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iPhone 4G speculation and rumors

post #1 of 335
1/9/10 at 8:11am
Thread Starter 
My wife and I are upgrading to "webphones" this year. So I'm very interested in what's happening with the iPhone, Pre, and Android offerings (Blackberry, an "emailphone", is not a consideration.) But most especially the iPhone, since that's what I'm most likely to get.

And while the RAT (Rumored Apple Table; thanks Andy Ihnatko) has sucked the oxygen out of the room, it doesn't seem too early to read the iPhone 4G tea leaves.

And here's the first rumor summary I've seen for 2010.

As I consider my decision, say iPhone vs Nexus One, what's most important to me are:
* Overall UI experience
* Mac integration
* Apps quality

For rumors, I'm keenest on that big one: iPhone on Verizon?

With the rumors that the RAT will have Verizon 3G service as an option, the iPhone on Verizon rumors feel more possible. I've also seen these rumors move from "iPhone will be on Verizon" to "Discussions are ongoing but they haven't met on pricing", which feel both tangible and achievable.

And Verizon now has the Blackberries, Droid, and new Pre Plus. It will also soon have the Nexus One. If it gets the iPhone, it will have every top-end phone. Combined with its best-of network, it would seem to be positioned to completely dominate the cellphone industry. Good or bad for consumers, it seems smart for them to get the iPhone simply to prevent any other network to have a competitive advantage.

And for Apple it could double their new-buyer market in the US by 100%.

So I'm starting to believe the rumors that the iPhone will be on Verizon this summer. It makes too much sense for everyone.


So, that's my ramblings. What do you expect and want and hope to see or not see from the (presumed) next iPhone iteration this year?
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post #2 of 335
2/15/10 at 9:31am
 I'll jump in here since I'm interesting in getting an iPhone, but I'm trying to wait for the 4g!

Here's a speculative look at what it could look like with possible new features:

4G-iPhone-visual-rumor-roundup.jpg

The industrial design was done by a french design firm. Looks like they based it on the iPad industrial design.
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post #3 of 335
2/15/10 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 
I believe that any rumor site that reports "removeable battery" as even remotely plausible be immediately ignored. Otherwise, interesting graphic.

I've been wondering about the OLED screen: will Apple introduce a new iPhone resolution? As much as I hope for a screen comparable to that of the Droid and Nexus, I'm not sure Apple will do it. Granted, the iPad OS has a way to make it work with simple scaling of older apps (1:1 original resolution display would seem a bad idea, shrinking the old apps too small).
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post #4 of 335
2/15/10 at 10:48am
I agree about the removable battery, Apple has been moving towards non-removable batteries for some time now.
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post #5 of 335
2/15/10 at 11:39am
Thread Starter 
Moving? That's been their design for going on a decade for handheld devices and is the standard for every portable device they make! Any rumor or news site reporting removable battery at 30% likelihood shows absolutely no understanding of Apple or its products. They need to turn in their Internet License, and get off the webs :)
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post #6 of 335
2/15/10 at 11:45am
I was referring to how the laptops now do not have user accessible batteries anymore. My current and new Macbook Pro is the first Mac laptop I own where the battery is not so easy to get to.
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post #7 of 335
2/15/10 at 12:05pm
The competition?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/298173/windows-phone-7-series#post_3661091
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post #8 of 335
2/15/10 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

I was referring to how the laptops now do not have user accessible batteries anymore. My current and new Macbook Pro is the first Mac laptop I own where the battery is not so easy to get to.

Gotcha.

Sam - MS think themselves up an Ace, or is it vaporware to influence people from buying a new iPhone or Nexus One?
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post #9 of 335
2/15/10 at 2:16pm
I'm not impressed, that's all I can say.  I know it's prototype hardware but the touch screen looks sloooooooow and all that shit running at once is going to be a horrible drain on batteries.

Plus, Microsoft is so trying to please everyone, not just business vs. casual users, that they are designing by committee still....  putting 10 tons of crap in a 4 pound bag.

And don't even get me started on how stupid that name is.

But I'm biased, right?
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post #10 of 335
2/26/10 at 9:23am
Thread Starter 
http://iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com/2010/02/nexus-one-from-iphone-developer.html
Quote:
 The screen is vivid and high-resolution and looks really, really nice… that is, as long as you are indoors. Outside on a sunny day, the OLED screen is almost completely unusable. That's kind of a big deal for a phone. I applaud HTC for pushing OLED technology forward, and I can see it being a great technology today for devices that require mostly indoor use, but this is a phone, and as such, I need to be able to use the damn thing outside.
This is the reason that I wonder if the iPhone will stay with the current display, rather than competing on specs with a higher-resolution OLED display.

The author elaborates that the iPhone isn't really lacking in display pixels from a practical perspective.
Quote:
 
The iPhone's 150 ppi screen has a higher-resolution that the vast, vast majority of LED or CRT devices ever created. I don't know of a single person who ever looked at the iPhone's 150 ppi screen and said "if only I needed a more powerful magnifying glass to see the jaggies". The Nexus One's screen seems like a pure case of trying to compete on specs without regard to whether there was any need for a better spec. In other words, a solution looking for a problem. After all this time with the Nexus One's "better" screen, I don't find my iPhone to be at all lacking in that regard. 


I've seen Apple stubbornly stay with the "right" resolution, even if it's below the typically higher-resolution on Windows PCs. Consider the 15" MacBook Pro. It's has 1440x900 for years, while competing Wintel systems commonly had 1680x1050. That was an initial concern when I bought my '07 MBP. But I've quickly came to admit that Apple's chosen resolution is a good compromise between DPI and usability in our Resolution Dependent OS's.

I can see Apple making that same choice with the iPhone 4, especially if OLED really is significantly worse than outside.
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post #11 of 335
2/26/10 at 9:43am
So, one less reason to wait for the 4G?
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post #12 of 335
2/26/10 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Nope. Still waiting. Not going to buy 18-month old gear with a 2-year contract five months before the new hotness comes out 
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post #13 of 335
2/26/10 at 10:20am
Five months!? What happened to May or June?

I think I may have a solution I may or may not have shared here but I might buy a 3gs now and give my wife my old Razr except swap SIM cards so she'll retain her number and then give her the old iphone when the new ones come out. The only way that would backfire is if she sees mine and decides she doesn't want one.

Or... I could just keep talking about getting one for the next five months and by then 4g will be out
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post #14 of 335
2/26/10 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
It should come out late June or early July, so it's 4-5 months out. Maybe I'm a bit pessimistic :)

Keep talking! Unless you're dying for a new iPhone, why not wait a bit longer and start fresh? (While I don't need a new phone, I really need a new PDA. My Palm died a few months ago, and I sold its carcass on eBay last week. I'm itching for a webphone upgrade!)
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post #15 of 335
2/27/10 at 9:32pm
My wife and I are on two year iPhone upgrade cycles at staggered years -- it is her turn this year she will upgrade her iPhone 3G to a iPhone 3GX or whatever it's going to be called (funny, no iPhone 2010 name guessing game yet),  It certainly won't be the iPhone 4G because there aren't going to be any nationwide 4G networks in mid 2010.  I'll be getting the iPhone 4G in 2011 
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post #16 of 335
2/28/10 at 6:37am
Thread Starter 
I think it will be iPhone 4. Or perhaps they will remove the numbering monikor -- no other Apple product uses it -- rebrand as simply the "iPhone"
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post #17 of 335
2/28/10 at 8:17am
 Here's my BEST GUESS for the new iPhone:

90% Chance:
* OLED display
* Internal FM tuner (it's now on the new integrated chip that Apple has been engineering.)
* 5 Megapixel rear camera with LED flash
* Multi-tasking of all apps via OS 4.0 (The iPad will get this as well when 4.0 ships -- On the iPad the native iPhone apps will run in overlayed windows.)

60% Chance:
* Front facing 3 Megapixel camera for use with Skype and social sites. 

50% Chance:
* Will run on Verizon's network

The new iPhone (which may not be called an iPhone) will be announced in June but probably won't ship until late July/early August.
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post #18 of 335
2/28/10 at 8:24am
100% chance:

Will be locked to ATT Service.
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post #19 of 335
2/28/10 at 9:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

100% chance:

Will be locked to ATT Service.

I've got some sources on this, and I'm not hearing that there's a zero percent chance for Verizon.  I *am* hearing that the new Apple "iPhone-like" device may *not* be called an iPhone.  Supposedly, Apple has a new chipset which will work with Verizon's infrastructure; but there's still quite a bit of negotiating to do between the two parties.   Certainly, when the iPad was announced and there wasn't any mention of Verizon that wasn't a good sign.
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post #20 of 335
2/28/10 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
I think the iPad's announcement signaled clearly that there's no Verizon (or other) carried coming to the party in the next year. My guess is the compromise was that ATT gave Apple non-contract 3G services in exchange for continuing exclusivity. And we've been hearing from "sources" that Apple is going to Verizon for one year, two years?, now. But what do I know (nothing, really)?

I'm pretty skeptical of the multi-tasking for third-party apps any time soon. I doubt that Apple has got a solution for it yet. But that's something I'll gladly be wrong about.

FM tuner is interesting. That would be a nice addition. But they've resisted that for years now in their iPods. Why have it now in an iPhone? What's the benefit today that wasn't there yesterday, from Apple's perspective?

Improved camera and flash seems pretty reasonable.

But this is a big thing:
Quote:
The new iPhone (which may not be called an iPhone) will be announced in June but probably won't ship until late July/early August.
Haven't the past three versions been announced in April and shipped late June? This would push the announcement off by two months and shipping by at least one month. And I'd hoped to upgrade before my summer travels.
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post #21 of 335
2/28/10 at 2:25pm
 June is what we're hearing on the announcement.  It probably has to do with

* Gearing up OLED displays in enough quantity for the anticipated demand.
* Availability of OS 4.0.  (Required for the new device.)
* Cross-pollination with the iPad roll-out.
... and/or all of the above.

PLUS, if Verizon isn't totally dead as a carrier the device would have to be released after June since it's rumored that AT&T's original exclusivity agreement runs out at that time.


 
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post #22 of 335
2/28/10 at 2:44pm
 I really hope you guys are wrong about the OLED -- would like to continue to be able to use my iPhone in bright sunlight.  OLED in its current form is a disaster, one more of those things that looks great on a spec sheet, but not in real life.
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post #23 of 335
2/28/10 at 3:01pm
re: OLED: I don't think Apple has ever failed to release a product that does not funtion acceptably. Knowing Job's attention to detail, the display technology that's used on the next iPhone should be great. The iPad looked great in the videos and images from the press conference/announceent, so it can't be worse then that!
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post #24 of 335
2/28/10 at 3:29pm
 The iPad doesn't use OLED -- but that's mainly due to the size of the screen.

The speculation is that Apple wants to use OLED on its next-generation phone in order to help out with the battery life.  Some of the rumors indicate that the display will be multi-layered (to help out with the blue life-cycle); and there may even be a tactile-feedback-control layer under the display (for better keyboard/game controls).  The latter probably won't appear, though, until the second generation.
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post #25 of 335
2/28/10 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

re: OLED: I don't think Apple has ever failed to release a product that does not funtion acceptably.
Too many negatives, I think :)  Perhaps you meant, "I don't think Apple has ever released a product that functioned unacceptably." It's for this reason that I think OLED is 50% likely. Too many reports they aren't usable in daylight.

And the iPad has a lower pixel density than the iPhone (132 vs 163 ppi). Both of which compare poorly to the Nexus One in a spec list, with its 253 ppi screen.

I love the Verizon rumor. I hope it's true. It would be perfect, staying with Verizon and getting a new iPhone! (Unless AT&T's ads are correct, that you can't do voice and data simultaneously on Verizon. In which case???)
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post #26 of 335
2/28/10 at 3:51pm
Any device that uses OLED efficiently will need to
* Provide a seal to keep water out.
* Provide glare reduction without decreasing overall brightness
* Retain flexibility to allow for a possible control layer under the display

I don't think you'll see an OLED display from Apple until these goals are met .


 
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post #27 of 335
2/28/10 at 3:57pm
 Opps, yes, Dave, I typed my reply about OLED very quickly and didn't check the grammar. But you understood my point. 

And due to my poor post, I hadn't meant the iPad would use OLED, just meant the new iPhone display has to look as good as that apparently does.

I was looking into replacing the touch screen surface on a used iPhone 3g I recently bought. In my studies, it appears there is a seal between that and the LCD to keep dust out. Of course it won't keep water out, but it does keep dust out. 
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post #28 of 335
2/28/10 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF View Post
I love the Verizon rumor. I hope it's true. It would be perfect, staying with Verizon and getting a new iPhone! (Unless AT&T's ads are correct, that you can't do voice and data simultaneously on Verizon. In which case???)
Yes, the ads are correct, CDMA/EVDO as currently implemented by Verizon/Sprint do not allow voice and data at the same time.  Also keep in mind that AT&T's 3G (when not collapsing from overuse) is considerably faster than what CDMA can muster.  Really Verizon's ace in the hole has been that they don't have many heavy data users on their network -- getting the iPhone would of course change that. 

Of course if the iPhone users were spread amongst all four major networks, everyone would benefit.
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post #29 of 335
2/28/10 at 5:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

And due to my poor post, I hadn't meant the iPad would use OLED, just meant the new iPhone display has to look as good as that apparently does.
The iPad uses IPS technology, which is apparently what makes it so good, Perhaps the iPhone will get that too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Todorov View Post

Yes, the ads are correct, CDMA/EVDO as currently implemented by Verizon/Sprint do not allow voice and data at the same time.



 

Of course if the iPhone users were spread amongst all four major networks, everyone would benefit.
I continue to assert that Apple is leaving money on the table by being exclusive with AT&T.
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post #30 of 335
2/28/10 at 5:57pm
Part of why Apple stays in bed with ATT though is that ATT buffers part of the research and development and eats part of the sell through cost.
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