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Apple Announces iPhone 4
In a keynote presentation today at WWDC, Steve Jobs officially unveiled the iPhone 4. It's powered by an A4 chip, has a glass front and back, and has stainless steel around the edges, which turns out to be part of the antenna system. The new iPhone uses what Jobs called a "Retina display," running at 960x640, or 326 ppi. The battery is also bigger, with a corresponding increase in battery life. The iPhone 4 supports 802.11n, has two mics for noise cancellation, and a three-axis gyroscope, which allows rotation and precision that accelerometers can't match. The iPhone 4's camera is using a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor, which Jobs said does better at low-light photography. It also records 720p video at 30 frames per second, with tap-to-focus. In addition to this, they've created an iMovie app, which allows users to easily edit videos on their phone. Several live blogs of the event, with pictures, are available. The device ships in the US on June 24. Apple's product page has been updated with specs and a video. Read on for more details.
Update: 06/07 18:34 GMT by S : Steve's "One More Thing" this time around: FaceTime, live video chat from one iPhone 4 to another. It is Wi-Fi only at the moment, but they're working with carriers to expand that in the future. Jobs says the iPhone 4 OS is being renamed "iOS4," since it isn't just focused on phones anymore. The release candidate will be made available to developers today. He demonstrated multitasking, a unified email inbox, and folders for apps. In the App Store, you can expect to see an iPhone version of Netflix soon, as well as Guitar Hero and FarmVille. Jobs also announced that iBooks, the ebook application for the iPad, would be getting a few upgrades. Users will soon be able to make notes, and a bookmark button is on the way. It will put bookmarked pages into the book's table of contents. iBooks is also gaining support for viewing PDF files. On top of that, it won't be just for the iPad anymore; it's coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch as well, and it will sync between devices.
Update: 06/07 18:34 GMT by S : Steve's "One More Thing" this time around: FaceTime, live video chat from one iPhone 4 to another. It is Wi-Fi only at the moment, but they're working with carriers to expand that in the future. Jobs says the iPhone 4 OS is being renamed "iOS4," since it isn't just focused on phones anymore. The release candidate will be made available to developers today. He demonstrated multitasking, a unified email inbox, and folders for apps. In the App Store, you can expect to see an iPhone version of Netflix soon, as well as Guitar Hero and FarmVille. Jobs also announced that iBooks, the ebook application for the iPad, would be getting a few upgrades. Users will soon be able to make notes, and a bookmark button is on the way. It will put bookmarked pages into the book's table of contents. iBooks is also gaining support for viewing PDF files. On top of that, it won't be just for the iPad anymore; it's coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch as well, and it will sync between devices.
None of which would have happened had Android not shown up.
You're right! It's good for Android that Apple is around. :D
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Wow, those are conservative odds as well. I would have put it somewhere around G to 1...
If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
One thing that the past has taught us, is that resolution != quality. Sure, it can shoot 720, but without a decent lens or good sensor, most of those pixels will be just noise anyway. I'm not saying that it's bad, I'm just saying that just because it's 5mp and 720 doesn't mean that it'll give better quality than a 1mp and 320 x 240... It's one of those things that we'll have to wait for the reviews to see...
If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
No teleportation. Less space than the Library of Congress. Lame.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Don't. You know that euphoria you have when you're watching porn and then after you're done jacking off you feel guilty about it.
You're doing it wrong
without a decent lens or good sensor, most of those pixels will be just noise anyway.
Apparently that's pretty close to what Jobs said in the keynote. He said the new camera not only shoots 720 but it does this with a larger sensor so the sensor elements still capture a decent amount of photons and don't lose quality. He also said they use better lenses. We'll see exactly how it pans out but the shots of pictures taken with the 3G model vs the new 4G model show that there's been a huge jump in quality.
Sapere aude!
I'm one of those people. I'm an Apple whore and buy pretty much anything Apple puts out (with the exception of the iPad - I don't see the need for one - and Apple TV - no smartcard) but finally gave up my iPhone and switched to the Droid. There were two reasons: One, I hate AT&T service. It's terrible (so far, Verizon has been _much_ better) and two, I can't type worth crud on a touch screen. I find myself increasingly using my phone for email when I travel and the keyboard, even with chiclet keys, makes it much easier (and faster) for me to type. Toward the end, the iPhone pretty much became a portable gaming device and I didn't really need one of those. So while the new iPhone is sexy, it's just not something that would fit my needs.
Bark less. Wag more.
Apple - copy everyone else, claim it's revolutionary.
It's revolutionary when someone else fails to start a revolution with their idea and it just languishes until you take it up and start a revolution in the industry with it.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Wifi only because AT&T will never allow it. They say they are working with carriers which means outside the US it should be available in no time but inside, you can forget about it.
It is iPhone only, but it sounds like Apple is opening up the protocol for others to use. It would be nice if there was a standard for video calls on phones.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
"a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor"
Does that mean the sun shines out its backside?
As I recall, this is the same man who declared the iPad having the ability to browse the web to be something unique that no other device on the market can do.
Palm trees and 8
They licensed the name iOS to Apple. mentioned in the cnet live feed http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20006866-260.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1
The Wii "wiimote" Controller has three MEMS linear accelerometers. The Wii "Motion Plus" adapters plug into the wiimote, and add three MEMS angular accelerometers, which are also very commonly referred as gyroscopic sensors. If the phone has the gyro sensors, it can sense relative tilt motions, but can't sense its own position relative to gravity when held still or sitting on a dock. The linear accelerometers work best at slow gestures, like those found in marble games or augmented reality windows. If it has all six sensors, which I expect it does, then there are a lot of quick and slow motion gestures you can do very accurately.
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You do realize that there's a difference between having a webcam sitting on top of your monitor and sending live video from your phone, right? Not to mention that Apple's version of it will probably be about as simple as making a phone call.
Like they said in the keynote, this isn't some new idea, this is a "vision of the future" that predates Apple, but finally starting to become a reality. It's about damn time, too.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Actually, it has something like this 4x4x0.9mm ITG-3200 Triple-Axis Digital-Output Gyroscope. Not one, but three real MEMS gyroscopes in a single surface-mount IC package.
Yes, they actually can make them that small these days. Amazing, isn't it?
"The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
Very true. It was hard to convince my mom that her $149 point and shoot digital at 12MP couldn't match my old (ancient, in technology terms) Canon Digital Rebel XT that was "only" 8MP. The reality though is that despite having only 2/3's of the pixel count, my camera takes pictures that look WORLDS better. Side by side shots finally convinced her.
Just like the Mhz myth for processors, cameras also can't simply be measuring in megapixels.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
On their specification Page.
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
sonofabitch.
My dad worked at Cornell University when they were trying to adopt NT. Apparently they had some laughs when deciding what to call the mailing list.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Actually, people should be in awe - and if you're Amazon you should be shitting your pants. One of the big debates lately in the publishing industry has been in regards to a unified format. Allowing PDF's in the iBooks part of iTunes basically makes that a moot point. Brilliant on Apple's part, and a death knell for traditional publishing.
I think Bill Hicks summed advertising up quite accurately:
"There's no rationalisation for what you do and you are Satan's little helpers. Okay - kill yourself - seriously. You are the ruiner of all things good, seriously. No this is not a joke, you're going, "there's going to be a joke coming," there's no fucking joke coming. You are Satan's spawn filling the world with bile and garbage. You are fucked and you are fucking us. Kill yourself. It's the only way to save your fucking soul, kill yourself."
Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
I'm curious, specifically which draconian policy would impair your use and enjoyment of the phone?
1) Standards & Development:
My Nexus One acts as a hard drive with my computer. It uses standard USB cables to connect to it. Tethering with the nexus one had no hassles whatsoever. The Nexus One worked flawlessly with Linux and Windows without the need for drivers, and I did not have to pay for a developers license to start playing with it.
2) Usability:
The Android supports multitasking and as such, has a much more useful "homescreen", which is actually several screens that can contain widgets with uptodate information. The home screen is just an app, I can replace it. The keyboard is just an app, I can replace it. Email is just an app, I can replace it. I can run services in the background with a proper notification system so that I can be properly notified should I choose it from whatever app I install. If I don't like Google's idea of Android, I'm free to install any version of Android I want. I'm free to install any OS that can work with my Nexus One I want.
3) Upgradability:
I can swap the 4gb MicroSD card for a 32gb MicroSD card should I chose to do so, and only pay the costs of the microsd card.
4) Flexibility:
There are no or very little limitations to the kinds of apps available on the market, and nothing stops me from installing apps outside of the market as well. As a developer, I am not limited to what I can make my app do. I am not limited to one programming language to make my app.
iPhone has the exact opposite of all four of these points, and I find that to be horribly draconian.
If I am going to shell out $600 for a device, I intend to use it as I see fit and not be dictated by anyone on how I should use my shiny new toy.
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
Come on Apple, how do you expect others to respect your trademarks if you don't respect other?
Ever think of checking your facts before commenting? From the FaceTime IM company web site:
"Our agreement with Apple to transfer the FaceTime trademark to them comes as we are rebranding our company to better reflect our capabilities. We will be announcing a new name in the coming months."
Quantity != quality
You know, nobody bought that argument when mac users were saying the same thing about PC applications.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
It was a pretty funny comment from the crowd, I laughed.
Of course it turned out that there were something like 570 wifi base stations operating in the audience and it totally hosed the whole wifi network for the event. Since the iPhones were set to load their data over wifi rather than over the cell network it killed the demos. Once the organizers made people turn off their devices the demos went very smoothly. Funny how that works!
Sapere aude!
Setting aside your disregard for the Star Wars reference (turn in your geek card as you leave)
Let's get this straight: referencing the solution to:
Consider an n-dimensional hypercube, and connect each pair of vertices to obtain a complete graph on 2n vertices. Then colour each of the edges of this graph using only the colours red and black. What is the smallest value of n for which every possible such colouring must necessarily contain a single-coloured complete sub-graph with 4 vertices which lie in a plane?
is not geeky, but awareness of a mainstream hollywood kids action movie is?
Someone must have changed the definition of geekiness while I wasn't looking.