MacBook Pro Updated, Thunderbolt Included

Today Apple did a refresh of their MacBook Pro line, something that has been due for some time, as the previous refresh was in April of 2010.

Processors & Graphics

The entire MacBook Pro line is on the latest Intel processors. The 13-inch models have finally graduated from the Core 2 Duo processors to dual-core Core i5 on the low-end and Core i7 on the high end. Apple says the new 13-inch model is twice as fast as the previous generation. The 15- and 17-inch models all sport Core i7 processors instead of i5 processors, and they are quad-core!

All models have shifted to Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics. I am unsure how I feel about this as Intel's integrated graphics have never been known as fantastic. However, Intel blocked NVIDIA from making integrated chipsets for the Core i-Series of processors (this is why Apple stuck with the Core 2 Duo for so long on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. They preferred NVIDIA's chipsets).

Whereas the 13-inch model relies solely on the Intel graphics chip, the 15- and 17-inch models can automatically switch to higher-end AMD discrete graphics when some extra horsepower is needed. The low-end 15-inch sports the AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5, and the high-end 15-inch and the 17-inch models have the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5. Nice.

FaceTime HD

The new MacBook Pro's have a new HD camera in the monitor bezel. These used to be called iSight's, but since the iPhone 4 was introduced, Apple has been rebranding with FaceTime. The MacBook Air was the first Mac to receive the FaceTime Camera moniker, and the MacBook Pro now has FaceTime HD.

Thunderbolt — One Port to Rule Them All

This section quite possibly deserves a post all in itself. Thunderbolt is a new port that handles, well, everything. It was a project by Intel to create a port that just about anything can plug into. Intel and Apple worked together to make this port, which has taken on the form-factor of Apple's mini-DisplayPort plug.

Thunderbolt can transfer data at 10 Gbps (USB 3.0 does 5 Gbps), connect storage devices, storage arrays, displays, and even connect to networks. It even supplies 10-watts of power to power devices.

So, what does this mean for future Macs? Well, one of the things I was hoping for in this refresh was that the MacBook Pro would become more like the MacBook Air. Especially in adopting the thin wedge profile. There are four main things that stand in the way of the MacBook Pro getting much thinner: hard drive, optical drive, Ethernet, and FireWire.

The hard drive will eventually go solely SSD in portable Macs, I am convinced of this. The optical drive can go the way of the floppy, and users who need it can have an external drive, like we see with the MacBook Air today.

But Ethernet and FireWire are large ports that aren't going away in the near future — or at least weren't, since there wasn't a viable replacement. Thunderbolt is that replacement.

Apple and Intel designed Thunderbolt to continue to support existing USB, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, and Fibre Channel networks using simple adapters. And since Thunderbolt is based on mini-DisplayPort, users can still use existing adapters to connect DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA displays.

Thunderbolt literally wraps all the ports on the side of the MacBook Pro into one connector. This is just the first step.

As Thunderbolt takes off and is included with other devices natively, Apple (and other manufacturers) could offer a bunch of Thunderbolt ports on their computers, and retire ports such as Ethernet, FireWire, and maybe even USB.

Imagine if thumbdrives had a Thunderbolt plug instead of USB. This one port design could very well be the future.

Conclusions

This is an impressive update to the MacBook Pro line. If you've had your eye on a new MacBook Pro, now is the time to get one. Mine is doing fine, and I am honestly waiting for the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air to hook up. Not to mention that the inclusion of Thunderbolt has me waiting to see a simplified I/O and thinner designs.

Apple Goes Back to the Mac

Apple held its “Back to the Mac” shindig in Cupertino today. Here’s the new shiny.

iLife ‘11

Apple demoed major new features in iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand. iWeb and iDVD are still included, but it appears nothing has really changed for those two apps. This is the third iLife release in which iDVD has seen little-to-no love.

iPhoto gets a full-screen navigation mode, which looks very slick. Also, improved built-in email support, with templates; new slideshows; even better books (I’ve ordered books in the past as gifts. They’re fantastic); and letterpress cards. Letterpress is pretty fancy. Hard to believe you can get this from a computer company.

iMovie gets a neat movie trailer editor; impressive audio editing; one-step effects; people finder; and sports & news themes. With the much improved audio editor, it appears Apple’s revamp of iMovie in the 2008 edition has finally matured back to iMovie HD’s former glory.

GarageBand gets a new feature called Flex Time which helps keep various individual instrument tracks in rhythm. Also, Groove Matching takes a “genius” approach to match the rhythm of the whole band to a single rhythm. There are also guitar amps and effects; new basic lessons, and a “How Did I Play?” feature which tests your skills at playing a certain song.

iLife ‘11 is available today for $49, or comes free with a new Mac.

FaceTime for Mac

We all knew this day would come. FaceTime was first introduced with the iPhone 4. I found it useful when my wife was out of town for a week, but it hasn’t been used much since. Apple then brought FaceTime to the latest iPod touch last month, but I still haven’t been used the feature in a while. Now, with FaceTime for Mac, I have a feeling I’ll be video chatting from my iPhone a lot. Why? Grandparents. Both my parents and my wife’s parents have MacBooks, and we currently use iChat so they can see my son. The problem is that two year olds don’t sit still for long, and it’s hard to chase him with a MacBook Pro.

There’s no buddy list to maintain. FaceTime just pulls in your Address Book, just like the iPhone. FaceTime for Mac also installs a Push Notification bundle, so you can receive calls on your Mac even if FaceTime is closed.

Now the grandparents can do FaceTime with our iPhones. Now FaceTime is useful. Now FaceTime is mainstream.

FaceTime for Mac is available today as a public beta.

Lion

Apple introduced the next step of Mac OS X – Lion. To create iOS, Apple refashioned parts of Mac OS X. They learned a lot, made the iPad, and are now bringing what they learned from iOS back to the Mac. The main features they want to bring back from iOS are Multi-touch gestures, the App Store, App Home screens, full screen apps, auto save, & auto resume when launching.

Multi-Touch

On the Mac, multi-touch will take its focus on MacBook trackpads, the Magic Mouse, and the Magic Trackpad instead of the screen. They demoed using a Magic Mouse and an iMac, but honestly, I can’t see that being very comfortable. I use a Magic Trackpad with my MacBook Pro when at my desk (the Macbook is elevated on a stand), and I hope Apple just starts shipping those with iMacs in the near future.

The Mac App Store

Yesterday, I talked about a hope of mine for an easier installation and update process. Well, my wish has been granted, but in a way I didn’t really see happening. Apple is opening a Mac App Store within 90 days. It will be available on Snow Leopard, but I am sure it will be even more tightly integrated with Lion.

It makes sense for Apple to have a Mac App Store. I just figured they wouldn’t upset the status quo of obtaining software straight from developer’s websites. The truth is, after reading many developers’ tweets, is that markets change. The Mac App Store won’t be the only way to get Apps on your Mac (for now), but Apple says it will be the best.

That’s not hard to imagine. Their preview of the Mac App Store looks slick, and installation and updating Apps is as simple as iOS. This will be a big hit with users, who want simple.

I am a bit concerned about copy-protected apps. It even bothers me a bit on iOS. Copy-protection schemes always make me uncomfortable, especially when they come back to bite users.

Launchpad

Launchpad is a full screen grid of all your apps. They can be organized into separate home screens or grouped into iOS-like folders. It is very much the iOS 4 home screen brought to the Mac desktop.

Mission Control

Apple is unifying the abilities of Dashboard, Exposé, Spaces, and full-screen apps into a new feature called Mission Control. You navigate between different areas through swipe gestures. Looks like a great convergence and unification of already great features.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is slated to ship by the end of Summer 2011.

A MacBook and an iPad Hook Up…

Apple introduced a redesigned MacBook Air today, at 13.3- and 11.6-inch screen sizes. Apple bills it as the future of notebooks. The goal was to bring many great features of the iPad to MacBooks. These include “instant on,” great battery life, amazing standby time, and solid state storage (SSD).

Apple’s new MacBook Air boots in about 15 seconds, and has a 5-hour (11.6-inch) and 7-hour (13.3-inch) battery under normal use. Both models have a standby time of 30-days.

There isn’t an optical drive (though you can connect one via USB) nor a hard drive. Instead, Apple uses SSD for storage, just like its iPods, iPads, & iPhones.

The price ranges from $99 to $1,599, depending on model. I bet it goes higher if you customize the order.

The thing I love about the MacBook Air? The media on which its reinstallation software is stored. It’s a little Apple-branded USB drive.

I hope Lion comes on one of these instead of a DVD.

Thoughts

The new iPhoto looks compelling. I’ve been experimenting with Aperture, but I’m just not falling in love with it.

The Mac App Store dropped my jaw a little, more so because I didn’t think Apple would actually do it. But it makes a lot of sense. I imagine it will be great.

Lion looks amazing. I can’t wait until next summer.

The MacBook Air doesn’t thrill me much, but I am excited to see how it will influence the MacBook Pro line.

All in all, great event. The only disappointment was we didn’t see more of Lion.

Review: Griffin TuneFlex AUX HandsFree

I’ve been a longtime user and fan of Griffin Technology’s products. One area Griffin has always excelled in was integrating my iPod, well, now iPhone, into my car. Shortly after I bought my iPhone 3G a couple years ago, Griffin released the TuneFlex AUX SmartClick. The SmartClick had this super handy remote you could attach to your steering wheel to control playback. This was one of the most useful accessories I ever owned. You can read my glowing review from back in January 2009.

Sadly, when the iPhone 4 came out, the SmartClick’s model-specific adapters didn’t accommodate the new shape of the iPhone 4. So I’ve been patiently waiting for a revised TuneFlex.

A couple weeks ago, Griffin released the TuneFlex AUX HandsFree. The main features are an adjustable cradle that can accommodate the various shapes of iPod and iPhone models, even while the device is in a case, and a microphone that will allow you to talk on the phone handsfree. Hence the name.

I saw this pop up on Amazon for $32, which is quite the discount from the $49.99 MSRP, so I ordered it.

In seven years, this is the first time I am disappointed with a Griffin product. Sadly, the HandsFree is four steps backwards in design from the SmartClick. Sadly, I’ll be returning it for the reasons listed below.

1. The new, adjustable cradle doesn’t apply enough tension to keep the iPhone 4 seated well on the Dock connector. The iPhone wobbles around a lot. With the Dock connector providing the only apparent point of stability, I’m afraid either the connector on the TuneFlex will snap, or worse, the port on the iPhone will be damaged.
2. On both the SmarClick and Handsfree editions of the TuneFlex, the point at which the gooseneck meets the cradle swivels to the left and right. On the SmartClick, it had ratchet points to provide resistance in swiveling. The HandsFree has a completely smooth action. Too smooth. A modestly hard turn will definitely cause the swivel point to swing and, combined with the loose tension in the cradle, will likely send your iPhone or iPod flying across the cabin.
3. There is no way to control playback anymore. I do much more listening with my iPhone than talking in the car. Having to fiddle with onscreen controls to skip forward a track or pause is more dangerous. The SmartClick had such an excellent solution to this. The HandsFree offers no solution.
4. Audio on the SmartClick was line-out via the Dock connector. The HandsFree offers only audio out via the headphone jack, so you first have to adjust the device’s volume, then your stereo’s. What a distraction and a mess. Never mind the fact that if you forget to turn down the device’s volume before you plug in headphones you’ll have hurting ears.

I really wish I had better things to say about this product. It actually kind of hurts to lampoon a Griffin product since I have never had a bad experience from them.

It’s a shame they didn’t just release a $10 adapter for the iPhone 4 for SmartClick owners.

Tracking the Magic

Among updates to its line of Cinema Displays, iMacs, and Mac Pros earlier this week, Apple also introduced a new aluminum & glass clad input device — the Magic Trackpad. 

I just so happen to have picked one up, just to give you my impressions. If you’ve used any of Apple’s unibody MacBooks or MacBook Pros, you’d be familiar with the gorgeous glass multi-touch trackpad. The Magic Trackpad is essentially a larger version of that, powered by batteries and connected by bluetooth. The idea is that this brings all the current gestures currently available in OS X to desktop users.

Now, I’m a MacBook Pro user, so you may wonder why I’d even want this? Well, I use my MacBook Pro as a desktop replacement, and 90% of the time, it is on a Griffin Elevator on my desk, in order to bring the screen in line of my eyes. Hence, I also have been using Apple’s aluminum wireless keyboard and the Magic Mouse.

The Magic Mouse brought the ability to use two fingers to go back/forward a page in Safari, iPhoto, or other app with gesture support, whereas the built in trackpad on my MacBook Pro was capable of so much more, especially initiating Exposé, something I use often.

Needless to say, I loved, and do still love, the Magic Mouse, but its multi-touch support was limited at best.

Enter the Magic Trackpad into my life. Now there is no need to adjust my muscle memory for gestures on supported peripherals. They are the same whether I am using my MacBook Pro at my desk or in a coffee shop. To be honest, I have been craving this same functionality ever since I ran across this mockup on Flickr.

Now, a bigger question. Why would Apple even make this? Well, if you know anything at all about Apple, it is obvious that everything in their product line is there for a reason. Everything has a specific reason for being there. Regarding the Magic Mouse and now the Magic Trackpad, I look at it this way: The Magic Mouse was used to introduce many desktop mac users to multi-touch in OS X. It is essentially the “missing link” — a hybrid between the past and the future. The Magic Trackpad then unifies the portable and desktop lines in order to make all of the same gestures available to all Mac users. 

But to what end? Well, my guess is the next major version of the Mac OS — presumably Mac OS X 10.7 — will have a predominant focus on bringing multi-touch across most of the system. iMacs already ship with the wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse as the standard. Would it really be surprising to see that change to the wireless keyboard and the Magic Trackpad as the standard by the time 10.7 rolls around? 

Also, Apple is notorious for throwing out things that they feel are obsolete. Floppy disks, anyone? I believe Apple thinks that multi-touch is the input method for the future. That is really evident in the iPhone and iPad. However, traditional keyboard & mouse computers aren’t going to disappear overnight, but Apple could make a significant push towards moving millions of people to multi-touch by putting the mouse on the back burner, and including trackpads as the default for desktop computers.

Overall, I am very impressed with the Magic Trackpad. For me, it seamlessly unifies the mobile and desktop experience of a Mac. And I think it is a preparation of things to come in Mac OS X.

iPhone 4 Changes Everything. Again.

Apple’s confident slogan for iPhone 4 has been mocked by many who say there isn’t anything special about it compared to the competition (i.e. Android). There is no doubt that in 2007 Apple changed everything for the mobile phone market with the introduction of the original iPhone. But that was a change in what defined a mobile phone. Now every new phone seems to sport a touch screen and apps. How could the iPhone 4 change the game again in such a short time? Allow me to explain through a rundown of the hardware and software.

Hardware

The iPhone 4’s hardware is a masterpiece. The front and back are made of glass, and the stainless steel band around the edge acts as the iPhone’s antenna system for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G. The volume buttons and the ring/silent switch are also metal. The entire phone feels like a handcrafted Aston Martin. Good riddance to the plastic back of the iPhone 3G/3GS.

More Than Meets the Eye

Apple upgraded the display in the iPhone for the first time — and it is a jaw-dropping improvement. The display has four times as many pixels as previous iPhones, and they are calling it the Retina Display. Why? Because at 326 pixels per inch, it is near impossible to distinguish the individual pixels with the naked eye, unless you happen to have superb vision (and even then, I’d be surprised). 

The screen is so sharp that it literally looks as if text and images is printed directly on the glass. View the screen from an oblique angle and the color doesn’t distort in the slightest. It looks like a finely printed glossy page from National Geographic. This makes me wish my iPad had a Retina Display. 

More Horsepower Than an Audi A4

Apple’s A4 chip, which made its debut in the iPad a few months back, has made its way to the iPhone as well. The A4 is a screamer. Everything about the new iphone is fast. The camera snaps shots instantly and successively, games are fast and smooth, web pages load much faster, pinch-zooming on a site re-renders the text instantly, etc. 

I didn’t used to enjoy my games on the iPhone 3G since they often stuttered and crashed. Now, to be fair, those particular games were made after the iPhone 3GS came out and were likely optimized for that hardware. But now those games load and play so much faster and smoother, I can see myself spending more time with them. RampChamp, prepare to knock over some clowns.

Shutterbug

The rear camera on iPhone 4 was also improved, as it now has 5-megapixels, a backside illuminated sensor, and an LED flash. The pictures it takes are phenomenal for a smartphone camera. I imagine that has a fair amount to do with Apple’s superb camera software, as well.

The rear camera can also shoot in 720p HD video. And it looks just as nice as my Kodak Zx1, which I think will need a new owner. 

iPhone 4 has another camera on the front, for self portraits and FaceTime video calls, which I’ll discuss shortly.

Software

Last Monday, Apple released iOS 4 for most previous iOS devices. The iPhone 3GS and 3rd Generation iPod touch received the full gamut of features, whereas the iPhone 3G and 2nd Generation iPod touch received most features, and the original iPhone and iPod touch were put out to pasture. Naturally, iPhone 4 is what iOS 4 was made for, and it even gets a few bonus features.

Multitasking

Many folks in the media have railed Apple for bringing limited multitasking, rather than allowing any and all apps to run simultaneously in the background. I actually think Apple is thinking correctly in using fast-app switching, and allowing several special processes to run in the background, such as task finishing, Voice-Over-IP (think Skype), GPS, and background audio, along with a couple other things.

So far, I love the feature. It’s nice to not have to do the “home screen shuffle” to switch between a few apps. For instance, I have been switching a lot between 1Password and Safari for passwords to various accounts. Now, speaking of the home screen shuffle…

Folders

The home screen now allows you to drag one app onto another app and create a folder. Each folder can hold 12 apps, but it only show 9 mini icons within the folder icon. I took 5 screens of apps down to two. It’s nice having all of my games in a Games folder, and I moved all my social media apps into a Social folder. You get the picture.

There’s No Time Like FaceTime

Let’s talk about that little front facing camera again. The real reason Apple added that is for their new FaceTime feature. Let’s say I am out of town, and I am talking on the phone with my wife on her iPhone 4. I want to see her and my son, so I tap the FaceTime button in the call window, and suddenly, after she accepts, I am seeing my family. This technology works flawlessly. Granted, right now it only works on WiFi, and only iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, but Steve Jobs said a couple weeks ago they will have tens of millions of FaceTime devices in the channel by the end of the year. Gee, I wonder what the next iPod touch will have?

The nice thing about FaceTime is you don’t have to be in a phone call to use it. Around noon today, I opened up my friend Nik’s contact card, and tapped the FaceTime button there, because I know he received one today. Now, Nik lives in England, but upon tapping FaceTime, it buzzed his iPhone 4, and we were seeing each other face to face. I flipped the view to the rear camera and showed him Nebraska, and he did the same and showed me Brighton. 

Apple may call the iPad magical, which it is indeed quite so, but FaceTime is the real magic. Yes, we’ve had this technology for years with webcams and iChat and Skype…but this on your phone, which you can walk around with, and show people things around you and share moments with them. 

For instance, when I flipped to the rear camera and pointed it at my growing son, Nik’s mouth gaped and his hand went to his forehead in disbelief at how big my son become (he’ll be two soon). Never before using iChat have I shared a moment like that. FaceTime is going to bring about a more personal form of communication.

Why This Changes Everything Again

Apple is making a move that few companies can pull off — they are going right for our hearts. Seriously, watch their video about FaceTime and I would be surprised if you weren’t moved by it. I can’t properly describe the enchantment of using FaceTime. It is not like the video conferencing we’ve known. It isn’t anything like sitting in front of a computer. FaceTime is all about sharing moments with others. For me, it is seeing two friends I haven’t spoken with in some time, one across the country, another across an ocean (or The Pond, as he would say). 

And this technology is just in its infancy. I can’t even imagine where we’ll be when my son leaves home in 16 years. All I know is I’ll still be able to see him, and that strikes me to my core.

Apple isn’t just a consumer electronics maker. If you’ve ever spoken with someone who works there, you can tell that they believe they are changing the world for the better. And I’m not just talking about listening to Apple’s top brass spinning PR, I’m talking about the folks who actually come up with these new ideas. FaceTime is absolutely simple to initiate. You don’t have to register for an account, or worry about which program to use. If the basic qualifications are met, it just works. 

So yes, overall, iPhone 4 is an evolutionary step in the new world order of mobile phones that its progenitor started. Being able to see who you are talking to, easily, while showing them important things around you, with half a world between you…that is what is truly magical.

WWDC 2010: iPhone 4

Wow. That could pretty much sum up Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote address for me. This was probably the best keynote from Apple, in my opinion, since the January 2007 unveiling of the original iPhone at Macworld. Steve wasn’t kidding when he said at one point, “For 2010, we’re going to take the biggest leap since the original iPhone.”

Before I delve into iPhone 4, though, it is worth mentioning that Apple gave a recap of iPad’s success, and showed off a forthcoming update to iBooks. 2 million iPads have been sold in three months. When that is averaged out, that is 1 iPad every 3 seconds. To me, that is absolutely crazy. I blows my mind. iBooks is getting an update in a couple weeks that will enable highlighting, notes, and bookmarks, as well as native PDF reading support.

Next, Apple talked about a few highlights of the App Store, detailing some upcoming additions such as Netflix for iPhone (yay!) and Farmville (barf…).

Okay, now that the small stuff is out of the way, let’s get to what you really came here to read about.

iPhone 4

Look at that beauty. And I’ll tell you what, there is a lot going on with this phone to make it that gorgeous. Let’s break it down bit by bit.

All New Design

iPhone 4 is a mere 9.3 mm thick, making it 24% thinner than the iPhone 3G/3GS. This is thanks to the main structure of the phone being harnessed in a stainless steel band, sandwiched between an aluminosilicate glass front and back casing. You’ll notice a couple seams in the stainless steel band. Well, this sectioned band acts as the phone’s antennas, one supporting 802,11n WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, and the other supporting the 3G/EDGE GSM radio. Apparently, engineers were touting after the keynote to attendees that they found a way to transform the electromagnetic radiation given off by the radios into electric current, giving iPhone 4 the ability to boost its own reception. There is also a second microphone at the top of iPhone 4, right by the headphone jack, to provide noise suppression during phone calls. Amazing stuff. 

The back is no longer plastic. It is glass, just like the front. With my iPhone 3G, I have never worried about the glass front. It’s super durable. But, prior to my iPhone being switched out under AppleCare, the plastic back had suffered many small scratches and even developed hairline cracks around the headphone jack and dock connector, and even lost a small chunk of the plastic around the dock connector. The glass used in the iPhone 4 is different from the glass used in previous models. It is aluminosilicate glass, which makes it comparable in strength to sapphire crystal, 30 times harder than plastic. And since the glass used in previous models was virtually impossible to scratch, this new glass should make the back even more durable.

There’s a neat thing about the glass on the front of the device as well. Previous models of the iPhone suffered from a knack of getting dust between the glass and the display (my iPhone 3G went through this quagmire twice). Apple is using a new process of laminating the display to the glass, which should take care of this problem. John Gruber elaborates:

Apple had a demo area for the media after the keynote, so I got to spend some time hands-on with the iPhone 4. The resolution of the “retina display” is as impressive as Apple boasts. Text renders like high quality print. One thing that Apple didn’t mention in the keynote, though, is that the LCD pixels are much closer to the surface of the touchscreen. On existing iPhones (and iPods, and iPads), there is not a lot of distance between the glass surface and the LCD, but there is some. There’s also a very narrow amount of air between the touchscreen glass and the underlying LCD. If you’ve ever got a bit dust under your display, that dust is in the air between the glass and LCD.

It’s mentioned briefly in Apple’s promotional video about the design of the iPhone 4, but they’re using a new production process that effectively fuses the LCD and touchscreen — there is no longer any air between the two. One result of this is that the iPhone 4 should be impervious to this dust-under-the-glass issue. More importantly, though, is that it looks better. The effect is that the pixels appear to be painted on the surface of the phone; instead of looking at pixelsunder glass, it’s like looking at pixels on glass. Combined with the incredibly high pixel density, the overall effect is like “live print”.

It also improved the field of view for the display — you can view the display from an oblique angle and it looks great. Again, like print. It’s like a glossy magazine come to life.

To me, iPhone 4 looks to be solving the design problems of previous models. Check out Apple’s great video of the design.

Retina Display

Apple is moving from a 480x320 pixel display to a 960x640 pixel display. This will provide 4 pixels in the same physical space that one pixel occupied on previous models. Whereas previous iPhone models had an already impressive 163 pixels per inch, iPhone 4 has 326 pixels per inch, which provides the same quality as a page printed on a laser printer. Around 300 ppi, the human eye can no longer distinguish the individual pixels, some this display renders like print to our eyes, hence the “Retina” moniker. The display also has an 800:1 contrast ratio, which is 4 times better than before, and like the iMac and iPad, is employing In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology for greater color accuracy and an extremely wide viewing angle.

A4

I remember back in January of this year when Apple announced they were using a custom designed system on a chip, I sat back and hoped it would find its way to the next iPhone. Well, it did. iPhone 4 is powered by the same chip that runs the iPad, the Apple A4. Since the A4 uses very little energy, it is boosting the iPhone’s battery life up to 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 300 hours of standby. That, my friends, is great for a smartphone, and amazing for one of the iPhone’s caliber.

Gyroscope

Apple pioneered, to my knowledge, the use of an accelerometer in a mobile phone. This allowed the original and subsequent iPhones to sense when you held the phone sideways, and would adjust the orientation of photos, as one example, appropriately. The accelerometer also found its way into gaming apps, being used for apps such as driving games. Now, Apple is adding a gyroscope in addition to the accelerometer, giving iPhone 4 6-axis motion sensing, pitch, roll, & yaw, and rotation about gravity. I can’t wait to see what developers do with this handy piece of hardware.

Camera, Now with Lights & Action!

The iPhone has always had a fairly small camera sensor compared to competing devices, but has always produced fairly decent shots due to its superior software. Believe me, I have a shot of my son, taken with my iPhone 3G, that looks as if I took it with my Canon EOS 40D (I admit that it was taken under a perfect storm of natural light). Apple had upgraded the camera system in the iPhone 3GS with a 3 megapixel camera, tap to focus, and even included support for standard definition video.

iPhone 4 introduces a larger lens, and bumps the camera sensor to 5 megapixels. Most competitors are including 8 or even 12 megapixel cameras in their phones. Megapixels are not the end all be all of digital photography. In fact, what really matters with any digital camera, is light sensitivity. To accomplish that, the light-capturing pixels need to be able to soak up as much light as possible. Other phones are shipping cameras with sensors the same physical size as iPhone 4’s. However, by including 8- or 12-megapixels, those light-capturing pixels are smaller, meaning they soak up less light. 

iPhone 4’s light-capturing pixels are the same physical size as those in the 3GS’s camera, but the overall sensor is larger and the lens is larger than the 3GS’s. Also, Apple is using a backside illuminated sensor in iPhone 4 to bring even more light into the camera. Overall, iPhone 4’s camera should be fairly light-sensitive even in low-light situations. But, in those low-light situations, you can employ the use of iPhone 4’s LED flash.

The camera’s software continues to have Apple’s innovative tap to focus system, and introduces a 5x digital zoom.

The camera now also records 720p HD video at 30 fps. It also introduces tap to focus video. Apple also announced that they will be shipping iMovie for iPhone for $5 on the App Store. You can record HD video, edit it with themes, music, & transitions, and export it all from your iPhone.

iOS 4

Apple announced a name change to iPhone OS 4 because it runs on iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads. It is honestly a welcome name change. This section of the keynote was basically a recap of the developer preview back in March, which you can read my coverage of. One new thing worth mentioning is the addition of Bing as a search engine to Google and Yahoo!. Google will remain the default.

iOS 4 will be shipping to customers via iTunes on June 21st. 1st generation iPhones and iPod touches will not be receiving it. iPhone 3G and second generation (2008) iPod touches get everything except Multitasking, Custom Homescreen Wallpaper, and Bluetooth Keyboard support, and iPhone 3GS and 3rd Generation (2009) iPod touches get everything.

iBooks

In addition to the PDF, notes, and highlights enhancements to iBooks on the iPad, Apple announced the addition of iBooks for iPhone. iBooks on iPhone will have the same abilities as the iPad (in fact, it will be a universal app). Apple also said it will be providing free redownloading of book purchases to all of your iOS devices,a nd will sync wirelessly sync your place, bookmarks, highlights, and notes across your devices for free.

iAds

Apple recapped and demoed iAds, its in-app advertising platform, which will be debuting in apps on July 1 in apps that developers code them into. Honestly, I don’t mind ads in free apps. I am always about supporting the developer for their work. And if ads are the way to support a developer, iAds looks to provide a nice experience, especially since you can dismiss an ad at will.

FaceTime

Finally, Apple introduced FaceTime, which utilizes a front-faced camera on iPhone 4 to do video chats (this camera can also be used for self-portraits in the camera app). FaceTime is currently restricted to being WiFi only in 2010, as Apple works with carriers to bring support for it over 3G. Another restriction, one which I am sad to see, is that FaceTime only works from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. I hope a future software update brings video chat from iPhone 4 to iChat on the Mac.

One thing that may help in that is Apple’s pledge to make FaceTime an open standard, so apps like Skype may possibly use it. 

Apple put together a touching video to demonstrate FaceTime as it will apply to people’s lives. I know I’d love it right now as my wife is traveling for a week. 

Pricing & Availabilty

iPhone 4 will be available for preorder on June 15th, and released on June 24th. It will come in black or white (the white model is white on both the front and back, and looks reminiscent of the first iPod). Capacity is 16GB or 32GB and price is $199 and $299, respectively, with a 2 year contract, subject to eligibility. The iPhone 3GS will have an 8GB capacity and sell for $99 with the same carrier commitments. The iPhone 3G has been discontinued.

Thoughts

I am absolutely enamored with the new iPhone. As I am at the end of my current iPhone 3G contract, I will be upgrading to iPhone 4. I would have preferred to see the capacities at 32GB and 64GB, but seeing as I have 16GB right now, 32GB will be a nice step up. I’ll just have to make sure to leave a few gigabytes free for that HD video recording.

Otherwise, I am looking forward with great anticipation to the new design, the Retina display, and the improved rear camera. Also, as I’ll be receiving it on June 24th, I may use it as my camera for a wedding I am attending on June 25th, seeing as how my DSLR would be inappropriate and awkward to handle. Casually snapping some shots at a wedding and reception should be a good gauntlet to put the camera through the paces.

Look for my hands on review around that time.

The Great iPhone Kerfuffle of 2010

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past week and a half-ish, you’ve no doubt heard about Gizmodo getting their hands on a prototype iPhone. Not just any prototype iPhone, but almost certainly the next iPhone. I’ve held off on writing about it for a couple reasons:

1. My tongue was hanging out for a long time on the floor.
2. I wanted to see how this played out for a little while.

I’m not going to waste too many pixels of typography discussing the circumstances of how Gizmodo acquired the iPhone or what the legal ramifications of all that may be, other than to say that I was genuinely disappointed for how Gizmodo outed the name of the Apple engineer who misplaced the iPhone. That was a tasteless act that had no relevancy to the overall story. All we needed to know was that an Apple engineer misplaced, not the name and face of the actual person. It disturbs me how Gizmodo can take such sociopathic glee in attaching that man’s name to this story for the rest of his career via search engine.

There, I am finished ranting and chastising.

Now, onto the meat of the story — the prototype iPhone. This was by far the biggest tech/gadget scoop I’ve ever seen. It may be the biggest tech/gadget scoop ever. It is so strange that we’ve actually seen the next iPhone before Steve Jobs has shown it to us.

Much to the dismay of iPhone case manufacturers, who last year were given a reprieve of redesigning their products due to the 3GS having the same body as the 3G, the next iPhone has a brand new design. I think it is safe to say the design of the prototype is close to what will be in customer’s hands. To quote John Gruber:

According to Gizmodo, one of the barcodes attached to the unit read “N90_DVT_GE4X_0493”. According to several sources (of mine) familiar with the project, “N90” is Apple’s codename for the fourth-generation GSM iPhone, slated for release this June or July. “DVT” stands for “design verification test”, an Apple production milestone. The DVT milestone is very late in the game; based on this, I now believe that this unit very closely, if not exactly, resembles what Apple plans to release.

So, given what Gizmodo showed us, I want to weigh in on the hardware.

I love my iPhone 3G overall, but one thing that is an overall flaw is the plastic shell. It feels cheap. My iPhone 3G doesn’t feel like it is constructed nearly as well as my wife’s iPod touch or my iPad. But more than anything, the plastic back isn’t very durable. A few days ago I had my iPhone replaced under warranty. I took it in to have the screen replaced, as I had dust built up between the glass and LCD. But the Genius pointed out that I had many stress fractures around the headphone jack and dock connector. She replaced the whole unit on that basis. Let’s face it, the iPhone should suffer from stress fractures on the only two ports, which are meant to be used often.

So that brings me to the point of the next iPhone’s case. It appears to be two pieces of glass with a band of aluminum sandwiched in between. The band of aluminum surrounds and supports the headphone and dock connectors — that’s a good thing. The really interesting part is the back of the iPhone. Gizmodo said it felt like glass, like the front. But Apple holds a patent for making a case out of ceramic. Polished ceramic would definitely have the feel of glass. It’s also very durable and completely RF transparent, which is very important for a mobile phone. To put durability into perspective, the M1 Abrams tank used by the United States military uses ceramic in its armor. Tough stuff.

Next is cameras. Yes, plural. Let’s start with the rear camera we know and love. It was noted that the lens itself is larger than what is found on the 3GS, alluding to the possibility of a 5 megapixel camera. This would be a wise move as many competing phones sport 5 megapixel cameras. There is also a little LED flash. This will probably be the only kind of “flash” to be on an iPhone. Yes, that was a dig at Adobe.

New to the next iteration of the iPhone is a front camera, presumably for video chat. I’m not exactly sure how much I would use this. The idea seems awkward to me as it requires holding the iPhone out in front of your face. We’ll see.

Lastly, Gizmodo thought the screen looked as if it had a higher pixel density. 960x640 would be a good assumption. It’s exactly double the current pixel count. If Apple couples that with the IPS technology they’ve put in the latest iMacs and the iPad, that will be a great looking screen. (IPS allows the image to remain fairly free of color distortion at extreme angles.)

And that’s about all we know or could reasonably assume from Gizmodo’s observations, as the iPhone’s software had been remotely wiped.

What else would I like to see? Well, I’d like to see the iPhone gain storage up to at least 64 GB. I’d also like to see Apple use a custom chip like their A4 chip that resides in the iPad. And if they can swing it, 512 MB of RAM would be great, especially with all the multitasking apps in the background in iPhone OS 4. (I was surprised that the iPad only has 256 MB RAM. I thought 512 MB was a shoe-in.)

Since that camera is thought to contain more resolution, I’d love it if the iPhone shoots 720p HD video instead of the current 640x480. Then I could get rid of my Kodak Zx1, which doesn’t see a great deal of use since I rarely carry it with me. I carry my iPhone with me at all times.

Overall, the physical design of the new iPhone is very appealing to me. It looks more in line with the machined aluminum bodies of the MacBook Pro, iMac, and iPad. The iPhone 3G/3GS really stick out as odd compared to many of Apple’s other products. 

I really can’t wait to get the next iPhone. After all, I bought the iPhone 3G on day one. I’m due for a new one.

Apps Are the Name of the Game for Kindle

I remember on January 28, 2010, when Steve Jobs unveiled the long awaited iPad, I immediately looked at my month-old Amazon Kindle with a feeling of pity. It was soon to be obsolete. By far the best e-book reader in the world was going to be outshone. Sure, eInk is nice, but no one will deny that a color screen is truly captivating. 

And the greatest contrast is the capability of the hardware itself. The Kindle does one thing — read books. At least that’s the only thing it really does well. The iPad can become just about anything one can imagine. An eInk screen can’t stand up to that. And Amazon knows it. 

Have you taken a look at Amazon’s home page in the past few days? No? Here’s a screenc apture of the relevant part, which is front and center at the top of the page.

Amazon is really pushing the free Kindle reading apps across a whole lot of platforms including, you guessed it — the iPad. Even more interesting is the tiny image of the Kindle hardware at the bottom. It’s basically waving about screaming, “Look at me! I’m still relevant! Buy me instead of any of those!”

Come on. The Kindle hardware is likely going to be put out to pasture. My guess is that Amazon really cares about selling eBooks, and they seem more than happy to provide the software for any device you want to read those eBooks on. 

Magical

I awoke this morning with the scheme in my mind of running out and buying a wifi-only iPad. The Best Buy in Fargo, ND (where I am visiting family for the holiday) would surely have some in stock, and it opens at 9 am. At 8:50, I sat in my hotel room, telling myself to let it pass. So at 9:40, I assumed the store would be sold out, but have display models available. So I went to play with a demo unit, just to say I had touched an iPad.

Well, Best Buy had received 30 of each capacity, instead of the rumored 15 total. I called my wife. She said, “It’s up to you.”

iHave an iPad.

Thoughts:

Regarding the Keyboard

The portrait style keyboard is small. Whereas on the iPhone I prefer the portrait style keyboard, the landscape keyboard is superior. The portrait keyboard is too small to treat like a normal keyboard, but the iPad itself is too wide in portrait to hold and thumb-type at the same time.

The landscape keyboard darn near perfect for those of us used to the MacBook family’s keyboard or the Apple Wireless Keyboard. I can nearly touch type.

(Speaking of wireless keyboards, you can connect them via Bluetooth to the iPad. I haven’t tested this as my wireless keyboard is several hundred miles away.)

Regarding iPad Apps

Astonishing. Sure, many that I have tried have slight bugs, but considering nearly all of them were built on a simulator and not actual hardware, I’m amazed. Twitterrific for iPad is fantastic, but you can definitely tell that it was rewritten from the ground up in 60 days. Delivery Status Touch is eye-catching. The Kindle app for iPad is far superior than the Kindle hardware itself! All of this is amazing. It’s inspiring to see how many iPhone apps were made more functional just by allowing a larger canvas on which to paint.

Regarding iPhone Apps on iPad

Garbage. The only pixel-doubled app that looks good is Canabalt, and that’s because it’s intentionally pixely to begin with. Everything else looks like garbage. iPhone apps need to be given a facelift to compete on iPad.

Heck, you can tell the iPhone apps are pretty much running in a simulator on iPad, (akin Rosetta on the Mac) because when you go to enter text you get a pixelated iPhone keyboard instead of the iPad’s keyboard.
Regarding Browsing

Joy. Browsing the web is a fantastic joy. The Facebook app (which hasn’t been redone for iPad) has been all but obsoleted by the fact that Facebook.com works great on the iPad! Except for chat.

Websites render quickly and, most often, correctly. I expect many of the fraction that doesn’t render correctly soon will. Yes, I’m looking at you, Sites Made in Flash.

Regarding Reading

Reading is so nice on the iPad. Even outside. Outside there is glare, but text is still crisp and readable. The Kindle app is very nice, but iBooks takes the cake. It comes with a complimentary copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, which is nice, as I have a toddler. It’s also a classic.

The interface melts away and allows you to focus on reading. And I actually like the page curl animation, and how the page turns only as fast as you turn it.

It doesn’t feel exactly like a paper book, but it’s not supposed to. It does, however, feel like a digital book should — casual.

Final Thoughts

There is so much more to cover on the iPad than I can possibly handle in the first brain dump. Overall, I am convinced that the iPad is the forerunner to the future of computing. I imagine that at the end of this decade, personal computers will look more like the iPad than a laptop.

The iPad feels less like a large iPhone, but rather a more casual MacBook. When Apple first described it as magical, I thought it was a little corny. I stand corrected — the iPad is a truly magical experience.

One More Thing

This review was written in Pages on the iPad, save for then being edited on my MacBook Pro to insert some links and header formatting, as the Squarespace app hasn’t yet been updated with an iPad interface.