Eventually, Android 2.2 “Froyo” will be running on anything that can be hacked. Someone with mad skills loaded Android 2.2 on Nokia’s hacker-friendly N900. The result is excellent browsing speeds and fairly comprehensive hardware support sans SD memory card. Check out the video but do yourself a favor (it’s quite boring) and skip to around the 4:48 mark: you’ll get to see the browser flying. If Froyo runs this fast on an ARM Cortex A8 running at just 600MHz and graphics duties via PowerVR SGX530, imagine the boost in speed the 1GHz Snapdragon-based smartphones will experience.

I have been thinking about this ever since Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4: if I end up getting the iPhone 4 will I be able to ditch my Canon S90? Will picture quality of the iPhone 4 be just as good? There are significant technical differences between the two. The iPhone 4 has a 5 megapixel backside illuminated CMOS image sensor while the S90 has a Sony-made high-sensitivity 10 megapixel CCD. The lens on the iPhone 4 is fixed with an aperture of f/2.8. The Canon sports a f/2.0-4.9 optical zoom lens. The S90 takes exceptional pictures in low-light conditions and it seems so does the iPhone 4. I was wondering and wondering… thankfully Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan and Woody Allen Jang took the iPhone 4, Droid X, iPhone 3GS, the S90 and took a whole bunch of photographs in Test Notes: iPhone 4 Camera.

Off the bat the Droid X falls short of the iPhone 4 even though it has 8 megapixels compared to the iPhone 4′s five. There’s a couple of reasons for that. First, the iPhone 4 has a backside illuminated image sensor that’s better at capturing photons. Second, each of the photon receptors are bigger on the iPhone 4 than on the Droid X. Bigger photon receptors mean more photons are captured and that leads to better quality pictures. MacWorld agrees the iPhone 4 is much better than the Droid X and the EVO 4G (read MacWorld: iPhone 4 Sports Best Smartphone Camera for more info).

Then Buchanan and Jang (B&J) go off into a difficult topic of popping colors. Sure, the eyes like it when colors pop but once you start on that slippery slope you’ll want more pop at the expense of true colors. If I had to choose from having accurate colors to colors that pop, I’d take accurate colors every time. The main difference comes from color processing and then displaying the colors on screen. The folks at Apple decided to pop the colors a bit by increasing the contrast and color saturation. Thankfully the S90 is color-accurate and unfortunately the iPhone 4 has less accurate popping colors. A while back I collaborated with DisplayMate on a series of articles comparing the Google Nexus One to Apple’s iPhone 3GS (read Display Showdown: Nexus One vs. iPhone 3GS for more info). In those articles we knocked down the PenTile Matrix OLED display for having colors that were simply too blown up. A little pop here and there might not be so bad but when magenta becomes red or cyan becomes blue you’ve got a problem.

The photo above was taken with the S90 in full auto, JPG mode. It’s the COEX Mall at night in Samsungdong, Seoul, South Korea. No post-processing was done; I only shrank the size. I think the quality is pretty remarkable for a compact digital camera. Of course depending on the monitor you’re using to view the photo, colors will vary somewhat. Although the iPhone 4 does a much better job than the Droid X or the iPhone 3GS, B&J gives the S90 the thumbs up:

The iPhone 4 won’t produce the kind of dreamy night portraits the S90 can.

Although the Gizmodo article states the iPhone 4 as having a f/2.4 lens, I have seen other more authoritative sources putting the fixed aperture of the lens at f/2.8. Check out Falk Lumo and Ars Technica.

So that settles it. The camera system used in the iPhone 4 is probably one of the best out there among smartphones. But even with a 5 megapixel backside illuminated CMOS image sensor with each photo receptors as large as the ones in the previous 3.2 megapixel version the iPhone 4′s camera just can’t compete with the S90, which is considered one of the best compact digital cameras known for its low-light photography. Even if I get an iPhone 4 it won’t be replacing my Canon S90. As much as I’d want to carry one less high-tech gadget, photo quality is much more important to me.

Fusion of Ideas’ StealthArmor is a protective film, like the Invisible Shield, for the iPhone 4 and other Apple products. There’s a lot of interesting choices like Brushed Aluminum, Carbon Fiber Black, Clear and Matte Black. What is most interesting to me is the lack of Stainless Steel! Anyway, these protective film from StealthArmor comes with film to cover up the stainless steel mid-section of the iPhone 4 according to Gizmodo. That mid-section film does prevent you from making direct contact with the stainless steel external antenna of the iPhone 4. So the theory goes the StealthArmor can fix the iPhone 4′s antenna reception problem. Well, at least one person, Vincent at SlashGear isn’t convinced:

We got to work early this evening to test Fusion of Idea’s claim but it’s still inconclusive. A quick test of holding iPhone 4 with our left hand DOES NOT yield a better reception with the applied material, as you can see for your self from the pictures below. This is a pretty BOLD claim by Fusion of Ideas.

Maybe the StealthArmor protective film is still conducting. It is interesting that the film doesn’t have individual sections for the lower left separated antenna sections and instead is just a long strip. Maybe that has something to do with it. Can you guys make a slit and retest? Although it is probably just ink printed on film I would stick to Clear since particles in the ink might be conductive.

Actually… since the capacitive touch display used in the iPhones work even with a layer of the InvisibleShield on it that means these protective films conduct. These films won’t work. And that means I’ll need to scratch #3 from the list in iPhone 4 Reception Problem: Four Possible Solutions.

Doghouse Diaries:

LOL. When you’re done with FaceTime the window closes right away, right? Maybe this could be a tipping point for first date video calls when people shift from Skype video calls to iChat and/or FaceTime video calls. By the way, did you know Skype is very particular about what type of webcams it wants to be nice to? I found out the hard way when I was trying to set up my Mac mini do do Skype video calls. I gave up and went with iChat.

Cupertino, we have a problem. We have an iPhone 4 antenna short. In Korea, up until about 12:30am June 27th, everyone was glued to the tube watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup. So if you’re a football (or soccer in the US) fan there’s a good chance you’re completely clueless about this antenna issue surrounding the new iPhone 4. To catch up here are a few choice articles: Gert Frølund Pedersen Predicted iPhone 4 Antenna Problems on June 10, Hey Apple! You’re Holding The iPhone 4 The Wrong Way!, Apple: You’re Holding The iPhone 4 The Wrong Way, iPhone 4: Touch Left Corner To Drop Calls, and one more: Double iPhone 4 Download Speed With Black Electrician Tape?

Yes, this antenna problem on the iPhone 4 has been a pain for some. If you’re not experiencing this problem just be thankful. For those of you looking for possible solutions, here’s what I’ve found. Note: Possible solutions do not include using electrician’s black tape or some other hideous resolution since one of the reasons why anyone gets an iPhone 4 is because it looks nice. Black tape around the gorgeous stainless steel mid-section is just too ugly. So here’s four possible solutions to the iPhone 4′s antenna problem:

1. Start holding it right. According to Apple you’re holding the iPhone 4 wrong. Ridiculous, I know. Avoid gripping the iPhone 4 in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band. Use three fingers (pointy, middle, thumb) on your left hand (if you’re right handed) to hold the iPhone 4 making sure your thumb isn’t shorting the two antennas when you need to use both your hands to do something on the iPhone 4. If you’re left-handed it’s a bit more tricky but again try using just three fingers but this time make sure your pointy and middle fingers are on just one side of the slit, above it or below it and not one finger above and one finger below. When you’re holding the iPhone to your ear for a phone call make sure to only use your three fingers, or less if possible.

2. Use a non-conducting case. Don’t get one of those fancy real-metallic cases for the iPhone 4. You’ll ruin the reception. Get a cheap plastic one instead. Maybe Apple knew this beforehand and announced the Bumper case at the same time the iPhone 4 was announced. The Bumper case looks like a good option to me: it’s simple, looks nice on the iPhone 4 and somewhat affordable. I prefer my iPhones to be nude but in the case of the iPhone 4, if I ever get my hands on a white one, I’ll be getting the Bumper for it.

3. Cut out a part of the Invisible Shield (zagg.com) and put it over the lower left corner. If you don’t want to use the Bumper or an entire case and cover up the nicely-designed iPhone 4 you can carefully cut out just a little part of the Invisible Shield. Since this little film is expensive (get the screen only version for less), get many of your iPhone 4-toting friends to go in together on this. Update: Scratch this. These films conduct and won’t work (read StealthArmor Fixes iPhone 4 Reception Problem?).

4. Use a Bluetooth earpiece when you’re talking and lay the iPhone 4 on a table when needing to interact with it. I would keep the line of sight between iPhone 4 and the Bluetooth earpiece obstruction-free and fairly close, say three to four feet max.

I don’t have an iPhone 4 yet so I haven’t personally tested these possible solutions but hopefully these four ideas will help those who are experiencing antenna problems. In the meantime, Apple, can you get back to work on a redesign? Here’s a suggestion: why don’t you make the little grooves that separate the different antennas a little bit wider, a little wider than an average width of a thumb. That way we’ll put our thumb there to hold the iPhone 4. And since it’s wider we won’t short it. Maybe you can implement it on the white iPhone 4?

Gert Frølund Pedersen, a professor at Aalborg University’s Institute for Electronic Systems in Denmark and an antenna expert, predicted the external antenna of the iPhone 4 could result in undesirable consequences if touched. Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen the external antenna design that was highly touted by Steve Jobs during his keynote at the WWDC 2010 is old news and that it has been seen in other implementations before. The following is a Google-translated version (source: ComON.dk):

The human tissue will in any event have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of antenna energy becomes heat and lost.

Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen recommends a redundant dual-antenna solution so when one is blocked the other can engage. I wonder why Apple didn’t think of that.

Here’s another antenna expert: Spencer Webb, who runs AntennaSys, a company that custom designs RF solutions. Webb has worked on building quad-band transceivers for AT&T. According to Webb, most phone manufacturers have moved the antenna toward the bottom of the phone to minimize emissions to the head. The FCC has been adamant about enforcing strict limits on the amount of energy that can be absorbed by the body, especially the head, called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). This is what Webb has to say about the iPhone 4′s antenna design decision:

Apple was not the first to locate the antenna on the bottom, and certainly won’t be the last.  The problem is that humans have their hands below their ears, so the most natural position for the hand is covering the antenna.  This can’t be a good design decision, can it?  How can we be stuck with this conundrum?  It’s the FCC’s fault.

The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air.

The FCC and cellular carriers do test mobile phones connectivity but by attaching them to equipment. It if obvious there needs to be improvements in the way phones are tested since almost all phones are used by us, who are filled with 70% water and have electrical properties. What is most revealing is this: “… efficient transmission and reception while being held by a human hand are simply not design requirements!” How we miss the most obvious. Spencer, knowing the potential limitation of the antenna design, went ahead and purchased the iPhone 4: “And sometimes an antenna that’s not great, but good enough, is good enough.”

What I would do if I ever decide to get my very own white iPhone 4: Buy the Apple Bumper, take the iPhone 4 out of my pocket and place it on a non-conducting surface such as glass and use a Bluetooth earpiece without any obstructions between the iPhone and the earpiece. That should do it. I think.

Huawei’s S7 tablet is a Snapdragon-powered Android tablet running Eclair (Android 2.1). The display is a 7-inch 800×480 LCD and the Snapdragon is breathing at a 768MHz clip. That most likely means elements of Android will be not as snappy as you’d want since we’ve seen 1GHz Snapdragon-powered Eclair smartphones exhibit a bit of choke here and there. The S7 features 3G, WiFi, a 2 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and goes for £299 and with current exchange rates is about US$450 but the US price is just $354.99, a good deal. The Huawei S7 is for the time being only available at Expansys. Discounts are available for orders of five or more: call 1-309-834-0323 in the US.

Have you ever wanted a camera that could shoot exceptionally well in low-light? I have. And a long time ago I spent a considerable sum acquiring a Canon 20D body and a 35mm f/1.4 L lens. I was able to take some fairly decent low-light shots at ISO 800 with the lens wide open. But the setup was large and heavy, reasons that kept the monster locked inside my home most of the time. I sold the pair and got myself a quaint Canon S90 mostly because it was eminently more portable than the 20D and 35mm lens. Now, I take the S90 almost everywhere, and it’s pretty good in low-light. The Nikon D3S makes me think it would again be not only okay but more than worth it to haul heavy industrial equipment for the chance to get exceptional pictures in very low-light environments. Of course even when you decide you could deal with the weight the D3S isn’t for everyone. The financial burden is heavy: US$5199.95 on Amazon. But maybe it is worth selling your worn out car for one of these.

DPReview:

For now, if versatility and speed are of more use to you than a little extra resolution, the Nikon D3S will serve you very well indeed.

I would go without a little extra resolution for better low-light capabilities any day.

PhotographyBLOG:

So, is the Nikon D3S the world’s best digital camera then? Well, statements like that are always controversial to say the least, but for most intents and purposes; yes, it is.

From what I can tell after reading review after review of the Nikon D3S is this: Nikon’s D3S is the king of low-light. There is nothing like it on the market. Nothing from Canon even comes close. Just like the title says you can get photos without a trace of noise at ISO 8000. You can find the full specification on Nikon. About the only feature that is a glaring disappointment is the video capture limitation of 720/24p. Was 1080/24p not possible? Nonetheless there is no video capture device on the market that is able to record motion picture in such low-light conditions as the D3S. If 1080/24p is a must then I would consider the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV for a little less than the D3S but you do lose a full frame sensor.

All photographers who are somewhat serious about photography know the importance of having a fast lens to get good pictures in low-light photography. I think with the D3S that fact has become less important and you might even say that it has become not important at all. Steve Jobs called the iPad magical; it does have a newness in the way we interact with it that we have not experienced before. But the real magic is found here: the 12.1 megapixel full-frame (36×24 mm) CMOS image sensor used in the D3S makes any lens take fantastically amazing photos in any light condition, even in almost complete darkness. The D3S sucks in every single photon available and makes light out of darkness. Now that’s magic!

Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief at iLounge, compared the iPhone 4′s video quality to the Flip Ultra HD:

For the first time, iPhone 4 has the resolution to compete pixel for pixel against Flip’s higher-end recorder, and it has something Flip doesn’t: Tap to Focus during video, enabling the iPhone 4 to create depth of field effects, but also to render some scenes softly relative to the Flip since the latter device’s fixed-focus lens offers consistent sharpness without depth of field capabilities.

Hop on over to iLounge for the videos. I don’t know what it is but watching the 720p video captured with the iPhone 4 feels weird on my 17-inch MBP. I think maybe my display isn’t up to the task with slow liquid crystal response times or it might be the 30fps. If I were to guess it’s the 30fps. With this type of video capturing capability on the iPhone 4 the only type of video that would look good is slow panning. Ditto for the Flip Ultra HD. I think 720p video really needs 60fps for keeping up with moving objects or moving from object to object.

The nPower PEG generates electricity using kinetic energy. Seiko’s Kinetic sub-brand is based on the same concept: it generates electricity as you move about. Here’s how it works:

The patented nPower technology is the world’s most advanced commercialized kinetic energy harvesting technology. When it is rigidly attached to an item with a surplus of kinetic (oscillatory) motion, it amplifies the motion internally with a tuned mass-spring system; when tuned correctly this is known as a mechanically resonant system.

With nPower technology, the mass-spring system is replaced with a magnetically-active mass designed to pass completely through a conductive loop, creating a power take out (PTO) system. Energy transfer through the PTO is a very complex process due to the variability of the mechanical and PTO systems and the need for consistent downstream power. nPower encapsulates an integrated technological solution to these items which allows it to create Clean Energy from a previously wasted natural energy resource, oscillatory motions.

Uh, yeah, sure. Well, there you have it. Get the whole story at nPower. The nPower PEG is made from titanium so it should be quite durable and light. Electrical output is via USB so you can charge your iPhone, iPod, iPad, BlackBerry, etc. while you’re walking around. Price is a cool US$150 and for now ships only to the US. This nPower PEG sounds very interesting.

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