and good me switching to an ichat/jabber account but literally none of my family or friends use that they all use hotmail or MSN accounts. There needs to be a proprietary IM network otherwise IM as a whole will die.
But who am I going to videochat with? It will be awhile before enough people have iPhone HD. I don't know anyone in the U.S. who does videochat on their phone. I'm interested to know how videochat etiquette works. Is it considered rude to accept a video chat and not activate your own camera? Will it activate the camera by default or ask me?
This could also be a problem for people confirming where you are. Sometimes you have to give little white lies if you're planning to surprise someone, or if you need to call in to work every great once in a while to enjoy the nice weather.
Maybe it will feature the background replacement effect from photobooth on the Mac. Lol...then you can be wherever you want, though I bet it will look so fake. Haha:
This could also be a problem for people confirming where you are. Sometimes you have to give little white lies if you're planning to surprise someone, or if you need to call in to work every great once in a while to enjoy the nice weather.
Maybe it will feature the background replacement effect from photobooth on the Mac. Lol...then you can be wherever you want, though I bet it will look so fake. Haha:
Completely agree with you here. Both my parents are deaf and it would mean that they would both be able to contact me using sign language too, rather than texting. I know my dad would use his phone more as he has a Sony Ericsson and cant switch the predictive text off so he doesnt bother
I don't know if in my job as an interpreter, things will change, but we'll see what the future holds...If you can connect to iChat on a mac, then that would be fantastic...
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
2 things.
Do you there is ANY chance that at$t will not let the video chat on 3g? (wifi only)
how do you think steve will handle the announcement of video chat? I mean it's "revolutionary" and "pioneering" in the US, because it's the first of its kind. but across the world it's pretty old news....
Do you there is ANY chance that at$t will not let the video chat on 3g? (wifi only)
how do you think steve will handle the announcement of video chat? I mean it's "revolutionary" and "pioneering" in the US, because it's the first of its kind. but across the world it's pretty old news....