Apple announces the iPhone

iphone and ipod
(New updates appear at the bottom of the article. Last updated 1:53 EST)

“This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for 2.5 years”, said Steve Jobs only minutes ago as he announed Apple’s new iPhone from the podium at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Described as a mobile phone that also functions as a wide-screen iPod with touch controls and a “break-through internet communication device”, Apple seeks to use the iPhone as a way to re-invent the way mobile phones are used.

The iPhone employs a user interface which changes to adapt contextually, depending on what application is being used by the phone (rather than static buttons), called “Multitouch”. Rather than depend on a stylus or keypad, Multitouch is a buttonless touch-system described by Jobs as far more accurate than any touch display, and ignores unintended touches, supports multi-fingers gesture. “And boy, have we patented it,” he added.

Jobs also lauds the iPhone’s software operating system as “at least 5 years ahead of any other” by employing Apple’s OS X software at its core, including all the power management, networking, security, Core Animation, audio/video that OS X users are used to, and boasts desktop-class applications to go with it. It also syncs with iTunes automatically and updates contacts, calendars, bookmarks, email and other data through iTunes. And, yes… it plays music just like the iPod we’ve come to know.

Though photos are spare at press time, the iPhone is a unique device to behold: Unlocked by sliding the phone’s face to the side, the iPhone’s 3.5″, 160 ppi screen reveals an interface which Mac users will recognize as being similar to Apple’s Dashboard environment. On the back is a two megapixel camera, a headset jack is located on the top, while speakers, mic, and iPod connection is on the bottom. A built-in proximity sensor turns the screen off when it’s held to your head and an ambient light sensor turns the brightness up and down. It even has a sensor to determine landscape or portrait orientation.

Visual voicemail on the iPhone allows the user to access numbers via random access, and this quad-band GSM/Edge phone uses WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0, SMS (which is displayed in an iChat-like interface), and basic PDA functionality like calendars and contacts, all of which is accessed by the touchscreen. Jobs made his first iPhone call on the Macworld stage to Apple designer Jonathan Ive, who is in the UK.

Pages: 1 2

QuicklyBored

Search

Sections