Introduction
iPhone has revolutionized the cell phone technology elevating it to a whole new level. It has set the standards so high that other mobile phone companies have no choice but to upgrade their products in order to survive in the dynamic and ever changing technological age.
It utilizes internet protocol to perform its tasks most of which are time and space consuming in their operations (Krugler 19). iPhone success has been proven by its popularity and performance in the mobile phone market.
Apple has made a remarkable gain from the sale of the iPhone since its first release. Since its introduction into the market, iPhone has dominated over the cell phone market and maintained its demand by continuously upgrading its models. It is also designed such that it is possible to run the operating systems of the new models into the older models.
This enables its users to enjoy upgraded systems on their phones without having to purchase a new model phone.
Apple offers a free utility referred to as the iPhone configuration utility which lets you create and install configuration profiles and provisioning profiles (Landau 139). This utility has general trouble shooting related features that are important even to the non-enterprise population.
Its unique software and hardware also allows you to create an application that enables the users to perform tasks that may not be possible with a laptop computer (Goldstein 12). However, this is not to mean that it can entirely replace the personal computer.
The iPhone applications generally allow for internet access. Its operating system and hardware allows you to determine the device location through GPS and also has tracking and motion detectors that can register its movement. The iPhone also supports audio and video application (Goldstein 14).
Over the years, questions have been raised as to who is the real manufacturer of the iPhone. Although there are various companies that have attempted to imitate the iPhone, the original iPhone is made by a collection of more than 30 companies in 3 continents each of which provides a certain contribution to come up with the finished product. However, Apple remains the most credited company for this remarkable innovation of the 21st century since it is the original designer of iPhone and creator of the software that gives it the unique feature.
“Apple’s iPhone first made headlines at the Macworld conference & expo in San Francisco in the early 2007” (Plunkett 22). The product hit the market in 2007 and did so well that by the late 2008, the firm had made a sale of more than thirteen million and was confirmed as being the best seller in the Phone industry in the third quarter of 2008.
First generation iPhone (2G)
Apple first introduced the 2G iPhone in the market. This first generation iPhone first hit the market in 2007. With just one physical button, the iPhone provided a new advanced way through which users interacted with their phones with almost everything being done via touch screen. First generation iPhones came with either 8GB or 16GB storage capacity and its retail price varied accordingly. These iPhones were programmed via sim card.
In general, iPhones originally worked only with (service provider) AT&T. However, through program jailbreak, it can be reconfigured to accommodate any GSM network (Kubasiak and Varsalor 46). The first generation iPhone facets include a 3.5 inch (screen) which that gives an ultra-clear (480*320 resolution). Its rear has an even (metal finish) with a black ribbon placed underneath while its face consists of a (shiny) metal piece surrounding the sides.
It also features a two megapixel camera and weighs 4.8 ounces. The first generation phone is designed to support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the frequencies of GSM and Quad-Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). This limits its internet surfing speed relative to the subsequent iPhone models. Its software features the version of apple mail with HTML email, web browser safari with Google and yahoo search engines.
Its operating system is Mac OS X which enables the user to upload other applications into the system (Merrett par 11). The phone also features sensors that redirects what is displayed on the screen during rotation between portrait and landscape orientation as well as a proximity sensor that detects when the phone is on ear range consequently adjusting the screen and touch pad accordingly.
The first iPhone could connect to iTunes and You tube. Its software also supports the ‘app store’ which is an e commerce centre where users can access free and paid for software that can be supported by the iPhone. It also has personal data assistant applications such as calendar, address book and notes (Kubasiak and Varsalor 396).The first generation iPhone is the slowest of all the iPhone models in terms of internet connectivity and data uploading hence there was need for its improvement.
Although the 2G iPhone is still being used, the company has stopped releasing the 2G iPhones to the market since they are relatively lacking in line with the prevailing technology. This led to Apple’s innovation of the iPhone 3G (Mark and laMarche 26).
Second generation iPhone (3G)
The second generation iPhone was released in 2008. It had more features compared to the first generation iPhone such as GPS services which when working together with Google maps can detect the gadget’s exact location. Just like the first generation iPhone its software supports the ’App store’ where users can free and paid applications that can be supported by iPhone (Kubasiak and Varsalor 396).
The third generation model offers 3G networking that is twice as first as the first generation iPhone. It contains a built-in GPS and iPhone 2.0 software that include a support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and operates hundreds of third party applications (Plunkett 23). iPhone touch identifies location by combining data from the available methods.
However, tall buildings can block GPS signals but you can still have 3G OR Wi-Fi network availability. On such cases the iPhone is determining the location without the assistance from GPS. This gives the explanation why the accuracy of location depends on the user’s exact location and the network services available (Landau 179).
The 3G model has boosted the surfing speed as compared to the 2G model and one can easily watch videos online. This is primarily due to its 3G speed which is more advanced compared to the 2G. It has a 2 megapixel camera like the original iPhone and weighs 4.7 ounces. Its alert types include vibration, downloadable polyphonic and MP3 ring tones.
It has practically unlimited entries on its phone book, supports photo call and has an internal memory of 4/8/16 GB. The 3G meets the worldwide standards of cellular communications and is twice as first as the first generation iPhone in data downloading since it utilizes HSDPA other than UMTS (Phan 241).
Third generation iPhone-3Gs
This model was released in the market in June 2009. It is an 8GB phone hat benefits from all the great benefits that come with iOS 4.The iPhone 3GS features common cell phone features e.g. multimedia messaging and video recording as well as voice dialing. It also has a proven elongated battery life. It has a TFT capacitive touch screen and a scratch resistant surface.
It has increased speed relative to the previous models and also features a number of other hardware upgrades from the preceding models. It has a higher resolution camera (3 mega pixel) which is capable of autofocus (Biersdorfer 10). This is an improvement from the earlier models whose camera resolutions were 2 mega pixel.
It also has the abilities to shoot videos and take pictures even better under low-light situations. Its navigation features also goes beyond the GPS into a built in electronic compass which enables it to determine the direction in which the device is pointed. It also has an improved battery life in comparison with the earlier models (Faas 4). The third generation is also available 16 and 32 GB which provides a more built in memory than either of the earlier models.
The model provides a unique security feature that allows it to fully encrypt all its data. This ensures that saved data is secure since retrieving such data is virtually impossible without pass code access (Faas 4). The phone also features a built in voice control and voice over which enables phone –user voice interaction. 3G capable iPhone is capable of switching between Wi-Fi, 3G and edge as you roam depending on the network that is currently available in the user’s location.
The third generation iPhone is faster and has new features that lacked in the previous models. However, the iPhone 3GS call quality has not advanced and it experiences uneven reception. It further lacks flash light and USB storage and multitasking hence the need that led to the development of the fourth generation iPhone (German par 3, 4).
iPhone 4
The fourth generation is supported by technologies structured and modified to resemble those of the internet. The gadget operates on IP-powered networks with the ability to share spectrum capacities in ways not currently popular in the commercial networks (Krugler 19).
The new generation model was introduced in August 2010. It is a modern and technologically advanced phone. It is claimed to consist of more than 100 new features. It is far much thinner and elegant than the iPhone 3GS and has an all glass front and a stainless steel casing.
The new iPhone differs from the previous models in that its volume controls are located its sides together with an accessible microSIM tray. Some of its other features include a microphone, speaker, a front facing camera among others. iPhone 4 supports the popular iTunes and provides a means through which you can organize your iPhone 4 content (Trautschold and Mazo 709). The iPhone 4 is a classy and elegant cell phone designed such that it supports more application than any other smart phone in the market.
With iPhone 4 you can view photos, check emails, surf the web through an interactive touch screen gesture. They also anticipate the introduction of an application that allows you to organize and manage your content as well as streaming high quality movies and TV shows on your iPhone 4(Kelby 3). Hulu + is also featured in this new model.
It is an application that allows you to watch complete seasons of your favorite TV reality shows and movies right on your phone. You can also update your face book status and receive push alerts right on your iPhone 4 (Trautschold and Mazo 3). The new phone also supports high speed protocols for web connectivity as well as a built in Wi-Fi or 3G- network connectivity which are among the fastest in the modern world. The iPhone 4 has an amazing retina display which is four time more effective than older models.
It also provides a first ever video chat right on the front facing camera. One of the greatest new features contained in the fourth generation iPhone 4 is its ability to multitask. This is made possible through simply double clicking the home button in order to jump between applications (Trautschold and Mazo 5).
This allows users to access multiple applications at the same time. You can also locate your iPhone using any web browser using Find my browser feature in mobile me. With iPhone 4 you can also lock your iPhone with a 4 digit code and you can also remotely delete information on your iPhone. This enhances its security settings since you can manage privacy on your phone.
The iPhone 4 like the third generation iPhone also comes with voice over option that reads your applied commands from the phone screen. When you turn the voice over feature on it speaks anything on the screen. This has helped in enabling the use of mobile phones among the visually impaired since they can have a verbal interaction with their phones and can feed it with commands.
It also contains a feature (voice control) that enables the user to send commands through merely speaking (into the screen). The iPhone 4 also has a 5X zoom camera, iBooks which is an electronic book reader, a spelling checker among other features that makes it even more desirable (Lowe 1).
Conclusion
The iPhone is currently perceived as a new computing platform since it aims to serve most of the internet related functions. Since in the modern world the mobile devices are becoming more and more popular, most internet accessing is being done through the mobile devices making the iPhone an even more desirable cell phone to acquire since it is compatible to the current technological needs.
The eventual market for these devices as anticipated by Steve Jobs and Apple will be bigger than any other product and will even surpass the massive PC and desktop computing market (Dvorak, par 5). Due To its efficiency, the iPhone continues to be one of the most preferred mobile phone models of our time.
It is therefore important for its manufacturer to make sure that the iPhone is at per with the dynamic technology. They should also lay some strict measures to curb imitations by other companies which have resulted to low quality cheap iPhones flooding in the market thereby reducing its demand.
Works Cited
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