

Catch Up - ZeroGravitas
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/06/09/gray

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pwim
Video calling has been available in Japan for about a decade - but no one
really uses it. In part, it is because of the price.

But I believe fundamentally most people don't want to make video calls. I use
skype all the time, which has a video feature, but rarely use it. To me, video
calling feels unnatural.

Furthermore, well it is practical in most situations to make a normal call,
video calling only works in certain situations. For example, it won't work
while you are walking, or otherwise occupied. As such, you have to make a
conscious decision to this time use video calling, and not voice.

I don't think video calling will go much beyond a novelty feature.

~~~
joubert
I make video calls every day with iChat.

~~~
iaskwhy
I'd say one thing helping you is that you don't need to hold the camera.

I won't be surprised if Apple makes this a success but calling it epic is
nothing but laughable to all of us who could do it since before the year
2000...

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risotto
iPhone 4 hasn't shipped yet. Video chat only works with other iPhone 4s over
wifi.

EVO has shipped but Fring isn't working with the camera yet.

Are any other apps coming for either? Where is Skype?

Nobody is playing catch up because nobody has a compelling solution yet. Both
the quoted article and Gruber are wrong.

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ZeroGravitas
I thought it was interesting that HTC was being chided for providing hardware
features for 3rd party software to use, whereas with Apple you'll not get the
hardware until Apple has found a way to use it. Particularly in the case of
video-calling where network effects matter. Do we really want to see an HTC-
only video chat network?

~~~
joubert
The point is that unless you have a good synthesis of hard- & software, what's
the point?

As to network effects, what I like is that apple is making FaceTime an open
standard, and _Skype_ is already keen.
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20007298-233.html>

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Is that what he's saying? It sounds like something he would say but in this
instance it's more like he's claiming a first for Apple because he's unaware
that the Evo shipped with video chat software.

My bigger point was that if you are a hardware platform provider working with
3rd parties then you provide the hardware and then the 3rd parties provide the
software. Many, perhaps most, of the compelling iPhone experiences work this
way too. Apple provide the accelerometers, games companies provide the games
that use them etc. It seemed odd to limit either Android or the iPhone to 1st
party software/hardware combinations.

And regarding, Skype, you might want to read that again. Even if the anonymous
source actually exists and works at Skype, the text sounds like a veiled
insult and an ad for their own existing and very successful video calling
network:

 _We would welcome the opportunity to work with Apple to bring mobile video
calling not only to our many millions of Skype users on iPhone around the
world, but also to the countless more making video calls on desktops, TVs and
other connected devices_

I'm guessing they might also be hinting that they don't want their duplicate
functionality blocked by Apple. Facetime only gets linked to Skype in the
headline of the original pocketlint blog, the rest all seems to be about Skype
wanting to access the new _hardware_ in iPhone 4. The CNET blog seems to
garble this message into Skype wanting to use Facetime.

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loginx
If I recall correctly, Qik for Android was bundled with the HTC Evo 4G, and
supports video calls out of the box. I recall reading about Qik momentarily
shutting down due to the extreme number of video calls on day one. I think
John is extremely misinformed on this one. The software stack supports video
calling just fine.

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loup-vaillant
Funny he didn't respond to the multitasking thing. I would have liked to have
his opinion about that.

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fierarul
He is correct: my E71 has a front facing camera. Never used it to make a video
call or otherwise.

~~~
Steltek
Same with my N95. Excluding the touchscreen, it's like Apple is finally
catching up to 2007 :). Oh wait, my N95 has some horrible Flash implementation
so they're not done yet!

In all seriousness though, the completeness of the feature set was /never/
what made the iPhone popular. In the Apple vs Android debate, it's worth
remembering that marketing was the key to its success.

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pizzaman
weren't old HTC and/or compaq devices with windows ce/mobile able to do video
calls already?

what about this <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gCTdRjBUPg> from 2007?

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dalore
3 had a video phone in Australia. Never really took off. People don't want
video calling for a number of reasons.

~~~
robryan
I think they had it when they were still called orange to, been a lot time,
probably 6 years. It wasn't a great frame rate or anything but usable, I don't
think many people will use it more now just because the quality has improved a
lot. For most use cases its probably easier just to take a video, unless your
directly talking to someone and then the quality isn't to big a deal.

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allan_
the gruber sounds like a teacher showing you what is _really_ good. i hope he
gets paid for this.

