Father's Day Specials! 06/11/10 – 06/20/10

As speculated, Apple announced the 4th version of its iPhone hardware at the WWDC conference this afternoon. Steve Jobs wowed audience members with several groundbreaking advancements both in terms of hardware and software. The Gold Master version of iPhone OS4, now called iOS4, was showcased alongside an all new version of the iPhone. While the overall design of the phone did prove to be identical to the leaked Gizmodo prototype of a few months back, the features Jobs detailed came as an impressive surprise. Here is a breakdown of the new features highlighted in today’s keynote. The keynote can be viewed “*here*”:http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1006ad9g4hjk/event/index.html

*Hardware:*

*Design:*

The design of the iPhone 4 virtually mirrors that of the prototype intercepted by Gizmodo a few months ago. Available in white and black, the phone employs a sleek glass front and back with a sturdy stainless steel bezel. Opting for a flat back, the redesigned phone harkens to the original iPhone’s design. Toted as being 24% thinner than existing 3G and 3Gs models, the phone has a sleek industrial feel to it.

*Retina Display:*

This new display packs a pixel density unheard of for a mobile device. Featuring 4x more pixels than the previous iPhones, the new “Retina” display has a native resolution of 960 x 640. That’s 78% of the total pixels on the iPad crammed into a 3.5″ display. The Retina Display also sports 326ppi and an 800:1 contrast ratio.

*A4 Processor:*

Apple’s in house designed processor, which also powers the iPad, is also being included in the iPhone 4. While this will undoubtably rocket the phone’s overall speed above that of the iPhone 3Gs, the new processor also allows for other important improvements. The small size of the chip has allowed Apple to implement a larger battery within the phone. Users can expect up to 7 hours talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 300 hours of standby.

*Built In Gyroscope:*

A new built in gyroscope supplements the existing on-board accelerometer and compass with “six axis” motion. The new gyroscope features pitch, roll, and yaw, and makes motion detection much more accurate.

*5MP / 720p HD Camera:*

The iPhone 4’s camera has also undergone several important changes. The camera’s sensor has been upgraded to 5 MP and also includes a backside illuminated sensor to aid with low light scenarios. A 5x digital zoom, and an LED flash are also included as well as the tap to focus feature introduced in the 3Gs’ camera. Perhaps the most exciting camera related announcement was that the iPhone 4 records 720p HD video at 30fps. This amazing inclusion coupled with the simultaneously announced iMovie app enables users to record, edit, and share HD video on the phone.

*FaceTime Video Chatting:*

Presented separately from the other new features of iPhone 4, “FaceTime” video chatting is among the most impressive features revealed during the keynote. Taking advantage of the iPhone 4’s unique front facing camera, FaceTime enables video chatting over Wi-Fi from one iPhone 4 user to another. Jobs clarified that while the technology is Wi-Fi exclusive through 2010, measures are being put into place to implement it over AT&T’s 3G network sometime next year.

*Software:*

*iOS4:*

Jobs announced that the Gold Master of the new OS would be released to developers later this afternoon, and to the public in the near future. Jobs revisited many of the features introduced in April’s unveiling including multitasking and a unified mail inbox. In addition, he confirmed that the new OS would support over 1,500 new APIs and bring with it over 100 new features.

*iBooks:*

Jobs called special attention to the iPhone version of iBooks announcing a few new features and confirming its appearance in iOS4. PDF support was announced as well as the ability to purchase an iBook from one device, and view it on another.

*iAds:*

Apple’s exclusive mobile advertising platform, iAds, was featured prominently towards the end of the keynote. Steve gave a few brief demos as well as an overview to where the platform stood. Jobs announced that brands such as Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, GE, Geico, Target, Best Buy, Disney had already committed $60 million towards iAds for 2010.

iPhone 4 is slated to go on sale June 24th. Available in both black and white, the 16GB model will sell for $199, and the 32GB model will sell for $299 with new 2-year contracts. The 3G has effectively been discontinued, and the 3Gs will absorb its $99 price tag and status as entry level iPhone. Pre-orders for both iPhone 4 models will begin next week.

_Dear Friends,_

This week’s WWDC announcements and demoes were amazing. So much of our current technology was predicted in the Science Fiction that I read as a youth. To be able to have a wireless video conference with someone half a world away by holding a thin device in your hand is simply otherworldly to an old man like me. My first cell phone had a little suitcase that came with it.

The fast pace of technological advance is one of the keys to our success. Our ability to respond quickly to changes in technology, to understand those changes and to explain them to our customers is a strength of the company. We sell the products of a company that understands this and also understands how the devices they make can also change society. Steve Jobs showed how FaceTime can be used for signing by hearing-disabled people. Families separated by circumstance will also be able to share live video using this relatively inexpensive device.

If technology is used correctly it can enhance people’s lives, it can bridge cultural gaps and it can be used to build, rather than destroy. As you know, I spend time each evening chatting with Simon, our agent, and our suppliers and friends in China. I would say that while a considerable portion of the time we chat, we are talking about business, we are also using the technology to discuss our respective cultures, to learn about each other, to find common ground (by the way, Simon is a Boston Celtics fan!) and discuss world events and life.

I used to do this when I was a child with amateur radio, but today with IM it is so easy; with new technology, it will even be easier in the future. It gives me great hope for better understanding and cultural exchanges to see people-oriented technology. Okay, so Apple didn’t re-name the iPhone OS to “siamese” but hey, I predicted the name change and I like iOS just fine!

I am beginning to think that I am a bit of a jinx to my beloved Boston Celtics. It seems that just about every time I go to a game, the boys in green lose. I said this to Grace last night and she said, “except when you take me” because it turns out that every time I have taken Grace to the game, the Celtics have won. Now, I wonder if I should go down on Sunday and look for tix.

With Apple’s announcement of the revolutionary “*iPhone 4*”:http://www.apple.com/iphone/ yesterday, it would be easy to overlook the release of Safari 5 that coincided with it. While certainly not as glamorous as Apple’s latest device, the newest version of Safari does bring some changes that will give it a serious leg up in the browser wars.

Performance is easily the biggest deciding factor when choosing a browser, and Apple has upgraded Safari with a faster “Nitro” engine to keep themselves ahead of the game. Apple claims Safari 5 will run JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4, 3 percent faster than Chrome 5.0 and more than twice as fast as Firefox 3.6.

In addition to significant speed boosts, Safari 5 also includes the Safari Reader. This utility automatically detects if you are browsing a page with an article on it, and allows you to view it in a continuous and clutter-free manner. To enable Safari Reader, simply navigate to an applicable page and click the Reader icon in the Smart Address Field. Upon doing so, onscreen controls, similar to those seen when viewing a PDF, will appear and let you email, print, and zoom. Safari Reader even saves text settings so font size is the same if you revisit the page.

Though not apparent by simply glancing at the UI, Safari 5 also includes a robust set of HTML5 tweaks under the hood. The new browser brings over a dozen new features including full-screen mode and closed captioning for HTML5 video as well as HTML5 geolocation. To view some examples of the HTML5 web standard in action, check out Apple’s showcase of demos “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/html5/

Other more subtle refinements include DNS prefetching and improved catching. DNS prefetching means that if you are viewing a web page with links, Safari detects them and looks them up behind the scenes. When you click a link, the page loads faster as a result. A web cache is essentially an index of pages previously viewed. Since Safari 5’s cache has been expanded, more pages fit into it and load faster upon being revisited.

Appending the aforementioned features are other upgrades such as a smarter address field, integrated Bing search, hardware acceleration for Windows and an improved web inspector. Safari 5 is available today, and is a free download for Mac + PC. Download it “*here.*”:http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

*Please Note:* The requirements for Safari 5 are either Mac OS 10.5 + or Windows XP SP3 +

Father’s Day is next Sunday! Based on sales in our retail stores and at “Smalldog.com”:http://www.smalldog.com, we’ve created a list of some of the most popular Father’s Day Gifts of 2010.

A standout item includes the incredibly rugged Otterbox Defender cases for iPhone and iPod touch. This is perfect for active Dads who work in wet or dusty environments. It’s also great for Dad’s with butterfingers, who tend to drop expensive and fragile devices. “Click here to see a video review of the Defender on Vimeo.”:http://vimeo.com/2004432 “Click here to see a video tutorial of the Defender on YouTube”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtoobfN2ZSg&feature=player_embedded,

Buy the Otterbox Defender for 15% off from “Smalldog.com”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=defender!

AT&T has bumped up the upgrade eligibility dates for many iPhone owners. This means that some current iPhone users will not have to wait until the end of their two-year contract before upgrading their phone at a subsidized rate.

The fact that this change has taken place in the days leading up to the WWDC is likely not a coincidence. There has been a large amount of speculation that the next generation of iPhone will be announced at today’s keynote.

This change comes as great news for many iPhone users looking to upgrade, especially 3G owners looking to fully reap the benefits of iPhone OS 4.0. To check your eligibility, call *NEW# (*639#) and AT&T will send you a free text with your new upgrade date.

I am riding over to Lake George today for the “Annual Americade Motorcycle Touring Expo.”:http://www.tourexpo.com/ This is my favorite annual event because it is oriented to my type of riding–long distance touring.

Grace and I were talking about how there are so many different types of motorcyclists. I have always been in the long distance touring category; however, now with my Norton, I’ll be in the classic British bike group. Tony is a Harley guy through and through, there are the BMW riders, the sport bike guys, the 10 percenters, hard core bikers, the trike guys and then the ones that annoy me the most, the trailer-toting motorcyclists. I’m sorry–trailers don’t belong on motorcycles, instead of waving as they go by, I usually mumble, “get a minivan!”

I usually poke fun at hockey since most of my team are rabid hockey fans, but I was actually watching the Stanley Cup Finals this year. The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961–which was about the last time I followed hockey, in the days of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Glenn Hall. Yeah, BlackHawks!

Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali, Ed and Ben_