Review: iPhone video calling

MORE: Click here to see our overall video review of the iPhone 4

Click here to read our full review

The iPhone 4 can be used to get onto the web or check email, it has Bluetooth connections for headphones and speaker systems, and it has GPS and a compass for direction finding.

But in amongst those many functions, it’s also a phone. In the UK and in most countries it can make calls over the standard phone network or the 3G network where it’s available.

The big calling feature Apple’s been talking about is called Facetime, and it’s essentially video calling. This has been available over 3G networks for years, and it’s never taken off.

That’s largely because the phones that offered video calls just haven’t been much good, and also that it’s usually not worth the hassle to set up the call.

That’s still the case now – in order to set up a Facetime call you need to first make a normal call, then click the Facetime icon. You also need to both be on wireless networks because Facetime won’t work over the mobile network.

The video calling worked well in our tests – it uses the front-facing camera or the rear facing one – and it was a novelty to see the people we were calling.

But is it enough to make people use it? Time will tell but we’re sceptical.

MORE: Click here to see our overall video review of the iPhone 4

Click here to read our full review