The New York Times
first used the word “FaceTime” on June 8th, 2010. The first article
using the word “FaceTime” was titled “New iPhone 4 Adds a Camera for Video
Chats”, and it did exactly that. This was one day after Steve Jobs announced
the iPhone 4, equipped with the brand new software, iOS 4. In the beginning,
FaceTime was only supported on the iPhone 4, but this soon led to iPods, iPads,
and laptops with OS X.
Introducing FaceTime was one distinct way in which the
designers were trying to set the iPhone apart from other phones. This video
calling feature was special to Apple products. Soon after the announcement of
the creation of FaceTime, the creators of Skype voiced their desire to work
with Steve Jobs to create an app allowing FaceTime on one device to connect
with Skype on another, potentially non-Apple device. I found this extremely
interesting because that was in 2010, and four years later FaceTime and Skype
are still incompatible with one another. I wonder if this is intentional, as an
attempt to keep Apple products separate from others that may be considered to
be very similar.
When FaceTime was first released, it required Wi-Fi to
perform video chats. However, with models supported by iOS 6 or later, FaceTime
can be used away from Wi-Fi (given that there is cellular network available).
In the article “New iPhone 4 Adds a Camera for Video Chats”, it is mentioned
that the manufacturers look forward to a time in the future when using FaceTime
without Wi-Fi is possible. It’s interesting to look at a article from 2010 and
see that even though it took a couple years to launch FaceTime into a world of
cellular networks, it was a plan even when FaceTime was first announced.
I found it interesting that FaceTime and Skype "work" together by staying somewhat separate. Especially since they are so alike, I would expect them to be constantly trying to outdo each other. I personally prefer Skype over FaceTime because I find it odd holding my phone in front of my face.. Which do you prefer?
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