Why is iMessage a separate app to FaceTime?

[Saturnine]

The question's in the title really.

If you think about it, every device on which FaceTime works (OS X, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) could use the features in iMessage. It would end up being something very similar to iChat.

So now we have iMessage on iOS, Facetime on iOS and OS X and iChat on OS X. I wonder why Apple didn't take this opportunity to unify the lot.

 

[orange42]

My guess is cause FaceTime is a much more distinct feature, and products like my 3GS won't be able to FT.

 

[dccorona]

on the iPad it could work, but you can't facetime and chat at the same time on an iPhone...the screen is too small

also, it makes more sense to me to integrate iMessages with the messages app, which they did for the iPhone

 

[Squid7085]

The biggest surprise to me is not on the iOS side, but the Mac side. I can see the reasoning behind keeping them the way they are on iOS, with iMessages in the Messages app, and Facetime in the Phone app. However, it seems like it would make so much sense to merge facetime into iChat on the Mac. Oh well, maybe someday. Gah, I haven't used iChat for years...

 

[saberahul]

Good point. IMO - iMessage is something I really needed along with the other things Apple released today (especially document syncing) and wireless syncing.