Chat services take wait-and-see approach to adopting Apple's FaceTime

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
After Apple this week announced its new open standard for video calling, dubbed FaceTime, major online chat providers have expressed interest in the new standards-based technology, but do not yet have plans to adopt it in their own services.



Announced on Monday, FaceTime will allow iPhone 4 users to video chat over Wi-Fi using the cameras on Apple's latest handset. Apple will make FaceTime an open industry standard, allowing communication with other devices and services.



It's the open, standards-based nature of FaceTime that most interests existing Internet communications providers like Skype. But that doesn't mean the company is already willing to embrace Apple's creation.



A Skype spokesperson contacted by AppleInsider on Wednesday downplayed earlier reports which suggested the voice-over-IP company would "welcome the chance to work with Apple" and planned on adopting the FaceTime standard in its own products.



"Just to be clear, we are not considering FaceTime as a technological platform for video calling in our own products," the spokesperson said. "Based on Apple's statement about FaceTime being open platform, we are looking forward to see how this process unfolds."



The company said it will continue to work with Apple in providing the Skype service through its own existing applications for the Mac OS X desktop and iOS devices.







Google, too, acknowledged the open nature of FaceTime when asked for comment. The search giant runs the Google Chat service, which operates in the browser for Gmail users, and is also accessible through the Google Talk desktop application for Windows only.



"Our solutions are built on top of open standards and platforms and we will continue to strive for openness in our communication platforms," a Google spokesperson said. The company declined to offer any information on future plans, or speak specifically about potential integration of FaceTime in its products.



A spokesperson for Microsoft, which is responsible for the popular MSN Messenger service, said the company has nothing to share regarding Apple's FaceTime. Requests to AOL, Fring, and Yahoo were not answered Wednesday.



For more on FaceTime, see the AppleInsider feature Inside iPhone 4: FaceTime video calling.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    Apple had better get it integrated into iChat if they want credibility.
  • Reply 2 of 43
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Wait, Apple announced this feature Monday and as of Wednesday no company had fully adopted it yet? lol
  • Reply 3 of 43
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    With or without FaceTime, Skype and others can make video chatting work, now the the iPhone has a webcam. I don?t much care what protocol they use, just get it working ASAP please



    (I wish Meebo supported audio and video.)
  • Reply 4 of 43
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    With or without FaceTime, Skype and others can make video chatting work, now the the iPhone has a webcam. I don?t much care what protocol they use, just get it working ASAP please



    (I wish Meebo supported audio and video.)



    I think there's two sides to the issue. If they all adopt the same protocol(s), then anyone can chat with anyone, and you don't have to make sure they have the same service. On the other hand, Skype, for instance, would prefer that people use Skype, so they might not see it in their interests to be interoperable. If FaceTime turns out to be a big hit, and a few others adopt it, it may cause pressure for everyone to.
  • Reply 5 of 43
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    if Apple was so behind the ball in video chatting then why the heck don't we see this feature being advertised by all them cheesy Android phones? LOL!

    I keep hearing people say they had this feature years ago. Where is it? Cause last time I ventured onto other tech sites I didn't see Droid does video chat. Meh!



    Apple changes the game all over again.
  • Reply 6 of 43
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    if Apple was so behind the ball in video chatting then why the heck don't we see this feature being advertised by all them cheesy Android phones? LOL!

    I keep hearing people say they had this feature years ago. Where is it? Cause last time I ventured onto other tech sites I didn't see Droid does video chat. Meh!



    Apple changes the game all over again.



    The European version of the Touch Pro 1 had a front facing camera, that much I know for sure.
  • Reply 7 of 43
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    Europe has had video chat for a while. It's an advantage of having gsm (data for calls lets u stream video.) The European version of the Touch Pro 1 had a front facing camera, that much I know for sure.



    Cmon man. At least google something before ranting about it.



    No one uses it, though, apparently.
  • Reply 8 of 43
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Wait, Apple announced this feature Monday and as of Wednesday no company had fully adopted it yet? lol



    I've been seeing people talk about how video chat failed in Denmark or some place like that. Not enough privacy on a video call in public, and in private, video calls tend to be made on the computer.



    I think it'll do ok here, and I stand by my assertion that facetime being used as a masturbatorial aid will be what drives it's success!
  • Reply 9 of 43
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat View Post


    Apple had better get it integrated into iChat if they want credibility.



    I believe it is a matter of "when", not "if". Remember that iOS is built on OSX. Who's to say that they haven't already ported it back to the original OSX??



    Hmm... a potential feature for OSX 10.7 ???
  • Reply 10 of 43
    theshepherdtheshepherd Posts: 164member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    I've been seeing people talk about how video chat failed in Denmark or some place like that. Not enough privacy on a video call in public, and in private, video calls tend to be made on the computer.



    I think it'll do ok here, and I stand by my assertion that facetime being used as a masturbatorial aid will be what drives it's success!



    Do you think that Apple will restrict what parts of the body you can show on the camera to meet their no porn stance?
  • Reply 11 of 43
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Google, too, acknowledged the open nature of FaceTime when asked for comment. The search giant runs the Google Chat service, which operates in the browser for Gmail users, and is also accessible through the Google Talk desktop application for Windows only.



    Doesn't it also work via Gmail's Jabber in iChat on Mac OS X? I could have sworn I've used it and ScreenSharing in the past.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    if Apple was so behind the ball in video chatting then why the heck don't we see this feature being advertised by all them cheesy Android phones? LOL!

    I keep hearing people say they had this feature years ago. Where is it? Cause last time I ventured onto other tech sites I didn't see Droid does video chat. Meh!



    Apple changes the game all over again.



    That's the rub, it's been around for years ? since the 1980s, I think, if you count POTS ? but it's not used because it's not done well. First, the technology wasn't really there before and in many ways still isn't for cellular networks.



    I've read that many disable SIP which FaceTime uses. 3GPP outlined video conferencing, but technically doing it in a proof of concept with skipping frame and dropped audio isn't exactly useful. That seems to be the difference between users of iOS and Android as a general rule of their mindsets: One group wants a technology to work well before claiming victory and they other group just wants a technology to technically work regardless of the usefulness, quality or convenience.



    Apple's not inventing video conferencing, but they may have created an open standards video conferencing that works well. I can't wait to see what they submits to standards body.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chronster View Post


    I think it'll do ok here, and I stand by my assertion that facetime being used as a masturbatorial aid will be what drives it's success!



    FaceTime Roulette iOS app?
  • Reply 12 of 43
    bjojadebjojade Posts: 91member
    The thing holding down video chat is the lack of compatibility.



    Imagine how well email would be taken if you could only send messages to someone that had the same model computer that you had. Kind of like how iChat is great, but it ONLY works with AIM accounts. Not everyone has an AIM account, so the usability of iChat is limited. There are other apps that seamlessly connect to many services, which is a start, but still requires you to have multiple accounts set up. Not the most intelligent solution.



    No, it's got to work across all devices. Having a 'standard' video chat format will be huge. If I can have iChat open on my computer and chat with someone with an iPhone, or an Android phone, or any other video centric phone, then it makes sense. Not everyone will have the iPhone. To hit critical mass, it has to be everywhere!
  • Reply 13 of 43
    So let me get this straight...You make a phone call to the person you want to video chat with, but the video chat only works on WiFi.



    My question is this...So while I'm video chatting over my WiFi connection, do I have to pay the carrier for the minutes I'm using?



    If so, FAIL!



    When you switch to FaceTime it better hang up the call and stop using minutes.
  • Reply 14 of 43
    macslutmacslut Posts: 514member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat View Post


    Apple had better get it integrated into iChat if they want credibility.



    I'm interested to see how they deal with this.



    The big thing about FaceTime is that it's zero configuration and no usernames or passwords. The simplified version of how it works is that it's using your phone number as the username and there's no need for a password since it's your phone number.



    Apple would need to figure something out with iChat to make it work with FaceTime, such as allowing you to log in to iChat with your phone number, or instead of making iChat work with FaceTime, they'd make FaceTime work with iChat...the latter could be done by allowing iChat usernames in the addressbook.



    The key here is that you're very quickly going to see tens of millions of iOS devices be FaceTime enabled. A lot of those people are going to be clustered (families, employees, etc...), so it has a much better shot of taking off than any other videophone technology before it.
  • Reply 15 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bjojade View Post


    The thing holding down video chat is the lack of compatibility.



    Imagine how well email would be taken if you could only send messages to someone that had the same model computer that you had. Kind of like how iChat is great, but it ONLY works with AIM accounts. Not everyone has an AIM account, so the usability of iChat is limited. There are other apps that seamlessly connect to many services, which is a start, but still requires you to have multiple accounts set up. Not the most intelligent solution.



    No, it's got to work across all devices. Having a 'standard' video chat format will be huge. If I can have iChat open on my computer and chat with someone with an iPhone, or an Android phone, or any other video centric phone, then it makes sense. Not everyone will have the iPhone. To hit critical mass, it has to be everywhere!



    It doesn't matter if AOL, MS, Skype, etc. support it.

    I guarantee there will be enterprising developers who will sieze this opportunity and create desktop clients for FaceTime.



    Apple really should be the one to do it.

    Dump AOL and make a cross platform compatible iChat based on FaceTime.
  • Reply 16 of 43
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    So let me get this straight...You make a phone call to the person you want to video chat with, but the video chat only works on WiFi.



    My question is this...So while I'm video chatting over my WiFi connection, do I have to pay the carrier for the minutes I'm using?



    If so, FAIL!



    When you switch to FaceTime it better hang up the call and stop using minutes.



    From the protocols they mention and the current requirements of two iPhone 4s and WiFi it seems that won't use your cellular voice.
  • Reply 17 of 43
    afishertxafishertx Posts: 18member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    From the protocols they mention and the current requirements of two iPhone 4s and WiFi it seems that won't use your cellular voice.



    At least in the US it should be a non issue. If I remeber correctly, there are no minutes charged in calls between AT&T subscribers.
  • Reply 18 of 43
    kerrynkerryn Posts: 87member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by afishertx View Post


    At least in the US it should be a non issue. If I remeber correctly, there are no minutes charged in calls between AT&T subscribers.



    Mobile to mobile is free but this does not use voice minutes but data. Then wifi only data at that, not 3G.



    For those complaining about the inability to use this over 3G you have to consider that this is in its infancy. Apple is laying the foundations for video to video calls several years out. The goal now is to get the standards pushed out to other providers and grow this using wifi. Then when cell calls move to LTE and everything becomes just data packets, then voice, data and video calls will just become the same. Data packets pushed over a fast LTE network. You have to think 3+ years out to see where this is going.
  • Reply 19 of 43
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by afishertx View Post


    At least in the US it should be a non issue. If I remeber correctly, there are no minutes charged in calls between AT&T subscribers.



    Your minute-to-minute voice aren't going to do you any good when doing 2-way video over your data connection, even after it is 3G. However it appears the voice is using IP as well. Three of the protocols (SIP, RTP and SRTP) are IETF designed with VoIP in mind. This means they are designed for QoS and realtime transfers. So when this does come to carriers in 2011(?) it looks like it will be all over your data network.



    edit: Pipped by kerryn.
  • Reply 20 of 43
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Doesn't it also work via Gmail's Jabber in iChat on Mac OS X? I could have sworn I've used it and ScreenSharing in the past.



    Yes, it does. That's how I chat with my girlfriend.
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