Front-facing camera: mostly a gimmick?

[tekhna]

So I've seen a decent number of posts saying this is a big deal to people, but I can't for the life me see why.
Over 3G the picture quality will likely be abysmal, and the screen will be on the whole time, sucking battery like there's no tomorrow.
Over LTE the picture quality might be better due to higher bandwidth, but with the screen on and the 4G radio on it'll suck battery like very little else this phone will be able to do.

The front-facing camera seems like a cool idea, but I can't see it being useful for more than a few minutes at a time, in which case a normal call is probably good enough. And for anything extended, well, I'm never far from my macbook, and I could just tether.
So I just don't get why a front facing camera is a deal-maker or breaker for people. It doesn't seem like useful technology just yet.

 

[Chrisy]

It's not a deal breaker for me but it is a factor. I'm looking forward to FFC and video chatting with my family in others parts of the country.

I'll probably use it infrequently, but it's a nice option to have.

It's the same way I youtube with my fam/friends. I like seeing vids of their newly painted living room and my cousins toddler playing wii.
Video chatting just allows all that live with real time interaction.

 

[tekhna]

It's not a deal breaker for me but it is a factor. I'm looking forward to FFC and video chatting with my family in others parts of the country.

I'll probably use it infrequently, but it's a nice option to have.

It's the same way I youtube with my fam/friends. I like seeing vids of their newly painted living room and my cousins toddler playing wii.
Video chatting just allows all that live with real time interaction.

Sure, but you have a laptop for all that, presumably.

 

[Chrisy]

I have no computer of any kind.

 

[kpageisgreat]

to me its more convenience than anything else. I know I would rather use that at times than use my laptop

 

[Nitros7]

Sure, but you have a laptop for all that, presumably.

I spend a lot of time in airports and really its a bit of a haste to use my laptop, but I would still like to video chat with family and such.

Plus most built in web cams (don't know about the macbook but mine is) are VGA and this is a 1.3 MP cam so for most its an upgrade.

Wouldn't say its a deal-breaker for me at all but I am defiantly going to love having it on my phone... plus most of the time I will be using it over WiFi and truth of the matter is we have know idea what sort of strain LTE will be on the battery, but its a good thing to keep in mind.

 

[FrankXS]

Not a deal breaker for me, but I'm gonna enjoy fooling with it. This will be my first entry into video chat - first time I've really had the incentive to figure it out

OTOH, can you imagine all the data those teenagers are gonna use video chatting with their BF/GFs? For hours on end? Wow. Prolly won't be long before we'll see 20/20 specials on vsexting to go with sexting!

-Frank

 

[Chrisy]

No doubt. I can't wait to try vsexting!

 

[FrankXS]

No doubt. I can't wait to try vsexting!

Ya'know, this brings up another interesting point. I mean, imagine vTelemarketing calls! Haha... There may be a bunch of people taking their number off of the do not call list.

-Frank

 

[Jtron]

I'll probably use it to talk to my daughter regularly. She lives about an hour away and her mom has an iPhone 4 so I'm actually looking forward to this feature.

 

[CallerHoller]

I think it's early adoption. How many people will have FFC on both sides? Even with Skype on laptops?

I remember the first years of SMS. I payed for SMS for a year and sent two messages. Received one. LOL Took around five six more years for it to become viable communication.

 

[FatalErrorz]

So I've seen a decent number of posts saying this is a big deal to people, but I can't for the life me see why.
Over 3G the picture quality will likely be abysmal, and the screen will be on the whole time, sucking battery like there's no tomorrow.
Over LTE the picture quality might be better due to higher bandwidth, but with the screen on and the 4G radio on it'll suck battery like very little else this phone will be able to do.

The front-facing camera seems like a cool idea, but I can't see it being useful for more than a few minutes at a time, in which case a normal call is probably good enough. And for anything extended, well, I'm never far from my macbook, and I could just tether.
So I just don't get why a front facing camera is a deal-maker or breaker for people. It doesn't seem like useful technology just yet.

I use(d) mine to talk to my kid in Iraq all the time. It works fine on 3G, but then again, it's Sprint, and on an Evo. My 3G speeds where I'm at are 1.7Mbps, and my 4G speeds are 10.3Mbps using Speed Test (which is faster than my WiFi). It's not a gimmick, but if you don't use one, I could see where you'd think that.

My kid is in Maine on his way back from Iraq, so I won't need my FFC until my other kid goes to A-Stan in the fall.

 

[tekhna]

I use(d) mine to talk to my kid in Iraq all the time. It works fine on 3G, but then again, it's Sprint, and on an Evo. My 3G speeds where I'm at are 1.7Mbps, and my 4G speeds are 10.3Mbps using Speed Test (which is faster than my WiFi). It's not a gimmick, but if you don't use one, I could see where you'd think that.

My kid is in Maine on his way back from Iraq, so I won't need my FFC until my other kid goes to A-Stan in the fall.

I use videochat every day.. on my laptop.

 

[azdmelani]

No doubt. I can't wait to try vsexting!

I think you just became the most popular female in the forum!

 

[FatalErrorz]

I use videochat every day.. on my laptop.

If I'm home I use my laptop, but when I'm out and about he can call me on my phone, and I can switch to video chat. Once you use it, you'll keep using it. It's like an old app to me and has become second nature - like answering the phone when it rings.

 

[FatalErrorz]

I think it's early adoption. How many people will have FFC on both sides? Even with Skype on laptops?

I remember the first years of SMS. I payed for SMS for a year and sent two messages. Received one. LOL Took around five six more years for it to become viable communication.

The majority of people I know have videochat capabilities in one form or another. Being able to communicate with a puter from the phone is nice. It is already viable unless you're on VZW. Sprint has had ffc's for a year, and so has T-Mobile and AT&T with their iPhones. Just because VZW is behind the times doesn't mean the world is. FFC's have been in Korea and Europe for years.

 

[PhxBlue]

I use the FFC on my 2 other phones to say goodnight to my kids every night when im at work. Brings me great joy.

 

[FatalErrorz]

I use the FFC on my 2 other phones to say goodnight to my kids every night when im at work. Brings me great joy.

The only ones who say it's a gimmick are those who don't have one...

 

[PhxBlue]

Yeah some have no use for it while others do. Opinions are like you whats, everyone has one.

 

[FatalErrorz]

Yeah some have no use for it while others do. Opinions are like you whats, everyone has one.

lol...and most of them stink