4 ms·

Well, in Australia we've had video chat over 3G for about 6 years now. Everyone has a 3G phone (it's standard) and everyone can use video chat. The thing is,

Well, in Australia we've had video chat over 3G for about 6 years now. Everyone has a 3G phone (it's standard) and everyone can use video chat. The thing is, people don't. I've never once received a video call apart from when we all first got them and there was novelty in calling a guy who was sitting 2 metres away from you. Video chat is awkward because it means your contact is on speakerphone so everyone can hear you, and I don't really need to see who I'm talking to anyway.

geocar 16y ago
> Video chat is awkward because it means your contact is on speakerphone so everyone can hear you, About that: You can use an earpiece.
- batiudrami 16y ago
  I assume you can do this with other phones too, though I've never tried it. The video call quality you get over 3G is fairly poor too - iPhone's implementation seems to have much better quality based on the promo videos. However, it still has some major flaws - only to other iPhones (for the moment) and only when you're on Wifi - that requires quite a bit of coordination to make sure the person on the other end is ready for your call. I honestly don't see this catching on - the trend I see is away from actual human interaction (SMS, Facebook updates and IM) rather than towards it.
bad_user 16y ago
And more ... I'm usually talking on the phone when I'm also doing something else ... driving, walking, taking a sh*t (sorry, but it's true) ... those are perfect times to get in touch and have long talks. I'm never standing still unless I work or relax, in which case I don't want to answer phone-calls. Even when I happen to take long bus-drives, it's usually crowded, I'm standing on my feet and I can't hold that phone focused on my face for long (I know because I've been trying to read on my ebook). The only use-case I'd have for video-chat is to talk with my family if I were far away from home, but then a video-call is much more expensive than a regular call (I have hundreds of voice-minutes included for a few bucks per month), and all family members have computers anyway ... which means I prefer using a laptop to also transfer pictures and links or whatever, and Skype is OK for that. I don't know ... maybe with slick phones like iPhone4 and with lower prices on 3G connections it could appeal to me, but not right now that's for sure. And I hope it comes with an open standard, because buying iPhones for every member of the family is expensive.

geocar 16y ago

> Video chat is awkward because it means your contact is on speakerphone so everyone can hear you, About that: You can use an earpiece.

batiudrami 16y ago
I assume you can do this with other phones too, though I've never tried it. The video call quality you get over 3G is fairly poor too - iPhone's implementation seems to have much better quality based on the promo videos. However, it still has some major flaws - only to other iPhones (for the moment) and only when you're on Wifi - that requires quite a bit of coordination to make sure the person on the other end is ready for your call. I honestly don't see this catching on - the trend I see is away from actual human interaction (SMS, Facebook updates and IM) rather than towards it.

bad_user 16y ago

And more ... I'm usually talking on the phone when I'm also doing something else ... driving, walking, taking a sh*t (sorry, but it's true) ... those are perfect times to get in touch and have long talks. I'm never standing still unless I work or relax, in which case I don't want to answer phone-calls. Even when I happen to take long bus-drives, it's usually crowded, I'm standing on my feet and I can't hold that phone focused on my face for long (I know because I've been trying to read on my ebook). The only use-case I'd have for video-chat is to talk with my family if I were far away from home, but then a video-call is much more expensive than a regular call (I have hundreds of voice-minutes included for a few bucks per month), and all family members have computers anyway ... which means I prefer using a laptop to also transfer pictures and links or whatever, and Skype is OK for that. I don't know ... maybe with slick phones like iPhone4 and with lower prices on 3G connections it could appeal to me, but not right now that's for sure. And I hope it comes with an open standard, because buying iPhones for every member of the family is expensive.