We pursue our inquiries on several fonts
|
|
|
Jobs takes the stage with the Iphone 4
IN HIS TRADEMARK black turtleneck and blue jeans, Steve Jobs took to the stage at the crowded Moscone Centre to apologise to people who couldn't make it.
In case you haven't heard, Apple's developers conference sold out in days to 5,000 punters. We knew, Apple sent out a press release to tell us. And Steve, ever modest, reminded us again. What other revelations will we hear in this session with the pied piper of cappuccino?
There are a lot of facts to digest. For example, there are over eight thousand applications for the Ipad in the App store and they have been downloaded 35 million times or about seventeen per Ipad. Apple has almost a quarter share of the e-book market already. Ninety-five per cent of apps are approved within five days. And only enlightened people with plenty of money to spend may enter the Apple spaceship come the Irapture.
Of course, what everyone is expecting is the Iphone 4, the announcement of which has been a certainty ever since someone left one on a pub floor and photos and videos of it turned up all over the Internet. Yes, the next Iphone will be squared off, shiny and skinny. At 9.3mm it's roughly a quarter thinner than all other smartphones, according to Jobs, and that includes the current Iphones. The screen is also thirty times stronger than plastic, and apparently you can bend it. Don't try that at home though, kids.
Those with a sensitive stomach may want to gloss over Jobs' introduction. We present it here in all its appalling glory. "This is one of the most beautiful designs you've ever seen. This is beyond a doubt one of the most precise and beautiful things we've ever made. Glass and steel, its closest kin is like an old Leica camera. And it's really thin."
Apparently there are hundreds of new features to discuss. Is this one of those pressure sales things? We can't afford another Spanish timeshare.
The Iphone 4 has two cameras, one in the front and one in the back - the back one has an LED flash - and two mics. The Home button hasn't moved, Apple not wanting to confuse users, and the antennae is in the band that runs round the edge. It has an Apple A4 chip and a built-in 3-axis gyroscope for playing games - Jobs played Jenga for a while on-stage. Connection-wise, the Iphone 4 has 802.11n WiFi, GPS, and quad band HSDPA, and it can play 720p video.
Another feature, called Retina Display improves resolution by squeezing in more pixels - 960x640 pixels to be precise - into the same space. Jobs said, "326 pixels per inch, 800:1 contrast ratio, four times that of Iphone 3GS". Nice. Oh, until the demo, where an Iphone 3GS model loaded a webpage that the Iphone 4 could not. Four shame. But it's alright, Steve blamed the WiFi. We suspect this won't be the last we hear of that.
After almost three quarters of an hour, Jobs is still spitting out numbers like they were watermelon pips. "Seven hours of 3G talk, six hours of 3G browsing, ten hours of WiFi browsing, ten hours of video, forty hours of music," he rattled. What's this now? Imovie for the Iphone? Igiveup.
After a demo of that, Jobs comes back to the stage with an announcement. There are 570 WiFi base stations in the room and they, not presumably God, Adobe or Apple tech, are to blame for the earlier failures. Everyone is told to turn their connections off and put their laptops on the floor. Few do.
Time for another feature, in this instance a new operating system, Iphone OS 4. Steve then talks up a number of user improvements, including ways of using folders, new pinch controls and multi-tasking.
IT managers at trendy media firms should take note that Jobs also promised better enterprise support. "I wanted to hit on the enterprise stuff. Data protection, device management, multiple Exchange accounts." Consumers meanwhile, can enjoy Google search, Yahoo and, Jobs added, "Bing". Yep, Bing! What's next? Flash?
Apple is bringing Ibooks to the Iphone and Ipod Touch. It's already on the Ipad where apparently it has taken almost a quarter of all e-book sales. Jobs said you can sync your Ibooks across all the devices, which is nice, especially since you paid for them in the first place.
Then Jobs announced Iads, which we knew about already. Steve tells us that by the end of this year Iad will have 48 per cent of the ad market. We'd thought Iad had always had 48 per cent of the ad market in Eastasia, but it's good to get a reminder.
Jobs is on the phone to Jony Ives now, its a video call. The video freezes, "Now it never freezes up... did you all turn off your WiFi?" asks Steve.
Back to the call and the pair talk about how great it is before arranging lunch - they do know there is an audience don't they? Anyway, don't turn your WiFi off too soon as this feature will be Wifi only, at least until Apple makes the mobile network service providers an offer they can't refuse.
An ad for the Facetime video chat shows two deaf people communicating with sign language. "This is one of the moments that reminds us of why we do what we do," says Steve, causing us to wonder if the sign they made was for "make oodles of cash".
Probably not, its all open standards apparently and even comes in black or white versions. Other options include either a 16GB or 32GB version and the decision to stick with the headphones Apple gives you - which are terrible - or invest in a decent pair. Jobs has reinvented the dock - its now called a bunker - and that's a term that will come back to haunt him, we imagine.
Pre-orders for the handset start next week, 24th June, in select locales including the US and UK. Eighteen additional lucky countries will be announced shortly after. µ
Share this:
Share
very super
Apparently you just need to buy a case for your iPhone 4G to fix the antenna problem.
Thankfully, there are tons reviewed here:
http://www.iphone4accessory.com
wow, you really do love this thing. guess you wish apple had stayed out of the smart phone market, then we could all still be using N95
1. Always whine like a school girl when someone dares to use an "I" instead of an"i".
2. Whine about intentional spelling "errors" instead of trying to understand the article your commenting on.
3. Use sarcasm to complain about writers who get paid to write sarcastic, cheeky articles.
4. Write a reply at least once a day that shows just how much you missed the whole point of the website you are reading.
5. Look away from your computer several times while typing your replies to gaze lovingly at your autographed picture of Steve jobs.
6. If possible, post your reply from your IPad to show how cool and superior you are.
lol, seeing fanboys nerdrage makes me happy, keep up the "weakly sarcastic" articles (y)
I think you'll find the dock is still called the dock, and the rubber (I presume) covers for the new iphone are called bumpers. He mentions these straight after the dock.
Check out Glee star Jane Lynch's hilarious spoof of the iconic Apple ads... taking on the new Iphone 4... she's a potty mouthed little minx...! For Glee and geek fans!! http://bit.ly/bF6o5y
and just to prove there is an App for Everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k3zvI2tyPM
who gives a @$£# ?
in fact, lets hope the media circus keeps on bleating about him and his tat so that more and more people become sick to the back teeth of it all
idiot man and idiot media
Yeah, sell on the good news. Always happens with Apple.
On a side note, the Reader functionality in Safari 5 removes all the snide comments from articles. Brilliant! It's almost as good as Chrome now on Windows, and they both have non-standard user interfaces, so neither wins there.
This iPhone will sell loads. Sites are already saying it has the best display bar none ever in a mobile phone, that it's faster, better to hold, etc. Watching someone with an iPad on the train today get good service all the way whilst I struggled to get a signal with my Android phone alleviates any worries I have about the signal power, unlike the snide pointless first comment here.
And when Steve Jobs (or anyone in a similar situation) wants to demonstrate over wifi, have the wifi router it is connected to attached just behind the stage, or under the desk on the stage, so that you're closest - and make sure it is on a dedicated channel, and if possible, attached to a router that will give it preferential access to the general internet.
Yeah, sell on the good news. Always happens with Apple.
On a side note, the Reader functionality in Safari 5 removes all the snide comments from articles. Brilliant! It's almost as good as Chrome now on Windows, and they both have non-standard user interfaces, so neither wins there.
This iPhone will sell loads. Sites are already saying it has the best display bar none ever in a mobile phone, that it's faster, better to hold, etc.
And when Steve Jobs (or anyone in a similar situation) wants to demonstrate over wifi, have the wifi router it is connected to attached just behind the stage, or under the desk on the stage, so that you're closest - and make sure it is on a dedicated channel, and if possible, attached to a router that will give it preferential access to the general internet.
Here we go again with another 'innovative' and 'revolutionary Apple product, which yet again just happens to be missing some key basic features. Like Flash, which powers over 90% of the video market on the web.
The phone also demonstrated it's poor WiFi reception to those of us in the room, while our WiFi worked just fine. When everyone's WiFi is working fine but yours the WiFi connection problem must be everyone else, right? Sigh.
Yes the iPhone will sell millions to people who don't know any better and aren't savvy enough to use a less dumbed-down device, and a year from now a few fundamental and basic features that are disabled or missing will be added (and called amazing and revolutionary) and it will sell a few million more, in the same business plan Apple has been riding for the past decade or so.
1. Always use Iphone, not iPhone.
2. Never do a spell check.
3. Never do a grammar check.
4. Use weak sarcasm to bitch about Apple at least twice per sentence.
5. Write an anti-Apple article at least once a week.
6. Leave your autographed pictures of uncle Steve at home.
6. Leave personal iPhones / iPads / iPods in locker at front door.
IPhone, iPhone...iDontCare! Did you really let something as pointless and irrelevant and caps/no caps bother you that much? If so, I feel for the folks you work with if your ever fired. Your likely to be the guy who comes back with loaded guns.
Whats next? Hate mail for the weather girl/guy when the forecast is wrong? Shoot the paperboy when he tosses you paper in the bushes?
Relax. Have an IBeer... oops. iBeer, give the Mrs. and ibang and smile for gods sake!
It's nice to read an article about anything Apple, that is written by a sane person, rather than an iFanboy.
Your honestly is a refreshing change from the normal "OMG STEVE JOBS IS GOD AND YOU MUST BUY 20 IPHONES!!!11!".
Iphone works just as well as iPhone, if now better.
It's iPhone, not Iphone. Jesus.
I expected another pc-guy trashing ad once again... Guess not much to trash when you alienated whole world around you.
Just for those who only mention it on a rise.
If there is an item, group, or company A, then there will always be people that enjoy item, group, or company B, this I understand.
What I don't understand is why you'd take the time to right a fairly good article, readable, informative, and I'm guessing, accurate, article, only to throw away any credibility by being so biased.
I can understand you don't like Apple, but you only look like a pompous ass bashing them at every turn, rather than an edgy rebel, fighting against a monster that you yourself create.
This writer has to be a pissed off former apple employee, iPhone hater or just a jerk! You bashed the phone and steve jobs better than you wrote the article! I understand if you don't like the phone, apple, or jobs but really man, title your article different! I clicked on this link thinking I would get some good info about the phone out of it, instead of getting a hate article!