By Sam Oliver
Published: 08:10 AM EST (05:10 AM PST)
Apple plans to extend FaceTime video chat beyond the latest iPhone and iPod touch, bringing compatibility with both Macs and PCs, according to a new rumor.
French Apple site
Mac4Ever reported Friday (Google translation) that Apple is working on FaceTime clients for both Mac and PC. The site claimed that the Mac version of FaceTime will be built in to its existing iChat software.
In addition, the site reiterated its belief that a new version of iLife will debut soon
without iDVD. The site reported in July that a 64-bit version of iLife '11 would include a new "mystery" application in the place of iDVD. It also claimed the iLife update would arrive in August, which was incorrect.
iLife is, however, due for an update. The last update,
iLife '09, launched in January of 2009, with major upgrades to all of its applications, including the Faces and Places features in iPhoto, and the addition of the Precision Editor to iMovie.
FaceTime is an
open standard for video chat introduced by Apple this summer. Its first compatible device was the iPhone 4, which has a forward facing video camera.
The
new iPod touch unveiled last week also sports a camera for FaceTime, which allows for video calls over Wi-Fi.
Apple plans to open up FaceTime to third parties for development, allowing compatibility with non-Apple devices. This summer, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said that FaceTime will be on
tens of millions of devices shipped in 2010.
