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I still think its a marketing thing. Its just as easy to do video calling on my Samsung S5603. You go to contacts, select the contact you wish to video call and hit the "video call" button. How much simpler can it get?

What separates FaceTime from other methods is that FaceTime can be used for any device. Can that Samsung call email addresses? I think that is the draw for FT and what makes it stand out. But here in the US, video calling is very infant so maybe those of you with more experience can shed light on it.
 
What separates FaceTime from other methods is that FaceTime can be used for any device. Can that Samsung call email addresses? I think that is the draw for FT and what makes it stand out. But here in the US, video calling is very infant so maybe those of you with more experience can shed light on it.

No, Facetime can be used on Apple products only. And that is a very small segment of the market :( And, you can't call up someone with a different vendor's phone/computer on facetime. Its not very likely that all your family and friends will have an Apple product with facetime on it.
 
Why are Apple acting like video calling (or facetime, and they call it) is brand new? Its been around for ages, and its a standard on cellphones that cost more than $99. It seems strange that they left it out on the first iPod Touch, and then when they implement in on this version they are acting like they invented video calling :confused:
On a smartphone, sure, it's not new, but on a DAP/PMP? How many PMP before the Touch that even have a back facing camera, let alone a front facing one with built-in video chat software? None that I could think of.
 
No, Facetime can be used on Apple products only. And that is a very small segment of the market :( And, you can't call up someone with a different vendor's phone/computer on facetime.

3GPP developed a spec for video calling that's interoperable, to the extent that it interoperates with any compatible terminal that has a 3G GSM connection to the outside world. If your device doesn't have a 3G GSM connection to the outside world (eg. most desktop PCs), then it cannot use normal 3G GSM video-calling.

FaceTime doesn't have that restriction. It's all based upon IP (the Internet Protocol) so theoretically any Internet-connected device could connect to a FaceTime conversation.

Its not very likely that all your family and friends will have an Apple product with facetime on it.
Apple has promised that they would submit FaceTime as an open specification. As such, any 3rd party device could theoretically participate.
 
On a smartphone, sure, it's not new, but on a DAP/PMP? How many PMP before the Touch that even have a back facing camera, let alone a front facing one with built-in video chat software? None that I could think of.

My previous phone and my current phone are not smartphones, and they have fwd and back facing cameras with built in vid calling software.
 
Why are Apple acting like video calling (or facetime, and they call it) is brand new? Its been around for ages, and its a standard on cellphones that cost more than $99. It seems strange that they left it out on the first iPod Touch, and then when they implement in on this version they are acting like they invented video calling :confused:

Apple also acts as if they had invented the graphical user interface, the mouse, the mp3 player and now even the tablet computer while, in fact, none of those things were their invention. However, they're good at taking an idea, making it their own, wrapping a nice (graphics) design around it and making it work for non-technical people.
 
Apple is great at marketing. You want to highlight the best features in your products so that it will target a majority. They is a lot stuff that they don't talk about, and I'm guessing cause that market is small. One thing that's on Apple product is Voice Over. This feature is missing in a lot of mobile phones and computers. Some phones will speak the name, but it doesn't navigate through each window. As for PCs, this feature cost $1k to add.


I can't remember but there is a car company that mentions a lot about their cars having wide wheel base and ABS stuff. BMW cars had this feature long time ago. And basically a lot of cars have that same feature. Bottom line is ...you can promote your product however you want.


Video calling. idk if there is a phone out that can Video call to a computer? I thought that was a nice move. Just think now you don't have to use your Mac to connect with your family at home while you're on the road. You can simply connect with your iPhone/iTouch. I know a lot of musicians and business people who work overseas love this feature. Traveling with your MBP, you are most likely a target for theft. Now you can keep your phone in your pocket and not be wiry of someone coming into your hotel, stealing your Mac.

Agree 100%. When some people ask me what's so great about 4G, first thing that comes to mind is video conferencing.

If Apple didn't invent it, they sure did re-invent it with in terms of quality.
 
Apple also acts as if they had invented the graphical user interface, the mouse, the mp3 player and now even the tablet computer while, in fact, none of those things were their invention. However, they're good at taking an idea, making it their own, wrapping a nice (graphics) design around it and making it work for non-technical people.

Did they really claim all of this? No. For being an Apple user and part of a Mac forum, you should know this. Apple has not claimed any of this, they just improved it. Quite simply because they get it. They understand how people want to use the device and they build upon that. They don't strut around like they invented every product they sell, they strut around with their pockets fattened because they got it right, unlike some of the competition.
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These phones listed are ******** phones. Everyone keeps claiming how great they are for video calling, we have yet to see it demonstrated...
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Also, facetime is an open standard, which means anyone can build on it. Nobody has yet. Which is why you can only call to Apple specific devices. Once people develop for it, they will be able to call other phones. There are several Android developers that are working on it for android.

It'll come eventually.
 
"These phones listed are ******** phones. Everyone keeps claiming how great they are for video calling, we have yet to see it demonstrated... "

No, they are normal phones. If you want to buy an iPhone here in New Zealand you have to sign up to really expensive 24/48 month plans at the least... (plus pay several 100 dollars for the phone). Can't get a prepaid iPhone here, thats why they aren't very popular.
 
No, they are normal phones. If you want to buy an iPhone here in New Zealand you have to sign up to really expensive 24/48 month plans at the least... (plus pay several 100 dollars for the phone). Can't get a prepaid iPhone here, thats why they aren't very popular.

I don't know where you heard that, because it's completely wrong :)

These are unsubsidised and can be used on all three networks. You can certainly connect one to Telecom and 2degrees prepaid, and I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to use Vodafone too.
 
Why IS Apple acting like they invented video calling?
Because they made it simple, at least on phones, Video calling between X and Y cell phones is a pain, and Apple's Reality Distortion field will make you convince all your friends to get an iPhone 4 so they can video call


PS: I don't even like Video calling
 
My previous phone and my current phone are not smartphones, and they have fwd and back facing cameras with built in vid calling software.
Phone? I said DAP/PMP, which is what the iPod Touch is. :rolleyes: Again, show me a DAP or PMP that have back-facing/front-facing camera before the current iPod Touch. Again, I'm not talking about phones here. The iPod Touch is not a phone.
 
Apple also acts as if they had invented the graphical user interface, the mouse, the mp3 player and now even the tablet computer while, in fact, none of those things were their invention. However, they're good at taking an idea, making it their own, wrapping a nice (graphics) design around it and making it work for non-technical people.

No. They never claimed to invent any of those things. What they ARE good at, is taking a technology that seems a little bit "out there" or "too expensive" or "too techie" and making it easy to use and accessible to everyone, and marketing the heck out of it, until everyone associates it with Apple and everyone begins using it across the industry.

The GUI and mouse, for example. Did they invent it? No. Was it popular before Apple? No, people thought it was a silly idea. Apple goes and puts it into a computer, and now every computer uses a mouse and a GUI.

The USB interface. Not popular at all before Apple basically forced their users to use it by cutting out other ports. I distinctly remember reading tech magazines in those early years, and it was a chicken and egg game. Nobody wanted to upgrade their PCs with USB expansion cards until there was a compelling reason to do so. But very few devices like mice, keyboards, joysticks, scanners, were available because very few people had USB, so the market was so small! Apple pretty much jump started that one.

The mp3 player. A toy for nerds, until the iPod came along and now everyone's got one. Most people at the time had a Rio 64 megabyte player, or something like a Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox. I had one of those. 6 gigs of hard drive space in a unit the size of a fat discman, and a battery life of four hours.

Smart phones. They were strictly for business consumers, or business minded people. What average Joe owned a Blackberry or Nokia smartphone? Or a geeky smartphone like a Palm Treo? Very few people did, until the iPhone. Now everyone's got either an iPhone, or a Blackberry, or an Android phone.

Tablet PCs. Hardly anyone used them, now everyone wants in on the game.

Video calling? Sure, it was possible, but how many people did you see ever doing it? (Maybe in the European countries, it's more prevalent, I don't know, but in all my life living in Canada, I have NEVER seen anyone do a video phone call.)

Apple doesn't invent the stuff (not always, anyway) but they always do their best to really drive it forward.
 
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No. They never claimed to invent any of those things. What they ARE good at, is taking a technology that seems a little bit "out there" or "too expensive" or "too techie" and making it easy to use and accessible to everyone, and marketing the heck out of it, until everyone associates it with Apple and everyone begins using it across the industry.

The GUI and mouse, for example. Did they invent it? No. Was it popular before Apple? No, people thought it was a silly idea. Apple goes and puts it into a computer, and now every computer uses a mouse and a GUI.

The USB interface. Not popular at all before Apple basically forced their users to use it by cutting out other ports. I distinctly remember reading tech magazines in those early years, and it was a chicken and egg game. Nobody wanted to upgrade their PCs with USB expansion cards until there was a compelling reason to do so. But very few devices like mice, keyboards, joysticks, scanners, were available because very few people had USB, so the market was so small! Apple pretty much jump started that one.

The mp3 player. A toy for nerds, until the iPod came along and now everyone's got one. Most people at the time had a Rio 64 megabyte player, or something like a Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox. I had one of those. 6 gigs of hard drive space in a unit the size of a fat discman, and a battery life of four hours.

Smart phones. They were strictly for business consumers, or business minded people. What average Joe owned a Blackberry or Nokia smartphone? Or a geeky smartphone like a Palm Treo? Very few people did, until the iPhone. Now everyone's got either an iPhone, or a Blackberry, or an Android phone.

Tablet PCs. Hardly anyone used them, now everyone wants in on the game.

Video calling? Sure, it was possible, but how many people did you see ever doing it? (Maybe in the European countries, it's more prevalent, I don't know, but in all my life living in Canada, I have NEVER seen anyone do a video phone call.)

Apple doesn't invent the stuff (not always, anyway) but they always do their best to really drive it forward.

Very well said.. Perfect in fact.
 
Five phones with video calling?

1. Vodafone 715
2. Sony Ericsson W705
3. Nokia 6120
4. Samsung S5510T
5. LG GU290

Most of those phones are very inexpensive too. They're all from different manufacturers but all allow standards-based calling between them, without using Apple's proprietary system.

There's nothing "special" about the phones that I picked either. The first two are ones that I've owned, and the other three are just random selections from my phone company's website (I tried to pick a range of brands).

Those are recent phones, i was talking about ones that are "years old", many US phones are getting front faceing camera because apple included it in theirs
 
I believe its down to the compatibility of Facetime. I can call anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch, and soon OSX and iPads. That sort of unified system is what Apple is good at.

But I agree it's not new at all. A friend at college had a video conference mobile phone back in 2003.
 
Those are recent phones, i was talking about ones that are "years old", many US phones are getting front faceing camera because apple included it in theirs

Err... nice save? :rolleyes:

SE K800i. Announced Feb 2006. Nokia N70- 2/3Q 2005. Nokia N73- April 2006.

Does 4/5 years count as years old? There's a whole bunch more if you want me to list them out :rolleyes:

Apple said:
People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality.

Yeah... Apple does seem to think they invented video calling.
 
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