Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

OK, without wishing to gush about the device any more than is sick-makingly necessary, I have to admit the hardware design of the thing is seriously impressive. Just look at the size (or lack of size) of that logic board, which presumably is under the metal shielding unless it's hidden away elsewhere. The device is literally ALL battery and screen.

Great hardware design, Apple.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...00x_open19.jpg

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...00x_open16.jpg

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

You don't need much space for c**p. :)

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

This is certainly going to be an impressive bit of kit when it comes out. Should be a fairly exciting device (not that I'll be buying it). It also looks quite nice, especially for a prototype, although not in the state its pictured above!!

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Chip?

Actually that's the main reason they've been able to shrink it down. Instead of using mutiple chipsets, i heard they use a single SoC (Apple A4, which is their own version of Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX).

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

While I'm not a fan of the company or its policies, I'm focusing on the hardware here which is anything but "cr**p".

The iPhone 3GS hardware is pretty much a match for the N900 every side up apart from the lower resolution screen (plus it has a digital compass...), and this new device is speculated to have a higher resolution screen in which case it may well be the equal of the N900 hardware but with a logic board a fraction of the size.

Why does that matter? Bigger battery for a start and/or smaller & slimmer device, not to mention lower manufacturing costs (in the long run). I love my N900, but it's a beast.

Credit where credit is due, it's a feat of engineering.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Lets not let alliegences ruin an otherwise open discussion about an engineering marvel.

@ Millhouse, thats one helluva small board. In reality, you have to take your hat off to Apple. I'm not a fan because they have a seriously locked down OS, but the technology that they have crammed into these new gen iPhones is unreal. And you've also got to hand it to them - that's one slim phone.... At least when you brick it with an N900, you can actually use it as a keystone for a bridge. You brick the iPhone and you could only just about use it as a coaster!

Cr**p? Crisp? I'd say it's pretty crisp personally.

Makes you wonder really, when the technology exists to allow the multifunctionality of phones like the N900 and the iPhone, how long will actually be before we are all using PC's with equivalent power to your desktop at home on the move, and you pick it up and put it into your pocket....

Intel have just released the latest processor, the i7 980X which runs 6 dedicated native cores. All with Hyperthreading technology. Meaning in Task Manager you see 12 cores. Sick.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Crop?
I need a lot of space lol for my farmville crop

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

it is impressive but the 3G's hardware is a match for match?

- As u mentioned, lower resolution
- Far less built in memory, and no external memory option
- Inferior camera (photo and video)
- Inferior sound quality (N900's speakers arent the best but far better than the 3G)

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

I think he's talking basics as in cpu and gpu.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

from a hardware perspective This is better

http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/...sassembly.html

its got a removable battery, sd card slot and a 5mpix camera, in a slimmer and smaller case.
oh and a keyboard.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Yes thats true but the list I provided are all physical parts that bulk up the N900.Apple have done a superb job (and nexus one) in making their devices smaller with so much power but they do lack a lot of things which stopped me even considering them as a serious purchase. Camera quality and memory being the main ones.

Oh also add to the list

- FM Transmitter
- Keyboard

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Not long. The N900 is getting into that neighborhood already.

That just points out the importance of having what is, basically, a real desktop OS loaded on your phone and to me, of the major players only Maemo/MeeGo fits that description. As they are now, Android, Symbian, WinMo, even Win Phone 7 and iPhone's OS-X - all the other OS were designed as 'smartphone' OS. Only Maemo/MeeGo really was envisioned and designed from the start for real 'pocket computers'.

Others aimed too low, thinking in terms of what was currently available and how it's used. They didn't plan far enough ahead for hardware to come and how it would be used. That's where MeeGo is already ahead of the competition - planning for the future. It will be ready for everything the hardware can throw at it in 2, 3, even 5 years.

But no doubt Apple has some OS-X tricks up its sleeve...it's unix base gives it a lot of flexibility also. We'll see if the limitations in the other OS allow them to keep pace. I have doubts.

Anyway, back on topic...nice hardware, an improvement for sure, but...
1. No physical keyboard
2. No removable battery
3. No removable storage
4. Capacitive screen
5. Selling my soul to the Emperor Jobs to be allowed into his walled kingdom
...equals total fail.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

@crashdamage: Jobs has talked about how unnecessarily complex computers are in the past (for the masses), so I don't think it's even in his radar to make a pocketable computer in the conventional sense. What I see them (Apple) do in their mobile OSX devices is distilling functionalities to be consumed by the mass. So I don't think we're even talking about products targeted in the same market...

@pissing contest above: do you guys need something to measure with? here you go:

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/backgrnd/tapemeasure01.jpg

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

Indeed.

Although in terms of functional components the N900 and iPhone 3GS are neck and neck, in fact the iPhone is arguably out in front as it has a digial compass which the N900 lacks. It's not important that the N900 has more pixels in it's screen or camera sensor, at a high level both devices are feature matched which is the point I'm making. A 3.5" screen is a 3.5" screen whether it has a high or low DPI; a camera will be a few mm's square whether it has 2MP, 5MP or 12MP etc. Quality isn't the point, it's the integration of these components that all have a similar size when considered as discrete components.

That said, the new iPhone device has a 5MP camera (same as N900), is believed to have a higher resolution screen (no confirmation on specific resolution, though if true I'd expect it to be similar to the N900 or possibly higher), and no idea on RAM memory - could be the same or more than the existing 3GS (which at 256MB is the same as the N900).

I have no idea how Apple have achieved this level of integration, unless the A4 CortexA8 CPU + PowerVR GPU SoC also includes all the GPS/WiFi/Bluetooth/accelerometer/digital compass gubbins that are typically discrete components/ICs on a Nokia OMAP3-based logic board.

What it says to me is that TI and other SoC suppliers need to up their game to compete at this level of integration - OMAP is not this highly integrated.

Alternatively, Nokia need to start designing their own SoCs, which is expensive, although considering how many devices Nokia manufacture every year it baffles me they haven't taken the same route that Apple have taken after only a few years in the mobile phone business.

Perhaps the diversity of the Nokia device portfolio has meant investment in a single highly integrated SoC could not be justified.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

I agree completely, I just meant that unlike some other mobile OS, iPhone's OS-X should be capable enough to add whatever 'distilled functionalities' His Excellency Sir Steve deems his peons to be worthy of.

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

So, where does that leave qwerty, replaceable SD cards and batteries (plus, front-facing cam, but that will probably be matched in the 3GS successor) ?

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

I for my part must confess that I also like the looks of it.
My first thought when I saw it was 'Hey cool, looks like a Nokia!'.

:D

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

The Samsung chip in 3GS was allready a SoC solution (Cortex A8+ GPU+ memory on a single chip).

Re: Impressed by hardware design of new Apple iPhone
 

I'm NOT comparing the N900 with the current or future iPhone here, I'm congratulating Apple on designing a tiny logic board. :)

If you want to discuss the N900 feature set in terms of the iPhone then within the context of this thread, any additional components or features present in the N900 - such as those you have mentioned - can be added to any logic board at no real cost in terms of size.

Keyboard? Just a few wire connectors. SD socket? Another few connectors. These connectors may be missing from the new Apple logic board but adding them wouldn't be hard or increase it's size by much, if at all. Adding the keyboard itself and SD socket to the *device* would increase it's overall bulk, but that's not the point of this thread, which is about the remarkably small Apple logic board.

As for a replaceable battery - it's something that matters to some consumers, but has nothing to do with the logic board design.