Apple WWDC 2010 keynote (iPhone 4 announced)

[stupid dogbot]

Well, I'm well due an upgrade. So, registered interest for purchase.

We'll see what they offer us, eh?

 

[fen_boy]

Am due an upgrade, definitely going to get one of these.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Or you trim your existing SIM so it'll fit.

Hmmm...not sure I like the sound of that, I'd probably bollock it right up!

I had 6 months left on my contract last year when the 3GS came out, I just walked into Carphone Warehouse and said I wanted the new one, cost me £100 and i gave them my old 3G. New 18 month contract though.

O rly...?

I'm just watching the promo videos now - it's a lovely looking phone alright.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/design/#design-video

It really is, the thing about the glass was crazy, the stress test was something else!

 

[grit]

I'm just watching the promo videos now - it's a lovely looking phone alright.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/design/#design-video

Slick video, but I'm pretty underwhelmed with the phone.

 

[Kanda]

Slick video, but I'm pretty underwhelmed with the phone.

why?

 

[elbows]

Well I think this is the iPhone that people who were underwhelmed by the original iPhones really wanted, both in terms of software and hardware, it has really come of age.

Personally I think they should leave this design alone now for at least a couple of years, maybe bump up the cpu, ram & storage etc at some point, but its slightly hard to imagine how much more they can really add to this sort of phone to take it to another level.

I mean most of the remaining issues people could have, such as physical keyboard, removable battery, memory slots, lack of flash plugin, app lockdown are things that its pretty unlikely Apple will want to change at any point in the next few years.

It will also make sense for them to focus their attention elsewhere for a considerable period of time, so they can polish a new desktop OS, do something with Apple TV, design iPad 2, maybe do some other things with multitouch (build it into laptops etc in one way or another (touchpad thats a multitouch screen for example).

Yay, computers & phones get really good just in time to get them before the economy, environment, international stability and oil availability lead us into a very different era.

 

[Pie 1]

it's a lovely looking phone alright.

Yep, sure is - say what you like about Apple, but no one can touch their product design. The current design is looking a little bit tired now as well,
But, I see no reason to give up my 3GS anytime soon once the new OS4's on it.
Video chat holds zero interest for me, although a better camera would be nice.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Better battery is a big draw for me, and you know having the new tech toy to play with.

 

[editor]

The bigger battery is the only real attraction for me. The camera is better but I doubt it'll be any better than what's already out there, and I've zero interest in video calls.

I can't say I've ever had the urge to make or receive a video call in the last six months. Who would I call that's going to have a 4G? The only people I could possibly want to video call (I can't bring myself to say "facetime") would be family members - all of whom are -Phone-free and likely to stay that way.

I think the new design is lovely but it seems quite blokey to me - maybe that would put some folks off? The lack of a SD slot/removable battery remains a fucking pain too.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Blokey?

 

[elbows]

But, I see no reason to give up my 3GS anytime soon once the new OS4's on it.

Yeah I think the 'skip a model' approach is proving quite sensible for a lot of iphone owners. Im a huge technology lover but I didnt see enough need for m to go from 3G to 3GS, but now the leap to iPhone 4 is ideal for me. If I had a 3GS I suppose Id still be tempted to upgrade but thats mostly because of the leap in screen res & video recording res, benefits not everyone is going to feel they really need in a hurry. And with 18 month contracts waiting 2 years between phones makes some sense.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Wonder what the reaction would have been like had Gizmodo never got hold of it?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I'd buy it but I've been spending a lot too much money recently. It's clearly significantly better hardware, but it won't be really *required* for a couple of years, at which point I won't mind so much. They know this too which is why they match and exceed hardware upgrades with software upgrades.

 

[spacemonkey]

Yay, computers & phones get really good just in time to get them before the economy, environment, international stability and oil availability lead us into a very different era.

Well I don't know about you, but I can't wait to capture the resource wars and large-scale ecosystem collapse in full HD video with edge to edge glass.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Well I don't know about you, but I can't wait to capture the resource wars and large-scale ecosystem collapse in full HD video with edge to edge glass.

I am simultaneously investing in fountain pens, durable paper and water/environmentally-proof ink.

(This is actually true btw, though not specifically for the purposes of passing on prose to a post apocalyptic society.)

 

[Sunray]

I believe that video chat will be one of the things that really stand out about it and it may well make it come of age.

Being simple to use and just working and essentially free Apple have removed most if not all the reason that it was dropped without a second thought. 3G calling was crappy beyond belief and mega expensive.. Given H.264 quality and open standards, it not only looks forward to LTE but also gives people what they were lead to expect when 3G came on stream and failed to deliver anything more than slightly crap higher speed mobile broadband.

Its an open standard and therefore will be available on you desktop and probably within iTunes and shit loads of other places once everyone buys one of these. And buy them they are going to, think that everyone has an iPhone these days? Give it a year.

I can see there being some fuck off queues for this, the Sunray want-o-meter actually went off the scale when I saw iit, let alone having a 1/2 decent camera and 720p video and video editing.

I'm at Glastonbury on the 24th June...... argggg...

My 3G is currently coughing and spluttering with its gaudy rounded edges....

 

[elbows]

Wonder what the reaction would have been like had Gizmodo never got hold of it?

Hard to be sure. Obviously the redesigned looks was quite a part of what was supposed to get everyone into a frenzy today, and that was spoilt by the leak. But whilst a lot of the spec was known in advance and iOS 4 features were also known, they tried pretty hard to make the screen res, HD video & front camera stuff amount to something worth reacting to.

I know my initial reaction when the looks were leaked was to comment that it didnt look like an Apple design, but I suppose that was a mix of lack of well-photographed glossy marketing, and total failure on my part to observe the way design ideas change, the need to refresh stuff. When I look at various other existing Apple hardware there are some things in common with the new iphone design, typical Apple, slow and steady tweaking with occasional leaps that seem foreign but quickly become familiar and obvious.

There appears to be some raving about how thin it is, which I am not properly grasping from photos alone, guess that will become clear when I eventually hold it. Does it weigh the same, less or more than previous iphones I wonder?

Now Ive come to really quite like the new design but I really hadnt got sick of the old design yet so its not a reason for me to upgrade at all, although I will for other reasons already discussed.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

It doesn't really look like an existing Apple design, but then, they do change, and it's certainly within the existing curve; the new aluminium-body macs were a bit of a departure as well.

 

[Notorious J.I.M]

how can i get out of my 18mth o2 3gs contract which ends in about may 2011 to get one at release

Looks like O2 are doing an upgrade offer for a limited time. http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/502557/iphone_4_coming_to_o2_in_the_uk.html
My 3G contract is up at the end of the month so hoping to get a 4G upgrade without shelling out £££s!

 

[elbows]

It doesn't really look like an existing Apple design, but then, they do change, and it's certainly within the existing curve; the new aluminium-body macs were a bit of a departure as well.

Yeah Im not doing a very good job of describing it really - I guess I mean that whilst there are leaps, there are occasional hints at design direction from other devices. I cant think of other Apple hardware that has the layered sandwich type look from the side, but the flat edges have something in common with the recent macbooks, iMacs and even the iPad has flatter edges than the previous iphones.

 

[spacemonkey]

I am simultaneously investing in fountain pens, durable paper and water/environmentally-proof ink.

(This is actually true btw, though not specifically for the purposes of passing on prose to a post apocalyptic society.)

You'll be chucking that 'durable paper' in the hearth when Russia switches off our gas.

I will be kept warm by the new extra-large lithium ion battery in my iOS4.

 

[Sunray]

They are getting well organised now. O2 are offering to send a Micro sim out to you before you can buy it in preparation.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

You'll be chucking that 'durable paper' in the hearth when Russia switches off our gas.

I will be kept warm by the new extra-large lithium ion battery in my iOS4.

yeah, and in two hundred years when the survivors are picking through the ruins, they'll be saying "this little useless bit of glass and metal must have had some religious significance for our ancestors - now let's read that bit where fridge was trying to get his broadband back again from Volume 7 of the Book"

 

[editor]

I really can't think of any everyday use for video chat. One of the reasons texting took off was because it was less hassle than calling.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You can video chat between the phone and a Mac apparently so that widens the appeal...

 

[Kid_Eternity]

They are getting well organised now. O2 are offering to send a Micro sim out to you before you can buy it in preparation.

Heh yeah just did that too. Wonder what they mean by 'special upgrade deal'?

 

[elbows]

Well in the same way that I did not believe Apple tech,design, marketing etc was necessarily enough on its own to make the tablet form factor a huge mainstream winner, likewise there are reasons Apple can do little about that may prevent video chat from becoming massive. There are some real psychological issues.

I still have to wait some time to be 100% sure Apple have made the tablet a winner. I think I will be waiting much longer to be able to tell if they make video chat take off, and I have some serious doubts, but then again I am fairly ugly! Anyway as its not the primary function of the device they dont have much to lose at all if it fails to become the norm for our culture.

 

[Kanda]

It's not just video calls though when you think you can use the other camera and stream live whatever you're looking at to someone else...

Viewing a house?
A purchase in a store to your other half?
Etc etc

 

[editor]

If the iPad had come with video calling might have at least made chat more tempting and widespread for Apple users. No doubt that will be in the next 'revolutionary' update.

 

[Crispy]

I use video chat on the computer to speak to my parents sometimes, but that's all. Having it in my hand might make a difference, especially if it can be accessed easily from an existing phone call...