Tuesday, June 08, 2010

iPhone 4...iOS4.. Some Thoughts

Yesterday Apple unveiled the new iPhone 4. It looks like a magnificent device. Redesigned- updated components and thinner to boot! Apple lists a lot in the tech specs on their site. There are many new features, too many for me to list them all, but I wanted to share the one that I think will change personal communication forever: FaceTime.

FaceTime is the video calling feature that Apple has added to the iPhone 4. It was Steve Jobs "...one more thing". This is revolutionary because it is the way that we have all dreamed of calling since we first saw Star Wars or whichever science fiction franchise was your favorite. Real-time video calling with no set up just two people with iPhones and *boom* they're talking face to face. In his presentation Steve Jobs talked about making this technology open source... this means that Google, Microsoft, or anyone who makes phones could incorporate it into their technology and suddenly there is a large group of people that are able to video chat. Or better said; communicate face to face.

Why does this matter? It matters because it does what technology is supposed to do. Make life simpler. You can make video calls now, it is just cost prohibitive to the average person and not too easy to set up. It's not too hard these days to see a Cisco ad with Ellen Page as she appears amazed that people are communicating with video across the globe. Well, iPhone 4 does the same thing without having to be a Cisco Admin.

Do I want an iPhone 4? Darn tootin' I do! Will it happen, that I can't say. Per AT&T I am not due an upgrade until next year. So probably not anytime soon. But I can dream!

Here is the iPhone 4 clip that was shown at the Apple WWDC (WorldWide Developer Conference) on June 7.

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