Here are some notes from Apple's WWDC keynote. You know, the other event occurring today. :)
iPad update
No new sales figures: Still touting the previous 2 million figure. ("One every 3 seconds.") 8500 apps have been downloaded 35 million times, about 17 apps per iPad. Some small changes to iBooks, including PDF viewing right in the app.
HTML 5 and App Store
Jobs is positioning HTML 5 as one of two platforms that Apple supports, the other being the App Store. (This doesn't bode well for native Mac apps, unless I'm missing something.)
iPhone market share/usage share
Here, Apple is fighting back against the notion that it is losing to Android. Touting market share figures that put iPhone at number two in the US with 28 percent market share, behind RIM (with 35 percent) and ahead of Windows Mobile (19) and Android (9). "We're over three times the market share of Android," Jobs notes.
iPhone 4
As expected, Apple announces the iPhone 4. "Over 100 new features" (snork) "We're going to cover 8." These include:
All new design. Very thin, precisely made, beautiful looking. Glass on the front and back, stainless steel on the sides. At 24 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS, it's "the thinnest smart phone on the planet." It's very mechanical looking, which Apple people will now love. It reminds me of the old Dell DJ, with metal buttons, and so forth. Front and back cameras. LED flash. Two MICs. This looks good to me.
Retina display. High pixel density = better quality. 326 pixels per inch. 960 x 640 resolution, which is just insanely good. 800:1 contrast ratio. Comparisons to 3GS ensue. Hyperbole too: "Quite a bit better than OLED." I guess we'll see. It's still a 3.5 inch display, which is ... unfortunate. But maintaining the form factor will help hardware partners.
A4 processor. As expected, the iPhone utilizes Apple's new processor, also used in the iPad. It's proven to be quite excellent there, so it should be even better on the smaller device. Battery life improves to 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 for browsing. 10 for video (!) and 40 for music. Good stuff.
They're adding a gyroscope for six-axis gaming.
Camera. 5 megapixels. Backside illuminated sensor. 5x digital zoom. Tap to focus, and for video too. LED flash. Three years later and all the complaints have been answered. 720p video recording at 30 fps. Insane.
iMovie for iPhone
Edit movies right on the phone. If anyone can make this work on a tiny screen, it's Apple. Wait, you have to pay for this? $5. Ah well.
iOS 4
The iPhone OS is no more. Long live iOS.
Big new features: Multitasking. Folders. Multiple Exchange-type account. Unified Inbox. Email threading. Enterprise features. And... ta da! Support for the Microsoft Bing search engine. Jobs: "Microsoft has done a great job on this. Check it out, it's kinda cool." iBooks with the new PDF reader capability.
Apple notes that the 100 millionth iOS device--which includes iPod touches, iPhones, and iPads--will be sold this month.
iAds
Here we go. Apple is doing this to "help their developers earn money." Wasn't clear this was an issue. And doesn't Apple make money from this too? iAd will be turned on for all iOS devices on July 1, in case you're plotting an Android purchase. :)
Jobs says, "What do you think so far? I think it's a lot more than people thought it was. What do you think?" This is a reference to reports that the iPhone 4 launch would disappoint. I think the iPhone 4 looks great. But we're also past the time where Apple can really blow us away with this kind of thing. When you're as good as the iPhone is already, you pretty much are just going to have evolution, not revolution. But this is good evolution, and certainly a bigger update than was the 3GS last year.
And.. there's one more thing.
Video calling
It's called FaceTime. Works over Wi-Fi only. iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only, no set up. Portrait and landscape. Front and rear camera.
Pricing and availability of iPhone 4
As expected, two colors, black and white. 16 GB for $199. 32 GB for $299. Still no 64 GB option. For upgraders, if you're on AT&T and your contract expires any time in 2010, you can get these prices. The 3GS will remain in the market for $99, with just 8 GB of storage.
The iPhone 4 becomes available June 24. Preorders start June 15.
iOS 4 availability
For customers with existing iPhones and iPod touches, iOS 4 will be free starting on June 21. (And for the first time, this includes iPod touch users, except for first-gen iPods, which will not be upgradeable.) However, not all features will be available on all product versions. And the iPad is getting the upgrade later in the year. (September if I remember correctly.)
And that's all she wrote. The iPhone 4 was the only product announced at WWDC 2010. I have to think this surprised a lot of people.
Update: Someone in the comments didn't think the iPhone's screen size was an issue. I sort of disagree. But here's a graphical depiction of how the iPhone screen measures up against the HTC HD2, which has a much bigger screen.
(To play devil's advocate, it's possible that the HTC would be difficult to use one-handed for people with small hands. But all I'm looking for is for the iPhone screen to take up more of the existing device's front panel real estate.)
