We own nearly every Apple product ever created (including a still-functional Mac SE) and we’re convinced that we only utilize a small fraction of each products’ capabilities.
GarageBand on our laptop? Never even opened it. The Genius feature on our multiple iPods? Haven’t ever tried it. And even though we pre-ordered our iPhone 4 and received it in the mail the day before everyone else, we have yet to use the Voice Dial function. It’s not that these features aren’t great or useful, it’s just that we have our habits firmly in place and simply don’t have the time to figure out every bit of technology put in front of us.
So it should come as no surprise that here almost four months after the iPhone 4 release, we’re just starting to embrace the FaceTime video calling feature. You’ve seen the commercials about how easy it is to use.
Simply call anybody with an iPhone 4 (or even anyone with the latest generation iPod touch) and they simply accept to answer via “FaceTime” and that’s it! Instantly, the front-facing camera goes into action. They see you and you see them. It really is that easy.
The video quality is phenomenal and the only catch, at least for now, is that you have to be connected to a Wi-Fi network. (It doesn’t work over 3G or other mobile networks.) But that’s really not a problem. Wi-Fi is becoming so commonplace, that it’s easy to find an open network.
When we go shopping, we FaceTime our team of fashion consultants to make sure the outfit we’ve just picked out meets their approval for our latest red-carpet escapade. When our employees call to tell us they’re running late for work because they’re at the doctor’s office, we call them right back and FaceTime ’em to make sure they really are where they say they are. (FYI, Nina, we don’t think there are roller coasters at the gynecologist).
Even in our most harrowing adventures of late, FaceTime has played a big role in keeping us connected. You may have heard it on the news already, but we’ve been trying to keep our private life somewhat intact. But it won’t be long before our photo’s on the front page and we’re in front of Diane Sawyer recounting the nearly three months we were trapped in a mine. Thankfully, there was a faint Wi-Fi signal and we were able to keep in contact with our loved ones to ensure them that we were OK and coping the best we could.
Sure, it was Daddy Dick’s Mine Shaft, a leather bar we wandered into by mistake, but that doesn’t make our recent mine rescue any less newsworthy. Or Lifetime Movie-worthy, for that matter. (We’re lobbying for Tori to play us.)
But most importantly, FaceTime is there for those little moments that can’t quite be captured by audio alone. So for all the birthdays, holidays and vacations where we’re standing in front of something far more fabulous than our friends back home, FaceTime is now a permanent part of our Technology repertoire.
Now if we can just figure out this whole Twitter thing.
