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Email-based FaceTime support surfaces in iOS 4.1 beta 3
Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice? Fuhgetaboutit. Apple has a thing for introducing new iPods each fall, and given that the existing touch is being given away gratis with a new student computer (not to mention how long in the tooth it is), we're guessing the tradition will continue in 2010. We'd heard earlier on in the year that Apple may toss FaceTime over to the iPod line whenever it finally gained a front-facing camera, and now the evidence is nearly too strong to ignore. In the latest iOS 4.1 beta (numero three, if you're keeping count), there's an option to connect to a contact via FaceTime by ringing their digits or by pinging their email address. We're guessing that the latter is there mostly for iPod touch users (the ones without Apple Peel 520s, anyway), and it's the most glaring sign yet that the next generation touch will flippin' finally boast a camera (or just a way around that SMS-based activation?). Still, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high -- falling ain't no fun, you know?
FaceTime 3G data consumption tested: about 3MB per minute
The folks over at 9to5Mac have kept up their investigation of FaceTime over 3G with a quick and dirty data usage analysis. Lest you've forgotten, jailbreaking Apple's Quattro permits walled garden escapees to FaceTime each other using dusty old 3G, and now we've got some numbers to show how much of an impact doing so will have on your bandwidth allowance. A 5-minute call resulted in 14.7MB of data transfers -- including both uploading and downloading -- for the 3G-riding iPhone, which breaks down to a rate slightly lower than 3MB per minute. That's not too horrible when you consider some streaming services use that much just to feed you video of England embarrassing itself in global football tournaments. Then again, we'd be remiss not to note that Fring does it at a claimed 1MB a minute and sans the jailbreak -- but who are we to begrudge having more options? [Thanks, Sam]
Motorola-Verizon tablet will have FiOS TV, ten-inch screen?
Sure, we've heard Verizon discuss Android tablets once or twice, but it's just now that we're getting our first real juice about Motorola's companion device. The Financial Times reports that Verizon and Motorola are teaming up on an Android tablet with dual cameras, Adobe Flash support and a ten-inch screen, plus mobile hotspot functionality (which implies Verizon cellular data) and -- get this -- access to pay TV. As it so happens, Moto makes a Verizon FiOS set-top box, and sources tell the Times that the television tablet may get grandfathered in to the very same technology. No word on processing power or price, but the rumor mill says we could see it as early as fall of this year. And given the timing, here's hoping the Android inside will have some Google TV mojo, too.
Sex industry embraces FaceTime, world feigns surprise
When I first saw the iPhone 4 FaceTime demo, I knew it wouldn't take much time before rule 34 took effect. It was inevitable that Apple's video chat tech would be used by the sex industry as a new way to deliver live adult content to customers. Despite Steve Jobs' best efforts to keep the iOS platform porn-free, the sex industry continues to find ways to work around the edges. While the iOS platform may be carefully guarded in terms of adult-oriented applications, there's little Apple can do to make sure your phone calls, chats, videos and Safari browsing stay clean. Truthfully, for iPhone users who are consenting adults, it's not really Apple's business. Joel Schectman of the Associated Press reports that the 3 million+ device iPhone 4 ecosystem is already an attractive target for the porn industry. Porn companies are advertising for model positions specific to FaceTime in at least five different cities on Craigslist. Meanwhile, adult production studios like Pink Visual -- not coincidentally one of the first adult production companies to create an iPad optimized service -- says it will let customers video chat with some of the same models in their videos. Pink Visual's service will be released in the next few weeks and will probably cost around $5 to $6 a minute.
Head-mounted display controls video camera, keeps you painfully single
At the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Satoshi Nariai demonstrates something called the head-mounted Mobile Video Communication System. With acceleration and position sensors built into a head-mounted display, the remote camera moves in relation to your head's movements. The researcher sees this being used primarily for videoconferencing where he thinks it will promote effective communication by allowing eye contact. Of course, there's one problem with that -- if you're both wearing large displays on your face, how could you possibly make eye contact? Unless, of course, you paint eyes onto the outside of the display itself, Loony Tunes-style. That said, it's still an impressive piece of gear. See it in action after the break.
Adobe FlashTime to bring peer-to-peer video calls to Android (video)
With tongue wedged firmly in cheek, Adobe has named its latest little bit of demo software FlashTime and given it a quick spin to whet our appetites. Built using the forthcoming Air 2.5, this peer-to-peer video chat client harnesses your smartphone's camera to get some direct visual communication going with your fellow Android lovers. Okay, so Android users already have other options for doing just this very thing, but the point being made here is that you can do just about anything with Flash, and since it's Flash it'll be easy to port around to other platforms. Skip past the break to see the demo, which has a multipeer chat session with a desktop Mac thrown in for good measure. [Thanks, Faheem] Update: Just for clarification's sake, Adobe's Mark Doherty got in touch with us to say there are no plans to release this little mockup client and that indeed the FlashTime moniker is a mere placeholder. Ah well.
FaceTime video call happens from most remote oceanic point, inspires sailors everywhere
Yeah, this same feat could've been accomplished three centuries ago using an early form of telepathy, an N95 and an insanely long string, but for whatever reason, Apple's FaceTime has managed to encourage all kinds of video chats where there previously were none. Video calling from 35,000 feet? Been there, done that. But video calling from a boat in the single most isolated oceanic point in the world? That's a feat that was just recently tackled by the crew aboard Pegasus, a boat entered into the Pacific Cup 2010 en route to Hawaii from San Francisco. Right around halfway between SF and Honolulu lies a point where no land can be found within 1,000 miles in any direction, and it was there that the ship's captain decided to give colleagues back on the mainland a look at the conditions. Mash play below if you're interested in seeing more, and be sure to drop us a line when someone does something similar from Mars.
ZVRS to support live sign language translation via iPhone 4's FaceTime for calls between deaf and hearing users
While SMS and mobile email are great, they still can't match the emotion, interaction, and intonation of a live conversation with someone -- that's why our phones still ship with microphones and speakers, apparently. Of course, this is much more difficult when one of the parties is deaf or hard of hearing, which is where video relay services come in. With the help of a videophone or your computer's webcam, you can make a call with a live translator, who speaks your signed ramblings out loud to the hearing person on the other end. Of course you're usually stuck at a desk when doing this, but now ZVRS is going to be supporting calls made from the iPhone 4 over FaceTime. It might not be quite as sexy as Apple's goosebump-raising iPhone 4 commercial, since the phone obviously makes two-way sign language calls possible, but if the person on the other end doesn't have an iPhone 4 or doesn't know sign language, ZVRS seems like the next best thing. The new service will launch on July 26th. Check out a video of it in action after the break, the actual call starts at 2:25.
FaceTime video call works beautifully on airplane's in-flight WiFi (video)
Yeah, seriously. While Aircell's Gogo in-flight WiFi service has been blocking VoIP calling services (Skype being the most obvious example) from day one, it's apparently not throwing the same brick wall in the face of Apple's new standard. Our good pals over at TUAW managed to record a (relatively) solid two minute FaceTime conversation with an iPhone 4 owner, and only after you realize that said owner is a few thousand feet above the Earth's surface does this all become a lot more interesting. We know for a fact that certain iPhone 4 owners have had difficulty with FaceTime conversations when using highly firewalled access points (like those found in hotels and corporate offices), but it seems as if seat 16A is cleared for transmission. For now, anyway. Head on past the break to peek the FaceTime ad that Apple forgot to make.
RIM's Blackberry Tablet might be seven inches, feature dual cameras and 1GHz CPU?
The rumor mill's been churning out quite the picture of RIM's Blackberry tablet over the past several months, and it's a research analyst who's most recently picked up the brush -- Ashok Kumar of Rodman & Renshaw, to be precise, who anticipates a 7-inch touchscreen device with a 1GHz processor, plus front- and back-facing cameras for video chat. Since that's a good 1.9 inches smaller than the slate rumored a couple months back, this latest spiel fills us with doubt... but hey, it's not like we had confirmation that RIM was even producing such a device, anyhow. It may be a while before we find out for sure, as Kumar told investors that even should the company succeed in an attempt to move up the schedule, the device still wouldn't launch until the end of the year.
No one to test FaceTime with? Call Apple.
Be it because you have no friends, or simply no friends with an iPhone 4, Apple's got your back if you're looking for a chum to test that curiously intriguing FaceTime feature. Just dial up 1-888-FACETIME (after cleaning yourself up a bit, of course) and hang tight, as a dapper Apple employee will be there in a moment to "show you the basics and a few advanced tips." And don't even try any of those late night shenanigans -- the help line's only open from 8AM to 8PM CDT. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Video Kinect: video chat and stream sharing over Xbox Live and Live Messenger
Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger are about to meet up in a very personal way -- Microsoft has just announced a new video chat service called Video Kinect, which serves as a logical extension of its brand new Kinect voice- and motion-sensing control system. But it's not just video calling, no sir, you'll be able to watch movies, news, sports, and the like together with whoever you're chatting with. Additionally, thanks to a motorized base and a new skeleton-tracking feature, the Kinect unit will also follow users as they move around the room. Yup, not creepy at all.
Motorola selling Droids faster than it can make them, has up to four videophones in pipeline
In case you're not yet convinced that video chat is the next big thing phone makers are going to push on us, let Motorola's Sanjay Jha enlighten you. Having just launched the video-centric Motorola XT720 in Europe (sans a front-facing camera), Jha is promising that his crew will deliver between two and four handsets this year with the equipment necessary to carry out video calls. Funnily enough, Moto's co-CEO describes himself as someone who's "never been a great believer" in the functionality, but clearly his company's seeing a trend it feels the need to be a part of. Speaking of trends, Moto has also fallen afoul of supply shortages similar to those constraining Droid Incredible inventory, with Jha saying about the Moto Droid, "if I could build more, I'd sell more." And if you could get Android 2.2 on them, you'd have some really happy customers too.
Skype hedges on FaceTime compatibility
As we noted on last night's special Talkcast, it seems inevitable that a desktop video-chat service will announce compatibility with Apple's iPhone 4 FaceTime feature sooner rather than later. Since Apple has its own chat tool that includes video, one imagines that iChat will be FaceTime friendly before too long. From the feedback we saw during our chat yesterday, however, that's not what the people want or hope for; overwhelmingly they said "give us Skype." Based on a report from pocket-lint.com, that seemed like it might actually happen. The site quoted a source within Skype who said the VoIP company would "welcome the chance to work with Apple" on bringing mobile video calling to the hordes of Skypers around the world. Hope may have sprung prematurely in this case, though. Electronista checked with a Skype spokesperson who walked the dog back a bit, saying that the company doesn't have any short-term plans for implementing Apple's standards-based video calling protocol, and that the prior comments simply referred to getting the "best possible experience" for video calls. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem here; do developers invest in desktop compatibility for a protocol that hasn't been proven in the field yet, or do they read the writing on the wall for the iPhone 4's likely market impact and get out ahead of the wave? Either way, mobile video chat is coming -- which means, once again, that we are actually livin' in the future.
Skype eager to work with Apple FaceTime, pretty much anyone else
We're still playing the wait-and-see game when it comes to Skype on webOS and Windows Phone 7, but it looks as if to-be iPhone 4 owners won't have to wait long before Skype-based video chatting becomes a reality... if Skype has its way, that is. According to someone on the inside quoted over at Pocket-Lint, Skype "would welcome the opportunity to work with Apple," specifically in reference to integrating FaceTime capabilities into the firm's own app. The mystery man also affirmed that Skype 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." 'Course, there's no specific time frame given, and only Jobs knows if the two companies have said a word to one another about making this happen. One thing's for sure, though -- enabling FaceTime usage within Skype would suddenly made the iPhone 4's video calling abilities a whole lot more appealing. And by "appealing," we mean "useful." Update: Skype hit us with some clarification -- the company wants to make sure you know that it's not interested in using FaceTime across its own platform, but it'd be happy to play nice with Apple in order to add video calling within the Skype iPhone app. Full statement is past the break.
Terror in Taipei: Computex taxi drivers watch live TV, video chat while cruising
It's a Christmas miracle that Joanna and I survived the week in Taipei. Not because our brains nearly exploded from the wealth of non-functioning Windows 7 tablets we saw, but because most of our cab drivers found themselves -- um, preoccupied -- while on the job. Over here, deep within a WiMAX hotspot, it's not uncommon to see cabbies video chatting and watching live local TV over-the-air while driving, and since you'd never believe me sans pics, I've got a handful of those as proof. Call it culture shock, or call it reckless -- we're calling it "America needs to get with the program and catch up to Asia."%Gallery-94369%
Qik details its premium service tier, free until July 15 (video)
Remember how we said Qik was going to rock your world (and your credit card) with its premium-tier offerings for the Evo 4G? Well, as promised, June 4 is here and we now know exactly what you'll be getting for your extra $5 a month. The full table of goodies is after the break, but highlights include video conferencing at resolutions greater than 640 x 480, unlimited archiving of video, the ability to send video mail, and of course "priority support" should you have a problem handling the Qikening. The updated version of the app, demonstrated in a video below, is available today for the Evo 4G and users can get a taste of those sweet, exclusive features for free until July 15. After that, it's time to pay up or take the trip back to VGA Chatsville. Don't have an Evo? There's also a new version of Qik in the Market for lesser Android smartphones, but video chat is still not on offer.
Qik two-way video calling on the Sprint EVO 4G is free, premium service is not
Qik has lived up to its name in clarifying some leaks indicating that future EVO 4G owners on Sprint will be charged $5 a month to make use of its video chat services. As it turns out, that subscription fee will be for a new range of "advanced premium features," which will be elucidated on June 4 alongside the EVO's retail launch. The core two-way video calling will come absolutely free, we're promised, and only those yearning for extra features will have to pay up. It seems clear from the wording of that statement that multi-party conversations will figure prominently in the premium set, though we're left guessing at what other ways Qik has for seducing us to part with our cash. Either way, good news if you wanted to keep things simple... and cheap. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Qik charging $5 monthly for EVO 4G video chat (updated)
Last we thought, that mandatory $10 "premium data add-on" for Sprint's EVO 4G would additionally include YouTube and Qik video chat, and well, we may have been only half right. The gang at Android Guys have what's alleged to be a scan from Sprint's training materials, and according to one image, Qik's gonna cost you another $4.99 monthly via PayPal (not through the carrier) to use. We've reached out to see if we can confirm, but if true, it's a bit of a bummer to see the premiums continuing to add up. At least Fring's Skype video is still free, and as you can see in the video after the break, it works pretty well. Update: We're now privy to the official May 26th edition of the Evo 4G launch guide and can confirm the $4.99 fee. While Sprint hasn't said anything publicly, it's looking like that fee will stick saving a last minute call from the governor. Update 2: Qik has come out and clarified that the $5 fee will be for "advanced premium features," and two-way video calling will be completely and utterly free. That's what we like to hear. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Engadget: Sam Mendes shooting Apple ads, video chat to be featured
Here's another juicy iPhone rumor. Engadget reports that American Beauty director Sam Mendes will be shooting the next batch of Apple ads, and at least one will feature video chat. Quoting some rather telling tweets, Engadget has put together that auditions are underway. An actress posted the message you see above, in which she's praying for a role in "a F***ing Apple commercial," while another tweet from a different actor reads, "off to a commercial audition for Apple." In addition, Engadget paraphrases "a trusted source" by saying that at least one ad will feature a mother and daughter talking via video chat with their iPhones, giving further credence to the front-facing camera that appeared in the prototypes that Gizmodo and Tinhte recently showed off. Are you excited? We are. See you on the 7th!
