A lot has been happening over the past couple of days with regards to the iPad and the iPhone 4G, and much of it is very interesting. Let us take a look at some of the most interesting tidbits:
iPhone 4G test unit bought by Gizmodo
The same device that was found in a bar in San Jose, was lost by Apple Software Engineer Gray Powell, and then snapped up by Gizmodo in the short while that it was up for sale. While Gizmodo was not able to boot the thing up (some feel the phone was remote-wiped by Apple through MobileMe), it was able to confirm various features that were found in the earlier leak, and take some higher quality images. The device was found cleverly camouflaged in a 3GS case, to make it looking normal to prying eyes. That didn’t work, too well.
.jpg "iPhone 4G (left) side by side with iPhone 3GS")
The thinner device has a 16% larger battery than its predecessors, with a slightly smaller screen than the 3GS, weighs 3 grams more, and is less rounded on the edges. In related news, while the device cannot be confirmed as the final form of the iPhone 4G, it is definitely Apple’s property, and Gizmodo’s Editor Brian Lam has received a letter from Apple asking for “the device” back (below), which he says he will promptly do.
iPhone OS 4 will have Facebook integration
While iPhone users already have Gmail, MobileMe, Yahoo, and other native applications, this marks the first time Facebook will be integrated into the iPhone OS, though an official Facebook iPhone application has been available for some time.
.jpg "Linked Contacts with Facebook integration")
It has been found the same way as many other features were discovered, by going through the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK (software development kit), where certain lines of code hinted at native Facebook integration. The advantage of native integration will include synchronization of Facebook Events with iPhone Calendar, adding Facebook Friends to iPhone Contacts (it appears this will require the creation of whole new type of contact, perhaps allowing you to retain the “Friend” tag), integrated photo synchronization with contacts, unified mailbox support for posts and messages, and multiple Linked Contacts, all of which are powered by the “SocialKitInternal.framework”, a tool which could possibly also allow integration of other social networking services, such as Twitter.
(Thanks, Apollo)
Read on for the latest news about the iPhone 4G processor, and for interesting iPad disassembly videos…
iPhone 4G to use Apple’s internally designed A4 chip
Apple has reportedly decided to use its own internally designed application processor (AP), the A4 chip, in the iPhone 4G, a move that is directly attributed to its 2008 acquisition of P.A. Semi, a semiconductor manufacturer.
The move will negatively impact Samsung, whose application processor (AP) was used by Apple for its previous iPhone iterations. The iPad already has an Apple-designed A4 SoC (system-on-chip) chip on board, based on ARM’s Cortex A8, so a similar story for the new iPhone does not come as too much of a surprise. Observers have gone so far as to say that as the A4 on the iPad is capable of 720p HD video, the new iPhone 4G will be too.
iPad disassembled
On a lighter note, lets us see what is inside an iPad, with these two interesting disassembly videos from TechRestore and FixIt.
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