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How to: pre-order the iPhone 4 (update: third-party retailers best avoided)
It's now less than twenty-four hours until pre-orders for the iPhone 4 kick off, magic is in the air, and you're feeling good -- but where (and how) do you get your name in the system? There'd be nothing more tragic than waking up on the 24th only to discover that your phone isn't arriving on launch day, so let's get things squared away right now so you know what you need to do tomorrow morning. Follow the break for everything you need to know!
iPhone 4 has 802.11n, but not the "awesome" 802.11n
I suspect many people were very happy to see that the iPhone 4 was listed as having 802.11n. I know that I was. I have a dual-band network at home which separates 802.11n from 802.11b/g, and that's made a huge difference in transfer times. But there's also another benefit of 802.11n: it can use the 5GHz frequency band instead of the 2.4Ghz. Without going into too much detail, most (but certainly not all) of the benefit of 802.11n comes if you use 5Ghz, because it isn't cluttered with other devices like 2.4Ghz is. So imagine my dismay when I went to the iPhone 4 technical specifications page and saw "802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)" listed there. I wanted to double check my suspicion that this was bad news for people who want to avoid the interference issues that come with 802.11b/g. When you have a question about Wi-Fi, especially in the Mac world, the guy to ask is TidBITS & Seattle Times columnist Glenn Fleishman. If you've ever read a great, informed (and informative) article on Wi-Fi that even a mere mortal could understand, chances are pretty good that Glenn wrote it. He wrote the most thorough analysis of the Wi-Fi woes at the iPhone 4 demo that I have seen anywhere. I asked Glenn about this on Twitter, and he confirmed my fears that 802.11n in 2.4Ghz will suffer from the same interference that b/g devices do. This makes "802.11n" partly just a marketing bullet point for iPhone 4 instead of a truly beneficial feature. If you're currently running a 5GHz-only N network, your iPhone won't take advantage. For 2.4GHz N networks, you will probably get some speed boost over G (Glenn estimated perhaps 1.5x when using an 802.11n base station). When copying a 940MB file over my home Wi-Fi network between a Mac desktop and laptop, 802.11n took 2 minutes, 14 seconds compared to 15 minutes 45 seconds on 802.11g. Then again, most people won't be doing large wireless file copies to/from their iPhones until/unless wireless synchronization comes along. So yes, Apple can boast that the iPhone 4 has 802.11n and they're telling the truth, but don't expect much practical difference day-to-day. Glenn suspects that given the newer chip and more efficient use of the radio spectrum, we might get better battery life on N than on G -- but we won't know for sure until the iPhones arrive.
White iPhone 4 likely not available at launch
The popular rumor going around right now at the eleventh hour is that AT&T will only be offering the black iPhone 4 models for pre-order tomorrow and at launch, with their white counterparts coming "later this Summer." Considering the fact that the white version of the 4 is quite a bit more distinctive than the 3G / 3GS, that's a bummer if true -- but what we don't know is whether this is strictly limited to AT&T. It's entirely possible that Apple and third-party retailers will be offering the white models, and AT&T's own distribution channel might just be suffering from some sort of buffoonery (that's our hope, anyhow). Lending credence to the rumor is the fact that Japan's SoftBank has already officially announced that it'll only be offering the black models initially -- and when we pressed AT&T on the matter, we got "no comment" in return. It's not looking good, folks. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Vodafone UK details iPhone 4 plans a little early, we keep the screenshots
We don't know what shenanigans are going on over in Vodafone HQ, but the UK carrier gave the world a quick glimpse of its iPhone 4 pricing today, before promptly removing the data sheets from the ether. Thankfully, a fast-witted reader by the name of Liam Gladdy captured the incriminating data for us, and we can now sit and ruminate on what Voda has in store. As you might surmise from above, the vast majority of users won't be getting the handset for free, though that doesn't necessarily preclude the contracts from representing good value. We note with glee that Vodafone keeps its data limit at a robust 1GB, unlike a certain other network, and the £30 ($44) a month two-year contract is looking decent from where we're sitting. Prices over 18 months just jump by £5 in monthly outlay with handset costs remaining the same. Click past the break for the full breakdown, including details for the 32GB variety.
Rumor: Apple to introduce "Apple Store app" tomorrow
Boy Genius Report and a few other sites have heard that Apple is set to introduce a new official app tomorrow, one centered around visiting and shopping at the Apple Store. Supposedly, the app will be free, and will allow users to set up and check Genius Bar appointments, sign up for training, and check availability or even purchase Apple items. BGR says the icon will be blue and have just an apple on it. We have heard this rumor before, but apparently tomorrow is looking like release day for it. TUAW has also heard from a trusted source that the app will be released tomorrow, in conjunction with iPhone 4 preorders. We've also heard that you will be able to purchase items directly from the app, as well as set up store reservations. So this is looking more and more like a sure bet. We'll of course keep an eye on the App Store tomorrow and let you know what we see.
WWDC 2010: Hands-on with Max Adventure and interview with Imangi's Natalia Luckynova
Natalia Luckynova is half of Imangi Studios. Along with her husband Keith Shepherd, she makes iPhone and iPod games, including the popular Harbor Master and a few other titles. We got to meet up with her at WWDC last week, and she was able to show off their latest title, Max Adventure, due out for the App Store in just a few weeks' time. The game was heavily improved since I last saw it in action, and it's shaping up to be a quality dual stick shooter -- a little kiddy, but with a fun element of exploring a nice mix of environments and an actual story to follow. You can see the game above, and once you've checked it out, be sure to head after the break, where Luckynova tells us how the company's first iPad game is doing, what they think of iPhone 4 and iOS 4.0, and how she learned what a Kraken is.
Best Buy announces official iPhone 4 pre-sale for June 15th
Best Buy's just dropped the official details on its iPhone 4 pre-sale, and there are no surprises here. You'll be able to head over to any Best Buy starting tomorrow (that's June 15th) and pre-order up Apple's latest offering for delivery on June 24th. That's the same date Apple gave us so like we said -- no surprises here -- but you can hit up the full press release below if you're into that sort of thing.
WWDC 2010: Mighty Mighty Good Games
Not all of the developers on the App Store are starting up gigantic companies or breaking new indie ground. A large number of them, like Darren Sillett and his wife Samantha of Mighty Mighty Good Games, are just experienced programmers who choose an idea and stick with it, iterating and testing to see what works and what doesn't on the App Store. Sillett's biggest app is one of a few versions of Sudoku on the iPhone, but since day one, he and his wife (former Microsoft developers -- Sillett actually worked on Windows Vista) have been playing with this idea of word games on the iPhone, and they've tested all of the tricks. They've released free versions, included ads, tried different pricing and versions, and so on. As a result, they've found success with over ten million downloads of their free apps and over 200k in paid-app sales. Sillett told me that his next big step will be to bring some of his apps to the iPad, and he's planning on going universal. While there will be some extra stuff in the iPad version, he thinks that universal is the best choice for his customers, at least while he's testing the waters. We also talked at length about iAds; Sillett says that ads have proven more beneficial for him in just the last few months, as ad companies and customers have really started to move the market along.
Switched On: An 'i' for imaging
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When the original iPhone was first launched, its camera ranked among its least competitive features. While the face of Apple's product broke ground for how it reacted to touch, its eye into the world was wanting. It could capture only two megapixels, lacked autofocus, a flash, or digital zoom, and had no support for video capture. It seemed as though Apple had somehow felt obliged to put in a camera, a feature the company would leave off the iPod touch and iPad. The 3GS bumped the resolution to three megapixels and added in video capture that even included trimming capabilities, but Apple's heart still didn't seem very into the iPhone as a digital imaging device. That's changed with iPhone 4. While its five-megapixel camera lags behind the eight-megapixel cameras on devices such as the Droid Incredible and HTC EVO 4G in terms of raw resolution, and it includes just one LED flash bulb as opposed to two on the EVO 4G, Apple's inclusion of a backlit sensor has aided the product's low-light capture, and the included software makes use of the cameras in innovative ways.
Engadget Mobile Podcast 042 - 06.12.2010
Of course we've had our retinas glued to the iPhone 4 this week, but that lil' thing certainly couldn't plug the leaky leaky faucet shooting out unofficial news about new Android phones all over the place. Join us, won't you? Oh, and stay tuned to the end where we answer your burning questions about mobile communications technology. Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Myriam Joire (tnkgrl)Special Guest: Ross MillerProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)00:01:55 - iPhone 400:24:50 - Motorola Droid X00:25:35 - Motorola Droid 200:32:05 - HTC Liberty for AT&T revealed during routine testing video00:36:37 - iPhone 4 vs. EVO 4G... fight!00:46:20 - OpenBTS @ Burning Man00:51:16 - Sprint misstated EVO 4G sales, by a lot00:59:00 - HTC EVO 4G's graphics capped at 30FPS?01:04:07 - Listener questionsHear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.Follow us on Twitter@zpower @tnkgrl @ohnorosco @engadgetmobile
iPhone 4 launch day at AT&T stores: 7AM opening, awesome t-shirts confirmed
What you're looking at here, folks, is the extreme wardrobe you can expect to see when you waltz into a corporate-owned AT&T retail location on the iPhone 4's launch day later this month -- and even better, casual pants and footwear may be worn if approved! On a more serious note, though, this launch packet we've received confirms that stores will be opening on 7AM on the 24th and that new AT&T customers will be restricted to a maximum of one device (the same restriction applies to the new 8GB 3GS) and current customers will only be able to buy one phone per active line of service. Oh, and if you're going to a store that sells U-verse service, expect a pitch. Don't say we didn't warn you. %Gallery-94997%
What really happened with Wi-Fi on the iPhone 4
WWDC is wrapping up here in San Francisco today, and after a week of having most of the best Apple developers in the world all in one place, we're hearing some speculation and solutions for what happened to Steve Jobs on stage Monday. He had Wi-Fi issues while accessing the New York Times website during a demo with iPhone 4, and of course it led to the awkward pause where he asked the over 500 Wi-Fi users in the room to please unplug their computers and stop liveblogging (of course, not everybody complied). But were those users the problem? NPR cornered Glenn Fleishman for an explanation, and he says while that many Wi-Fi users might not have caused problems, many of the people in the room were using MiFis, the personal wireless network devices that aren't necessarily designed to be used so closely together. It wasn't a bandwidth problem then, Fleishman suggests, but an interference problem, with local Wi-Fi likely giving way to the vast noise from other devices. Fleishman also says over at Ars Technica that there might have been another issue: the iPhone 4's pre-release network drivers. If you look at how the iPhone actually behaved, it's apparent that the software might not have been ready to deal with everything happening during the keynote. Of course, that doesn't mean that iPhone 4 will have issues at release -- Apple tests these devices thoroughly, and we couldn't imagine Steve releasing subpar drivers on the iPhone. Even if the drivers were the issue, obviously we'd never heard that from Apple. But Steve's irritation at Monday's keynote may have been slightly misplaced -- there were probably a few different factors going into the reason he couldn't load a page in Mobile Safari.
Apple orders enough parts to make 3 million iPhone 4s per month
According to DigiTimes, Apple has been ordering VGA lens kits (for use with the new front-facing camera on the iPhone 4) from supplier Asia Optical (AO) since May, to the tune 3 million (on average) per month. This is great news for AO, of course. If the current rate continues, they expect to get out of the red and reach profitability by the second quarter of this year. It's also good news for customers, as it suggests that Apple is stockpiling a whole lot of units. Pre-orders begin in the US and elsewhere on June 15, and sales of iPhone 4 will begin in the US on June 24th. At the current rates, Apple could likely produce 9 million iPhone 4s by its fourth fiscal quarter of the year ending September. Earlier this year, higher-than-expected demand caused shortages and delays for iPad customers. In fact, the international launch was pushed back about a month due to supply and demand trouble. That's definitely something Apple wants to avoid with iPhone 4. [Via AppleInsider]
iPhone 4's resolution resolved
When Steve Jobs introduced iPhone 4, he claimed that its "Retina Display's" tiny pixels exceed what the human eye can differentiate. "It turns out there's a magic number right around 300 pixels per inch, that when you hold something around to 10 to 12 inches away from your eyes, is the limit of the human retina to differentiate the pixels," Jobs said. Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, refuted the claim in a Wired article entitled iPhone 4's 'Retina' Display Claims Are False Marketing. Meanwhile, Phil Plait of Discover magazine's Bad Astronomy column responds by saying that Soneira is (mostly) incorrect, while Steve Jobs is (technically) right. Begun this week the war has.
Engadget Podcast 200 - 06.11.2010
Hey, guess what happened this week? The 200th Engadget Podcast. That's all you need to know, so chill - to the next episode.Special thanks to Claire Rae Lin.Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul MillerProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Kraftwerk - Computer WorldHear the podcast02:04 - iPhone 4 announced, launching June 24 for $199 with new FaceTime video chat03:05 - iPhone 4's retina display claim put under the math microscope06:20 - iPhone 4 does 720p HD video, iMovie14:00 - iPhone 4 guide: preview, pricing, availability14:15 - iPhone 4 pixel density examined (video)17:00 - iPhone 4 first hands-on! (update: FaceTime video demo)20:10 - iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 3GS: the tale of the tape20:46 - iPhone 4 vs. the smartphone elite: EVO 4G, N8, Pre Plus, and HD222:50 - iPhone 4 vs. EVO 4G... fight!25:10 - Samsung: iPhone 4's retina display is nice, but it's no AMOLED35:49 - iPhone OS 4 renamed iOS 4, launching June 21 with 1500 new features36:41 - iOS 4 gold works with any compatible iPhone / iPod touch via iTunes 9.2, jailbreak also updated43:54 - AT&T: upgrade to iPhone 4 up to six months early45:00 - How-to: check your iPhone 4 upgrade eligibility51:15 - HTC EVO 4G overtakes Palm Pre for best-selling launch day on Sprint51:20 - Sprint misstated EVO 4G sales, by a lot51:45 - HTC EVO 4G sold out pretty much everywhere59:05 - Apple's Magic Trackpad revealed?Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
WWDC 2010: Firemint's app success
We've met up with the folks from Firemint before -- back at GDC, they were kind enough to show us Real Racing on the iPhone and share their plans for the iPad. Just a few months later we've found them at WWDC with the extremely popular Flight Control HD and an Apple Design award for Real Racing HD. When we talked with Firemint's community manager Alexandra Peters this week, she was quiet on their future plans. What they don't want to do, she told us, is put pressure on themselves. In addition to all of their success on the App Store, both of Firemint's apps are also playing on iPads in Apple Stores, and all of that exposure for their first iOS titles means whatever they do next has some big shoes to fill. Firemint is flattered by the Design Award, Peters told us, but she admits it "may have added even more pressure."
WWDC 2010: Matt Martel's reMovem 2
We're meeting all kinds of developers at WWDC in San Francisco this week; some from big companies with big resources (and stay tuned -- we're talking to a few of this week's Apple Design Award winners later on), and some hard-working, smaller groups. Matt Martel's Mundue is the second kind of developer. He makes the reMovem app; it's a simple little game that has you removing colored balls from the screen (in order) and trying to completely clear the board. The idea is simple and fun, but the app has grown extremely complex; it has been downloaded over 6 million times, and is now available in thirteen languages across several versions. Martel sat down this week to show off reMovem2, which is the iPad version of his app. The main difference, he told us, between the iPhone and iPad versions of the game is the screen size, but the fact that you've got more room to play with really opens up the gameplay. More balls to match can mean greater difficulty, but it also means larger scores. And though Martel started out with a single game mode, the iPad version incorporates four different modes, the option to add extra themes, a chance at in-app purchases, and, as he told me, lots of different opportunities with iOS 4 and Apple's upcoming Game Center.
Poll: Would you recommend a contract-free iPhone
The iPhone 4 debuts on the 24th of June. I am one of the many users whose upgrade date falls after 1/1/11. Looking at the difference between no-commitment pricing and upgrade-date-after pricing, I've been considering the no-commitment option and coming up without many answers. The math is not particularly compelling. AT&T's new smartphone early termination fee (ETF) is now running at $325, reducing at $10 per month. If I re-up with AT&T, the math becomes a wash after just over 12 months of use. The ETF goes down to $200, the actual price difference between the after-1/1/11 versus the no-commitment. Either way, I'm still under contract for the next 12 months regardless, unless I pay my current $120 ETF -- and I don't particularly want to give up my $30 unlimited data.
iPhone 4's retina display claim put under the math microscope
Samsung might have entertained us with some trash talk about the iPhone 4's IPS LCD yesterday, but this stuff is of a rather more somber variety. Raymond Soneira, president of monitor diagnostics firm DisplayMate, has said that Apple's retina display marketing is inaccurate, because he believes a display that truly makes pixels indistinguishable to the human eye would require a density in the vicinity of 477dpi. The iPhone 4 has 326dpi, and by now you might be surmising that Steve Jobs flat out lied when he said that the iPhone 4's pixels are too small for the human retina to discern from 12 inches away. But not so fast, says Phil Plait from Discover, whose résumé includes calibrating a camera on board the Hubble space telescope. He's done the math too and finds that the 477 number applies only to people with perfect vision. For the vast majority of us, Steve's claim stands up to scrutiny; even folks with 20/20 eyesight wouldn't be able to tell where one pixel ends and another begins. So it turns out Apple can do its math, even if its marketing isn't true for every single humanoid on the planet.
AT&T offering price protection (or iPhone 4 swap) to recent 3GS buyers
We've been able to confirm some leaked information out of modmyi.com today that AT&T is doing us a solid by extending price protection for recent iPhone 3GS buyers by just a little bit. If you purchased a 3GS -- either the 16GB or 32GB model -- between May 7 and May 14, you'll have until June 14 to get credited the difference between the price you paid and the $149 / $199 they're charging now; if you bought it after the 14th of May, you'd have at least until the 14th of this month anyway, so it's effectively a one-week extension. If you'd rather trade up to an iPhone 4 rather than pocketing some cash and keeping the 3GS, you've got an option there, too: anyone who picked up a 3GS between May 7 and May 21 can preorder an iPhone 4 by June 21 and get the new phone for only the difference in cost, assuming you bring in your 3GS when you pick it up. On a related note, modmyi.com is also reporting that AT&T corporate stores are set to open at 7AM on the 24th, iPhone 4 launch day, though we're not able to confirm this one. Word on the street is that new customers will only be able to activate one line and existing customers will be able to buy one iPhone 4 per line of service, clearly an attempt to stretch inventory as far as it'll go. With the way Apple's setting up for preorders and launch-day delivery, it seems like a lot of this chaos and bedlam is going to be avoided -- but hey, it's Apple. You never know.
