The iPhone 4 was officially unveiled at Apple’s WWDC 2010 today.
It’s the same looking phone that was leaked by Gizmodo a few months back, so the look of it shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. An Apple presentation adds that special something which makes their products look even more attractive. I don’t know how they manage to do it, but Apple are excellent marketers like that.
Anyways, this post isn’t about selling the iPhone 4, it’s about what’s new to the phone.
So here’s the gist of it.
Hardware
24% thinner than iPhone 3GS/aka the “thinnest smartphone on the planet” at 9.3 mm
Stainless steel frame which acts as an antenna and frame
Glass front and back for visual quality and scratch resistance
Powered byApple’s custom built A4 processor (same processor as the iPad’s)
Display
3.5 inch display (same as 3GS)
4x pixel density for the display (960 x 640 resolution vs 320 × 480 of the 3GS)
800:1 contrast ratio
IPS display technology
Camera
5 MP camera w/LED flash
Records HD video 720p @ 30fps
Also has a front facing camera which enables FaceTime video chat via Wi-fi only (2010)
Other
802.11n support
Six axis gyroscope
iOS 4 will feature Bing as well along with the other stuff mentioned previously
iMovie (video editing) app for iPhone
iPhone OS 4 renamed to iOS4
Availability/Pricing
White or Black $199 USD for 16 GB, $299 USD for 32 GB, 3GS going $99 USD for 3GS
On sale June 24th for the U.S
On sale July 2010 for Canada
As always, I urge people to bask in the Apple marketing and visit their website. The way they hype the most mundane of details is really something else. I actually thought the “Retina Display” was something revolutionary and not a simple bump of screen resolution. It’s impressive, but it isn’t as grand innovation as they made it out to be.
As for me getting one of these? Probably not. I still don’t see the need to pay $50 for a phone. If only the iPad 2 got this kind of treatment.
Today is iPhone OS 4.0 conference day. Engadget was there to transcribe the info, but if you’re lazy or would like a bulletpoint version the new info, here it is.
Over 100 new user features including Bluetooth keyboards, Home screen wallpaper, spell checker, wake on wireless and more
7 tentpole features unveiled
Multitasking – Sever services including background audio, background location, VOIP, Local notifications, Push notifications, Task completion, fast app switching
Folders – Now can organize apps with folders and place them on the dock etc.
Unified inbox – All your e-mail accounts in one inbox, can organize by thread, fast inbox switching, open attachments with apps
iBooks – eBook reader, book store, sync page and book marks across platforms
Enterprise – Better data protection, mobile device management, SSL VPN support, Exchange Server 2010 support, wireless app distribution
Game Center – “Xbox Live!” for iPhone OS 4.0 including leaderboards, friend invites, matchmaking & achievements
iAd – New in-app mobile advertising platform which includes more interactive ads which developers can buy “ad space”,
Release windows:
Coming Summer for iPhone & iPod Touch
Coming Fall for iPad
Certain iPhone OS 4.0 features (ie: multitasking) will only work with iPhone 3GS & 3rd generation iPod Touch devices. (Poor iPhone 3G owners)
Pretty darn exciting features coming for iPhone OS. I wonder if the iPad will get exclusive features or not. It may actually convince me to let go of my complaints and get one .
Apple had an event today. An iPod event full of updates and announcements including:
iTunes 9
iPhone OS 3.1
New iPod Touch
New iPod Nano w/ built in camera & FM Radio
The iPod Touch will now start at $199.99 USD for the 8 GB with $299.99 USD (32 GB) & $399.99 USD (64 GB) variants following. Finally! A sub $200 iPod Touch. And to top it off, they’re including Open GL|ES 2.0 which means expanded graphical capabilities for games.
They finally started to compare the iPhone to the DS & PSP which is valid on one hand, but complete nonsense on the other. There is a definite market for iPhone’s bite sized gaming, but it doesn’t offer the same kind of gaming that the NDS or PSP offers at all. Sure there is a Halo-esque game called Nova coming, but that’s nothing like a Phoenix Wright or a God of War. Good for Apple for taking its gaming initiative seriously though.
The “new” iPod Nano with the built in cameras make a lot of sense considering the form factor and how it fits when held horizontally. Apple also decided to add a FM radio antennae and pedometer in it. And at $149 USD for an 8 GB and $179 for 16 GB, it’s hard to resist. I would pick one up if I was looking for a new MP3 player today.
Head over to Apple’s website to check out the new hotness. If it’s not there yet, it should be there some time today.
This is what Kojima Productions was working on for the iPhone & iPod Touch. This flash game is the best they could do for the iPhone?! They put more effort into the Metal Gear Solid Mobile cellphone game!
Remember that Quake Live beta which I tried out last week? It’s now available for public consumption. It’s still in beta form, but you can all try it for yourselves now. Let me know how you like it. What do you have to lose except for the 20 minutes required to set all that up?
In addition to this beta news, it looks like Quake 3 will be ported to iPhone as well. Sounds like a terrible idea to me.
Today is iPhone OS 4.0 conference day. Engadget was there to transcribe