Now let’s make something clear: This new iPhone is actually not a “phone” at all. In reality it never was. Sure, it made phone calls. But it was never really a phone any more than a laptop computer running Skype was considered a phone. Nope. This is and has always been a handheld computer, with phone capabilities (among other things). And that might explain why the AT&T “phone” network has been overly burdened, since there’s been a handheld computer, doing computer-type tasks, running exclusively on their “phone” network. But for the sake of Apple and this article, we’ll stick with the moniker they’ve chosen — iPhone 4.
For the first time in Apple’s history, their element of surprise was ruined a bit by the lost iPhone prototype found 2 months ago and widely displayed on the Internet and HERE. The funny part is the lost prototype was actually the REAL DEAL. But seeing Steve Jobs himself present it in that “Steve Jobs” sort of way still provided an element of excitement.
The iPhone 4 (as it is officially called) is quite a technological gem. Slightly smaller and thinner, it is 9.3mm thick, or 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS. It boasts a double-layered scratch resistant glass front and back, a stainless steel band frame around the perimeter which doubles as the antenna receiver, and a new square design that detours from Apple’s formerly round and sleek presentations. But it is beautiful. And it will run on the newly created and renamed iOS 4, which is now the operating system for both the iPad and the iPhone.
Notable new features include a larger battery with longer battery life, providing up to 40% more talk time on 3G, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, up to 40 hours of music or 10 hours of video playback, and 300 hours of standby time. WiFi has also been upgraded to 802.11n speeds, and the cell radios support up to 7.2Mbps down, 5.8Mbps up HSPA+. Dual microphones are included on top and bottom for ambient noise cancellation, and Apple has added a gyroscope for six-axis motion sensing (perfect for gaming), which is in addition to the accelerometer of previous iPhones. There is also a new 5MP, backside illuminating sensor to the camera hardware. In addition to vastly improved low-light shots, the camera will now have an LED flash which can be used as a “torch” or “flashlight” type of lightsource. The camera is capable of recording 720p HD video at 30fps, with added digital zoom and tap-to-focus features for video recording in addition to still image capture.
But the star feature of the day came when Steve Jobs presented his “one more thing” segment and announced a new video chat feature called “FaceTime.” In addition to the standard back camera, the new iPhone 4 will now have a front-facing camera that will provide a “Jetson’s” style video phone conferencing experience. FaceTime will only work between one iPhone 4 and another iPhone 4 over WiFi, so don’t expect compatibility with older iPhones. “FaceTime is gonna be WiFi-only in 2010,” Jobs explained. “We’ve gotta work a little bit with the cellular providers to get ready for the future.” Apple is making FaceTime an open industry-wide standard, meaning the new iPhone will soon be able to communicate a video phone call with other devices outside of Apple or AT&T. Very nice!
The new iOS4 will be available as a free download on June 21st. iPhone 4 pre-orders will be accepted as of June 15th, and the new iPhone 4 will be available in stores on June 24th. Available in your choice of Black or White, there will be a 16GB model available for $199., and a 32GB model available for $299. with a standard contract. AT&T has changed its hardware updating policy specifically for Apple, meaning if you weren’t eligible for an upgraded phone for several more months, AT&T will now allow you to upgrade to the new iPhone 4 immediately and without penalty. Sweet!
FOR MORE INFO ON THE NEW iPHONE 4 AND iOS 4, VISIT APPLE.COM
TECH SPECS OF THE NEW iPHONE 4:
Height: 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams)
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology
Retina display
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
5-megapixel still camera
VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second with the front camera
Tap to focus video or still images
LED flash
Photo and video geotagging
Three-axis gyro sensor
