Apple CEO Steve Jobs finally announced the iPhone 4 in today’s WWDC 2010. This smartphone has been getting a lot of press in the past few months especially with the all the drama with the “stolen” prototype which was supposedly left or stolen in a bar. The iPhone 4 looks exactly like the prototype but we never imagined how insanely powerful the phone really is. According to Steve Jobs there are over 100 new features but he zeroed in on 8 during his keynote.
1. iPhone 4′s New Design
The new iPhone is incredibly sleek and elegant. It’s 100x sexier than the iPhone 3GS. Steve Jobs said in his speech that the iPhone 4 is 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS! Whoa. They’ve also added a front facing camera, changed to microsims, and LED flash on the back.
2. iPhone 4′s Retina Display
The new iPhone 4 has 4 times the amount of pixels versus the original 3GS. This makes images, videos, icons, and text crispier and more defined. In his demo Steve used the 3GS and the 4 on screen and the difference was definitely there.
3. iPhone 4 A4 Chip
Apple used their new A4 Chip to power the iPhone 4. They also crammed a bigger battery into the unit which supposedly extends the battery life of the iPhone. According to Jobs the new iPhone 4G can handle 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wifi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and/or 300 hours of standby time.
4. iPhone 4 has a gyroscope!
This is mostly for gamers. They added a 3-axis gyro. Jobs demonstrated a game during his speech. Looks great! I can already hear the drool falling off the gaping mouths of game developers.
5. iPhone 4 new camera system
Now this is a huge thing for me. I’ve always wanted a phone with a kick-ass camera. The new iPhone 4 camera has 5MP and a backside illuminated sensor. It also has 5x digital zoom, tap to focus, and an LED flash. Steve showed sample pictures during the speech and the quality was terrific! It’s nothing close to a DLSR but it’s definitely a good substitute if you’re on the go.
But wait… there’s more! Apparently the new iPhone 4 records HD video (whoa). 720p at 30fps. They also made an iMovie app which will sell for just $4.99.
6. iPhone OS4 (iOS4)
The main feature is definitely multi-tasking, something which Jobs discussed in a previous developer conference. They also added a folder system for apps. There’s also a unified inbox for mail and threading as well. I’d love to get that multi-tasking thing on my iPad!
7. iBooks for the iPhone
This isn’t actually just for the iPhone 4 (also for older iPhone models). Once you buy a book you can download it to any of your devices. You just have to pay once and it can appear on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod. Cool!
8. iAds
This basically allows developers who make low-cost apps make more money. I have a feeling that we’ll get more free apps coming really soon. Excited to see how this will boost mobile advertising in the US.
9. Video Call
This was an obvious addition with the front face camera. It’s officially called FaceTime and it will only work iPhone 4 – iPhone 4 and only for Wifi. What does this mean? It means totally free calls (video pa) as long as you and and the person you’re calling has Wifi access! OMG! o_O;
With the AT&T plans the new models go for $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB). I wonder how much this will cost once it hits the Philippines?
The iPhone 4 ships end of June in 5 countries and should be available in 88 countries by September. Pre-orders in the US start on June 15. Here’s a video of Steve announcing the iPhone 4:
And that, in a nutshell, is the new iPhone 4! I’m seriously tempted on getting one myself. Hopefully my EQ can hold out and I can just stick with my BlackBerry Bold 9000, haha!
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE OFFICIAL iPHONE 4 WEBSITE
As long as you’re in AT&T or Verizon plan the voice and video calls are already unlimited. LOL
Holy cow, now I definitely think the 4G is waaay better than 3GS. So much for planning to get the 3GS (to get it cheaper)
Must resist….