Skype is the incumbent. I regularly hear people talking about Skyping each other. FaceTime is going to need to connect to Skype to compete.

Google+ is in a pretty similar position - I chat with people all the time via Google Chat, and if there's video, I can use the same interface with a very low barrier to entry - I already talk to people every day using it. An Apple-only video protocol, by contrast, is basically just a tech demo for most practical applications. Unless you refuse to talk to people who don't own Apple products.

Or everyone gets Apple products.

Does FaceTime have any kind of momentum behind it right now that Google, Facebook, or Skype/Microsoft would care?

Especially since Apple decided to replace Facebook Auth with Twitter Auth for native iOS integration, I think we can disqualify that relationship at this point.

Personally, I've used FaceTime twice: Once when it first came out to try it out, and once more this week (4 months later) to surprise my girlfriend while I'm travelling because I know she had FaceTime installed on her Macbook and it pops up unexpectedly when you call.

Do other people use FaceTime a lot?

I do. Ever since finishing college and traveling frequently, I use it all the time to call family back home. It's more convenient than any other videochat solution and infinitely more personal than a voice call.

After visiting family in another state, they also picked up a FaceTime-compatible device (iPad 2) to easily videochat with my family back home.

The fact that you DON'T have to create an account (other than your Apple ID) or maintain "status" (a la IM) makes it much friendlier for my Luddite-inclined friends and family.

I have tried facetime exactly once when it came out. I may use it a bit more in the coming months cause now my work team is split in three countries and we like to have video meetings. But then again, it is more likely we will now use G+'s hangouts, since not everyone is a mac user.

what would give you any indication that Apple would do this after failing to even make good on opening up FaceTime.

As I said in my comment, it's not likely -- just interesting.

But I don't understand... how is Apple is any more of a unique position to do this than anyone else? It seems to me that if Google is already using a documented open standard that it would make it more likely that Google+ becomes the video grand-daddy that others want to plug into, especially given the Android explosion, etc.

You have three players in the space, Microsoft/Facebook/Skype, Apple, and Google. Google and Microsoft/Facebook will not partner under any circumstances. Apple in theory could partner with either. This is why I called Apple a kingmaker.

You think the relations between Apple and Google are still strong enough to allow that? Since Schmidt left Apple's board and Android has been growing, I think the two companies would be unwilling to make deals on something as potentially important as video calling.