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Exclusive: TinyChat to enable location-linked video chat on iPhone 4
When it comes to ad-hoc video chatting with friends, strangers or space aliens, the heir apparent to the Chatroulette throne is TinyChat. This Flash-based video-chatting service, launched in 2009, lets you create chatrooms on the fly. You and several friends can all broadcast, while more attendees/fans/you-name-its can watch and comment. It's become quite popular with more than 30,000 people joining the site every day and a million active daily users. It's even got the requisite celeb cred with financial backing from Sean 'Puffy' Combs and Charlie Sheen's replacement Ashton Kutcher. Today, the site released a major redesign along with a new feature: location tagging for your video chats. You can choose to reveal your region or location down to a 10-mile radius, and the service displays a 'chats in your area' map to help you identify nearby conversations. Co-founder Dan Blake says that this feature is a natural extension of the geotagging options in social services like Facebook or Twitter: "This is all about continuing to make the world a more connected place via the web. Say, if there's a regular Tinychat room you use to discuss fishing, we think this feature will make it even easier for those users to meet 'IRL' for an actual fishing trip!" (Of course, the service's safety tips page reminds you never, ever to agree to meet someone in real life that you encounter on the service... a bit of cognitive dissonance there.) Where there's video and location awareness, you know what's bound to be right around the corner. TUAW has learned that TinyChat has an iPhone app in the late stages of development, scheduled for release within the next couple of weeks. iPhone 4 users will be able to participate in chats on the go, and can include their location information (again, this is optional) with their user profile or their chatroom settings. It's likely that TinyChat will be first to market with this capability; although Apple could always add location to FaceTime, that would probably provoke a wave of privacy concerns. You can sign up for a free TinyChat account through the site or via Facebook; when the iPhone app is ready for prying eyes, we'll preview it here.
Microsoft may be about to buy Skype
If you were hoping Skype's busted UI and security vulnerabilities would get major improvements in the future, this latest news might kill that hope. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is in talks to buy Skype for nearly US$8 billion. On the surface of it, this seems a mystifying move by Microsoft. eBay owned Skype once upon a time, but the VoIP service regularly lost money for eBay, and Skype's long-term debt is in excess of half a billion dollars. However, this could be a potential coup for Microsoft's mobile OS; if Skype gets directly integrated into Windows Phone 7, that will definitely complicate the mobile landscape. If the deal goes through, it probably doesn't mean the end of Skype for the Mac or iOS. In fact, with Microsoft's greater resources behind it, Skype's service may even improve. Either way, I hope this gives Apple a much-needed kick in the pants to improve FaceTime, because if Microsoft does indeed wind up owning Skype, I don't want to have to rely on it as my sole source of 3G-enabled video chat anymore.
Apple iMac (spring 2011) review
The heaviest of heavyweights in the all-in-one field has seen another update, another batch of new internals to liven up the aging (but still classy) chassis. Apple unveiled its latest iMac refresh last week, surprising nobody with a new selection of AMD Radeon HD graphics cards, quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge processors, and solid-state storage options, all designed to do one thing: go faster.These latest iMacs are quite naturally the speediest yet, as you'd expect, but with the right configuration they can be properly quick. Faster internals plus Thunderbolt ports on the outside turn what's supposed to be a family-friendly and eye-catching machine into an unassuming powerhouse that might just be quick enough for professional users. There's a more important question, though: is this $1,999 system the right choice for you?%Gallery-123116%
iOS 4.3.2 may fix Verizon iPad, FaceTime issues
Apple's iOS 4.3.2 is due to land in the upcoming weeks, and speculation is running rampant about what changes this update may bring. According to BGR, which claims to have the update in hand, iOS 4.3.2 will fix the data roaming issue reportedly plaguing iPad 2 tablets on Big Red's 3G network. This annoying bug reportedly causes the iPad 2 to always roam on Verizon's 3G network. The update may also cure the issue with FaceTime, which is causing the iPad 2's front camera to freeze when the video chat application launches. Lastly, iOS 4.3.2 may also bring a variety of security fixes and performance improvements to Apple's suite of iOS devices.
FaceTime is the star in The Blue Stones music video
And now for something completely different: a music video featuring FaceTime on a pair of iPhone 4s. Canadian duo The Blue Stones created their video for the song "I'm A Stereo" using the iPhone 4s, FaceTime and strategically-placed duct tape. The latter was used to cover up the name info on the phones, but there's no hiding the fact that the band members are guitarist/vocalist Tarek Jafar and drummer/backup vocalist Justin Tessier. It's a pretty catchy song and video, and it shows once again just how embedded Apple technology is in our popular culture. Enjoy the video on the next page, and remember when these guys become The Next Big Thing that you saw 'em here on TUAW. Thanks to everybody who sent this in!
Two Australian Apple fans wait 50 hours in line for an iPad 2
Alex Lee can cross another item off his bucket list: waiting in line for 50 hours to be one of the first people in Australia to own a shiny new iPad 2. Actually, the 28-year-old IT consultant from Canada is already one of the first people in Australia to own an iPad 2; Lee bought one while visiting Boston, Massachusetts, two weeks ago. Now, for a bit of fun, he's first in line at the Apple Store in Sydney, Australia, to pick up a second iPad 2 for someone special. "I was backpacking in Asia, and I already have my iPad 2, but my sister needed one so I said, OK, I'll come down," Lee told news.com.au. "And if I can, I'm getting one for a charity auction for Japan tsunami relief." When current.com.au asked Lee why he was choosing to endure a two-day wait for a product he already owns, he replied, "I want to break my own record." His record? Lee once spent 32 hours in front of London's Regent Street Apple Store to buy an iPhone 4. He's also lined up in Dubai for the original iPad and endured the crowds for both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS launches in Canada. "I'll probably break the 50 hour mark," said Lee, whose wait started shortly after noon on Wednesday. Like any well-traveled expert at camping in line for Apple products, Lee knows the experience is more fulfilling when enjoyed with a buddy. Second in line is Marius Eilertsen, a friend Lee made while attending university in Australia. Eilertsen, a 29-year-old from Sydney, isn't quite as experienced at waiting two days in line for a product to launch, but he doesn't seem worried about his comparative lack of preparation. "I brought a chair and a blanket, and that's about it. I'll get more supplies when I need them," Eilertsen told news.com.au. "Hopefully my wife will bring me stuff." Lee is also joined by Louis Franklin, who is first in line for the iPad 2...at a store half a world away in London. Lee and Franklin use Apple's FaceTime video conferencing technology to commiserate over hecklers and celebrate the iPad 2's global launch while waiting patiently outside their respective Apple stores. "One of the best things about lining up is you get to meet a lot of different people from all walks of life -- we all share a common interest and there is camaraderie," said Lee to The Sydney Morning Herald. The iPad 2 was greeted by sell-out crowds when it launched in the United States on March 11. Apple's device goes on sale in 25 additional countries at 5:00 PM local time this Friday. Continue to the full article to see a video interview with Alex Lee. Sadly, Lee never mentions how to apply to become his adoptive sibling.
FaceTime causing some iPad cameras to freeze
According to a thread on Apple's support forum, there may be an issue going around with FaceTime on the iPad that freezes up the iPad 2's front camera. Users are saying that sometimes, when FaceTime loads up, the front camera will freeze on a frame and not send any more video. Fortunately, the fix seems to be simply restarting the iPad, but obviously, there's something weird going on -- the issue often pops up even after a restart. The FaceTime for Mac app was just updated yesterday with a few performance improvements, so there's likely an update pending for iPad as well. Hopefully, whenever that's released, it'll fix whatever issues users have been having. [via 9to5Mac]
Confirmed: FaceTime for iPad 2 works with video out
This morning, fellow TUAW blogger Erica Sadun and I both played with the video out features of the new iPad 2. While Erica discovered that something is preventing her iPad 2 from working properly with the video mirroring function that is supposed to work with all of the various video adapters (HDMI, Composite, Component and VGA) for the device, I was able to get mirroring of everything on my iPad just by plugging in the VGA Adapter. TiPb's Rene Ritchie verified that video mirroring was plug and play for him with all of the adapters as well. While that means a lot for all of us who demonstrate apps on the iPad, it means even more for people who use FaceTime or other video conferencing apps. We were able to confirm that FaceTime on the iPad 2 can be mirrored to another display. By pushing the video out to a big screen HDTV, for example, you can now share a FaceTime session with a group or the family. This is going to kill the market for Cisco's $500 "ūmi telepresence" device, which turns a big screen TV into a home teleconferencing tool. Sure, the ūmi is about the same price as an entry-level iPad 2, but the ūmi also requires a $99 annual service fee. FaceTime on an iPad 2? Free. ūmi has better resolution than FaceTime does, providing full 1080p video calling over the somewhat lo-res FaceTime image on the iPad, but the iPad can do so much more than just do teleconferencing. It may be time for Cisco spokesperson Ellen Page to get a new gig. Erica and I also discussed the fact that by feeding the iPad 2's video mirror into a capture device, such as an Elgato Video Capture, it would be possible to grab fairly high quality movies of an iPad screen for training or demonstration purposes. Video mirroring FTW!
Apple's retail arm aids Japanese employees after earthquake
Earlier today, Kevin Rose published a set of emails he's received that really shine a light on how far Apple has gone to help out those in need during the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake. The account is that of an Apple Store manager somewhere in Tokyo who has been overseeing his store through the disaster. Just after the earthquake, hundreds of people crowded around Apple Stores to use the internet connections (Rose's correspondent suggests that there's a lack of free Wi-Fi in Japan, making the Apple Stores natural gathering places). Using Skype and FaceTime, victims were able to contact family members and even regroup at the stores. According to the letters, Apple retail stores in Japan have become a sort of safe haven for lots of Apple employees (both retail and corporate) and their families since the quake hit. Apple Japan has been footing the bill for food, water, supplies and even hotel rooms for those in need, stating that their "safety is most important." As public transportation systems have been mostly down, Apple has offered to pay for any and all expenses that may occur should an employee attempt to travel back home through alternate means. This is why I love this company: Apple gets it. Money isn't everything -- people are. That's what's important, and it's good to see them following through on that belief.
Apple posts iPad 2 guided tour videos
Although the iPad 2 is launching in two days, Apple wants to make sure that you're filled with knowledge for March 11th. Sure, we showed you pretty much everything you wanted to know about the company's second slate, but if you want more, they've got you covered. You can feast your eyes on demos of Garageband, FaceTime, iMovie, as well as other first party apps for the new iPad -- these 14 videos should keep you occupied for a while. If you want to properly prepare yourself for Friday, hit the source link to watch them all.
Using Personal Hotspot for FaceTime over 3G
If you've used a Novatel Wireless MiFi 3G Hotspot for Wi-Fi connectivity on the go, you know that it's basically like having a Wi-Fi router that you can carry with you anywhere. That means that anything that works on Wi-Fi -- including FaceTime video calling -- works over the 3G internet connection provided by the MiFi. Beginning next Friday anybody with an iPhone running iOS 4.3 will have that Personal Hotspot capability running on their devices. Of course, your carrier will need to enable that capability and you'll probably need to sign up for a special Personal Hotspot data plan, but the Personal Hotspot functionality is now going to be built into your iPhone. This means that you could set up Personal Hotspot on one iPhone to create your zone of Wi-Fi connectivity, then others can connect their iPhones to your Personal Hotspot. When they do so, they're connecting via Wi-Fi and can make FaceTime connections. How does FaceTime actually work over a 3G internet connection? Back when FaceTime was new, my fellow blogger Erica Sadun and I checked it out over my MiFi (running on the Sprint 3G network). We found that it actually worked quite well, up to a point. If you tried to move the camera much, the image quickly degraded and eventually the FaceTime connection failed. However, when we were simply talking to each other and not moving our phones around (i.e., keeping the background image still), FaceTime worked nicely. Apple wants you to use a real Wi-Fi connection with FaceTime. That is, they want you to be using Wi-Fi with a broadband connection behind it, not a measly 3G wireless connection. On the other hand, isn't it cool to know that within a week, you and your friends can set up your own Wi-Fi hotspots for connecting your Macs, iPads, and iPhones over FaceTime? [via MacStories]
Apple now owns FaceTime.com
Apple debuted its FaceTime video calling service when it launched the iPhone 4 in June 2010. The Cupertino company faced a potential trademark conflict with FaceTime Communications, a company that delivers a unified communications platform for enterprise businesses. Rather than fight the company over the trademark, Apple negotiated an agreement with FaceTime Communications to obtain the rights to the name. The company recently changed its name to Actiance and transferred the trademark, as well as the domain name of Facetime.com, to Apple. Though under its possession, the domain does not yet point to an Apple-created website. Interestingly enough, Apple still does not own the iPad.com domain name, though it owns a trademark for the term.
iPad 2 cameras set for FaceTime
Now that the new iPad is confirmed to have both a front- and a rear-facing camera, the iPad joins the iPhone, iPod touch and Mac as a FaceTime-capable device. The new iPad front-facing camera features VGA quality video at 30 frames per second, which is the main camera people will use during FaceTime chats, but presumably the iPad 2 FaceTime program, like the iPhone 4 FaceTime, will support camera rotation. The rear camera on the iPad features HD-quality video at 720p resolution. No word on whether a Windows version of desktop FaceTime is in the works.
The iPad 2
Apple has just made its second-generation iPad official! It features a 1GHz dual-core A5 chip and, finally, cameras, both on the front and rear. The new CPU is said to be up to twice as fast, with graphics performance up to nine times better than on the original iPad, while power requirements have been kept the same. Battery life is, consequently, unaltered, with Apple promising 10 hours. Pricing, too, has been left unchanged, starting at $499 for a 16GB WiFi-only iPad 2 and stretching up to $829 for a WiFi + 3G SKU with 64GB of storage. The new tablet will come with an HDMI output capable of 1080p -- which will set you back $39 for the requisite dongle, called an Apple Digital AV Adapter -- but there will sadly be no rumblings of Thunderbolt connectivity here. What you will get is an enlarged speaker grille on the back, as expected, and the same 1024 x 768 resolution and IPS LCD screen technology as on the original iPad.Update: We've gotten our first hands-on with the iPad 2 and, boy oh boy, it's fast!720p video recording at 30fps will be on tap from the rear-facing camera, which can also do a 5x digital zoom if you're into that kind of thing, whereas the front-facing imager will record at a more modest VGA resolution, also at 30fps.There's a new cover for the device, which is best defined by Steve Jobs himself: "We designed the case right alongside the product. It's not a case -- it's a cover." Basically, it's a magnetic flap that protects the front and automatically wakes and puts the device to sleep according to whether it's open or closed. Guess we know what that proximity sensor was about now. These Smart Covers will cost $39 in plastic or $69 if you opt for leather.The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor, at a mind-melting 8.8mm, and a little lighter at just over 600g, while paintjob options have been expanded: you'll get a choice between white and black. It'll be available on both AT&T and Verizon, and all variants start shipping on March 11th. Apple Retail Stores will start sales at the unusual hour of 5PM, which will probably make online pre-orders the fastest way to get yours.%Gallery-118170%In terms of new software, Apple's launching iOS 4.3 alongside the new iPad and bringing with it much improved Safari performance as well as FaceTime, Photo Booth, iMovie and GarageBand (the latter two costing $4.99 a piece) apps specifically for the newly camera-enriched iPad. Personal Hotspot capabilities are also arriving in the latest version of the OS, but they'll be exclusive to the iPhone 4, so you won't be able to share your 3G iPad's connection. The minimum compatible version of iTunes for the new iPad 2 will be the freshly released 10.2.%Gallery-118177%You'll find Apple's official PR and some slick promo videos below, or you can keep your mouse clicking and check out our first hands-on with the iPad 2.
Apple iOS 4.3 coming March 11 with iPad 2, includes new AirPlay features and FaceTime
Along with the iPad 2, Apple's releasing the final version of iOS 4.3, which features the Nitro Javscript engine from Safari on OS X, new iTunes Home Sharing features that let you play content from desktop iTunes over WiFi, and the updated suite of AirPlay features from the betas -- including the ability for App Store apps to share audio and video. Apple's also finalizing the new option that lets you assign the side switch to either rotation lock or mute, and it's adding Personal Hotspot support. There's also those rumored iOS versions of Photo Booth and FaceTime for the new cameras. It'll be a free download for all iPads, the GSM iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS and the third- and fourth-gen iPod touch when it's released on March 11. When will it hit the Verizon iPhone 4? We don't know yet. %Gallery-118175%
So what works with FaceTime?
Apple comes to the rescue with a KnowledgeBase posting that will give you all the details on what systems are capable of using FaceTime. As you may know, FaceTime HD is a new feature of the just released MacBook Pro line, and Apple has taken FaceTime for the rest of us out of beta and made it a US $0.99 app. While the HD feature of FaceTime is built into the just-released laptops because of an updated higher resolution camera, it doesn't mean those with older equipment are out of the game. Apple says you need Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or above to send a standard definition call. Many, but not all older Macs can view a call in HD, but Apple says it requires a minimum download bandwidth of 1 Mbps. Check out the specifics after the break. [via The Mac Observer]
Apple FaceTime for Mac finally out of beta, available on the Mac App Store for $0.99
After a lengthy four-month beta trial, Apple's decided that it's about time to make FaceTime for Mac available to the masses, meaning any Mac user can finally do video chat with other Mac or iOS users. Unlike the app's free iOS counterpart, though, you'll have to chip in $0.99 on the Mac App Store for some enlarged video chat sessions. But hey, it's totally worth it, especially if you have a 27-inch screen to play with. [Thanks, kariminal]
iOS 4.3 beta suggests 1-megapixel camera for iPad 2
Adding to the growing collection of iPad 2 rumors, 9to5 Mac has done a bit of digging into the latest SDK to find a listing that says the iPad 2 will have a back-facing 1-megapixel camera. This is only slightly higher quality than the camera in the current-generation iPod touch. The front is suppose to be a VGA camera, just like the one in the iPhone 4 and iPod touch. Sources have told the site that K94, the name of the folder where the listing was found in the SDK, is the iPad 2's codename. As some of our commenters pointed out in Erica Sadun's recent wishlist, the purpose of the back camera might simply be for better augmented reality apps, or for use in Facetime to take a quick casual shot of your surroundings. As another commenter suggested, it would also be useful for taking inventory in a retail environment or scanning any number of barcodes -- and you wouldn't need a lot of megapixels for that. Of course, like everything else released lately, this is still just a rumor. We won't know for sure until the magic unveiling sometime within the next couple months. [via Engadget]
iOS 4.3 rumored to have PhotoStream service, iPad FaceTime, PhotoBooth apps
They're not just rumors any more, or Apple's setting us up for a big April Fools Day. The developer release of iOS 4.3 Beta 2 has a home page icons image that's used in the wallpaper settings, showing the standard icons on your choice of wallpaper to show you how your choice will look. This new overlay file, aptly named Home Screen Overlay Facetime ~ iPad, has three more icons: FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth. FaceTime will let iPad 2 owners video chat with their iPod touch, iPhone or Mac toting friends. PhotoBooth will make a lot of social photo sharers happy, as the beta already includes photo filters such as Thermal Camera, Mirror, X-Ray, Kaleidoscope, Light Tunnel, Squeeze, Twirl and Stretch. Camera could mean a front- or rear-facing camera, and will presumably work much like the iPhone or iPod touch app, but the big rumor here is a "photo streaming" service called PhotoStream, which will upload your last 30 days of photos to MobileMe and sync them across all your MobileMe devices, so they can be shared with other people. Taking pictures with your iPhone 4's great camera but sharing them around the table on your iPad or MacBook is a common wish. This rumor gives all of us something to look forward to, not just the iPad 2 dreamers. [Via MacRumors]
iPad camera apps discovered in iOS 4.3 beta, nobody surprised
Oh look, even more evidence that the next generation iPad will be equipped with cameras. The image above showing the three new iPad apps was discovered in the iOS 4.3 beta 2 by MacRumors. To be effective, the iPad's Camera and FaceTime apps would require both back- and front-facing cameras just like the iPhone 4. The Photo Booth app is new to iOS but already ships on Macs running OS X -- it could, presumably, use either camera to record snapshots (with filters) and video. And really, at this point, with such overwhelming evidence the only surprise would be for Apple to announce a new iPad without a camera.
