iPhone 4

Apple is one of the most predictable hardware companies in the world, their stuff will come as yearly refreshes. iPhone in June/July, iPod (including iPod Touch) in September, etc. I don't see the iPad getting a major refresh for awhile, especially since it's still to be launched in other regions in July and August (Hong Kong still hasn't gotten it yet, for instance), and especially since the current model is selling well--2 million sold in less than 2 months. That said, who knows whether it will be refreshed in January (announcement anniversary) or April (launch anniversary).
 
I tend to agree with numble on the release schedule - Apple simply can't be that fast-moving, the quantities of product they deal with are just too big; they routinely strain the worldwide manufacturing capacity for LCD displays / flash memory / etc. Releasing a new iPad 6 months after the first one would make iPads even harder to come by than they are now.

It's actually an interesting situation in general - the reason you can buy an Android or a Windows Mobile phone with an OLED display but not an Apple one is because if Apple released a product with an OLED display they wouldn't be able to make nearly enough OLED displays to accommodate all of the demand; HTC has the luxury of putting crazy cutting-edge hardware into the Droid Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious because they only have to make a few hundred thousand of them. So the price for iOS' lack of hardware fragmentation is that we don't get quite such cutting-edge components.

But the 512 MB of RAM should make the iPhone 4 really sing multitasking-wise; admittedly a fair amount of that will be eaten up by fact that offscreen display buffers are now 4x larger, but it should still be possible to have half a dozen Pleco-sized apps open and memory-resident at the same time.
 
January's not too far off from my thinking for a new iPad, which is it will at least be announced when iOS 4 for the iPad is discussed in detail. I don't think they would change much, probably just the new processor with more memory and front/back cameras, though a selection of 3G/4G providers could also happen. Unless they manage some fancy software tricks, Apple's going to look bad when it turns out the current iPad can't multitask as well as an iPhone 3GS. So I think they'll need to have something 'coming soon' which will keep up with the iPhone 4. Has anyone seen a clear statement from Apple that the current iPad will multitask under iPhone OS 4 / iOS 4? Everything I've seen has been very carefully worded and doesn't say that.

Mike, very true about the difference in scale. I heard earlier this week there are currently 21 Android device manufacturers and 60 Android phones have been announced/produced. Admittedly I have XL hands, but I like that high-end Android phones are going toward being phone/mini-tablet hybrids, as 4-5" screens seem much better for viewing/navigating web content than 3.5" screens.

That said, I preordered an iPhone 4 for some reason...oh yeah, Pleco. :D
 
It's still possible they might be able to cook up something multitasking-wise; heck, is anyone even sure the iPad doesn't actually have 512 MB of RAM but half of it turned off in software? It wouldn't be a terrible move on Apple's part if it provided an incentive for developers to keep their iPad apps small enough to run well with multitasking once they go to 512. But even without that, some clever trickery with killing offscreen views / display buffers might reduce application RAM requirements enough to make it practical - the system should gracefully kill old apps when it needs to free up memory for new ones, so even if iPad apps need more RAM all you'd really be dealing with is a smaller queue of background apps.

Pleco's (first) iPhone 4 is now scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so I'll try to post a camera snapshot or two to give people some idea of just how fantastic Chinese characters look on it :-)
 
mikelove said:
It's still possible they might be able to cook up something multitasking-wise; heck, is anyone even sure the iPad doesn't actually have 512 MB of RAM but half of it turned off in software?
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It's theoretically possible, I guess. Third-party apps which give system info have reported 256MB. I can't imagine Apple would want the "multiple browser pages open" experience to be worse than on the iPhone 3GS if they could have prevented it. I suspect multitasking wasn't on the table when the iPad's specs were set. Or perhaps they couldn't get high enough yields of A4 processors with 512MB. As a user I'm annoyed by the small amount of memory; as a developer, I'm glad to have a low-end model for testing.

Pleco's (first) iPhone 4 is now scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so I'll try to post a camera snapshot or two to give people some idea of just how fantastic Chinese characters look on it :-)
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Happy for you; AT&T has hosed my order somehow. I ordered at ~6:10 EST on the 15th and haven't gotten a shipping notice. Felt I had to order from AT&T to go from Smartphone data plan to the "Unlimited" iPhone one and not get stuck with one of the new, worse plans.
 
Why are we talking about 256 mb of RAM as if it will be a strain for it to handle multitasking of _VERY_ simple programs at 1024x768?

You guys, do a rewind to 2000 when Linux, MacOS X, and Windows both could multitask the crap out of OFFICE, Media Player, etc on 1024x768 with a 500 mHz Pentium II/III M with 256 MB of RAM.
The Mac mini came with 256 MB of RAM.

256MB of RAM is a LOT of RAM. 512MB is a boatload.

Rob
 
RobRedbeard said:
Why are we talking about 256 mb of RAM as if it will be a strain for it to handle multitasking of _VERY_ simple programs at 1024x768?
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Because the iPad has problems keeping more than a few web pages loaded at one time. A number of apps running on it encountered low memory warnings which didn't happen on the iPhone 3GS (# of web pages loaded was also better on the 3GS).
 
character - agree with you on the testing aspect of it; the iPad actually helped push us towards the much-better-behaved memory management in 2.1 (shaved off several MB). It's also motivating us to look into using a custom font file (new feature in OS4), since the Apple built-in one is actually enormous - 55+ MB, no reuse of components - and shrinking it to a more efficient (not to mention prettier) SimSun-esque font, which could clock in at as little as 6 MB with bitmaps removed, seems like it might greatly reduce the amount of font cache thrashing (common characters might actually stand a chance of staying in memory for a while) and thereby improve text rendering performance.

On a related note, an unexpected benefit to the AT&T bandwidth caps (and the ones that are no doubt coming on Verizon) is that users are going to start demanding that app developers cut down on their network usage, which could have the side effect of considerably improving battery life - this isn't just an iPhone thing, either, Android / Windows Phone / webOS could all ultimately be better off with more bandwidth-sipping apps.

Sorry about the botched AT&T order - I'm hopeful that the supply constraints are only going to last a few weeks this time, there's less of a likelihood of component shortages (plenty of flash memory being made now) and the temporary lack of a white model may actually help matters supply-chain-wise. Even ordering today Apple's ship date is still July 14th, as it has been for about a week now, so either demand fell off a cliff and they're only getting a few thousand preorders a day or they're expecting to have things fully ramped-up in another week or two.

RobRedbeard - true, but do you remember what web pages looked like in 2000? http://web.archive.org/web/20000510075800/http://apple.com/ or http://web.archive.org/web/20000815052826/www.cnn.com/ - you weren't doing a whole lot of animated AJAX-y craziness in your shiny new copy of Internet Explorer 5. Pleco's RAM footprint is normally only 10-15 MB, but it can jump up severalfold when you start using the built-in web browser.
 
mikelove said:
Sorry about the botched AT&T order - I'm hopeful that the supply constraints are only going to last a few weeks this time, there's less of a likelihood of component shortages (plenty of flash memory being made now) and the temporary lack of a white model may actually help matters supply-chain-wise. Even ordering today Apple's ship date is still July 14th, as it has been for about a week now, so either demand fell off a cliff and they're only getting a few thousand preorders a day or they're expecting to have things fully ramped-up in another week or two.

RobRedbeard - true, but do you remember what web pages looked like in 2000? http://web.archive.org/web/20000510075800/http://apple.com/ or http://web.archive.org/web/20000815052826/www.cnn.com/ - you weren't doing a whole lot of animated AJAX-y craziness in your shiny new copy of Internet Explorer 5. Pleco's RAM footprint is normally only 10-15 MB, but it can jump up severalfold when you start using the built-in web browser.
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Let's see about this shortage thing. I think it's just a marketing ploy. One source said it was simply the issue that they only reserved a small percentage of their stock for pre-orders. They want to have large in-store stocks this time, and additionally, they will be stocking 3-4 more stores (Best Buy, Walmart, etc). I'm counting on my agent in the US to pick up a non-contract Iphone, or get one with and immediately pay the early cancellation fee. If that works out, I'll be running Pleco on an IPhone 4 in about a week.

You make a good point about the webpage design differences. At the same time, in 1999 I was building a web portal that used flash and by 2001 my recording studio's website was entirely flash. Albeit, at that time Flash was being used for little more than improved roll-over handling. That seems like a long time ago, but we were already in the Firefox era by then. The point I'm trying to make is that we should expect system developers to be a bit more RAM conscious in their designs. Ajax shouldn't increase RAM requirements in any significant way. Similar to the effect unlimited bandwidth has had on iPhone apps, I think the nearly unlimited application RAM in most computers today has led to development trends that favor RAD instead of efficiency. Your app is an exception and a masterpiece of optimization. My hat is off to you sir. :)

I always enjoy reading your thoughts on these matters, I like the way you think.

Rob
 
Could well be that it's a marketing ploy, though people said that about the Gizmodo leak too and it seems pretty clear from Apple's subsequent actions that it wasn't. And the fact that the "yellow spot" issue has now been attributed to the adhesive used to bond screen layers not having finished drying yet (which thankfully should mean that the problem will go away in a few days) makes it seem unlikely that there's a giant stockpile of the things sitting around a warehouse somewhere.

And thanks, though Pleco's RAM consciousness has more to do with coming over from you'll-have-512K-of-heap-and-like-it Palm OS than anything else - certainly the high-level-ness of a lot of modern development owes a lot to the cheapness of RAM, though. (I still remember a Macworld piece on the Quadra 950 talking about how for tens of thousands of dollars you could upgrade it to an astonishing 256 MB by installing 16 16 MB DIMMs)
 
Also, in general: fantastic, fantastic phone. The screen reminds me very much of the high-res move on Palm in 2001/2, or on Windows Mobile in 2005 (and then again on smartphones in 2007-8 or so); even after an hour or so of use you really can't go back to the old iPhones / iPods, in fact even the iPad's screen starts to look jagged and blurry. Performance is wonderful, form factor very sexy though it takes a little getting used to after the 3G/3GS' rounded back (the bumper helps a lot comfort-wise, though I wouldn't pay Apple $30 for one when you'll be able to get them anywhere for $10 in a few weeks), and unlike on the iPad most non-optimized apps still seem to look pretty darn good. Pretty much the best Pleco device ever, though I did discover a couple of icons that weren't showing up correctly as high-res (now fixed for 2.1.2), and there are a few minor iOS 4 issues (deleting user dictionaries, e.g.) we also need to fix.

The camera could be borderline revolutionary, actually; for still images it's certainly in the upper echelon of smartphones, but the video recorder is really first-rate, and having millions of people carrying high-definition video recorders around with them all the time is going to do wonders for citizen journalism. Somebody needs to develop an app that records video, automatically uploads it in the background (using iOS4's task completion feature), and doesn't have a cancel button (or even a progress indicator to show that it's uploading) - that way people can record other people doing bad things and know that even if their camera is confiscated it's likely their video will still get out (assuming the bouncer / security guard / police officer / whatever who confiscates it isn't tech-savvy enough to recognize the need to / figure out how to kill a background app). And given the societal benefits, they probably ought to release said app for free. (any takers?)
 
mikelove said:
Also, in general: fantastic, fantastic phone. The screen reminds me very much of the high-res move on Palm in 2001/2, or on Windows Mobile in 2005 (and then again on smartphones in 2007-8 or so); even after an hour or so of use you really can't go back to the old iPhones / iPods [...]
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The screen is very impressive (ETA: but it doesn't look all that much better than the original Droid's screen). AT&T/UPS came through and I got mine around 6pm, though I would have appreciated not having the phone and its battery cooking in 101 degrees for an entire day while on the truck. Maybe all that heat will cook out the yellow chemical in the screen. Still syncing the phone so haven't done anything with it yet. Can't wait to try Pleco on it, though.

And given the societal benefits, they probably ought to release said app for free. (any takers?)
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Send your idea in to Boing boing; they love that sort of thing.
 
I'm expecting to be somewhat impressed with the screen. Remember, I've got a Touch Diamond 2 (3" 480x800) and Touch HD (3.7" 480x800). The pixels are not visible at all on the D2, and until now it was the highest density display. Not quite up to the Iphone 4 but WAY past the old Iphone. Being used to these screens was a major factor in me never being able to accept using an Iphone day-to-day. I was already used to perfect looking fonts long long ago. Glad The Steve has finally discovered them, too.

Well, hopefully my Iphone 4 will be here in a week or so.

Rob
 
character - I actually do find I like the iPhone 4's screen better than VGA screens, even tiny VGA screens like the Touch Diamond's that in theory ought to have around the same pixel density.

It might be the combination of pixel density with Apple's approach to anti-aliasing; their algorithm optimizes around preserving the character shape even if character edges don't always match up perfectly with pixel boundaries, while Microsoft and (I believe) all of the other smartphone vendors insist on putting characters on exact boundaries. This wasn't entirely a good thing on the original iPhone IMHO, since at those pixel densities text could sometimes look a bit fuzzy (part of the reason we made Pleco's default fonts so large relative to other apps), but on the iPhone 4 there's little to lose by doing things that way and the result feels more like printed text than a similar-resolution WM or Android phone. Definitely an approach Apple is committed to, anyway, they even went to the trouble of implementing their own font system in Safari on Windows just so that they could render fonts to be Mac-like. (though that may have partly been for the benefit of web developers testing their sites on Safari, which was probably the biggest reason Apple put Safari on Windows at all)
 
Hello Mike,

since i uploaded the new version 4 on my Ipod touch i have noticed a change on my pleco.

If i want to activate the HANDWRITE modus i have to first activate the KEY modus and then the HANDWRITE modus to activate it.

When the HANDWRITE modus is activated, after looking at the word and then returning to the search field, the keyboard field is there even though i am still in HANDWRITE modus. I then have to click on KEY and then on HANDWRITE again to make the keyboard disappear.

I hope my description makes sense to you

Its a bit annoying before that did not happen.

I have PLECO 2.1.0

Maybe you can check if it is a compatibility bug or a setting issue.

Cheers

Axel
 
This bug has already been fixed, along with a bunch of other OS4-specific issues; just update to the latest version 2.1.1 and the keyboard should start behaving correctly again. More fixes coming in the recently-submitted 2.1.2 update, though those are mostly for more minor bugs.
 
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