There’s a new phone/camera/video camera/video game device almost in town and it’s the iPhone4.
If you weren’t patiently watching a buffering UStream video or violently refreshing a website that was liveblogging the World Wide Developers Conference on June 7th, it’s OK, because there’s enough hype and coverage going around the Internet for you to feel like you already own one.
Now, the iPhone4 is in a class by itself. Owners of Apple mockumodels might tell you that they’ve already had features like the “flash” on their camera for years now, but there are five incredible new additions to the Apple iPhone that blow the socks off any other mobile device.
Multi-Purpose Double-Headed Camera
Want to take a picture of your friends like you normally do? Check! Actually let’s make that a super-check because the camera is upgraded to 5 megapixels, and they’ve added both a zoom and a flash, in addition to the touch focus they already had on previous models.
But hey, want to take a picture of yourself? No worries, there’s a camera on the other side. Oh, and there’s one more thing you can do with that front-facing camera…
Video Chat with FaceTime
It’s only available for use on WiFi until AT&T somehow finds a way to manage all that bandwidth, but it’s the year where video calling finally makes an appearance. We’re not officially in The Jetsons just yet, but we’re getting there. The heart-warming video for FaceTime that Apple put out promoting the different uses for this new feature makes being homesick look good. Both cameras support FaceTime—you can switch from your face, to someone in front of you with just a tap on the screen.
Let’s just hope you don’t get any pimples, because with the new Retina Display, you’re going to be looking pretty clear.
HD Video Recording
Even video professionals are taking the 720p HD recording on this device seriously. Add on the $4.99 iMovie app and you’ve turned a “phone” into a little video studio. Who wants to guess how long it takes before someone attempts to shoot an episode of “House” on this thing, like they did with the Canon 5D Mark II? They’ve also integrated a little depth of field too, by allowing you to switch between focal points while shooting. When you’re done, you can publish it to YouTube.
Gyroscope
If you were humbly ignorant about what a gyroscope was before WWDC, join the party. For your information, a gyroscope basically measures orientation. So if you thought an accelerometer was cool, the gyroscope brings a whole new dimension of cool to mobile gaming. Before, games depended on how you rocked your phone. Now, iPhone developers can tap into new worlds of apps that rotate when you rotate.
Who’s waiting for a “cartwheel grader” app? How about a “spinning around with friends” app? Oh and know what else uses a gyroscope? Space shuttles… airplanes… space stations… that’s what. Let’s see what the developers cook up.
iOS 4
Also rolling out with the new iPhone4 is a new operating system that makes it easy to use your apps—well, even easier. In the productivity department, there’s a new multitasking feature. So now you’ll be able to play Plants vs. Zombies, while carrying on a Meebo chat and getting a phone call.
Another great feature of the new iOS4 is the ability to have Folders. Now instead of flicking the screen to get to your favorite apps, you can organize them how you like by dragging and dropping them into folders. The new iOS will support up to 2160 apps on your iPhone and you can let the device choose a name for your folder, or you can pick it yourself.
These are ultimately the best features of the new iPhone4. Can you imagine what next year’s iPhone could possibly add to all of this?