I just thought of a killer app for the new AppleTV...FaceTime!
If the new ATV is tiny and has a built in camera, it could be mounted on top of your TV and used for really high quality video conferencing.
$99 to turn your HDTV into a high quality videophone.
You could initiate a call on an iphone and then transfer it to an AppleTV.
There are a lot of ways they make the devices have a smoother transition, but if I can't even get an option for my Push email to disable and iPhone IM app to auto transfer to my Mac when I plug it into the 3-pin connector I think we are a long way off from having a IP video conference call dynamically switch with a single click from the user. I think we'll just have to let SciFi work for us for awhile.
As for cameras, hopefully we'll see TVs with cameras built in because I don't think Apple will ever supply a stand alone camera option again. It's just too un-Apple for them. I'd also like to see a universal IR for TVs. Meaning, i can tell the TV to route any IR directly to the device it's receiving it's video input signal from at the moment. It's all digital and sends data both ways so it shouldn't be an issue if it became standards base. I'm surprised this hasn't happened long ago, but maybe now Bluetooth 3.0 or some other non-IR remote will be the next solution.
If that were to work, would this be decent. VGA quality on a large HDTV? Would i work like iChat A/V where you could also send images, video and documents along with the A/V chat side-by-side?
Apple sold 9 million iPhones last quarter, so they're going to get to a critical mass of FaceTime users extremely fast.
Market penetration of iPhone 4 as a percentage of the total phone market is irrelevant. You're not going to use Facetime by dialing numbers at random; you're going to call the 2, 3, 8, however many people that you talk to the most, and you'll hear from them the minute they get an iPhone 4.
To the extent that Apple calculated Facetime as a marketing tool to generate iPhone 4 interest through social connections, I think it will be a big hit.
Damn right you are, and there is absolutely no way that other rival handset vendors and networks will stand idly by and see this vaunted consumer feature unmatched by their offerings.
Expect a number of "knock-off Nigel" handset vendors to either adopt FaceTime or come up with a common protocol of their own. I do hope they can stimulate competition by not just coming up with a "me too" implementation of the zero-configuration video calling feature as introduced with the iPhone 4, but surprise Apple and "up the ante" with something extra.
Apple sold 9 million iPhones last quarter, so they're going to get to a critical mass of FaceTime users extremely fast.
Market penetration of iPhone 4 as a percentage of the total phone market is irrelevant. You're not going to use Facetime by dialing numbers at random; you're going to call the 2, 3, 8, however many people that you talk to the most, and you'll hear from them the minute they get an iPhone 4.
To the extent that Apple calculated Facetime as a marketing tool to generate iPhone 4 interest through social connections, I think it will be a big hit.
Do you have an iPhone 4? How many of your friends/family can you use FaceTime with? Yes its popular, but unless Apple makes this compatible with earlier models, I don't see this feature being much more than a novelty. I know I'm not going to go drop another $500 or more just so I can FT with my one buddy who actually has one of these phones.
I'm all for apple, but FT as it stands is a gimmick. When 10 or more of my friends or family has one then I'll be interest. Most have iPhone today, and not one got an iPhone 4.
Not sure where you are going with this comment...does it have anything to do with the article? Facetime looks cool, but until you have some serious market penetration, it's pretty useless. They should open up at least audio calls for 3G/3GS users...doesn't seem any different than using Skype, etc. Only then will Apple see widespread adoption.
To say it isn't any different than skype shows you've never compared Skype on Mac to iChat. Skype for itself as the free cross-platform video solution but it's video quality is crap. Google Video is actually far better quality than skype but it's limitation to a web plugin has kept it from amounting to much.
As far as market penetration goes, 1.7 mil is nothing to sneeze at. As people receive and start using their iPhone 4 and start discovering FaceTime it has the potential to really revolutionize the market overnight. Add to that anyone who adopts the standard once published and it will be hard for anyone else to compete, course if they also adopt the standard they won't have to compete.
Do you have an iPhone 4? How many of your friends/family can you use FaceTime with? Yes its popular, but unless Apple makes this compatible with earlier models, I don't see this feature being much more than a novelty. I know I'm not going to go drop another $500 or more just so I can FT with my one buddy who actually has one of these phones.
I'm all for apple, but FT as it stands is a gimmick. When 10 or more of my friends or family has one then I'll be interest. Most have iPhone today, and not one got an iPhone 4.
FaceTime will make it's way to other devices as well, including the iChat software. The big mistake everyone makes is to look at it as an iPhone 4 exclusive but it is not. It is a standard that Apple is previewing on iPhone 4 that will be released to the public, meaning anyone can build devices or software that will support it.
This means it could make it's way into Skype for both Windows and Mac, into AOL, into Google Android and App Space, into TVs, into desk phones, into cars, and much much more. You are thinking to small, you are only seeing it as an Apple thing.
And the other argument is that you can already do video on Android phones with Skype. Problem is Skype is a proprietary technology and you will never see proprietary show up on other commonplace devices or systems.
Really it is shocking to me that people aren't excited about FaceTime, isn't this the future we see in the movies that everyone dreams about?! Standards are what integrates technology in our lives. Think about USB, Bluetooth, Wifi, all these things that have allowed technology in our lives to interconnect. This is what Apple is trying to accomplish with FaceTime, to bring something new to the table. If we have a standard for video communication it means we will start seeing hardware designed around this idea, and when that happens it will change everything.
FaceTime will make it's way to other devices as well, including the iChat software. The big mistake everyone makes is to look at it as an iPhone 4 exclusive but it is not. It is a standard that Apple is previewing on iPhone 4 that will be released to the public, meaning anyone can build devices or software that will support it.
This means it could make it's way into Skype for both Windows and Mac, into AOL, into Google Android and App Space, into TVs, into desk phones, into cars, and much much more. You are thinking to small, you are only seeing it as an Apple thing.
And the other argument is that you can already do video on Android phones with Skype. Problem is Skype is a proprietary technology and you will never see proprietary show up on other commonplace devices or systems.
Really it is shocking to me that people aren't excited about FaceTime, isn't this the future we see in the movies that everyone dreams about?! Standards are what integrates technology in our lives. Think about USB, Bluetooth, Wifi, all these things that have allowed technology in our lives to interconnect. This is what Apple is trying to accomplish with FaceTime, to bring something new to the table. If we have a standard for video communication it means we will start seeing hardware designed around this idea, and when that happens it will change everything.
Yes, it is shocking, but ordinary people will get excited by FaceTime once they get to use it. The people who aren't excited about FaceTime are the posters to this forum, tech bloggers and technology news sites in general, ZDNet, The Register and on down to Engadget and below. These are the people who cannot conceive of an iPad without a mouse. They are getting all worked up about "iPhone 4 reception" stories, when the REAL "iPhone 4 reception" story is that ordinary people, the kind of real people that put good money into Apple's hand for products that those people think are good value, are buying them at an unprecedented rate.
Those "real people" are being let down by the posters, reporters and bloggers, who are currently so focussed on "Apple is the big meanie and is telling lies and is doomed to fail" stories that they can't use their intelligence and technical knowledge to let "real people" understand what will happen with FaceTime. Because, in the end, FaceTime will probably be very big and the bloggerati's small-minded Apple-baiting will be forgotten - especially by the posters, reporters and bloggers who are doing it now.
Yes, it is shocking, but ordinary people will get excited by FaceTime once they get to use it. The people who aren't excited about FaceTime are the posters to this forum, tech bloggers and technology news sites in general, ZDNet, The Register and on down to Engadget and below. These are the people who cannot conceive of an iPad without a mouse. They are getting all worked up about "iPhone 4 reception" stories, when the REAL "iPhone 4 reception" story is that ordinary people, the kind of real people that put good money into Apple's hand for products that those people think are good value, are buying them at an unprecedented rate.
Those "real people" are being let down by the posters, reporters and bloggers, who are currently so focussed on "Apple is the big meanie and is telling lies and is doomed to fail" stories that they can't use their intelligence and technical knowledge to let "real people" understand what will happen with FaceTime. Because, in the end, FaceTime will probably be very big and the bloggerati's small-minded Apple-baiting will be forgotten - especially by the posters, reporters and bloggers who are doing it now.
That's an interesting story you have there, but I doubt many of the "real people" that you talk about read tech blogs or even know they exist. I don't know how tech bloggers can do non-readers a disservice.
I tested the link (facetime://##########) by sending it to myself as a text and it doesn't work. I get the same blank screen. However, it works fine if accessed via email or from Safari.
Comments
If the new ATV is tiny and has a built in camera, it could be mounted on top of your TV and used for really high quality video conferencing.
$99 to turn your HDTV into a high quality videophone.
You could initiate a call on an iphone and then transfer it to an AppleTV.
I just thought of a killer app for the new AppleTV...FaceTime!
If the new ATV is tiny and has a built in camera, it could be mounted on top of your TV and used for really high quality video conferencing.
$99 to turn your HDTV into a high quality videophone.
You could initiate a call on an iphone and then transfer it to an AppleTV.
There are a lot of ways they make the devices have a smoother transition, but if I can't even get an option for my Push email to disable and iPhone IM app to auto transfer to my Mac when I plug it into the 3-pin connector I think we are a long way off from having a IP video conference call dynamically switch with a single click from the user. I think we'll just have to let SciFi work for us for awhile.
As for cameras, hopefully we'll see TVs with cameras built in because I don't think Apple will ever supply a stand alone camera option again. It's just too un-Apple for them. I'd also like to see a universal IR for TVs. Meaning, i can tell the TV to route any IR directly to the device it's receiving it's video input signal from at the moment. It's all digital and sends data both ways so it shouldn't be an issue if it became standards base. I'm surprised this hasn't happened long ago, but maybe now Bluetooth 3.0 or some other non-IR remote will be the next solution.
If that were to work, would this be decent. VGA quality on a large HDTV? Would i work like iChat A/V where you could also send images, video and documents along with the A/V chat side-by-side?
Apple sold 9 million iPhones last quarter, so they're going to get to a critical mass of FaceTime users extremely fast.
Market penetration of iPhone 4 as a percentage of the total phone market is irrelevant. You're not going to use Facetime by dialing numbers at random; you're going to call the 2, 3, 8, however many people that you talk to the most, and you'll hear from them the minute they get an iPhone 4.
To the extent that Apple calculated Facetime as a marketing tool to generate iPhone 4 interest through social connections, I think it will be a big hit.
Damn right you are, and there is absolutely no way that other rival handset vendors and networks will stand idly by and see this vaunted consumer feature unmatched by their offerings.
Expect a number of "knock-off Nigel" handset vendors to either adopt FaceTime or come up with a common protocol of their own. I do hope they can stimulate competition by not just coming up with a "me too" implementation of the zero-configuration video calling feature as introduced with the iPhone 4, but surprise Apple and "up the ante" with something extra.
I just thought of a killer app for the new AppleTV...FaceTime!
If the new ATV is tiny and has a built in camera, it could be mounted on top of your TV and used for really high quality video conferencing.
$99 to turn your HDTV into a high quality videophone.
You could initiate a call on an iphone and then transfer it to an AppleTV.
That would be fun, but I don't think anyone has internet fast enough to stream HD video live
~Callum
That would be fun, but I don't think anyone has internet fast enough to stream HD video live
~Callum
You've never been to Japan or Sweden have you?
Besides, it doesn't have to be HD to be good enough.
Apple sold 9 million iPhones last quarter, so they're going to get to a critical mass of FaceTime users extremely fast.
Market penetration of iPhone 4 as a percentage of the total phone market is irrelevant. You're not going to use Facetime by dialing numbers at random; you're going to call the 2, 3, 8, however many people that you talk to the most, and you'll hear from them the minute they get an iPhone 4.
To the extent that Apple calculated Facetime as a marketing tool to generate iPhone 4 interest through social connections, I think it will be a big hit.
Do you have an iPhone 4? How many of your friends/family can you use FaceTime with? Yes its popular, but unless Apple makes this compatible with earlier models, I don't see this feature being much more than a novelty. I know I'm not going to go drop another $500 or more just so I can FT with my one buddy who actually has one of these phones.
I'm all for apple, but FT as it stands is a gimmick. When 10 or more of my friends or family has one then I'll be interest. Most have iPhone today, and not one got an iPhone 4.
As for cameras, hopefully we'll see TVs with cameras built in because I don't think Apple will ever supply a stand alone camera option again.
Sony XBR-52LX900 has one for $4000.
Not sure where you are going with this comment...does it have anything to do with the article? Facetime looks cool, but until you have some serious market penetration, it's pretty useless. They should open up at least audio calls for 3G/3GS users...doesn't seem any different than using Skype, etc. Only then will Apple see widespread adoption.
To say it isn't any different than skype shows you've never compared Skype on Mac to iChat. Skype for itself as the free cross-platform video solution but it's video quality is crap. Google Video is actually far better quality than skype but it's limitation to a web plugin has kept it from amounting to much.
As far as market penetration goes, 1.7 mil is nothing to sneeze at. As people receive and start using their iPhone 4 and start discovering FaceTime it has the potential to really revolutionize the market overnight. Add to that anyone who adopts the standard once published and it will be hard for anyone else to compete, course if they also adopt the standard they won't have to compete.
Do you have an iPhone 4? How many of your friends/family can you use FaceTime with? Yes its popular, but unless Apple makes this compatible with earlier models, I don't see this feature being much more than a novelty. I know I'm not going to go drop another $500 or more just so I can FT with my one buddy who actually has one of these phones.
I'm all for apple, but FT as it stands is a gimmick. When 10 or more of my friends or family has one then I'll be interest. Most have iPhone today, and not one got an iPhone 4.
FaceTime will make it's way to other devices as well, including the iChat software. The big mistake everyone makes is to look at it as an iPhone 4 exclusive but it is not. It is a standard that Apple is previewing on iPhone 4 that will be released to the public, meaning anyone can build devices or software that will support it.
This means it could make it's way into Skype for both Windows and Mac, into AOL, into Google Android and App Space, into TVs, into desk phones, into cars, and much much more. You are thinking to small, you are only seeing it as an Apple thing.
And the other argument is that you can already do video on Android phones with Skype. Problem is Skype is a proprietary technology and you will never see proprietary show up on other commonplace devices or systems.
Really it is shocking to me that people aren't excited about FaceTime, isn't this the future we see in the movies that everyone dreams about?! Standards are what integrates technology in our lives. Think about USB, Bluetooth, Wifi, all these things that have allowed technology in our lives to interconnect. This is what Apple is trying to accomplish with FaceTime, to bring something new to the table. If we have a standard for video communication it means we will start seeing hardware designed around this idea, and when that happens it will change everything.
FaceTime will make it's way to other devices as well, including the iChat software. The big mistake everyone makes is to look at it as an iPhone 4 exclusive but it is not. It is a standard that Apple is previewing on iPhone 4 that will be released to the public, meaning anyone can build devices or software that will support it.
This means it could make it's way into Skype for both Windows and Mac, into AOL, into Google Android and App Space, into TVs, into desk phones, into cars, and much much more. You are thinking to small, you are only seeing it as an Apple thing.
And the other argument is that you can already do video on Android phones with Skype. Problem is Skype is a proprietary technology and you will never see proprietary show up on other commonplace devices or systems.
Really it is shocking to me that people aren't excited about FaceTime, isn't this the future we see in the movies that everyone dreams about?! Standards are what integrates technology in our lives. Think about USB, Bluetooth, Wifi, all these things that have allowed technology in our lives to interconnect. This is what Apple is trying to accomplish with FaceTime, to bring something new to the table. If we have a standard for video communication it means we will start seeing hardware designed around this idea, and when that happens it will change everything.
Yes, it is shocking, but ordinary people will get excited by FaceTime once they get to use it. The people who aren't excited about FaceTime are the posters to this forum, tech bloggers and technology news sites in general, ZDNet, The Register and on down to Engadget and below. These are the people who cannot conceive of an iPad without a mouse. They are getting all worked up about "iPhone 4 reception" stories, when the REAL "iPhone 4 reception" story is that ordinary people, the kind of real people that put good money into Apple's hand for products that those people think are good value, are buying them at an unprecedented rate.
Those "real people" are being let down by the posters, reporters and bloggers, who are currently so focussed on "Apple is the big meanie and is telling lies and is doomed to fail" stories that they can't use their intelligence and technical knowledge to let "real people" understand what will happen with FaceTime. Because, in the end, FaceTime will probably be very big and the bloggerati's small-minded Apple-baiting will be forgotten - especially by the posters, reporters and bloggers who are doing it now.
Yes, it is shocking, but ordinary people will get excited by FaceTime once they get to use it. The people who aren't excited about FaceTime are the posters to this forum, tech bloggers and technology news sites in general, ZDNet, The Register and on down to Engadget and below. These are the people who cannot conceive of an iPad without a mouse. They are getting all worked up about "iPhone 4 reception" stories, when the REAL "iPhone 4 reception" story is that ordinary people, the kind of real people that put good money into Apple's hand for products that those people think are good value, are buying them at an unprecedented rate.
Those "real people" are being let down by the posters, reporters and bloggers, who are currently so focussed on "Apple is the big meanie and is telling lies and is doomed to fail" stories that they can't use their intelligence and technical knowledge to let "real people" understand what will happen with FaceTime. Because, in the end, FaceTime will probably be very big and the bloggerati's small-minded Apple-baiting will be forgotten - especially by the posters, reporters and bloggers who are doing it now.
That's an interesting story you have there, but I doubt many of the "real people" that you talk about read tech blogs or even know they exist. I don't know how tech bloggers can do non-readers a disservice.
Anyone else notice this?