Apple iPhone Today
Introduction
Telephone from Apple waited several years - in the network with an enviable appeared regularly rumors, spyware photographs, stunning concepts and alleged insider information. Someone over the years, firmly, that he is about to withdraw, others were more cautious in the projections. There were those who did not believe most - the truth, there were very few. This is understandable - to conquer the market mp3-player follows a logical step should be the entry of mobile phones, because he is huge and opens a very big prospects.
Apple, as always, silent. And silent for two and a half years actively developed iPhone in its bosom. January 9, at the opening of the exhibition MacWorld Expo, Apple head Steve Jobs opened the veil of secrecy and a half hours talking and showed the possibility of new items. In addition, he spoke only very little about the success Apple, release of Apple TV stations and new films in the iTunes Store from Paramount - another theme of this article.
Before turning to the iPhone, let us remember to start than always “takes the” Apple. Primarily, of course, excellent design and ease of use. If the first all more or less clear, the second most manufacturers of various equipment - from mp3-players to computers running underestimate.
A simple example - iPod. At the time of the first iPod-emergence of a market existed a great number of mp3-player with good enough functionality and technical characteristics. Have been built and dictaphones, and FM-radio, and the ability to manage the library compositions directly with the player … Suddenly, a simple iPod without these opportunities and conquered the market.
Steve Jobs is absolutely right that if we look at the existing market smartphones, it becomes apparent that they are extremely difficult to use. Even ordinary telephones in use are so complex that many users rarely enjoy such simple application, as the address book, preferring instead to choose a contact to call, a menu recent calls. This is not to mention the possibilities of mail, web browser and others - is more a lot of new technology enthusiasts and every gadget, rather than natural and frequently used functions.
Besides the head company criticized the existence of stylus, where you want to build something, and who constantly lost, awkward keyboards and soft-keys, which are present regardless of whether they are needed at the moment the user or not, as well as “child” policy Ensuring not withstand any criticism - even sites on a human can not watch.
Therefore, submitted iPhone has no stylus, no keyboard, no soft-keys (on the front panel has only one - to return to the home directory). But everything in order …
In one iPhone immediately put three long-standing dream of all fans of Apple - widescreen iPod for viewing movies, mobile phone and PDA. Test “live” iPhone at the moment is virtually impossible, according to some sources there are only 3 preliminary copies - one from Steve Jobs, two other securely guarded, units managed to hold it in their hands, so we will limit available at the moment of official information .
Appearance
Like most products of Apple, iPhone is attractive and minimalist design. The front panel is black, bezel, sides and rear panel - metallic. On the front panel has a large 3.5-inch display above it - earpiece, beneath it - a single button to return to the home directory. Of the elements are all visible. Back in the upper chamber is located only dvuhmegapikselnaya.
New technologies
Before considering specific opportunities, let’s look at technology used in the iPhone. In total, incidentally, the phone is equipped with more than 200 patents that Apple intends to actively protect.
Modern IPhone
In iPhone uses multi-touch display, which means simultaneously support multiple applications. For example, in order to increase or decrease the photo, Web site, map terrain, or something else, just put two fingers on the display, then move or delete them. According to Apple, introduced in iPhone revolutionary technology that provides very high precision pressing. In addition, when printing text on a virtual keyboard is automatically correction of errors-missteps that can occur quite often because that covers several inches of virtual buttons (this is not stylus).
Despite its size (3.5 inches diagonally), the display has a resolution of less than VGA: 320×480 pixels (160 dpi). This is somewhat strange - already long enough, many PDAs have permission to 640×480 pixels, the more that the iPhone positioned as a multimedia device with great emphasis on the possibilities of video. While the Zune altogether 320×240 …
Phone (Smartphone, Communicator, widescreen iPod, PDA?) Runs under the operating system Mac OS X. Accurate information about the extent of its version and “cuts” not yet. iPhone is multitasking, for example, you can browse the site, while downloading mail on background. Incidentally, this is not sensation.
Wireless opportunities in the new items: besides, actually, the four “cell” of standards GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, the iPhone has Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, Wi-Fi and EDGE. So what difficulties with access to the Internet through mobile operator, and through the nearest access point, should not be. The availability of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi gives hope for wireless synchronization with a computer.
In the iPhone are three sensors: an accelerometer sensor distance and light sensor. The first determines how you hold the iPhone - horizontally or vertically, and depending on the contents of this reverses the display (for example, when viewing photos Listings photograph itself, but when navigating the music library is changing the interface of choice albums - is used in horizontal Cover Flow, as in iTunes 7). The sensor is located next to distance speaker and if you hold the phone to ear, the backlight display extinguishes and he ceases to respond to pressing (for example, that you cheek accidentally clicked the button ending the conversation), and at the same time significantly and saves battery life. But sensor lighting regulates the level of illumination, making it the best at any level lighting.
Main Menu
So, after inclusion of (the top button is used) must unlock the device by moving a virtual left-right slider. Then you provide the main menu (to move it from any application, just click the only “real” button on the front panel). Above, as the majority of phones and smartphones, located status bar, which displays information about the current level signal cellular network operator used, connect to Wi-Fi, time and battery charge level (perhaps it will be even more informative - yet detailed No information about this).
The rest of the screen are icons of available applications, large enough to make them without layup clicking finger. At the moment this is: text messages (sms), calendar, photos, camera, calculator, stocks, maps, weather, notes, watches and settings. Below is the menu from 4 sections: Phone, Mail, Web and iPod. Let’s start with the latter.
Possibilities for iPod
As a multimedia player, iPhone offers play music and movies. Synchronization is traditionally made with the help of iTunes. Navigating the entire player made very thoughtfully, for example, when choosing the main menu item iPod, you are on the list of all the compositions. Below is there an opportunity to choose the best treatment for you navigate: playlists, artists, songs, video and additional opportunities (more. ..), which - yet unknown. In turn horizontal player mode included Cover Flow and you can effectively select the album. For movement on the list enough to rotate it as a finger - some time after that he continues to rotate on inertia, very beautiful and user-friendly solution (no scroll strips). Naturally, while revenue vhodeschego suspended call audio or video playback.
Possibilities phone
iPhone offers traditional phone capabilities, virtually nothing revolutionary in them not, except for the same user interface is very convenient - to choose the right contact from the address book, merging several calls (conference communications), all this is done very simply and conveniently, which gives a chance for indeed widespread use of modern technologies.
Of the unusual cost about opportunities mailbox (voice mail). In cooperation with the largest operator of cellular communications in the U.S., Cingular, Apple is a choice of communications for listening. That is, you see a menu list of people, left a voice message and can listen to each separately, as well as manage them directly from the telephone rather than through a voice interface. But this feature requires mandatory support mobile operator, so the chances of her appearance, even after the start of supply iPhone in Russia are very small.
Office sms-messages done in the form of dialogue iChat - when sending messages you see all previous messages sent to you and your interlocutor. Again, nothing supernatural, but as easy and convenient - even remember how many times you (if you often send sms) had to go around on the phone menu, restoring memory in previous posts.
Potential Internet Communicator
Of the Internet capabilities iPhone has a browser Safari (here fully manifested potential Mac OS X, in particular, the browser engine), mail client Mail, maps from Google and widgets. All of these components, judging by the demonstrations represented, made a very good job.
For example, if you ever had to use a browser in the smartphone, you know as far as employment is not a pleasant: an incorrect analysis of the code, very small size of the working area of the browser, large-skroll bars on the sides. It also provided a maximum work area, and you first see the whole page entirely, and then, if you want to read any text, just click in the right place and you are interested in approaching the sample size to read - excellent reshenie.Pochta supports the POP3 and IMAP. With it, everything is clear: integration with address book, the possibility of sending, for example, pictures from their context menu.
Especially noteworthy work with maps. iPhone has the full support sverhpopulyarnogo service Google Maps, you can search for objects on the map, view, both conventional and satellite map of the world - a very useful feature. Perhaps the only thing that upset here is the lack of GPS-receiver: a map so even with the system and determine the location would be very useful. True, or Apple would have to download additional off-line cards, or your location on the map would be available only with the Internet (EDGE, Wi-Fi), slightly lowers the value then.
iPhone has the support of widgets - small applications with useful information. In Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger widgets are stored in the annex Dashboard. In Microsoft Vista for similar programs, think of another name - gadgets. The phone attend widgets calculator (although perhaps he decorated in a separate annex), shares of course, the weather, notes (again, perhaps this is an independent annex - the information in this regard very few) hours.
On the cell phone does not know anything, except that it is located in the upper left corner on the back panel and is dvuhmegapikselnoy. With the words of David Poga can say that in general it works well, but with slight delays in the viewfinder image (ie display), but Steve Jobs told him that this shortcoming by the time of exit iPhone will be eliminated. Perhaps for this reason it is not possible at the conference.
