With family spread all over, online video calling is a great way to feel close. All the benefits of seeing your loved one, reading body language, looking around their abode, and just looking into their eyes ease the anxiety of living apart. With the iPhone's promise of FaceTime, I was looking forward to seeing how it would work for us. Unfortunately, the person to whom I was trying to talk has her sim card was out, so we could not FaceTime. I was hoping to understand the process and cost of using iPhones for this.
So we went to the back-up plan, good old Skype. This reliable software has been working for us for a couple of years, and has gotten better and better. Since we use it, it is as easy as FaceTime to make a call, or a video call. I was on my iPhone, my other party on a computer. Then I switched to my computer. The video wasn't perfect, it was a bit laggy, but it was more than adequate. The iPhone app is remarkable for how easy it is to use. Except for the lack of integration to the iOS on the telephone screen, I can't imagine how FaceTime is better. It will be fun testing these two against each other in the future.
It was also a nice touch to get a chat message to close the call, something FaceTime doesn't cover. And though we didn't have a third, video conferencing on Skype is also easy. So I reckon Skype will stay in the active apps.
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