FaceTime’s flaws

From my little anecdotal experience with the iPhone, it seems that more and more people are getting iPhones. My good friend Josh got one practically the same day I got mine, my mom became jealous of my iPhone and got herself one and then, like clockwork, my girlfriend’s Android software crashed so she moved on to the iPhone 4.

I think all of this happened, not only because of cell phones breaking, but that the iPhone is now available on Verizon Wireless. No longer do Verizon customers have to buy an iPhone and jailbreak it—a process which some of us probably wouldn’t have done even if the iPhone could make you breakfast. So this begs the question, will FaceTime become the norm? As most of us know, FaceTime allows two people with iPhones to essentially have a video chat. The main problem with this is that to use FaceTime you have to be connected to a wireless network. Josh and I have used this function once so far and only because we were both on campus and connected to campus Internet. It was pretty neat. The video feed was nearly seamless and the audio held up quite well. All in all, FaceTime is quite useful. However, I’m not sure I would want to use it as my main medium of communication.

First, if you are not using headphones you lose much privacy. Second, it is much more difficult to lie to the person you are talking to. You know, sometimes you are running late and not having left your house so you call whoever you are supposed to meet and say you are already in the car on the way. This might lead people to think that if you don’t want to FaceTime, then you must be hiding something.

Finally, what about wrong numbers? How awkward would that be? On the phone with a total stranger—looking at them. FaceTime might even create a whole new genre of prank calls that involve all sorts of nudity.

No, I don’t think FaceTime will ever be the preferred medium for a call for both serious and lighthearted reasons. Sure, it is a great tool for people to connect and I think once FaceTime can be used without a wireless connection like normal calls, we might see FaceTime be a viable option and perhaps an often-used option to regular phone calls.

Posted by Alex Smith on Apr 7 2011. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.