iPhone gets video recording capabilities

Thanks to another set of ambitious iPhone hackers, we've officially got video on Apple's wonder-device (that somehow omitted video to begin with). It's not much right now, but if you want, you can see your phone recording five succulent seconds of real-deal video at around 15 FPS. The developers say this is just a proof of concept, and they've been able to get up to 45 FPS on the device -- so hopefully we can expect a more robust version soon (like, say, one that lets you save the recording). Check the video after the break to see the gorgeous work in action.

[ian mac isaac @ Dec 13th 2007 4:53PM]

crazzzyyy

[trancer @ Dec 13th 2007 5:36PM]

more like pathetic. for such a innovative and high tech phone like this, no video?

[Andrew Stone @ Dec 13th 2007 8:36PM]

iGasm

[fontendet24 @ Dec 14th 2007 3:37AM]

WOOT!

[Todd @ Dec 13th 2007 4:57PM]

Wow cool! And why do we need those seven figure salary developers in Cupertino?

[roole @ Dec 13th 2007 9:15PM]

Because they can afford it? (And, the stock price doesn't seem to be hurting too badly....?)

[Jon @ Dec 13th 2007 4:58PM]

Makes that "wonder-device" seem all the less wonderful to begin with, huh?

[CB17 @ Dec 14th 2007 8:17AM]

Except that this is video recording at TWO MEGAPIXELS and 45 fps. I'd like to see another phone do THAT!

[Austin @ Dec 20th 2007 12:29AM]

Has this been released publicly yet? Didn't see it in the usual sources of Installer.app.

[Austin @ Dec 14th 2007 8:50PM]

Here is a thread about with a download link:

http://www.modmyifone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21144

[Matt @ Dec 13th 2007 5:02PM]

um, why did the iPhone not come with this capability... or a gps... or the ability to rotate the keyboard like the ipod touch so you don't fat finger it.

[lolec @ Dec 13th 2007 6:51PM]

you can rotate the keyboard the same as the ipod touch.

[Josh @ Dec 13th 2007 5:09PM]

1st generation things never have everything in them.

but while you are at it - it should also grow money and be able to drive your car to you.

[macona @ Dec 13th 2007 5:20PM]

GPD requires a separate antenna in a gps phone. Cannot be combine like in a CDMA phone. So this means a bigger phone which is not as nice.

[macona @ Dec 13th 2007 5:21PM]

Oops.. GPS

[Ellianth @ Dec 13th 2007 8:22PM]

It didn't come with that feature because, even though it could easily record video, apple decided that they wanted to use video recording as a selling point for their next iphone.

[Matt @ Dec 14th 2007 8:55AM]

Yeah, why make it work when you can have planned obsolescence... To use these obvious flaws that they will “fix” in the next gen as a selling point is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, and I hope they don’t offer an upgrade program for the schmucks that think that’s an ok plan.

[Matt @ Dec 13th 2007 5:02PM]

oh, or 3G

[GregA @ Dec 13th 2007 5:26PM]

To be fair to apple, the lack of 3g is probably why they shipped it without video enabled, because that would really expose how slow the edge network is. 15 second Video files take a couple of seconds to send on my free with service phone, and that is a paltry 100kb or so. Just imagine what a nightmare it would be to have to send around videos that can look decent on that big high res screen the iPhone has.

[elitemrp @ Dec 13th 2007 7:21PM]

i get around 300KBps on edge.. the only thing that sucks about edge is the latency

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 13th 2007 7:53PM]

Don't you mean 300 k_b_ps?
Show me a consistently 300 KBps EDGE (or, for that matter, UMTS) connection, and I will poop myself.

[roole @ Dec 13th 2007 9:32PM]

I would offer to, but I'd have to deal with the smell. So, no.

[contreras @ Dec 13th 2007 5:09PM]

Application is great, but developers should have SDK already, or this app should be provided by Apple itself. It's embarrasing to have to wait for hackers for such a basic functionality with a 2MP camera.

[TomTom2007 @ Dec 13th 2007 5:10PM]

too bad it can only record 5 secs for now...

[GregA @ Dec 13th 2007 5:34PM]

My free with service phone will only send 15 second video clips which is really only enough to send messages like "Hey Im going to see the Golden Compass tonight, I know it got bad reviews, but I want to see it anyway. I will be at the theater at 8:30 if you want to meet up, then we can grab some dinner afterwards."

So really, this is an excellent start, then just fill in with 3g, a small screen next to the camera, and Apple will really be onto something.

[paloooz @ Dec 13th 2007 6:14PM]

Oh god, you send people videos of yourself talking?

You must have very few friends.

[mrhammerstein @ Dec 13th 2007 5:19PM]

i love your headings today...

"Workaround puts auto-playlist back on Zune" vs. "iPhone gets video recording capabilities"

they're both hacks, yet one title makes it sound official. love the bias.
-iPod owner

[JAmerican @ Dec 13th 2007 6:13PM]

The point of the OS Wars was for Engadget to get a sense of its readership. They noticed a lot of Mac fanboys/users are here so they have to make their majority happy.

BTW I don't approve of biased reporting and I agree with you. I own a Mac laptop and a PC. I personally like my PC (Windows XP MCE because Vista is terrible) better because I've used it for much more years and its the better machine for me at this point in my life.

[bondsbw @ Dec 13th 2007 6:44PM]

@JAmerican

It's a little unfair to compare a MacBook with a PC desktop... while the desktop can't leave the outlet, it's not practical to use a laptop for many things you need the desktop for.

I have both a MacBook and a Dell laptop, the Dell being about 3 months newer than the MacBook. Comparing apples to apples, the 2G MacBook definitely beats the Latitude D620 in my opinion. But comparing the MacBook to a newer Dell PC at work with two screens that are each three times the size of my laptop, and a mouse, the desktop wins hands down.

I wish I could honestly compare an iMac to a PC desktop, but I have too little experience in front of an iMac and way too much experience in front of a PC desktop.

[Cleverboy @ Dec 13th 2007 7:23PM]

Mr.hammerstein, you're mistaken. Do you even know what a "workaround" is? Workarounds are generally non-programmatic solutions to a problem in a system, and often involve using somewhat unorthodox lateral thinking to get a desired result (sometimes in very clumsy, temporary and possibly unstable way).

From this point, this new iPhone app just keeps getting more features. It can be "developed" into a full-featured application with all sorts of features, etc. What's described in this iPhone article is NOT a "workaround", the article about "kind of" re-enabling "auto-playlists" on the Zune IS about a "work-around".

Go re-read it if you have to. If someone programmed a new feature into a Zune that allowed you to, for instance, pickup songs from Starbucks (a la Apple's iTunes arrangement), and save them for later purchase on the Zune store... that's NOT a workaround... that's a new feature (however much it may be a "hack"). Also, if video was enabled on the iPhone by saving a series of still-photos that you can stitch together... THAT'S a work-around... its not REALLY what you want, but it may be close enough for people to get value out of.

Does that make any sense to you? 'Cause this political stuff is for the birds. It's just a computer. Unclench.

[mrhammerstein @ Dec 13th 2007 7:47PM]

HEADINGS. i didn't mention the article. read my post before getting upset at nothing. it's a hack. it's not from apple. i can watch avi files through windows media center thanks to transcode 360, but i don't think it's fair to say, "Windows Media Center gets AVI playback"

who cares about this complete nonsense blabbering anyway?

[Cleverboy @ Dec 13th 2007 8:28PM]

HEADINGS... Oh, I get it... so you're not interested if the headings are accurate for the article, you just want to whine and complain that simply reading them makes you feel like there is inequality... despite the actually facts. Wow. Dude, go get some sleep. Come back when you've got a real point.

[Wolfticket @ Dec 13th 2007 5:19PM]

iPhone: The cellphone equivalent of putting a lawnmower engine in a Ferrari.

[macona @ Dec 13th 2007 5:25PM]

Then that would make it 100 time more reliable than a stock Ferrari!

[ZeroFill @ Dec 14th 2007 3:49AM]

More like putting a Ferrari engine in a lawnmower but not turning it on (actually, that's a scary thought) -- It's sad that there's so much potential but Apple is/was trying to hold them back. I'm just happy Apple finally listened and is scrambling to make an SDK so we can make apps.


I'd have to check more, but I hope the SDK is going to be available to everyone. Sure we won't see all the apps on iTunes, but that won't stop the community from building sites so we can install other (free?) apps...just hope Apple doesn't decide to brick our phones because we didn't install apps with their platinum seal of approval...

[Wolfticket @ Dec 14th 2007 11:54AM]

It's a Ferrari where, in order to drive it, you have to attach electrodes to your testicles that zap you at random intervals.

[Matt @ Dec 13th 2007 5:29PM]

This seems so simple to me, a great phone should:

Be shaped like the iPhone (minus the borders)
Have a good camera with video capability
Have the latest generation radio's (including GPS)
Have a touch screen
Be able to play any media file
Be able to surf the web in full .html or flash
Be able to sync with MS office or the Mac equiv.

It is a communication device, it should serve all of your communication needs. Where is my System On Chip for this stuff? Intel? SiRF? Apple? IBM? Come on guys...

[bigassmuffin @ Dec 13th 2007 5:41PM]

althought I agree with you, so does everyone else..

You aren't anything special to come up with ideas to create an ideal phone,

and there are obvious reasons why apple did not and physically could not add some of these things in

[Natedog @ Dec 13th 2007 6:35PM]

I agree with muffin. Also, FYI, the Mac equivalent of MS Office... is pretty much office. There is a true equivalent, but...

[rav97 @ Dec 13th 2007 8:47PM]

Hmmm... HTC Tytn II?
It seems to have most, if not all, you request. It's kind of bulky, though, not to mention expensive.

[Matt @ Dec 14th 2007 9:00AM]

I'm cool with it being expensive, but the bulk could easily be taken care of with some engineering work. And yes, it will take work, but that's why we pay $600+ for a phone. I expect a lot out of my equipment, just as people expect alot out of me. With the 45nm and 32nm processes available, I expect to see these systems integrated and I expect it to be done quickly. Remember, we ARE the market, we can drive the progress with our dollars.

[riggs @ Dec 13th 2007 5:36PM]

great, iphone gets hacked to be like a normal phone.

[matt @ Dec 13th 2007 5:50PM]

more like "iPhone gets hacked to be more like digital camcorder"

[Bryan @ Dec 13th 2007 6:02PM]

No, even most phones that come with plans for free can record video. That's why I find the iphone hype so funny. It's mediocre at best.

[Cleverboy @ Dec 13th 2007 7:43PM]

Sorry, Bryan... Did you actually look at the video on your average phone lately? When you exported it, did it kind of look like... oh, I don't know... like ASS? That's kind of the thing... the Nokia N95 has a great high resolution video camera. It's NOT like the asserific video camera in your average phone. If a software update gives the iPhone video that comes in spitting distance of the N95... dude, that's news. I don't care what hole your heads been stuck in. If the Nokia had the iPhone's OS, multi-touch and large screen... they'd be the xPhone darling. But, they're still baking that pie.

The reason people dig the iPhone is not because its a Swiss Army Knife that currently does *everything*... but because it has all the capability to do NEW things, and Apple... for better or worse, keeps hinting that they plan to keep adding these things to the phone you already bought. Seriously. It's got OS X/Unix, a multi-touch capable touchscreen, excellent sound, a camera, an accellerometer, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, a Web 2.0 capable browser, Mac/PC support, and a USB compatible serial port. Enough items that together, make this an unique platform for ongoing development... with a user-base that's leaped to over 1 million inside of its first 75 days.

The party hasn't even started, yet, man...

[riggs @ Dec 13th 2007 10:48PM]

thats the most asenine thing ive ever read, you sound like apples pr rep.

[Cleverboy @ Dec 14th 2007 5:21AM]

No... I'm just trying to cut you a slice of reality. It's one of those moments when you say something, y'know... and it sounds like a commercial? But... eh, what can you do? It's now December 14, 2007. One year from now, I won't care about this thread but I'm pretty sure that original iPhone owners will still be being paid higher dividends on their investments than your "regular phone" comment would imply. We'll see though, right?

[Scott @ Dec 14th 2007 5:26PM]

I know, all my phones have had 3" multi-touch screens with 8gb of built-in storage! Wow, what a rip off!

[bauer @ Dec 13th 2007 5:46PM]

You people think Apple is dumb or something, or you are smarter to come up with LOTS OF FEATURES that they somehow were too dumb to think of???

obviously the phone is capable of much more with current hardware but just giving all those features in a 1st gen iPhone does not make good financial sense.

I mean come on, the 2gen will get another color and some new features (man current owners will head to ebay to sell and buy a new one). 3rd gen will get slight design change with more features and so on up til 5 or 6 gen when they will introduce a completely redesigned unit.

This goes for Nintendo (how many gameboy advance versions were there anyway?) and basically most all tech gadgets.

$$$$$$$$$ Money is the whole idea here, not pleasing whiny people $$$$$$$$$$$$

[Bryan @ Dec 13th 2007 6:06PM]

Though this is also correct.... I would never say that Apple is dumb, because catering to dumb people is genius, they're most likely to fork over money!