Thank you, Apple, for still making impressive improvements on your devices and software. Meanwhile, back here in reality, we'll all continue suffering through AT&T's contemptible service.
With that out of my system, I wanted to blab a bit about Apple's "retina display." Besides being a brow-raising brand, it does embody what's so awesome behind the display. At 326 pixels per inch, it opens the doors for unique human/computer interaction. Magazines, brochures, and just about anything that's printed and viewed from one's hands uses a printing resolution of around 300 dots per inch. One can deduct that Apple's new display thus offers a viewing experience on par with the printed world.
What's so cool about this? Digital ink, as they call it. I know Steve thinks any sort of interface between a human and computer that uses a "stylus" equals failure. (He may want to reconnect with Apple's huge following of creative professionals.) To this day I would never have suggested that digital pens would make a good input device, solely because of our displays' resolutions. Digital ink fails from the start if a person can differentiate the pixels. But with a display at Apple's RD's 326 ppi, we can draw digital lines and curves, and paint with brushes and colors at arm's length without the distraction of zooming, pixels, or resolution. A wall is being torn down between creative professionals and being productive.
Of course, the iPhone is still just a 3.5" screen, so that in itself is a barrier. But it won't be long before Apple will offer these displays at workable sizes.
I come from a heavy architectural background, which stemmed into my current occupation as a structural engineer. We work daily with line drawings. Back in the printed world, line drawings need to be kept vector to be printed well. Rasterized, such drawings need to hit 600 or higher dpi to keep the human eye happy with what it sees printed. However, we continually need to convey information to the rest of a design team: the architects, the structural engineers, the mechanical engineers, the contractors, the owners, the developers, and the multitude of sub-consultants for a project. This industry has been slow to acclimate to a digital world when it comes to coordination and sharing information. One of the barriers here has been the process of marking up drawings. For several reasons, it's still usually best to print a drawing, mark it up with good ol' real-life pens and pencils, scan the thing back in, then email it away. With a display at 326 ppi matching at least a letter-sized page (8.5" x 11"), the process of sharing information on drawings could be drastically more efficient, clearer, and faster. Give me a display hitting 11"x17", and we're getting gold.
So, Apple: When can we see your spiffy Retina Display at something larger than pocket-sized?
