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FaceTime and the iPod Touch

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Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#31

Post by paul9290 »

risotto wrote: post #3

Why is every DF post ending up here on HN? For comments perhaps? Google / Google Voice / Gizmo5 or any SIP provider offers data calls. I've been messing around with this on my iPad and it's very close to being viable. There's no question it is on Android. I hope Apple keeps moving in this direction but I doubt they'll be the first to route around the carriers. Right now all signs point to Apple being happily engaged…

How will users get around needing a carrier? EVen if they have ipod touch that connects to 4g you still have to pay access for the 4g service.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#32

Post by nooneelse »

awad wrote: post #30
WiseWeasel wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's a bad idea, it's not, but if you're doing it by email anyway, then you can just hang up, fire up the camera app, record your 'message', and email/MMS it to the recipient. In fact, you can do that today, without iOS 4, or even an iPhone 4 (with some dexterity).

That's a lot more work, though, than simply leaving a message.

An "Email this person a video message" button on the call screen doesn't seem too tough though.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#33

Post by nooneelse »

jbrennan wrote: post #11
yungchin wrote: post #9

I don't see why Apple are making the effort. It looks like they won't be making any money from FaceTime directly, so then it's just a nice feature to help sell more Apple kit. Why not save a lot of development and infrastructure cost by pre-installing a (custom) Skype? (I realise that that doesn't make it exclusive to Apple, but I don't see Apple beating the network effects that Skype has working for them, either)

My guess is they're not including Skype for many of the same reasons they don't include Flash. They don't want to be in a position where they are depending on one single company to fix things so they can release new products.

That sounds about right... but doesn't that scare away lots of good ideas? Don't develop an idea that would be a great selling point for the iPhone, cause Apple will see that as a possible future dependency, stall your app from getting in the store and do it themselves in the next update. If Layar really gets moving, how long till Apple "does AR right" and then kicks them off for "duplicating built-in features"?

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#35

Post by ojilles »

snagage wrote: post #25
glhaynes wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IM requires separate logins to be exchanged, they exist on partitioned networks, etc. IM's handy and has its place, but it's not going to replace SMS.

You should try Whatsup. Based on contact list phone numbers - no login exchange required. Very SMS like in nature. The gf and I use it as a SMS replacement and it works well.

Same here. However, there's way more lag in these apps (both msgs arriving when not in the app as well as actually just starting the app) than the built in SMS app from Apple.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#36

Post by natmaster »

portman wrote: post #17
risotto wrote: post #3

Why is every DF post ending up here on HN? For comments perhaps? Google / Google Voice / Gizmo5 or any SIP provider offers data calls. I've been messing around with this on my iPad and it's very close to being viable. There's no question it is on Android. I hope Apple keeps moving in this direction but I doubt they'll be the first to route around the carriers. Right now all signs point to Apple being happily engaged…

Furthermore, couldn't you replace "FaceTime" with "Skype" and the article would still make sense? "[Skype], I think, is a first step in the direction of a mobile “phone” with no mobile carrier. If and when [Skype] is supported over 3G in addition to Wi-Fi, it’ll be data, not voice — megabytes, not minutes." Skype already has a device that works on 3G: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Skypephone_Series And today, Skype…

I don't know about this Skype phone, but I make Skype calls (including video) on my Nokia N900. Have been doing this for some time.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#37

Post by ZeroGravitas »

warwick wrote: post #6

If this prediction holds, Apple could add an awful lot of value to MobileMe by providing a sort of answering machine service to subscribers. I'm close to wireless for most of the day, but when I'm not it would be nice to have FaceTime callers that couldn't reach me leave a video message that got delivered via email.

Back around the turn of the century when the UK was experiencing a brief bout of videophone mania, my friend who got free video phone minutes would leave me video calls if he ran out both voice and text credit on his pay-as-you-go phone. It was all a bit Max Headroom.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#38

Post by ZeroGravitas »

portman wrote: post #17
risotto wrote: post #3

Why is every DF post ending up here on HN? For comments perhaps? Google / Google Voice / Gizmo5 or any SIP provider offers data calls. I've been messing around with this on my iPad and it's very close to being viable. There's no question it is on Android. I hope Apple keeps moving in this direction but I doubt they'll be the first to route around the carriers. Right now all signs point to Apple being happily engaged…

Furthermore, couldn't you replace "FaceTime" with "Skype" and the article would still make sense? "[Skype], I think, is a first step in the direction of a mobile “phone” with no mobile carrier. If and when [Skype] is supported over 3G in addition to Wi-Fi, it’ll be data, not voice — megabytes, not minutes." Skype already has a device that works on 3G: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Skypephone_Series And today, Skype…

If you replaced Facetime with Skype and published it what five(?) years ago, then yes it would make sense.

Re: FaceTime and the iPod Touch

#39

Post by raganwald »

rewind wrote: post #16

There's a potential downside to this for Apple though: if they start allowing users to bypass carrier services, then the monthly cost of the service will start to go down as users use fewer features, but that also means Apple will get less of a subsidy from the carriers. Most people don't want to spend $700 on a mobile phone, so I'm sure they're not going to go out of their way to decrease carrier significance to any…

The money comes from the end-user either way. So right now the difference is between paying $250 for an iPod Touch vs. $99 or more for an iPhone plus a contract of some kind that embeds the subsidy in the monthly fees.

If Apple wants to offer iPod Touches for $25 or even free and recoup the cost through monthly fees, it can do so without the carriers by bundling them with MobileMe subscriptions or by offering Apple Credit Cards.

Apple really doesn't need the telcos to offer financing to its customers.

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