Analysing the iPhone 4G
We've already run a story about the iPhone's launch today, but here's a little more quick analysis. Of all the things that it offers, the most significant is probably the enhanced screen and the new video capability. Why? Because the screen offers something that no-one else does, and the video competes directly with something that someone else does.
The new screen gives us 326 pixels per inch (PPI), which is the number of tiny pixels making up the phone's display that fit into a single inch square. Windows and the Mac originally specified display output at 96 and 72 dpi, respectively. Previous generations of the iPhone gave us 162 dpi, and this new system gives the device four times the pixels of its predecessors. Apple is saying that this gives users a display akin to the printed page.
You can't necessarily equate the dots per inch that you might see in a magazine or newspaper to the dots per inch you might see on a screen. Those printing techniques use overlapping dots to create different effects, and generally refer to something called lines per inch (LPI). But generally, printers ask clients to submit files with a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch). This means that when you're reading text on the screen of an iPhone 4G, it's going to be clear enough that it will look at least a bit more like paper. And Apple leader Steve Jobs said during his keynote this morning that the pixels on the screen would be indistinguishable to the human eye.
That's important for apps like Amazon's Kindle, for example, and for e-reader app Stanza (which incidentally just launched for the iPad with support for comics). Consider that Apple has garnered a whopping 22% of the ebook market since the iPad launched (if Jobs and the five out of six large publishers that he spoke to in the US are to be believed). Beefing up the display resolution to the point where it becomes paper-like will be instrumental in persuading more people to start reading their text electronically, which has significant ramifications for the publishing sector, including both book and newspaper publishers.
The video developments in the iPhone are also significant. Shooting in HD pits it directly against competitors such as the Flip HD, and will accelerate the drive towards single-use devices - although, as Maurice pointed out over the weekend, other phones have been shooting HD for a while, such as the Samsung Instinct, for example. And while the 5 megapixel camera isn't exactly a disappointment, it doesn't really push the envelope either. 8 megapixel camera phones are already shipping in healthy numbers today.
What happens to the iPhone today is likely to happen to the iPad tomorrow, and the iPad is really the e-reader platform of choice for Apple. I predict a front-facing camera for future versions of the iPad, and a crisper, higher-resolution screen to make it an increasingly relevant play for the ebook reader market.
Danny Bradbury, MSN Tech & Gadgets
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Posted by: Ian | Jun 10, 2010 7:05:55 AM
Isn't it called iPhone 4, not 4G? It doesn't have 4G capabilities...
Posted by: Danny Bradbury | Jun 10, 2010 10:48:44 AM
Hi Ian. Yes, they're calling it the iPhone 4 now, but it has been referred to as the 4G for some time in the press. I think the 4G in the codename stood for fourth generation.
Posted by: Lisa | Jun 10, 2010 7:51:57 PM
Do you know when it's available in Canada?
Posted by: Apple iPhone 4G | Jun 14, 2010 10:26:59 PM
It is call iPhone 4 but most people refer it as iPhone 4G ... maybe more stylish.
Posted by: Misa18 | Jul 18, 2011 6:18:32 AM
IPhone 4G seems to do the same. It is very difficult to achieve when he was released, most Apple products, an example of the iPad. The iPhone until this issue is maxed out at 32GB. But the iPhone 4G could reach a maximum storage capacity of 64 GB, which would certainly destroy the iPod market, but something tells me Apple agree with that.
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