Thanks, Father Steve, for keeping iPhone 4 Facetime video calling locked to Wi-Fi (for now)

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 09 June 2010 01:30

Your IT - Mobility

iTWire contributor Renai LeMay has beseeched Apple's CEO Steve Jobs to let the iPhone 4 Facetime video conferencing capability to be unlocked for use over Telstra's 3G network, but I'm thankful it's locked to Wi-Fi, and here's why, guys. 

iTWire contributor Renai LeMay is calling upon Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, to let Telstra users in Australia use the new Facetime iPhone 4 Wi-Fi videocalling capability over Telstra's 'Next G' 3.5G HSPA network.

He goes into all the reasons why in a lusciously written 5 page article entitled 'Please Father Steve, unlock Telstra iPhone video calling', but, to put it delicately, Renai misses the point completely.

If anyone has a 3G phone, ask yourself when was the last time you really made a video call.

Ask yourself how many video calls you have truly ever made, unless you had very specific reasons to make such calls on a regular basis, as has been possible in Australia through 3 Mobile since 2003 (and over time, since then, all local telco companies).

There's a reason why video calls aren't very popular, and that's because, for the most part, they suck. They suck really bad in a way that is, well, totally anathema to what Apple effectively strives and stands for.

Today's 3G video calls are like looking at a slightly bigger than postage stamp-sized Internet Real Player video from 1997 or something, limited as they are to a 64kbps stream that easily breaks up with movement, becoming a deliciously delightful blurry mess of unwatchability, while simultaneously delivering all the horror of biting into a rotten apple. 

Sure, if you keep still, you can get a clear picture, but beyond that, why bother making expensive video calls on your mobile phone when you can make Skype video calls free of charge?

Skype video calls aren't limited to 64kbps of bandwidth as 3G video calls are, just as Skype's audio calls aren't limited to the 8kbps sound quality of regular telephone lines, either. Thus, Skype's video and audio quality, which are travelling over IP, can reach much higher quality levels than a traditional phone, landline or mobile, is able to deliver.

Sure, there's no revolution in Skype video calls over IP, video calls that are, with 2 megapixel cameras, able to deliver 'HQ' video that is 8 times sharper than regular webcam video, requiring a dual-core processor and an upload speed of at least 384kbps. It's been available for a while. On your desktop or portable computer which usually has a pretty tough time fitting into your pocket.

 

Lock on to page two to unlock some more of the reasons why the Wi-Fi lock-in is a stroke of luck for us all... please read on.