Dear Apple, what the dock?
retina.net
retina.net
Good story but not actually true. (does it matter on the Internet anymore?) The iPhone 4 works in the iPhone 2G dock. The iPhone 3G works in the iPad dock (by the looks of it the iPhone 4 will also) Audio out is a different issue since Apple has changed the way the dock connector outputs audio on the iPhone for integration with car audio systems to reduce GSM interference. That being said I don't know of any other SmartPhone that comes with a dock these days so it's a bit of a moot point anyway. If you want a dock Apple will sell you one.
Repeating "it does" doesn't make it so. Here's how the audio gets from the iphone to the audio out jack:
http://pinouts.ru/PortableDevices/ipod_pinout.shtml
If you're wondering what the iPhone speaker port appears to mate with in Apple docks, it's a special vent that permits you to dock the phone and still use it in speakerphone or iPod audio playback modes without significant muffling or additional distortion.
$29 for a dock that only works with the i4; $49 for a dock that works with anything + $9 for the plastic to make the i4 fit.
...or he messed it up when hacking it. My iPhone 4 works perfectly fine in my iPhone 2G dock.
That said, this article seems to have more completely false bits than correct information, so I wouldn't trust a word of it.
The goods were purported to achieve a certain functionality. They did not. Money returned.
That's interesting.. I imported a US iPad to the UK when they came out but then bought an iPad dock in the UK later on. The iPad will charge but not sync on the dock, but is fine with a direct connection. That seems a very fine level to discriminate on.
I figured that the iPhone 4 would just require a different dock insert to hold the new shape firmly, but no dice: Apple have also swapped the positions of the speaker and microphone vs. their positions on previous iPhones.
Charging $30 to get it back is silly.
This accessory is not optimized for this iPhone. You may experience noise caused by cellular interference and a decrease in cellular signal strength.
Any ideas??
The iPhone dock connector has pins for video and audio out:
http://pinouts.ru/PortableDevices/ipod_pinout.shtml
There is no microphone or amplification hardware in the dock.
(GSM noise is related to the fact that GSM divides the radio spectrum into time slices for devices to use to talk to the tower. When a phone gets its time slice, it turns the radio on. When the timeslice is over, the radio is turned off. The time slices come in intervals that are in the audio range, and thus its energy output is measurable in the audible range. Since the radio signals will induce a current in random wires, including wires in your audio amplifier, you can hear the GSM noise in your speakers. It is not related in any way to an unclean audio signal coming out of your phone; that signal has no GSM noise. It's the radio communication that induces noise in your audio equipment. So a speaker + microphone is not going to do anything except make your already-clean audio sound like shit.)
I have to say, after having my Droid for six months, it does everything I need it to do adequately. When I change it for a new one, I will not be looking for more speed, nor more features, or even a better interface. I just want one that is designed to last more than 18 months.
And a service plan that isn't designed to keep me buying new phones at that interval.
The iPhone 4 is essentially the same phone as the original iPhone. So little has changed, many of my colleagues are still happily using their summer 2007 Jesus phones, which they say do everything they need to do, adequately.
Notice how Apple doesn't tell you how much RAM, or what the CPU clock speed is. Apple doesn't want consumers worrying about the hardware race. They'll sell you a major new feature: 3G support, a GPS chip and video encoder, a 4x resolution screen. But the core platform remains viable three and half years later, running the same apps.
If your goal is a platform that's stable, seems you are contradicting yourself. On the one hand, you say Apple's each generation is insufficiently differentiated, yet on the other, you say you're forced to upgrade. With so little differentiation, why do you find yourself forced?
I'm saying that a smartphone is a commodity item to me, and adding features beyond what the Droid does does not interest me. I want a cheaper, more reliable Droid.
And I don't own a dock anyway, because they don't have cross-device compatibility.
In any case, I wasn't asserting the absolute superiority of Android. I only said that the Motorola Droid is entirely sufficient. So I'm not looking to upgrade to a better model anytime soon. If anything, I'll be looking for something with roughly the Motorola Droid's specs.
Of course, I also might be wrong about my Droid's longevity.
The primary reason I say forced is the US's carrier subsidy model, in which you are forced to pay 2/3 of the cost of a new phone whether you buy one or not.
So your friends on first-gen are already making payments on their 4
But my problem is that it seems pretty clear to me that of all the ways AT&T is shafting consumers, this is one way that Apple appreciates, because they can sell more devices than their customers would otherwise buy.
And coupled with Apple's obstinate rejection of the USB standard adopted by most other manufacturers, even more waste is generated by cables that cannot be repurposed - they want you to buy another cable, even though your current one could be repurposed with minimal engineering changes on their part. In fact, using standard USB drivers instead of a proprietary, in-house protocol, even for a company like Apple, should be cheaper.
I've never heard anybody else talk about upgrading in terms of "force" like you have. It appears, from my perspective, that your mental calculus for making your purchase is the rare case, and that many people don't want to bite the additional up-front cost of a new phone and don't want to to extend the length of their contract.
I would wager that most people would roll their eyes at folks like me who would upgrade a perfectly good 3GS to a 4 just for the better display. Yeah, they're not doing the math, but not doing the math is the norm — not the exception.
So, again, I think your offense is misplaced.
I do however think that time is running out. Nothing lasts forever my friends. But I guess we'll see.
The iPhone is not priced three times more than equivalent phones. Outright prices are not available in the US, but in England an iPhone 4 starts at £499 and a HTC Desire is £449.
Software updates for the iPhone have always been free from Apple (iPod Touch was different).
Finally, with regard to accessories, I don't think that's a fair comment either. If I purchased a HTC phone 12 months ago and then replaced it with a Desire/Hero etc, then there is every chance the accessories would be different.
I wish Apple would keep the dock the same over all iPhones, but I understand why they change it too. They have universal docks available and offer the slip in connectors allowing you to use the dock for multiple devices. This is more than I can say of most companies.
I'm not sure about the Droid/Hero thought. On numerous occasions I have seen other brands of phones being charged by the chargers of older models and even different models. My old Samsung could be charged by the charger of virtually any other Samsung phone. Even if it were a different model. I'm not sure about this, but I wouldn't be surprised if my Evo could be charged by another charger meant for another HTC device.
But no knock on Apple ... tremendous company ... tremendous story. It's just that some of their practices don't seem to be as consumer minded as some would like.