How long before Apple can match Satios specs (OLED, 12MP Cam XenonFlash, wifi N etc.)

[nehunte]

Why the hell would you want a 5-12 megapixel camera?!?! Are you really going to take a picture with your camera and do heavy editing, then take it to a print shop and make a 16X20 poster with it? NO!!! 3MP is perfect for taking photos, cropping and making small edits, then posting on the internet. This is what 99.9999% of people use their camera phones for. Quit trying to act like you're all the 0.00001%. Keep the price of the phone down, use a reasonable camera.

By the way, at&t has been the problem when it comes to MMS. It's been capable on the 3g since its release. It's a simple software upgrade, just like we're seeing with 3.0. At&t blocked it after the 2g iphone cause there were so many iPhone users, they were worried about the bandwith issues that MMS would cause. In fact, at&t is the one to blame for why we are still having to wait months after 3.0 comes out to still get MMS. So quit blaming Apple!

It amazes me how people can get on these forums and have arguments for the sake of having them. At least know what you're talking about before you rant on stuff on here.

 

[nehunte]

I don't want a camera that is 12 megapixels unless my sensor is larger than a grain of rice. That's why I have my D90.

Thank you!!!! Someone who actually knows that they're talking about!!

 

[jontucker]

I understand what the OP is talking about. Take the camera, for example, only just upgraded to 3 MP. Why not make it a 5 MP camera? Could easily be done.

The 3GS will be my first iPhone, basically as they've just managed to make it good enough to replace my WM smartphone (not talking about the camera now). However, for 80-90% of people out there it's tech specs are more than ample to meet whatever they need.

It's just us 10% that like/need those extra numbers!

I've owed numerous WM devices and I would consider myself a heavy user of most functions that a smart phone provides and I can honestly say that the iPhone wipes the floor with any phone I've owned previously.

I'm curious to know what you need that has prevented you from buying one before?

 

[Consultant]

People must be SO excited over specs that sony ericsson is losing money by the bundle and needs a bail out.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/05/19/sony.ericsson.wants.136m/
Perhaps it's because of the LOW USABILITY?

How long will it take for Sony Ericsson to match the usability of the Apple iPhone?

Same as with iPods, other things might have better paper specs but are actually worst for real world use.

 

[chox99]

iPhone will probably NEVER catch up with cutting edge technology phones. Price of phone will be too expensive for general public. It's over-priced as is.

 

[Carniphage]

I understand what the OP is talking about. Take the camera, for example, only just upgraded to 3 MP. Why not make it a 5 MP camera? Could easily be done.

Because unless you also add a better lens and increase the sensor size, a 5MP camera is no better than a 3MP camera.

In fact, as you reduce the size of photosites on the sensor, the low-light performance actually gets worse.

The numbers don't mean anything. The images are the only thing that matters.

Yes, some phones have better cameras, but the best ones have larger lenses and larger sensors. But those cameras increase the thickness of the phone. And while you may gain sales from people who want better photographs, you also lose sales for people who want thinner phones.

C.

 

[ksz]

iPhone will probably NEVER catch up with cutting edge technology phones. Price of phone will be too expensive for general public. It's over-priced as is.

In my view it's not that the iPhone will never catch up to a handful of mediocre phones whose only claim to fame is one or two class-leading hardware specifications, but that it does not have to. Critics will always exist and they will always complain. I was one of those critics at the launch of the original iPhone, but something unexpected happened: when I bought one and started using it, my complaints vanished. It occurred to me that I was obsessed with the numbers game and would have missed out on what is arguably the best product in its category simply because I wanted every blade of grass to be greener on my side of the fence. I was placing too much importance on comparative shopping and was failing to realize that the individual components on their own were actually quite functional and workable.

 

[9822679]

well well well looks like the OP had to change his thread title

can we get a threadlock, this thread is over

 

[benzslrpee]

it's guys like you filling in the ranks at Samsung and Nokia that's causing them forever to play catch up with Apple in terms of delivering a product that people actually enjoy using.

at the end of the day it's a damn phone we're talking about. it's not designed to replace a Nikon, a Vixia, a laptop (due to screen size), an HDTV or whatever the hell else you think it can. maybe a generation later people will be accustomed to using their phones that way, but for now, not much demand.

go look at Palm. their newest offering didn't have the fastest processor, highest MP count, longest battery life, brightest flash etc but they attracted more attention than anything Samsung has ever put out.

My point was, most of those upgrades HD video recording, xenon flash, OLED screens, even 12 megapixel cameras are all found in competing cellphones that are the same size, or even smaller than the iPhone.

 

[DiegoFrancisco]

I don't know why you guys don't care about better hardware. I personally want both Apple's hardware AND interface to be top notch. Why settle for a great interface but on weak hardware. As Apple fans, we should ask more of them.

I demoed the Nokia N85. The camera is definately NOT subpar.

I would go so far as to say that it's pictures are very comparable to standalone digital cameras, which I can't say about any other camera phone!!

As for people that want an OLED screen not knowing what OLED is, maybe, but if they did know about it, they would want it even more.

Have you ever compared an OLED screen to an LCD screen. It's breathtaking.

The OLED's colors are insanely vibrant, they make LCD screens look a generation behind. OLEDs colors honestly look just as vibrant as colors look in the real world on a bright sunny day. And they allow the phone to be thinner and save battery life on top of that. Trust me, I know all about OLEDs and I definately want one.

No, the 3GS is definately not a small bump over the 3G. It's a leap forward actually. But it's still no where close to using even 2008's cutting edge cellphone technology.

+1

 

[svndmvn]

OLED, AM OLED especially is unusable under the sun, I'll take the iPhone's screen any day.
I'd like wifi N, but since there's no cellphone, that I know of, with that, who cares..
MPx is like running after MHz, it can get tiresome, it's all about sensors and lenses, the iPhone does take good pictures, not the best of course, and the 3gs will be even better, but can most cellphones match Apple's app store, UI, OS, integration with your Mac/PC, web browser, iPod? Don't think so.. Of course it's all about preferences since you can only compare an iPhone to an iPhone, the others are just really different and they can have a few advantages but lack in other departments..

 

[mosx]

Why do people even bring up pixel counts in cameras any more?

Having more pixels doesn't mean higher quality.

A 12 megapixel camera in a phone with an awful lense and super small CCD? No thanks.

If you want reasonably good pictures, you still need to carry a good digital camera with you. My almost 3 year old 6MP low-end at the time of purchase camera still takes better pictures than ANY cellphone out there.

 

[The Phazer]

If you want reasonably good pictures, you still need to carry a good digital camera with you. My almost 3 year old 6MP low-end at the time of purchase camera still takes better pictures than ANY cellphone out there.

It probably does. But a plethora of Sony Erricssons in much smaller cases than the iPhone take pictures quite sufficient for 6x4 prints in a darkened room. Something the iPhone does not.

Phazer

 

[eastercat]

But how long do you think it'll be before Apple catches up with the hardware specs of the Sony Ericsson Satio and Samsung Omnia HD? Why does it seem like Apple's flagship phone is so far behind competitor phones when it comes to phone hardware? I would think Apple of all people would be able to match these specs...

So what's the user interface on these phones like? Not up to the iPhone? When these phones can also offer a comparative user experience, I'll be more than happy to ask Apple for similar hardware.

FYI, as others have mentioned a 12 MP camera doesn't mean diddly without the other components to go with it. Also, it'd increase the size (not to mention the cost) of the iPhone.
Like all phones, the iPhone is a compromise in design, price and possibly Steve Jobs' ego.

 

[wikoogle]

The Zune HD was just revealed to have the Tegron PPU/GPU!!! and an OLED screen.

If I was a betting man, Apple is already hard at work making sure their next iphone matches those specs, and includes a 5 megapixel camera and maybe even a 720p videocamera to boot. I just hope they don't leave out flash this time.

 

[Phormic]

The Zune HD was just revealed to have the Tegron PPU/GPU!!! and an OLED screen.

If I was a betting man, Apple is already hard at work making sure their next iphone matches those specs, and includes a 5 megapixel camera and maybe even a 720p videocamera to boot. I just hope they don't leave out flash this time.

This may come as a shock but most of the world doesn't concern itself with micro-examinations of hardware spec sheets in some ridiculous dick measuring arms race.

The nice thing about Apple is that they have priorities in other areas that pretty much every single other consumer electronics company doesn't understand - design and user experience. Higher numbers on spec sheets are used as marketing tools (buy the new Sony Ericsson TXR-1100TSRQ81S with 12MP camera and Carl Zeiss lens!!!) with little regard to the end-user experience or even useability. The philosophy is to cram as much as humanly possible into a case, sell on features and let the user work it out as best they can.

The day Apple start doing that is the day I stop buying Apple products.

 

[wikoogle]

Did I ever once claim that Apple should scrap it's interface. What gives you guys the INSANE idea that it's one or the other, that having better specs in the phone would hurt the iphone's interface and usability.

Where did I claim that the competitors ahve a better interface. I didn't. Infact, I said the exact opposite.

This thread has nothing at all to do with the interface. I'm not claiming that the interface is bad or needs to be improved.

My question is, why settle for just the interface, when we should be expecting apple to deliver on both the specs and the interface?

What's so hard to understand about this?

Yes, the iPhone has the best interface bar none. I love it and thats why I'm getting it.

Yes, the iPhone is underpowered in terms of specs to a lot of smartphones. It underperformed performance wise as well during the 1st and 2nd gen, but thankfully apple addressed that.

I want the same iPhone's ease of use etc, but with better specs. Is that really so much to ask?

Do you guys honestly think specs don't matter at all? Are you still using Pentium 3 computers, do you like it when you 3G phone lags, or crashes, do you like not having pictures high enough quality to be printable and look great? Specs do matter, maybe the interface matters more, but that doesn't mean that the specs are irrelvent.

 

[iphonetester]

Whenever they launch new iPhone, APPLE will target new prices to be $199 and $299 (of course with carrier's subsidy); I believe this will always be the same at least for some time. $199 and $299 are proven to be magic numbers both for iPhone and its users. More upscale new iPhone at $299/$399 will leave many people out with tighter budgets and $99/$199 will limit the phone's specs.

So, APPLE makes new iPhone with $199/$299 in mind. OLED HD and all these latest goodies are great but they will increase the production cost thus decreasing APPLE's profit margin. Good news to APPLE is iPhone does not have to be the latest technology to sell. Where at iPhone is behind, it easily makes up at somewhere else, and the total package is far more attractive than most latest smart phones out there.

It is a good point your are making about profit margins. Samsung opts for better hardware but lack good interface. All their phones run sucky Windows mobile OS. OLED screens are now not cost effective yet. Even if they look better perhaps, an average user will never see a difference. After all this is still just a phone - something you need to make use of fast and effective. When you quickly need to find say a gas station or a bus schedule, do you really care how bright your screen actually is? I guess no, you care how fast you can get to things. Right now with 3 GS it seems that all works fast. They already have correct interface, so Iphone is a great device. Add all the cool apps and it is a hot seller. I am sure Apple will gradually put in more sophisticated hardware as they see fit. I am actually glad they invested more money in developing user interface than cramming in tons of hardware.

 

[wikoogle]

Im glad for the interface and app store no doubt, but I wish I could at the same time get cutting edge hardware on top of that. Wouldn't mind paying a premium for that actually.

 

[Rootus]

It seems a little disingenuous to say the iPhone isn't using cutting edge hardware when you look at only one component at a time. You have to look at the hardware as a package deal. There are going to be compromises, or else you end up with a phone that costs a couple grand. Do these other phones with the fancy OLED screens or fancy cameras have a full suite of hardware that beats the iPhone? Or is the iPhone stronger in some areas?

 

[bossxii]

I'll take the best software/user interface vs best "latest/greatest" hardware. Apple has proven this works over and over, a little history will show this to be true with many Apple product lines.

The 3mega vs 12mega pixel camera is pointless in the fact no one serious about taking pictures is going to rely on their phone to do the job, they have a real stand alone camera. Spec junkies lose site of this, that's like my buddy from work who thinks his Vista based laptop is so cool because it's a Quad core machine, but my 17" MBP with it's C2D blows it away in every test but some random benchmark, oh boy, enjoy watching your benchmark program run while it stalls out on real world applications that don't take advantage of the quad core chip.

Not to mention after about 2.5 hours he's searching for a power outlet and I'm at 70% batter life. Sucks to be him.

Apple balances the power usage for battery life because in mobile devices such as the iPhone and Macbooks, all the power and latest spec's don't mean S@#t if your battery is dead 20 mins later.

OLED is a great screen but on a 3.5" display it's not worth the cost currently and just like those $19.95 "HD" vision glasses you see on TV, it's just a marketing ploy for other companies to sell phones. Did you see anything about Apple releasing "tech specs" about the iPhone? They mention the S for speed, that's it, because Apple users just expect things to work, period. The software is why people flock to the iPhone and Apple products, Apple is a software company, hardware spec's have never been the major reason Apple sells products, its the software and user experience.

Apple fan or Apple hater, there is no denying the iPhone's software blows the competition out of the water. 12megapixel/OLED/superfast gadget and all.

 

[bossxii]

Why do people even bring up pixel counts in cameras any more?

Having more pixels doesn't mean higher quality.

A 12 megapixel camera in a phone with an awful lense and super small CCD? No thanks.

If you want reasonably good pictures, you still need to carry a good digital camera with you. My almost 3 year old 6MP low-end at the time of purchase camera still takes better pictures than ANY cellphone out there.

This is such a good point to bring up, I still have people ask me what camera I use when I take vacation pictures etc.. and post em on my Mobileme site. It's a 3 yr old 5megapixel Kodak that takes better pics than any cell phone now or in the next 5 years. People simply don't understand how it all works and for lack of knowledge just compare raw numbers, which is exactly what companies like Nokia what you to do. They love lemmings that just follow the shiney number and buy a phone for specs.

As I mentioned before, Apple didn't even bother listing spec's, their software sells the iPhone and their computers. Nokia nor any other company has the OS to sell their hardware so they have to focus on hardware which makes the uniformed poor sob's buy a phone with poor functionality/user interface.

Blackberry Storm "the iPhone killer" comes to mind, oh how cool it was going to be, how fast, how much better..... err oops guess that didn't work out just as planned. Enjoy their app store, I think they have like umm 20? or maybe less apps to run on that new phone. Sucks when their is no software to backup the hardware, no matter how good it is claimed to be.