When iPhone constantly getting data from wifi and use software to decode the data, the battery won't last more than 1 hour (more like 40 minutes). This is exactly what's going on here.
So, the main component of this TV tuner is actually the battery to charge iPhone and get the 3-hour viewing time.
This is a pretty bad solution for a common customer demand. If Apple had it built-in (so no need to use wifi, and the decoding uses hardware instead of software), it would be super small and hardly has any impact on battery life (comparing to regular video viewing).
Actually, watching one-seg TV drains your battery like there's no tomorrow, so it's not just the Wi-Fi. This actually would be a more reasonable workaround than putting a chip into the iPhone since I'm guessing the attachment is going to have a replaceable battery (unlike the iPhone!!) and hopefully a universal port so you can use those emergency 3A battery chargers.
That has to be one of the sorriest kludges on the planet. WTF are these people thinking. I'd seen a Sony 1Seg transplant on a PSP and I thought that was totally sleek, and compared to this SoftBank brick, the PSP add-on was rather petite. Sony got it right.
I don't know whose idea this was and I'll be totally blown away if anyone bothers to purchase this monstrosity. Maybe they'd buy it if it was in the shape of a Hello Kitty. If the Japanese have to go this far to get 1Seg, Apple might as well just withdraw the iPhone from Japan in it's present configuration. To the individual that came up with this grungy 1SEG brick... Omae ha kubi da. Kubi!
Apple should develop a new model of iPhone to include all the missing features. This second model, the iPhone TV, would be a market leader wherever digital TV is offered over the airwaves, as in France and the U.S.
Over time, the iPhone TV model would become not only the top selling model, but the only model.
Among the missing features to be addressed by this new model are a FM radio receiver, a voice recorder with dictation software for spoken word recognition, a film recording feature to make films, not just still photos, a top of the line digital picture sensor and lens to increase picture definition to 3 Megapixels, if not 5 Megapixels, a higher resolution screen for crisp viewing, a user replaceable battery, 4G WiMax, etc.
While these features can and will reduce battery life, Apple cannot sell a cell phone at a premium price without offering competitive features, without offering features which are already available on other cell phones.
And it doesn't matter if the new iPhone TV is higher, slightly wider, and thicker as a result of the new features. If fact, a bigger and crisper screen would be a bonus for viewing content. And it's time for a divorce from iTunes, as the iPhone is much more than a method for listening to and viewing content bought on iTunes.
If Apple can't compete on prices and features, it will reach the same glass ceiling that it has reached on the Mac market, i.e. a 5% world market share of Apple fans who forgive Apple for its high prices and missing features. If you don't know what I am talking about, HP has been offering quad-core Intel desktop computers since November 2007, and mobile quad-core Intel computers are starting to appear from every major computer manufacturer except Apple.
Consumers will not forgive a company which cannot offer competitive products at a competitive price.
You got the right idea and I think what you describe is dandy, but Apple does not build devices like you describe. First of all, APPLE HATES HARDWARE FEATURES. And do you think Apple is going to make any device thicker in order to fit all that stuff inside. Everything Apple makes has to look like Steve Jobs. Extremely thin. We're lucky they even have room for a battery inside (which is already too thin). I'm afraid to see the next iPhone because it might not be grippable by a normal hand without getting a cramp or getting cut. If the 3G is thin, look for the next version to be even thinner.
What you're describing is definitely fits a Nokia N96. Nokia has no qualms about building a one-pound phone that takes two hands to hold. http://europe.nokia.com/A4797539 Take side-view of that baby and tell me you can't fit inside what you're asking for and a kitchen sink, too.
Comments
I have mentioned this in other threads before.
When iPhone constantly getting data from wifi and use software to decode the data, the battery won't last more than 1 hour (more like 40 minutes). This is exactly what's going on here.
So, the main component of this TV tuner is actually the battery to charge iPhone and get the 3-hour viewing time.
This is a pretty bad solution for a common customer demand. If Apple had it built-in (so no need to use wifi, and the decoding uses hardware instead of software), it would be super small and hardly has any impact on battery life (comparing to regular video viewing).
Actually, watching one-seg TV drains your battery like there's no tomorrow, so it's not just the Wi-Fi. This actually would be a more reasonable workaround than putting a chip into the iPhone since I'm guessing the attachment is going to have a replaceable battery (unlike the iPhone!!) and hopefully a universal port so you can use those emergency 3A battery chargers.
That has to be one of the sorriest kludges on the planet. WTF are these people thinking. I'd seen a Sony 1Seg transplant on a PSP and I thought that was totally sleek, and compared to this SoftBank brick, the PSP add-on was rather petite. Sony got it right.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/17/s...1seg-tv-tuner/
I don't know whose idea this was and I'll be totally blown away if anyone bothers to purchase this monstrosity. Maybe they'd buy it if it was in the shape of a Hello Kitty. If the Japanese have to go this far to get 1Seg, Apple might as well just withdraw the iPhone from Japan in it's present configuration. To the individual that came up with this grungy 1SEG brick... Omae ha kubi da. Kubi!
Apple should develop a new model of iPhone to include all the missing features. This second model, the iPhone TV, would be a market leader wherever digital TV is offered over the airwaves, as in France and the U.S.
Over time, the iPhone TV model would become not only the top selling model, but the only model.
Among the missing features to be addressed by this new model are a FM radio receiver, a voice recorder with dictation software for spoken word recognition, a film recording feature to make films, not just still photos, a top of the line digital picture sensor and lens to increase picture definition to 3 Megapixels, if not 5 Megapixels, a higher resolution screen for crisp viewing, a user replaceable battery, 4G WiMax, etc.
While these features can and will reduce battery life, Apple cannot sell a cell phone at a premium price without offering competitive features, without offering features which are already available on other cell phones.
And it doesn't matter if the new iPhone TV is higher, slightly wider, and thicker as a result of the new features. If fact, a bigger and crisper screen would be a bonus for viewing content. And it's time for a divorce from iTunes, as the iPhone is much more than a method for listening to and viewing content bought on iTunes.
If Apple can't compete on prices and features, it will reach the same glass ceiling that it has reached on the Mac market, i.e. a 5% world market share of Apple fans who forgive Apple for its high prices and missing features. If you don't know what I am talking about, HP has been offering quad-core Intel desktop computers since November 2007, and mobile quad-core Intel computers are starting to appear from every major computer manufacturer except Apple.
Consumers will not forgive a company which cannot offer competitive products at a competitive price.
You got the right idea and I think what you describe is dandy, but Apple does not build devices like you describe. First of all, APPLE HATES HARDWARE FEATURES. And do you think Apple is going to make any device thicker in order to fit all that stuff inside. Everything Apple makes has to look like Steve Jobs. Extremely thin. We're lucky they even have room for a battery inside (which is already too thin). I'm afraid to see the next iPhone because it might not be grippable by a normal hand without getting a cramp or getting cut. If the 3G is thin, look for the next version to be even thinner.
What you're describing is definitely fits a Nokia N96. Nokia has no qualms about building a one-pound phone that takes two hands to hold.