Ok, I know you are probably sick of iPhone news and have probably read a ton about the new iPhone. This post isn't for you. This is for those of you that need an easy explanation to the new iPhone and want it broken down so that you can understand what all the hype is all about. If you are like me, you want things explained to me in a simple manner where I can understand it and I don't need to hear all the jargon and big words that I don't even know or can pronounce for that matter. I just want someone to tell me exactly what I can expect in the new iPhone. I don't need to know the 500 different small things that may be in the new iPhone, just give me the big highlights that I will actually use. If you can relate to this, then this post is for you. The goal is to break down all the news of the new iPhone and give you the main features of the new iPhone with some smaller ones that I think will be newsworthy and to do this all in a way that makes it easy for you to understand and read. I don't want you leaving this post feeling like you have no clue what I am talking about. There are two major features that the new iPhone has come out with and smaller, but still somewhat big features that are affected by these major features. Here they are.
1. Design
As you can see from the picture above, Apple took a pretty major turn in redesigning the new iPhone (iPhone 4 on left and iPhone 3GS on right). The curved back is no longer. It is replaced with a flat surface in the back. Also you will notice that the sides are made out of stainless steel. According to Apple, this is to help with the antenna frequency in your iPhone, basically giving you better reception. The other major redesign feature that will be hard to see from pictures is that both the front and the back of the iPhone has a clear glass outer shell. This glass is what helps make the iPhone stronger as well as help with the picture quality of the iPhone. Then finally you have something called Retina Display. It is basically a fancy way of saying that Apple has vastly improved the quality of the display on the iPhone. They have been able to fit more pixels onto the screen which equates to a better looking picture. I am guessing it will look similar to how things look on the iPad, which by the way is gorgeous. Side note here, but I believe that a lot of the design features here will see its way in some form or another into the next iPad or future iPads down the road.
2. New Camera(s) with LED Flash
This really is the crown jewel of the new iPhone. Most of the new features stem from this major upgrade. To make this easy, I will highlight each new feature below.
– 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash: For Apple, the biggest gripe with the iPhone's camera was that it wasn't good enough to take pictures and it didn't have a flash like other smartphones did. Well, problem solved.
– Front facing camera: Apple has added a front facing camera, which opens up the iPhone to even more amazing things. One being video conferencing, which I will talk about here shortly.
– HD video recording: This feature really makes the iPhone a cut above the rest when it comes to camera features. With high definition video recording this will put the iPhone on par with possibly the Flip video cameras, which I will talk about in a future post.
– iMovie: For those of you that are not familiar with iMovie for Mac, it is Apple's video editing software for the average person. It really makes video editing easy and yet makes your videos look pretty good. With the addition of HD video recording and with minor video editing features for the iPhone already, you kind of had to see this one coming. iMovie for iPhone is a perfect addition as it gives the user the opportunity to create slideshows with pictures and video on the fly. Of course it is somewhat limited with transitions and themes, but nonetheless, it is a step in the right direction. Apple is planning on selling the app in the App Store for $4.99. Which I believe is a good deal. I am still unsure if I will buy the app because I don't know if I want to necessarily make slideshows on the iPhone. I would rather do it on the computer, but at the same time I think curiosity may get the best of me and I will at least have to try it out.
– Face Time: This is Apple's version of video conferencing. With having a front facing camera, Apple is now able to roll out this feature of video conferencing on the iPhone. But, for now, the feature will be very limited. You can only do video conferencing with other iPhone 4 users and it will only run over WIFI. Apple said that once they can get the kinks worked out they will look to put this over 3G. Needless to say, it is a step in the right direction for video conferencing on the iPhone.
So these are the major features that will come in the new iPhone 4. Along with the new iPhone will come a new operating system. I want to take a minute here to highlight some of the major features of the new software that will, I believe, enhance the user experience on the new iPhone to an even greater degree then previous operating system upgrades.
1. Multitasking
This is something that everyone has been asking for ever since the iPhone first came out. Whether you believe that Apple was just holding this back so they could create buzz later or they were really waiting this long because they were trying to perfect multitasking, either way, it is a great feature to come out and one of the biggie's in iOS 4.
2. Folders
Apple has also added to the home screen something called Folders. Basically, what it is, is that you can create folders on the home screen and move apps into certain folders. Apple has also created a way so that when you move apps into a folder, depending on the type of apps that are going into that folder it will automatically be named. This is a nice feature to have for those of you that are app happy and have pages and pages of apps.
3. Unified Email
This is one of the features that I am really looking forward to. When you have a few email addresses like me that you check on your iPhone, you know that it is a pain to go to each email address inbox on the iPhone. They have finally put in a unified inbox where you can get all your email in one email inbox.
4. Calendar
Another feature that I am excited about is the integration of the iPhone calendar with Google. Gone are the days of trying to use third party apps or workarounds to get Google Calendar to sync with the iPhone calendar. Apple plans to integrate syncing with Google Calendar and Yahoo.
5. Personalized Home screen
Like the home screen on any computer, you are now going to be able to personalize your home screen on your iPhone. So get those sweet pics ready to put on your home screen to make your iPhone shout that this iPhone is yours!!
So there you have it. These are the major features of the new iPhone and of the new operating system. Hopefully, this gives you a better idea of what to expect. The new iPhone 4 will come in 16 GB and 32 GB sizes in both white and black. The price for new and contract renewal customers will run you $199 and $299 respectively. Pre-orders from Apple start on June 15th and the iPhone 4 officially goes on sale June 24th.
So, are you going to go out and buy one? Why or why not? What new features are you excited about? Hit me up in the comments, would love to hear what you all have to say! Thanks for reading.
Be First to Comment