Once upon a time, texting was a walled garden. Messages could be sent and received only shared between phones from the same carrier. Cell-based video chatting, still in its infancy, is in a similar segregated state. Video calls between phones are restricted to within a specific video chat platform, currently Apple's FaceTime, the Android app Qik, available on the two Sprint 4G phones (the HTC EVO and the Samsung Galaxy S Epic), and a new entry, Movicha (pronounced "moe-VEE-cha"), powered by a technology from a company called Damaka. I recently tested them all, and (risking once again being accused of being an Apple fanboy) the winner — clearly, literally and figuratively — is FaceTime by a wide margin. Read on for the details.

Apple's FaceTime video chat that's built into iPhones and new iPod Touches is neat, but it's got a couple of issues holding it back. First, the fact that you need to be on Wi-Fi makes it difficult to predict when someone will be available to FaceTime with you. And having it only work on such a limited number of products makes things tough as well. At least Apple looks to be fixing at least one of these.

To make a call from an airplane, your only real option is those phones on the seats you have to pay for (and even those are rare now). Using your cell doesn't work, and neither does VoIP as it's often blocked by Wi-Fi providers. You know what does work? The iPhone 4's video chat component, FaceTime.

With its new front-facing camera, the iPhone 4 brings videoconferencing to the masses. The idea is compelling. Those heartrending, fancy demo videos of FaceTime, Apple's application that goes with that camera, make it look like something out of a sci-fi movie. And you know what? It feels like that.