Apple’s “iPhone ad slip up” reveals “mystery app”

June 3, 2007 by Dr. Macenstein
Filed under: News, Opinion, Rampant Speculation, Rumors 

Posted by Dr. Macenstein

[UPDATE: Apple has apparently re-edited iPhone commercials, and removed the “mysterious 12th icon”]

In looking through Apple’s newly posted iPhone ads on their site, I noticed something interesting.

In every shot we have ever seen of the iPhone’s main menu thus far, there are 3 rows of icons for applications (2 rows of 4 icons, and the 3rd row has 3 icons) for a total of 11 icons. (See below).

However, there is an odd shot in the newly released “How- To” iPhone ad, where the screen goes from the traditional 11 icon view, to a new 12 icon view. (See below).


Above: Scroll to 00:00:02.76, and you will see an interesting jump cut from 11 icons, to 12, and then back to 11 again.

The idea that the iPhone will add functionality and apps via software updates is nothing new; Apple has mentioned as much. However, you can clearly see that one moment the last row has three icons; “calculator”, “notes”,”settings”…

And the next it has four “clock”, “calculator”, “notes”,”settings”.

Apparently some mystery app has pushed the icons down 1 slot, but we cannot see what it is.

This brings us to 2 questions. First, what is the mystery app that has bumped all these apps down one spot? And second, why didn’t the editors of this commercial catch this lack of continuity between shots?

Since this is the most highly anticipated electronics launch in recent history, surely Apple must have known geeks like us with too much free time would scroll through the video frame by frame and catch something like this.

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Comments

141 Comments on Apple’s “iPhone ad slip up” reveals “mystery app”

  1. Rowlings on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 9:56 pm

    2. Sloppy editing to be sure. Hmmm.. the ad looks like it is actual footage of someone using the iPhone as opposed to a 3D mock up of the screen, but you never know. Screens are hard to shoot (glare and all), so maybe it was added in and motion tracked, and this is an artist’s slip up? although where would he have gotten the odd icon order? And odds are, they would not have accidentally left in a wrong effects shot, since they realized and got the icons right on other shots.
    I don’t know. The HD version looks pretty real, not effecty. Nice catch!

  2. Way Cool Jr. on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 10:20 pm

    3. I feel ashamed. I think I have more free time on my hands than ANYBODY, but I didn’t catch that. :(

  3. The OS2Guy on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 10:48 pm

    4. Ahhh… but we don’t know what that mystery app is and we’ve got 26 more days to contemplate, talk about, wonder, guess, and dig about to discover it. And that kind of publicity can’t be bought.

    Apple KNOWS fanboys will pour over every word and picture morsel put out there and what better way to keep the [free] publicity rolling then to keep the mystery app a mystery - at least for now?

    Tonight your discovery sits in the “upcoming stories” on Digg. By next week it could be a very big story on the “popular stories” garnering more publicity.

  4. TimmyG on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:12 pm

    5. It could just be a diagnostic app that they won’t be shipping with the fully released version….

  5. Rowlings on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:22 pm

    6. OR it could be the coolest thing EVER, TIMMY!
    I’m going with that, because I am a total, unapologetic Apple fanboy.
    LONG LIVE THE iPHONE!

  6. et on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:22 pm

    7. It wasn’t a 3D mock up and it wasn’t sloppy editing. Apple is as innovative with their marketing and strategic planning as they are with their hardware and apps. These ads have a very specific design and set of objectives.

  7. Mart on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:25 pm

    8. Also, how did the Maps application know where the guy who wanted calamari was? I’m still hoping for a hidden GPS receiver!

  8. Richard on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:38 pm

    9. Chances are its not a diagnostic app, Apple wouldn’t want anything on the main page of its new device showing that it might have flaws and require a diagnostic app (though i bet they are in there hidden), its like having diskutil on the main screen of the appleTV, Marts got a point, i mean having the localisation preset is one thing, but if it can track where you are.. ohh yeah baby..

  9. Rakshasa on Sun, 3rd Jun 2007 11:42 pm

    10. It would be easy to figure out the phone’s position based on signal strength and what which receivers it is talking to. These logs are sometimes used to track the prior movement of mobile phones, and would be relatively easy to add to realtime applications.

  10. ;) on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:05 am

    11. It’s just a Games button for games downloaded for the iPod.

  11. Neil Anderson on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:31 am

    12. Another widget?

  12. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:34 am

    13. whatever it is, it is definitely a continuity error that seems like it can only be intentional.
    I agree with The OS2Guy, someone let that stay in to generate even more buzz.

  13. nomel on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:35 am

    14. increase the whitepoint of the original…you’ll see a seam next to clock.
    maybe cut a paste?

    maybe they just did it to make the diagram more intuitive?

    try it with original.

  14. TheNetAvenger on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:38 am

    15. >>I’m still hoping for a hidden GPS receiver!

    Don’t all Cell Phones have one now?

    This is how a freaking RAZR from Verizon can give someone directions and maps walking down a street. If the iPhone really doesn’t have GPS, that is truly sad and in violation of 911 requirements isn’t it?

  15. Kim Hill on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:38 am

    16. They may have rearranged the icons simply because the bottom empty space looked visually awkward in the close-up shot.

  16. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:25 am

    17. exactly who has enough time to figure this shit out??

  17. jay Ratch on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:32 am

    18. No, very few GSM cell phones have GPS built in, and there are no 911 requirements for having one. Still too many privacy concerns.

    911 calls operate at a higher power level than regular phone calls, and are triangulated by the network to give location to the required 500 yard radius in the painfully few areas that actually are equipped with e911. In denser areas like Manhattan, where towers are every block or so, hence making reasonably accurate tracking trivial.

    That being said, the latest demo seems to imply GPS because the user did nothing to input his location. It would certainly be at least compatible with the US Globalsat unit like almost all other AT&T phones, and I highly doubt that Apple would stand for such clunkiness.

  18. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:34 am

    19. exactly #15 it just looks better to fill the screen with color. Empty space is never good

  19. Bryan on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:40 am

    20. It could also possibly a “now playing” widget so you could quickly go back to your music/movie from the home screen. Since it probably took multiple takes to piece that ad together, it could have just been left over from a previous take.

  20. BarneyBoy on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:47 am

    21. I’ve heard from a reeeeally good source that it’s either Photoshop or FinalCut Pro…

  21. Willz on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:54 am

    22. Perhaps the extra icon is YouTube functionality, the same that is being worked into the AppleTV? They made a point of mentioning how the FLV file format didn’t play on the iPhone as well as the AppleTV.

  22. pixel_pimp on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 2:04 am

    23. Probally some ad exec. making a note just to make a note. Like “There needs to be 4 icons in that shot, not 3 that looks stupid!! get the flame artist to add one!”

  23. james on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 2:27 am

    24. or it could be photoshoped …

  24. Richard Davidson on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 2:44 am

    25. My money is on a stand-alone youtube application.. given the news earlier this week.

  25. zach on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:05 am

    26. Finally, after 14 posts, somebody points out the correct answer. Thank you Kim.

  26. jaamzw on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:06 am

    27. i’m sure the icons can be managed by the owner. you can set up the ‘desktop’ with whatever shortcuts you want. the phone shown with 12 must have just had the settings tweaked to have 1 more icon than the phone comes with ’stock’

  27. andrew harrison on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:07 am

    28. @Kim Hill:

    There are a number of close up shots in the other two ads [and I'm pretty sure even in this ad] that use the standard 3 icon 3rd row interface, so I can’t imagine they changed their mind just for one shot.

  28. steve on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:15 am

    29. I think Kim is right on. It was simply an aesthetic decision.

    steve

  29. Powder on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:15 am

    30. Its Microsoft’s iOffice. On the first screen shot it was still loading so we had 11 icons. On the second shot it was finally done loading up and pushed the icons down because we now have 12 icons. On the third shot iOffice crashed and we went back down to 11 icons.

  30. Fredrik J on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:18 am

    31. Perhaps it adds some kind of icon for the running application just to make “alt-tabbing” easier and that pushes the icons downward?

  31. DPO on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:26 am

    32. I agree with Kim. I’m a commercial director myself, and I can SO see the client demanding that the “weird space on the right” be fixed.

    No matter how meticulously we geeks scrutinize each frame of a commercial, ad agencies and clients will even more meticulously critique each frame of a commercial hundreds of times before it gets released. So I’m leaning towards the opinion that this is not an editing or continuity glitch but a deliberate use of “artistic license”.

    But of course, if there’s a cool app that they’re hiding then I’m all stoked to find out what it is :D

  32. Jas on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:33 am

    33. Don’t read too much into it. It’s just how marketing and advertising works.
    The close up showing the 4 icons would have looked slightly odd to the eye if a 4th icon was present and symetrical to look at. In the zoomed out view the ‘gap’ does not distract the eye.

  33. Andrew on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:34 am

    34. I agree with neil, probably another widget… Or maybe Steve doesn’t like the odd number.

  34. RadicalPuppy4 on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:45 am

    35. It’s probably something stupid like ‘Now Playing’

  35. TheDude on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 4:09 am

    36. What if they simply removed three icons from the row above?
    Why assume they ‘added a mystery app’

    ~Dude

  36. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 4:27 am

    37. >> Don’t all Cell Phones have one now?

    >> This is how a freaking RAZR from Verizon can give someone directions and maps walking
    >> down a street. If the iPhone really doesn’t have GPS, that is truly sad and in violation of 911
    >> requirements isn’t it?

    No. E911 enables 911 dispatch operators to locate a cell phone based on information reported through the tower that received the 911 call; that is, if you call 911 from a cell phone in Manhattan at Broadway and W 34th, and the nearest tower is at 7th AVE and W 34th, The 911 dispatch center will know that the tower at 7th & 34th is the one being used. More advanced systems can use what amounts to triangulation to give a location for a cell phone call within a certain tolerance. Some phones use a GPS, or GPS-like system for location with E911, but it is not a requirement.

  37. runishe on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 5:01 am

    38. >>Kim Hill

    Exactly my thought. Stop fussing over that iPhone and buy the Neo1973 when it comes out of beta sometime in the next millenium.

  38. Daiv on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 5:06 am

    39. Keep in mind something. The icon was not added to the bottom, row. Logic would follow it’s something that Apple UI designers would feel is used more often than the icons below it. A Diagnostics button would surely goto the bottom row as the last possible button if there ever were one.

  39. hary on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 5:15 am

    40. it’s not the only shot where you see evidence of the 12th icon.
    the first close-up in the “never been” spot, where the iPod icon is selected, you can see the “notes” icon doing the expose zoom down and to the right. if there were only 11 icons it would be going down and to the left and not be seen in this shot.

  40. Matt H on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:07 am

    41. Have to agree with the last comment. Possibly done to fill the space…

  41. sam on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:10 am

    42. @TheNetAvenger :

    No. most cellphones do not have a GPS in them. The only ones that all have GPS receivers are the nextel/boost mobile motorolas. Other than that, they are scattered around. Not even Cingular’s top of the line $500 8525 has a GPS.

  42. Jeff K. on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:11 am

    43. IF the demonstrator had pushed the iPod button, it could be a “What’s Playing” application popping up on the menu?

  43. Dylan on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:15 am

    44. I’m thinking something like the iphone will have the ability to create and arrange shortcuts etc, so it’s probably just someone who’s made a shortcut to some game or app installed on the phone.

  44. Christopher Glass on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:19 am

    45. I’m going to guess it adds an icon up there while the iPod is playing music.

  45. frnknstn on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:54 am

    46. >>> And second, why didn’t the editors of this commercial catch this lack of continuity between shots?

    Because even thought the editor of this commercial is paid to do it, chances are he doesn’t pore over these videos as much as our rabid fan community.

    Either that, or, as suggested by other comments, it was a purely asthetic change, and Apple did not consider the technical implications.

  46. hary on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:55 am

    47. there is evidence of a 12th button in the “Never Been” add. In the very first close up, when the iPod button is selected you can see the Notes icon zooming down and to the right. if there were only 11 icons it would be zooming down and to the left.

  47. psychic readings on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:59 am

    48. iphone will rule

  48. Rowlings on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 7:32 am

    49. Powder, that was hilarious.
    ===
    “Its Microsoft’s iOffice. On the first screen shot it was still loading so we had 11 icons. On the second shot it was finally done loading up and pushed the icons down because we now have 12 icons. On the third shot iOffice crashed and we went back down to 11 icons.”

    :)

  49. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:21 am

    50. YouTube.

  50. Ed O'Keeffe on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:30 am

    51. GPS?

    no

  51. Mamba on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:32 am

    52. There is nothing more interesting than Apple rumors and the way they spreading hidden information requires increasing detective skills of you guys. Thanks for the post and keep your eyes peeled!

    My guess for the 12th icon: Remote Control for the Apple TV or Condiment Dispenser

  52. Matt on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:43 am

    53. Put simply its Ichat. Leopard will be able to link up Iphone profiles and desktop based Ichat users. It as been in the pipeline over 2 years and was one of the original reason for the iphone being redesigned to use a version of OS X back in 2004.

  53. Jonahan on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:44 am

    54. Hey on the whole “How did it know where he was?” deal it has address book … it imported his address … GPS would be cool but I doubt it.

  54. Nikolai on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 9:13 am

    55. This phone can do it all. Maybe it’s a toothbrush!

  55. Dr. A. N. Feldzamen on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 9:49 am

    56. In view of its several and severe disadvantages (exceptionally high price, limitation to Cingular-AT&T, lack of voice dialing, relatively small memory for music & video), there seems to be a need for a KILLER APP for the iPhone truly to succeed.

    I’d bet the Killer App will be DICTATION SOFTWARE, since a modified system is already present, and of course, a microphone. Such software, that would permit a user to dictate an Email, or dictate text into a rudimentary word processor, like TEXTEDIT, that could later go out to a computer or printer, would give the iPhone the boost it needs to become an unqualified success.

  56. Craig on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 10:00 am

    57. Old timers like myself recall that back in the days of CRT displays, if you were filming a screen, you had to load a special app on the computer that would allow the screen refresh rate to be placed in sync with the camera frame rate. Just wondering if the missing icon is at all related to filming the screen….or perhaps it was the scripting app that precans an interactive demo and lets all that nice GUI run full tilt - when we all know that getting that news page or Google maps from the web is gonna take more seconds than was shown in the ads :-) Anyway, that’s my best SWAG at the “mystery app”.

  57. Max on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 10:07 am

    58. Hm. The mystery deepens. If you look at the first ad, and go frame-by-frame over the close-up shot near the beginning where the finger clicks on the iPod button, you will see that as the app icons fly out, the “Notes” icon flies down and to the right. On the second ad, it flies to the left, because it was in position 2 of four (the 11 icons config). So unless they specifically tweaked this shot, the Notes icon was in position 3 of 4, implying a real 12-icon config.

    Hope this helps ;)

  58. Richard Tallent on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 10:19 am

    59. I’m hoping for a GPS receiver, with automatic geotagging of photos taken with the camera and integration with the maps, address book, etc.

    But the reality is that the maps app could just ask the *tower* for *its* coordinates and use that. Close enough to find calamari, but not close enough to sync the Google Maps sidewalk view with reality.

  59. Adam on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 10:30 am

    60. Im going to laugh if the editor just did it to look aesthetically pleasing and there is no mystery app.

  60. andre rice on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:16 am

    61. who eats Calimari at 9:42 in the morning? I know for a fact that PAcific Catch isn’t open then.

  61. Anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:38 am

    62. “Since this is the most highly anticipated electronics launch in recent history, surely Apple must have known geeks like us with too much free time would scroll through the video frame by frame and catch something like this.”

    EXACTLEY! Jobs keeping us wanting more again.

  62. Bill on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:44 am

    63. How could you possibly care? - A “mystery” widget/app from a bad edit on an ad… Let’s speculate on the new Settings tab. Overpriced hunk o junk. yay!

  63. srini on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:49 am

    64. it’s probably a link to HotOrNot.com so you can instantly upload hottiepix

  64. I Konccur on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:57 am

    65. I agreed with Adam. It looks like it was a purely aesthetic decision.

  65. whocares? on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:04 pm

    66. All phones sold in California are required to have a GPS for E911 purposes. Many of them don’t use them for anything else but they are required to be there.

    I ran into a problem with this a couple of years ago when I attempted to reactivate an old phone of mine and they wouldn’t let me because it didn’t have a GPS in it.

  66. anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:05 pm

    67. This is a sad excuse for a “scoop”. There are approximately a billion reasons for the continuity mistake, and one of them could be a new app. And really, don’t we expect some interesting new apps like built-in youtube videos or games?

    “And second, why didn’t the editors of this commercial catch this lack of continuity between shots?”

    I know this is hard to believe, but editors don’t care about most “continuity mistakes.” If the “mistake” doesn’t matter and most people don’t notice, we let it slide.

  67. Mijncent on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:15 pm

    68. Aren’t these icons simply Widgets one can add to the dashboard jus like on any normal Mac using OSX?

  68. Stamford on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 12:54 pm

    69. I agree with Max, it is the Magic App, coming from the book depository, and impacting from the back and to the left. The second Mystery App came from the grassy nole, front and to the right. This explains everything, Castro killed the iphone before it is even released.

  69. Jack on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 1:20 pm

    70. 1) push the nr. 12 button and the i-phone changes into a TV remote
    2) idem and it changes into a satellite phone
    3) idem and you can order direct for a pizza
    4) idem and you have a digital photo frame with slide show

    Oh what the hack, it’s all wishful dreaming.
    Don’t expect the guys from Apple can do those things, do you ?

    Nokia N95 rulez the world !

  70. lksadjf on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 2:48 pm

    71. Wow, you guys are incredibly pathetic. I am completely convinced if Steve Jobs covered his dick in shit, you would eat it.

  71. Way Cool Jr. on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:30 pm

    72. lksadjf,

    Well, I can’t speak for EVERYONE here, but for me, it would totally depend on what he had eaten recently.

  72. FP on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 3:38 pm

    73. It’s iChat. Probably A/V. This isn’t brain surgery. I have an AIM client on my RAZR now. Makes perfect sense.

  73. iJoost on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 4:10 pm

    74. The empty space is used to shift the icons around. Which allows you to put them in the exact order you prefer. ;-)

  74. clint carlson on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 4:13 pm

    75. can i just say that as an editor, you often don’t have a selection of shots that you would love. I’m sure the editor knew this while cutting the spot and had to use what he was given. Show a little slack to the guys cutting… we can only edit what we are given… sloppy producing is the problem in this spot.

  75. Motorcycle Guy on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 4:22 pm

    76. Probably something gay like a quicktime app.

  76. MarcelV on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:03 pm

    77. More mystery….. In the ‘Calamari’ ad, look at the ‘Maps’ application icons. On the left botton corner, the button displays a car for directions. Next scene, with the phone number and the URL, there are two items on the bottom. The first one says ‘Directions to here’, teh second says ‘Directions from home’. GPS or no GPS, that’s the question. My vote…it has GPS.

  77. MarcelV on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:04 pm

    78. sorry for the spelling… Calimari. And for the left bottom, should be right bottom. But it’s there!

  78. Bill on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:08 pm

    79. I would have to go with either Powder’s MS iOffice (slow loading then crashes) guess or whoever mentioned YouTube mobile first. I can assure you, YouTube will be on the iPhone soon if not at launch.

  79. lolick on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:13 pm

    80. that would be the iGasm button.

  80. JoJo on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:28 pm

    81. Definately not GPS, Apple is so seamless that they would almost certainly build it into Google Maps, so I doubt it will be this (although I’m not saying that it won’t be there). There is a very good possiblility that it could be a direct link into YouTube, though again this will probably be merged with the video section (although im not too sure about this one). And the fact that it is absolutlely nothing is also another possibility. Whether it was put there to make it look pretty or to build up the hype, I would not be at all surprised. Either way, we’ll just have to wait. Maybe we’ll get a demo on Monday, or if not then we may have to wait until the release.

  81. DavidW on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:29 pm

    82. it is a picture of a barefooted Paul McCartney crossing Abby Road

  82. Oliver Dwight on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:34 pm

    83. turns the iPhone into an air travel neck pillow

  83. xenocog on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:38 pm

    84. Hmmm… If Powder’s right, then iOffice tried to load again. There’s another shot, at 17 seconds, where one can catch a glimpse of the settings button flying off-screen from the 12th position. Dya think the call might be from the folks at Nisus or NeoOffice?

  84. xenocog on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 6:49 pm

    85. Oops. Never mind; after watching the “There’s Never Been” ad it looks as if the “Settings” icon was probably at the 11th position. Sorry.

  85. Chris on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 7:55 pm

    86. Could it possibly be an icon to tell you that you have voice mail.

  86. gps_rules on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 8:34 pm

    87. Man is there a lot of mis-information out there about E911 and GPS in phones….
    The E911 mandate has accuracy requirements for locating devices that make 911 calls. The requirements are different if network based or device based (e.g. gps) technology is used. For device based location tech the position must be withing 50m 67% of the time and network (e.g. cell tower triangulation) 100m 67% of the time (my numbers may be off but not by much).
    The operators had the choice of which technology to use. For the most part CDMA guys went GPS and GSM guys went network based triangulation (for cost reasons). The GSM guys realized that the network based stuff was not very good and most I believe have decided to use GPS in the next generation phones (WCDMA).
    This of course is US specific. Don’t know what the European/Asian operators have decided to do.

  87. From Europe on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 9:42 pm

    88. As you can see below, mobile devices can, and do, know where they are, its just a matter of beeing smart enough to use the available technologies properly as is usually done by Apple.

    “The location technology most familiar to people from consumer devices and media reports about smart bombs is GPS. Until recently, however, mobile wireless devices did not use GPS for determining location, due to some significant power and functionality drawbacks. GPS requires 3 to 4 satellites to be visible, and only provides location information to an accuracy of 5 to 15 meters. This is insufficient for indoor use, and precise emergency location. In response to the E911 Act, the Assisted GPS, or A-GPS technology has been developed. A-GPS utilizes a server at a known geographical location in the network, reducing the time, complexity and power required for location determination. GPS and A-GPS require hardware modifications to the wireless device, and A-GPS additionally requires network support.

    Other technologies that do not depend on GPS have been or are being used to provide location information. Most of these depend on triangulation between the wireless device and three or more base stations. For example, the Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) method uses difference in the time of arrival of burst traffic from different base stations at the wireless device. The Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) uses differences in the exact time of arrival of the wireless device’s signal at separate base stations. E-OTD requires changes in both the mobile device and the network, while TDOA only requires changes in the network. E-OTD has been used in Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) cellular networks, while TDOA has been used primarily in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks.

    from: http://www.isoc.org/briefings/015/index.shtml

  88. Hoss on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 10:42 pm

    89. JoJo is right on one point. If GPS capability were built into the iPhone, it wouldn’t make sense for it to function or occupy space as a standalone link/application/icon.

    The recent YouTube (Google)/AppleTV capability means YouTube over iPhone is a foregone conclusion, but YouTube means too much to Google for it to be part of iTunes, or a third, or fourth-tier link within the iPhone (i.e., iPod>Videos>YouTube).

    Both Apple and Google are keenly aware of the potential that the specific portion of YouTube videos originating from music and TV studios has for iTunes Store sales.

    I think Google just bought itself another menu icon on the iPhone, next to Maps.

  89. anonymous on Mon, 4th Jun 2007 11:41 pm

    90. In another Apple coup de grace, what did Apple appropriate from CES 2007 offerings for the 12th application icon? Think about it.

  90. Jamie Curmi on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 12:06 am

    91. I think the missing icon is white/yellow pages. That’s exactly what you need on a mobile phone, and we have a widget for it on OS X Tiger.

  91. j-don on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 12:41 am

    92. I’ve heard speculation at the office that Apple has been planning on a “Napster Free” killer. With free.napster.com, you can listen to their available catalogue 24/7 for free. So if Apple was smart enough, maybe they would have implemented a feature like this into the iPhone, because I mean hey, you only need 64 kbps for CD quality, and Apple already uses Akamai for content management.

    It would be cool to be able to stream music from iTunes, given the fact that the iPhone will have a limited storage capacity. Then again, if this was true, they would probably have some bundle worked out with Cingular to offer benefits with a data plan.

    But then again, it’s all speculation. Who knows what they’re keeping secret, it’s not like the iPhone is a “gba/ds/psp/zune” killer, is it?

    Think about it.

  92. kelly on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 12:47 am

    93. the clock app’s icon reads 3:52:00 in both shots, and the “clock” text is slightly out of line with the rest of the row. cut and paste.

  93. Kris on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 1:25 am

    94. The closeup shot and the step back view are not from a continuous action for sure. When the finger pushes the iPod icon, the Notes icon starts to move to the right off the screen but in the next frame (stepped back view) the Notes icon is moving off the left of the screen.

    Moving to the right is correct for its location in the bottom line in the prior closeup shot since it is center right in the bottom row. Moving to the left would make sense if it were center left as it is in the step back view.

    So very definitely these actions were at different times with different configurations on the screen. That suggests it is not an artistic decision to fill space. Also there is another closeup with the empty space shown when the finger presses Mail, so that can’t be the reason for the change in icon arrangement.

  94. Carlo on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 1:34 am

    95. maybe they just didn’t want to show a really, really close shot of the last row with only three icons. they wanted to fill the space . . . for aesthetic reasons.

  95. Shiraz on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 4:10 am

    96. Or they left it unedited so we get all excited about it :P

  96. Rowan on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 6:12 am

    97. It could be made to look real without it being footage. Check out the demonstrations of Final Cut Pro on the apple site. They do exactly this, applying video footage to a screen in the dashboard of a 4WD car whilst the camera is moving in the car. There is a specific function for this.

  97. TiniK on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 7:25 am

    98. it’s iLife folks !

    Seen here first !

    Here is the silver bullet.

    but sshhh !!!

  98. bigbluebottle on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 8:43 am

    99. Wow, almost one hundred entries, and I am inclined to say, I THINK we might be reading into this far too much. A) Artistic License, Probably. B) Something running that just adds an active icon while it’s up, LIKELY. C) Mystery App? Come on. :)

  99. j-don on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 9:52 am

    100. As I’ve said before, it’s speculation. Take note tech connoisseurs.

  100. shawnyQ on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 11:55 am

    101. I just wanted to be the 100th.

  101. Ian Adams on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 1:34 pm

    102. >>And second, why didn’t the editors of this commercial catch this lack of continuity between shots?

    Because that’s not the editor’s job: that falls in the domain of the Script Supervisor.

  102. Rowlings on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 1:50 pm

    103. Ian, you come off like an A-Hole, the kind of guy who when on friday a co-worker says “See you tomorrow”, you make a big stink about it.

    You know the point really is “why didn’t somebody catch it”, not specifically the editor (although he’d have the most opportunity).

    Maybe you are just an editor sticking up for fellow editors, but stop being so anal.

  103. Shagghie on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 5:44 pm

    104. Well, after watching Calamari there DOES appear to be another new icon…

    Pause the video about 2/5ths the way through… a finger is pressing the MAPS icon. Look to the rigth of the finger, and at the icon below the STOCKS icon. It only shows the upper left corner of the icon…but..
    it is WHITE.

    Now, go back and look at the whole set of original icons…notice any that have a white upper left corner? nope! The CAMERA and WEATHER icons would be the only even ‘fathomable’ candidates to have a ‘white’ upper left corner… however, both of those are already accounted for in the Calamari frame I’m referencing 2/5th’s the way through.

    Or maybe I just work for Apple? Or maybe not!

    Oh well, we’ll just wait for the youtube videos to come out before we can find out i guess….

  104. neo on Tue, 5th Jun 2007 10:27 pm

    105. I hope its qode.com

  105. jtoly on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 12:45 am

    106. There’s really no mystery here. The entire display is the tile Puzzle game where you move tiles into the one open square. When you get all the iPhone icons into the correct order, you’re connected to your nearest Apple store where you can pick up an iTunes gift card worth $20. The genius is that the normal display is a game! No other phone has made the user experience so much fun.

  106. Shakes on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 9:02 am

    107. It seems most of you have over looked the obvious……so therefore the likelyhood of the extra icon is simply a shortcut to one of the iPhones app’s…..like the way you can edit what comes on the main menu of current iPods where you are able to add say, games to the main menu. I might be wrong but to me that seems the most logical idea….with it being touchscreen I guess Apple want it to be easy to access things with fewer clicks. Hell prove me wrong Apple and have something new to entice us with!!

  107. Jroen on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 2:21 pm

    108. I think Shakes is wright.. It would be logical, but i’m still hoping for something else cool..

  108. Dr. Macenstein on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 3:11 pm

    109. So, did anyone notice this post over at Gizmodo, and the highlit bullet?

    “The phone has a super top secret feature that I cant even be told what is ”

    Hmm….

  109. Tim J on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 7:04 pm

    110. The missing icon is obviously going to be “THE RED BUTTON”, i.e. the one that should not ever be pressed… otherwise nuclear holocaust will entail. One hopes that Apple has included a good keyguard function to defend against accidental key presses. One must also hope that an iPhone never falls into the hands of either President Bush or President Ahmadinejad, as nuclear holocaust doesn’t have an “undo” function.

  110. bisquie on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 7:58 pm

    111. I say its the missing address book icon, but a big red shinny button idea is cool.

  111. Pedro on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 9:57 pm

    112. Hey all,

    I saw this picture from PC world.. this has 12 icons instead of 11..

    i was wondering if its legit or related to this?

    http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/004582.html

  112. ALL Cell Phones Have GPS on Wed, 6th Jun 2007 10:20 pm

    113. As for GPS, it’s not illegal. Actual GPS–how to get here from there and where exactly is “Here” is too expensive for most items and is definitely considered an add-on bonus (and highly advertised). However, cell phones all have to connect with a tower to know where you are–that’s how they “roam”, are “out of service”, and why your Verizon bill tells you what tower–not town–was used to place a call. At least one person has been charged with murder because his cell phone placed him in the vicinity at least an hour prior to the attack. Was he there 59 minutes later? Who knows? But cell phones have a version of GPS. My LG5200 (from Verizon, a cheapie), and the RAZR my fiancee has, both have an option called “Locator”. You can turn it on, or only have it on for “e911″. You cannot turn it off, however.

  113. Rick on Thu, 7th Jun 2007 3:22 am

    114. Is it just me, or has this been removed? I’m looking at 00:00:02.76, and I can’t see any icons except for a hint of the Calculator text in the top left.

  114. K on Thu, 7th Jun 2007 12:02 pm

    115. Coud it a ‘currently running’ application, a sort of quick resume icon, to say, if you were already doing something elsewhere in the iphone.

  115. Apple Inc. on Thu, 7th Jun 2007 2:22 pm

    116. It’s actually a widget called Flappie

    http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/flappie.html

    John Sears
    Apple Inc.

  116. Shakes on Thu, 7th Jun 2007 4:31 pm

    117. One good question I can’t seem to get an answer on is worth a thought for everyone……Although the iPhone is able to browse the full web and have many fantastic online functions, has anyone realised how much this could potentially cost you on current UK contracts?? As it stands Vodafone charge individuals a whopping £2.36 PER MB!!! I use the net for varied applications and have worked out if I was to use weather reports and email then my monthly bill will increase by at least £10……it really is about time phone companies reviewed their data charges as I like many others now use the mobile handset for more than just calls and texting. Sorry to post this here but it really is a thought every potential iPhone customer should take note on!

  117. Bobobobobobobob on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 2:45 am

    118. it’s the “xxx” porn button, they decided to leave it out :(

    or maybe it’s the bootcamp button so you can dual boot to either palm, simbian or widows ce

  118. Beorning on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 5:41 am

    119. Don’t know if someone else posted this, but it’s not there anymore - the whole row is now missing from the apple ad on apple.com/iphone/ads/ad4

    And the number of mail messages is no longer 9 - it’s 8

  119. Cow on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 6:23 am

    120. Yeah. I always thought that it was strange that the icons didn’t line up with each other, and always thought Apple would add some cool thing in to make it all work. I guess this is it!

  120. iPhanatic on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 5:49 pm

    121. i have it on good authority from ‘inside sources’ that there is in fact an app that has not been announced. said source refused to reveal the app.
    so there you have it- there is in fact a surprise in store.

    so far from this long list my two favorite suggestions are:
    iGasm
    and
    A/V iChat (i think this is the most likely.)

  121. Anonymous on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 5:54 pm

    122. I DONT C IT

  122. Adam on Fri, 8th Jun 2007 8:02 pm

    123. Has anyone noticed that the NYTimes page that they load on the commercials is from October 2006?!

  123. Iain on Sat, 9th Jun 2007 7:37 am

    124. It seems to me that the iPhone …being a communications device… is missing a key application… iChat. …inclusion my scare the hell out of operators who don’t want their key services voice+text messaging (sms) to be completely cannibalized.

    iChat of course would provide the same functionality voice, messaging etc. (if not better) but the user would only get charged for data…significantly less margin for the Operator.

    Maybe iChat has sneaked in at the last minute :o)

  124. adam on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 11:17 pm

    125. I think it’s a “Games” icon.

  125. Kris on Wed, 13th Jun 2007 2:32 am

    126. To Pedro (post 111), that 12th icon is to the website of the guy who made the paper iPhone. http://www.buymeaniphone.com/

  126. MiMac on Wed, 13th Jun 2007 10:37 pm

    127. 99% certain (as I didn’t make the adverts) that the full view is missing the new movies widget, which wasn’t formally unveiled until WWDC07.

    Also, it’s likely that as movies is a feature which is currently only available in the United States, it may not be included in the adverts (which are shown internationally).

    @ John Sears Apple Inc. (don’t you mean Tasty Apps Inc?) - Flappie is not needed as there is already a cool weather widget pre-installed,

    @ iPhanatic - Since your inside source won’t divulge the “secret app” then she isn’t really much use as a source.

  127. 00dan on Thu, 14th Jun 2007 9:47 pm

    128. Fredrik j is the closest to the correct answer. The reason you see the icons jump to the side is that they escaping the app that is being brought up at the time. Look closely at the video again frame by frame and you will see the app being brought up in a very small icon like window. The app being brought up starts at minimal pixels and grows to the full screen. Thanks to all who are so excited about the new product.

  128. Marc on Sun, 17th Jun 2007 7:00 pm

    129. I did not read all your comments, but: Ever thought about that they maybe just rearranged the menu items for the close up shot because it looks stupid if there is a black/blank space? No one would care about it or even recognize (but you).

  129. JeffMaster on Mon, 18th Jun 2007 1:45 pm

    130. I’ve compiled a list of possible things it could be

    1 ichat
    2 microsoft word
    3 movies app
    4 GPS
    5 youtube
    6 games
    7 a “now playing” button
    8 address book/white/yellow pages
    9 and of course, the toothbrush idea mentioned

  130. Hoss on Wed, 20th Jun 2007 12:03 pm

    131. Post #88. I nailed it.

  131. Mamba on Wed, 20th Jun 2007 1:55 pm

    132. Oh Boy! Now we know!!!

    It is the YOUTUBE BUTTON.

    (Check out the new video “YouTube coming to Apple iPhone” on YouTube

  132. howdulikdemaplz on Wed, 20th Jun 2007 5:18 pm

    133. But, what about the forth line? you could fit another four icons down there.

  133. Beorning on Wed, 20th Jun 2007 5:31 pm

    134. #49 was right - it is YouTube

    apple.com/iphone

  134. Lorenzo Alali on Wed, 20th Jun 2007 6:25 pm

    135. http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/

    C’est la touche YouTube
    This is the YouTube touch !

  135. Stephanie on Thu, 21st Jun 2007 9:00 am

    136. MYSTERY ICON REVEALED!!! Check it out!

    http://www.apple.com/iphone/internet/?feature=feature05

    it’s YOUTUBE!!! I’m sooo excited!!!

  136. Stephanie on Thu, 21st Jun 2007 9:01 am

    137. Oh…I guess it pays to read people’s responses first! haha. Everyone knew that already.
    I’m still excited though. :)

  137. jion on Fri, 6th Jul 2007 2:42 am

    138. Lol… Just look on the box. It shows YouTube

  138. Vids on Tue, 17th Jul 2007 7:00 pm

    139. Its YOUTUBE the 12th Mystery Application

  139. ross on Wed, 17th Oct 2007 10:26 am

    140. hmmm been thinking about that ok people may have found out what the 12th icon is but but …………..with all these new laws coming into play in england soon could there be a gprs tracker hidden in the phone? its possible

  140. Matt on Fri, 18th Jan 2008 12:44 am

    141. Its youtube by the way. (the hidden icon)

  141. Nathan Paul Prince on Thu, 23rd Apr 2009 1:43 pm

    142. why wont this work on my television when i want to change the channel, and why wont it open my garage door when i aim it from the car?? Seriously, if this is a smart phone, shouldn’t it work with a smart home? come on guys, get the lead out and make it more integrated into me lifestyle - i’m sooo ahead of the game…
    I had something like this designed about 12 years ago, but my version straps on your arm and networks with your home media (including taking notes from your fridge when you run out of milk).
    Hurry up! I’m getting bored waiting. I feel like I’m sooo on the wrong planet when it comes to manufacturers humming and hawing about releasing something better. (oh yeah, wait til everyone has one, THEN release another unit with that ONE little better thing and make people spend their money all over again, and have em turf the rest in a landfill). Cheers!
    Nathan Paul Prince

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