Apple iMac
As 2010 closed, ARS Technica posted an interesting comparison of a couple of hardware bases for some technology items, comparing an iMac from 2000 with a current iPhone 4.
The comparison is really quite interesting.
| 2000: iMac | 2010: iPhone 4 | |
| Operating System | Mac OS 9.0.4 | iOS 4.0 |
| Processor | 500 MHz PowerPC G3 CPU, 128MB Memory |
1 Ghz ARM A4 CPU, 512MB Memory |
| Graphics | ATI Rage 128 Pro, 8MB of memory (8 million triangles) |
PowerVR SGX 535, uses system memory (28 million triangles) |
| Screen | 786K pixels | 614K pixels |
| Data Transfer Speeds | 1.3-12.5 MB/s (DVD-ROM-1/100 Ethernet) |
04-20MB/s (3G-WiFi) |
| Storage | 30GB Hard Drive | 32GB Flash Drive |
| Dimensions | 15.0 x 15.0 x 17.1 inches | 4.5 x 2.31 x .31 inches |
| Weight | 34.7 pounds | 4.8 Ounces |
There are a number of things evident here: the size and weight of the computing platform has been significantly reduced, but with an amazing increase in the power available to the end user.
Apple iPhone 4
What will we be seeing compared with the iPhone 4 at the end of 2020? And what devices should we do a ten year comparison on, at the end of 2011?