For anyone who thinks the rumored new iPhone looks ugly...

[blackhand1001]

Very few innovations are pure inventions. Google did not invent widgets, notifications, a glorified mobile e-mail client, etc. Apple pioneered the touch screen interaction that all Android users use today. This includes: kinetic scrolling, pinch-to-zoom, multi-touch keyboards, and slide to unlock. Did they invent all of that tech, no? But did they incorporate it into a smartphone, something that had never been done before, that revolutionized the way we use our phones? Yes, and that's innovation.

Just remember that you owe your Android phone to Apple. Remember Android before the iPhone's announcement? It was essentially a contender to RIM's Blackberry, with no touchscreen and only physical keys. I respect what Android has given me, namely Notification Center, and you ought to respect what Apple has given you. Copying others and borrowing features is the name of the game. Google does it constantly, as does Apple and Microsoft. Hell, Google has taken quite a bit out of Microsoft's playbook as of recently.

Stop mentioning the blackberry like prototype. That was one of two prototypes they showed at the time. The other was a touch slate device. Android was designed for touch since the beginning. Its hardware agnostic meaning it can run on any form factor.

Look at the image people keep posting. They don't post the other phone shown in the same article.

Even if apple hadn't made the iPhone phones were already heading in this direction. This is because capacitive touchscreens had finally become widely available which made things like pan scrolling and pinch to zoom possible. Nothing to do with apple at all. The technology dictated the new form factor.

 

[zbarvian]

Stop mentioning the blackberry like prototype. That was one of two prototypes they showed at the time. The other was a touch slate device. Android was designed for touch since the beginning. Its hardware agnostic meaning it can run on any form factor.

Look at the image people keep posting. They don't post the other phone shown in the same article.



ImageImage


Even if apple hadn't made the iPhone phones were already heading in this direction. This is because capacitive touchscreens had finally become widely available which made things like pan scrolling and pinch to zoom possible. Nothing to do with apple at all. The technology dictated the new form factor.

The image on top was the only Android device shown before the iPhone. The device on the bottom, and eventually the g1, was only shown in November, several months after the announcement/release of the iPhone. Capacitive toucschreens were not mainstream, and neither was multi-touch gestures or things like kinetic scrolling. Don't be ridiculous.

 

[anonymouslurker]

Capacitive toucschreens were not mainstream, and neither was multi-touch gestures or things like kinetic scrolling. Don't be ridiculous.

Multi-touch doesn't exist on resistive touchscreens. Once the technology of capacitive touchscreens became more pervasive, there was a natural evolution to the interactivity.

 

[KnightWRX]

The image on top was the only Android device shown before the iPhone. The device on the bottom, and eventually the g1, was only shown in November, several months after the announcement/release of the iPhone. Capacitive toucschreens were not mainstream, and neither was multi-touch gestures or things like kinetic scrolling. Don't be ridiculous.

They weren't mainstream, but that doesn't mean that many companies weren't working on the concepts in parallele. That's the whole point, Apple did not invent anything new, they just happened to ride the initial wave as hardware advances made these things possible on handsets at reasonable costs. There are many such prototypes or announcements in 2006.

And again, the HTC hardware prototype that looks "Blackberry" is just existing Windows Mobile hardware that was used. Google also was working on a touch screen phone, as kdarling evidenced earlier by a post by an actual Android developer and as the following osnews piece indicates clearly :

http://www.osnews.com/story/25264/Did_Android_Really_Look_Like_BlackBerry_Before_the_iPhone_

Android is not hardware. It did not "copy the iPhone" since the iPhone is hardware. Android is software and its very different then iOS as far as software goes. Different architectures, different design philosophies, different marketing. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and each has its own merit.

It's high time to stop claiming either is a copy of the other. While both might draw inspiration from the other over certain features, the core platforms remain quite different. It's quite the sad pissing match amongst fans in the end.

 

[zbarvian]

Multi-touch doesn't exist on resistive touchscreens. Once the technology of capacitive touchscreens became more pervasive, there was a natural evolution to the interactivity.

Yes, but capacitive touchscreens were not pervasive until the iPhone. Even still, you can't possibly assert that pinch-to-zoom or the iOS interactions would have been popular even if capacitive touchscreens managed to permeate the market. That's just nonsensical.

 

[anonymouslurker]

Yes, but capacitive touchscreens were not pervasive until the iPhone.

Capacitive touchscreens were a natural evolution of technology. The iPhone didn't make them mainstream.

Even still, you can't possibly assert that pinch-to-zoom or the iOS interactions would have been popular even if capacitive touchscreens managed to permeate the market. That's just nonsensical.

Nonsensical? Re-read what you just wrote. That doesn't make any sense at all.
What exactly are you trying to say?

 

[Zaft]

Wait there are still people out there that think if the iPhone didn't come out phones would would be like android now? Wow. I understand being a fanboy but sometimes you just need to admit.. What's next?? without the Mac windows would be the same as it is now? This obsessive hate for apple is crazy.

 

[anonymouslurker]

Wait there are still people out there that think if the iPhone didn't come out phones would would be like android now? Wow. I understand being a fanboy but sometimes you just need to admit.. What's next?? without the Mac windows would be the same as it is now? This obsessive hate for apple is crazy.

That's not fanboyism.

Every OS, mobile or otherwise, is incrementally improved by features from others.

It's evolution and refinement.

 

[zbarvian]

Capacitive touchscreens were a natural evolution of technology. The iPhone didn't make them mainstream.



Nonsensical? Re-read what you just wrote. That doesn't make any sense at all.
What exactly are you trying to say?

The iPhone did make capacitive touchscreens mainstream. Many smartphones even 1-2 years after the iPhone had resistive screens. Apple kickstarted the movement to capacitive screens. And my comment made sense: that multi-touch gestures and the interactions we have today on our phones are due to the iPhone.

 

[anonymouslurker]

The iPhone did make capacitive touchscreens mainstream. Many smartphones even 1-2 years after the iPhone had resistive screens. Apple kickstarted the movement to capacitive screens.

Yes, they were the first to use a capacitive touchscreen. And the other phones that were already in development with capacitive touchscreens came out shortly thereafter. Apple was indeed first, but can't be credited with "making it the standard". No one individual company can.

And my comment made sense: that multi-touch gestures and the interactions we have today on our phones are due to the iPhone.

Now that it's worded more clearly, I can retort.
Yes, they are due, in part, to the iPhone. And also in part, to every other piece of code in any other OS that further developed and refined it.


Bottom line, everybody builds off of everybody else.

 

[blackhand1001]

The iPhone did make capacitive touchscreens mainstream. Many smartphones even 1-2 years after the iPhone had resistive screens. Apple kickstarted the movement to capacitive screens. And my comment made sense: that multi-touch gestures and the interactions we have today on our phones are due to the iPhone.

No, I would argue that even if the iphone didn't come out that capacitive touch would have came regardless. This happens in every industry. In cars things like direct injection are happening in just about every car lineup. The products mold to the technology available. Apple didn't invent capacitive touch. Many companies had capacitive phone in development at the same time. The only company that deserves credit for capacitive phones is the one who invented it and produces them.

 

[zbarvian]

No, I would argue that even if the iphone didn't come out that capacitive touch would have came regardless. This happens in every industry. In cars things like direct injection are happening in just about every car lineup. The products mold to the technology available. Apple didn't invent capacitive touch. Many companies had capacitive phone in development at the same time. The only company that deserves credit for capacitive phones is the one who invented it and produces them.

I guess we'll never know. All we can go by are the smartphones after the iPhone. Many still had resistive screens, the G1 was the first big contender that used a capacitive screen. Even still, it took years to match the quality of the iPhone's capacitive screen, and I'm not even sure they have completely matched it.

These observations really lend credence to the notion that Apple made capacitive touchscreens the industry standard, and furthermore continud to raise expectations of capacitive screens.

 

[KnightWRX]

Yes, they were the first to use a capacitive touchscreen. And the other phones that were already in development with capacitive touchscreens came out shortly thereafter. Apple was indeed first, but can't be credited with "making it the standard". No one individual company can.

What about the LG KE850 Prada that was both announced before the original iPhone and shipped before Apple started shipping ?

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_ke850_prada-1828.php

It had a capacitative touch screen in its feature list. Wouldn't that then be the first handset ?

 

[Mac.World]

No, I would argue that even if the iphone didn't come out that capacitive touch would have came regardless. This happens in every industry. In cars things like direct injection are happening in just about every car lineup. The products mold to the technology available. Apple didn't invent capacitive touch. Many companies had capacitive phone in development at the same time. The only company that deserves credit for capacitive phones is the one who invented it and produces them.

As much as I love my Android phone and tablet, Zbarvian is correct, in my opinion. And trust me, I rarely agree with him. But Apple did set the standard for all phones that followed. Even if the LG Prada or Samsung G700 or any other iphone looking phone that came out around the same time wouldn't have had the same effect. Apple had the ipod halo effect in full swing.

Would capacitive touch screen still become mainstream without the iphone? . Absolutely. Just not as quickly. I also hate to say this, but if Apple doesn't add NFC to this iphone, the Android world is screwed for another year. Google and carriers in N America will have little incentive to push the envelope.

 

[anonymouslurker]

What about the LG KE850 Prada that was both announced before the original iPhone and shipped before Apple started shipping ?

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_ke850_prada-1828.php

It had a capacitative touch screen in its feature list. Wouldn't that then be the first handset ?

I stand corrected. Even less claim for Apple.

But again, it's a collaborative effort in moving technology forward. Not bashing on Apple at all, they've played an extremely significant part in doing just this, but not to the extent of "zomg Apple revolutionized the world!"

 

[KnightWRX]

I stand corrected. Even less claim for Apple.

But again, it's a collaborative effort in moving technology forward. Not bashing on Apple at all, they've played an extremely significant part in doing just this, but not to the extent of "zomg Apple revolutionized the world!"

It also remains quite the unanswered (and unanswerable) question whether or not things would have moved in the same direction and at what pace even if Apple had not showed up. The plain fact is, the rest of the industry players were already looking into Capacitative touch screen, "Slab" phones were already existing, phones already had "retina displays" and Android was being worked on either way.

We'll never know obviously.

 

[blackhand1001]

It also remains quite the unanswered (and unanswerable) question whether or not things would have moved in the same direction and at what pace even if Apple had not showed up. The plain fact is, the rest of the industry players were already looking into Capacitative touch screen, "Slab" phones were already existing, phones already had "retina displays" and Android was being worked on either way.

We'll never know obviously.

Yeah the original motorola droid had a 854 × 480 screen at 265 ppi. They actually pushed the envelope more than apple did as they only had a marginal increase over this. At the time apple only had a 480x320 at 163. The droid had over 100 more ppi than the iphone at the time.