iPhone's downsized wide screen
(Credit: Apple)Add one more reason to doubt the iPhone hype: It appears that Apple's uberdevice utilizes a totally proprietary 1.5:1 aspect ratio. While that's wider than the standard square-ish 1.33:1 (4x3) aspect ratio found on older TVs, PC monitors, and iPods, it's 15 percent narrower than the 1.78:1 (16x9) screen dimensions found on most HDTV and DVD programming.
The specs of the iPhone list a pixel count of 480x320. In and of itself, that doesn't prove anything: some displays utilize rectangular pixels, which allows them to deliver a true 16:9 picture. (Older Hitachi plasma panels, for example, have a 1,024x1,024 pixel count, but their rectangular shape delivers a wide-screen image, rather than a perfect square one might infer from the resolution). But examining the photos of the iPhone on Apple's site reveals a nearly perfect 1.5:1 aspect ratio on the device's 3.5-inch screen when it's viewed in landscape mode. (The images below were snagged from Apple's site, and they compare the iPhone to Apple TV, which offers a true wide-screen image of 1.78:1.)
The nonstandard screen shape means that wide-screen content will either need to be zoomed (cutting off the left and right sides) or letterboxed (black bars on the top and bottom) when viewed on the iPhone. Neither option will be as cramped as it is on current iPods, which cut off more when zoomed or have larger letterbox bars. But it might disappoint prospective iPhone owners to learn that the "true video iPod" offers a compromised wide-screen viewing experience.
The iPhone's aspect ratio is narrower than standard wide-screen.
(Credit: CNET)
For more information on letterboxing and aspect ratio, check out CNET's quick guide to aspect ratio.
John P. Falcone covers home theater and network entertainment products. He's been writing for CNET since 2002.
hating the iPhone?
hating the iPhone?
standard, widescreen aspect ratio for phones.
standard, widescreen aspect ratio for phones.
1) huh ? no Traditional phone jack ?
2) huh ? no USB socket ?
3) huh ? no Firewire Socket ?
4) no PCMCIA Slot ?
5) no ExpressCard slot ?
6) no built in surround sound speaker ?
7) no Microwave oven ?
8) no Kitchen Sink ?
9) no Vibrator built-in ?
10) no Mirror built-in ?
this iPhone is so going to be a flop, because I would never buy anything without the above features.
minimum, #9 is taken care of by the healthy third party market.
This not-so-widescreen display (and its advertised right on Apple's own site as a "widescreen iPod", implying more than will be delivered) is unfortunately yet another example of either design compromises that weren't stated as such or just plain ol' false advertising. I think that this as well as other critiques are valid (no 3G network access, locked to one carrier, etc.) given Jobs' presentation, the overall high expectations of any Apple product since the original iMac, the maturity of the cell phone market and the capabilities of similar phones, and the EXTREMELY high price of this lil' puppy. Are you [i]really[/i] that surprised that folks expect and are asking for a whole lot more from this first Apple cell phone than from, say, the next Nokia, Motorola, Samsung or Sony release?
In fact, though the user interface seems REALLY slick, I wonder why the "iPhone" (and why they didn't have the naming rights locked down already I'd love to know!) isn't otherwise pushing the technology envelope as have preceding products (not, though, the iPod, for all its ubiquity). Why isn't it supporting the upcoming [b]4G[/b] data networks, instead of being half a generation behind state-of-the-art? Why is it locked into one provider instead of coming out unlocked and available to anyone with existing GSM service? The touch interface [i]seems[/i] suitably revolutionary, but this brings forth the primary problem with this product pre-announcement:
Fer cryin' out loud, why can't ANYONE this side of Cupertino get their hands on it yet? All of the speculation and sniping you so deplore would go away instantly if (a) Apple would explain the design rational and compromises in the iPhone and (b) would just release the damn thing! As it stands, we have little more in the iPhone now than we did before the announcement. It remains a high-tech Holy Grail: we can't get it yet and it'll cost a comparative arm-and-a-leg in today's cell phone market. So all we can do is continue to speculate and take apart the paltry information Jobs has given us. If you think that's unfair, what else would you have us do?
1) huh ? no Traditional phone jack ?
2) huh ? no USB socket ?
3) huh ? no Firewire Socket ?
4) no PCMCIA Slot ?
5) no ExpressCard slot ?
6) no built in surround sound speaker ?
7) no Microwave oven ?
8) no Kitchen Sink ?
9) no Vibrator built-in ?
10) no Mirror built-in ?
this iPhone is so going to be a flop, because I would never buy anything without the above features.
minimum, #9 is taken care of by the healthy third party market.
This not-so-widescreen display (and its advertised right on Apple's own site as a "widescreen iPod", implying more than will be delivered) is unfortunately yet another example of either design compromises that weren't stated as such or just plain ol' false advertising. I think that this as well as other critiques are valid (no 3G network access, locked to one carrier, etc.) given Jobs' presentation, the overall high expectations of any Apple product since the original iMac, the maturity of the cell phone market and the capabilities of similar phones, and the EXTREMELY high price of this lil' puppy. Are you [i]really[/i] that surprised that folks expect and are asking for a whole lot more from this first Apple cell phone than from, say, the next Nokia, Motorola, Samsung or Sony release?
In fact, though the user interface seems REALLY slick, I wonder why the "iPhone" (and why they didn't have the naming rights locked down already I'd love to know!) isn't otherwise pushing the technology envelope as have preceding products (not, though, the iPod, for all its ubiquity). Why isn't it supporting the upcoming [b]4G[/b] data networks, instead of being half a generation behind state-of-the-art? Why is it locked into one provider instead of coming out unlocked and available to anyone with existing GSM service? The touch interface [i]seems[/i] suitably revolutionary, but this brings forth the primary problem with this product pre-announcement:
Fer cryin' out loud, why can't ANYONE this side of Cupertino get their hands on it yet? All of the speculation and sniping you so deplore would go away instantly if (a) Apple would explain the design rational and compromises in the iPhone and (b) would just release the damn thing! As it stands, we have little more in the iPhone now than we did before the announcement. It remains a high-tech Holy Grail: we can't get it yet and it'll cost a comparative arm-and-a-leg in today's cell phone market. So all we can do is continue to speculate and take apart the paltry information Jobs has given us. If you think that's unfair, what else would you have us do?
http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/
http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/
puts out films in differing aspect ratios and exhibitors may crop or otherwise
modify them. There is a generally accepted standard for widescreen TVs that
you cite, but it is very common for HDTV content to be displayed with the horror
of some unused pixels (unless you have your set adjusted to intentionally disort
all content as so many undiscerning individuals do).
I think the iPhone screen aspect ratio was likely chosen as a compromise
between its wide ranging functions. It it not a mistake.
puts out films in differing aspect ratios and exhibitors may crop or otherwise
modify them. There is a generally accepted standard for widescreen TVs that
you cite, but it is very common for HDTV content to be displayed with the horror
of some unused pixels (unless you have your set adjusted to intentionally disort
all content as so many undiscerning individuals do).
I think the iPhone screen aspect ratio was likely chosen as a compromise
between its wide ranging functions. It it not a mistake.
Why is this article even being posted on Cnet?
To make the 'phone' part feasible in the iPhone (emphasis on phone, not
iVideo player) they can't have either a standard size screen (too square) or a
too widescreen (too long for their touch screen interface). Therefore they
allow you to watch the videos in a similar-to-standard mode (which the
iphone does automatically) or you can watch it in widescreen as some users
here have already pointed out.
Name a digital device that has gotten more criticism while still having 6
months till production day.
We could spend months going through and critiquing every aspect of every
Apple product and get a IPodPhonePlayer that is as big as a Zune, has no
visual voicemail and works efficiently with no services, has a built in keyboard
AND an onscreen, has 3g which drives the cost up, and uses windows instead
of OSX, and therfore gets bugs.
Or we could realize that that is what everyone else has done, and produced a
mediocre device, with mediocre design, mediocre usability, and mediocre
sales.
Perfect, the iPhone is not. But it's a hell of a lot better than any phone I've
ever seen.
Why is this article even being posted on Cnet?
To make the 'phone' part feasible in the iPhone (emphasis on phone, not
iVideo player) they can't have either a standard size screen (too square) or a
too widescreen (too long for their touch screen interface). Therefore they
allow you to watch the videos in a similar-to-standard mode (which the
iphone does automatically) or you can watch it in widescreen as some users
here have already pointed out.
Name a digital device that has gotten more criticism while still having 6
months till production day.
We could spend months going through and critiquing every aspect of every
Apple product and get a IPodPhonePlayer that is as big as a Zune, has no
visual voicemail and works efficiently with no services, has a built in keyboard
AND an onscreen, has 3g which drives the cost up, and uses windows instead
of OSX, and therfore gets bugs.
Or we could realize that that is what everyone else has done, and produced a
mediocre device, with mediocre design, mediocre usability, and mediocre
sales.
Perfect, the iPhone is not. But it's a hell of a lot better than any phone I've
ever seen.
Why the anti-iPhone agenda, c|net?
No one has played with the device yet, and yet it's the "second coming" or some BS.
The screen issue is a small one(pun intended) but if someone's gonna hold something up as the "be all and end all" then it should be damned close.
Why the anti-iPhone agenda, c|net?
No one has played with the device yet, and yet it's the "second coming" or some BS.
The screen issue is a small one(pun intended) but if someone's gonna hold something up as the "be all and end all" then it should be damned close.
If more people would look at things for what they are, pieces of plastic with some metal and some glass (that they will be bored with in few months). And stop worshiping them, like a god made it just for them... Then they won't be having caniption fits like they are 5-year old brats.
I could give a rat's ass what someone says about something I own or plan to buy. Why? ...Because I have gauged it's true value (it's use) to me and at that point I don't have any doubts nor am I waiting for it to deliver my next bout of (fleeting) happiness. Sorry. I'm just not that shallow.
The day Steve Jobs, Steve Balmer, Bill Gates, Kaz Harai, or whomever makes me so "happy" with a device (that is not of a medical or life-saving nature) that I have "slay those who would say an unkind word," is the day I need to be put away, because on that day I have traded a truly awesome gift--My BRAIN--for an existence as a cash cow for somebody else to milk. No Thanks.
These fanatics don't get it..
One of the world's biggest Tech shows AND one of the world's biggest Car Shows going on at the same time and all any news outlet mentioned was the iPhone. Even my local news station's traffic guy wasted some of his precious segment time saying how he thinks it's cool. ***!? How does that happen? If that isn't staged, then that is hype--on a monumental scale for a gadget that no one's touched, or will for months (Segway anyone?), and has features that are already out there in other products.
So now that the drug-haze is wearing off and some people are having (many legit) questions, it's "Apple bashing". No it's not. Apple needs to cut down on the BS and ramp up the facts. Stop trying to make out that the rest of the world is stupid.
"...how hard it is to use a phone..." ***? I think most of us have had a decade or more of practice using cell phones and their address books Steve... If it is that hard for you, then maybe you should switch to sneakers with velcro, because it seems shoe laces are beyond you.
...And don't waste ninety (90) minutes to show device that anyone who's used a PDA (or handheld video game) before would've figured out in 10 minutes of playing with the thing.
- Pipe down the rhetoric
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by thellar
January 16, 2007 12:17 PM PST
- No one needs to be attacking the iPhone or getting defensive. The CNET review was simply stating a couple facts about the performance characteristics of the screen. The hype has been so high about the phone I think everyone knows all about the good aspects of the phone. How is it harmful for a review to come out about the perhaps less than flawless display?
-
Reply to this comment
-
-
- AMEN to that!
-
by GreyClaw
January 16, 2007 3:53 PM PST
- I want to hear ALL the pros and ALL the cons of anything I would be asked to buy...if was for 10cents and Especially if it was for nearly a grand.
-
-
Showing 1 of 3 pages (82 Comments)If more people would look at things for what they are, pieces of plastic with some metal and some glass (that they will be bored with in few months). And stop worshiping them, like a god made it just for them... Then they won't be having caniption fits like they are 5-year old brats.
I could give a rat's ass what someone says about something I own or plan to buy. Why? ...Because I have gauged it's true value (it's use) to me and at that point I don't have any doubts nor am I waiting for it to deliver my next bout of (fleeting) happiness. Sorry. I'm just not that shallow.
The day Steve Jobs, Steve Balmer, Bill Gates, Kaz Harai, or whomever makes me so "happy" with a device (that is not of a medical or life-saving nature) that I have "slay those who would say an unkind word," is the day I need to be put away, because on that day I have traded a truly awesome gift--My BRAIN--for an existence as a cash cow for somebody else to milk. No Thanks.
These fanatics don't get it..
One of the world's biggest Tech shows AND one of the world's biggest Car Shows going on at the same time and all any news outlet mentioned was the iPhone. Even my local news station's traffic guy wasted some of his precious segment time saying how he thinks it's cool. ***!? How does that happen? If that isn't staged, then that is hype--on a monumental scale for a gadget that no one's touched, or will for months (Segway anyone?), and has features that are already out there in other products.
So now that the drug-haze is wearing off and some people are having (many legit) questions, it's "Apple bashing". No it's not. Apple needs to cut down on the BS and ramp up the facts. Stop trying to make out that the rest of the world is stupid.
"...how hard it is to use a phone..." ***? I think most of us have had a decade or more of practice using cell phones and their address books Steve... If it is that hard for you, then maybe you should switch to sneakers with velcro, because it seems shoe laces are beyond you.
...And don't waste ninety (90) minutes to show device that anyone who's used a PDA (or handheld video game) before would've figured out in 10 minutes of playing with the thing.