The WWDC Recap

The main enchilada, the iPhone 4, was announced to much applause in spite of the much-publicized leak.

This is the power of a speaker who knows how to engage his audience.

While Steve Jobs does his routine stockholder stroking in the form of iPad and iOS sales figures, he also gets the audience interested in features we've all seen before in older phones.

FaceTime, Apple's moniker for video calling, had a pretty good commercial that tugs at your heartstrings, and it shows how simple you could change between normal phone calls and video calls.

It has yet to be known whether Apple can pull off the popularization of this feature for now, but tech sites that have tested it out have proven that the feature is quite seamless and easy, unlike the older implementations of the feature.

Adding to that would be a camera that's been upped to 5 megapixels, as well as 720p high-definition video recording. I'm not sure it'll replace my mom's Bloggie, but so far, people have been raving about the camera as well. Yes, my Sony Ericsson can do 8 megapixels, but I'll be damned if I didn't say the photos of my phone can be a bit lackluster despite the megapixels.

In its website, Apple has posted a few pictures taken with the brand new camera, and claims that they are not retouched in any way.

That picture up there is one of them, and it's clear that the camera has been improved quite a bit from the 3GS's crappy camera.

There's also a demonstration of unretouched HD video, but the quality isn't really all that hot for me.

Another point of discussion is the Retina Display that Apple's been touting. It's basically the screen becoming so crammed with pixels that your retina can't even discern them anymore. Here's a real-life demo: go real close to your screen. Real close. What do you see? Boxes. More specifically, pixels. What of those pixels, you say? And why does it matter if you can discern these pixels from up close? Well, the iPhone 4 doesn't have visible pixels, and as a result, the screen can display some really impressive text and more refined colors than any phone in the market. Or at least, that's what the tech press are agreeing with.

I've read somewhere in TechCrunch (or was it Giz?) that not being able to discern any pixels was a great problem to have, however, a lot of "experts" have been derailing Jobs' claims back and forth. Samsung claims AMOLED is superior, while Wired reports that it's all slightly false advertising. This article clarifies that if you have 20/20 vision, then maybe Jobs' claims are a lie. As it stands though, I know far too few people who have perfect vision, if at all. After 20/20, you won't be able to discern the pixels of the new display.

Also, Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone's new form factor as a marvel of engineering. That metallic side with three random lines? That's the antenna. It seems quite random for Apple to change up the antenna, but it's quite possible that there's something wrong with the old antenna, more specifically, signal strength.

Despite the beefier display, powerful processor and the gyroscope (think Wii MotionPlus), they managed to make the battery a lot larger, and as a result, the battery life has become improved by 40%. Apple's claims are usually theoretical and even conservative. Since their iPad claims were held to be true, it's hard to say that the iPhone won't have the same impressive 10 hour battery life (browsing on WiFi; 40 hours playing music).

As is tradition with WWDC of recent years, there are obligatory app demoes from third-party developers like Zynga and Activision.

Yes, you read Zynga right.

Effing Farmville.

Also, Activision demoed its Guitar Hero app, now available for $2.99.

I'm currently reviewing this one, and quite frankly, there's something that feels wrong about the all-important issue of lag and its song selection is paltry.

In addition to that, Netflix for the iPhone was demoed, but I don't give a crap about Netflix.

Also, Apple announced some enhancements to its iBooks (PDF support, bookmarking, etc), as well as the debut of an iMovie app.

To start, iMovie is usually an HD video editing application bundled for free with new Macintosh computers that allows users to make quick cuts and edits, as well as a few effects like Green Screen and Picture-in-Picture. This iPhone version is an adaptation of that concept, however, said video effects have yet to be shown; maybe they're not even included.

Lastly, the iPhone OS has been rebranded into iOS to reflect its presence on iPad and iPod, and developers have been given a "Golden Master Candidate" for tweaking and compatibility during app development.

The new iPhone 4 has been slated for release in 88 countries by September. The usual $199, $299 price points for 16 and 32GB models apply, with a selection of two colors: black and pure white. A $24 dollar "bumper" accessory (a silicone protector) is going to be sold at launch.

Jobs ended the keynote with a lot of gratitude towards key Apple staff, but not Grey Powell, the guy who lost the late-stage prototype iPhone 4. Ala the iPad, a video was also shown recapping all the new iPhone 4 features to conclude everything.

Has the iPhone 4 changed everything? Again? It'll be a game of wait and see.

iPhone 4 (re-)revealed

Yesterday's WWDC had Steve Jobs on stage once again to show off the recently leaked new iPhone. While Gizmodo's revealing first look had them looking at hardware specs and a resolution assessment, nothing's better than details that come from the horse's mouth.

Nothing was particularly changed in the exterior, which means most of the features that were assessed during the much-storied leak have proven to be true (thus leading to Gizmodo's non-invitation) so that means, it has a brand new glass-plastic combo of an exterior, a lot of un-Apple-like seams, and separate, honest-to-goodness buttons for volume control. It runs on micro-SIM (so you may actually have to cut your SIM card) like the iPad and ships with the newly rebranded iOS 4.

The much hyped upgrade brings about some direly-needed upgrades: a 5 megapixel camera that shoots actual high-definition video plus LED flash, a front-facing camera for "one-tap video calls" through an app called "FaceTime", extravagantly upgraded motion controls thru gyroscopes, and a crazy fast Apple A4 chip. Two unexpected upgrades though, come with the doubled resolution of the screen ("Retina Display") making text sharper for that iBooks app that's coming to the phone, as well as the noise-canceling microphone, which sounds pretty cool.

Another new development comes with the fact that the phone will come in pure white; the front side of the phone shall be the same with the backside.

Supporting the announcement is a positively killer iMovie app, which lets consumers edit videos with professional sheen, and the fact that other (positively upcoming) phones will actually be able to use the video chat with the iPhone because Apple is aiming to have FaceTime become an industry standard.

I haven't really watched the WWDC keynote in its entirety, so no "impressions" for now, maybe never. For now, I have zero an idea as to how all that new crap works.

The new phone is slated for release in late June, and will roll out to 80+ countries by September, making it "the fastest international rollout yet".

iPhone Features Apple's Not Telling You

Although Apple already announced loads of features for the new iPhone firmware, there are some features (that are actually more hardware-dependent) that Apple may not be telling people. I'm not going to assure that these features will make it to the next iPhone, no doubt to be announced in Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference in June, but I'm convinced that they will be.

So, the next iPhone will most likely have (that Apple hasn't officially told us)...

1) Video recording

Even the most basic of phones have MMS and message forwarding, as well as basic blurry video recording. If iPhone 3.0 ticks the checkbox off the former two, then the latter's checkbox might be ticked off as well, as evidenced by this "Publish Video" screenshot.

This was found when someone tried to publish/upload a photo to Apple's MobileMe service. Typo? I think not.

2) Internet Tethering

If you don't already have a netbook that you can put a SIM card in, you can always use your cellphone as an internet modem. Essentially, if there's 3G or EDGE coverage, you can just connect the USB cord or connect the iPhone through Bluetooth to use it as a modem. Scott Forstall of Apple actually confirmed this feature in a Q&A but he said that Apple's still negotiating with cellular networks so it's not natively activated even in the iPhone 3.0 beta.

3) Faster Wi-Fi and 3.5G

There are rumors of Apple placing a Wireless-N (and a new 3G) chip inside the iPhone so that it can reach Wi-Fi and 3G speeds of up to 7.2 mbps. Technically, the number's not gonna be possible in our shores, but in America it sure will.

Information is quite scarce as of now, but as time goes, there will indeed be more features waiting to be unearthed. Who knows? Maybe there'll also be a whole other product to be announced in WWDC that will steal the iPhone's thunder- like a netbook? I might be crossing my fingers for a netbook if not for my insane aversion to them, really. The famous reality distortion field might change all of it, perhaps (since Steve Jobs is back in shape by then)?

SOURCES: Macrumors, Engadget

In the News 5th edition

We've got the round-up of this week's news and today's headlines as well.

Rudy "Daboy" Fernandez; 56: God bless his soul
Masa action hero Rudy Fernandez- also known as Daboy- has been battling periampullary cancer for the past two years. Now the struggle has ended as he passed away a week ago aged 56.

Days ago, you may have also heard about his public wake, and burial which were obviously jam-packed. But that was simply the respected actor's last wish- to have a last "box office hurrah".

Enrile shuns foreign investors; but GMA welcomes them
The Joint Foreign Chambers received an embarrassing tongue-lashing courtesy of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Miriam Quiambao for trying to erase the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) a week ago. June 12 was different, and that's because it was GMA who invited them so that she could praise and suck-up to them and stuff.

3G iPhone announced
Apple's WWDC didn't disappoint as it was home to the unveiling of several iPhone applications, and of course, the 3G iPhone. Globe Telecom also subsequently made a news page/announcement that vaguely stated that the Philippines will have its share of iPhone fever "later this year".

Maybe in between August and October?

Tornado kills boy scouts in central US
June 12 not only saw the release of much-awaited game Metal Gear Solid 4 in America, but also the release of a devastating tornado in central America. It destroyed the Little Sloux Scout Ranch and killed 4 teenagers from Omaha who were also boy scouts.

2 more lives were claimed in Dickinson County and Jackson County.

Greenpeace and the coal plant
Coal power plants are obviously contributing to global warming, and that's what environmental activist group Greenpeace is trying to avoid in the barangay of Ingore in Iloilo. Barangay officials are rallying back however because they claim that Greenpeace, though their protest is understandable, is trespassing in private property.

Celtics win against Lakers
'Twas the Finals yet again, and the Boston Celtics won 3-1 against the Lakers. The final score was 97-91.

"We asked for Ces, got Angelo instead"
This was the frontpage headline in today's Inquirer, and that's because yesterday saw the release of Angelo Valderama: one of the cameramen who was kidnapped along with TV news anchor Ces Drilon who was kidnapped by an unknown group of gunmen while in Mindanao. Families of the kidnapped party were relieved to see Valderama released, but they, of course, wanted the others back.

Kidnapped Marines released
The MILF released 2 kidnapped Marines from Basilan. The 2 released Marines' names are Jessie Duatin and Bernie Alcabasa which were "unharmed after a successful negotiation Thursday night," said MILF civil military affairs chief Eid Kabalu.

2 killed, 8 injured in Japan earthquake
Today saw an earthquake that happened in northern Japan which measured 7.0 in the Richter scale. The powerful earthquake claimed the lives of a fisherman in the Fukishima prefecture, and a person who was run over by a truck when the person evacuated from the house (which was in the Iwate prefecture: the epicenter).

There were 8 injured, one of them in critical condition.