The iPhone is an internet-connected multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a flush multi-touch screen and a minimal hardware interface. The device does not have a physical keyboard, so a virtual keyboard is rendered on the touch screen instead. The iPhone functions as a camera phone (including text messaging and visual voicemail), a portable media player (equivalent to an iPod), and an Internet client (with email, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity). The first-generation phone hardware was quad-band GSM with EDGE; the second generation also adds UMTS with HSDPA.[9]
Apple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007.[10] The announcement was preceded by rumors and speculation that circulated for several months.[11] The iPhone was initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007, and has since been introduced worldwide. It was named Time magazine’s “Invention of the Year” in 2007.[12] On July 11, 2008, the iPhone 3G was released. It supports faster 3G data speeds and Assisted GPS.[9] On March 17, 2009, Apple announced the iPhone firmware version 3.0, due to be released in summer 2009.
Screen Details :-
The 9 cm (3.5 in) liquid crystal display (320×480 px at 6.3 px/mm, 160 ppi) HVGA touchscreen with scratch-resistant glass[29] is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. Because the screen is a capacitive touchscreen, bare skin is required. Most gloves or a stylus prevent the necessary electrical conductivity. The screen is also capable of rendering up to 262,144 colors.[32][33][34][35]
The display responds to three sensors. A proximity sensor shuts off the display and touchscreen when the iPhone is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user’s face and ears. An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power. A 3-axis accelerometer senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly.[36] Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations.[37] Later, a software update allowed the first generation iPhone to use cell towers and Wi-Fi networks for location finding despite lacking a hardware GPS. The iPhone 3G supplements those methods with A-GPS.
The iPhone has three physical switches on the sides: wake/sleep, volume up/down, and ringer on/off. These are made of plastic on the original iPhone and metal on the iPhone 3G. A single “home” hardware button below the display brings up the main menu. The touch screen furnishes the remainder of the user interface.
The back of the original iPhone was made of aluminum with a black plastic accent. The iPhone 3G features a full plastic back to increase GSM signal strength.[38] The plastic is black for the 8 GB model, but the 16 GB version is also available in white.
Audio Quality :-
Loudspeakers are located above the screen and the left side of the bottom of the unit; the microphone is located on the right. Volume controls are located on the left side of the unit and as a slider in the iPod application. Both speakers are used for handsfree operations and media playback.
The 3.5 mm TRRS connector for the headphones is located on the top left corner of the device.[39] The headphone socket on the original iPhone is recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter.[40][41] The iPhone 3G has a flush mounted headphone socket that eliminates the issue.
The iPhone’s headphones are similar to those of most current smartphones, incorporating a microphone. A multipurpose button in the microphone can be used to play or pause music, skip tracks, and answer or end phone calls without touching the iPhone; newer versions also incorporate volume controls. A small number of third-party headsets specifically designed for the iPhone also include a microphone and control button.[42]
The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces, which requires the HSP profile. stereo audio will be added in the 3.0 update for hardware that supports A2DP.[43][44] Notably, it does not support laptop tethering (requires DUN and SPP), or the OBEX file transfer protocol (requires FTP, GOEP, and OPP).[citation needed] The lack of these profiles prevent iPhone users from exchanging multimedia files with other bluetooth-enabled cell phones, including pictures, music and videos.
Composite or component video at up to 576i and stereo audio can be output from the dock connector using an adapter sold by Apple.[45] Unlike many similar phones, the iPhone requires third party software to support voice recording. Apple is planning such an application for the 3.0 software update.
Phone Facility :-
The iPhone allows audio conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, if a song is playing while a call is received, it gradually fades out, and fades back when the call has ended. The proximity sensor shuts off the screen and touch-sensitive circuitry when the iPhone is brought close to the face, both to save battery and prevent unintentional touches. The iPhone only supports voice dialing through third party applications[citation needed] and video calling is not supported at all.
The iPhone includes a visual voicemail (in some countries) feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T, O2, T-Mobile Germany, and Orange modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple.[citation needed]
A music ringtone feature was introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007. Users can create custom ringtones from songs purchased from the iTunes Store for a small additional fee. The ringtones can be 3 to 30 seconds long from any part of a song, can fade in and out, pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, or loop continuously. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms. Custom ringtones can also be created using Apple’s GarageBand software 4.1.1 or later (available only on Mac OS X)[69] and third-party tools.[70] Custom ringtones are not supported in some countries.
E-Mailing and SMS : -
The iPhone also features an e-mail program that supports HTML e-mail, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint attachments to mail messages can be viewed on the phone.[93] Apple’s MobileMe platform offers push email, which emulates the functionality of the popular BlackBerry email solution, for an annual subscription. Yahoo! offers a free push-email service for the iPhone. IMAP (although not Push-IMAP) and POP3 mail standards are also supported, including Microsoft Exchange[94] and Kerio MailServer.[95] In the first versions of the iPhone firmware, this was accomplished by opening up IMAP on the Exchange server. Apple has also licensed Microsoft ActiveSync and now supports the platform (including push email) with the release of iPhone 2.0 firmware.[96][97] The iPhone will sync e-mail account settings over from Apple’s own Mail application, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Entourage, or it can be manually configured on the device itself. With the correct settings, the e-mail program can access almost any IMAP or POP3 account.[98]
Camera and photos :-
The iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera located on the back for still digital photos. It has no optical zoom, flash or autofocus, and does not support video recording. Version 2.0 of iPhone OS introduced the capability to embed location data in the pictures, producing geocoded photographs.
The iPhone includes software that allows the user to upload, view, and e-mail photos. The user zooms in and out of photos by sliding two fingers further apart or closer together, much like Safari. The Camera application also lets users view the camera roll, the pictures that have been taken with the iPhone’s camera. Those pictures are also available in the Photos application, along with any transferred from iPhoto or Aperture on a Mac, or Photoshop in Windows.
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One Response to “Why should we buy an iPhone!”
Superb article, great pictures. After seeing this post I am totally convinced on buying an iPhone.