Hints And Tips For iPhone 4 Video Calling With Facetime

When the iPhone 4 was first released, one of the many features many users were intrigued about was FaceTime, Apple's Wi-Fi video calling application. The feature wasn't the first in the market, for example the HTC Evo 4G had a similar feature with it's front-facing camera capabilities as well but it was still something that many people didn't have experience with. After playing around with the feature ourselves we found some tips and tricks that people can use to enhance their video calling experience.

One of the many interesting things many people might not know about is the fact that FaceTime calls over Wi-Fi work with Airplane Mode enabled. You need to have the phone number of the recieving iPhone 4 and connect at least once via voice call in order to establish that devices on both ends are indeed iPhone 4s. After the connection is estabished, you can hit Airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi only and still make FaceTime calls. Have any of you had the opportunity to make FaceTime calls from an airplane with Wi-Fi service? (Virgin America comes to mind here)

Users can FaceTIme over 3G using a MyFi and Overdrive. If you are one of the lucky people to have a Verizon or Sprint MyFi or Overdrive mobile broadband router than you can FaceTime using the device as your Wi-Fi hotspot. Depending on the strength of your wireless connection, your FaceTime call should work appropriately. One thing we did notice was that the call was dropped when there was lots of motion on one end or the other. This could be due to quick use of a large amount of bandwidth due to changing all of the pixels on the screen.

Hold the phone up to avoid bad picture angles. Many people hold the phone lower than their face and that results in weird angled video and a perfect angle at looking inside someone's nose. Unless that is the purpose of your video call, you might want to hold your phone up or look down appropriately to make sure you are seeing each other face to face instead of showing someone the insides of your nose.

Are you addicted to video calling already? If so, you might find yourself talking for long periods of time. After some time of talking though, you might notice your arm getting tired for holding up the iPhone 4 for suc a long time. One of the things you can consider is geting a stand to put your iphone on top of so that you don't have to hold it. You don't have to go out of your way to get a special case with a kick-stand or anything, in many cases 99 cent Rubbermaid business card holders can often do the same trick and it can be picked up at most office supply stores. Once you pop the iPhone onto it you should be good to go for a while or at least until your battery runs out.

You can also use the back-facing camera that many people seem to forget about. The front-facing camera is definitely a novelty on the iPhone 4, because of it many users forget that you can show the person you are calling what's on the other side of the phone as well. One the FaceTime screen you'll see a little icon that lets you switch between the two cameras. Don't forget that you can use it to keep each other entertained or show someone more than just yourself without tilting the iphone 4 around.

Keep an eye out for bright light in the background that can cause horrible video quality. Although the iPhone 4 is probably the best camera Apple has ever delivered it still has its downsides, bright light being one of them. If there is bright light in the background, it underexposes the foreground object, most often your face. If you just move the position of your device, you can omit the background brightness and make the main object much more visible.

The above mentioned points were just a few things that we experienced during our video calling sessions. There are a couple of things to also keep in mind, if you are one of the people who haven't had an opportunity to try out FaceTime with your iPhone 4, you can call 1-888-FACETIME from your iPhone to have an instructive session with an Apple employee.

More recently, we also posted about a video calling alternative as well, Fring. The company used the software necsesary to update their application allowing two-way video calling utilizing the front-facing camera as well. The difference? Fring allows you to make calls not only on Wi-Fi but also over the 3G network AND you can make video-calls with users who own other devices with video calling capabilities, such as the HTC Evo 4G. If you are interested in checking out Fring for your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS, check it out at iTunes by clicking here.

If you have an interesting experience with video calling, share them by posting a comment below!

Fring Now Has Two Way Video Calling Over Multiple Mobile Platforms

Apple has introduced incredible new features with the iPhone 4 and FaceTime that developers can now tap into in regards to Two Way Video Calling and Fring has jumped to tackle the opportunity right away. Back in December Fring added video calling support but the lack of a camera on the front limited video calls to one-way calls only. This was the case until the iPhone 4 came along and brought us a front-facing camera. Now Fring has updated their application to work both ways (works similar to FaceTime). Yep, that's right, video calling without FaceTime and with multiple devices. You can't expect everything to run extremely smooth with video streaming, but the fact it can be done over 3G and Wi-Fi and that ir brings iPhone 4 and 3GS users together without FaceTime makes it pretty impressive. Furthermore, you can also have these video calls with users on other devices including Android based phones and Nokia phones. Here is what Fring had to say:

With the new fring for iPhone you get lots of fring goodies including 2 way video-calling where you want and with whom you want!

- Face-to-face video calls with friends on their Droids, Nokia (Symbian S60) and other iPhones
- Video calls over 3G or Wi-Fi (Performance over 3G is subject to mobile operators' 3G coverage & quality)

The newest update makes the application available for iOS 4 multitasking and includes a new social stream as well as a new address book update. The iTunes link can be found here.

Next Gen iPod Touch Coming This September; Brings 5MP Camera + Facetime

Earlier today, a leading UK retailer slipped some details on what it expects from the next-gen iPod Touch and the iPhone 4 holds many of the clues. According to John Lewis who says "noises we're hearing from suppliers," the next-gen device will come equipped with a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing camera, an LED flash, and the capacity to capture video in HD (720p probably), as well as including FaceTime Wi-FI video chat. With support for iOS 4 (which should also be hitting the iPad relatively soon), the next gen iPod Touch will offer the same movement sensors as the iPhone 4. Everything seems pretty reasonable and pretty accurate as games and other titles designed to take advantage of the iPhone's new accelerometer and gyroscope will be hitting the App Store, requiring the hardware to be able to support the features to be a contender.

This whole rumor suggests that the device will probably be powered by the A4 processor that Apple utilizes in it's iPad and iPhone 4 as well. With the iTunes cloud rumor in the air, the possibility of the iPod Touch supporting 3G is still there but highly doubtful at the same time as it would imply support for VoIP and we aren't sure Apple wants to hurt their iPhone sales. That being said, this suggests that some elements of portability will exist in the iTunes cloud service, so that users can carry some tracks with them when their devices are offline (a common feature found in Spotify, MOG, and others). Apple's next music event is probably going to be held in time for the holiday shopping season, most likely early September. Will iOS-enabled Apple TV also make an appearance? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more info on the topic by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Apple Working On Cloud Capable iTunes

News of iTunes receiving a big upgrade late this summer introducing cloud capability have been running rampant recently. The update isn't exactly a surprise for anyone as such a development has been widely anticipated for what seems like forever now but there are still doubts about a September rollout. A Boy Genius Report indicates the new cloud capabilities for iTunes will be partitioned into three groups:

1. Streaming music and movies from Apple's servers to your computers, devices, etc.
2. Streaming music and movies from your home computers to your other computers, remote devices, etc.
3. Wireless iTunes syncing with devices.

Although all these features sound good, getting them up and working might take Apple longer then expected because some of them includes issues beyond Apple's control that can continue to delay the iTunes update. An example of these issues include, licenses that Apple will need to obtain from a variety of content providers, including the top four music labels in the US. Although the company has been hard at work on the major iTunes tweaks since last Winter, it is possible that Google's rumored and much discussed iTunes competitor (streaming music, with songs for download) could be released before iTunes gets the cloud capability that everyone has been anticipating.

Source Code For Hulu Site Reveals Hulu Plus For PlayStation 3

Recently, Technologizer discovered a line in the source code for the Hulu website which indicates that the company is planning on releasing Hulu Plus for the Playstation 3 console and that you will need PlayStation Plus on top of your Hulu Plus subscription to enjoy the features it has to offer. It does add up to an extra bit of money if you add up the $18 for three months or $50 annually on top of the $10 monthly Hulu Plus fee, but still is cheaper than or equivalent to any other game console thus far. It is an all streaming app as well, unlike Netflix which for the most part still relies on those discs. Further down in the source code, there is another hint of Hulu developing an app for the PlayStation 3. Check out the code below:

Hulu Plus Beta Now Available on iTunes For iPhone and iPad

One of the most popular video platforms on the web for watching TV shows, Hulu, has just announced that it will be launching a new subscription service named “Hulu Plus.” The service will be available for the iPad and the iPhone and can be used over Wi-Fi or 3G, with the ability to stream 720P. Currently, Samsung Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players will be able to join in on the fun, whereas Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are said to be supported in the future. Here is a quote from the announcement:

Watch every episode aired from the current season of top shows from ABC, NBC and FOX. Never miss an episode throughout the season.

Catch up on every episode of every season from many of TV's greatest shows. Over 120 seasons and 2,000 episodes of rich library content—that's thousands of hours of entertainment.

The app itself is actually Free on iTunes for the iPhone and for the iPad and it also offers a number of goodies. There is an obvious difference between the free version and the premium one. The premium service is said to have a subscription fee of $9.99 a month and it will grant suscribers access to popular TV shows such as 24, 30 Rock, Family Guy, House, and The Office. Hulu has a full list of content available here.

OnLive Gaming Service Launches - Offers One Year Free Subscription

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The OnLive, online gaming service has finally made its official debut. The service has been in beta and available for a select number of users since September 2009, and has now officially begun activating new accounts to the general public. As an incentive to gage interest and increase subscriber numbers, gamers who sign up between now and July 15th will receive one free year of service, after which the cost will be $4.95 per month.Beta testers will receive the same subscription offer with a free game thrown in as a bonus. Before any of you start getting excited over the thought of one year of free gaming, this one year offer is only for the monthly subscription but does NOT include the cost of games which will range from $5 to $55. The titles include Assassin’s Creed 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Mass Effect 2, NBA 2K10, DiRT 2, and more. If you are still interested in the service and you have an Intel Mac or Windows PC with a broadband Internet connection, then head on over to OnLive and sign up for the free trial. If you do, let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!

Flash Ported for iPhone; Coming To Jailbroken iDevices Soon

Developer of the Spirit Jailbreak utility, Comex, recently tweeted a video showing Adobe Flash working on the iPhone. He stated in the video description that this is "preliminary" as cab be seen by minor graphical glitches on the scree, but it does open and execute Flash based sites with no problems.

Apple's decision to ditch Flash has led quite a few developers to work on their own workarounds to get Flash content working on the iPhone. Some of the most notable workarounds include iMobileCinema, a Safari plugin that has been around for a while that attempts to play video content embedded in Flash, Gordon and Smokescreen, two Flash interpreters written entirely in Javascript (which iOS and MobileSafari handle just fine), Flash In A Pinch and CloudBrowser, which actually render Flash content on a remote server, then stream down the images and sound of the webpage to your iDevice. However, none of these workarounds could really be considered a "Flash player" considering the limitations that each solution has in place.

No other information has been released yet about the availability. It is also unknown at this point if this project is to be eventually worked into Safari as its own plugin or if it will have to stay as a standalone app. This project, should it come to fruition, would be the first real Flash player for iPhone, and comex has already proven his skill by releasing the first ever untethered 3G S/G3 iTouch jailbreak.

Check out the video below:

E3 2010 Livestream Partnerships Created - YouTube To Allow Livestreaming Soon?

E3 2010 will begin next week, the place where the world's leading videogame makers and a heaping number of fans and press will unite for the event. The event is generally regarded as the most prominent annual gaming-focused news event, and this year, fans will be able to watch live, thanks to two live stream that are being broadcasted. One is a partnership between Youtube and gaming portal IGN and the other is a partnership between Ustream partnering up with G4 and 1UP.

IGN has been covering E3 for a long time now but this is new territory for YouTube, which has been gradually increasing the number of live streaming efforts over the past year. YouTube live streams primarily focused on political events in the past but since then have included a handful of concerts, the Tiger Woods press conference, and the Indian Premier League's cricket tournament.

More recently, there was found evidence of a live stream button available on some YouTube accounts. Ma Haot, the CEO of Livestream, felt that the button was "strong evidence" that YouTube has plans to launch a live streaming feature in the future. We'll be a bit surprised if the company does launch a live streaming option for individuals in the near future due to huge liability issues but clearly the site isn't afraid of working with trusted partners, and we expect to see more deals like this one in the future.

Stay tuned for coverage on the E3 expo by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

[WWDC] Official Netflix Release for iPhone Coming This Summer

For those of you who have been using the previously announced Netflix iPad app on their iPhone, its time to rejoice. Reed Hastings from Netflix announced at WWDC that an official iPhone Netflix app is coming this summer. With features such as the ability to pick up your viewing place from iPad to iPhone (and probably vice versa as well), search, and instant que. Hastings mentioned Netflix taking advantage of Apple's bitrate technology which allows seamless switching between networks.

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Simplify Media Bought By Google

Several people might have been wondering what happened to Simplify Media, the well regarded software that offers your Mac access to your DRM-free music and photos via iTunes, an iPhone, or iPod touch. In March, the company stated it was "heading in a different direction," which turned out to be a sale to Google. The Simplify Media app was removed from the app store, and the ability to share your iTunes library with others was removed. The sale was announced this morning at the Google I/O conference. Google intends to use the product on Android Phones, and it will be a component part of an iTunes-type of service that is in development. For those of you who doubted Google offering competition for Apple, this should remove it. Competition is good and this will definitely be interesting to watch. The sad part is that Simplify Media for the Mac is likely gone for good.

ABC Player for iPad Updated; Now Allows 3G Streaming

If you are one of the people who got their hands on a new iPad 3G and have already downloaded the ABC Player for iPad app, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the app has been updated to support video streaming over 3G. The improvements represents a substantial update that survived Apple's difficult-to-predict process.With ABC moving to the forefront of 3G video streaming so quickly, its a safe bet that this move will prompt others to do the same rather quickly.

If you still haven't experienced the ABC Player app, it is a free download that enables iPad owners to check out a variety of ABC television programming directly from their tablet. You can searc for particular episodes (and watch in an on-demand fashion), log a viewing history, and even come back to a show and pick up everything right where you stopped.

Of course, the update brings a smile to the faces of many iPad fanatics today, as ABC and a forthcoming slate of other multimedia powerhouses dabble with video streaming over 3G, more and more providers of digital content will help ensure that the iPad lives up to its potential and bestow upon users the variety of entertainment choices they expect to find on an iPad.

ABC Amongst Many Sites Where Video Doesn't Stream On iPad 3G

 

ABC's iPad app is one of the many apps that currently won't work over 3G because it doesn't use the HTTP Live Streaming protocol. According to App Advice, video producers who don't use this specific format aren't allowed by Apple to stream the video over 3G.

Here is some of the info from Apple's HTTP Live Streaming Overview:

iPhone and iPad apps that send large amounts of audio or video data over cellular networks are required to use HTTP Live Streaming. [...]

You must include a low quality stream of no more than 64 Kbps for your app to resort to when network conditions demand it, along with the higher quality streams you want to deliver to your customers when the network can support it.

This could also account for the poor quality seen in many movie trailers (64Kbps is half of ISDN speed) and other video content that was streamed over 3G. AT&T could be throttling bandwidth on http streams to make sure the video traffic doesn't bog down it's system.

Facebook Converts to HTML5; Now Plays Videos on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

New videos on Facebook should finally work on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch using the mobile safari browser as Facebook finally started encoding videos in h264 format. So far Facebook videos did not play on iPhone OS devices as Facebook used Adobe’s Flash, which is not supported.

According to Sarah Perez from ReadWriteWeb, new videos added to Facebook are now being encoded in h264 format that can be played natively on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. However, unlike an HTML5 experience where videos can be played from within the mobile Safari browser, Facebook is providing a link to the video that are loaded in full screen mode, a very similar method to the way iPhone OS devices open YouTube videos. A Facebook representative has told TechCrunch that the company might consider using HTML5 in the future. Despite Facebook’s decision to make it’s web service more iPad friendly, there is still no official word on a dedicated Facebook app for iPad users. MG Seigler, a Facebook representative noted that the company does not have “anything to announce” at this point.

Facebook’s decision to encode videos in h264 is another big blow to Adobe in its attempt to retain the relevance of Flash. This all coming after the successful launch of the iPad in the US, a lot of media companies, including Hulu and The New York Times, have been working on alternate iPad friendly versions of their websites. Adobe’s argument that its platform is ubiquitous on the web may soon become an irrelevant one.

Apple To Offer Streaming Video, Music, And TV

Apple is in talks with major film studios to offer video streaming services to its users. Apple plans for cloud computing, can go well and above music.

In talks with the studios, Apple disclose that iTunes users will have access to a number of Internet- connected devices, preferable the iPad Apples new and up coming tablet.

There was also talk between Apple and some major record company about a similar plan plan involving music. This is a brilliant move by apple, their vision is to build digital shelves where iTunes users can store their media, trying to eliminate the hard drive.

Cramming songs, videos and software takes up lots of storage there are speculations that consumers might do less purchasing due to lack of storage on their hard drives. Apple has been making apparent moves into streaming content with the acquisition of LaLa media and their North Carolina data center, but previous rumors had focused primarily on music streaming.

Let's see where this leads to, follow us on twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up with this story.