Chapter 6

Staying in Touch with FaceTime and Messages

Are you ready to learn what the future feels like? Want to reach out and connect with friends, family, and colleagues in new ways? Remember this: the iPhone's cameras aren't for just taking pictures and recording video. They can bring people together using a new technology called FaceTime. FaceTime introduces easy and intuitive video calling for your handset. And video chatting isn't the only way you can stay in touch. The newly introduced iMessage app allows you to text anyone who owns an iOS device. For free. It doesn't matter if they own an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. In this chapter you'll read about these apps and learn how to use them to stay in touch on your iPhone.

The Camera Hardware

The iPhone 4S features two cameras—one front and one rear. These cameras allow you to snap photos and record video. The cameras aren't created equal, however. As you'll see, each one has been designed for different uses.

Front Camera

The frontiPhone camera is located at the top left of the device's upper bezel across from the unit's Home button. Behind a rather hard-to-see dot lies the front-facing camera.

This front camera is meant primarily for FaceTime video calls, but you can also take photos and record video with it. For example, you might use the front-facing camera to snap a profile picture for your Facebook account or to record yourself and a friend singing “Happy Birthday” to a special someone. With the front camera, there's no shooting pictures in a bathroom mirror or turning a camera around and hoping you frame yourself into the shot. The front camera allows you to see and compose the shot as you take it.

The front-facing camera isn't as powerful as the rear camera: it cannot record high-definition (HD) video. High-definition video refers to video that has at least 720 lines of resolution. With video, the more lines of resolution you have, the sharper the picture will be. Although the front camera can record video, its resolution is limited to standard-definition (SD). SD video, also called VGA, uses a resolution of 640x480. The VGA acronym refers to an old computer monitor standard and is actually a higher resolution than the 525 lines that was originally broadcast over commercial television stations in the original NTSC standard.

Why didn't Apple use an HD camera in the front? Well, it would be unnecessary. The front camera was designed for FaceTime video calling, not recording video. The image quality while video calling on a portable device like the iPhone is more than good enough using an SD camera.

Rear Camera

The iPhone's powerful rear camera allows you to take photos, to record video, and to work with third-party augmented reality applications. When you flip your iPhone over, you can easily spot the rear camera in the top-left corner of the device.

The rear camera records videos in 1080p HD resolution at 30 frames a second; that's enough resolution to show pictures in beautiful quality on a large HDTV screen.

Getting Started with FaceTime

With the FaceTime app on the iPhone, you can video call anyone with an iPhone 4 (or newer), an iPad 2 (or newer), a fourth-generation iPod touch (or newer), or a Mac running OS X 10.6 or newer.

Apple wants to make FaceTime the de facto standard for video calling, and in order to do so, Apple has made the FaceTime technology an open standard. That means other phone manufacturers can build the technology in their phones, so one day, ideally, you'll be able to place a FaceTime video call on your iPhone to someone on an Android phone.

To use FaceTime, you'll want access to a Wi-Fi Internet connection and have your Apple ID on hand, even if you are calling on an iPhone with cellular data service. FaceTime is data intensive. Even if you can use cellular data for your conversations, you probably do not want to, particularly if you use a metered data plan.

Signing In

To begin using FaceTime, tap the FaceTime icon on your home screen. The icon looks like a white video camera with a blue lens on a metallic background (Figure 6–1). If this is the first time you've launched the app, you'll be presented with the FaceTime Get Started screen (Figure 6–2).

If you click the “Learn more about FaceTime” link, Safari will open, and you'll be taken to Apple's iPhone FaceTime page on Apple's web site.

Figure 6–1. The FaceTime icon

Figure 6–2. The FaceTime Get Started screen

Once you are ready to sign in, tap Get Started. You'll be taken to the sign-in screen (Figure 6–3) where you can sign in with your existing Apple ID or create a new account.

Figure 6–3. The FaceTime sign-in screen

Signing In with Your Existing Apple ID

To sign in with your existing Apple ID, fill in the e-mail and password fields, and tap Sign In. You already have an Apple ID if you use the iTunes Store, the App Store, or the iBookstore. You also have an Apple ID if you have a Mobile Me account.

When you sign in for the first time, FaceTime notifies you that people will call you using your e-mail address (Figure 6–4). It asks you which e-mail address you would like to use. You can keep the same e-mail address that is your Apple ID, or you can enter another e-mail address.

Figure 6–4. Choose which e-mail address you want to act as your FaceTime “phone number” and enter it into the Address field. Tap Next to continue.

Once you have specified the e-mail address you want associated with FaceTime calls, tap the Next button. A short verification screen appears as FaceTime verifies your e-mail address authenticity. Once this finishes, a Check Mail button appears; tapping it navigates you to your selected e-mail account in the iPhone's mail app. Look for an e-mail with the subject “Please verify the contact email address for your Apple ID,” and then tap the Verify Now link in the e-mail. A Safari window opens, taking you to the My Apple ID page. Enter your Apple ID and password again to verify your FaceTime e-mail address. This may sound complicated, but it's actually quite easy to do.

Once you are presented with the “Email address verified” web page, you know that you have successfully associated your email address with your FaceTime application. Hop out of Safari and return to the FaceTime app. This time, you'll be presented with the standard FaceTime screen (Figure 6–5), which you'll see each time you launch the app from now on. On this screen, you'll see a list of your contacts, providing you a jumping-off point for new FaceTime conversations.

This first time you sign in, the process may seem arduous and time-consuming, but once you have signed in, you won't have to do it again, even if you leave the app or shut down and restart your iPhone.

Please be aware that the authorization procedure for FaceTime, which is subject to change, went like this at the time the book was being written. Apple could always change its account creation and authorization process in the future.

Figure 6–5. The FaceTime app

Creating an Account

If you don't already have an Apple ID, you can create one by tapping the Create New Account button, which you saw back in Figure 6–3. The New Account screen slides up (Figure 6–6). On this screen, you enter your first and last names, your e-mail address (which will become your new Apple ID), and a password of at least eight characters. This password does not have to be the same as the password for your e-mail account.

Figure 6–6. The New Account screen

Lower on the New Account screen, you'll also need to choose a security question and enter the answer for that question. This question and answer pair is used to verify your identity should you forget your Apple ID password. Finally, enter your month and day of birth, choose which country you reside in, and select whether you want to subscribe this e-mail to Apple marketing. (You can say no.)

Once you have entered this information, tap Next. You return to the Sign In screen with your Apple ID and password already entered. The FaceTime signing in will commence. A short verification screen appears as Apple verifies that your e-mail address is authentic. Then a Check Mail button will appear; tapping it navigates you to your selected e-mail account in the iPhone's mail app.

Look for an e-mail with the subject “Please verify the contact email address for your Apple ID,” and then tap the Verify Now link in the e-mail. A Safari window opens and takes you to the My Apple ID page. There you'll need to enter your Apple ID and password to verify your FaceTime e-mail address.

Once you are presented with the “Email address verified” web page, return to the FaceTime app. You'll be presented with the standard FaceTime screen (Figure 6–5), which you'll see every time you launch the app from now on.

Navigating Your FaceTime Contacts

Each time you launch the FaceTime app after the initial setup, you are presented with your contacts screen (Figure 6–5). The contacts screen is divided into three sections, accessible by tapping the buttons in the contact bar at the bottom of the screen.

Favorites: This screen allows you to add your favorite contacts to it. It's a handy shortcut to the people you FaceTime call the most often, letting you start a new chat with a single tap.

Recents: This screen lists the recent FaceTime calls you've made or received. If you get interrupted, you can pick up your chat later by tapping any of the names you find here.

Contacts: This screen lists all the contacts in your address book. Use this screen for connecting with anyone you've added to your iPhone's contact list.

The sections that follow provide a closer look at each of these contact options.

Favorites

The Favorites screen (Figure 6–7) allows you to create and maintain a list of your favorite contacts. Favorite contacts generally encompass anyone you call the most, such as family and friends and important work contacts. This screen acts as a shortcut to their FaceTime e-mail addresses or phone numbers. One tap, and you're ready to start chatting.

Figure 6–7. The Favorites screen (left). Selecting the e-mail or phone number of a Favorites contact (right).

Adding a contact to Favorites: To add a new favorite, tap the + button in the upper-right corner. Select any contact from the address book list that slides up on screen.

Choosing the contact's FaceTime info: From your selected contact's information screen, tap the FaceTime e-mail address or phone number for the contact. If your contact is using an iPad or iPod touch, you must choose their associated FaceTime e-mail. If you contact is using an iPhone, you can choose their iPhone phone number as well. Once you have selected the contact's FaceTime info, a blue star (Figure 6–7) appears by their FaceTime e-mail or number.

Calling a Favorite: Once you have set up your favorites, simply tap their name in the Favorites list, and a FaceTime call will be initiated.

You can tap the blue-and-white chevron next to a favorite's name to view or edit their contact information.

Recents

The Recentsscreen (Figure 6–8) gives you a list of recently made or received FaceTime calls. This list can be sorted into two categories via the tabs at the top of the screen:

All: Shows you all the FaceTime calls you have made, received, or missed. Missed calls show up in red. The time of the call is shown to the right of the name of the person called. You can tap the blue-and-white chevron next to a favorite's name to view or edit their contact information.

Missed: Shows only the FaceTime calls you have missed.

To clear your Recents list, tap the Clear button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Figure 6–8. The Recents list

Contacts

The contacts screen features your entire address book (Figure 6–9). It works just like your stand-alone Contacts application. You can navigate it by all the contacts or by just a group of contacts. When you find the contact you want to call, tap their name, and their contact information card will be displayed. Tap their FaceTime e-mail or FaceTime phone number, and your call will begin.

Figure 6–9. The contacts screen

When you find the contact you want to call, tap their name, and their contact information card will be displayed. Flick down the screen until you see their FaceTime e-mail or FaceTime phone number. Tap the correct one, and your FaceTime call will begin.

Placing and Receiving a FaceTime Call

To place a FaceTime call, simply select a contact from your Favorites, Recents, or Contacts list, or tell Siri to “FaceTimecontact name.” Tapping a name in the Favorites or Recents list will initiate the FaceTime call (Figure 6–10, left). To start a call using your Contacts list, you'll need to tap the contact's name and then tap either a FaceTime phone number or e-mail. To cancel a call before the person has picked up, tap the END button.

Figure 6–10. Initiating a FaceTime call (left) and receiving a FaceTime call (right)

When you receive a FaceTime call, a message appears on-screen telling you that a friend would like FaceTime with you (Figure 6–10, right). The front camera automatically activates so you can see what you look like. To accept, tap the green Accept button. To reject the call, tap the red Decline button.

Figure 6–11 shows you what it looks during a FaceTime call. The speaker's image takes up a majority of the screen, while your image appears in a rectangle at the corner of the screen. Below your image is the FaceTime control bar. This gives you several options.

Figure 6–11. A FaceTime video call. This image highlights the always-challenging issue of up-the-nose camera coverage produced by an iPod or iPhone held too low during a FaceTime chat.

Mute: Tap the microphone icon to switch between muting and unmuting a call. While you call is muted, you can still hear the person you are calling, and they cannot hear you. The other person can still see you, though, so be careful what you do! This is definitely not a time to attend to nasal hygiene issues.

Switching cameras: Tap the Switch Camera icon in the bottom right of the screen to switch between the front and rear cameras. The icon looks like a traditional still camera with swirling arrows on either side. Switching cameras changes what the person you are talking to sees. When the camera is switched, your friend will see what the rear camera on the device is pointed at.

Switching cameras during a call is a handy feature. It allows your friend to see what you are looking at, like your newborn crawling on all fours, for example.

Ending the call: To end a FaceTime call, tap the End button.

Other FaceTime Calling Options

FaceTime gives you several advanced options while on a call that help with its usability features:

Change orientation: You can rotate your device into landscape mode, and the image your caller sees will change to match. Landscape mode while FaceTime calling is useful if you want to show your caller a wide shot of something using the rear camera, like a beautiful sunset from your backyard.

Moving picture-in-picture: That little square in the corner that shows you what your caller is seeing can be moved around. Tap and hold the square and drag it to any of the four corners of the screen. This is useful if the square is blocking something on the screen that you want to see.

Multitasking during a FaceTime call: You can use any app on your device while on a FaceTime call. To do so, while in a FaceTime call, press your Home button once to be taken to the home screen. You can then launch any app you want. To return to your FaceTime call, tap the glowing green “Touch to resume FaceTime” bar at the top of the screen (Figure 6–12).

Figure 6–12. You can use other apps while on a FaceTime call. Touch the green bar at the top of the screen to return to the FaceTime call when you're done.

The multitasking feature is particularly nice when you are on a FaceTime call. It allows you to check the Yelp app for restaurants while you're making dinner plans with your FaceTime caller, for example.

While you are multitasking, you can still talk to your FaceTime caller, but neither of you can see the other.

FaceTime Settings

FaceTime has several settings. You can find them in the Settings app under FaceTime (Figure 6–13).

Figure 6–13. FaceTime settings

Switch FaceTime on or off: Tap the FaceTime switch to ON or OFF. While off, you cannot make or receive FaceTime calls, which means you may miss a special treat while you are busy getting work done. When enabled, however, other people can call you, interrupting whatever you are doing.

Change your FaceTime geographic location: Tap your blue Account e-mail. From the pop-up menu, tap Change Location. Choose your location's new region from the list of regions.

View your FaceTime account settings: Tap your blue Account e-mail. From the pop-up menu, tap View Account. The account settings screen you saw earlier in this chapter in Figure 6–6 will show up on-screen. Tap any field to change your account settings, such as your name or security question.

Sign out of FaceTime: Tap your blue Account e-mail. From the pop-up menu, tap Sign Out. This will immediately sign you out of FaceTime without any more warnings. To sign back in, reenter your Apple ID password on the Sign In screen.

Remove a FaceTime e-mail address: You can deassociate your FaceTime e-mail address by tapping it and then tapping the Remove This Email button.

Adding more e-mail addresses:FaceTime allows you to associate more than one e-mail address with your FaceTime account. This is handy if you use several e-mails for different purposes in your life. For example, you might have one for friends and one for work colleagues, and so forth. When multiple e-mails are associated with your FaceTime account, people can initiate a FaceTime video call with you using any one of them.

To add additional e-mails, tap the Add Another Email button, and then enter your other e-mail address. Repeat this step for each e-mail address you have. With each e-mail added, you'll need to check that e-mail account for the FaceTime verification e-mail from Apple and click the link in that e-mail before the e-mail address can be added to your FaceTime account.

Getting Started with Messages

The Messages app enables you to send text messages, called iMessages in iOS, to anyone with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 5 or newer for free. If you've ever sent a text message from an iPhone before, you know exactly how to use Messages because both traditional texting and sending iMessages are done through the exact same app: Messages (Figure 6–14). The Messages icon is the same white text speech bubble on a striped green background that iOS has been using for years, but it has a new name and exciting new features.

Figure 6–14. Use the Messages app to send iMessages.

Upon launching the Messages app, you'll be presented with a list of any previous iMessage conversations you've engaged in (Figure 6–15). The most recent conversation appears at the top of the screen, so when you receive new messages, that conversation is promoted accordingly.

Figure 6–15. All your iMessages in one place

Reading Conversations

iMessages transforms conversations into a beautiful visual presentation, as you can see in Figure 6–16. Tap any conversation item in Figure 6–15 to open this view. As you can see, conversations are made up of individual iMessages between you and one other party. Your messages appear on the right of the screen, and your friend's messages appear on the left.

Figure 6–16. Reading conversations

Have something new to say? Tap the reply field at the bottom of the screen and enter your message. Tap Send to send it, and iMessage transmits that information to your buddy, while adding it to the visual conversation above the reply field.

Deleting and Forwarding Individual iMessages

Each iMessage conversation window lets you delete or forward individual iMessages. The Edit button at the top right of the conversation window enables you to enter a special editing mode. During this mode you'll find a red Delete button and a blue Forward button at the bottom of the screen. These buttons let you choose what actions you want to apply.

In Figure 6–17, notice the dots next to each message. The first two dots are clear, and the third and fifth are colored red, with a check mark shown inside. Checked items can be deleted or forwarded using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Figure 6–17. Deleting and forwarding conversations

To delete one or more iMessages, tap each message you want to get rid of. A red checked dot appears next to each one. Tapping the dot again removes the checked selection, returning the dot to clear. To delete these items, tap Delete. WARNING: the messages will be deleted right away, and you cannot undo this action. You do not get to confirm your deletion; there's no “Are you sure dialog.” The messages are deleted immediately, and you're done.

To forward one or more iMessages, tap each message you want to forward. The same red dots are used for forwarding messages as well as deleting them. The color red does not mean “delete” here. It just means “selected message.” When you're finished selecting your messages, tap Forward. A new iMessage screen appears allows you to forward the selected iMessage(s) to one or more people.

Deleting Entire Conversations

There are times you want to clean up an entire conversation. Perhaps you were chatting about your boss. Or maybe you were comparing notes regarding Justin Bieber or Twilight. There are many reasons you might want to remove a text history from your device. Besides showing you all your previous conversations, on the main screen (Figure 6–15), Messages allows you to delete entire conversations. Tap the Edit button at the top right of the screen and then tap the red and white minus sign that appears next to the conversation you want to delete. Unlike individual message deletions, you will be prompted to confirm deletion for an entire conversation. Tap the red Delete button to confirm your deletion.

Sending a New iMessage

To initiate a new conversation, tap the compose button in the top-right corner of the main Messages screen. This button looks like a pencil over a piece of paper. Messages' new message screen appears (6–18), ready for you to start up a new conversation.

Your first task is to address your message. You can send your iMessages to one or more people at once. At the top of the screen, start typing the name of the person you want to send the message to. Messages automatically fills in their information from your contacts. You can also tap the blue + button to bring up a list of all your contacts. As you can see in Figure 6–18, you can send group messages to multiple people.

Figure 6–18. Creating a new iMessage. A blank message, left, and sending a group message, right.

Tap the text field above the keyboard and start entering your text (Figure 6–19). When you are done, tap the Send button, and your message is on its way!

Figure 6–19. Composing your iMessage

Attaching a Photo, Video, or Contact to an Messages

With Messages, you can sendnot only text, but photos, videos, and contacts. Adding a any of them are as easy as a few taps. You can send a photo, video, or contact information card with text or just by itself. To add an attachment to an iMessage, tap the camera icon next to the text entry field (Figure 6–19). The attachment dialog box appears, letting you choose whether to use an existing photo or video or shoot a new one (Figure 6–20).

Choose Take Photo or Video to record an new video or take a new picture with your camera, or choose Choose Existing and select a photo or video from your photo albums or Camera Roll on your device. After you have selected your attachment, it appears as a thumbnail in the text entry field (Figure 6–21). Tap send to send the message on its way, along with the media you just attached.

Figure 6–20. Composing your iMessage

Figure 6–21. An attached photo in an iMessage

Messages Settings

You can customize Messages in the Settings app (Figure 6–22), allowing you to tweak a few essential features. Here is a quick rundown of those features and what they mean to you.

Figure 6–22. The Messages settings are where you adjust iMessage settings.

iMessage: When you need to get work done or are on the road, you can enable or disable messaging, switching them on or off. Toggle the switch to Off to disable iMessages. Doing so will prevent any messages from being sent to or from your device. Toggle the switch to On to restore messaging capabilities.

Send Read Receipts: When this is set to On, others will be notified when you have read a message they've sent. This feature is most of use with work colleagues who might want to know that you've received directions but do not need a personalized message in return.

Receive at: You can associate more than one e-mail address with your iMessage account. Use the “Receive At” option to choose identities. This is handy if you use more than one e-mail, one for friends and one for work colleagues, for example. When multiple e-mails are associated with your iMessage account, people can initiate aiMessage chat with you using any of your e-mails.

To add additional e-mails, tap Receive At and then tap the Add Another Email button, and then enter your other e-mail address. Repeat this step for each e-mail address you have. With each e-mail added, you'll need to check that e-mail account for a iMessage verification e-mail from Apple and click the link in that e-mail before the e-mail address can be added to your iMessage account.

Show subject field: When this is set to On, you'll have the option of adding a subject field to your iMessages. This is handy if you are sending iMessages in a more formal manner, say to professional contacts.

Using Messages with Siri

The Siri voice assistant on your iPhone 4S helps you use your voice to check your messages, reply to them, and start new conversations. With Siri, you can perform many of your iMessage tasks from anywhere on your iPhone. Just press and hold the Home button and tell Siri what you need to do.

When new messages arrive, tell Siri “Read my new messages.” Want to hear it another time, tell it “read it again.” Siri will fill you in on all the new messages while keeping your hands free for other tasks.

You can reply to your messages in a variety of way. When you listen to a message, Siri knows what conversation you are in the middle of. This context allows you to say “Reply, that is great news” or “Tell him I will be there in a few minutes.” If the matter is urgent, you can say “Call her,” and Siri will use the contact information associated with the message you just received to look up the user's phone number.

To create a message, instruct Siri to tell someone something. “Tell Steve, I'll be right there.” You can also “text" or “send a message”. For example, you could say “Send a message to Mike saying how about tomorrow” or “Text Anthony where are you I have been waiting for twenty minutes.”

If you don't have an entry in your Contacts for someone, you can specify their phone number. For example, say “Send a message to 408-555-1212.” Siri will prompt you for the text contents. Speak your message.

Siri will ask you to confirm what you said. You can reply by asking it to read the message back to you with “read it to me” or “read it back to me.” You can also speak to correct text messages or mail contents that you have composed. The following examples let Siri know that you're not satisfied with what you've said. Notice how you can change the contents completely, add new material, and so forth.

• “Change it to: Let's meet at 3 p.m.”
• “Add: Can't wait exclamation point.” (You can do this, by the way, even if Siri does not mention it explicitly as an option.)
• “No, send it to Megs.”
• “No.” (This keeps the message without sending it)
• “Cancel.”

When you are satisfied with your text or email message, you can say something like “Yes, send it” to start it on its way.

Summary

FaceTime is a terrific feature to use for communicating visually with others. Its popularity is sure to grow as more devices become FaceTime-compatible and iMessages bring free texting and chatting to any device running iOS 5 or newer. In this chapter, you learned how to set up your FaceTime account and send and receive calls and send and receive messages using iMessages. Here are a few more tips for using FaceTime:

• If you are planning to make a lot of FaceTime calls at home or in the office, you may want to invest in a dock so you don't have to keep holding your device at arm's length. A dock helps you eliminate those horrible up-the-nose and double-chin points of view that happen when holding the camera at arm's length.
• Use FaceTime from the sky! If you're on a plane that offers Wi-Fi service, you can use FaceTime to talk to your friends and family back on the ground!
• Don't forget to use the rear camera to show your caller what you are looking at. You don't have to turn your unit around to show them!
• FaceTime can be a life-changing feature for those who can't speak. The screen resolution is crisp enough where sign language can easily be read and for grandparents to make that all-important eye-contact with preverbal grandchildren, especially at a distance.
• Watch out for bright backgrounds. If light is glaring in through the window behind you, it's likely to cause your viewer to see you in silhouette. To fix this, move your camera just a tiny way away from the light source, and your face should show up just fine.

iMessages provide a great way to keep in touch with your friends who live long distances away. It's like always-on instant messaging. Individual messages are delivered as texts to your friends no matter if they are on an iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone. The only requirement is a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.