Making face-to-face video calls is easy thanks to the iPad 2's twin cameras. And best of all, it's free!
As well as letting you snap photos and capture video footage, the iPad 2's twin cameras also add one more important feature to your tablet's toolkit - the ability to make video calls.With the new FaceTime app, included on your device as standard, you can speak to friends and family face-to-face and free of charge.
On the right, you'll see a list of your Address Book contacts. Of course, depending on what email addresses you have linked to those contacts - if any -you may not be able to place FaceTime calls to those people right away. Should you wish to add new contacts or edit existing ones, FaceTime instructs you to launch Address Book and make your updates there.
Tabs at the bottom of the contact list let you switch from between Contacts, Recents and Favorites.To add contacts to your Favorites list, you click a'+' icon, which reveals a list of your contacts. Simply click the one you want to add. Once you've successfully created a record in Address Book for your contact's FaceTime account, calling that person within FaceTime itself is painless. Click the name, and FaceTime places the call.
If you're planning to call people on their iOS devices, make sure that they're running iOS 4.1 or later.Attempts to call anyone still running iOS 4.0 yields an error indicating that your contact needs to upgrade their operating system.
Note that whenever FaceTime is open, your camera is turned on.This means that as long as the software is running, you can't place a Skype or iChat video call, or use Photo Booth. Fortunately, you can quit FaceTime and still receive FaceTime calls.When a call comes in, the app launches and prompts you to accept or reject it.To hide from FaceTime calls completely, you must switch FaceTime off in its preferences (as shown left).
You can't, however, call yourself. When we tried to call from our iPod touch to our iPad 2 (and vice versa), both of which are on the same Apple account, FaceTime told us that we were busy. Families that share an Apple account and want to be able to use FaceTime on several different devices will need to create new accounts for that purpose, unless Apple changes this.
On the interface side, managing your contacts and making calls is easy.Video calls themselves also worked well in our testing. Our calls went through without any configuration worries, and the video quality ranged from fair to great.
RIGHT SACK AT YOU
This small window in the top right-hand corner of the display shows what the person you're calling can see on their screen.
SWITCH CAMERAS
This button switches from the forward-facing camera to the back-facing one -perfect if you don't want the person you're calling to see what you're up to.
MUTE YOUR MIC
If you want to temporarily silence your mic during a call ,just tap this icon.
HANG UP
Time to say goodbye! Just tap the 'End' button to hang up and bring your video chat co a close.
1 SIGNING IN
The first thing you'll need to do when you boot up the app is enter your Apple ID or, if you don't have one, create a new account.There's no cost involved and you'll need one in the future to pick up new apps, so don't hesitate.
2 CONFIRM YOUR DETAILS
Your contacts will track you down via your email address, so it's important you verify which address you want FaceTime to use. If you want to change the default address attached to your Apple ID just tap it and enter a new one.
3 BUILD YOUR ADDRESS BOOK
Before you can make any calls you'll need to enter contacts into your address book. Just tap the '+' in the top right-hand corner to get started.
4 CREATING A CONTACT
To add a contact to your address book, simply fill in the form by tapping on the relevant field and type in the details. Not all fields are necessary, but make sure you include the email address, as this will be matched with an Apple ID.
5 ADD TO FAVOURITES
Once you've entered a contact, you'll be given the option of sharing a contact with a friend via email or adding it to your favourites list.This prioritises the people you call the most, so you don't have to search through your contact list.
6 MAKE A CALL
Once you've created a contact list you're ready to make a call,Tap their name in your address book and a call request will immediately be sent to them. If they're online and accept the call your voice chat will then immediately begin.
7 SWITCHING VIEW
As default, the front-facing camera will be turned on during a call, so you can see each other if you want to switch to the back-facing lens during a conversation tap the camera switch icon in the right-hand corner of the toolbar.
8 RECEIVING A CALL
If a friend is trying to reach you, a box will pop up on your screen displaying their name. If you want to take the call and start chatting, just hit the green 'Accept' tab. Or, if you're indisposed, tap the red 'Decline' button.
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On the right, you'll see a list of your Address Book contacts. Of course, depending on what email addresses you have linked to those contacts - if any -you may not be able to place FaceTime calls to those people right away. Should you wish to add new contacts or edit existing ones, FaceTime instructs you to launch Address Book and make your updates there.
Tabs at the bottom of the contact list let you switch from between Contacts, Recents and Favorites.To add contacts to your Favorites list, you click a'+' icon, which reveals a list of your contacts. Simply click the one you want to add. Once you've successfully created a record in Address Book for your contact's FaceTime account, calling that person within FaceTime itself is painless. Click the name, and FaceTime places the call.
If you're planning to call people on their iOS devices, make sure that they're running iOS 4.1 or later.Attempts to call anyone still running iOS 4.0 yields an error indicating that your contact needs to upgrade their operating system.
Note that whenever FaceTime is open, your camera is turned on.This means that as long as the software is running, you can't place a Skype or iChat video call, or use Photo Booth. Fortunately, you can quit FaceTime and still receive FaceTime calls.When a call comes in, the app launches and prompts you to accept or reject it.To hide from FaceTime calls completely, you must switch FaceTime off in its preferences (as shown left).
You can't, however, call yourself. When we tried to call from our iPod touch to our iPad 2 (and vice versa), both of which are on the same Apple account, FaceTime told us that we were busy. Families that share an Apple account and want to be able to use FaceTime on several different devices will need to create new accounts for that purpose, unless Apple changes this.
On the interface side, managing your contacts and making calls is easy.Video calls themselves also worked well in our testing. Our calls went through without any configuration worries, and the video quality ranged from fair to great.
''As long as the software is running, you can't place a Skype or iChat video call, or use Photo Booth''
RIGHT SACK AT YOU
This small window in the top right-hand corner of the display shows what the person you're calling can see on their screen.
SWITCH CAMERAS
This button switches from the forward-facing camera to the back-facing one -perfect if you don't want the person you're calling to see what you're up to.
MUTE YOUR MIC
If you want to temporarily silence your mic during a call ,just tap this icon.
HANG UP
Time to say goodbye! Just tap the 'End' button to hang up and bring your video chat co a close.
The first thing you'll need to do when you boot up the app is enter your Apple ID or, if you don't have one, create a new account.There's no cost involved and you'll need one in the future to pick up new apps, so don't hesitate.
Your contacts will track you down via your email address, so it's important you verify which address you want FaceTime to use. If you want to change the default address attached to your Apple ID just tap it and enter a new one.
Before you can make any calls you'll need to enter contacts into your address book. Just tap the '+' in the top right-hand corner to get started.
To add a contact to your address book, simply fill in the form by tapping on the relevant field and type in the details. Not all fields are necessary, but make sure you include the email address, as this will be matched with an Apple ID.
TIPS & TRICKS
If you don't want to be disturbed by FaceTime calls while you're using your iPad,you can temporarily disable the app. Tap the Settings icon on the home screen, go to the FaceTime tab and toggle FaceTime to Off.
If you don't want to be disturbed by FaceTime calls while you're using your iPad,you can temporarily disable the app. Tap the Settings icon on the home screen, go to the FaceTime tab and toggle FaceTime to Off.
Once you've entered a contact, you'll be given the option of sharing a contact with a friend via email or adding it to your favourites list.This prioritises the people you call the most, so you don't have to search through your contact list.
Once you've created a contact list you're ready to make a call,Tap their name in your address book and a call request will immediately be sent to them. If they're online and accept the call your voice chat will then immediately begin.
As default, the front-facing camera will be turned on during a call, so you can see each other if you want to switch to the back-facing lens during a conversation tap the camera switch icon in the right-hand corner of the toolbar.
If a friend is trying to reach you, a box will pop up on your screen displaying their name. If you want to take the call and start chatting, just hit the green 'Accept' tab. Or, if you're indisposed, tap the red 'Decline' button.
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