That will come just as soon as Apple puts firewire back, adds HDMI, BluRay to the MacBooks.
Not. Anytime. Soon.
I know it sucks and I disagree w/ it, but it's Apple we're talking about.
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Next Generation iPhone Component Suppliers?
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That will come just as soon as Apple puts firewire back, adds HDMI, BluRay to the MacBooks.
Not. Anytime. Soon.
I know it sucks and I disagree w/ it, but it's Apple we're talking about.
Its not the camera
I can't understand all this talk about the camera. Its a very peripheral aspect of the Iphone.
I think a far better addition would be to upgrade the central hardware.
Right now the Iphone 3g runs a 620 MHz Mono Core ARM CPU with 128 MB of Ram and 8 or 16 GB of memory.
Its battery is a 1.4 AH Lithium Ion polymer that provides 7 hours video.
Its screen is 480*320 resolution with 163 PPI.
These 3 things need upgrades to improve the experience of every Iphone user, not just shutter bugs.
CPU: Duel Core CPU running 720 MHz would be great and allow multiple apps to be running simultaneously in the background.
256 MB of ram would double what we have now and be a requirement for apps to run in the background. Of course as some have pointed out Apple recently placed an order for 100 million 1 GB memory chips. If those chips where RAM memory then we could be seeing 1 GB of RAM which would be fantastic and really allow for parellel apps operation. Of course duel core CPU could only do 2 apps simultaneously, but with 1 GB of RAM and 720 MHz operating speed, even 4 or 8 apps would still run, just slowly.
Battery: 1.4 AH is ok, but the first gen Iphone had that, time for an upgrade. I have read that Ag/Zn batteries have 40% more run time over Li+ so that would certainly be the ticket. Of course the cost is higher so Apple is less likely to go with that option.
Perhaps the same battery supplier now offers a larger Li+ polymer battery. Personally I think 2 AH would be terrific.
Screen: I would love to see higher resolution than the current 480*320 but I don't expect 720 HD until the 4th gen. Also, a boost in PPI to say, 200 would be nice.
Most importantly an OLED screen could greatly increase battery life without a larger battery. As has been pointed out this is likely the route Apple will go.
Ideally, a larger battery+ OLED would be used to increase Video playback to something like 16 hours.
This would allow maximal brightness viewing for 8 hours.
Speaking of maximal brightness, as someone who commutes on the bus every day and watches tv shows on my Ipod Touch, I would love to see a brighter screen.
Finally, going back to peripheral hardware that few people use, I would love to see a louder and higher quality speaker.
I know that most people laughed at the speaker on the Ipod Touch but I have used it a lot to watch movies with friends and it is just not loud enough.
I know that the Iphone speaker is of higher quality and louder but with things like that you can't be too loud.
Thoughts?
I can't understand all this talk about the camera. Its a very peripheral aspect of the Iphone.
I think a far better addition would be to upgrade the central hardware.
Right now the Iphone 3g runs a 620 MHz Mono Core ARM CPU with 128 MB of Ram and 8 or 16 GB of memory.
Its battery is a 1.4 AH Lithium Ion polymer that provides 7 hours video.
Its screen is 480*320 resolution with 163 PPI.
These 3 things need upgrades to improve the experience of every Iphone user, not just shutter bugs.
CPU: Duel Core CPU running 720 MHz would be great and allow multiple apps to be running simultaneously in the background.
256 MB of ram would double what we have now and be a requirement for apps to run in the background. Of course as some have pointed out Apple recently placed an order for 100 million 1 GB memory chips. If those chips where RAM memory then we could be seeing 1 GB of RAM which would be fantastic and really allow for parellel apps operation. Of course duel core CPU could only do 2 apps simultaneously, but with 1 GB of RAM and 720 MHz operating speed, even 4 or 8 apps would still run, just slowly.
Battery: 1.4 AH is ok, but the first gen Iphone had that, time for an upgrade. I have read that Ag/Zn batteries have 40% more run time over Li+ so that would certainly be the ticket. Of course the cost is higher so Apple is less likely to go with that option.
Perhaps the same battery supplier now offers a larger Li+ polymer battery. Personally I think 2 AH would be terrific.
Screen: I would love to see higher resolution than the current 480*320 but I don't expect 720 HD until the 4th gen. Also, a boost in PPI to say, 200 would be nice.
Most importantly an OLED screen could greatly increase battery life without a larger battery. As has been pointed out this is likely the route Apple will go.
Ideally, a larger battery+ OLED would be used to increase Video playback to something like 16 hours.
This would allow maximal brightness viewing for 8 hours.
Speaking of maximal brightness, as someone who commutes on the bus every day and watches tv shows on my Ipod Touch, I would love to see a brighter screen.
Finally, going back to peripheral hardware that few people use, I would love to see a louder and higher quality speaker.
I know that most people laughed at the speaker on the Ipod Touch but I have used it a lot to watch movies with friends and it is just not loud enough.
I know that the Iphone speaker is of higher quality and louder but with things like that you can't be too loud.
Thoughts?
I highly doubt Apple is going to put a 3.2MP camera just for iChat and 5MP for regular pictures. They would not stream 3.2MP video over 3G.
I completely agree with everything you listed, especially the RAM. They could really keep the current processor, double up the RAM and give the processor a little more breathing room if you ask me.
Thanks for attempting to get back on topic, this thread turned into another MP argument discussion quick!
They could be switching back to aluminum and milling their own shells like they did the macbooks, and they just forgot to mention all the aluminum blocks they ordered. (I have no evidence of any of this, I would like it to happen though)
That sounds exactly right
I hope...
I completely agree with this.
My brother is a life-long professional photographer: he and I often discuss megapixels and how concerned everyone is with this one metric.
In a phone, with limited storage and limited bandwidth, 3.2mp -- maybe 4 or 5 at most -- is perfect. One gets the perfect balance of image resolution and the ability to both store, and quickly upload (email, sms, twitter) files in over edge, 3G, etc.
I would like to see a better lens and sensor as opposed to more MP.
out of your MIND, dude. they've said, over and over at this point, NO BACKGROUND PROCESSES.
but you'd sure have to have ALL of your battery saving concepts here (bigger battery, oled, etc.) to make that even REMOTELY possible.
dual core running at 720? so your phone would last about... 10 minutes? great idea, dude. i'm curious how your commute would go (with brighter screen, no less) with this new tech. what would you do for REST of your commute, after you kill your battery 15 minutes in?
You should be reading on the bus instead if you want to have any brain cells when you get 50 or so. Just my 2 cents.
Just one Camera
It's just one Camera, Largan Precision builds lenses for them. It would make no sense to order 2 different Camera sensors from 2 separate companies when you could get a larger discount by ordering multiples.
Common Sense and a Basic Search is your friend.
It's just one Camera, Largan Precision builds lenses for them. It would make no sense to order 2 different Camera sensors from 2 separate companies when you could get a larger discount by ordering multiples.
Common Sense and a Basic Search is your friend.
have you ever used a computer before? you do realize that cores do not map 1 to 1 with applications, right? you can have 50+ applications running on a computer, simultaneously, one a single core. processors are intelligent enough to divide their time to present a simultaneous experience to the user.
Largan's a lens company, as you guessed. From Largan Precision's home page, this chronology of the company's efforts:
2002 Mass production on VGA lens for mobile phone/ Mass production on 3.0 Megapixels digital camera lens.
2003 Develop 3x Zoom lens for digital camber/develop 1.3 Megapixels mobile phone lens.
2004 Develop 2.0 Megapixels mobile phone AF (Auto Focus) lens.
2005 Develop 3.0 Megapixels mobile phone AF (Auto Focus) lens.
more recently, it's opened a new factory.
Reason for Upgrade?
So what is on this list ( besides a 3.2 mega pixel camera ) that would make me go out and upgrade my current 3G iPhone?
Am I missing something? I've read a lot of "can't wait until this is on the phone." But I'm not seeing where the hardware is matching up with the wish lists.
This is a serious question.
So what is on this list ( besides a 3.2 mega pixel camera ) that would make me go out and upgrade my current 3G iPhone?
Am I missing something? I've read a lot of "can't wait until this is on the phone." But I'm not seeing where the hardware is matching up with the wish lists.
This is a serious question.
Number 1: The current 3G iPhone uses A-GPS. Number 2: A-GPS is far superior to standard GPS as it's able to use tower triangulation along with GPS satellites to acquire your position. If triangulation isn't available then it will act just like any other standard GPS-only device.
The main reason you haven't seen a legit turn-by-turn app for the iPhone is because 2.x doesn't fully support it. When 3.0 is dropped you can expect full on GPS navigation as reported in the 3.0 keynote.
And as far as my opinion goes about this info, keep in mind that people in the stock trading biz have a LOT to gain by downplaying Apple as much as possible and helping spread any kind of info that might lower people's expectations. If they can drop the price as much as possible before the next-gen phone is released, they can make that much more money when it comes out and blows everyone away. I think this is why ol Steve has never really liked the market.
I wonder how the pic would look if you had moving students...
you can't see them? look closely between the third and fourth rows of seats. It's blurred, but it's there. With a better lens, the three kids would be clearly seen.
it's like the CPU-MHz race, which mfgrs have moved away from after persuading almost all of us that bigger was better. Like you, i had one of the canon SD digital cameras back in the day, 3MP, and the pictures were fantastic.
I wonder why with all the iPhone disassembly exercises we've seen, no one has specified the sensor size? Or did i miss that?
no background processes?
First of all, let me clarify my statement about a duel core running 2 programs simultaneously. I don't mean you can only have 2 programs open at once.
Each core can do 1 operation at a time. If 50 programs are open the computer will do a little bit of program 1, stop do a little of program 2 stop, move on to program 3 and so on.
It only appears as if your computer is doing things simultaneously because it is operating at such blinding speed.
For example, if you are running 3 programs at once on a home computer that operates at over 2 Ghz you can't tell that its not running all 3 programs simultaneously.
BUT try opening 50 programs and you will see a signifigant slow down because the computer must divide its time amoungst so many programs.
Multi core means that you can run true parellel operations. So, a quad core can run 4 programs simultaneously, without being slowed down by need to keep switching amoung programs. Could you run 50 programs? Sure, and it would be 4 times faster than on a single core computer that was also running 50 programs.
Of course with all those cores you need a lot of RAM, but lucky for us, memory of all kind keeps getting cheaper and more plentiful.
As for Apple never allowing background apps.
Rumors abound on this website that background processes could be part of OS 3.0.
http://www.iphonealley.com/news/background-processes-coming-in-30-iphone-software
http://digg.com/d1hZ7q
Here's a link to an article about a quad core Iphone.
As for the CPU speeding up, the 620 MHz chip now in use was also there for gen 1. At some point they will upgrade it to a faster chip.
As for multi-core useing more energy, I don't know about that. ARM has the Cortex A-9 specifically designed for smart phones. If a quad core CPU destroyed battery life then would anyone be useing it?
Even if multi core did suck more juice, lets not forget that better electronics in accordance with OLED screen will double or even triple battery life on the same battery.
Through in a Silver Zinc battery that extends battery life 40% over current Lithium Ion and you have 4 times the battery life of today's Iphone.
This kind of energy storage+ efficiency opens up a lot of options for apple.
They could offer an Iphone with 28 hours of Video, but it wouldn't be any better than today's model and it would allow people to own their Iphone for a decade without replacing it due to a dying battery.
They could go Duel core for at least twice the battery life, mixing 14 hours video with parellel application ability.
Or stick with 7 hours of video with a quad core and all the abilities that go with that.
Of course that is assuming that multiple cores multiply the power drain which I am not sure about.
One thing I do know is that Apple has said that the Iphone will be turned into a world class gaming platform.
Already game designers are beginning to develop games around multi-core platforms such as the PS3, (octacore) and the X-box 360, (tri core).
Half Life 2, for example, will be specfically designed for Octacore operation.
If apple is serious about making the Iphone/Touch a gameing platform they will need to go Multi-core, (a quadcore Iphone would be able to provide better gaming than a PSP)
And if that means ever better batteries are needed, well so be it.
Researchers at Stanford have discovered that by useing nano-silicon wires in the cathode of lithium ion batteries they can store 10X as much energy as before. The techniques to make these nano-silicon wires can quickly be adapted by the existing silicon electronics industry, so we will be seeing these super batteries soon.
Thus by 2015 it should be possible to combine more efficient electronics with OLED and these Super Lithium batteries from Stanford to allow for a 30X fold increase in battery life.
Since the utility of 210 hours of video is limited, the extra battery life can be rerouted to running faster chips on multicore CPUs.
First of all, let me clarify my statement about a duel core running 2 programs simultaneously. I don't mean you can only have 2 programs open at once.
Each core can do 1 operation at a time. If 50 programs are open the computer will do a little bit of program 1, stop do a little of program 2 stop, move on to program 3 and so on.
It only appears as if your computer is doing things simultaneously because it is operating at such blinding speed.
For example, if you are running 3 programs at once on a home computer that operates at over 2 Ghz you can't tell that its not running all 3 programs simultaneously.
BUT try opening 50 programs and you will see a signifigant slow down because the computer must divide its time amoungst so many programs.
Multi core means that you can run true parellel operations. So, a quad core can run 4 programs simultaneously, without being slowed down by need to keep switching amoung programs. Could you run 50 programs? Sure, and it would be 4 times faster than on a single core computer that was also running 50 programs.
Of course with all those cores you need a lot of RAM, but lucky for us, memory of all kind keeps getting cheaper and more plentiful.
As for Apple never allowing background apps.
Rumors abound on this website that background processes could be part of OS 3.0.
http://www.iphonealley.com/news/background-processes-coming-in-30-iphone-software
http://digg.com/d1hZ7q
Here's a link to an article about a quad core Iphone.
As for the CPU speeding up, the 620 MHz chip now in use was also there for gen 1. At some point they will upgrade it to a faster chip.
As for multi-core useing more energy, I don't know about that. ARM has the Cortex A-9 specifically designed for smart phones. If a quad core CPU destroyed battery life then would anyone be useing it?
Even if multi core did suck more juice, lets not forget that better electronics in accordance with OLED screen will double or even triple battery life on the same battery.
Through in a Silver Zinc battery that extends battery life 40% over current Lithium Ion and you have 4 times the battery life of today's Iphone.
This kind of energy storage+ efficiency opens up a lot of options for apple.
They could offer an Iphone with 28 hours of Video, but it wouldn't be any better than today's model and it would allow people to own their Iphone for a decade without replacing it due to a dying battery.
They could go Duel core for at least twice the battery life, mixing 14 hours video with parellel application ability.
Or stick with 7 hours of video with a quad core and all the abilities that go with that.
Of course that is assuming that multiple cores multiply the power drain which I am not sure about.
One thing I do know is that Apple has said that the Iphone will be turned into a world class gaming platform.
Already game designers are beginning to develop games around multi-core platforms such as the PS3, (octacore) and the X-box 360, (tri core).
Half Life 2, for example, will be specfically designed for Octacore operation.
If apple is serious about making the Iphone/Touch a gameing platform they will need to go Multi-core, (a quadcore Iphone would be able to provide better gaming than a PSP)
And if that means ever better batteries are needed, well so be it.
Researchers at Stanford have discovered that by useing nano-silicon wires in the cathode of lithium ion batteries they can store 10X as much energy as before. The techniques to make these nano-silicon wires can quickly be adapted by the existing silicon electronics industry, so we will be seeing these super batteries soon.
Thus by 2015 it should be possible to combine more efficient electronics with OLED and these Super Lithium batteries from Stanford to allow for a 30X fold increase in battery life.
Since the utility of 210 hours of video is limited, the extra battery life can be rerouted to running faster chips on multicore CPUs.