At Apple‘s June 7th WWDC, the successor to the extremely popular iPhone 3GS has finally been officially announced after a series of widely publicized leaks and heavy speculation. The long awaited and heavily hyped iPhone 4 comes with a number of new features, some unexpected, and aims to raise the bar and maintain Apple’s solid presence in the smartphone market. Following in the success of the iPhone 3GS, Apple has attempted to address some shortcomings and changing consumer desires into their latest incarnation of the iPhone platform. Expected to be available for purchase on June 24th, preorders begin in a week for the bigger markets (UK, Germany, US, France, and Japan). The iPhone 4 will be available in the traditional black finish and a new white colouration starting at about £135 for the 16GB version and £205 for the 32GB version. The phone will also be available through many Apple iPhone 4 deals from various retailers.
The iPhone 4 features some innovative and exciting hardware upgrades that complement the sleek design and precise approach taken by Apple. After years of refining their phones through the 3G and 3GS, Apple has managed to get as much as they can out of the iPhone 4. Beginning from the outside, Apple has engineered the iPhone with some of the latest, high-quality technology, starting with the glass casing that houses the rest of the hardware. Made of glossy aluminosilicate glass that is chemically treated to make it up to 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, the iPhone 4 is extremely durable and resistant to scratches.
Underneath the industrial-grade glass is Apple’s new high res LCD display, the source of much discussion following WWDC. Dubbed “retina display” by Steve Jobs, the large 960×640 LCD touchscreen has an extremely high pixel density—326 pixels per inch—and is the highest-resolution phone screen to date. Made up of remarkably small pixels that are individually indistinguishable at a distance of just a few inches away from the eyes, the screen displays text and images with unrivalled sharpness and vivid colour. Combined with IPS technology, the screen offers crisp contrast and accurate colour with an extremely wide viewing angle, allowing you to see everything clearly in almost any situation. Laminated within the glass of the display is a panel that offers increased touchscreen functionality, allowing for advanced gestures that incorporate multiple touches simultaneously to give you an increased level of control over the mobile device and making it easy and intuitive to navigate through menus, send messages, or browse the web.
Making excellent use of their ability to meld form and functionality to create sleek, modern devices, Apple wrapped the iPhone 4 in a stainless steel band that serves as the structural centrepiece and foundation for mounting all of the components of the phone as well as both the Wi-Fi and GSM band antennas. As a result of the remarkable strength of Apple’s custom alloy, the iPhone 4 is an extremely thin 9.3mm, yet remains structurally sound and rigid.
Inside of the engineered exterior is Apple’s new A4 processor that also powers the iPad. Optimised for efficiency, the A4 is capable of running everything smoothly—multitasking, video editing, etc.—while minimising power consumption to help extend the batter life. Additionally, despite the shrinking waistline of the iPhone 4, Apple managed to squeeze a larger battery in, providing up to 7 hours of talk or 40 hours of music playback. Additionally, with the improved battery power, the Wi-Fi has received an upgrade to 802.11 n, allowing for much higher wireless speeds than the 802.11 b/g of the 3GS.
The iPhone 4 has been equipped with a 5-megapixel camera capable of shooting high res photos and recording 720p HD video. An illumination sensor located on the rear of the phone allows the camera to adjust to low-light environments and a built-in LED flash can serve as a flash or video light while recording, allowing you to take a great picture no matter the settings. An additional forward-facing camera allows you to make use of the iPhone’s new FaceTime video calling service for a more personal calling experience, or take self-portraits with ease. After recording video, you can utilise Apple’s new iMovie video editing suite on the App Store and add music, photos, titles and a theme then send it to your friends and family in high-quality HD formats.
In addition to sporting two cameras, the iPhone 4 has two mics as well: a main mic mounted near the bottom for calls and voice commands, and a second mic mounted near the top making FaceTime calls more convenient and offering higher voice quality during normal calls. Working in conjunction with the main mic, the second mic helps to capture incoming voice more clearly and suppresses background noise, making your phone calls much easier to hear and understand, even in distracting, noisy environments.
One of the iPhone 4′s most hyped features is FaceTime two-way video calling. Using its speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi, iPhone 4 users can directly connect to each other through their contacts or from a voice call with a single tap of the FaceTime button, making it easy to see friends and family even when you’re apart. The forward-facing camera records you as you chat, while a single tap switches to the rear-facing camera which can be used to show what you’re seeing for sharing memorable moments.
The iPhone 4 gets a few more extras in the form of a “six axis” motion control using the gyroscope, accelerometer and internal compass that can be utilised by iPhone apps for an entirely new experience in games and other applications. Along with this new hardware, the iPhone has a number of new applications and will ship with Apple’s new iOS 4, opening up a number of new features to application developers and end users. With the increased potential for app development, the iPhone 4′s multitasking ability comes in handy, making it easy to run multiple apps at once smoothly and efficiently without a heavy drain on the battery—start working in one app, quickly switch to another to check something, and then switch right back without losing your place or information. You can have your own say on the latest incarnation of the iPhone on the Apple iPhone 4 reviews page.
Posts Tagged ‘AppleiPhone’
Apple iPhone 4 review
Friday, June 11th, 2010Apple Needs to Exert a New Kind of Control
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Developers are already choking a lot on the yoke of the license agreement of Apple’s SDK’s and of course, app submission rules. But since Apple currently provides the largest market of actual paying customers for smart phones, it has been hard for developers to move away. However, these past few months has been seeing a large increase in the number of users for the Android and BlackBerry OS –two platforms that already have larger user base than the iPhone to begin with.
With the growth of these markets, it will not be long before Google and RIM are able to offer developers the same consistent cash flow that Apple alone used to have. In a three way competition, developers would be hard pressed to stick with Apple.
Still, things are not completely hopeless for the Cupertino based company. After all, they only have retention issues to deal with (as opposed to actually attracting new customers which will be the focus of their competitors), and there are a couple of things that Apple can do to make their iTunes store a whole lot better.
The first part is already obvious; giving the developers a little more slack in terms of tools of choice (we all know the arguments with that), and of course, what gets approved. Maintaining a solid iPhone user experience is one thing, but simply banning an app because there is no appropriate category for it is very alienating.
Another major issue with iPhone apps is the actual user experience. Apple provides no control standards for functions such as zooming and scrolling, each app developer follows their own style. The iTunes store itself is a smorgasbord of approved apps that have been arranged in a haphazard manner. More often than not, people find themselves wasting money purchasing several apps for a single function in the search of one that is actually easy and fun to use.
What People are Saying About the Apple iPad
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Thinking about lining up for the Apple iPad this Friday? You might want to take a step back from your plans and take a moment before fully deciding on this little tech investment. Even the cheapest version of the iPad is certain to set users back by a few hundred Pounds, and this is why it pays to research ahead of time.
Anyway, the Apple iPad is the first touch screen standalone tablet. While there are similar touch screen devices, none are like the iPad, and in many ways it is the pioneer in its own niche. While that is essentially a good thing, the lack of competition has dulled Apple’s innovative edge.
For one thing, this device focuses heavily on internet access. In fact, without web access, a great portion of the tablet’s functionality is lost. While the onboard browser is fast and efficient, it still lacks some key factors that prevent it from being successful –the most important of which is lack of Flash support. Apple has been very loud about stating that HTML5 is the new direction. While that may be true, the iPad’s lack of Flash support is like selling a television that can only play HD signals and will not support SD.
The same applies for Flash, while HTML5 may be the new format of the next generation, there is a vast number of websites that are require Flash to be accessed, a majority of streaming video on the internet also requires it as well as many Facebook apps –including the very famous Farmville. The device also lacks multi tasking and requires the use of Apple’s iTunes software to hook up to a computer.
In its’ other functions, the iPad is an excellent eBook reading tool, application platform and of course, media center. Owners are exceptionally happy about the iPad’s long battery life –lasting up to the advertised ten hours.
Why Foursquare is Becoming the Next Form of Social Networking
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
While you may not get to share YouTube video links, photos from your latest vacation, invite a pal to visit your virtual farm or simply send a happy amusing poke to your friends, GPS-cum-social network tool Foursquare is becoming one of the fastest growing tech trends of today.
If you have not tried it out, simply get the Foursquare app for your smart phone (it supports the Google Android, Palm’s WebOS, the BlackBerry OS, iPhone and more) and you are ready to go. The app itself is easy to use; simply head over to the nearest public facility that is listed in the app, ‘check in’ and you are done. Foursquare keeps track of how often you get to check in at a location. And if your favorite pub is not already listed in Foursquare’s directory, you can list it as well.
Foursquare awards users with virtual rewards called badges which are achieved by being in certain places at certain times or just being there often enough. The much coveted mayor badge goes to users who check in the most.
This may not seem like a big deal, after all, what use are virtual badges anyway? The real bonus comes from the fact that many establishments now recognize Foursquare and actually give special real life awards to people who earn certain merits. These special promotions are often advertised on site. And if you have just recently listed a location, know that you have helped advertise the business to the many Foursquare users in your area.
Topping off this great app is the ability to leave notes in the places you go to. You can post anything from crude “I was here” remarks to more informative tips such as “try the soup of the day” or “best time to order grilled sandwich is after lunch”. It is like geo-specific twitter with a 200 character cap. By combining real life activity with online resources, Foursquare has once again made it possible to turn an internet hobby into something that applies to the outdoors.
More iPhone Rumours: White Version Leaked
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Since the Apple iMacs (and some of the lesser iPod devices), there has hardly been anything that came to a semblance of having a choice when it came to purchasing Apple devices. For the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad, all the devices looked the same –no choice in colors or other appearance variations.
Anyway, the upcoming iPhone 4G/HD has been spotted again and from the looks of it, there will be two variations of the touch screen smart phone. According to various sources, the device will actually come in two variant colors: black and white. Black is easy to imagine –it is basically the same look for the iPhone ever since it came out over two years ago. The white finish on the other hand is somewhat promising but is still made for a niche crowd –white tech gadgets never seem to appeal to many folks anyway.
So there it is; the iPhone might come in two colors. One might think that it is not a big issue, but for Apple to actually provide variety is already a miracle in itself.
On a more serious note, the actual launch of their handset has yet to be announced. It was originally thought that the iPhone might make an appearance at the upcoming event this June 7, but Apple is still keeping silent with all details.
If Apple does decide to bring out the new iPhone next month, then they will be bringing out two major devices right after the other: the iPad touch screen tablet and the next generation iPhone. As previously announced, the new iPhone will come packed with the iPhone 4.0 operating system and it will support multitasking, and plenty of other new features. Obviously, support for Flash will never be available on Apple’s products.
Enterprise View: iPhone and BlackBerry for Business
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
If there is one reason why the smart phone was invented, it was because people who worked in offices needed them. The first core functions of smart phones were simple: e-mail access, contacts list, organizer, a notepad and a few extras. This was the basic formula for the very first smart phones –and BlackBerry’s mastery of the email medium has made them one of the pioneers and the forerunners of making smart phones for the enterprise market.
Recently, the Apple iPhone has been getting plenty of business centric features. With the inclusion of these add-ons, more and more companies are starting to realize how much the made-for-general-market touch screen gadget could be beneficial to the company. Even Standard Chartered has announced that many of its key personnel would have a choice of getting either a BlackBerry or an Apple iPhone for their on the go device.
Still, many businessmen feel that the iPhone still lacks the edge it needs to dominate BlackBerry’s market. The main reason, and a simple one that it is, is that BlackBerry smart phones are, more often than not, equipped with physical QWERTY keyboards.
While the iPhone does have a virtual keyboard for typing out letters and long messages, no on screen keyboard can ever hope to match the physical feel of buttons and of course, the actual feedback that is felt through touch as opposed to simply being seen with the eyes or heard by the ears.
However, Apple’s iPhone is offering a few extras that the BlackBerry has yet to touch up on: security. The presence of new security features on the iPhone has made the Apple device much more appealing to some people –especially the ones that use a smart phone for work, but hardly need the keyboard.
So far, it is still too early in the race to tell if the iPhone would ever be a real major player in the business market. But if a version of the iPhone comes out with a keyboard, then BlackBerry better beware.
The Next iPhone Could Be Spiffier than the iPad
Monday, May 24th, 2010
No one knows for sure, but if the now emerging rumors hold a shred of truth in them, then there is certainly a lot to look forward to when Apple holds their press conference this upcoming June 7.
We already knew early on that Apple is planning a June event, but nobody really know what this will be all about. Many are already predicting that this would be mostly focused on the upcoming Apple iPhone 4G/HD device that is about to be launched. At the same time, we are also expecting the event to cover some bits of the upcoming worldwide iPad launch from the folks at Cupertino –provided that they finally managed to manufacture enough of the devices.
According to various reports, the specs of the upcoming next generation iPhone are as follows: first off, better screen technology. The device is expected to make use of both IPS (in-plane switching) and FFS (fringe-field switching) which will enable the iPhone to be viewable –somewhat even when the lighting conditions are bad –basically, under sunlight.
We have no idea yet how this will turn out, but at least Apple has been able to pinpoint one of the major weaknesses of their devices. For the record, the Apple iPad is completely worthless in direct sunlight as the screen tends to reflect too much light.
Other spec details revealed is that the device will be packed with Samsung made RAM at 512MB, an LG touch screen with a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels (we are estimating a screen that is at least 4 inches diagonally) and of course, a front facing camera.
The rumors are also stating that Apple is now preparing for a large demand for the product and that they plan to manufacture at least 24 million units all in all. For June alone, it is expected that Apple would have at least 4.5 million units ready and waiting.
Matching Up: Apple iPhone and the Google Android
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
There is no doubt that the Apple iPhone is the single most successful mobile phone to be released. Given the fact that there is hardly anything obviously different between the 2G, 3G and 3Gs versions of the touch screen handset, the Apple device has managed to become the most recognizable and iconic mobile phones of our time.
However, there are many that state that overall the Android has sold more devices than the Apple’s iPhone. Of course, one should also note that while Apple offers 3 different variations of the iPhone –they are technically the same device, just upgraded. On the other hand, there are over 20 different Android smart phones and that number grows up to 32 if we include the different second versions or variations.
In a recent study, 150,000 smart phone users in the United States were polled in order to study smart phone usage patterns and preferences. It was pretty clear from the initial results that there were more Android users than there were iPhone users, but there were even more BlackBerry device users as well –many believe that the BlackBerry’s success is due to its dominance in the business market.
Speaking of BlackBerry, it appears that Standard Charted is now offering its executives a choice between the iPhone and a BlackBerry (a testament to the improvement of new business functions for the Apple handset).
In the meanwhile, Google’s Android is continuing to grow, with more and more handsets featuring the open source mobile platform coming out each year, there is no doubt that Google’s OS will eventually become the new standard of the smart phone industry –a far step away from the underdog position it held just a couple of years back.
The new Android 2.2 Froyo is expected to come out soon, many believe that the inclusion of Flash and AIR support as well as a large range of Google made features will give the Android a major advantage over the upcoming iPhone 4.0 OS.
Apple’s iPad: Delayed, Again and Again
Monday, May 17th, 2010
It was just a few weeks ago that the world had to be utterly disappointed with the fact that the Apple iPad would not be available by the end of April. After the device launched successfully in the US, many believe that the tablet was the future of the internet and many people wanted to own one –sadly, the device is only being sold in the US and the UK and international launch was not due until much later in April.
Still, the world waited patiently for the iPad, and more patiently still after Apple announced that they are having trouble producing enough stocks of the touch screen tablet to meet the US demands. While many were obviously disappointed at the re-scheduled May 28 launch date, it was something that many still wanted to wait for. Now, with just a couple of weeks away from the new date, it appears that Apple is once again experiencing more trouble stocking the device as they have made a new announcement in the Apple online store –the tablet is now due to be released on June 7.
The new schedule is not just a major delay, but also an insult to the any people worldwide who have waited to try out the touch screen device. Many tech experts are now also advising the market to hold back on tablet purchases and wait for more devices to be available –giving people a better choice of products aside from Apple’s iPad.
The next big contender in the tablet market is made by Google and as shown in the Web 2.0 Expo, the Android toting touch screen device comes equipped with all the best features including native support for Flash and AIR content. Google and Adobe have been keeping quiet about the details of their new device, but some representatives have hinted that NVIDA technology may be running under the hood of this hot ride.
No Surprise: Apple’s iPhone Leaked Again
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Leaks in the tech industry are pretty common. Especially when people are so eager to get a sneak peek at the latest gadget for upgrade, you can be almost certain of the possibility that a series of leaked images and data will be available in a short while.
The same applies to the next Apple iPhone. After all, who would not want to see the successor of the smart phone which has ruled over the mobile phone industry for over two years? Just a couple of weeks back, the entire tech industry was abuzz with the events that unfolded in regards to the iPhone prototype which was obtained by Gizmodo. The story ended in a pretty sour note with Apple sending REACT agents into the home of tech blogger Jason Chen in order to retrieve the handset.
While the events were not funny, people could not help but poke fun at Apple’s excessive use of force in order to control the media. The question now is will Apple be able to employ the same tactics when dealing with the Vietnamese?
It appears that a new set of prototype iPhone images have once again made their way to the internet and this time, thanks to the efforts of the folks in what might possibly be Apple’s manufacturing partners in Asia. It is no longer surprising that people working in these facilities would have access to the device, but it is pretty amusing to have another leak for the iPhone HD so soon.
In any case, the images are closely similar to the ones shown off by Gizmodo but the new shots are more promising as they reveal a device that is certainly, much closer to a public release. There are also more rumors about the handset being run on the A4 CPU which Apple also used for its iPad touch screen tablet device.