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IPhone 4 is official

networkworld.com

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Re: IPhone 4 is official

#21

Post by cpr »

heed wrote: post #13
rbanffy wrote: post #8

Is there any good, sound, technical reason why iOS4 won't run on 1st-gen hardware (iPod and iPhones)? I understand some hardware may be missing (bluetooth on 1st-gen iPods and 3G on 1st-gen iPhones) but the computer that runs the show is pretty much the same as the 2nd-gen ones.

The technical reason is they want you to upgrade.

I think that's a bit cynical.

Apple's all about the user experience, and I think they have rightly judged that enough of the new features won't perform adequately to be a satisfying user experience.

You can quibble about the call, but how many other phone OS vendors would support 2-year-old phones for a free upgrade? How many other phone OSes even do upgrades on old phones?

(Android does, a little, but I think most of the Android vendors aren't supporting, e.g., Froyo, on their older 1.5 handsets.)

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#22

Post by blhack »

awolf wrote: post #5

I'm impressed with 24% thinner. After holding an iPod touch for the first time I always wished my iPhone was less bulky.

To be honest, I would much rather see a thicker phone with a longer battery. My current iPhone (the 3g) feels unnecessarily thin to me.

What I would really like to see would be the option for a larger battery.

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#24

Post by blhack »

cpr wrote: post #21
heed wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The technical reason is they want you to upgrade.

I think that's a bit cynical. Apple's all about the user experience, and I think they have rightly judged that enough of the new features won't perform adequately to be a satisfying user experience. You can quibble about the call, but how many other phone OS vendors would support 2-year-old phones for a free upgrade? How many other phone OSes even do upgrades on old phones? (Android does, a little, but I think most o…

>Apple's all about the user experience

If this was true, you'd see a lot fewer articles about them on HN, TC, etc.

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#25

Post by brk »

rbanffy wrote: post #8

Is there any good, sound, technical reason why iOS4 won't run on 1st-gen hardware (iPod and iPhones)? I understand some hardware may be missing (bluetooth on 1st-gen iPods and 3G on 1st-gen iPhones) but the computer that runs the show is pretty much the same as the 2nd-gen ones.

It seems that Apple has historically concentrated more on pushing towards the future instead of dragging legacy support with them.

In the long run this means that users who don't make the investment to stay current hardware-wise often lose out on being able to take advantage of the latest features.

This certainly creates a good cash flow situation for Apple, but my guess is that the cost-avoidance side is equally lucrative. Not having to run QA tests for hardware that is 3 revisions back, and possibly still running original or near-original code has got to look good on the bottom line as well. Also, knowing that you can leave any mistakes or oversights in the past, and keep drivers for massively old legacy items out of the code base probably just makes for a better overall experience for everyone.

I once worked with one of the guys who was a kernel developer for Windows95. According to him, a lot of the Windows bloat and slowness at startup was directly attributed to massive hardware base they had to maintain support for. IMO, I personally like the fact that Apple doesn't waste a lot of time and effort on worrying that every new feature is fully back-portable to everything they've shipped in the last 5 years.

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#26

Post by sev »

I'm very impressed. Anyone know if only the rear camera is 5 MP/720p or are both cameras? If not, what are the specs for the one in the front?

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#27

Post by swilliams »

sev wrote: post #26

I'm very impressed. Anyone know if only the rear camera is 5 MP/720p or are both cameras? If not, what are the specs for the one in the front?

"VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second with the front camera" http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

VGA is 640x480, correct?

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#28

Post by phreeza »

The front camera is the most important innovation to me. I think this will really bring video calling to the masses, for the first time.

Many people have been doing that with laptops, but the increased mobility will make a huge difference.

(edit: also, I was mystefied why the iPad doesn't have one. Surely the first update will?!)

Re: IPhone 4 is official

#30

Post by jodrellblank »

cpr wrote: post #19
paul9290 wrote: post #17

Anyone know when iPhone 4.0 will be available to download. As a bootstrapped developer I ran OS 4.0 through the first 3 betas, but as noted by apple do so at your own risk. I had some issues with beta 3 so Ive been waiting for an official version, before upgrading to 4.0 again. I just checked developer page and it still says the latest beta 4 well is in still in beta. I guess they release the official version around…

Steve said (in the keynote) that the Golden Master download should be available today.

They said "master candidate done today, so out soon". Also that the phone is available on the 24th, so iOS needs to be finished enough before that to be built in and shipped off on time.

But I'm guessing they wont allow us to have iOS 4 in wide circulation before iPhone 4 itself is out, so 24th or after is my guess.

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