i just read about this new xperia phone by sony that has a higher resolution screen than the iphone- 800 by 480 instead of 480 by 320. So I want thinking- what are the chances that the new 3g iphone- if it is released by the holidays might have a higher resolution screen? The current iphone screen is great- in fact, it's awesome. but with the resolution independence of the mac based OS, it would look even better if it was a higher resolution display. any thoughts?
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800 by 480 resolution screen- possibility for new iphone?
- Thread starter iansilv
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I think that by the beginning of 2009, VGA or greater smartphones will be the rage.
By late 2009, they will also be expected to have a digital TV receiver. (No need to clog up the internet and carriers.)
I foresee interesting times.
By late 2009, they will also be expected to have a digital TV receiver. (No need to clog up the internet and carriers.)
I foresee interesting times.
I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be 720x480? That's what standard widescreen DVDs are and it's technically 480p. I would really like that so iTunes can start selling true dvd-quality videos instead of lesser stuff. I'd be ripping all my stuff in 720x480 if my iPod could play it.
Two problems with your 720 x 480 suggestion:
1) the existing iphone is not a 16:9 AR screen/resolution, so there's not particular reason to think future ones would be
2) no one is now, nor is likely to, manufacture on in the 3.5" form factor
To the OP - when I saw the xperia today (WM - YUCK) i had the exact same thought about the v2 iphone - 3G, 32GB and 800 x 480 screen
TM
1) the existing iphone is not a 16:9 AR screen/resolution, so there's not particular reason to think future ones would be
2) no one is now, nor is likely to, manufacture on in the 3.5" form factor
To the OP - when I saw the xperia today (WM - YUCK) i had the exact same thought about the v2 iphone - 3G, 32GB and 800 x 480 screen
TM
Actually 720x480 is a 4x3 resolution. While it's true that DVDs use that resolution, anamorphically enhanced DVDs squeeze a 16x9 image into those pixels and then stretch them out to fill a 16x9 screen when the player is set to do so. The resolution that most closely resembles the standard def 4x3 one is 854x480, which was used on EDTVs and some projectors.
AND in addition to that, it's not 720 but rather 640x480. (Which is what iTunes TV shows are.)
The 720 number is for TVs that use rectangular pixels. For computers (or iPhones) which use square pixels, the image has to be re-sized to square pixels which makes it 640x480.
So when you play a DVD on a Mac or PC it squeezes it down to 640x480. That's why the iTunes shows come that way. No sense in sending a 720 file just to squeeze it down to 640 on your screen. They just encode it that way ahead of time. So iTunes TV shows and DVDs are pretty much the same thing if you're watching it on a computer.
But anyway, basing the screen resolution on video specs is silly. What would a good size be? Maybe one quarter of 1080p HD files? Well that would be 480x270. Oops! That's smaller than the current iPhone! Should we downgrade the phone's screen for that reason?
Or might it make more sense to play 480x270 files centered within the current 480x320 screen and simply leave those blank pixels alone, ready to be used by other applications that need them.
My point isn't that the iPhone display should never be upgraded, but rather that they shouldn't base it on video formats. Just put the highest resolution display that's affordable and figure out how to fit the video in it best. After all, as in my example above you may end up chopping off some pixels for no good reason that Safari or the photo viewer could make use of.
So the whole discussion is rather pointless. Apple will put the best display they can afford for the iPhone's price. That's all there is to it.
Okay, I don't know why we would be basing our speculation of a phone's screen based on DVD resolutions. DVD's are on the way out, and studio/producers can always reencode from their master version to whatever resolution.
It would indeed be nice to have a fullscreen viewing experience on the iPhone, but it is a phone first and foremost, and
would be making a lot more money through their iPhone's than through a few small margin high-q movies sold through iTS
It would indeed be nice to have a fullscreen viewing experience on the iPhone, but it is a phone first and foremost, and
would be making a lot more money through their iPhone's than through a few small margin high-q movies sold through iTSI'm sure Apple will be one step ahead of them with iPhone 2. The xperia is sony trying to catch up to Apple... Just when everyone finally catches up with Apple, they will go and release something changing it all again... Look at all the attempts to kill the iPod. It just can't be done, and same goes for iPhone.
This isn't anything really spectacular. WinMo devices have (in Europe/Asia) had 640x480 screens for a while now and Sharp has had a WinMo phone in Japan that's used 800x480 for a couple of years now.
These devices are simply deemed to expensive for the American market and for the most part they're right. People look at me strange when I tell them I've paid full MSRP for my phones for the past few years, the most recent being the Treo 700wx for $650. I'll buy the 800w when it lands on Sprint.
Now just imagine if the HTC Universal had been released in the US three years ago with it's VGA screen and MSRP of 1,299. Would AT&T (Cingular at the time) have really expected to sell any at 1,000 each after carrier subsidy? Unlocked Universals still go for $500 on ebay. This phone is three years old by now.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not bashing the iPhone. It's a neat little toy (*rim shot*) and Apple did a good job devoloping it. I'm simply point out that higher-resolution screens have existed on phone before the iPhone and will after the iPhone.
You make the screen resolution for the device's UI. Honestly, you're not going to tell any difference on a movie running at 480x320 than 240x320 on that tiny screen. I've had a iPhone and a AT&T Tilt side by side an watched a video and except for the screen on an iPhone being larger, the picture quality difference wasn't there.
There's simply no need to increase the resolution on the iPhone as a knee-jerk reaction to a competitor (I'm looking at you HTC Touch). Apple should continue to use the same screen they've been using until its cheaper to buy higher-resolution screens, or a significant hardware/UI change demand it.
I'm not convinced there is any need to increase the resolution. Its an excellent balance of visibility and screen real estate.
I know quite a few people who have bought hi-res tft monitors only to run them at 800*600 to make the icons bigger
The whole resolution thing still escapes your average user.
I know quite a few people who have bought hi-res tft monitors only to run them at 800*600 to make the icons bigger
The whole resolution thing still escapes your average user.
I'm not convinced there is any need to increase the resolution. Its an excellent balance of visibility and screen real estate.
I know quite a few people who have bought hi-res tft monitors only to run them at 800*600 to make the icons bigger
The whole resolution thing still escapes your average user.
My main concern isn't the actual screen rez (it looks quite fine to me in the stores). I'm just worried about sacrificing either HD or portability when you talk about using video.
I have a Blu-ray Disc player and about 10 movies. When Apple releases a BD-ROM drive for the MacBook line, I'd like to upgrade to it and eventually use something like HandBrake to rip video from them.
But I would like to watch videos in HD on my computer at home but then port them on an iPod/iPhone to watch (well, mainly listen to) on the go. If iTunes could convert files automatically during sync, that would be great. But right now I think you must convert them permanently, which makes them not quite as good on a computer.
