Monday 07 June 2010

WWDC Defining Moment: WiFi FAIL    [ 07-06-2010 17:28 ]

Author: Irina Turina     Translation by: Paul Smith     

In the midst of unveiling a new iPhone, talking up the iPad and gushing about iAds there was some trouble at Apple's WWDC event. During the course of the event the WiFi they ahd setup in the auditorium just wouldn't play ball and we had the farcical scene of Steve Jobs actually asking the assembled press to turn off their WiFi devices! Clearly not all of them, or even most of them, did as live blogs and audio streams continued unabated. The WiFi failure occured twice, the second time serving to make a demo of Face Time jittery, something that Jobs commented upon when video calling Jony Ives. Jobs, a famed perfectionist, wouldn't have been a happy chappy at the slip-up and no doubt he'd have had a few choice words for people afterwards.

The point to note though is that when WiFi failed whilst Job was trying to access the web he didn;t try to use the handset's cellular connection. Now it could be that the handset had a dummy SIm in it or couldn't access AT&T's network, but on the face of it it had a working cellular connection so why not use that? The obvious explanation would be that Jobs just doesn't have faith in AT&T as a network to deliver the sort of performance in a media setting that he needs to properly show off his new product. If that is the case it's a poor indictment of the network Apple has partnered with.

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Face Time To Be Open Standard    [ 07-06-2010 15:16 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: http://berrytimes.cn/2010/06/04/blackberry-9800-details-in-foto/     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Apple events are renowned for the 'One More Thing' moment just at the end of the presentation and today's WWDC didn't disappoint even if the item featured was widely anticipated beforehand. I'm talking about, of course, video calling on the iPhone. Typical of Apple they're not settling for calling it video calling rather they're calling it 'Face Time'. The principle is absically the same as the video calling that's been available in Asia and Europe for close to a decade now, namely you call someone up and a front facing camera on the phone sends a video stream to their handset and vice versa. There are a few key points to note about Apple's implementation though ...

No 3G

Face Time will only work over WiFi networks ... for now. Obviously the technology is already in place to allow video calling over 3G networks so why Apple didn't include 3G support from the start is something of a mystery. Well, one can make an educated guess and it will most likely be a guess that involves AT&T. Unlike many other parts of the world the U.S. has never implemented video calling as a feature, the closest AT&T have gotten is a video messaging service. With complaints having mounted over the years regarding the quality of AT&T's network and the fact that they are only now about to support tethering on the iPhone AT&T may have baulked at supporting a data intensive application like video calling. If AT&T wouldn't support it straight away Apple may not have wanted the backlash of another feature being available on non-U.S. networks, but not in Apple's home turf as was the case with data tethering.

Open Standard

Apple are releasing Face Time as an open standard. Yup you read that right. The famously control obsessed Apple are making Face Time an open standard. The most obvious thing to infer from this is that Apple are hoping others pick up on it and use it. Clearly, as with any major service being launched, Apple want it to be popular and something that is widely used. Video calling has always had a bad reputation for being expensive, jittery and generally of not much use. Apple are probably hoping to try and overcome some of those hurdles by not only allowing it to work over WiFi to reduce costs, but to increase takeup through an opens tandard in the hope that sheer pervasiveness helps it along.

iPhone 4 to iPhone 4

Face Time only works between two iPhone 4s so if you are using a 3GS or 3G you;re out of luck. The same goes with any other handset that supports video calling although givent hat Apple are releasing Face Time as an open standard this might be something that change sin the future. After all people expect to be able to text and call their friends who use different devices, why should it be any different for video calls?

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Apple Unveils the iPhone 4    [ 07-06-2010 15:11 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: http://armdevices.net     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Ok so the new iPhone has been announced at long last, ending weeks, if not months, of speculation, leaks, lost prototypes and the defining of Vietnam as the leak capital of the world. iPhone 4 brings a fair bit that's new to the table so let's start by going through the new features that were announced today.

Jobs put this up as a new feature, whether you see it as being a feature or not is another matter. At any rate it is a major difference to previous iPhones. The prototype Gizmodo got a hold of was obviously on the mark in terms of aesthetics, the one shown today was just about identical. The use of glass on the front and back of the device seemed to illicit nods of approval from most. The most interesting aspect of the new design though is arguably the antenna that has been built into the casing. The stainless steel band that you see running around the outside of the handset is in fact an anetnna and Jobs was claiming this to be a first.

Display

This was one area Jobs seemed particularly proud of. The iPhone 4 features a very high resolution display at 326 pixels per inch and Apple calling this the 'retina display'. Presumably a reference to the fact that beyond 300 pixels per inch, or thereabouts, the human eye can't distinguish individual pixels. Jobs put up a few pictures at the event to show the difference between the new retina display and the older display used on the 3GS and to be fair the difference was noticeable. Jobs went so far as to claim that once you;d tried a retina display you wouldn't go back. You can see for yourself in the pictures below, the one on top being the 3GS display with the iPhone 4 on the bottom. (Images via gdgt.com.)

Camera

As was widely suspected beforehand the camera has been beefed up to a 5 MP effort. That puts it on par, in terms of the megapixel count at any arte, with what other high-end smartphones like the Desire and Nexus One are offering. The iPhone 4 will also feature an LED photolight and Jobs was keen to point out that unlike some other manufacturers Apple have kept the sensor size the same whilst increasing the megapixel count so as to maximise the amount of light the sensor can capture. This should produce better pictures as a result and Jobs did in fact demo some shots taken by the iPhone 4, which received cheers from the audience.

The camera also support HD video recording at 720p, again a feature that illicited cheers from the crowd. However, Apple had another trick ins tore as it unveiled iMovie for iPhone, which essentially works the same as the dekstop version, but on a phone. This isn't something to be overlooked, it puts a lot of power in your hands to edit your video and pictures right there on your phone and to be blunt really sets a new bar for mobile video editing. Nobody else really has anything comparable.

Battery Life

Jobs was talking up the battery lfe of the iPhone 4 and on paper it doe slook pretty impressive. With the new A4 chip used to run the device Jobs was saying that talk time was up 40% on previous models. The battery in the iPhone 4 is actually a bit larger than that found in the 3GS and that's despite the iPhone being 25% thinner! Talktime was rated at 7 hours worth for 3G network usage and 3G browsing was rated ata  similar duration of 6 hours. WiFi browsing came in at 10 hours along with video playback, which had the same rating. Music playback was said to be a whopping 40 hours worth.

The Rest

As mentioned the iPhone 4 will be using the A4 chipset and that isn't the only hardware upgrade you will see. WiFi now includes n support, something many had hoped to see in the 3GS last year. The handset uses the microSIM format that Apple seems to be increasingly fond of these days so expect your network to be able to provide you with one soon. The iPhone 4 also features a gyroscope for even greater sensitivity to its environment, something Jobs showed off by playing a game of Jenga. In a move that didn't really surprise anyone Jobs announced that Bing would be listed a third search option feature on the iPhone alongside Yahoo! and Google. Google though would remain the default search engine.

There will no doubt be copious levels of analysis of this new iPhone in the coming weeks, but for now what can we say? In terms of being a valid upgrade to existing moels there is no serious doubt that it fully meets that criteria. It brings a raft of new features and a new design to the table along with new services to match. Has it doone enough though? In areas like iMovie and with the addition of the gyroscope, which is slamost certainly going to open up a new area of modile gaming, they've raised the bar againa nd Android will be playing catch-up in those areas. In other areas it might not have raised the bar, but held it's own, areas like multi-tasking, which had been available on Android since the beginning. One feeling that this ne wiPhone left us with though was that whilst Android might have taken a few punches here and there, but remaine din the fight, Symbiana nd Windows Mobile are really looking long in the tooth now. Microsoft had best hope that Windows Phone 7 livesup to expectations.

There will be the usual white and black versions available when the handset launches later this month on 24th June. Pre-orders will be live from a week tomorrow so it's really just around the corner. The initial launch will cover five countries: the UK, America, France, Germany and Japan. Other countries will have their own launch dates as the summer rolls on. In terms of pricing the 16 GB model will be going for $199 whilst the 32 Gb model will sell for $299. The 3GS is receiving a price drop to $99 and the 3G is being discontinued. Interestingly enough iOS4 will be made available as a free upgrade to all idevice owners, including iPod Touch owners, on 21st June.

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Video: Froyo 'Running' On iPhone 3G    [ 07-06-2010 14:31 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: Boy Genius Report     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Porting Android to an iPhone is nothing new in and of itself, we've already seen Android 1.6 up and running on the iPhone 3G after all. However, the boys in the lab (or the hacker son the web as it may be) have managed to shoehorn Froyo, Android 2.2, on an iPhone 3G. Some might say that it's the mere achievement of just getting Froyo running on the iPhone 3G that's important here, which is just as well because, to be blunt, it runs about as well as arthritic octaganarian carrying heavy shopping. To be fair things might improve as more work is done so don't take this early attempt as representative of the 'end result'. Check out the video of this hybrid creation in action below:

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Samsung Following Up The Tab With 8 & 10 Inch Models    [ 07-06-2010 11:04 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: Gizmodo     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Do you remember the 7 inch Samsung Android tablet we reported on last week? Of course you do! Well, as suspected at the time, there are more them just waiting in the wings. The 7 inch model is apparently the smallest of the line with its counterparts weighing in at 8 inches and 10 inches respectively. The 7 inch model is allegedly being launched this coming August and the other two tablets aren't expected to hit the shelves until several months after that. South Korea, Samsung's home turf, will be the first to get its hand son them in Decemeber according to the Korea Herald. A global launch will presumably take place after the December South Korean launch assuming that the devices prove popular enough to merit a global launch of course. There isn't a huge amount known at the moment about these devices in terms of features except to say that the 7 inch has a high-res TFT screen and a 3.5mm jack. The fact that a phone icon appears on the screen is indicative that the device will also be able to make and receive phone calls, most likely through use of a headset.

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Moto Droid Xtreme Leaks Out    [ 07-06-2010 10:23 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: Droid-Life     Translation by: Paul Smith     

The Motorola Droid (or Milestone as it's known in the UK) has generally been seen as a great success for the company and customers have responded well to it. However, many people, whilst appreciative of its features, don't necessarily want a slide out keyboard, especailly in this age of monolithic slab devices. Well the wait could soon be over for those chaps as shots of a new Motorola handset have just leaked out onto the web. The new handset, the Droid Xtreme, looks to be what its name suggests, a newer version of the successful Droid. It packs in Android 2.1, HD video recording and a 8 MP camera that protrudes beyond the rest of the case. The large touhscreen is the input method of choice here so no keyboard. The leaked shots show Verizon branding so obviously this is a CDMA version of the handset, but it's unlikely that means there won't be a GSM version for the rest of the world.

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Foxconn Announces Another Pay Rise    [ 07-06-2010 06:38 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: TechRadar     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Foxconn is rarely out of the news these days and unfortyunately it's more often than not for all the wrong reasons, however, some good news is at last coming from the troubled Chinese elctronics manufacturer. With an alarming number of suicides over the previous months and many attempted suicides Foxconn's working practices have come under scrutiny, dragging their Western clients into the spotlight too. Foxconn had previously issued a statement saying that its workers, of which there are a reported 800,000 in China, will receive a 30% pay rise, but they have followed that up by announcing another pay rise that would effectively increasde worker's pay 70% by October. Workers will have to meet various conditions to receive the pay increase, but it does sound as if things are starting to turn around for the better. The current salary of a Foxconn assembly line worker is 1,200 yuan (approx £122) per month and the new pay increase will see this rise to 2,000 yuan. In a statement Foxconn said "While overtime work was always voluntary, this wage increase will reduce overtime work as a personal necessity." Foxconn's founder followed that up by saying "This wage increase has been instituted to safeguard the dignity of workers." It may also just save some of their lives.

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