iPhone 4 Rumors Rumble 119
padraic_93 writes "Information has become available which reveals development is underway for the new iPhone 4, as well as suggestions of features and Apple's plans for the phone.
A report on PinchMedia, which made repeated use of the term 'iPhone 4,' was cited on the website MacRumors, though the website admitted that such reports can often be forged. The report also made allusions to a 'Corporate Event' planned for June 28th — July 2nd 2010, which have been taken as referring to the next WWDC."
A related rumor holds that Apple has ordered 40-45 million 5-megapixel cameras, which might hint at new functionality.
I wouldn't get it... (Score:1, Informative)
Slashdot Protip (Score:4, Informative)
As much as you might hate Apple, it's still a technology company and Slashdot has an entire SECTION devoted to it. If you don't like it, don't have it on your index.
Stop whinging.
Re:Who Cares? (Score:3, Informative)
Actually to be more correct it would be posting a rumor of a new recipe. Say, posting hushed rumblings of a new idea for Upside Down Flint Rubble Bubble Cake...
It's obligatory... (Score:2, Informative)
Part of The Apple Product Cycle. [misterbg.org]
Slashdot is one of those "Mac Internet forums" described therein. Or do you think that it is a coincidence that Slashdot's sections are:
* Main
* Apple
* AskSlashdot
* Book Reviews
* Developers
* Games
* Hardware
* IT
* Idle
* Index
* Interviews
* Linux
* Mobile
* Politics
* Science
* Technology
* YRO
Linux? HA!
Linux is a topic here only to attract more M$ haters.
When was the last time we had a story about Linus or RMS sneezing? See what I mean? Exactly!
Re:It's obligatory... (Score:5, Informative)
Early 2000s, they're sprinkled here and there.
Although 1998 was a bumper year, a ton of Linus stories.
Linus has a kid [slashdot.org]
Linus talking about grandpa [slashdot.org]
Linus on Git [slashdot.org]
Linus Sightings [slashdot.org]
Linus moves to Moscow, Linus moves to Oregon, Linus on 2.4, Linus on 2.6, Linus a Fermilab, Linus shows up in * magazine, Linus suffers Ego-bump, * interviews Linus.
Same with RMS. RMS turns 50, RMS interviewed by *, etc
Slashdot is also user driven. If you don't write the fodder stories, they can't ever get approved. (I'm not saying which way it is either way).
Re:Breaking News! (Score:3, Informative)
I have in inside scoop... After $ProductName version @VersionNumber there just may be an $ProductName version @VersionNumber+1 with stuff that isn't in $ProductName version @VersionNumber. As well the next generation of $ProductName will have even newer features and probably will run faster and do more then the old version.
Re:5 Megapixel camera?!? Why this thing again? (Score:5, Informative)
1 good megapixel is better than 8 crap ones
Re:5 Megapixel camera?!? Why this thing again? (Score:5, Informative)
"With mainstream phones going high with 12+MP en HD video cameras, frankly the 5MB I heard about the new phone are ludicrously pathetic."
Other way around, actually. A 12 MP (or even a 5 MP) sensor in a cell phone is a ludicrously pathetic marketing trick. As a practical matter, a typical cell phone lens is going to give you about 2 MP. Pairing that with a high resolution sensor just means you're measuring the blur more accurately, and wasting storage and processing capacity. Note - there ARE some (rare) cell phones that use bigger lenses, and those might actually get 3 or 4 MP, but definitely not 12.
You can measure the MTF yourself if you want. Last time I had this argument with somebody he actually posted a picture from his 5 MP cell phone camera and we compared with an appropriately blurred version from my 6 MP SLR. Guess what? His picture had an effective resolution of about 2 MP (and horrible noise). Which brings up another point - small lenses will always give you poor low light performance, but you make it much, much worse by trying to capture an crazy number of pixels to boot.
The cell phone appears to be the last bastion of the megapixel myth. Camera manufacturers have started giving up that marketing tactic, with newer cameras going to less resolution and emphasizing noise performance. If the rumors are true, it's actually too bad Apple has given into this ploy... although it's probably hard to source lower resolution sensors now.
Re:Cameras .. (Score:3, Informative)
My understanding is that's where the wifi antenna lives so that it can get reception despite the rest of the back being metallic.
Re:5 Megapixel camera?!? Why this thing again? (Score:3, Informative)
Given the lenses that most of these camera phones use, typically 1 megapixel is more than enough. These cameras are Diffraction LImited Systems [wikipedia.org] and thus throwing more pixels at it in the same size solves nothing.
To put it in simple language, the resolution limit of the camera is due to the diameter of the lens, not the number of pixels on the sensor. This is part of the reason why Canon went from the 14Megapixel sensor on the G10 to an 11 megapixel sensor on the G11. The G10 was diffraction limited, while the G11 roughly matched between the lens system and sensor. Thus, the two will produce pictures with equivalent resolution, despite one having fewer pixels than the other.
Re:5 Megapixel camera?!? Why this thing again? (Score:3, Informative)
If you can figure out how to get a raw image out of a camera phone then be my guest. They're usually not accessible. If anything, the sharpening steps that are applied act to cover up the low acquired resolution.
Camera manufacturers get away with it because almost nobody ever looks at their phone photos at anything close to full resolution. You can easily see the softness in a camera phone shot compared one from a decent camera, comparing full screen on a notebook. That's around 1.3 MP. Blown up full screen on a 1080P high def TV is still only a touch over 2 MP.
So when a camera phone can show full quality, no visible softness on a 1080p monitor then maybe it will be time to go to more than 2 MP.
Re:5 Megapixel camera?!? Why this thing again? (Score:4, Informative)
Had to post all that anonymously, hey?
First off, I'm talking about resolution. I thought I made that clear. Resolution is the ability to distinguish (to resolve) two objects spaced a particular distance apart. I am NOT talking about image quality.
Now, it is quite possible your 12 MP cell phone camera produces visually higher quality images than other cell cameras, or even point and shoot cameras. That does NOT mean it is producing 12 MP worth of resolution, or anything like it.
A DSLR with a very good lens (or a medium/large format with a very good lens) IS the correct item to compare with. We're looking for the best gold standard possible. Again, we are comparing only resolving power. If your 12 MP sensor is not matched with a lens that is capable of providing a sufficiently sharp image then your sensor is being wasted. Again, it might be producing a very nice image, but an image that does not have 12 MP of resolving power.
Have you looked at your pictures zoomed in sufficiently so that you're actually seeing one image pixel per pixel on your screen?
Now, looking at the Pixon 12, it turns out it DOES NOT have a typical cell phone camera lens. That lens has an area that is many times what most cell phones have, and looks like it might even be made out of glass (instead of plastic). The thing even looks like it has multiple lens elements, and might even zoom! Of COURSE that's going to look good compared to any typical cell camera, and against point and shoots too. That IS a point and shoot lens. Again, notice in my post how I said "typical cell phone lens." Also note that we're discussing the iPhone, which has a typical cell phone lens, and is not going to be putting one of those monsters on.
I can see why you posted as an AC. Your post really sounds like you're trying to justify your purchase. Well, to make you feel better, that thing might actually justify a 4-5 MP sensor, far above what a typical cell camera does, and better than most point and shoots. If you take a picture of a standard test chart under standard conditions and post it, we can tell you.
Next time take a more careful read through the post you're replying to, try to understand the actual issue at hand, and remember to keep your temper under control.