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If your lost on a forest, you don't need a compass or an iphone. All you need to do is look at tree moss.

Tree moss gives you the north direction.

moss_tree.jpg

Wouldn't it be great if the iPhone came with a tree moss detector? Would that mean separate models for Australia and other southern hemisphere countries? Is this maybe the new sensor on the front that everybody seems to think is a front facing camera, when it's so obvious that tree moss detectors are far more innovative and useful?

EDIT: This would also explain the word "curious", as a tree moss detector (TMD) is a rather curious thing indeed. The green LED obviously lights up when moss has been detected.
 
How About...?

I don't think he has any insider information....

Last year everyone jumped on the fact that during a similar time prior to the launch of iPhone 3G he said in a video podcast that the iPhone would have 3G this year. But anyone could have said that because it was so obvious it was going to be true.

I have to disagree. I'm pretty sure he has some of the new iron in his possession. I suspect that instead of Apple overtly countering the Palm Pre launch this weekend, they have sanctioned Walt to ”speculate out loud“ about the upcoming features of the new iPhone to steal some of the buzz and get people wondering about the iPhone instead of talking about the Pre. It is because the speculator is Walt Mossberg that it is believable, but still ”just a guess <wink wink>“
 
The article at Engadget states :
"Let's just be totally honest with each other here: Walt Mossberg probably has a new iPhone that none of us have ever seen. In fact, he could very well have two or more, depending on exactly what Apple intends to unveil at WWDC next week."

"Update: Reading further into the review, Walt continues to walk the fine line between harmless speculation and thinly-veiled news leakage, saying that new iPhone hardware will be "likely available within a month." He also goes on to mention that it'll "likely" lack a physical keyboard, quashing a longstanding rumor that's gone quiet in recent months."

I think that he already has the new Iphone ...
 
Secondly, what's the big deal about a compass? I just don't see the appeal. I've got an awesome (and expensive as hell) Hamilton watch with a touch face that has an electronic compass. That compass just plain sucks. I don't see the appeal. With GPS, the compass feels useless. If anyone can tell me the purpose of the compass, I would love to hear it.

You're serious, right?
 
The article at Engadget states :
"Let's just be totally honest with each other here: Walt Mossberg probably has a new iPhone that none of us have ever seen. In fact, he could very well have two or more, depending on exactly what Apple intends to unveil at WWDC next week."

"Update: Reading further into the review, Walt continues to walk the fine line between harmless speculation and thinly-veiled news leakage, saying that new iPhone hardware will be "likely available within a month." He also goes on to mention that it'll "likely" lack a physical keyboard, quashing a longstanding rumor that's gone quiet in recent months."

I think that he already has the new Iphone ...

This makes the most sense to me... If anyone knows anything about the new hardware, it's Uncle Walt. He probably submitted the review of the Pre using a new iPhone, and just gave out a few harmless bits of info on the new iPhone that we all knew were coming anyway.
 
gps can't tell in which direction u are facing if standing still or moving slowly, so an compass is needed for reliable turn-by-turn apps.
also look here: Google Sky Map

So if your phone is in a cradle in your car and the back of the phone is facing north, it'll say your pointing north? Off the wall hypothetical here, but what if your not driving and facing the back of the vehicle moving north (like on a rear facing seat on a train or in the back of a limo) and looking at your phone, is it telling you you're facing south but moving north or will it compensate for the movement and tell you you're facing north? Does it have to be held up, or if it's lying flat, will it tell you the direction the top of the phone is? I just don't see it being accurate or extremely useful. I hope I'm wrong and say that it's a great feature when I see it, but I'm not building my hope up that it will work well or be of much use.


Oh, to clarksonknight:
I'm totally serious. Like I said, if someone has a use for it, I'd like to know.
 
So if your phone is in a cradle in your car and the back of the phone is facing north, it'll say your pointing north? Off the wall hypothetical here, but what if your not driving and facing the back of the vehicle moving north (like on a rear facing seat on a train or in the back of a limo) and looking at your phone, is it telling you you're facing south but moving north or will it compensate for the movement and tell you you're facing north? Does it have to be held up, or if it's lying flat, will it tell you the direction the top of the phone is? I just don't see it being accurate or extremely useful. I hope I'm wrong and say that it's a great feature when I see it, but I'm not building my hope up that it will work well or be of much use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

A lot of us are salivating at the thought of a compass. Augmented reality is just one of many applications dying for a compass. Another is the aforementioned GPS enhancements it brings.
 
I'm totally serious. Like I said, if someone has a use for it, I'd like to know.

If you are looking at google maps, would you like it to auto-rotate so it is laid out in the right direction?

I would.
Especially in the car.

Not sure how that would work out with which way text points, but i would assume the compass is a floating ball so knows whether the phone is upright or lying flat.

Just like GPS.

if you are facing backwards you would surely see the map like you would if you were looking out the a rear window.
 
just wait till developers are able to use the compass in addition to the accelerometers and other abilities of the iphone...there will be a whole new level of apps/games/interactive entertainment.

just think, you could point your camera at a building and get all the info immediately, your phone will know where you are pointing based on GPS and compass info.
there will be a slew of new "augmented reality" titles that will allow users to really take advantage of the new hardware.

anyone that thinks the compass is a weak addition just isnt looking at the big picture. Think about all of the interesting ways people have used the accelerometers so far with apps...just imagine the new possibilities.
the higher quality camera will make font recognition and other similar processes possible as well...the current iphone can do it, but the success rate is lower due to the poor quality camera.
all of this combined with faster processor and more memory should make the new iphone amazing. I cant wait till i can finally type as fast as I want without the phone having to catch up...(also, os 3.0 is sooo laggy on the current hardware..i cant wait to see it on a speedy new iphone)
i should post some screenshots i have from my white iphone running beta 5..sometime the keyboard will pop up and there will be no keys...all kinds of strange stuff happening. (this iphone is a month old, never been jailbroken either..my black iphone didnt have these problems on osbeta5 though.)
 
So if your phone is in a cradle in your car and the back of the phone is facing north, it'll say your pointing north? Off the wall hypothetical here, but what if your not driving and facing the back of the vehicle moving north (like on a rear facing seat on a train or in the back of a limo) and looking at your phone, is it telling you you're facing south but moving north or will it compensate for the movement and tell you you're facing north? Does it have to be held up, or if it's lying flat, will it tell you the direction the top of the phone is? I just don't see it being accurate or extremely useful. I hope I'm wrong and say that it's a great feature when I see it, but I'm not building my hope up that it will work well or be of much use.


Oh, to clarksonknight:
I'm totally serious. Like I said, if someone has a use for it, I'd like to know.

seriously? a digital compas works exactly like a "real" compass, so buy one, and sit in a train and test it ;) the "needle" will always point north. adding the past gps direction informations it can predict the direction u are moving. if u stand still the compass combined with acceleration will display the "needle" accordingly pointing to south. its all software after collecting the sensor informations.
but as i said, buy a compass test it by yourself and buy a map and try navigating. its not that difficult.

If you are looking at google maps, would you like it to auto-rotate so it is laid out in the right direction?

i don't think google maps supports rotating (yet) - but normaly text is a layer above the map, so if a map rotates, the text orientation does not change - at least it shouldn't if the programmers were/are smart.
 
What I found most amazing in the article was when Mossberg talked about the Pre's disasterous crash when launching an app, where afterwards he lost all his data and couldn't even connect to Sprint or WiFi. That might be a bit of a problem for Palm, especially since they're launching the Pre in a few days. A crash that bad is understandable on an early beta, but not a finished product.

A few people on Best Buy said the same thing..

I guess they need to fix a few things.
 
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i think that iphone 3 gen picture headlines above says:

Funny, curious, advanced. The new iphone is for everyone
Thiny, curious, advanced. The new iphone is for everyone

one of these 2 forsure.

But if its thiny, then does it mean its smaller in size? or is it thinner in size?:eek:
 
If your lost on a forest, you don't need a compass or an iphone. All you need to do is look at tree moss.

Tree moss gives you the north direction.

moss_tree.jpg

I hate to break this to you but moss grows all the way around the trees is most places in this country.
 
Exactly. This is like those circular wikipedia references, where someone looks up wikipedia and uses something from there in a published article, and when the "fact" get challenged by moderators at wikipedia, they just cite the article!

This list is *exactly* what has been discussed on macrumors. No more and no less. His source is MR. Therefore MR can not use Walt as a source.

Just because Walt's list of features matches the one found here doesn't mean that his source is Macrumors.

Just an abomination of a post.
 
I wonder if it'll look like this:

iphone4gohne.jpg

Looks good, but I hope it has at least some curve to the back. If the back is completely flat like the 1G iPod touch then it'll be hard to hold on to. The curved back of the 2G touch is so much easier to hold. :cool:
 
that mockup sure looks nice but where do you put your fingers when you browse in landscape mode? the very first thing I thought the iphone would get rid of was those ugly black stripes at the top and bottom but then I realised they are actually very useful for heavy browsing in landscape mode...
 
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i think that iphone 3 gen picture headlines above says:

Funny, curious, advanced. The new iphone is for everyone
Thiny, curious, advanced. The new iphone is for everyone

one of these 2 forsure.

But if its thiny, then does it mean its smaller in size? or is it thinner in size?:eek:

Could be tiny or phony or just ny.:)
 
seriously? a digital compas works exactly like a "real" compass, so buy one, and sit in a train and test it ;) the "needle" will always point north. adding the past gps direction informations it can predict the direction u are moving. if u stand still the compass combined with acceleration will display the "needle" accordingly pointing to south. its all software after collecting the sensor informations.
but as i said, buy a compass test it by your self and buy a map and try navigating. its not that difficult.

A digital compass is NOT like a real compass. I have a digital compass on a Hamilton watch (not a cheap trinket out of a gumball machine), and it is not reliable. A real compass relies on piece of metal that can easily spin and the magnetic waves of the planet. A digital compass relies on electronics to measure the magnetic waves of the planet and accurately convey a direction to the screen taking into effect the orientation of the device. Impossible? No, I'm not saying impossible. I'm just saying that I find it hard to believe that as amazing as the current iPhone is, and as even more amazing we are all hoping the new iPhone will be, I don't think the compass will be as great of a step forward as most people think.
 
I don't think the compass will be as great of a step forward as most people think.

Only because you don't think it will work.

I was sceptical about the accelerometer before i tried it, but that seems to work a treat.

Don't they make compasses with a floating ball that work on magnets and any way up?
 
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