The new Apple iPhone 4 goes on sale today in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Japan. But don’t plan on picking one up unless you’ve pre-ordered it.
The iPhone 4 is powered by the Apple A4 chip, composed of a Cortex-A8 central processing unit and a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor, the same as in the iPad. It can run up to 1 GHz.
The iPhone 4 features a front-facing VGA camera, and an improved 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. The rear-facing camera is capable of recording HD video in 720p at 30 frames per second. Both cameras make use of the tap to focus feature.
Twit.tv is podcasting live from the iPhone line in San Franciso using FaceTime, Apple’s 2-way video chat feature. FaceTime can only work by connecting an iPhone 4 to another iPhone 4; the previous generations of iPhone are not supported.
Alex Lindsey, on the street in San Francisco, chatted with Leo LaPorte who used another iPhone 4 at the Twit studio. Lindsey is using a Verizon MiFi connection to supply the local WiFi signal that FaceTime requires.
It was also a clear demonstration of the iPhone’s image stabilization.
Lindsey was also connected live using an Apple laptop with Skype which showed him shaking the iPhone. The FaceTime image was rock solid. The iPhone 4 is the first to use ST Micro’s three-axis MEMS gyro.
The quality of the iPhone 4 video was superior to the laptop, said LaPorte, although the frame rate was often slower.
LaPorte believes FaceTime will make live video more practical and useful.
In May, 2008, Leo launched the live streaming video version of TWiT called Twit Live, with 25 hours of original programming each week. Some 2.6 million people watched TWiT Live in its first month.
Skypeasaurus is their four-machine Skype setup. It was joined by Streamasaurus, a six-computer setup to support streaming video.
Streamasaurus consists of six Mac mini computers, two running OS X for Bit Gravity streams, and the rest running Windows and Flash Media Encoder for other providers. Each computer serves one stream. Their Tricaster Studio switcher has six inputs, all of which are used by cameras. They disconnected four of those cameras to connect the four Skype boxes each time they use Skypesaurus.
The news room of the future will dump the current distribution model and go live — with embedded social media, targeted advertising and a global reach. You could cram the whole thing in a bus — complete with a 10 Mbps WiMAX connection. Killer talent is optional at extra cost. Tell your funders that it’s a Homeland Security thing. Lives are at stake.
Do the math. Think Out Loud. Visionaries like Leo LaPorte are leading by example.
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