Latest iPhone beta firmware does full screen captures, saves web images

You might have heard that the latest iPhone 2.0 beta firmware allows users to save web images to its running camera roll for later download to its host machine (or sharing via email). Well, a reliable source let us know that the image capturing good times don't end there: the iPhone now capable of taking full screen caps (like the one above) simply by holding the sleep button, then tapping the home button. We haven't personally tested either technique (we already know what you're thinking: we can't say whether it captures screens from a video), but apparently it flashes white to indicate the cap's been taken and the image has been added to your roll. Let's hope these two neato features make it to the release firmware.

[Quentin @ Apr 14th 2008 5:19PM]

That is freakin' awesome.

[CraigJ @ Apr 14th 2008 5:19PM]

Great. Now let me attach multiple photos to a single e-mail.

[the_mikehall @ Apr 15th 2008 10:07AM]

and save images from email attachments.

[james @ Apr 14th 2008 5:21PM]

Let's hope this (image above) changes to:

Save Photo
Go To URL
Open in New Tab (or window)

[Adam @ Apr 14th 2008 5:22PM]

I second that motion

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Apr 14th 2008 5:49PM]

The correct usage would be...

For hyperkinked image:
• Save Photo
• Go To URL
• Open URL In New Window
• Cancel

For hyperkinked text:
• Go To URL
• Open URL In New Window
• Cancel

[bondsbw @ Apr 14th 2008 5:58PM]

Third.

[Drew @ Apr 14th 2008 7:16PM]

Hyperkinky.

[amdforever @ Apr 14th 2008 5:22PM]

I see what you did there...

[Drakin020 @ Apr 14th 2008 5:22PM]

You need to install Adblock on that phone. :-D

[nxtiak @ Apr 14th 2008 5:46PM]

Hah, you got that right.
I got ads blocked in firefox and i hate the blank white square on the right cuz that's where the ad should go :)

[Brent @ Apr 14th 2008 5:50PM]

That's the first ad I've ever seen on Engadget too.

[Tony @ Apr 14th 2008 7:12PM]

Engadget has ads?

[Carbonize @ Apr 15th 2008 11:12AM]

@nxtiak - So select 'Collapse blocked Elements'

[gabe @ Apr 14th 2008 5:22PM]

and they said 3g is a big deal. I'm in heaven now!

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 14th 2008 5:23PM]

Well its about damn time.

[mkeough23 @ Apr 14th 2008 5:24PM]

Boom

[Craig @ Apr 14th 2008 5:26PM]

Doesn't this strike anyone as an odd button combination? Sleep button and home button. Firstly it doesn't seem really intuitive and secondly when people try it they will probably sleep their iPhone/iPod Touchs?

[Richard Lai @ Apr 14th 2008 5:32PM]

Well I'm sure people can manage to hold down the sleep button and press the home button at the right times.

It's a shame that the screen capture function has already taken up the "home + ringer off" combination.

[bondsbw @ Apr 14th 2008 6:13PM]

You're right, but the alternative would put a relatively unused button on every screen in the entire UI.

The iPhone uses a very consistent design:

1 - Application-dependent input actions are available on the touch-screen.

2 - Application-independent input actions (such as screen capture) use hardware buttons.

3 - Application-independent input actions that are the result of application messages to the user (the phone rings, an SMS message appears, etc.) are available on the touch screen, but allow the user to return to the original state through some mechanism.

There may be exceptions, but I cannot think of anything at the moment.

[Aaron @ Apr 14th 2008 6:52PM]

Well the screenshot functionality is in 1.1.4 version of iphone. You just have to turn it on though plist setting.

And the button combination on 1.1.4 is HOLD home and TOGGLE the vibrate button to get a screencap.

[Jubei @ Apr 14th 2008 5:41PM]

Thats just the tip of the iceberg come June and the rest of 08. It's going to be a fun year for iPhone/Touch users.

[Bob @ Apr 14th 2008 5:37PM]

I did that with the old beta. All you do is hold down the sleep button and tap the home button. I used build 5A225C. I found it purely by accident, what happened is I went to power off and my hand slipped and hit the home button and I saw a white flash and I freaked thinking that I broke my phone. When I saw the white flash I heard the camera click and so I naturally went to my roll and there it was, a screen cap of my home screen!

[Boynamedsue @ Apr 14th 2008 5:42PM]

as much as i love apple, its just another case of them adding what should have been 1.0 functionality far later than necessary.

[deep @ Apr 14th 2008 5:49PM]

What a dick.

[Mank @ Apr 14th 2008 8:02PM]

Cram it, deepak.

[deep @ Apr 15th 2008 8:54AM]

Wrong Mank! Yet another dick.

[Snitch @ Apr 14th 2008 5:46PM]

@engadget: Can you guys forward this to Meizu???? i think they might wanna see this

[nxtiak @ Apr 14th 2008 5:45PM]

So really, what's the point of having screen capture BUILT IN?
I've used many pdas, smartphones, etc.. and never needed to use a screen capture program.
I can understand bloggers, and sites etc, to use this so they can put screen shots of their programs, and reviews etc.. but for the average USER, why make it a built in feature???

[Liam @ Apr 14th 2008 6:02PM]

So lets have a special version for bloggers and such people and a not so special one for general users.... /S

Also just because you might not use the feature doesn't mean it shouldn't be there, if you don't need it don't use it.

[Mr. Picklesworth @ Apr 14th 2008 6:15PM]

Oh GOD, what will we do without that precious kilobyte of memory! Those jerks, what are they thinking, bloating it up like this?

Now, let me return to zooming in and out of this page for the joy of watching that fancy effect...

[xSwamp @ Apr 14th 2008 6:24PM]

Lets just remove all the features you don't like shall we.

[rv @ Apr 14th 2008 5:47PM]

completely unrelated- but why can't they release a full internet browser on something like a psp, ps3, 360? They all have the power neccessary to run, say, firefox , and its annoying to have no ability to download plugins for flash, etc.

[BEETROOT @ Apr 14th 2008 5:59PM]

b/c MS and Sony have other products to sell you if you want a full browser...

[SharpShooter @ Apr 14th 2008 9:37PM]

Um, the PS3 and PSP both have internet browsers already. Only the 360 doesn't.

[Dave @ Apr 14th 2008 5:47PM]

Can't it be done also with 1.1.4 and 1.1.3?
Yes... the home button + the ringtone button

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Apr 14th 2008 5:49PM]

Yet another feature that iPhone users are rejoicing about that I've been able to do on my phone for 3 years.

In other news... The Engadget awards... I can accept that the engadget readership were all possessed enough to pick the SE K850i as phone of the year but... Engadget too!?!?!

Have you guys ever used that piece of ****? Damn, I would rather have seen even the iPhone as best phone of the year instead of the K850i....

[Mike @ Apr 14th 2008 6:05PM]

Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it (the iPhone) is? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?

[borrowed from Kelly's Heroes]

[ScooterDe @ Apr 14th 2008 6:18PM]

Engadget folk are bloggers, not professional reviewers or - it seems - gadget experts. Expect nothing better than the ill-informed views of (some of) its readers.

[ill trooper @ Apr 14th 2008 6:43PM]

How thick is your 3-year-old phone? How is the browsing? No way the screen is as high-res or as large as the iPhone's screen, and it's touch-screen no doubt uses an overlay, rather than the durable glass the iPhone uses. Does the operating system work as well as what the iPhone uses? Hmm... I can answer that for you, sight unseen: No.

I admit that there are many features I want to see on my iPhone, but it's SOOOOO much better than the previous SonyEricsson 'smart' phones I had that I have to chuckle when I see people ignore the good things the iPhone does in favor of bitching over MMS or something else.

Just sulk away and keep talking about how your phone did that "3 years ago," no one's really keeping score.

[Paul6 @ Apr 14th 2008 7:14PM]

@ill trooper

i think everyone knows that the iphone is a pretty amazing product. but to say people who want mms are just "bitching"? how about we never say a negative thing against the iphone? criticism is important for apple to know what to improve. and perhaps mms is important to some people? the iphone is NOT perfect....but its pretty freaking good.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Apr 14th 2008 7:44PM]

So, ummm... yeah. Let's look at the N80. 2+ years old. 352x416 but at 2.2" because if you hadn't noticed, not everyone likes a wide, long touchscreen phones because some people actually like to have tactile feedback and the ability to blast out text messages at lightning speeds. Besides, I wouldn't exactly describe the iPhone's screen as hi-res...?

Yup, the browser is great. Basically the same one as the iPhone browser. If I wanted to, I could also mention that my N95's browser has guess what... Full Flash support... Yeah.

The operating system? Well, if it didn't work well, why would 100 million + people be using it at this very moment....?

It's a chunky monkey but what would you expect for a phone packing so many features at its time...?

Yeah.

[kingkael @ Apr 15th 2008 1:01AM]

@Mike:
weird, i just watched that movie a few days ago.

[Mike @ Apr 15th 2008 12:19PM]

Good movie. Oddball was great! :-)

[Scott @ Apr 15th 2008 3:15PM]

The N80 is slow, unstable, thick, and ugly.

The N95 costs TWICE as much as an iPhone, yet has neither a touch screen nor a keyboard, limiting you to predictive text which will *never* be a true replacement for either of the preceding input methods.

NEXT!

[lhomme314159 @ Apr 14th 2008 5:54PM]

no service...story of my life

[AdamY @ Apr 14th 2008 10:51PM]

LMAO, too true for so many people.

And unfortunately not likely to get any better. The wireless networks currently cover the places have the best cost/profit population densities (including throughput, like interstates), so if you're not covered now, you're probably not going to be covered in the future. The wireless companies just write it off as irrelevant.

Their new spectrum is purchased to overlay their current coverage maps with higher speed, faster technologies, not to reach additional customers.

You could always go with a WinMo Smartphone and Skype for your home usage (or potentially an iPhone and Skype), and then take advantage of the cellular coverage when you're in a more populated place.

[Heathen @ Apr 14th 2008 5:58PM]

Yay, Apple should launch a new slogan
Apple: "where basic functionality is a feature" or

This with copy and paste / being able to do more than just view the web should have been there all along. It has been on S60, and Windows mobile for years.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Apr 14th 2008 5:58PM]

Now if they could just integrate this as a copy and paste system, I would have absolutely no complaints about iPhone functionality. There are too many instances where I get information in an email that I need to paste into Safari. I think that implementation of this wouldn't be too difficult.

For instance, use the Sleep+Home button combination, but have a "make selection" option where text could then be highlighted with a reverse pinch, or highlighting with a finger; the home button could then pressed to copy once the selection is made. Once there is an item in the clipboard, the same button combo could be used to bring up a Paste option.

[analyzewithin @ Apr 14th 2008 6:02PM]

Uhh, my Helio Ocean has been doing this ...since... I got it.