FaceTime

Is FaceTime HD on Its Way to the iPhone?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

If you’ve been keeping your ear to the street, you've probably heard about all the ramblings concerning Apple's new MacBook Pro refresh.

That refresh is due tomorrow, so I wasn't surprised to see some of the official box shots leak out.

Contained on the box of Apple's latest mobile swag is a new "FaceTime HD" option; presumable 720p video via the MacBook's built in webcam.

Considering that the iPhone 4, and to a lesser extent, the iPhone 3GS, are technically capable of handling HD video, does this mean that we should expect FaceTime HD on our iPhones?

Apple iPad Event to Take Place on March 2nd

Alex Heath ∙ February 23, 2011

Apple will be holding a press event next week at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Fransisco. The event is supposed to be focused on the iPad 2.

There have been reports that Apple's iPad announcement would be delayed, but multiple sources (including Apple) have recently confirmed that Apple will in fact hold an event next Wednesday.

Not much information has been leaked about the approaching Apple event besides specs for the next version of the iPad. Apple might update iOS as well, but there is no hard evidence to support that claim.

miTime Updated: Activate FaceTime on Unofficial Carriers

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 30, 2016

One of the problems with using the iPhone 4 on an unofficial carrier is you lose the ability to FaceTime. Enter MiTime. MiTime is an application available for jailbroken iPhones that activates FaceTime on unlocked iPhone 4s that are running on unofficial/unsupported carriers, such as T-Mobile USA.

The app was first introduced back in August of 2010 and now it has been updated with support for iOS 4.1 and 4.2.1. It works by sending two international SMS messages to activate FaceTime. It is currently the only way to activate FaceTime on unofficial carriers, and in my opinion, it’s definitely worth it.

Follow the guide below to activate FaceTime on your unlocked iPhone 4...

Skype Now Lets You Do Video Calls on Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ December 29, 2010

We've been talking about it for about a week now, and to be honest, we expected it to launch at CES in a few days, but the Skype application for iPhone got an update today and finally lets you do video calls over wifi or 3G to another iPhone or to a Skype desktop user.

This update is long overdue. Since the iPhone 4 launched in June, introducing FaceTime, we've all been waiting for Skype to catch up and update their application to allow video calls. FaceTime is great, but not everyone owns an iPhone 4, thus it makes it hard to have a video call with someone who's not an iPhone 4 user...

Skype Launches Teaser Site for Mobile Video Chat

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

As if this wasn't already enough, Skype has further removed the veil concerning its pending announcement at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

In what can only be described as an Apple-esque marketing approach, Skype video chat looks destined to make the jump outside of the desktop and into the mobile platform. The only question remaining is, which platforms will it jump to?

Skype Video Chat is Finally iPhone Bound

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Either the guys at Skype got the memo, or this was in the works all along, and they're just a bit slow going about their business. Better late than never, right?

Just as Apple is gaining steam with its relatively new FaceTime video chat, here comes the blue elephant in the room. While I didn't hesitate to give Skype a needed shellacking in a previous article, one thing's for sure, if they get on the ball with mobile video chat, it could be a hard ball to stop.

Even with FaceTime continuing to gain footprint in various other areas with the upcoming iPad, and the recent desktop Beta release; all it would take is for Skype to release a decent competitor to make things interesting...

Get a Free iPhone 3GS at Best Buy Tomorrow (December 10th)

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 9, 2010

New to the iPhone arena? What better way to start out then by scoring a free iPhone 3GS from Best Buy on Friday, December 10th. That's right free, zero, nada, ziltch.

That's $99 dollars cheaper than the current going rate for the least expensive iPhone, and a pretty rare find for an Apple product. Check inside for the full scoop...

FaceTime Coming to iPhone 3GS

Sébastien Page ∙ November 7, 2010

The same guys who recently brought us the FaceTime Haktivator app for jailbroken iPhones are back at it, this time with an app called FaceIt-3GS, which lets you have FaceTime on a jailbroken iPhone 3GS.

FaceIt-3GS is still in development as the developers are working the bugs out was just released in Cydia and the video below shows it working well. As you can see, it's not possible yet to use the camera of the iPhone 3GS but I assume it's just a matter of time until they figure out how to plug it in...

The Likelihood of the iPhone Appearing on T-Mobile Just Decreased With This Video

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

With the release of an advertisement dissing the iPhone 4 and AT&T's network, you can pretty much squash any idea of the iPhone appearing on T-Mobile's network anytime soon.

The video clip purposely takes Apple's infamous "Mac versus PC" ads, and flips the script. It features an attractive female claiming to be a MyTouch4G, while a guy struggling to support another guy on piggyback claims to be an iPhone 4. Let the hilarity ensure...

Of course the guy riding piggyback is the AT&T network, which is putting a burden on Mr. iPhone, hence slowing him down. Brilliant! The woman then touts the MyTouch's video-chat-anywhere capabilities -- courtesy of T-Mobile's 4G network -- all the while poking fun at the fact that FaceTime for the iPhone 4 only works while connected to Wi-Fi.

Obviously, all of that means nothing to us here at iDB, seeing as a simple jailbreak will allow you to use FaceTime anywhere you receive a cellular signal. Still, the ad is quite amusing, and gives Apple a nice dose of their own medicine.

Slower network or not though, at the end of the day, the MyTouch4G is still, unfortunately, a MyTouch4G.

What did you think about the ad?

MiddleWhat Makes it Easy To Enable FaceTime on Region Restricted Phones

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 30, 2010

A couple days ago, Sebastien reported on a hack called FaceTime Hacktivator, which is a tweak that allows you to use FaceTime in areas where it has been banned. There are reportedly a few places in the Middle East that have restricted Apple's video calling feature, so this will prove most useful to those using iPhones in those areas.

MiddleWhat does the same thing as FaceTime Hacktivator, with one small difference. I guess you could say it takes the "middle man" out of the equation. That is, it's featured on the stock Cydia repos, so there's no need to add a separate repository just to get access to this hack. Although, if you were too lazy to add the repo reported in yesterday's article, chances are you don't care that much about FaceTime anyway.

How to Activate FaceTime in Unsupported Countries

Sébastien Page ∙ October 28, 2010

For some reasons far beyond my understanding, FaceTime has been banned from several countries in the Middle East, and up until today, there was to way to activate FaceTime there. It's now possible thanks to a hack called FaceTime Hacktivator.

Like most hack, it requires your iPhone 4 to be jailbroken. If it's not done yet, you can do so using PwnageTool, GreenPois0n, or LimeRa1n. Once jailbroken, follow these instructions to activate FaceTime in any unsupported countries, including in the Middle East...

FaceTime Spells Long Term Trouble for Skype

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2010

Given the impressive adoption numbers of the iPhone on a weekly basis, I’m simply stumped as to why Skype isn’t taking the iPhone platform more seriously. Sure, they have an app, but it’s almost like they created it just to say they have an app in the App Store.

Skype has almost single handily revolutionized what it means to communicate in today’s digital world, and they've made it infinitely easier for ones across long distances to stay in relatively close touch with one another. So why is Skype resting on its laurels? Is this the attitude of a company who’s simply satisfied with its accomplishments thus far? Does having 1 in 11 of the world’s population among your growing list of users result in stifling innovation? We examine the situation inside...