While we learnt at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that Apple's high-speed 3G iPhone is arriving next month, precious little else was released about the phone apart from UK pricing and the fact that it has GPS.
But we're still curious about a number of things, so here's our list of the questions that we'd love to know the answer to.
What's with the plastic back?
As Steve Jobs ticked off the design achievements of the iPhone 3G at the WWDC keynote, he mentioned its 'full plastic back'. I think that this change may indeed be a virtue. The shiny metallic backs sported by first-generation iPhones and most varieties of iPods are maddeningly effective magnets for scratches, fingerprints, and grime.
But Apple usually upgrades its products by replacing plastic with metal; it's hard to imagine the company going the other direction unless it had a motive unrelated to aesthetics. Was it able to shave a millimetre or three off the required thickness by using plastic? (Cramming everything in was clearly a challenge. Despite Jobs' claim that the new iPhone is "even thinner" at the edges than its predecessor, Apple's official depth spec for the iPhone 3G is 12.3mm, versus 11.6mm for the original iPhone.)
Maybe the metal would have interfered with GPS reception? Or did Apple simply have to go with cheaper materials when it cut the cost of the iPhone in half?
When will we get 32GB and 64GB iPhones?
For some of us, an iPhone can't function as a first-class iPod until it has enough memory to hold every song and video in a fairly large media collection. It's safe to assume that Apple will boost the phone's memory as soon as it can cram enough storage into its case and sell the resulting device at a price that a sane person might spring for.
Since the iPhone-like iPod touch already comes in a £329 32GB version, I'd be surprised if a 32GB iPhone is more than a few months away.
But I'd be equally surprised if a 64GB iPhone showed up before mid-2009 or so, given the still-imposing cost for that much flash memory. (Apple charges a £650 premium for a 1.6GHz MacBook Air equipped with a 64GB solid-state drive instead of an 80GB traditional drive.)
NEXT PAGE: Will we ever be able to use an iPhone as a modem?
Comments
Brad Thompon said: Shiny metallic back What shiny metallic back The first-gen iPhone has a matte-finish aluminum aluminium back Mine hasnt taken a single scratch in the last 7 months Ive owned it If it were shiny like the iPods it would have been scratched in the first day and youd be right But it doesnt and youre not
prak said: learnt is the past tense of learn like burnburntlearned is an adjective meaning showing requiring or characterized by learning or having much knowledge acquired by study For example My learned professor never learnt to set the clock on his VCRSadly Americans got into the language and their brains couldnt grok the irregularities of English Im sure its only a matter of time before teached and buyed become the past tenses of teach and buy respectively
Dco said: The back casing was because the aluminum interfered with reception quality
fredrick haan said: how fun This comment is censored Are you afraid your writings will get bad press
svinto said: Plastic backing is better for reception 32 and 64 GB phones is what yyou will get when all the others are sold out Silly
MJC said: Agree about radio reception with a plastic back Everywhere we go my wifes plastic MacBook shows 2 to 3X the WiFi signals as my metal MacBook Pro
MicMac said: My burning question is what will happen with the iPod Touch price as it is 199 now
Constable Odo said: People had been complaining that the reception wasnt all that good on the metal-backed iPhone If changing the back to completely plastic increases reception then I think thats a good solution If youre so worried about keeping the iPhone 3G in pristine condition and safe from scratches then Id suggest you purchase a protective skin for itIf plastic is less expensive than the aluminum it would only make sense to do so to keep the costs down Look the iPhone 3G is going for a low of 199 Its almost getting into the disposable price range Its a world of compromises You give some you get some
Liam Bresnahan said: I should imagine by now that you know of a few answers to your questions if not here are the ones I have come acrossPlastic Back - due to the amount of antennas in the phone - GPS 3G GSM tri-band Wifi Bluetooth - these all need easy access to the etherturn by turn directions - this will almost certainly come in the form of software - tom tom are already said to be working on their offeringWill MobileMe be worth 50 - completely subjective surely however I would quite like a close up of this
Walt French said: I never understood the rationale of putting a radio -- and with GPS two -- inside a metal box It means that more of the talk energy gets transmitted towards your head Not a medical issue perhaps but not the way youd want to design an efficient radio Betcha the plastic back just works better maybe the better transmission means lower talk power and better talk time too
JKN said: Whats with the plastic backMetal attenuates radio signals and sincethere are now more radio transmitters in the iPhone 3G WiFi GPS Edge quad-band GSM tri-band WCDMA Bluetooth a change was called for
ty said: good article and if you check the oxford english dictionary you will find the word learnt alternative form of the past tense and past participle of the irregular verb learn alas will these englishmen never learn to speak proper american
gary said: good article but I think if you check the dictionary you will not find the word learnt - maybe spell check would help