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FacePlant brings FaceTime chat status and visual voicemail to the iPhone 4
So, you've got a new iPhone 4, and you love FaceTime, but you're finding it's just not that useful. It's hard to know when friends are actually going to be on Wi-Fi and available to take a FaceTime call, so you've stopped using it after those first giddy test calls. It sounds like you need FacePlant!This free app with a silly name was produced by the team behind the successful 12seconds video app, and it makes FaceTime calls a lot simpler to arrange.
FacePlant shows you when your friends are available for FaceTime, and it lets you leave a video voicemail for them when they're not. Sure, audio voicemail comes with the iPhone, but who else is doing it with video? This idea is novel and pretty cool, even if you wouldn't necessarily use it regularly.
The downside to FacePlant is that your friends also have to have it installed in order for you to see their availability. I definitely think you should start inviting them right away; FacePlant is a good idea that I suspect Apple will eventually copy in some form, and everyone with an iPhone 4 should start using it.
FacePlant hasn't launched publicly yet, but you can sign up to see when it does.
[via TUAW]
Comments
3
Subscribe to commentsBruno PadinhaJul 28th 2010 4:34PM
Guys, video calling has been available (and initially highly promoted) in Europe since the launch of the 3G networks several years ago, and nobody really uses it.
Unless Apple or telcos come up with very innovative uses for it that people really like, I think it's unlikely that the evolution in the US market will be different.
SeanJul 29th 2010 5:22AM
Yes very true, video calls have been around for years on mobile networks (this is the argument that so many have been placing against FaceTime), but the problem with it was that the 3G network coverage was completely inadequate to make it a successful function on a mobile scale.
However because FaceTime works over WiFi, it means that you can pop into a coffee shop, bus station or airport and get a reliable connection for video calls. I know 3G networks have improved over the years and they will only get better, but Apple are going to address that when the time comes as they are making FaceTime and open platform for other developers and companies to take advantage of, it WILL eventually become available for 3G/4G.
Another factor to take into account is that Rural areas receive little to no 3G reception, so FaceTime opens up video conferencing over WiFi that wasn't available before on a mobile network.
Keeping this relevant to the Post though, that seems like a handy app and if all you have to do is wait for other people to install the app (instead of adding them via a username) to see their status, it makes things so much easier.
Bruno PadinhaJul 29th 2010 5:43AM
I don't agree that lack of 3G coverage was the issue in most European markets, I think the US market is somewhat behind a few years in that area compared to Europe, but I understand your point.