Front-facing camera: mostly a gimmick?

[Koato]

Sounds like you've been on Chat Roulette lol

lol oh god.. never,

Though it would be funny to have someone deserving pick up a videocall...

and BAM theres my ass "Kiss it you lying sonofab****!"

 

[sabindaman]

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.

Over a 3G connection the video quality is comparable to being on broadband. At least with SD skype video calls. I regularly tether my blackberry to skype with my gf and neither she or I are able to notice any difference. You would be surprised how little bandwidth skype actually uses. I once was stuck in a cinder block storage building all night for work. The walls were so thick that the campus wifi couldn't get in. I busted out my storm and tethered it and we video chatted for an hour and a half and the whole thing took under 200mb

 

[TifaLockheart]

I, for one, would not buy another smartphone without having a front facing camera. Just a deal breaker for me. Kinda like my next car must come with a plug. This is why I am holding out for the Thunderbolt over the Droid X, etc.
I am sure for most people it isn't such a big deal.

 

[Koato]

I, for one, would not buy another smartphone without having a front facing camera. Just a deal breaker for me. Kinda like my next car must come with a plug. This is why I am holding out for the Thunderbolt over the Droid X, etc.
I am sure for most people it isn't such a big deal.

FFVII = God.

 

[Harreh]

I have no computer of any kind.

I wish i could go without one, Chrisy...lol

 

[66dude]

I will be a heavy user of the FFC because I am deaf and rely on sign language to understand what others are saying. I do have a cochlear implant and can hear speech, but quite a few times, especially on the phone, I cannot understand what is being said to me.