What is game-changing about the iPhone 3GS?
The answer is: video. Specifically, 640×480 30 fps VGA (but analysis shows the new hardware is capable of 720p video) video capability shipping with every new 3GS iPhone. It is a class-leading communications device that can now shoot and transmit and receive and playback video.
And it is, not coincidentally, the reason we changed the site from ‘iPhonePhotoshow’ to ‘iPhonePhotoVideo’. Video and still imaging on the iPhone OS platform will become a continuum of imaging practices and it will no longer make sense to talk about picture-taking without also talking about video-capturing either in the same session or as alternatives. Veit has already talked about how the iPhone will become the leading contributor of user-generated content to YouTube in short order and my post here is meant to complement his prior post on the topic.
The case can be made that major disruptions to and advances in consumer technology adoption occur at the convergence of technology availability, price, and usability. This was true for personal computing, as evidenced by the Mac. It was true for multi-tasking operating systems with the advent of Windows 3.1. And it was certainly true for smartphones with the introduction of the iPhone.
As discussed in a previous post regarding the importance of photography on the iPhone, the key to the iPhone as a platform for any technology is the fact that it is kept within reach 24 hours a day, it is always connected to the Internet, it is used to access the Internet by more people than any other smartphone, and more mobile data is uploaded/downloaded on/to it than any other mobile device. Now, Apple will be adding video to the iPhone and everything will change as a result.
How does this relate to the importance of the iPhone 3GS as a video platform, esp. when other mobiles are capable of shooting at least limited quality video?
Think about how most consumers currently acquire and consume video. Prior to the iPhone 3GS, if I wanted to shoot full-motion 30 fps (vs. stroboscopic 15 fps or even 20 fps) video, I basically had two options: Camcorders ranging from the sub-$200 Flip to $1000+ prosumer cameras from Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and video-capable digicams, including almost all mid-tier point&shoot digicams at the low-end and Canon’s 5D Mk II DSLR at the high-end, with a similar price spread to the HD Camcorders.
The Apple 3GS iPhone, by combining communications, music consumption, still imaging and now VGA video acquisition and playback, brings a new dynamic to the mix that is unmatched by the other available more singularly purposed imaging devices. I believe that these capabilities will make the iPhone a much more ubiquitous video capture device in daily life than either video cams or still-image cams with video capabilities.
First, you may ask why I’m singling out the iPhone with video vs. other smartphones with video? The answer is that the iPhone is already a leader in the smartphone space and 3G subscribers are already a well-distinguished group. If video acquisition via a mobile device is going to become a normal, daily practice, I bet it will happen first on the most usable and best-designed smartphone, the iPhone 3GS.
In addition, you may well go on to ask what overwhelming advantages the iPhone 3GS has as a video platform versus these other devices? Let me elaborate as to what I think they are:
1. The Holy Trinity: Wallet + keys + cellphone:
While HD videocams and HD-capable D-SLRs can be very portable, they are still not automatic-‘take-with’ devices that I can slip into my pocket (well, the Flip MINO HD comes close) as is the case with my iPhone.
When I leave my house, I tap my rear pants-pocket for my wallet, I check to see that I have my mobile, and I check to see that I have my keys. I don’t check to see if I have my Nikon D-300 or my Sony HD videocam as I would with my Holy Trinity of necessities listed above. Consequently, chances are that when I am out and about, and I want to shoot video, I will wind up shooting it with my iPhone 3GS because that’s what I will have with me 100% of my waking life. I take my Nikon with me a lot during my time off, but it is still a conscious intent I have to form and it necessitates a checklist of tasks (battery charging, checking space on my compact flash card and if necessary, offloading the images to free up space). The same is not true with my mobile. A majority of people keep their mobiles within reach 24 hours a day, keep them charged, and make sure they have loaded them up with podcasts, music, etc.
2. Portability triumphant over absolute quality & storage capacity:
True, the 3GS perhaps will not have the quality or comparatively low-level sensor noise that the single-purpose devices or the available length of recording time, but these relative deficiencies don’t really matter. And I say that as someone who has used an HD 1080i camcorder for years.
People have shown, via widespread adoption of 128 kb MP3s (vs. analog records or Super Audio CDs or DVD-Audio) that they care more about convenience and omnipresence than they do about audio quality, and I believe the same thing will be true with still photos and videos, as long as the higher-quality single-purpose devices are available for key events (weddings, graduations, Bar Mitzvahs, Confirmations) as needed. The Flip Mino is so successful as a small (and inexpensive), highly portable video acquisition device that Cisco (!) bought the company for several hundred million dollars.
The fact that the iPhone 3GS can’t record as many hours of SD video as a dedicated 250GB camcorder also isn’t a killing blow to the iPhone because the 3GS will still be able to record 1-2 hour of VGA video to a lightly-loaded 32GB memory device. Also, services will be available to offload what has been shot.
3. Cos: Buy a phone, get a video camera for free:
There are many people who will buy a 3GS iPhone before they buy a dedicated HD video camera and, consequently, who will wind up shooting video exclusively on their iPhones (particularly when Apple ‘unlocks’ the 720p HD video resolution that is supposedly already possible given the processor and CMOS sensor) without ever having bought a single-purpose video camera.
Consider that a 32GB 3GS will cost $299 subsidized, vs. at least $150 for a video camera. For twice the price of a standalone videocam, you get something everyone now considers essential—voice, e-mail, mobile Internet browsing and, as a bonus, you get a camera and camcorder. Plus, there are no media costs in the form of mini-DV tapes at $3.00 for an hour, or removable Flash cards at $25-150 a piece. The memory is already present and re-usable.
Also, since you already have to have a fairly generous data plan to handle your non-video iPhone tasks, you can use that data plan to transfer your videos to Youtube or to MobileMe for distribution and sharing. You don’t have to physically hook up your iPhone as you do your dedicated video cam or D-SLR and transfer the video.
My prediction: People may buy Flip camcorders for their kids, but they will wind up shooting video (esp. if not yet parents) on their iPhones and upload it to video sites
Great sharing options!
Unlike standalone video cameras, the iPhone has a built in wireless transfer capability over a 3G+ bandwidth network. I think the advantages of this at its primal level are pretty obvious—automatic backup of your video to a non-local device, almost instant distribution capabilities which other devices can’t match for immediacy, good online services to receive the video once you’ve shot it, etc. [Editor's note: There's a great article by Om Malik on how iPhone 3.0 will drive up network usage thanks to, among others, video.]
There are definite advantages to having a communications device that shoots video, vs. a video device that has connectivity added. It is unlikely that any other non-smartphone platform (those not made by Palm, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola) will have as well-integrated wireless transfer capabilities outside of the home network anytime soon—now that Pure Digital, the makers of Flip, have been bought by Cisco, it is likely that the Flip will ‘talk’ to Linksys routers and start to have local WiFi wireless transfer capabilities built-in.
5. Open to 3rd party video applications on the device itself vs. after an up/download:
Unlike traditional video cameras or video-capable digicams and D-SLRS, the iPhone can accommodate 3rd party video-enhancement and editing and titling applications. Unlike the Nikon D5000, you can load an iPhone compatible version of Adobe Premiere (let’s say) onto the iPhone and —if Apple allows it— edit the video with the 3rd party app.
Of course, you can offload the video from dedicated devices onto your Mac or PC, and use any file-compliant app you want, but only AFTER you’ve transferred/offloaded the video. With the iPhone you should have the capability of editing or altering the video directly on the platform where you’ve just shot the video and without needing to upload it or transfer it first.
There is much more to say on this, but I’ve already exceeded my recommended daily word allowance. I will finish up this analysis in Part II of this article, coming soon.
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Related posts:
- The most popular cameras on Flickr–Canon Rebel and Apple iPhone
- Apple to re-define digital camera/video market with 5MP iPod Touch Camera? (Part 1 of 2)
- Why the iPod Nano with video will succeed against the Flip
- How social networks can leverage the iPhone 3GS video wave to create a profitable business
- Open Source, programmable cameras — the App Store of the future? Hopefully…
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Uh, so what are the other 2 most popular video cameras? I gave up reading by paragraph 13 as you had only said the obvious up to that point and I lost interest. Did you ever say what the other 2 most popular video cameras are/will be?
I planned to talk about the other two in the second half of this post which should come out soon. Hopefully, the promise of an answer to your question will be enough to regain your interest to come back and read the conclusion
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Touché. Didn’t mean to sound so negative. I already know a lot about the iPhone but I’m sure there are people who your article supplied new information for, just not me.
Anyway, I will be checking back for part 2 now.
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