4th Generation iPhone Midboard Leaked?

This, according to China Ontrade, is the 4th generation iPhone midboard. Having accurately leaked part of the iPhone 3GS assembly in May 2009, weeks before Phil Schiller showed the launch device off at WWDC in June, they’ve gained some measure of credibility. However, this isn’t May 2010 and its hard to see ever-prototyping, last-minute-camera-ditching Apple setting anything in stone (or aluminum or plastic) this early in the cycle.

iPhones get introduced in June/July, after all, according to the same Phil Schiller. That’s their product cycle, and that’s what Apple has done for the first three versions. Could they be planning an early surprise? Gizmodo thinks pressure from Android (technically Android hardware manufacturers like HTC and Motorola in this case, we suppose) might get them to ramp up faster. However, a great iPhone 3.2 (which we’ve still not seen beta nor screenshot of) could relieve pressure on the OS side.

So is it real? Perhaps, and could well represent the current state of the art of 4th generation iPhone prototyping. Is it what we’ll see when the actual iPhone (insert new brand name here) ships? Eh, it’s just a midboard so it’s hard to get terribly excited unless/until some hardware whizzes figure out the dimensions must mean a 16:9 display, or it’s 8 feet high or something…

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

4th Generation iPhone Midboard Leaked?

Regarding Apple Multi-touch Patents, iPhone, Verizon Droid, and Palm Pre

Verizon and Motorola’s upcoming Droid handset is getting a lot of press, here, there, everywhere, and one of the negative points that’s come up — in relation to the iPhone — is the Droid’s lack of multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom. (TiPb mentioned it a couple days ago as well).

Some might complain about Verizon nickel-and-diming users by charging an extra $15/month for Exchange support, or that given Verizon’s CDMA technology the Droid can’t multitask a phone call and a data connection (so if, for example, you’re using the new Google Maps Navigator and a need to talk on the phone at the same time, you’re only as good as your last cache). Others are honing in on the Android app space limitations, or just the limited apps (NSFW). But what makes multi-touch so intriguing is that it’s a bit of a mystery as to why the Droid doesn’t support it. Of course, the G1 didn’t support it either, but Android 2.0 is supposed to contain the API’s to do it, and the non-Verizon (GSM, for sale outside the US) version — called the Motorola Milestone seems to do it, if not smoothly (yet?).

Apple’s massive multi-touch patent portfolio is cited as a reason, both now for the Droid and then for the T-Mobile G1. Either Google, while CEO Eric Schmidt was still on the board, agreed not to violate them, or fears litigating them. So, they build in the functionality and let 3rd parties take advantage — and the risk that goes with it — if they so choose.

But why then does the Palm Pre have multi-touch gesture support on Sprint in the US? Wouldn’t the same patents apply? Sure. However, patents are like nukes. They can be deadly unless the guy you’re pointing yours at is pointing equally deadly ones back at you. As both TiPb and PreCentral.net have posted for a while — and Palm has explicitly stated — Palm has a heckuva mobile patent arsenal.

Blustering about lawsuits aside, Apple suing Palm (or vice versa) brings mutually assured patent destruction down on the both of them. While Apple is arguably filthy rich and Palm pauper poor, they might not want the expense or the hassle given Palm’s current market position. Verizon and Google, however, is another matter, especially since Google has been in the mobile space nowhere near as long as Palm, and likely doesn’t have the same type of core mobile patent portfolio in their pocket to assure the same type of stalemate.

At the end of the day, only the top executives (and their lawyers) at Apple, Google, and Palm know for sure, but that’s our guess.

It’s a shame, of course, because the iPhone’s multi-touch gestures are natural to the point where they should arguably be considered default for all capacitive touch screen devices. Apple settled “look and feel” lawsuits with Microsoft over the windows/mouse/pointer interface over a decade ago. They likely consider multi-touch a similar competitive advantages, however, and Steve Jobs said as much at Macworld 2007 when he introduced Apple’s implementation of it:

“And boy, have we patented it.”

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Regarding Apple Multi-touch Patents, iPhone, Verizon Droid, and Palm Pre

Use Augmented Reality to find your car

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

I have to admit, when I park in a big lot, I often forget where old Betsy is. There have been more than a few iPhone apps to help you find your car, but Car Finder [iTunes link] uses augmented reality to get you pointed in the right direction.

Here's how it works: you get out of your car and mark your position, making sure you have a good GPS fix. If you don't have one, you'll be told that and see the accuracy of your fix in plus or minus meters.

You can give your location a name, and if your parking space is numbered, you can add that in. I guess that is helpful if you are parking where there is no GPS signal, but then this app won't be of much help.

You're then free to go your merry way, until it's time to find your car again. When you bring up the app, your iPhone camera is activated, and a red arrow points to your car. Swing the camera around until an icon for your car appears and start walking. You'll get a constant read-out of your distance.

In my tests, just after sunset, the app worked very well, although when I got right next to the car the arrow was pointing elsewhere. That's not surprising given the imperfect accuracy of GPS, but by the time I got the error I could see the car less than 25 feet away.

Car Finder is U.S. $0.99, so it's not over priced, and pretty much in line with other similar apps in terms of cost. The augmented reality is a nice touch, as it floats your car icon over the real world. You do get a legal warning from the app about using due caution, I guess so you won't step into a manhole or off a cliff while following the camera scene. What a litigious society we live in!

So, Car Finder works, isn't over priced, uses augmented reality which has a high 'buzz word quotient,' and should impress your non-iPhone using friends, if you have any.

You'll need an iPhone 3GS to make this work, because the compass and GPS do the heavy lifting.

Use Augmented Reality to find your car originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Use Augmented Reality to find your car originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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