The phone companies are moving quickly toward unlimited calling -- and texting -- for all contract voice plans and then making their money on data. So this really isn't going to be an issue for much longer. I'm also doubting that you'll be able to get a data-only plan on a device that isn't a tablet.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
General Will we ever see FaceTime voice calls?
- Thread starter dingdongbubble
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The phone companies are moving quickly toward unlimited calling -- and texting -- for all contract voice plans and then making their money on data. So this really isn't going to be an issue for much longer. I'm also doubting that you'll be able to get a data-only plan on a device that isn't a tablet.
Sooooo....put a piece of tape over your camera or hold your thumb over it. Does Apple have to solve every problem? You can do this!
i predicted this ages ago, you will get unlimited txts and calls, the package will be priced on the data
Very funny. Wireless operators will want to charge for the features that you use on the network too. They've already started planting the seeds for this.
In Switzerland, operator Swisscom has launched some interesting packages last year, called "Infinity". You basically get unlimited phone calls, texts and data - and all of them are really flat (no "maximum 10 GB" or similar rules). The only caveat that applies is a fair use policy that allows you to only use it for personal usage (ie. you can't connect your phone to an office PBX or use it as your only Internet connection in a house with 5 people). But you can tether your life away with it. I have friends who actually do BitTorrent download with that and never had an issue. And you can literally stay on the phone all day - it's flat, period.
The price plans are differentiated by bandwidth. The more Internet speed you want, the more you pay. They come in 0.2, 1, 7, 21 or 100 Mbit/s. I currently have the 21 Mbit/s plan and yes, it is expensive, around $130/month. But if 1 or 7 Mbit/s are enough for you, it starts at around $80/month.
With this plan, I never get a bill that exceeds that amount. I even have some roaming minutes and megabytes included for when I'm abroad. And with such plans, people will not be interested in "FaceTime voice calls", it's just not worth the hassle.
Still, as not all carriers have this, of course something akin to FaceTime voice calls is nice to have. I have experimented with Tango and Viber, as well as Skype. Skype is by far the worst (especially because it doesn't support true push notifications, but just lingers in the background sucking battery). Tango and Viber are quite comparable in voice quality (and they're both better than Skype in my opinion), but Viber has a nicer interface. They both use some sort of enhanced (G722?) voice codec, giving that HD-voice like sound.
Here in Germany, o2 has announced to completely overhaul all their tariffs, the only difference will be data volume. Voice calls and SMS will be unlimited and included in every tariff, that's the future IMO. Hopefully, it won't take long for other providers to follow suit.
Netflix, Facetime, tethering, etc. AT&T/Verizon have already tried to capitalize on features like these. Wait until there are no voice plans. It will be the only way they can make money off data.
Over the past couple of months since I heard AT&T is going to allow FaceTime over their network I kept trying to turn on the feature in settings and it popped up that I had to pay for this feature.
Today I looked at my settings and it's showing up as on. Someone must have pushed the update.
Today I looked at my settings and it's showing up as on. Someone must have pushed the update.
