WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 video calling

As the “one more thing…” in this year’s WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs announced FaceTime—the video calling feature of iPhone 4. Thanks to the new front-facing camera (although it also works with the rear camera), users will be able to make video calls to each other, seeing themselves and recipients on screen.

During the keynote, Steve Jobs called Jony Ive, lead designer for Apple, and both were visible on screen. Both the video and audio quality looked great—although, for the time being, there’s a imitation; FaceTime will only be available over a WiFi network for the remainder of 2010. This is due to cell carriers needing more time to perfect their technologies, before letting video calls loose on their networks. Despite the seemingly awful name, Apple plans to make FaceTime an industry standard, which means in the near future, it may also be available on Android, Palm and maybe even Blackberry. There’s no word on whether these companies will indeed take up this standard, but it would be great if it became commonplace on mobile devices.

Be sure to check out our full coverage of the WWDC 2010 Keynote announcements.