In the New iPhone, a Curious Novelty
In San Francisco, Apple s chief executive officer Steve Jobs took the wraps off the new edition of the iPhone on Monday, June 9, 2008. Aesthetically, the difference between the two generations is barely perceptible. The news makers, however, were the new additions to the much-anticipated gadget. The new iPhone sports a 3rd-generation (3G) wireless support, affording faster Internet connections than the previous, slower, EDGE support.
Another is the addition of business-friendly capabilities, such as synchronized e-mail and calendar through Microsoft s Mail Exchange, and access to corporate data. And of course, full support to third-party applications was touted and some were showcased. In addition, the new iPhone also supports global positioning system (GPS), which is good for locating colleagues with supported devices and for navigation.
And probably the biggest news was the price: USD199 for the 8-gigabyte model and USD299 for the one with 16 gigabytes. And the device will be simultaneously available in 21 countries on July 11, 2008, to be expanded to later in the year to 70 countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Mali, Niger, Qatar, Senegal, and Turkey. The new price is a big departure from the USD599 price tag of the first iPhones rolled out on June 29, 2007.
Except for the announcement on broadening the iPhone map into several dozen new countries, every piece of information in Steve Jobs keynote was widely rumored ahead of the event, though not confirmed. Exciting as Apple has made these feature to look, however, many users may not notice them. After all, Wi-Fi, which the iPhone has supported from the start, remains the faster, and most of the time cheaper, alternative to carrier-offered 3G. And what is the percentage of new young users who cannot live without Microsoft Exchange support?
What Is New in a New iPhone?
Still, the new iPhone is new in a curious way. It is the fullest realization of the bundling phase that mobile phones have been undergoing for the past eight years. Ever since Sharp, the Japanese manufacturer, offered a camera-mounted mobile phone in 2000, a near-consensus emerged among commentators (and it turned out, manufacturers) that bundling more services and features was the trend of the future for mobile phones.
And an arms race of sorts followed among manufacturers to add the most useful and intuitive (and not-so-useful-or-intuitive) features: a video-capture capability; a full QWERTY keypad; a gaming capability; MP3 player; support for business applications like corporate e-mail, Wi-Fi, WiMax, expandable memory, capable Web browser, Bluetooth (wireless short-range technology), infra-red, TV streaming, and bar-code reading; there were even experiments on adding landmine-detection capabilities to certain models of mobile phones. A 2005 New Scientist article rightly described the mobile phone as the new Swiss Army Knife.
But as is always the case with information technologies, the how much is too much question gradually arose. And it was not probably feasible to pack all the features in a single reasonably priced gadget. With a fierce competition and little time to ponder this long-standing question, most manufacturers seem to have opted for an easier solution: to segment the market. The ultimate exemplary of this thinking is Nokia, so far the world s largest mobile phone manufacturer, with its tens of models geared toward different audiences. For instance, there is the business line, which is heavier on business applications, and the media line, with better support for music and video.
With a few exceptions (such as the unexpected success of Motorola s extra-slim Razr, whose external design was its biggest selling feature), the segmentation paradigm seemed to hold. And other smart phones manufacturers, like Palm and BlackBerry, in fact toed the line, offering different models aimed explicitly at different purposes.
Interface Supremacy :
Until the iPhone emerged. That was in December 2006, when Steve Jobs gave the first glimpses of the new keypad-less, multi-touch gadget, with a user interface carrying visual resemblances to the Mac operating system, which runs Apple s computers. On the new gadget, icons glowed, menus flowed, and the wide (3.5 inch) display seemed the first realistic option to browse the Internet and actually read stuff online.
If the ensuing media fixation on the iPhone, particularly after it was released about seven months later, was any indicator, that was Apple s finest hour. A Harvard business professor estimated that the free media publicity Apple received in coverage for the iPhone was in the vicinity of USD400 millions, Wired magazine reported last March.
As far as features were concerned, the iPhone appears to have struck a successful formula for the how much is good enough question. Most importantly, the sophisticated features were hidden under the hood of a breakthrough user interface. Internal complexity was cloaked in outer simplicity, similar to the Google homepage. Indeed Apple, which offered the first graphical user interface in 1983 in its Apple Lisa systems, made a point in its iPhone: Features were important (the Wi-Fi, the camera, media player, etc.), but the user interface was even more so. The interface was the fabric that held these features together and determined how they were, or were not, going to be used.
In its iPhone second act, Apple is focusing on making the best of its advanced interface. Thanks to a powerful processor, the new games, map applications, GPS, media player, all look exactly at home on the iPhone. Most of what the iPhone offers, strictly speaking, has been offered by others for years. But Apple s focus on striking the right bundle (instead of multiple lines and consumer segments) and superior user interface puts its iPhone far ahead of the competition. At least for now.
Sony Cybershot DSCW300 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot
Product Description
The DSC-W300 includes a wide range of convenient features, including Smile Shutter Mode, which captures smiles the moment they happen. The compact and scratch-resistant titanium-coated body features an astounding 13.6-Megapixel resolution, 2.7″ Clear Photo LCD display, Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens, and Sony’s Double Anti-Blur solution for crisp, clear images. In addition, it has Face Detection technology that optimizes flash, focus, exposure and color for up to eight faces, as well as Intelligent Scene Recognition that automatically detects five different types of scenes and takes a picture with the optimal camera settings. Lens Construction - 6 Elements in 5 Groups, 3 Aspheric Elements Focal Length - 7.6-22.8mm 35mm Equivalent - 35 - 105mm 9-Area Multi-Point Auto Focus - AF, Center AF, and Spot AF Shutter Speed - Auto (1/4 - 1/2,000) / Program Auto (1- 1/2,000) / Manual (30- 1/1,000) Aperture Range - Auto (f2.8-f16) / Program Auto (f2.8-f16) Filter Diameter - 74mm with Adapter Ring Color Modes - Normal, Vivid, Real, Black & White, and Sepia Red-Eye Reduction Self-Timer - 10 seconds, 2 seconds, and off White Balance - Automatic, Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3, Incandescent, Flash, and One Push - One Set Movie Modes - MPEG VX Fine with Audio (640×480 at 30fps), MPEG VX Standard with Audio (640×480 at 16fps), 320 (QVGA, 320 x 240, 8.3fps) Scene Modes - Beach, Extra High-speed Burst, Extra High Sensitivity, Fireworks, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Auto Adjustment, Program Auto, Easy Shooting, Manual Exposure, Movie, High Sensitivity, Smile Shutter, and Underwater Flash Modes - Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, and Slow Synch Dimensions - 3 23/32 x 2 1/32 x 1 1/64 (94.3×59x26.8mm) Weight - 5.5 ounces (156 grams) Body only
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Canon PowerShot SD770IS 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Product Description
Instantly recognizable, the classic Box & Circle ELPH design of the PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH houses a 3x Optical Zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer, perfect for the everyday photographer. High-end specifications include 10.0-Megapixel Resolution and a 3x optical zoom lens. Spectacular images are easy to create, thanks to advanced Canon technologies like Face Detection and Motion Detection Technologies that eliminate blur. Improved Face Detection Technology automatically sets the focus, exposure, flash, and white balance; allowing greater freedom of shooting throughout the image capture process. Motion Detection Technology automatically detects subject movement and optimizes exposure control and ISO settings to reduce image blur. DIGIC III Image Processor for superior image quality and improved functionality. Print/Share Button for easy direct printing and downloading, plus ID Photo Print and Movie Print with select PIXMA Photo Printers and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers. Shutter Speed - 1/60-1/1500 seconds, 15-1/1500 seconds White Balance - Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H), and Custom Built-in Flash - Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Auto Red-eye Correction, Flash On, Flash Off; FE lock, and Slow Synchro Flash Range - 12 to 11-feet/30cm-3.5m (W), 12 to 6.6-feet/30cm-2.0m (T) when sensitivity is set to ISO Auto Shooting Modes - Auto, Camera M, Portrait, Special Scene (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Indoor, Kids & Pets) Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap, Digital Macro, Stitch Assist, and Movie Dimensions - Width 3.39 x Height 2.13 x Depth 0.80 (86.0×54.0×20.4mm) Weight - 4.59 ounces (130 grams) with camera body only
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Samsung S860 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Black)
Product Description
The Samsung S860 is a high-resolution digital camera that is equipped with a true-color filtered 8.1-Megapixel CCD. This allows the Samsung S860 to take detailed photos for printing up to poster size. With the Face Detection AF & AE function, the Samsung S860 enables the user to take better portrait pictures more easily. This function detects faces and automatically focuses on them. The brightness of the faces is adjusted optimally for beautiful portrait pictures. In macro shooting, it is now possible to take clear, natural pictures. Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) technology prevents the degradation of image clarity and color, which is sometimes found in flash photography. With DIS the effects of image blur are reduced in lower light conditions. You can even take well-exposed, sharper pictures in low light conditions without using a flash at all, which guarantees brighter and more natural pictures. The different icons, scene modes and other features are described in simple and easy to understand terms to improve the interaction between the user and camera. ISO - Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000 Flash Modes - Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, and Flash off Range - Wide 0.3m - 4.0m and Tele 0.5m - 2.1m (ISO AUTO) Self-timer - 2 seconds and 10 seconds Still Image File Format - JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.2, and DPOF 1.1 Scene Modes - Children, Landscape, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, and Night System Requirements - Pentium II 450MHz (Pentium 800MHz recommended), Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, Mac OS 9.2, 10.4 or later, 64MB RAM, 200MB free space, USB port, CD-ROM drive, 1024×768 pixels, 16-bit color display compatible monitor, Microsoft DirectX 9.0C Dimensions - Approximately Width 3.66 x Height 2.44 x Depth 1.04 (93×62x26.5mm) Weight - 123 grams
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Sony Cybershot DSCT300/B 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot (Black)
Product Description
The Sony DSC-T300 offers excellent performance and an elegant, sophisticated design. It includes Face Detection technology to optimize focus, exposure and color for up to eight faces. The compact body houses 10.1-Megapixel resolution and a beautiful, wide 3.5″ touch-screen LCD for easy operation. A Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens give you the power to get even closer to the action, a real benefit for distant landscape views and dramatic portraits. A huge 3.5″ widescreen Clear Photo LCD Plus LCD display includes an anti-reflective coating that provides for excellent visibility to help you compose, view, and share photos with superb clarity and color reproduction, even in bright sunlight. With high sensitivity of ISO 3200, you can shoot effectively in low light without flash to preserve the mood, while the Sony Clear RAW Noise Reduction system helps suppress the color noise that can degrade low-light shots. PhotoTV HD compatibility allows the camera to be connected to a PhotoTV HD-capable Sony BRAVIA HDTV via the optional HD output adaptor, for highly detailed, high-definition color images displayed in unprecedented realism and full HD quality in 16:9 High-Resolution Mode. 1/2.3 Super HAD(TM) CCD Shutter Speed - Auto (1/4 - 1/1,000) / Program Auto (1 - 1/1,000) Aperture Range - Auto (F3.5-F10) / Program Auto (F3.5-F10) Movie Modes - MPEG VX Fine with Audio (640×480 at 30fps), MPEG VX Standard with Audio (640×480 at 16.6fps), Presentation Mode (320 x 240 at 8.3fps) Self-Timer - 10 seconds and 2 seconds Scene Modes - Beach, Fireworks, High Speed Shutter, High Sensitivity, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, and Smile Shutter Flash Modes - Auto, Forced On, Forced Off, and Slow Synch Operating System - Microsoft 2000 Professional, Me, XP Home and Professional, and Vista, Macintosh OS 9.1/9.2/OS X (10.1-10.4)
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Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Silver)
Product Description
The Stylus 1030SW is designed for active people who want a tough camera that can keep up with their on-the-go lifestyles. The Shockproof & Crushproof casing is a durable metal body that has an innovative shock-absorbing construction with a floating circuit board that can protect the Stylus 1030SW from drops up to 6.6 feet and withstand 220 lbs of pressure. If you ever wanted to take pictures of aquatic life now you can, the Stylus 1030SW has Waterproof seals and gaskets that keeps water out so you can take pictures as deep as 33 feet underwater. When you’re skiing or snowboarding you will enjoy the Freezeproof and Digital Image Stabilization features that allows you to take perfect photos of fast moving subjects in cold climates up to -10c/14f. With the 10.1 MP setting you can capture high quality images and then easily view it on the 2.7″ HyperCrystal II LCD display at extra-wide viewing angles even in direct sunlight.
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