Improved antenna, 4-inch screen, NFC e-wallet rumored for Apple's iPhone 5

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  • Reply 81 of 128
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    3D works best when its an expansive experience filling your full field of vision. I think 3D on anything smaller than a 30 foot screen is pointless.



    3D on a 3-4 inch screen is an absurd gimmick.



    +1



    The only things an iPhone 5 can and should do



    1) migrate down the performance improvements of the iPad2 for graphics and computation processing

    2) improve phone reception and reliability

    3) allow for 3G video calling

    4) improve phone reception and reliability

    5) provide NFC link directly to your ITMS account

    6) improve phone reception and reliability

    7) lower price by $50 (and retain net profit)



    and if they love ME...



    - give me the ability to schedule a phone call and when the calendar alert pops up I can press 'place call' and it does it automatically.



    - Better voice recognition/learning (my wife's name is 'Sadie' [say'-dee] not Sad-eee)'



    Both of which can be improved by better use of improvement #1
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  • Reply 82 of 128
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    A couple of mm is a lot. The iPhone 4 is as wide as I want it to be. A few mil wider would encourage me not to upgrade. Heck, it would stop me upgrading. Then again, I tend to be a particular kind of person. I know what I want.



    and you didn't have a phone before an iPhone 4? Do you have a width limit on your car? Will you absolutely not enter a room that is not 2" too narrow/wide?



    doubtful.



    It's not the size but the feel that's important (yes, that _is_ what she said). If apple designs it right, it will feel right, probably so right that the iPhone4 will feel 'wrong'.
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  • Reply 83 of 128
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    You're not giving any good reasons though. All you're saying is that for some reason, it's not Apple, which makes no sense, and that YOU don't see why it should be done. Neither are real reasons.



    Well I thought I gave a lot of reasons in my other post on the subject so I was keeping it brief here.



    The main reason is that it's just a random change with no apparent upside except for whatever portion of the public has "big hands" or bad eyesight. It isn't likely IMO that those folks make up any sizeable proportion of the market however, and to cater to them, Apple would have to sort of screw over the rest of the market (presumably the larger part), unless they are making a "small" and a "large" iPhone at the same time. Which is something else they have been asked to do by the public for years (multiple sizes of the same product) and never have done. Mice are always one size. Keyboards are always one size.



    Apple also has a long history of researching the hell out of things before they even start. It's clear that they think that 3.5" is the perfect screen size for a phone and they haven't ever changed their mind on that during either the four years they have been selling them or the (roughly) three years previous to that they were designing the thing. IMO it only makes sense to change the size if they have evidence (in the form of feedback), that tells them people are having a big problem with the size. I haven't heard any such feedback myself.



    As others pointed out, it does *sorta* make sense that they might do an edge to edge screen and thus reduce the overall size of the iPhone. They have a history of reducing the size of their products over time so it fits in with that and at the same time, the UI and the keyboard would all stay the same size so no one would technically be inconvenienced, but a phone that much smaller might be a hard sell for some.



    Anyway, no one knows at this point and it's too early for solid rumours about iPhone 5 IMO. I'm just saying it doesn't seem likely to me given Apple's usual approach to things.



    Regular readers will note that I have been spectacularly wrong before.



    (as well as sometimes 100% right)
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  • Reply 84 of 128
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The new design would apparently be to address issues that arose with the iPhone 4, when it was discovered that covering the bottom left corner of the handset could cause some signal attenuation.



    Sigh - the only way to "improve" the antenna is make it an external one like the cell phones of yesteryear that had antennas that extended.



    Since consumers overwhelmingly rejected that, and since their are strict regulations about radiation and proximity to the head, antennas for all cell phones will continue to be where people grip them.



    Internal, external it matters not. The iPhone 4 (and every other cell phone on the market) are as good as they can get with antenna placement. That is until people value performance over style or the function of having to extend an antenna.



    I didn't think so...
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  • Reply 85 of 128
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ctwise View Post


    I don't believe the 4 inch rumor. Apple isn't going to change the height/width ratio of the screen. I think at most the display will change from a 2" x 3" to a 2 1/8" x 3 3/16". Update: making it a 3.831 inch screen, not a 4 inch screen.



    engadget had a story today how 24% of smartphone sales are those with big 4 or 4.3" screens. they are calling them Hummer phones.



    i dumped my 3GS for a 4.3" HTC Inspire and sold my wife's old 3G to fund an iPad 2. retina might be nice, but i like the larger screen a lot better than the quality of the iphone 4 screen
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  • Reply 86 of 128
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TammyT View Post


    2. If the metal *IS* the antenna... now we have to not-touch the entire back (instead of just the edges.)



    Double sigh - touching the antenna is not the problem.



    Covering it with your most salt-water filled hand is the problem.



    This is high frequency radiation, not electrical current we are talking about. There is no "shorting out".
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  • Reply 87 of 128
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 7,123member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    ... I tend to be a particular kind of person. ...



    Don't we all.
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  • Reply 88 of 128
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    How do you think Mac laptops get a WiFi signal? The antenna would be in the Apple logo.



    Actually, they are - and behind the glass that goes around the screen as well.



    Metal does block signals - you might want to look up the concept of shielding...
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  • Reply 89 of 128
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rtm135 View Post


    I love Apple and their products, but Whiskey Foxtrot Tango can't they build a plant here in the USA and make products here?



    No one would buy the products produced from it due to the extra overhead and associated costs that would have to be passed on.



    Your asking the wrong question. Instead of "why is Apple not producing products in the US?", try "why are the vast majority of companies producing tangible goods outside of the US?"
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  • Reply 90 of 128
    rtdunhamrtdunham Posts: 428member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pooch View Post


    always wanted one o' them ship-on-a-phones ... finally my dream comes true. i've also always wanted to read just one ai blog entry that's been proofread but i guess that will have to wait for another day.



    You and me both. WE all read them after they're posted, but i see no evidence the authors or their associates are checking and fixing things. I know how easy it is to fix things on a website; does anyone know what the process is for fixing a blog post?
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  • Reply 91 of 128
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Yeah, I've been using the iPhone 4 since the first day it was available and I've dropped so many ...



    Oh wait, I actually haven't *ever* dropped a call with an iPhone of *any* kind and no one I've ever met who uses iPhone 4 has ever even mentioned antenna problems to me, or dropping a call either.



    err... meet me at the corner of 12th and Nicollet in Minneapolis (around 4pm when the ATT tower get overwhelmed by all the 'Honey, I'm on the way home... anything you need at the store?' calls).



    My iPhone4 works SO MUCH BETTER compared to my 3, but the ATT cell fabric in this area is overtaxed They had no redundancy, little overlap, and under capacity, and then they and Lucent/Alcatel FTWed the upgrade to HSPA+ causing them to back off RIGHT AT THE IPHONE4 INTRODUCTION (almost back to 2G, it seemed).



    So... iPhone4... calls still dropped.. Not as much... but a lot harder (great sound, great voice, then.... silence. Not 'I can't hear you... oh, now I can... a little better... now worse... now.... gone.' of the iPhone3 days). But... I can peg it to a 10x10 city block region of Minneapolis... my guess... it's not the phone.
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  • Reply 92 of 128
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    That has nothing to do with the design of the antenna. Which is what he was talking about.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff View Post


    My iPhone4 works SO MUCH BETTER compared to my 3, but the ATT cell fabric in this area is overtaxed They had no redundancy, little overlap, and under capacity, and then they and Lucent/Alcatel FTWed the upgrade to HSPA+ causing them to back off RIGHT AT THE IPHONE4 INTRODUCTION (almost back to 2G, it seemed).



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  • Reply 93 of 128
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Of course number 1 is going to happen. I'm skeptical of number 5. There is no consensus on a NFC billing system and I want to know more information about security before I'd widely use it.



    I would say that 2,3,4,6 are more dependent on the mobile network than the phone itself.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff View Post




    The only things an iPhone 5 can and should do



    1) migrate down the performance improvements of the iPad2 for graphics and computation processing

    2) improve phone reception and reliability

    3) allow for 3G video calling

    4) improve phone reception and reliability

    5) provide NFC link directly to your ITMS account

    6) improve phone reception and reliability

    7) lower price by $50 (and retain net profit)



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  • Reply 94 of 128
    I am not concerned with NFC; however, I won't buy the 5 unless it will support Verizon LTE 700 MHZ.
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  • Reply 95 of 128
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    That's a funny request because no phone supports VZW LTE right now.



    Seeing how much of a battery drain 4G has been on phones that do support it. It doesn't sound like you will be getting an iPhone 5.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iUser71 View Post


    I am not concerned with NFC; however, I won't buy the 5 unless it will support Verizon LTE 700 MHZ.



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  • Reply 96 of 128
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    A possible downside to an edge-to-edge screen is more inadvertent touch events being generated. I'm not entirely convinced it's a good idea.



    I doubt it on a small one handed device. The screen doesn't actually go to the edge. It's about a millimeter from the edge of the front. And then there's the bezel around it adding another couple of mm.
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  • Reply 97 of 128
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    A couple of mm is a lot. The iPhone 4 is as wide as I want it to be. A few mil wider would encourage me not to upgrade. Heck, it would stop me upgrading. Then again, I tend to be a particular kind of person. I know what I want.



    A couple of mm is less than a twelfth of an inch. If that much bothers you, then you're awfully sensitive. And so if you didn't upgrade, person who knows what he wants, what else would you get when you do upgrade?



    Are you so anal that you actually go out and use a machinists scale before you buy a phone?
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  • Reply 98 of 128
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Well I thought I gave a lot of reasons in my other post on the subject so I was keeping it brief here.



    The main reason is that it's just a random change with no apparent upside except for whatever portion of the public has "big hands" or bad eyesight. It isn't likely IMO that those folks make up any sizeable proportion of the market however, and to cater to them, Apple would have to sort of screw over the rest of the market (presumably the larger part), unless they are making a "small" and a "large" iPhone at the same time. Which is something else they have been asked to do by the public for years (multiple sizes of the same product) and never have done. Mice are always one size. Keyboards are always one size.



    Apple also has a long history of researching the hell out of things before they even start. It's clear that they think that 3.5" is the perfect screen size for a phone and they haven't ever changed their mind on that during either the four years they have been selling them or the (roughly) three years previous to that they were designing the thing. IMO it only makes sense to change the size if they have evidence (in the form of feedback), that tells them people are having a big problem with the size. I haven't heard any such feedback myself.



    As others pointed out, it does *sorta* make sense that they might do an edge to edge screen and thus reduce the overall size of the iPhone. They have a history of reducing the size of their products over time so it fits in with that and at the same time, the UI and the keyboard would all stay the same size so no one would technically be inconvenienced, but a phone that much smaller might be a hard sell for some.



    Anyway, no one knows at this point and it's too early for solid rumours about iPhone 5 IMO. I'm just saying it doesn't seem likely to me given Apple's usual approach to things.



    Regular readers will note that I have been spectacularly wrong before.



    (as well as sometimes 100% right)



    I must say that that is strange reasoning. How do you know that just a small part of the population would want a bigger screen? Have you done a poll? You'd be surprised at just how many people think that the type on phones is too small.



    At any rate, people want larger phones, and there actually is a study showing that:



    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382385,00.asp



    And why would Apple make the phone even smaller? It's small enough already. That would be as random as anything else. The 4 is noticeably longer than the earlier models, so going smaller isn't what Apple is always doing, even is it is a tiny bit narrower.
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  • Reply 99 of 128
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DocNo42 View Post


    No one would buy the products produced from it due to the extra overhead and associated costs that would have to be passed on.



    Your asking the wrong question. Instead of "why is Apple not producing products in the US?", try "why are the vast majority of companies producing tangible goods outside of the US?"



    Actually, the USa is still the second largest manufacturer of goods in the world. In fact, right before the recession, we were still larger than China. That ended it, at least for now.
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  • Reply 100 of 128
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    That's a funny request because no phone supports VZW LTE right now.



    Seeing how much of a battery drain 4G has been on phones that do support it. It doesn't sound like you will be getting an iPhone 5.



    All the phones at CES that support LTE in some vaporware capacity were all large phones, not the super slim iPhone design.
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