iPhone 3G S – Where’s the HD video?
There was a lot of talk of the new iPhone being called “iPhone HD”, which would have been great. The iPhone, after all, is the ultimate convergence device – not only does it handle all the things other smart phones do, but it actually has a thriving 3rd party software market so that it can deliver more to different users. I’ve even got an app, Slate, that acts as a clapper-board.
The problem is that it now seems to being hampered by its on-board equipment. The 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera in the 3G was only incremented to 3 megapixels this time. Auto-focus though, which is a massive improvement, and video-capable finally. I ought to be cheering, but for some reason it can only manage to record video at what is a slightly retro 640 x 480 at 30fps. Now 720p (1280 x 720) is only one megapixel, so on the face of it I can’t see why such an allegedly powerful device cannot be adapted to shoot in 720p HD.
Obviously there are storage and quality issues, and it’d be a bit of a gimmick, but it might actually prove very useful from time to time. And from Apple’s perspective – given they seem to leave the phone for a whole year without updates – it will put them a long way behind the competition by the time they correct this. Samsung have already got their OMNIA HD phone performing this trick.
All that said, Apple’s ability to get features discussed and used means that a lot more people might be getting involved in video. The on board trimming tool (editing is too grand a term) looks very accessible, and hopefully it will encourage people to do a bit more editing when they get back to their Macs. Or PCs, of course.