iphone 4g

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 4 today, which he claims offers over 100 new features, though he would focus on only a handful for the keynote. The iPhone 4 looks like the iPhone prototype obtained under questionable circumstances by Gizmodo: stainless steel casing, all-glass front, and a design Jobs describes as the thinnest smartphone on the planet: almost 25 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS.. Unlike previous iPhones, the iPhone 4 will have volume controls on the side of the phone along with an accessible microSIM tray. The iPhone 4 features a front-facing camera, and the back sports a microphone, 30pin connector for docking, and a speaker, while the top sports a second microphone for noise cancellation, sleep/wake button, and a headset input.

Jobs went on to highlight the bands around the side of the iPhone 4 that caused much speculation in the wake of the leaked prototypes. Jobs identified them as part of the phone’s antenna system, saying the stainless steel band is also a primarily structural element of the device. The antenna supports all the iPhone 4’s wireless capability, from 3G to Wi-Fi to Bluetooth to GPS along with cellular communications.

iPhone 4: Retina Display

The iPhone 4 will also sport what Jobs described as a “retina display” with four times the pixel density of a typical LCD display at a whopping 326 pixels per inch—by far denser than anything else in the consumer electronics market. The result is a 3.5-inch display with a native resolution of 960 by 640 pixels that is actually a higher resolution than the typical human eye is capable of perceiving, when held at a distance of just 10 to 12 inches.

iPhone 4: Bing


Among new features in iOS 4 will be an option to use Microsoft’s Bing as a default search engine; Google will still be the iPhone’s default search, but Yahoo and Bing-powered searches will be available as options. Note that Bing will be taking over the back end for Yahoo’s search services later this year.


iBooks for iPhone

Apple also announced a version of iBooks will be available for iPhone, with feature parity to the iPad edition (complete with previously-announced PDF and annotations support). The applications will be able to synchronize across devices, so users will be able to start reading an iBook on an iPad, then pick up at the same spot on the iPhone. Users will be able to download purchased books to all their supported devices at no extra charge.