Next Apple iPhone To Have a 4 Inch Display? 330
dkd903 writes "According to reports from Macotakara, Hitachi Displays Ltd and Sony Mobile Display Corporation has started shipping the screens for the iPad 3 and a 4-inch LCD screen for an unnamed iOS device. It would be fairly safe to assume that the 4-inch display will be for the next iPhone – the iPhone 5."
First Post (Score:5, Funny)
I have something 4 inches to show you...
So the daily Jobs bowel movement posts keep comin' (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought we were done with those, but, /. post.
every rumor,
every idiosyncracy,
every non-newsworthy, trivial, bieberite thing about it,
is a front page
The integrity of the process (yeah, I know, have I read /. lately) is in jeopardy. Please stop, before Netcraft gets involved.
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Here We Go.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Can we just agree that Apple hardware articles are flamebait by default, especially the ones about the mere possibility of new Apple hardware, and stop frickin posting them?
Plenty of the more popular things posted on this site are polarizing. Look at some of the things that aren't polarizing, how many comments they get, and contrast with the number of comments here. I'd argue it'd be irrational to not run stories that *always* get a large number of comments.
I love the theoretical physics posts, for instance, but they usually average 30-50 comments. This Apple post, though, might run 100 comments (or more) and it's just on screen size!
If it's not AMOLED it'll be polarizing (Score:5, Funny)
Look at some of the things that aren't polarizing
Except it's impossible to have an article about a new device with an LCD panel without it being polarizing, because polarizing is how LCDs work. In order for it not to be polarizing, it'd have to be AMOLED or something.
Re:If it's not AMOLED it'll be polarizing (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately, AMOLED devices require polarized filter to reduce reflection from the aluminium backplate behind the AMOLED layer. So they are polarizing too (easy to check - just rotate AMOLED-based phone while wearing polaroid glasses).
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There is. It might be that your wife's glasses are not really polaroids (my prescription glasses definitely are) and I can see my Galaxy S screen changing brightness as I rotate it. All OLED screens use polarizing filter to reduce glare.
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Quantity does not equal quality.
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Informative)
Quantity does not equal quality.
But quantity DOES equal ad revenue, and that's what it's all about.
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Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Insightful)
That's the sort of attitude that leads to news stations reporting meaningless scandals and outright fabrications, instead of real news. It's like offering a recovering alcoholic a beer. On some level they may want it, but it's bad for them and you'd be an ass to do so.
If you just want to rack up a bunch of comments, make Slashdot into a 24/7 "discussion" board for global warming and religion. That might rake in the advertising dollars in the short term, but the site would suck.
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...a 24/7 "discussion" board for global warming and religion...
Fox News beat you to it...
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Can we just agree that Apple hardware articles are flamebait by default, especially the ones about the mere possibility of new Apple hardware, and stop frickin posting them?
Can we just agree that a huge number of articles on Slashdot, period, are flamebait by default? Anything that mentions {Apple,Microsoft,the Linux community,BSD} will probably get the usual pile of shouting from both sides, anything that mentions global warming will probably get the usual pile of shouting from both sides, anything about Gummint {forcing people to do XXX, nudging people to do XXX, refusing to give money to people who don't do XXX, encouraging people to do XXX} will probably get the usual pile of shouting from both sides, anything about the RIAA/MPAA will probably get the usual pile of shouting (mostly against the RIAA/MPAA in this case),, etc., etc., etc..
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Your "flamebait" is my "topical", "interesting" and "discussion-worthy".
It is a sad world-view that sees any topic that engenders a lot of comments, even argument as necessarily "flamebait".
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:5, Funny)
I must have missed the article about the government forcing/nudging/encouraging people to do triple-X, and refusing to give money to people who don't. Interesting.
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Can we just agree that Apple hardware articles are flamebait by default, especially the ones about the mere possibility of new Apple hardware, and stop frickin posting them?
Agreed. We all know an Apple product isn't official until someone "unintentionally" leaves one in a bar.
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Here We Go.... (Score:4, Funny)
iPhone 5? (Score:3, Informative)
Why do people keep referring to the next iPhone as the iPhone 5? Let's count together shall we?
Original iPhone: iPhone 1
iPhone 3G: iPhone 2
iPhone 3GS: iPhone 3
iPhone 4: iPhone 4
iPhone 4S: iPhone 5
Next iPhone: iPhone 6
Now, if Apple decides to call the next iPhone the iPhone 5, then I'll gladly eat my words, but until then, c'mon now.
!iPhone5 (Score:2)
Isn't is obvious? The 5" display is for the MacBook Mini.
Re:iPhone 5? (Score:4, Informative)
Lets try again, shall we?
Original iPhone: iPhone 1,1
iPhone 3G: iPhone 2,1
iPhone 3GS: iPhone 2,2
iPhone 4: iPhone 3,1 (its really the 3!)
iPhone 4S: iPhone 3,2
iPhone 5: iPhone 4,1 ??
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Lets try again, shall we?
Original iPhone: iPhone 1,1
iPhone 3G: iPhone 2,1
iPhone 3GS: iPhone 2,2
iPhone 4: iPhone 3,1 (its really the 3!)
If they had called it iPhone 3, there would have been a serious case of heads asploding.
Re:iPhone 5? (Score:5, Informative)
The iPhone 4S' identification string reads "iPhone4,1" [imgur.com].
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Nt major versions 3.1, 3.5, 4.0, 2000, XP, vista, 7.
7 is release 7.
Simple if you ain't a dumb kid.
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iPhone 4S: iPhone 5 Next iPhone: iPhone 6
How about Next iPhone: iPhone 4GS; for 4G support?
*** Technically the current latest iPhone ought to have been the iPhone 4G, and the iPhone 4GS should have followed it
Then next iPhone after the next one; iPhone 6.
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I'm fine with the current design - I stuck with my iPhone 4 since the upgrade wasn't compelling (dual core, yeah it's a bit faster, but the big upgrade is an app they pulled from the app store and disabled, then bundled with the phone and called it a 4S? Please). I like the current design of the 4/4S better than the 3G/3GS but I want a larger screen. The way I see it, my iPhone 4 is just fine for now. I do wish it had 64GB of storage, but I'll continue to manage.
I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Insightful)
I like a phone I can use with one hand easily. This whole post was typed with my right hand only, on my iPhone 4.
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Funny)
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This whole post was typed with my right hand only, on my iPhone 4.
So you're left handed then? 8)
Down-modded?!?
Man, left-handed people really can't take a joke, I guess. 8^)
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Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Interesting)
I previously owned a Droid X, hence my reference to the disadvantage of a screen the size of a toaster.
I like my handheld portable devices to be handheld. I'm a 6' guy with fairly large hands, great for guitar, bass, and piano. I also have good eyesight, so I don't need a large screen, just high pixel density. /shrug
It'd be entertaining to see an iPhone "Pro" with a bigger screen, and an iPhone "Mini" that's usable. ;)
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Yeah but who actually buys those small size condoms? I swear they make them just so guys can feel good knowing that there are people smaller than them out there, even if the shelf is always fully stocked and no-one ever seems to buy them...
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I think it's more likely that there are more people for whom the 3.5" is the better size. Unless they're planning on having two screen size options for the next iPhone. No idea how likely that is. Apple certainly aren't going to make two sizes unless there they think it's more important than a marketing advantage, which seems to be the main reason some manufacturers are making larger phones -- to "differentiate" themselves", rather than because they spent more effort on R&D than Apple.
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Insightful)
that's interesting because there's a bit of truth in it.
it could be argued that Apple can't refine it's interfaces beyond a certain point because users adapt to Apple while Apple adapts to it's users.
perhaps we need competing products so Apple can watch people's complaints about their competitor's interfaces in order to get some fresh ideas for their own, because feedback about their own devices would be tainted by sycophant users who say "doubleplusgood" to everything they buy.
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not true at all. If Apple makes a screen that makes their device unusable to me, I will a.) not buy it and b.) move to another device that IS usable. Why do you start out presuming that most people inconvenience themselves by using Apple products? Let the market speak for itself. If I find the device unwieldy, I'll skip it and buy one that isn't. Presuming I even need to replace this sucker anytime soon.
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huhuh.. you know what they say, big hands, big...uh thingies..
gloves?
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I agree. I have an iPhone 4 and I really like the screen on it. I remember when the first Evo 4G came out and one of my coworkers got it on launch day. He was really happy with it, but all I could think was "That's one really big phone". The 4.3" screen just made the thing humungous. I like how well the iPhone slips in my pocket.
The way Apple works, if they did this they would drop the 3.5" model and I wouldn't have a choice if I wanted to stay in the iPhone line.
Personally, I think this is just more "I m
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Here is where Steve Jobs' design philosophies fall down. We are not talking about the aesthetics of the device, we are discussing how the dimensions of the phone match the user. Hand size, how well the eyes work, etc.. One size does not fit all.
As has been mentioned by others, I expect the same people who would defend the 3.5" screen as the "right" size will defend a
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Here is where Steve Jobs' design philosophies fall down. We are not talking about the aesthetics of the device, we are discussing how the dimensions of the phone match the user. Hand size, how well the eyes work, etc.. One size does not fit all.
What design philosophies are you talking about? You seem to be assuming one about having a single screen size. But iPod came in a variety of screen sizes, as of course do Macs.
The do indeed believe in one handed operation, and if that is made easier for a significant number of people with a 4" they'd consider it.
I doubt Apple will think a 4" worthwhile, but if they did there's nothing in their history to indicate that would mean dropping the 3.5".
*IF* the report of Apple buying 4" screens is true, and that'
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iPods with different screen sizes? You mean the NON-touchscreen devices? All iPod touches have 3.5" screens. Macs with different sizes? Since when were Macs hand-held devices? Not good examples.
T
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You seem to be assuming one about having a single screen size. But iPod came in a variety of screen sizes, as of course do Macs.
The pre-touch ipods didn't have the same app ecosystem the touch ones do so changing the resolution didn't really affect anyone but Apple in terms of software. And on Macs (or PCs in general) you don't generally target fixed resolutions anyway. If they start having iphones with different screen sizes then you have the issues of targeting multiple resolutions because i would think they're highly unlikely to double the already high resolution just to go from 3.5" to ~4". Alternatively they could reduce the pp
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As an iPhone developer, I agree absolutely about the reasons why they probably won't do it. I guess what I was trying to say was that that it's a design choice, not a design principle.
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Interesting)
There's a certain amount of truth in this. People, and their fingers, come in different sizes, different visual acuities. Some are more graceful than others. Some have purses to carry their phones in, some shirt pockets, some cargo pockets. Some prefer a physical keyboard, others a choice of onscreen keyboards. Some need a cheaper phone to suit their wallet, some more battery life, some more storage, some the slimmest possible device. In Android serving these needs is called "choice." On other platforms it's called "fragmentation" and is held to diminish the main.
The Jobsian vision is to make the one best phone they can, and continue to make several historical revisions. This increases economies of scale and hence margins. It simplifies developer needs and update complexity so that one app works on all phones and updates can be swift and sure. It gives a great experience if it suits your needs, and the design is engineered toward a human curve that should fit most. Because it delivers a premium experience for the people it's engineered for they can charge a premium price for it. But if your needs diverge from this solid design that suits most: too bad.
I wouldn't say Jobs' design philosophies are falling down here. By all reports these devices serve so many people so well that customer satisfaction is as high as any product gets, for all products, for all time. Apparently the engineers are masters of the standard deviation and excel at serving huge numbers of people with what they want, even before the people themselves know what that is. And hence the devices are as profitable as consumer products get and then 6x times that. So much so that they gather an estimated two thirds of the profits in the smartphone trade with something like 20 percent of sales. I would call that a win both for Apple and for their well-served customers.
But if it's not for you, it's not. Apparently there are other companies eager to serve the outliers on the curve like you and me. So many in fact that you can find a phone to suit any conceivable assortment of needs that aren't contradictory. These phones can't run the proprietary iOS, but they do run software deemed by many to be close enough in utility and with a grand assortment of applications. In their eagerness to please these phone vendors get bold and try seriously crazy things: pico projectors, 5" screens, detachable keyboards, gamepads for keyboards, phones that dock to a tablet or smartbook, HDMI 1080p outputs, all kinds of stuff. Some of these extreme solutions become niche markets that don't sell many units - on some of them the manufacturer loses money. In general they're not as profitable as iPhone, but it beats earning $10 on a $200 laptop, or $3 on a BluRay player - and it's honest work.
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It gets even worse as far as rumors go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzsBwnv_dAg [youtube.com]
I would love a phone with those features. But I don't believe anything in that concept video will actually turn up on the new iPhone.
I still have a 3gs, and only skipped the 4 for recent budget changes. The 4s doesn't seem like a great step up from the 4, if I had to buy now.
But since my phones battery is still going strong, I'll hold off until at least the 5 is out either way.
If this one is true about the 4" screen, I might en
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That video is photoshopped. You can tell by the pixels. ;)
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Funny)
They would also advertise a new iPhone with a 4 inch screen as if it was the first phone ever to have a screen bigger than that of the current iPhone.
Re:I kinda hope not. (Score:5, Informative)
5" is too big, the bottom end of a tablet size. 4 - 4.2" is about the sweet spot for a touchscreen cell phone. 3.5" is about the bare minimum an adult male can manipulate. I have a 4" screen (seems to be about standard for android phones) and using a friend's iPhone feels very cramped in comparison, especially for things like reading text more than a paragraph long. 4" is about the bare minimum for extended reading.
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apparently iphone 4S doesn't bring in enough hits (Score:3, Insightful)
God, we've been talking about the iphone 5 every week for over a year now. I know blogs are desperate for page views, but this is getting old.
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Yep. I look forward to the front page stories about new alleged rumoured possible screen sizes for HTC, Nokia, Sony etc... oh wait, those won't get published. Because they're irrelevant and boring. Like this story.
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Yes, but at least we were informed of a new release of Linux Mint!
Oh, and that Firefox added another integer to their hourly release cycle!
There are going to be lots of stories that don't interest people on an news aggregation and discussion site.
As I keep telling my wife... (Score:5, Funny)
Four inches should be enough for anyone.
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Four inches should be enough for anyone.
Unless you're holding it wrong.
Re:As I keep telling my wife... (Score:5, Funny)
Remind me not to accept "facetime" requests from you.
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iPod (Score:2, Redundant)
A new iPod? Don't the current iPods run iOS as well?
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Didn't Samsung or HTC patent 4 inch screens? (Score:2, Informative)
Couldn't resist...
Didnt' this get released last month? (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention the rumour is that the screen is for a _NEW_ iOS device. If you're going to rumour-monger, at least get the rumours right...
Garbage like that is what gives good Apple fanbois like me a bad name...
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but, seriously, we're already posting articles about the iPhone 5? Really? It's literally a year away and we're already discussing it?
How long do you think it takes to design and build a new device? If Apple are building a new device to be sold next year (if it's the next iPhone and they fall back to their original schedule it's 7-8 months away) then the time when they would be beginning to order the components is now. Whether these rumors have any substance is another matter though, if they are going to a 4" iphone display that leaves questions about what the resolution would be.
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"... screen is for a _NEW_ iOS device..."
So you are saying that the iphone 5 is not a new IOS device? really?
"... If you're going to rumour-monger, at least get the rumours right..."
So you are admitting that you work for Apple, and have just given out forbidden information?
Because unless you actually work for Apple, and are privy to their iphone5 plans, you are just as clueless as everybody else as to Apple's design plans for the iphone.
"I'm a massive Apple fanboi and proud to admit it"
I should have stopped
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It's this or the other thing that's a year away: the US presidential election.
Choose your poison.
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I'm hearing May, which is like 6 months - not "literally a year".
He was using "literally" in the figurative sense.
bigger display means a bigger... (Score:5, Interesting)
I tend to agree with John Gruber of Daring Fireball [daringfireball.net] that all of these rumors of larger screen iPhones are just bullshit, except for one detail: a larger screen would mean a larger phone body, which would allow for a larger battery, and would give even longer battery life. Battery life is the name of the game in mobile devices, and the larger display would give Apple an opportunity to get an additional leg up on their competition. It would also be helpful to have more battery capacity if they were upgrading the iPhone to 4G, which seems to need a lot more power.
While I tend to find Gruber's arguments about maintaining the dimensions of the UI by maintaining the dimensions and resolution of the display convincing, the change in dimensions of the iPhone interface going from a 3.5" to a 4" screen doesn't seem to be much of a concern. The greater concern is that the 4" screen is too large for many people to comfortably access the full screen with their thumb while holding the phone in the same hand (though that could be alleviated by narrowing the bezel around the screen).
So, while I'd love to bet against the rumor mongers clamoring for a 4" display on the next iPhone, I think that it might actually happen. A 4G phone will need a bigger battery, and I think Apple would rather make the phone face larger, than make the phone thicker, and that make a 4" display an easy sell.
IGZO doesn't sound very impressive to me (Score:5, Interesting)
""The IGZO technology is perfect in that it offers near-OLED power consumption while having a lower cost and thinness that is only 25% greater than OLED, based on our checks," said Jeffries analyst Peter Misek."
So let me get this right. It's 25% thicker than OLED and uses MORE power, but it costs less to make. On the face of it, that doesn't seem like a very Appley component choice. On the other hand, getting high quality (Super) AMOLED screens means dealing with Samsung, something which Apple doesn't seem to want to do at the moment for silly grudge purposes. So the question becomes, "Does Apple want to sacrifice product quality in exchange for a small savings and sticking it to Samsung?"
If Steve Jobs were still around, I'd say "Yes."--he had a well noted penchant for carrying a grudge to extremes. I'd like a bigger screen as much, or more than the next guy, but I'm not 100% sure how plausible this whole story seems to me in a post-Steve Apple era. On the other, other hand, it might have more to do with the fact that Samsung is too big to bully, and Apple likes to have total control over it's supply chains.
While we're speculating (Score:2)
Are you sure it's for a phone?
Maybe Apple is planning an iPad Mini ? Or say a "book style" unit with 2 separate 4" display panels, intended for use as an e-reader.
In any case, with a display larger than the iPhone, but without the iPad 2's bulkiness.
I surely hope not! (Score:2)
I like that the iPhone display is smaller than the gigantic Android displays. My hands are not the biggest and I can use the iPhone with one hand. No longer if the screen is getting significantly bigger.
I don't think so. (Score:4, Insightful)
I have tiny hands, seriously small. (Score:3, Insightful)
and I still switched to Android partially because of the availablility of 4.3" screens, they are SO much better.
Yes yes I know pixel resolution blah, however they are still quite competent screens. Infact I'll go as far as to say, the reason people think the iphone 4 screen is so good (it is) is heightened due to the 3G and 3GS being so bad.
No seriously, plug the specs in to a calculator, the 3G/S screen is AWFUL.
I have 800x480 on my 4.3" screen and yes the iphone looks better at fine stuff but mine still looks fantastic and it's big, nice and big. If I was a public transport user, this is actually an acceptable size to catch simpsons or southpark etc on in the morning on my phone.
While I'm at it,........ the iphone has only ONE button, all the other buttons MUST be drawn on the damn screen. Options, back, etc - all on the main screen. You might be used to it but I've trained myself off it now, I think the one button philosophy is an utter joke. 4 buttons is not unmanagable in the slightest. This frees up even MORE real estate - and it's consistent (hello apple!) because I can find my options (menu) button in the same location /EVERY/ time.
Best technical decision I've made in years. Iphone 3 -> 3GS -> 4 -> 4.3" Android phone, never, ever going back. â(TM)¥
Re:Won't sell. (Score:5, Insightful)
except... if the next one is 4", then that would make the "current iScreen" 4", so they'll be happy. Don't you know how Apple works?
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I still have no idea why people want a 4" screen (size) as opposed to screen resolution. Isn't the whole beauty of retina display because of the high screen resolution?
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Re:It would be dumb to replace the smaller one (Score:5, Insightful)
The headline should really read: "Rumour that next-gen iPhone may have incrementally larger display, similar to competing devices already doing well on the market". Not exactly a big deal, here.
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As others have noted, we're talking some really small pockets here if you can just barely fit an iPhone there. I carry a 4.3" phone (Galaxy S2) in my jeans pocket pretty much daily, and there's plenty of room left there.
From this experience, as well as past one with iPhone 4 and Nexus One, I have concluded that screen size doesn't really matter for pocketability, so long as it's below 5" or so. What matters more is thickness (obviously) and weight (heavier phone pulls the pocket down more - ironically, it m
Re:It would be dumb to replace the smaller one (Score:5, Funny)
GP is obviously referring to his excessively tight hipster jeans.
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It almost sounds more like a pocket sized iPad
They should change the name, then. Maybe something more evocative of being pocket sized... Like iPod. Yeah, that'll get 'em lined up. Oh, but it's got a touch screen, too. Have to work that into the name, too, to make sure they know this isn't their un-hip older brother's iPod. We need to ask Marketing what to call it.
iNtroducing: The iPod Fondle!
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He's hardly dead and already they start meddling with the _absolute truths_ according to the Messiah.
Happens to every religion.
Well you're modded to oblivion already (Score:2)
But the answers are "quad core, SDHC, HDMI 1080p, porn apps, Flash, keyboard, kickstand, smartbook dock, Tegra 3" and of course the golden "choice of form factors and prices".
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My kids get a big kick out of doing YouTube and Angry Birds on the big screen. Now and then I get a customer with an HDTV in the conference room I can do a slide presentation on or refer to PDF documents with, from my phone. It only takes one million-dollar deal to make it worthwhile and then some for my company, my smartphone and me, so today we're money ahead. I bring the laptop and projector anyway because I'm a boy scout and believe in being prepared - but if it's there I use it. Believe it or not h
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You're confused. You're comparing a phone model with an OS.
iPhone is the most popular smartphone.
iOS ships on more devices than Android.
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Linux is a computer, right? ;)
You might want to check your terminology before dispensing statistics.
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Ah, so now it's the quantity = better side of the coin, now that we're not comparing Windows to Linux installs ;)
I kid, I kid.
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You can buy a capacitive stylus and it will work just fine if all you want it for is *note taking*. The only reason you need true pressure sensitivity is for art purposes--where you can control the thickness of a line, for instance, by how hard you press. There are any number of companies who are currently extremely eager to sell you a stylus for an iPad or iPad 2--just look for them and you'll find them.
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The only reason you need true pressure sensitivity is for art purposes--where you can control the thickness of a line, for instance, by how hard you press.
You say that as if it's a smaller market than basic written note taking.
You're also not thinking about all the potential uses developers will find for such functionality. One off the top of my head would be to press harder to write in bold -- much quicker and more intuitive than toggling the bold button at the edge of the screen.
Re:Hitachi Makes a Touch Screen That's Pressure Se (Score:5, Interesting)
The iPad display is already capable of pressure sensitivity. Ten-one design/makers of Pogo sketch showed off a demo of using pressure sensitivity for sketching and "palm rejection" back in 2010.
The problem is apparently iPad app developer's aren't allowed to access pressure sensitivity information, because no interface has been exposed by the iOS official APIs [tenonedesign.com].
Until Apple chooses to include it in the API, no 3rd party apps will be able to leverage the functionality, because it would require using 'private frameworks' which is against Apple's rules that app store applications must follow for approval by Apple.
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Look on Ebay for a Newton, sounds right up your alley!
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It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. In multitasking, if you see a task manager... they blew it.
I doubt it highly.
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Yes, a stylus.
Are you telling us that people here in the 21st centurey should not be expected to rise above finger painting? For note-taking? We're not all characters from Idiocracy, thanks very much.
Business knows that it needs the stylus to make their fancy new i-devices useful, and all the big manufacturers are all stepping up to provide.
Jobs is dead, so now the world can undergo some much needed cult de-programming and actually 'think different' for real.
Re:4 inch is a piker...try the (Score:5, Interesting)
I suppose anytime you want to write something in your own handwriting or create some kind of art you do it by fingerpainting. After all, big fat sausage fingers are all you really need, right? Of course if you're like me, you get tired of washing paint off your fingers all day long and listening to bank tellers complain that they can't read the amount on your checks. That's why some crazy people are of the opinion that perhaps there are occasions when fingers aren't ideally suited to all the sorts of tasks you might want to perform on a piece of paper and/or a hand-held computing device based on a paper metaphor.
Old devices had styli because the screens were resistive and needed pressure to register touches. Since pressure is a function of force per area, a smaller area (tip of the stylus vs tip of the finger) needs less force applied in order to register touches. It was a necessity that capacitive screens did away with by making fingertips practical.
But just because they are no longer a necessity, doesn't mean they aren't actually still useful for some tasks. If you want to do artwork and or handwriting on a tablet, a stylus is still the best way to go. Just because a screen is capacitive like your iOS devices screen doesn't mean you can't use a stylus if and when it's the right tool for the job--you just need a capacitive stylus.
If you weren't of a mind to do any handwriting/art on your tablet/phone whatever, then simply don't ever use the stylus. Continue using your fingers and you'll enjoy the same user experience you would with any other device. Having the extra choice won't hurt you.