FaceTime Won’t Consume Voice Minutes for Video
Apple tells Business Insider that the iPhone 4 video chat feature FaceTime uses voice minutes only to set up the initial connection. Once video chat begins, the voice connection is no longer used. While this makes sense - just as with iChat video, a peer-to-peer data connection is built for the connection - Apple didn't explain this so clearly at the iPhone 4 announcement or thereafter.
I'm also curious if iAds will count against my 2GB from AT&T...
You wrote "Apple tells Business Insider that the iPhone 4 video chat feature FaceTime uses voice minutes only to set up the initial connection:"
Where did you read that. I have read others who seem to think the same thing. The Business Insider article that you link to mentions only "...FaceTime calls CAN BE initiated from within voice calls..."
Even Apples web site states "Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video."
I believe that with FaceTime. Apple just entered the video chat biz.
Pure speculation on my part - those iPhones were communicating over WI-FI using an unkown and unmentioned server where each iPhone has to be in touch with.
Betcha that feature is coming to the next iPod Touch as well as future iPads (perhaps even Macs). I figure that the iPhones' owner contact card is used to "log-in" to the server and if (when) it finds a matched entry among said owners contacts with other "logged-in" iOS users its then possible to make a v-call.
Thats why its not using 3GPP video calling which cuts off a potential revenue source for the Telcos - we are already paying for a data plan.