WiFi-Only Video Calls Makes FaceTime Practically Useless

iPhone FaceTime

I have been wanting video calling on the iPhone for years. In fact, two years ago today I asked my readers if video messages for iPhone would be an appealing feature. I imagined different scenarios where mobile video calling would be practical, useful and fun.

So I was excited about Apple’s announcement today that the new iPhone 4 will feature a front-facing video camera as well as video chatting software, dubbed FaceTime.

But…

The caveat is: FaceTime will only be usable over a WiFi network in 2010, and God knows how long we will have to wait for AT&T to step up and offer video calling over its 3G network.

Again, AT&T lets us down. We have waited for this feature for years, and now iPhone video chatting is here, but it’s crippled because you can’t use it over cellular data networks.

What good is video calling on a MOBILE phone if you can’t use it on the go? I mean, come on. If you live in the US, public WiFi hotspots are few and far between. And if I’m sitting somewhere where I have access to WiFi, then I’ll just use my laptop’s webcam to video call.

Does this bug you, too? How long do you think we’ll have to wait for video calling over 3G on iPhone 4?