iPhone news, reviews and how-to's since 2007
I know, Apple’s “revolutionary mobile phone” already does a lot. Nevertheless, I’ve compiled a short list of features (with concept images) that I think would give the iPhone a popularity boost and help Apple to sell more phones.
Some of the concepts are reasonable, others not so much. Unfortunately, the ideas are mere brain fodder, but if anything in here sparks your interest, cross your fingers for iPhone 2.0.
Will you be allowed to use the iPod portion of your iPhone while on an airplane? Most airlines require that you turn off your cell phone throughout the duration of a flight, but how will the iPhone change this?
Will airlines change the rules when the number of iPhone users starts to climb? Or will there be a way to temporarily disable the iPhone’s cell phone aspect, kind of like turning off the wireless card on your laptop? Anyone know?
This video reveals the “additional details that viewers might have missed” in the Macworld 2007 iPhone keynote. Interesting stuff. Thanks, Rishabh, for pointing me to it.
The fact is, the iPhone features very little in terms of new technology. What makes Apple’s iPhone remarkable, rather, is the way in which already-existing inventions are combined to create a unique, user-friendly experience.
So why is Apple applying for 200 patents on the iPhone, a device which most would argue is an innovation, not an invention? Steven Wellman at InformationWeek points out:
Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player; they just innovated it and made it mainstream. Ditto with the Mac and graphical user interfaces. Apple is incredibly good at making technology chic, easy, and, most importantly, fun-to-use.
Wellman sums up two viewpoints on the issue: while some say that patents on innovations are unneccessary because the “rewards of the market — i.e. strong product sales” are reason enough to innovate, others argue that “both inventors and innovators need patents to give them a profit incentive to invent or innovate.” (emphasis mine)
Do you think companies have a right to patent their innovations, even if the technology isn’t technically new?
Southampton-based Quantum Research is keeping an eye on iPhone because it thinks the mobile device’s touch sensors may infringe on its patents.
“The description of the iPhone suggests it uses a rear-surface touch screen and has proximity sensing which can tell if it is held to the ear. That’s a QR capability,” said Duncan Bryan, Quantum licensing director.
If Apple uses “charge transfer technology” in its iPhone, then it has infringed on Quantum’s patent, according to Bryan.
Thanks to Therapix Graphics for putting together this great iPhone video demonstration. It pretty much sums up all the jaw-dropping Apple iPhone features and makes you want to go out and buy yours right now (though you’ll have to wait ’til June unfortunately).