IPad 2: 4 Facetime Features that Need to Be Added Immediately

Facetime is a great new addition to the Apple iPad 2, and even though its great having video chat on the iPad, following are a few things that need to be changed within Facetime for the iPad 2.

Recording

I love using Facetime, but just about every day, I resent the fact that there's no record button for this great piece of software. With iMovie support on the iPad, you'd think that you'd be able to record live video from Facetime and edit it later, but I find that I keep reaching for a Facetime record button that doesn't exist. Hopefully the live video recording button is in the works and Facetime will be blessed with this feature in the near future.

Options

Facetime has no options. With most video chatting services, you're able to change the incoming and outgoing video settings, adjust the audio, and change several other preferences, but Facetime offers nothing of the sort - heck, I'd settle for volume control, but Facetime definitely needs some sort of options.

Multi-Chat

I know that this is a stretch, but it would be swell to have cross-communication while video chatting on the iPad 2. I have several friends and family members that went out and bought an iPad 2 and it's a shame that although we all want to chat, we have to go at it one-on-one all of the time. I know that it would be nearly impossible to 4 or more people chatting on Facetime at once, but I'd love to be able to make it a threesome.

3G Support

One of the biggest complaints about Facetime on the iPhone and iPad 2 is that it can only be used over a WiFi network. It would be great to be able to chat with your friends regardless of wherever you are, but the limitations of WiFi usually ends up meaning late night video chatting or crappy Facetime sessions over a Starbucks connection. If only one feature could be changed in the next Facetime update, this is the one that I'd be gunning for.

For more, read The Worst Features of the IPad 2's New Front and Back Facing Cameras , Why the iPad 2's Camera is a Bigger Deal Than You Think , and Is the iPad 2 Just an iPad with a Camera or More?

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