One of the first things I did when I got my new iPad 2 all setup, synced, and configured was to try FaceTime. The addition of the front and rear-facing cameras on the iPad 2 now makes the use of Apple’s video chat feature possible on the iPad. I’m not much of a FaceTime user and haven’t been shy about my feelings towards it. I mostly see it as a “cute” add-on that, although admittedly cool, is not something that most people use.
I’ve been proven wrong on a few occasions when I’ve run into people who express their love for FaceTime and the ability it offers to keep in touch with their family members across the country. Still, I haven’t adopted it other than for brief demos amongst non-iPhone four users.
FaceTime Works
However, that all may change with the iPad 2. I was stunned by how much I enjoyed FaceTime on the iPad 2. I carried on a lengthy FaceTime chat with Michael Panetta with the iPad safely held in my Griffin A-Frame Stand. The screen is large enough on the iPad 2 that I could do other tasks at a distance yet still see Michael clearly and hear him as well. FaceTime on the iPhone 4 is great when you’re mobile – but it requires a WiFi connection which, to me, almost defeats the purpose. The iPhone 4′s screen is small, especially in comparison to the iPad’s, and 99% of the time, I find myself holding the iPhone 4 when on FaceTime.
The fact that I can use Face Time on the iPad, in a stand while multitasking, makes it truly feel like some sort of spaced aged video conference center from the Jetsons or Back to the Future (the second one, where they actually go forward into the future.)
I might be a FaceTime convert, after all.
What’s the first thing about the new iPad 2 that made you go wow? Leave us a comment below.
Original Author: Larry Greenberg
