Steve Jobs came out this morning and announced what we already knew, a new iPhone was coming out this summer. Most of what Gizmodo and other sites had leaked months ago came as no surprise, but there were still a few things we didn't know. For example, there's now a Gyroscope in the phone adding to the phone's ability to know where it is in space, there's also a reason why the design is how it is with the weird lines and stuff, the metal rings around the outside of the phone are actually the antennas for the wireless communication. We also learned that the front and back are glass that is stronger than sapphire. There are some things that we suspected were true, but nobody really knew because none of those prototype phones would actually boot up, like video calling and HD video (720p). I'm sure I'm missing something, but you can find the info all over the web, that's not really what I want to touch on.
So I'm definitely excited for the phone, it seems like a good size upgrade from the 3GS and for the $199 price point, I'll definitely be picking one up (especially since AT&T bumped up my upgrade date). I'm probably most excited about the new design to be honest, it just looks much nicer than the plastic looking 3GS. I'm also excited about the 720p video which means I can sell my Creative Vado HD that never gets used anyways since I got the 3GS. The update to the back camera is a welcome improvement as I've found myself only using my 3GS to take pictures while out and about, when I don't have my DSLR with me (which I don't carry around often). The LED flash on the back is cool, but I can't judge it until I see how much it actually lights up. I just hope it's better than the blackberry flash, but I think the general camera on the iPhone is much better than the Blackberry to begin with. I also like the higher resolution screen as well as the better battery life.
Now let's talk about a few things I'm slightly disappointed in. When iPhone OS 4 (or now referred to as iOS4) was released to developers earlier this year there was mention of iChat within the code... well today has come and gone with no mention of iChat at all. This is a little disappointing because they announced the front facing camera as well as "FaceTime" which is their video calling, but it's only from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi. I honestly don't care that it's only over wi-fi right now (they are working with carriers to figure out 3G video calls), but the fact that I can't video chat with someone on their computer using iChat is disappointing. Sure, a few of my friends have iPhones, but almost all my friends have Macs and iChat and I would love to be able to video chat with them from my phone. I'm sure Apple realizes they will need to do this at some point, but I don't see why they couldn't have built it into iOS4...
So while I'm a little disappointed in the front facing camera integration, I will still be picking one of these up when it's released on June 24th (even though I'll be traveling California going to all the baseball stadiums there). So, what do you guys think of the announcement this morning? I know some of my friends were disappointed that it was all iPhone this morning and nothing else, but as far as the iPhone itself goes, what do you think?
