Considering that's about normal price for most iPhone owners who have ATT that I know, and that was only $10 more than what I paid when I had my iPhone with ATT ( when you factor in minutes, text messaging, fees, etc ).

Even if paying an extra $20-30 a month gets me 3G video calling in the US, I'll take it.

How it works over here in the UK is if you are in a 3G area, you can make a video call. All the networks support it on all tariffs, its just charged at an extra high per minute rate and I believe the quality sucks.

I cannot verify the quality though as while I have owned a few phones which support it, the 3G coverage is too patchy. Chances are if I was in a 3G area my friend who also supports it would not be, so I never bothered to try.

Also when video calling was launched, all phones had dreadful video quality and as they have to be compatible with each other, I think its fair to say it probably sucks.

I have used the inbuilt gtalk client to make a video call from my tablet to another tablet. Mine was on 3G tethered to my n95 while the other guy was at home on his wifi. The quality was okay and i could see and hear him clearly.

Now if some one made a video of two n900 using video calls that would be a great to show to all the iphone fanboys.

That is kinda what I was trying to say, that I do not think its any loss not being able to make NETWORK video calls as they will suck compared to the quality of newer codecs used for TCP/IP video chat.

Video calling is an issue since many years, but nobody is using it. I spent maybe 2h on my N95 to make it work without success.
If Maemo finds a way for a very simple usage on the N900 with it's front camera, this could be a very strong argument against all other handsets.
Of course the markeitng guys must do the rest in order to success. Probably Skype should be in the boat, mobile to PC calls would be the main use case in the first place.

I think the best deal for video calling in the UK is on an O2 contract (e.g. simplicity) where you can use your inclusive minutes (e.g. 800 mins on £20 a month) for video calling.

Hi

When i posted my question, i totally forgot that videocall are not really used in many countries.

Here in Portugal we mainly use "pay as you go". The 3 main networks (vodafone, optimus and TMN) have a special price plan for only 10 euros, you can call, text, send mms and make videocall for free to all the people having the same plan as you have.

That's why i asked if the N900 was able to make videocall trough 3G. Since the plans are available, i use 3G videocall and MMS a lot.

Apparently it's gonna be possible. I'm just waiting for good mobile internet price plan (on vodafone 500mb a month it's an extra 15 euros). I think it's about to change with the new vodafone 360º.

It's more a question of software. But if software from the n800 or n810 still works, or companies like Gizmo5 continue to support Nokia devices then yes we do have video calling. It is then just a matter of who can see you (do they have the same software installed)

This does not seem to be the one breaking issue for you.
On every thread you seem to have a <if the N900 cant do x I might as well cancel my order>.

I wonder why you still haven't cancelled ?
And if its because you don't know the answers to your multiple "cancel my order" issues, then maybe you should wait till the N900 is out in the market - check it for yourself (instead of voicing empty cancel threats) and then decide for yourself.

No. I think I've been pretty consistent - video chat is my prime concern.

Believe me, I totally 'get' the N900 and its Maemo platform - I'm a veteran *nix hacker Been around the block many times. It's an extremely cool device and I'm very excited about the possibilities it opens up.

Of course the video chat issue can be resolved eventually with good software, I'm perfectly capable of helping out with that code - but believe it or not I don't have the time right now. I have some cool ideas for application-layer projects, and have signed up with the garage to enable me to start such projects....but getting involved in hobbyist hackery at the OS level is something I don't currently have the time to invest in. Hopefully this will change, and then I'd love to help.

But right now, my family is of greatest concern to me, and I just want a solution to an immediate problem more-or-less out the box. OK, saying "cancel my order" is a tad melodramatic, but this functionality really is a showstopper for me...it will be a great disappointment to me if it lets me down.