The Apple iPhone Experience

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The Apple iPhone Experience

Frazier Barretto, Oct 22, 2007 2041 hrs IST

The phone with the "i" magic

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The Technology

So, here's what I felt about the phone, having used it for quite some time. Well, as much as it awed me it got me heartbroken too. The interface of the iPhone is too good to be true. It has a complete touch-interface with interactive touch-sensitivity -- and you just can't have enough of it. Just a few buttons on the phone: the Power ON/OFF button, volume control, and finally, the only button on the face of the phone. It does just one thing: it gets you back to the main screen (as the "Windows + D" combination on your PC keyboard gets you back to the desktop).

There are lots of patented technologies involved that make the touch-sensitivity of the iPhone so great. It has Multi-touch, Accelerometer, and Proximity Sensor. I'll tell you what each of these does.

The Multi-touch of the iPhone can detect more than a single touch at a time on its screen. The technology involves layers of sensitivity. There's the touch panel and an electric field below it. Above the touch panel is a protective shield, and under the electric field is the LCD. The touch panel detects the touches, and the electrical field sends out electric signals, which are eventually processed to to provide the actual output. This sort of a thing is still under development from like "Minority Report" times for actual desktop replacements. The skill used to actually make this happen has taken a lot of development. Coming back to the iPhone: it can detect multiple touches. This smart tech doesn't end here; it's made even smarter with another technology -- the Accelerometer.

The Accelerometer detects the rate at which you move your finger across the screen. It's something very similar to mouse acceleration on your PC. The moment you drag your finger across the screen at a certain speed, the OS detects the speed and actually travels almost that quickly through the many frames. You slide your finger across the screen slowly, and it moves just a couple of frames. Slide it faster, and it moves through at least ten frames: Faster equals more frames and vice versa. Now that's smart!

The screen also has a proximity sensor. This smart technology detects if the screen is being approached by your finger or face. The moment you take the phone close to your face while on a call, it automatically sends the screen into standby; and the moment you take it off your ear, the screen again lights up. A brilliant way to save battery. If that weren't enough, the accelerometer even detects which way you're holding the phone and automatically changes the orientation of the screen.

There's a spring unit in the phone, which supports the Accelerometer. It consists of 4 springs on each side and a piece of solid in the center. The solid puts weight onto the spring on whichever side is down. Gravity is what basically helps (if you couldn't figure out what I just said). Of course, getting used to all this will take time, but -- overall -- it'll expose you to an all-new experience you never knew you could have from a phone.

Don't take your eyes off the screen yet: there's still this to talk about: the "other" reality.

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Discussion Board

(61) Comments

Pradeep

,Pumr, on May 29, 2011 01:12 AM

No FLASH, even office (xls) is paid, no radio- fm..and Internet in india not so go, so mostly u cannot even listen to random songs on the go..file transfer difficult with our jail break, blue tooth can be used only for headsets, no photo/file can be transferred, most of the apps require Internet , 3G is good only I'm selected cities...also no HDMI output. I could not see IPL STREAMING as FLASH is not supported, Thought of Jail breaking however too much investment and new phone(I have iPhone 4).. my suggestion, check nokia N8..styling not good, but features are excellent.. Also has office app + ovi stores has good music. Plus heard that it has USB PORT , 4flash drive, not sure..planning 2 check out. VERDICT:buy IPHONE4 if u want stylish looking Junk. Better het nokia with and use BOSE head sets at the same price if u want good sound quality

The Apple iPhone Experience

The phone with the "i" magic

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