Well, after months of speculation, Apple announced their next generation iPhone yesterday: the iPhone 4. I took some time to review the technical specs and to think about how the news will impact you.

Right away, I have to admit that Steve’s keynote left me conflicted — much of what was announced was expected, rumored, even leaked, so there were little surprises. However, the biggest surprise [to me] was that some of these rumors actually came true; “video chat” on the iPhone has been whispered about for years, so I wasn’t surprised to see it added to the new iPhone, but instead, was more impressed that Apple managed to make it work. Effortlessly.

Also, surprising was the lack of other announcements. I mentioned in an earlier post that we might see a bump with AppleTV, MacBook Air, iLife, MacPro, iTunes or at least some glimpse in the future of OS X, but no. Steve’s keynote was dedicated nearly 100% to iPhone and its operating system, iOS 4 (formerly iPhone OS).

Let’s break down the announcements:

Name:
Gone are the days where the iPhone’s name is associated with the network it runs. Finally, Apple has decided to name the phone for its own generational evolution — the iPhone 4.

Design:
The iPhone 4 sports a super-sexy new housing comprised of glass and stainless steel. The prototypes that leaked (and were sold around the internet), proved to be real. Still, the design is truly something to behold.

Not only is the new phone 24% slimmer than the previous model (iPhone 3GS), the new iPhone 4 is packed with a variety of nice new physical upgrades. Among those that really stand out are the new larger battery (up to 40% more life, per charge) and the new top mounted microphone. The average consumer will likely overlook this mic, but shouldn’t; the top-mounted mic will not only help when video chatting on the phone (more on that later) and recording video, but it will also use “sophisticated audio technology to suppress unwanted background noise.” This should improve call quality tremendously and really help a caller hear your voice, even if you are in a noisy crowd, restaurant or bar. Awesome.

Additionally, the iPhone 4 now includes a built-in gyroscope to help monitor more user movement. This doesn’t sound like much, but really needs to be seen to be appreciated. Once developers (I suspect lots of gaming developers) start to take advantage of this sensor, we are going to have a whole new category of *cool* applications. Steve played “Jenga” in his demo and, while he looked crazy spinning around on stage, the simple app was awe-inspiring.

The iPhone 4 also supports a tremendously sharp IPS “Retina” screen. For non-tech people, this won’t mean much until you see it in person. It should be absolutely unreal.

The iOS:
Announced a few months ago (when it was released in beta for developers), the operating system that powers the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPad has come close to completing its fourth version. It will ship with the new iPhone on June 21^st, and will also be available to most, previous iPhone and iPod Touch users. While iPod Touch users had to pay (typically $10) for upgrades in the past, users with modern enough devices can upgrade for free. iPad users will see an upgrade later this Fall.

While I won’t spend too much time talking about all the bells and whistles included in the new software upgrade, the standouts are all welcome additions: multitasking, folders, orientation lock, spell checker, iBooks, improved Mail app, etc.

Improved Camera:
Apple has made some excellent choices with the new iPhone 4’s camera. While most manufacturers are just beefing up the megapixel receivers in their mobile-phone cameras, Apple has gone one step further: the iPhone 4 has been bumped up to 5 megapixels (previously 3), but also includes “a backside illumination sensor,” a 5x digital zoom and an LED flash to help improve the overall quality of photos captured. The camera is also capable of recording full 720p HD video (making a solid competitor to the FlipHD).

The new front-mounted, second camera, will also help narcissists frame and capture personal pics with ease. It’s worth noting that while there is a second camera, mounted on the front of the phone, it is not as sophisticated or advanced as the rear-mounted camera. It will provide adequate results for personal shots and video conferencing, but is not designed to go the distance that the rear-mounted camera can.

Apple has also created a mobile version of their legendary iLife application, iMovie. While it’s amazing to see how well you can shoot, edit and share a full HD movie on the new iPhone 4, I can’t imagine wanting to edit a film on a screen that small. I think if the application is ported over for the iPad (which I imagine it will), it will have more success. Editing a movie on an iPad seems to have more appeal, more ease and more practicality.

The last major announcement, that I think deserves mentioning, was a doozy: FaceTime.

FaceTime is Apple’s name for phone-to-phone video conferencing.
What has been dreamed about for years, and rumored about for even longer, is finally a reality. Many other smartphone manufacturers have put a front-facing camera on their devices, but NONE have ever written the software required to instigate a video chat. Once again, Apple has not only made the future a reality, they’ve done it in such a way that even a complete novice will understand.

There is no setup, no configuration. If your call meets the requirements for a FaceTime chat, the option is one touch away. The requirements are fairly strict, but I don’t think alarmingly so. When you think and consider what is required to achieve a video chat (computer to computer), there are clear limitations that Apple has to work around. Among those limitations are the low-bandwidth, slow mobile networks, intense processor requirements and battery-sucking resources. That being said, it’s no surprise that FaceTime is available only between two iPhone 4 users, on a WiFi network.

What will be interesting (and something I hope for) is whether or not Apple will devise a way for Mac users to video-conference (assuming with iChat) iPhone 4 users via FaceTime. Imagine being able to video chat with a room full of colleagues, on a Mac, while you are mobile? That. Would. Rule.

Finally, Apple has also yet to clear up how FaceTime will account for the duration of your chat. Since it requires WiFi, and doesn’t utilize the mobile network, your provided carrier minutes shouldn’t be effected —- meaning, video chats would be free. Let’s hope that’s the case.

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