Video recording, faster networking on next iPhone?
Does Apple have a video camera and faster 3G chip in mind for the next iPhone?
(Credit: CNET)Two reports involving a purported next-generation iPhone dovetailed quite nicely Friday.
First off, Silicon Alley Insider reported that it had heard a "rumor" that the next-generation iPhone--expected to launch around the middle of the year but unconfirmed by Apple--would come with faster networking chips. The tipster apparently wasn't clear on whether or not that meant an upgrade to 802.11n Wi-Fi or an upgraded 3G chipset meant to take advantage of faster 3G networks in testing by AT&T, according to Electronista.
But it makes sense viewed against another rumor floated by AppleInsider with a greater degree of certainty. The site said it had been told by a previously reliable source that Apple plans to introduce video recording on the next version of the iPhone, a capability that many iPhone customers have requested over the past two years.
With access to faster networking connections, iPhone owners could find it much easier to upload video shot from the phone to social-networking sites or to e-mail it to friends. Engadget noticed earlier this week after examining the iPhone 3.0 beta that a "Publish Video" screen was visible in the MobileMe application.
We've already seen evidence that Apple has at least one future iPhone model in the works, and adding video recording features and faster networking could be a decent way to encourage older iPhone owners to upgrade. No one seems to know exactly when such a model would arrive, but Apple seems to have settled into a midyear release window for the iPhone based on the last two launch events and the "summer" target date for the iPhone 3.0 software.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
But you do bring the interesting point that these new features are available through jailbreaking. This means that if there IS in fact a new iPhone that only offers a new chipset and video recording I think most tech savvy people will probably just jailbreak their phones as apposed to shelling out 300$ and another 2 years to at&t.
Personally I will stick with my jailbroken 3g and use cycorder. Unless Apple can really wow me with signifigantly faster speeds and some other features besides video. I'm not hopeful though.
the iphone definitely needs video recording... but it needs REAL video recording, 720x486 @ 30fps. cycorder is a cute toy, but that's about it.
1. Security - Virus attacks
2. Revenue loss
the camera on the iPhone is limited to 15fps by the hardware itself, it has nothing to do with the apps, even if apple wanted to allow it, it would still be 15fps
Jailbreaking contravenes the legal documents such as EULA and so on that the manufacturer and telco require. By deliberately ignoring those legalities the jailbreaker is doing no different to any thief or fraudster. Far be it for me to assume that you or anyone else desires to live a moral life. After all a burglar would see jailbreaking as a very minor immorality. I do need to remind you, however that like downloading pirated movies and music or cracked software, there is a moral line here that the majority of people prefer not to cross.
And as to the EULA, that in itself seems immoral to me. I pay for the phone and I keep up my contract, but unlike any other computing device on planet, I can only run what apps effing APPLE thinks are okay to run on a device that is legally mine now and not theirs? That seems moral by your lights? Jailbreaking an iPhone may run afoul of a piece of paper of dubious legality and enforceability, but I think if you run this scenario by your friendly neighborhood priest/minister/rabbi/imam, he'll let you slide on it.
If Apple were to make the iPhone capable of recording video the next question would be why doesn't the iPhone have a front facing camera for video chat ??
I think that the reason it has not been made available yet is not to do with the iPhone it is to do with the Carrier Networks, they are not capable of carrying the huge amount of bandwidth that this would create.
If the current iPhone had a front facing camera for video chat, just think of tens / hundreds of thousands of people using mobile iChat to communicate with each other, just think of the thousands of complaints / law suites that Apple would get when the quality of the video is awful. Apple will only bring in this function when the carriers are capable of providing a good user experience.
I also hope that the next iPhone has a better camera, not necessarily 8 gazzillion pixels but being able to work in low light conditions. I would hope for a flash but Jonny Ive would have to find a way of making this almost invisible to get it past Mr Jobs !
does EULA really say anything about jailbreaking?? or are you referring to unlocking? either way..
cell phone companies are the immoral ones having contracts telling people to what they can or cant to with a peice of equipment that they already paid for and own outright
as a matter of fact they have been losing court cases left and right for it
the Video quality in Nokia or SE phones is nothing to brag about either
Well, if people can start recording video, even 16GB won't be enough... I'm bypassing 32 and crossing fingers for 64GB! :D
Especially with the iPhone Camera
phones will never replace cameras and Camcorders until
the manufactures start caring about Image quality and zoom
the only thing they care about now is megapixels
just see how Nokia and Sony r releasing 8 and 12 megapixel phones
atleast Apple hasn't fallen for this type of cheap marketing !
The video you'll get from an iPhone will be junk anyway because the camera hardware on the iPhone is severely limited, and any future models that have upgraded hardware may produce better video, but the video will only look decent if viewed on a youtube sized-window. Who really cares? I'm so over video-ing my life and posting it on Twitter or Facebook so my "friends" who I've never met can comment on how wasted my friend looked at the bar last night - LAME. There has to be more to the internet than these crappy social networking sites, which the author eludes to as a main purpose for apple including video recording in future iPhone versions.
Just go to http://www.tube-it.tv and get video now on your iphone.
You can even upload the video to youtube with 1 click right from your iphone 2G or 3G!
Patrick
I on the other hand have to delete albums from my iPod Touch to put new ones on. 8gb really isn't that much these days... especially when you consider about 1gb of that 8gb goes to the OS installation leaving you right at 7gb for storage of music and apps. I have roughly 600mb free right now. Having expandable storage would be a god send!
- by A_Surtees March 24, 2009 9:22 AM PDT
- The convergence of these two rumors, and the announcement of the video streaming in OS 3.0 leads me to belive that video calls may be available on the next gen iPhone.
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- by buzztech March 24, 2009 11:12 AM PDT
- I thought that too, but I tend to think a front-facing camera won't come until generation 4--after all, Apple will need a fourth act, and a fifth, and so on, if they hope to hold everyone's attention in the coming years.
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