iPhone - Official Thread

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Yeah... excluding the possibility of a "nano", which many people find laughable here, I'm actually hoping there's no major hardware changes this summer. LTE is rolling out in most parts of the world at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, with the first major commercial distribution of this being done in Vancouver in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Why change now when new tech is right around the bend?

It would make sense for Apple to introduce a "speed-bump" upgrade in summer, or simple upgrades like expanded storage and a matte plastic model, so they can hold out for a much more substantial upgrade with "iPhone LTE", rather than making us wait the whole one-year life-cycle of a full upgrade to take advantage of LTE services that will go live much sooner than that.

2010 is also when Apple's contract with AT&T is up, meaning they can offer an LTE-based iPhone through Verizon, who seems more gung-ho about LTE than AT&T by a wide margin. Not to mention that ALL of Apple's wireless partners in the rest of the world seem ready to jump on the tech, from Softbank in Japan to Vodafone and O2/Telefonica in much of Europe to the rumored Chinese partner China Unicom.

I imagine the big feature for the iPhone LTE, aside from LTE, is worldwide support for mobile phone point-of-sale use (known to our Japanese friends as osaifu-keitai) thanks to a standardization of that technology to make it functional worldwide and trials already beginning to test consumer readiness for the tech.

2010 is going to be the year that iPhone really takes a chunk out of its competitors, it'll be interesting to see.
 
Anyone seen the anti-piracy protection in the new version of BeejiveIM? If it detects that a cracked version is running it continues the Office Space theming of its promotional materials by displaying a black screen with the "PC LOAD LETTER" error message before redirecting to a YouTube clip from Office Space about stealing.

The funny thing is that as soon as the update was released various iPhone forums are filled with people complaining that their copies of Beejive stopped working. I wonder why...
 
NekoFever said:
Anyone seen the anti-piracy protection in the new version of BeejiveIM? If it detects that a cracked version is running it continues the Office Space theming of its promotional materials by displaying a black screen with the "PC LOAD LETTER" error message before redirecting to a YouTube clip from Office Space about stealing.

The funny thing is that as soon as the update was released various iPhone forums are filled with people complaining that their copies of Beejive stopped working. I wonder why...
Click to expand...

Link?
 
NekoFever said:
Anyone seen the anti-piracy protection in the new version of BeejiveIM? If it detects that a cracked version is running it continues the Office Space theming of its promotional materials by displaying a black screen with the "PC LOAD LETTER" error message before redirecting to a YouTube clip from Office Space about stealing.

The funny thing is that as soon as the update was released various iPhone forums are filled with people complaining that their copies of Beejive stopped working. I wonder why...
Click to expand...


ha ha! awesome.

good for devs checking for pirates. fuck them if they aren't willing to pay for an app.

as for new iphone hardware, I admittedly have a very poor imagination thinking what they could add... 32 GB, fwd facing camera for conferencing, more RAM and faster processor, better camera for taking video.

it's the exact same enhancements that always get thrown around. let's see if we get something surprising this summer.
 
I can't think of some other hardware addition that I'd really want in the phone, but I never really know what I want until it's put in front of me.

As I've said before, just a bump in capacity would probably not be enough of a reason.
 
New hardware is coming this year, and the early indications are that it is a more significant upgrade from the 3G last year. As has been mentioned in this thread before, the OS code lists the original iPhone as 1,1 hardware and the 3G as 1,2. There is code already in the OS, prior to 3.0 even, that refers to 2,1 hardware.

Speculation is we'll see faster processors (seems to be a lock considering the 2G Touch), better battery life, and larger storage capacities for sure. A better camera, with video is also speculated, and considering the reports today that there is an "upload video" option hidden in the 3.0 Beta, it seems likely that video will be in the new phone.

Apple and AT&T have to offer something to 2G iPhone owners who didn't upgrade last year. Remember, we were all eligible to upgrade to the 3G, and many did, because the first phone was unsubsidized. Everyone who jumped on the $199 pricing last year locked themselves into a new two year contract, and won't be eligible for the phone upgrade this year. That's why I waited, and I'm looking forward to a more significant upgrade. AT&T is going to want to lock those of us coming to the end of our contract into a new one, and Apple has a track record of releasing product refreshes in the iPod line once a year.

Bottom line: new phone in June/July, all indications are that it'll be a MUCH bigger upgrade than the 3G.
 
I don't care if I'm "eligible" for an upgrade or not. If the new phone comes out and it makes me wet I will be upgrading.

The man can't hold this down!
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
New hardware is coming this year, and the early indications are that it is a more significant upgrade from the 3G last year. As has been mentioned in this thread before, the OS code lists the original iPhone as 1,1 hardware and the 3G as 1,2. There is code already in the OS, prior to 3.0 even, that refers to 2,1 hardware.

Speculation is we'll see faster processors (seems to be a lock considering the 2G Touch), better battery life, and larger storage capacities for sure. A better camera, with video is also speculated, and considering the reports today that there is an "upload video" option hidden in the 3.0 Beta, it seems likely that video will be in the new phone.

Apple and AT&T have to offer something to 2G iPhone owners who didn't upgrade last year. Remember, we were all eligible to upgrade to the 3G, and many did, because the first phone was unsubsidized. Everyone who jumped on the $199 pricing last year locked themselves into a new two year contract, and won't be eligible for the phone upgrade this year. That's why I waited, and I'm looking forward to a more significant upgrade. AT&T is going to want to lock those of us coming to the end of our contract into a new one, and Apple has a track record of releasing product refreshes in the iPod line once a year.

Bottom line: new phone in June/July, all indications are that it'll be a MUCH bigger upgrade than the 3G.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will look any different at all, except for the matte finish on the back - but it'll be more beefy inside.
 
VOOK said:
I don't think it will look any different at all, except for the matte finish on the back - but it'll be more beefy inside.
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I don't think updating the hardware is advantageous to anyone.

Apps could start becoming incompatible with the older phones if they don't have the hardware, and you'll segregate your market into 2G/3G and uh, 4Gs.

Not quite sure how that would be received.
 
VOOK said:
I don't think it will look any different at all, except for the matte finish on the back - but it'll be more beefy inside.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think it'll look significantly different either, although it'll have some distinction to set it apart for sure. The Matte finish looked cool in those alleged photos.

RubxQub said:
I don't think updating the hardware is advantageous to anyone.

Apps could start becoming incompatible with the older phones if they don't have the hardware, and you'll segregate your market into 2G/3G and uh, 4Gs.

Not quite sure how that would be received.
Click to expand...

The OS will have no problems scaling as necessary. It's part of the reason they have the different hardware distinctions, and really there are some differences already in the iPhone/Touch line. It's really not a big deal, and as I said above, the indications are already falling into place that new hardware is on the way, and it's going to be much more significant than last year's upgrade.
 
I think you might be putting to much significance in Apple's version numbering. What more could they actually put in a new iPhone? A front facing camera?

I honestly can't think of much, and I'm pretty sure they won't change the form factor in anyway yet.
 
Worm_Buffet said:
I think you might be putting to much significance in Apple's version numbering. What more could they actually put in a new iPhone? A front facing camera?

I honestly can't think of much, and I'm pretty sure they won't change the form factor in anyway yet.
Click to expand...
They can upgrade the camera to a higher megapixel, bump the processor, give it more ram, better battery, and larger storage.

I agree it won't be revolutionary though. The only thing I would like from my phone is better battery life, but I always want that from all of my portables. And to be honest even when the juice starts to die I do have a car charger but as long as we are making requests...

And once Apple releases a new phone it will start the bitching by people who bought their iPhones back in 2007 when they find out some app doesn't work on theirs and are mad that Apple would keep improving their product.
 
Whatever happens, it won't be a major change like the addition of 3G. More of an incremental improvement.

If I can get a free/cheap upgrade I'd go for it, but otherwise I'll just see what happens when my contract runs out in January.
 
I wonder if they'd give a discount to 3g owners even though they're locked in until next year? If the upgrade is significant (including 32GB storage) I'd be very tempted, but if I have to pay upwards of $300, screw that. I'll continue to manage the space on the iPhone I have. I'm already pretty happy with this phone and am in no rush.

I've had 3g speeds for almost a year now. I'm getting MMS and copy/paste this summer. Anyone thinking that sitting out the year with a 2g was a good idea certainly won't think that waiting until our contracts expire next year is a bad one.
 
Malleymal said:
when will there be a camera on the front that lets us Ichat video conference with other people?
Click to expand...
I am guessing not for a long time. How often do people use video conference anyways? The technology has been around forever and yet I don't think it is used as often as people ever thought it would be.

I always find it be awkward and would rather just talk to them on the phone (with no video).
 
Does AT&T not have a hardware upgrade program or something?

I see talk of people who bought the iPhone 3G last year won't be able to upgrade this year, but if thats true it seems like a dumb thing for AT&T.

Rogers in Canada has a hardware upgrade program that lets you upgrade your phone as early as 1 year from your last upgrade.

edit: personally I never understood the appeal of video conferencing, let alone mobile video conferencing..sounds like one of those "neat" features I'd try out once but never use in practice.
 
Worm_Buffet said:
I think you might be putting to much significance in Apple's version numbering. What more could they actually put in a new iPhone? A front facing camera?

I honestly can't think of much, and I'm pretty sure they won't change the form factor in anyway yet.
Click to expand...

I already enumerated what is expected from the upgrade and said that I agree that it won't look significantly different. But if the step from the 2G to 3G was going 1,1 to 1,2 then going to 2,1 will most likely be fairly large, at least from an internal stand point, otherwise it would simply be 1,3 or something of that nature. This is not me reading too much into it. It's how Apple has worked with hardware in the past as well, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Regardless, we all know something new is coming, and it'll have some upgrades to it. And I tend to skip a generation or so anyway, I'll be ready for the upgrade when it comes having passed on the 3G. All I'm saying is that hidden stuff in the OS, like the discovery of the "Upload Video" option, give us some indications of what is in the works.
 
RubxQub said:
I don't think updating the hardware is advantageous to anyone.

Apps could start becoming incompatible with the older phones if they don't have the hardware, and you'll segregate your market into 2G/3G and uh, 4Gs.

Not quite sure how that would be received.
Click to expand...

Well they need to update it at some point this year to compete with the Palm Pre. For me at least, whether I get a Palm Pre or not hinges on the release of a updated iPhone.
 
Draff said:
Well they need to update it at some point this year to compete with the Palm Pre. For me at least, whether I get a Palm Pre or not hinges on the release of a updated iPhone.
Click to expand...
Same here.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
I already enumerated what is expected from the upgrade and said that I agree that it won't look significantly different. But if the step from the 2G to 3G was going 1,1 to 1,2 then going to 2,1 will most likely be fairly large, at least from an internal stand point, otherwise it would simply be 1,3 or something of that nature. This is not me reading too much into it. It's how Apple has worked with hardware in the past as well, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Regardless, we all know something new is coming, and it'll have some upgrades to it. And I tend to skip a generation or so anyway, I'll be ready for the upgrade when it comes having passed on the 3G. All I'm saying is that hidden stuff in the OS, like the discovery of the "Upload Video" option, give us some indications of what is in the works.
Click to expand...

I suppose it comes down to what you deem as 'significant' upgrades. I was thinking more in terms of functional additions. In that regard, the iPhone 3G only added GPS, which isn't a lot, but still more than what I expect from the next revision.

If there will indeed be video, it would be stingy of Apple not to grant it to iPhone 3G users as well and it would be inconsistent with their iPhone update policy so far. They had technical reasons to deny iPhone 2G owners MMS and A2DP, or did they?
 
bionic77 said:
I am guessing not for a long time. How often do people use video conference anyways? The technology has been around forever and yet I don't think it is used as often as people ever thought it would be.

I always find it be awkward and would rather just talk to them on the phone (with no video).
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. Video conferencing is always being pushed as some sort of next big thing, especially in business, but in the end nobody likes it because it is kind of creepy and invasive, and it seems like most people prefer regular phone calls. If I'm working from home, I don't want to have to wear pants!
 
To those who bought a the first iPhone, were you eligible for the discounted 3G last year? I know it's a two-year contract, but did AT&T let you extend your contract to upgrade?
 
AirBrian said:
To those who bought a the first iPhone, were you eligible for the discounted 3G last year? I know it's a two-year contract, but did AT&T let you extend your contract to upgrade?
Click to expand...

Yes. Since the first iPhone was unsubsidized, OG owners can upgrade at any time, although it obviously resets the 2 year contract.

I passed on the 3G myself, I'm waiting for 32GB.
 
Tobor said:
Yes. Since the first iPhone was unsubsidized, OG owners can upgrade at any time, although it obviously resets the 2 year contract.

I passed on the 3G myself, I'm waiting for 32GB.
Click to expand...
Ah, I forgot that the first iPhone wasn't subsidized, so that makes sense.

Well, here's hoping they give 3G buyers a break!
 
AirBrian said:
Ah, I forgot that the first iPhone wasn't subsidized, so that makes sense.

Well, here's hoping they give 3G buyers a break!
Click to expand...

They might because the iPhone is such a special case device for them, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I think it'll probably fall under their regular rules for buying phones now, and the rumors are flying that they're going to start offering the iPhone without contracts soon and higher prices, so who knows.
 
On AT&T you need to have a phone for at least a year before they sign you to another contract.

Unofficially if you threaten to leave AT&T they will cave. I did that myself to get the subsidized price on the iPhone. :D
 
Yeah that's my issue now. Late, but get an iPhone now that I can, or just suck it up and wait a bit longer... Here's to hoping things start leaking soon.
 
SnakeXs said:
Yeah that's my issue now. Late, but get an iPhone now that I can, or just suck it up and wait a bit longer... Here's to hoping things start leaking soon.
Click to expand...
I would wait. It should only be another 3 months (total guess) and I am expecting that your wait will be worth it in the end.

Even if it is something minimal like a storage bump and a slight speed increase, I would still rather wait 3 months and get the extra 8-16 gigs.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Bottom line: new phone in June/July, all indications are that it'll be a MUCH bigger upgrade than the 3G.
Click to expand...
I don't see how they could give anyone a "much BIGGER" upgrade than last year's. If they start trying to supercharge the thing with faster processors and more RAM, then the App/Game market gets compromised pretty quickly. Isn't a faster processor only going to compromise battery life as well?

They can give it a better camera or something, but I don't see how that would qualify as a more significant upgrade than 3G/GPS.
 
"Hey we added a better camera and some more RAM" doesn't strike me as much of an upgrade either. Faster data and navigation capability added a level of utility to the phone that you won't get with any of the CPU/RAM upgrades people are floating here. Do you really think the new phone will do "anything new", or will it just do the old stuff faster?
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Pretty easy. Do more than "hey we added 3G and GPS."

iPhone 3G didn't really do anything new, it was just much cheaper so people finally bought iPhones.
Click to expand...
Eh, the iPhone to me is more interesting because of the software rather than the hardware. That won't change in the next revision or the one after that.

Of course after a few revisions the people holding onto an older phone will be left around, but that is always true of technology. And have devs already maxed out the iPhone cpu and ram? It seems like they are still making some impressive looking games and apps and the limiting factor is still usually battery life and connection speeds.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Pretty easy. Do more than "hey we added 3G and GPS."
Click to expand...

Both were pretty huge, imo. 3g is essential to browsing anywhere outside my home. And that's even taking into account some of the restrictions they put on it (like no iTunes), or the way they've hamstrung GPS so far by artificially slowing down the advent of turn by turn apps.

Other than a significant hardware boost (which doesn't seem necessary), I don't see an increase in space or any of the other stuff floated around being a bigger deal.
 
border said:
"Hey we added a better camera and some more RAM" doesn't strike me as much of an upgrade either. Faster data and navigation capability added a level of utility to the phone that you won't get with any of the CPU/RAM upgrades people are floating here. Do you really think the new phone will do "anything new", or will it just do the old stuff faster?
Click to expand...

Faster processor and more RAM will speed up performance for sure, which would improve the overall experience in general. Faster networking is only part of the performance issue, and when you see the Pre or Android phones being able to render whole webpages without the checkerboard pattern that the iPhone has, you start to think it would be nice if the iPhone did the same. More RAM would help that. Rumors of a better battery will, at the very least, offset the increased processor speed, but you may end up with improved battery life as well.

Other things that would constitute fairly large updates to me include:

-Better camera, say 5 megapixel
-Flash for said camera
-Ability to shoot video, officially! (Yes, we know the current model can do this through JB)
-Improved screen
-Better antenna perhaps
-More storage of course

I'm sure others will have more suggestions.

Edit: Just came across this story over at Gizmodo. Seems the 3.0 software has reference to several new devices in it, including the iPhone 3,1 and iPod 3,1. They also call it a "significant" change when the hardware numbers change like this, and also mention that's when the number changes it's fairly important by Apple standards. They say the following: "when it changes, it indicates a a genuinely new product, not simply a bump in storage capacity (or even the mere addition of 3G)."
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Faster processor and more RAM will speed up performance for sure, which would improve the overall experience in general. Faster networking is only part of the performance issue, and when you see the Pre or Android phones being able to render whole webpages without the checkerboard pattern that the iPhone has, you start to think it would be nice if the iPhone did the same. More RAM would help that. Rumors of a better battery will, at the very least, offset the increased processor speed, but you may end up with improved battery life as well.

Other things that would constitute fairly large updates to me include:

-Better camera, say 5 megapixel
-Flash for said camera
-Ability to shoot video, officially! (Yes, we know the current model can do this through JB)
-Improved screen
-Better antenna perhaps

I'm sure others will have more suggestions.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling the 2,1 is mostly internal upgrades that don't have huge benefits for the end user now, but pays dividends as the OS scales up. It may be the beginning of the next level of processor power. OS 4.0 or 5.0 may not work at all for the first two, but still work or this one, kind of thing.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
New hardware is coming this year, and the early indications are that it is a more significant upgrade from the 3G last year. As has been mentioned in this thread before, the OS code lists the original iPhone as 1,1 hardware and the 3G as 1,2. There is code already in the OS, prior to 3.0 even, that refers to 2,1 hardware.
Click to expand...
Dude, I know you're an Apple enthusiast and that's cool. (I love my iPhone) But you're a broken record on this point. Going forward could you spice up the language or something when you put the record on.
 
reggieandTFE said:
Dude, I know you're an Apple enthusiast and that's cool. (I love my iPhone) But you're a broken record on this point. Going forward could you spice up the language or something when you put the record on.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, a 3,1 iPhone/iPod have now been spotted in the beta OS.
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Pretty easy. Do more than "hey we added 3G and GPS."

iPhone 3G didn't really do anything new, it was just much cheaper so people finally bought iPhones.
Click to expand...

What is it really missing hardware wise though?
 
All that is needed to get me and many others to upgrade to a new iPhone:
iChat AV with frontfacing camera.

What other hardware additions would be nice:

More robust camera- Higher MP, flash, and autofocus
Faster processor, more powerful GPU
Louder ringtones and speaker volume
802.11N wireless
Different finish (matte or aluminum)

At this point, I definitely wouldnt expect a higher resolution display.
 
Slurpy said:
All that is needed to get me and many others to upgrade to a new iPhone:
iChat AV with frontfacing camera.

What other hardware additions would be nice:

More robust camera- Higher MP, flash, and autofocus
Faster processor, more powerful GPU
Louder ringtones and speaker volume
802.11N wireless
Different finish (matte or aluminum)

At this point, I definitely wouldnt expect a higher resolution display.
Click to expand...

More memory (RAM) would hopefully mean less crashes, as I understand a lot of the crashes are the memory filling up.

I think an OLED screen would be nice, but that doesn't make complete sense yet. I'm actually very happy with it at the moment- I'd just like a more robust user experience (not that it's bad now, it's great! I just want better - less lag).
 
I have really minor complains with the iPhone hardware as it is now. A video chat system is probably the biggest thing I can think of - and even that would be more of a novelty then anything else. Other then that the system does everything I want.
 
Whenever I think of what else i would want from an iPhone (or any smartphone) i always end up thinking about software stuff.

The stuff shown at the OS 3.0 event will probably still be way more interesting than whatever hardware they show in the summer.
 
Oni Jazar said:
I have really minor complains with the iPhone hardware as it is now. A video chat system is probably the biggest thing I can think of - and even that would be more of a novelty then anything else. Other then that the system does everything I want.
Click to expand...
Other than minor upgrades what else can they really add to cell phones at this point?

You can always improve the camera, processor, storage space, etc. but what else can you add at this point? It seems as if everything else is novelty at this point. Like adding 2 more cameras and a screen for the back of the phone, etc.

As I and a bunch of other posters have noted it is all about the software at this point. And luckily Apple still appears to be at the forefront at this point and hopefully they continue to improve things.
 
Chicago Gaffers, have you been having 3G issues for the last month? Safari rarely loads on 3G, and if it does, it's for maybe 30 seconds.
 
I think the next iPhone model will be a minor upgrade if it's coming in the next couple months. Probably adding a 32GB model. Maybe some cosmetic changes.

The next truly significant upgrade will probably bring an OLED screen. There are rumors that LG has been tapped to provide it, and it may even come in time for the holidays. OLED, plus an improved battery, would do a lot to improve usage times, and that only makes the platform more appealing to consumers. I think these simple, really practical improvements to the platform will come way before any new, more-exciting flashy features (like new cameras) are added.
 
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