Skype vs FaceTime, Which One Is Better?

1
In our previous article, we made a comparison
between Skype and Google Hangouts, two of most
popular video chat programs. And today, we will
continue our trip with Skype and FaceTime
comparison, both of which are widely used. Lets
compare both on some important fronts and try to
find out which one is the best video-calling
service out there. Not so long ago, Skype was
the only serious contender for calling friends,
family and colleagues over the net. Yet a few
years, and an unpopular major update later, Skype
has gone down in the estimation of many Mac
users. At the same time, Apple released its
answer to Skype - Facetime - which is rapidly
climbing the download charts as a serious
alternative. Its therefore about time we put
Skype and Facetime head-to-head to see which is
the king of calling. Interface Until the
update to version 5, most Mac users were
satisfied with the interface of Skype. Since the
latest version however, many have found the new
large-screen interface intrusive, unintuitive
and basically harder to use than previous
versions. Some have even gone back to the much
slimmer version 2.8. Facetime meanwhile has a
very simple interface which instantly detects
your iSight camera on startup and makes calling
contacts simple. Even better, it automatically
detects contacts in your Address Book so you
dont have to mess about adding them. However,
it is still very basic compared to Skype at this
stage of its development. Flexibility Skype
can be used on both Mac and Windows and you can
call landlines or mobiles anywhere in the world.
In terms of flexibility and interoperability
between platforms Skype takes some
beating. Facetime however is very much locked
into everything Apple. Its not even available on
Windows, works only on Macs or iPads, you cant
call landlines and the only mobiles you can call
are iPhones.
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Cost Skype is free to download. Facetime costs
0.99 to download on the Mac App Store (although
rumor is that it will be bundled free in new Macs
sold with forthcoming Lion OS X) and there is no
trial version. Both allow free calls between
computers (Macs only in the case of Facetime)
and mobiles with either Skype or Facetime
installed. However, Facetime allows group video
calls for free. Skype have now made this a
Premium feature in version 5 costing 4.99 a day
or 8.99 a month. Overall, it depends on your
needs. Updates Both allow auto-updating from
within the apps. However, as many Skype users
have already done so on Mac, you can easily
roll-back to version 2.8 if youre unhappy with
version 5.0 by simply downloading and
reinstalling it. Not so with Facetime. As with
all apps from the Mac App Store, theres no
rolling them back if youre unhappy with the new
look or features. Call Quality This is a hard
one to judge because much will depend on the
quality of your internet connection. In terms of
audio, both are about the same. In terms of video
however, on a 1-Mbps connection Facetime offers
incredibly high quality HD video chats of
720p. Unfortunately though, HD quality is limited
to new MacBook Pros due to the iSight camera
requirements. Every other MacBook user has to do
with VGA quality which is still pretty
good. Skype also offers HD calls but both you
and the person youre talking to need Skype 4.2
for Windows or higher plus HD webcams. For
everyone else, Skype video calls are in the same
640480 VGA resolution as Facetime. Both Facetime
and Skype support full- screen video too.
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Despite both being very capable video calling
apps and each having its own pros and cons,
recommending one over the other is fairly easy,
and it will depend entirely on your
needs. Overall, while Facetime is very
promising, Skype still remains the superior
calling tool because of its flexibility.
Facetime can only be used with other Mac and iOS
devices and that will be a major drawback for
many users. Skype allows you to call anyone,
anywhere and that remains its over riding appeal.
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