Monday, June 07, 2010

Steve Jobs announces new iPhone; on sale June 24

More than 5,200 people attended the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday morning. All of them were waiting -- like many tech-lovers throughout America -- to hear what new goodies Apple CEO Steve Jobs would announce at his highly anticipated keynote.

Jobs touted the big success of the iPad. He said Apple sells one iPad every three seconds and has sold more than two million in ten countries. By July, Jobs said, iPad will be in 19 countries.

At 1:31 p.m., half an hour into the speech, Jobs said the new iPhone ($199 for 16 GB or $299 for 32 GB with two-year contract from AT&T beginning June 24) would be the biggest jump in technology since the original phone came out. The new model, he said, would come in black or white and have 100 new features (although there was a technical glitch trying to get the New York Times to load).

One of the new features is video conferencing.

The new iPhone shown was glass on the front and back with stainless steel running up the sides. It is 24 percent thinner than the current version. It has a front-facing camera and another camera with LED flash on the back. It will allow users to multi-task, or run more than one application at once. Jobs promises that multi-tasking won't run down the battery as it does on some other phones with the feature.

It is the same size as the current iPhone, 3.5 inches long, but has 960 by 640 resolution, near Hi-Def, and a contrast ratio four times better than the current model. Jobs said the new iPhone has 78 percent of the pixels of the iPad, "right in the palm of your head."

Jobs said a new technology, which he called "retina density" dramatically improves the screen quality, delivering up to four times as many pixels in the same space as the current iPhone. Jobs said the display delivers about double pixels per inch, or PPI, of the current phone (326 compared to 163).

"In person," Jobs said, "it is one of the most beautiful designs you've ever seen. Beyond a doubt one of the most beautiful and precise things we've ever made."

The new iPhone has a bigger battery that will allow 40 percent more talk time. Users will get seven hours of talk, six hours of 3G web browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video watching, 40 hours of listening to music and 300 hours of standby.

Other new items

-- AT&T customers will get up to six months of early eligibility for the phone. The current iPhone 3GS will drop to $99. Customers can begin pre-ordering June 15.

-- The new iPhone supports wireless N for faster WiFi. And it has a gyroscope built in, which will help with orientation on the device, especially while using gaming apps.

-- Videoconferencing can be done between any two new iPhones using WiFi networks. Apple is calling it "FaceTime" Jobs said "we need to work with cellular providers" (plural) and it would be WiFi only for 2010. You can videoconference with front or rear facing cameras and can switch on the fly to show your caller what you are looking at.

-- Jobs said the iPhone's camera is five megapixels with a backside illuminated sensor to help with taking photos in low light. It has 5x digital zoom with tap to focus and an LED flash. The camera also records HD video at 720p and the iPhone will edit the video on the device using Apple's popular iMovie technology. iMovie will be a $4.99 app.

The LED flash can stay on during video recording and there's a one touch share button. You can export video in 360p, 520p and 720p

-- The new operating system, so far known as iPhone OS4 will be called iOS4. It has the aforementioned multi-tasking, folders, much deeper enterprise integration for corporate email. Google is the default search engine, but Bing is available as well as Yahoo.

-- iBooks is coming to iPhone with iOS4. You can download a book and share it among iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone. iBooks will automatically and wirelessly sync your place, bookmarks, and all notes. There will be no charge.

-- Mail on iPhone will come in one unified screen, allowing you to view multiple email accounts in one view.

-- iBooks on iPad will allow users to open and read pdf files inside the application. Users will also be able to make notes inside the book app. The notes will look like Post-Its. A new bookmark feature is also coming.

-- The popular iPad Netflix app is coming to iPhone, allowing users who subscribe to the video rental service to access movies on the fly. Expect the app this summer. Users will be able to start a film on the home computer, Xbox 360, iPad or iPhone and pick it up on another device. The iPhone app will have full functionality, including "search" and "recommendations." It wasn't made clear if the iPhone version would only work via WiFi or also over 3G.

-- iOS4 free upgrades will be available for iPod Touch, 3GS iPhone and 3G iPhone June 21, though the 3G and some Touches will not support all the new features.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

"right in the palm of your head."

"dots per inch, or PPI"

Anonymous said...

We will stay with the Verizon HTC Droid Incredible. Can't see any features on the new iPhone that seem any better. Apple can just stay with AT&T. We're doing just fine with better service and the Android system!

Anonymous said...

Good for you.

Anonymous said...

then 6 months later the newer new Iphone will come out...

6 months after that the newer newest yet new iphone will come out

6 months after that the yet to be new of the newer wave of the newest iphone will be out...

then you will realize your broke

Anonymous said...

Youbetcha it's good for us! We love Verizon! They can keep their old iPhone and any new ones too. NOT WORTH IT.

Anonymous said...

I work as an engineer in the telecommunications industry and what most of the general public fails to realize is that there is no such thing as a "perfect-error free" wireless network, I don't care who your carrier is, whether it's AT&T, Verizon, Sprint. The technology for a "perfect" network is just not availble here, yet. The wireless network is one of fluidity, where speeds and accessibiltiy changes and is never exactly the same in the same place and at the same time, but you can't tell some people things that they don't want to hear. Functionality of the wireless network changes with the number of users at any given. All of this being said, AT&T is, pound for pound, the best and largest wireless network in the world, period. Insiders of the industry know this and it's also why Apple is so loyal to AT&T, b/c it has to compete on the global and international market, not in just the US market, which is the only market that Verizon and Sprint can compete with AT&T in. And BTW, Verizon and AT&T are already working on network upgrades for speeds that will top 4G, so everybody needs to just calm down with Sprint's new toy, lol. There is Iphone and then there is everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Until Verizon and Sprint offers a smartphone/service that allows you to talk and text/surf at the same time then there is really no comparison, you can keep them. With AT&T you can run simultaneous programs, WHILE TALKING! There is Iphone and AT&T and everyone else is just playing catch up.

Anonymous said...

Good review, Langston, but a little long. So after reading your butt-kissing review of the Evo this morning, do you still think it is the best phone on the planet?

Anonymous said...

I'd love an iPhone, but I won't buy one until I can choose my own service provider.

I wouldn't touch anything associated with AT&T.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your caps and insane overages. Is there an app to count how much money you're sending AT&T for overages? There outta be ... assuming you can actually get enough sustained bandwidth to get near those caps.

Anonymous said...

Sending this via voice to text on Evo
This is an impressive phone and left ATT to get it Friday

But reading this and knowing Apple quality, I'm returningmy evo and getting iPhone 4G
s

Anonymous said...

Anybody that says they would rather have any type of Droid Phone, only says that because... 1. they are stuck on another carrier, or 2. got suckered into buying a droid and are stuck and realize that it doesn't even compare to the iphone. The iPhone is better than any other smartphone, and a jailbroken iPhone CRUSHES any other smartphone!

Anonymous said...

Just an FYI to Mr. smartguy at 5:21pm, the caps and overages does not apply to all of the cazillions of CURRENT data AT&T subscribers, but don't let small things like facts get in your way as usual.

Anonymous said...

Of course it won't apply to the current subscribers.

Unless they want to tether.

Way to limit the new subscribers who may actually, oh, I don't know, upload 720p video to the internet over 3G. Opps there goes my cap.

Or upload pictures taken with the phone at 5MP. Oops, there goes my cap.

Or use video conferencing on 3G. Oh wait, you've got to go to Sprint for that.

Or have a larger screen, or a decent call quality, I could go on. But I might go over my cap...

Anonymous said...

Apparently you can't read either, video conferencing is also available on the new iphone and actually has been available for some time thru an app on the iphone 3GS, in addition, when you are using wi-fi also mostly available under AT&T, you are not being charged against your cap. It's simple, I'm not a fan of the caps either, but AT&T has the most subscibers of any other carrier and therefore it has to have a cap until it's network can keep up with the demand of it's users, a good problem that Sprint doesn't have to deal with b/c Sprint is not even close to Verizon or AT&T worldwide when it comes to wireless subscribers. Again, just the facts, I'm not trying to convince anyone to do anything, and I'm not paid to be biased one way or the other, I just happen to work in the industry and I know the game.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 6:10 - you may want to consider fact-checking prior to posting.

As of March 2010 (from Q1 reports):

Verizon - 92.8m subscribers
AT&T - 87m subscribers
Sprint - 48.1m subscribers
T-Mo - 33.7m subscribers

That would mean, AT&T isn't the largest.

AT&T is raking in cash hand over fist and has one of the lowest reinvestments back into their network than any other carrier.

704Champ said...

"Until Verizon and Sprint offers a smartphone/service that allows you to talk and text/surf at the same time then there is really no comparison, you can keep them. With AT&T you can run simultaneous programs, WHILE TALKING!"

I was able to talk on the phone, and look up things online, use GPS, etc, on my old BlackBerry 7510 through Nextel 5 or 6 years ago. Why does everyone think the ability to multitask on a smartphone is something new or unique to a particular carrier when its not?

Maybe I'm just more in the loop since I've been dealing with smartphones at work for over 10 years, but I always have to laugh at the disinformation in the various phone and cell carrier companies.

Anonymous said...

To anon at 6:23pm, again you are partially correct on one statement and you just flat out lied in the other statement, obviously you don't know your facts and you don't read, I challenge you to look up this information if its publicly available....in fact it should be in those same 1Q reports you talked about or check the annual reports for 2009, AT&T not only has reinvested hundreds of millions of dollars in it's own network for upcoming future 4G and other services way beyond smartphones, it has been said in that same report I believe by the CEO himself, that AT&T is in the top 3 in captial reinvestments of any company in the US, and that's a fact, do your research. And by the way AT&T does in fact have the largest COVERAGE than any other carrier in the world-another fact. Read the entire report and inside industry publications!!!

Anonymous said...

To 704Champ at 6:47pm, It's true, being able to talk and accessing the internet is not entirely new, actually using your smartphone to access the internet is quite old and dated technology, the difference and the scope of my argument here was accessing the internet using 3G/4G technology as well as using the thousands of apps while talking that are available only on Iphone.

Anonymous said...

Wow I can't believe the haters. Lets face it all carriers have some issue or another. Most issues are dependent on the device and location that you are using them.
If you like what you like it then like it! Otherwise quit HATING!
LOL

Anonymous said...

7p - You're very good at calling the kettle black. You're the one who clearly isn't reading or doing your research.

I knocked you down about AT&T not being the largest carrier by subscriber (which was your 1st argument). And I quote you "but AT&T has the most subscibers of any other carrier". In fact they do not.

By AT&T's own maps, they do not, in fact have the largest 3G coverage area. That crown belongs to Verizon. AT&T's back-peddling to their out-dated, out-moded and ancient GSM/GPRS network is laughable.

Verizon has live, in the field, LTE networks. Friendly customers are trialing the service now. Where's AT&T? Oh right. Still in the lab.

Between 2006 and 2009 AT&T's capital expenditures were about $21.6 billion, compared with $25.4 billion for Verizon and $16 billion for Sprint (including Sprint's investments in WiMax operator Clearwire). Verizon spent $353 per subscriber. AT&T spent $308.

Sprint spent more than AT&T on it's network by laying out $310 per subscriber to upgrade its network.

For supposedly "working in the industry" you sure don't seem to know a lot about it.

Anonymous said...

Really 8:04?
It is not that serious its your money spend on what you want. Chill dude LOL

Anonymous said...

To the sorry, simple SOB that said that the only reason someone would have an android-based phone is because they were stuck with Verizon or got suckered into buying it should be slapped for the liar that they are.

I am proudly with Verizon and wouldn't give a damn what you do tempt me.....I wouldn't go to AT&T for anything or any phone. Like others, I had the worst service and the worst experiences in billing you could imagine with them. Defend them all you want because you are just obsessed with Apple.

I won't put down the new iPhone. While nice, there's not even an ounce of features that it could provide that would get me to go to AT&T.

The trasy liars here who put down Verizon can burn in hell. You are like the republican teabaggers who never stop with their obsessive lies.

Steve Jobs made the decision to do what he does - SELL OUT AGAIN and allow AT&T to whore him out for 6 more months so he couldn't play ball with other carriers. Well, we'll just wait and see what happens when he finally comes around.

We'll already be content with our Verizon phones and all out you can keep in the sack with AT&T. Sweet dreams!

Anonymous said...

I agree! AT&T completely sucks. The new iPhone is not that great, and certainly not worth the hassel of dealing with the fools at AT&T.

Anonymous said...

The new iPhone will be about as useful as the piece of crap iPAD.

Anonymous said...

Steve Jobs got just what he deserved today: At an Apple demo press conference, the glorious and infallible company that so bravely uses only AT&T as their sole carrier.........couldn't even get a damn signal on the AT&T network during the damn conference! Then, looking like a wet dog, Jobs said "any suggestions?". Thank God someone yelled out "VERIZON"!!!! Bet he won't forget that for long damn time. PRICELESS!

Anonymous said...

Many of you are complaining about dealing with at&t and their nitwits. When it comes to phoning in to customer service, you are dealing with one company. Both Verizon and at&t contract with Convergys to handle their customer service. You are not talking to Verizon or at&t employees at all. They are taught to follow certain pre-determined prompts in troubleshooting your wireless issues. Each customer service rep is not acting on their expertise, but rather fumbling their way through the system to answer your questions. They are taught what to say to fool you into thinking they actually know what they are doing. They use delay tactics while they search for the answers and they use a chat program to help each other. Also, team leaders are running around to assist customer service reps who raise their hands for additional help. when a rep puts you on silent hold, that's just a tactic to delay. A hard hold means they really need help. I know because i just quit that forsaken place. they will hire anybody. You should see the freaks answering the phones.

Iphone Games Review said...

It will be great fun for me, i have choose my iphone but now i am going to get this one. :)

Anonymous said...

LIAR. I work for Verizon customer service. There is no truth to these statements. We certainly have no use or connection with AT&T or anyone impersonating them over the phone! Sick.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 8:04pm, WE ARE TALKING 2009-2010!!! Again I stand by my claims, you are a liar and a fool, read the reports, the truth is that you haven't, b/c clearly it states in the 2009 annual reports as well as industry reports that AT&T has the largest 3G coverage IN THE WORLD - period. It's very convenient for you to use 2006 - 2009 data to support your argument, when I clearly said 2009 and 2010, but again it's obvious that you can't read. In 2006, the industry nor AT&T was nothing close to what it is today. 4 years is a lifetime in this industry. I challenged you before to dispute that claim and you have yet to come forth with any proof or evidence to dispute this. For you to say that even AT&T's maps show less coverage than Verizon's is as big of a joke as you are. The networks are fairly close in the US, but worldwide there is no comparison, AT&T is the largest by far, again you can't read and I challenge you to dispute this. You talk about Verizon's live LTE networks as if its something new and the it's the latest and greatest, but, AT&T's backpeddling? Based on what facts? Conveniently, you leave out how much of the latest upgrade/investment information found and available to the public in AT&T's annual reports. I'm done arguing with fools. My initial argument was that there is no such thing as a "perfect" network and that all the major carriers are in some way working to upgrade their network, AND networks are constantly evolving with technology, at no point have I trashed Verizon's network, I have no reason to trash any carrier's network, you have the right to stay with Verizon, that's your choice....have fun, but I'm the one stating facts and not having to resort to trashing an entire carrier for personal reasons. You have failed to dispute me with actual proof and references.

Anonymous said...

Simple question to anon 8:04pm, If AT&T's network is so terrible and outdated as you claim compared to Verizon, then why would a company like Apple choose AT&T as their host carrier to launch Iphone when they could've chosen Verizon. I'll save you the trouble, type slowly, and give you the answer, it's called SUPEIOR WORLDWIDE 3G COVERAGE. Remember, Iphones are sold all over the world China, Japan, India not just in the US, or maybe that's just too much for you to comprehend.

Anonymous said...

Apple says "100 new features". Now lets see how many AT&T disable.

itsjimmyon said...

No one mentions T-Mobile, which has already launched HSPA+ in Philly and DC and is launching across the country throughout the rest of the year. HSPA+ is faster than 4G and TMO's 3G is faster than AT&T. Compare the networks in Charlotte, too. TMO was the first to offer Android and has great new Android products like the MyTouch Slide and, coming June 9, the GarminFone, which is essentially a Garmin GPS w/Android 2.1.

Unknown said...
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Games for iPhone said...

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