iPhone news

Apple Computers (Now Apple Inc.) has recovered from years of corporate doldrums through the introduction of an innovative line of computers but more importantly, through the phenomenal success of the iPod. Apple more or less created the market for personal digital MP3 players and has sold millions of units, along with millions of songs through their online music store.

Now the video world is coming into the handheld market - virtually every cell phone has a screen of some sort and the recent iPods have video screens as well. Apple’s most recent product introduction is the much-hyped iPhone, which combines the functions of a cell phone, a “wide screen” iPod with touch controls, and an Internet communications device.

Apple has chosen to make an exclusive deal with Cingular, the AT&T cell phone network. Your only source for an iPhone will be through Cingular, along with a Cingular cellular service contract. They plan to make the product available in June. Back in the digital dark ages, Apple made the choice to keep their computer operating system in house, while Microsoft moved beyond IBM and licensed to any computer manufacturer who wanted it. It was the most important misstep that Apple has ever made, and is the reason that they will probably never extend beyond ten to twelve percent of the computer market. It will be interesting to see what happens when iPhone clones begin to appear in Verizon and other cell operator outlets.

The 4GB iPhone model will cost $499 with a two-year contract and $599 for the 8GB version (also with a two-year contract). Those are expensive phones, but Apple is in a unique position in that it has a dedicated core of iPod fans that may become Cingular converts. The iPhone’s design is cutting edge: it has done away with keypads and with the exception of a “home” button the controls are operated on a 3.5 inch square touch screen.

According to early reviews the videos and photos look great. One giant touch screen controls the phone, the picture component and the videos - no stylus needed. For text messaging, there will be an onscreen keyboard - again controlled by touch.

Apple’s iTunes store has gone into the video business, most recently negotiating a distribution contract with Paramount. Videos are downloaded onto the iPhone the same way that music is: through a wired connection to your computer. Apple’s decision to push the viability of the iPhone as a video viewing device raises a couple of questions. The first is how satisfactory watching a movie on a three and a half inch screen will be, and the second is whether or not 8GB is enough to manage a library of music and video content. The current largest video iPod model has 60GB of space, in comparison.

For Internet and video functionality, the iPhone runs on the most recent Mac operating system. It has a 2 megapixel camera and promises support for Google maps, conference calling, and text and multimedia messaging. In short, all the features are included that young people use their phones for today, along with increasing numbers of traveling execs. The iPhone has Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity and includes both email software and a browser.

If you judge by the hype, Apple is betting big on the iPhone. It’s worth noting, however, that Steve Jobs is pretty good at hyping every new Apple product. But the integration of telecommunications, video, and full blown Internet interconnectivity into the revered iPod is a major step - and the cell service completes an impressive multimedia package. It should be interesting.

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Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate, specializing in small business development, for Apollo Hosting. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, vps hosting, and web design services to a wide range of customers.

Here is a nice 3D image of the Apple iPhone.

With the launch of the Apple iPhone with its all-new look and style, mobile users are preparing to learn the acrobatics to deal with its touch-screen feature. Will it be really cool when the handset reaches to those sensitive hands? There are a lot of talks about the success of these new features applied in the iPhone. No doubt, if it clicks, this technology will soon reach to your PC and laptop making your fingers crawl through the screen.

The touch-screen is so sensitive that the user has to be extremely careful while moving the fingers across it. What if you hold it in your hand? Will it be safe? Or, in your pocket? Oops! Have Apple got a solution for this baffling question? Of course, there is. As is the case with normal cell phones, iPhone also has got the ‘lock’ option to keep it safe while not in use. Unless you intently disturb it, it is not going to do any harm, but of course, while typing a message or dialing a number you are likely to make mistakes (probably if you have got fat fingers!) in the initial stages. However history teaches us that human being adapts very easily to any situation that he is in, so no exception to the ‘touch screen’ technology too. Moreover, the automatic spell check is ready there to help you to correct every wrong entry, though it may not work with those customized phrases that you use in your day-to-day SMS communication.

The iChat offered by the iPhone, though, does not sound very cool. To see it as the old ‘SMS’ in the new bottle is a bit depressing. As many IM services are already used in many advanced mobile phones, Apple could have updated the iPhone to the real iChat mode.

The Visual Voice Mail, however, is praiseworthy. You can relieve now being away from your mobile phone, and avoid the cumbersome task of listening to each voice mail. This is an excellent feature that Apple created to save the precious time of the user.

The one and only physical button, i.e., the home button is worthy enough to create history with its dual purpose. When pressed, the home button toggles between the standard screen option and the microphone option. The button, as you think, is not that big to perform the double action; you may not notice it at the first sight of your phone. Camouflaged within the instrument, this button is likely to make the user tizzy as and when he grabs the phone.

Another worry to the user about this phone may be its rotation from portrait to landscape mode. As seen in the demonstration videos from Apple, the iPhone is not smart enough to hide the transition from landscape to portrait and vice versa and thus delays the reorientation of the photos a little bit.

It is the testing time for Apple and the future customers. With its awaited market entry in June 2007, the buzz is in the air on whether to acquire it or not.

US firm Apple has confirmed its move into the telecoms industry, unveiling the long-awaited iPhone.

Users will be able to download music and videos with the phone, demonstrated by Apple boss Steve Jobs at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Mr Jobs praised the phone’s design and told the audience the “magical device” would “revolutionise the industry”.

The phone, which will cost from $499 (£257) to $599, will be launched in the US in June and Europe later this year.

Apple is not yet saying how much the iPhone will cost in the UK, but using the comparison of a Mac mini computer the 4 gigabyte (GB) model would be about £335.

Also revealed at the Macworld Expo was Apple TV, a device to stream music and movies from a computer to the living room.

‘Super-smart’

The announcement ended months of speculation about the iPhone, which has no conventional buttons but instead uses a large touch-screen.

The firm has patented keyboard technology on the 11.6mm thick phone, calling it “multi-touch”.

It is essentially a computer with a blank screen that users configure so they can operate the monitor with their fingers.

But as the hype piled up Jobs told us we were witnessing history and he was going to reinvent the telephone - some doubts crept in. Rory Cellan-Jones BBC News’ Technology Correspondent

“We are all born with the ultimate pointing device - our fingers - and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse,” said Mr Jobs.

A full touch keyboard is available for text messaging and there is a built-in two megapixel camera.

Mr Jobs said the iPhone was a “revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone”.

“It works like magic… It’s far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It’s super-smart.”

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