Facebook, Skype team up for video calling to compete with Apple's FaceTime

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 67
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Zuckerberg blew it... he could have had Facetime on Facebook... a natural fit.



    Facetime, Facebook...



  • Reply 42 of 67
    strobestrobe Posts: 369member
    Facetime hardly ever works with NAT routers while Skype usually does (like multiple clients behind one NAT).



    Does anyone actually use Facetime? I've RARELY ever gotten the damned thing to work.
  • Reply 43 of 67
    nicolbolasnicolbolas Posts: 254member
    i live in richville essentially, 90% of people i know (locally) own an iphone/latest itouch, maybe 5% of them use facetime......





    in terms of mobile phones video chatting, facetime might be the best-- but as you all know, needing wifi pretty much means you can facetime-- anytime you could skype....



    i personally used facetime once, and i though skype was better quality (better cameras (depends on users, but most are better))



    though i wouldn't mind skype getting more stuff to compete
  • Reply 44 of 67
    I use FaceTime quite a bit on my iPhone to communicate with family members. I have yet to try using the Mac app. It works really well for when I need to have someone find something and send it over to me. Instead of trying to describe it by voice or text, both parties connect through FaceTime and then I can visually see when they have the correct item in their hand.



    I've never used Skype, but have heard this same experience can be done. However, I don't have a Skype account, and neither does too many people I know, however we all have iPhones and/or Macs with FaceTime cameras and it just so happens that Apple's FaceTime service wins out in my case.
  • Reply 45 of 67
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by strobe View Post


    Facetime hardly ever works with NAT routers while Skype usually does (like multiple clients behind one NAT).



    Does anyone actually use Facetime? I've RARELY ever gotten the damned thing to work.



    Got it working EVERY time. Connected on net gear, d-link, linksys, Belkin plus whatever Starbucks use. Calls in the UK and from the UK to USA.



    I suggest you check your kit out it traverses NAT without any issues.
  • Reply 46 of 67
    harbingerharbinger Posts: 570member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    This is NOTHING to do with facetime. This is aimed squarely at Google+'s 'video hangout' feature.



    If so, then kodos to them for developing this in roughly a week.
  • Reply 47 of 67
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Multi-person Facetime from Apple would be a nice competitive upgrade.
  • Reply 48 of 67
    boeyc15boeyc15 Posts: 986member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Multi-person Facetime from Apple would be a nice competitive upgrade.



    Sorry, the programmer who created FaceTime is working on GarageBand right now.

    -Steve



  • Reply 49 of 67
    jakevin.jakevin. Posts: 71member
    FaceTime needs 3G support and a Winodows application right away to make it truly usable.
  • Reply 50 of 67
    Facebook vs. FaceTime!
  • Reply 51 of 67
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    To use video, you do. For both of them. And FaceTime. It's the same all around.



    To use FaceTime, you have to give your information to Facebook & Microsoft?
  • Reply 52 of 67
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post


    To use FaceTime, you have to give your information to Facebook & Microsoft?



    You know what I mean.
  • Reply 53 of 67
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boeyc15 View Post


    Sorry, the programmer who created FaceTime is working on GarageBand right now.

    -Steve







    ...and he's busily creating a third category of product... FaceBand!
  • Reply 54 of 67
    funkdisfunkdis Posts: 41member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alfiejr View Post


    does/will Skype let you swtich back and forth to the forward facing camera image while on a call, like FaceTime does? i dunno. that comes in handy.





    yes it does. and also works on 3g, so anywhere you have a signal you can make a video call to anyone on a mac/iphone/windows unit.

    I have facetime on my ipad2/iphone4/mbp and imac.ive used it who knows 3/4 times. facetime is really limited being on wifi and apple products only. Skype at least is universal across several platforms, also free, and luckily for me, i have lots of friends/family who are on skype.



    facebook/microsoft have a larger base of consumers. facetime is only on apple products, although gaining market share, is still a minute player in the field.



    Don get me wrong I would like to stick to facetime as its built into my phone, but skype offeres more, to more people for now.





    EDIT: just used facebook video: worked flawlessly. really easy to use and its implemented into your facebook page. winner
  • Reply 55 of 67
    firefly7475firefly7475 Posts: 1,502member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jakevin. View Post


    FaceTime needs 3G support and a Windows application right away to make it truly usable.



    With FaceTime and iMessage Apple are bringing a knife to a gun fight.



    Adding 3G support and a Windows client would be welcomed, but even then it would still be like bringing a knife and a stick to a gun fight.



    There are a couple of "communication platforms" forming. One is based on Facebook, the other is based on Google+.



    What Apple need is Facebook integration, but I don't think that's going to happen now.



    The next best thing would be something like...
    • Merge FaceTime, iMessage, iChat

    • Add VOIP to FaceTime (lets call it TalkTime)

    • Add a connection to existing phone networks (i.e. TalkTime to tradition phone number and vice versa, message from iMessage to traditional SMS)

    • Bake all of this into iOS and OSX

    • Release native apps for other platforms that expose all of this functionality. Android, Windows, Windows Phone, WebOS, Blackberry and anything else they can get their hands on.

    Even then, Apple still wouldn't have a "communication platform" on par with what Facebook and G+ will have because Apple would be missing the social element.



    If they don't do this then the G+ or Facebook "communication platform" will swallow up anything that Apple create, and I would say within 12 months if you want to communicate with someone on an iOS device your first point of contact won't be the Messages or Phone app, it will be the G+ or Facebook app.



    Another alternative (and this one is a little crazy) is that Apple could create their own mobile focused social network to go along with the "communication platform". If Apple baked this into iOS and OSX they would instantly have >100 million users (unlike Android where only a low percentage of people are running the latest version).
  • Reply 56 of 67
    alfiejralfiejr Posts: 1,524member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Firefly7475 View Post


    With FaceTime and iMessage Apple are bringing a knife to a gun fight.



    Adding 3G support and a Windows client would be welcomed, but even then it would still be like bringing a knife and a stick to a gun fight.



    There are a couple of "communication platforms" forming. One is based on Facebook, the other is based on Google+.



    What Apple need is Facebook integration, but I don't think that's going to happen now.



    The next best thing would be something like...
    • Merge FaceTime, iMessage, iChat

    • Add VOIP to FaceTime (lets call it TalkTime)

    • Add a connection to existing phone networks (i.e. TalkTime to tradition phone number and vice versa, message from iMessage to traditional SMS)

    • Bake all of this into iOS and OSX

    • Release native apps for other platforms that expose all of this functionality. Android, Windows, Windows Phone, WebOS, Blackberry and anything else they can get their hands on.

    Even then, Apple still wouldn't have a "communication platform" on par with what Facebook and G+ will have because Apple would be missing the social element.



    If they don't do this then the G+ or Facebook "communication platform" will swallow up anything that Apple create, and I would say within 12 months if you want to communicate with someone on an iOS device your first point of contact won't be the Messages or Phone app, it will be the G+ or Facebook app.



    Another alternative (and this one is a little crazy) is that Apple could create their own mobile focused social network to go along with the "communication platform". If Apple baked this into iOS and OSX they would instantly have >100 million users (unlike Android where only a low percentage of people are running the latest version).



    Apple is social platform agnostic. all its own social services - Gamecenter, Ping, the new MobileMe, and now Twitter - are offered as conveniences for Apple hardware owners, not as competition with Google or Facebook. same with FaceTime, there is no competition with Skype. Apple just wants good apps from them all.



    think strategically and get it clear: the War is Facebook vs. Google.
  • Reply 57 of 67
    timgriff84timgriff84 Posts: 912member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alfiejr View Post


    think strategically and get it clear: the War is Facebook vs. Google.



    Think about it again and there is no war. Facebook is the market leader in what they do with no real risk of defeat. Skype is the market leader in what they do and it's only real competitors used to be from Microsoft, but now there part of Microsoft.



    Really it's just a lot of market leaders uniting. Microsoft helped Facebook out by paying a huge amount for some Facebook shares, effectively increasing Facebooks value, and in return Facebook has been open to partner with Microsoft of everything. Apple and Google get to struggle on their own to crack the social market, unforunately nobody cares as they allready use Facebook.
  • Reply 58 of 67
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    As long as they use the same protocols so it's compatible, I'm fine.

    OH WAIT, NO ONE CARES ABOUT ACTUALLY BEING COMPATIBLE.



    Compatibility is a dying if not dead dream. The WWW was kind of the peak of achieving some kind of compatibility but everything now is degenerating into proprietary battles.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    This is NOTHING to do with facetime. This is aimed squarely at Google+'s 'video hangout' feature.



    Possibly.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Or how about Facebook actually using open standards instead of proprietary crap?



    That will be the day. Even their APIs are a mess to deal with.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brucep View Post


    I hate Facebook and all the social kissing kssiy stuff.

    i have like 9000 friends who all so needy .



    FACETIME IS GREAT .



    9



    "social kissing kissy stuff... from needy people" - Why, I think you've hit Facebook on the head! It has its uses though, some of the time.
  • Reply 59 of 67
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boeyc15 View Post


    Sorry, the programmer who created FaceTime is working on GarageBand right now.

    -Steve







    I hate to think where all the people that worked on Final Cut Pro X are right now.



  • Reply 60 of 67
    bartfatbartfat Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    I hate to think where all the people that worked on Final Cut Pro X are right now.



    Still working on Final Cut? Because they did say that there were going to be updates soon for Final Cut.
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