Roger McNamee of Elevation Partners is one of the guys primarily responsible for the Palm Pre. When the Palm Pre debuted, McNamee boasted to Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal that the back of the Palm Pre had a reflective surface that one could use as a mirror, stating: “Never before has a device like this been designed for a woman.” He got a lot of grief for that statement, but I suppose there may be times when you need a mirror and all you have with you is your phone. For those of you contemplating buying a Palm Pre over an iPhone because of that mirror (ahem), rest assured that the iPhone 4 now has you covered.
Apple added the front-facing camera on the iPhone 4 so that you can participate in video chats using the new FaceTime software. Nevertheless, if you ever find that you have a sudden need for a mirror, you can use that same camera to get a quick look at yourself. Just launch the Camera app. The screen will display an image from the camera on the back of the iPhone, but if you tap the button at the top right of the screen the Camera app will switch to the front camera. Now you can see yourself. Fix your hair, make sure you don’t have food stuck in your teeth, or heck, just admire yourself if you want to. Your iPhone won’t judge you. At least, not yet. Who knows what Apple has planned for iPhone 5.
While I was one who frequently used the little reflective Apple in the back of my iPhone 3G as a mirror, you’re right, with the new iPhone 4 the front-facing camera is perfect for using as a mirror. Our application, Real Mirror HD, is a dead simple mirror app that starts up and displays the mirror immediately, even faster than the Camera app.
You might be interested in giving it a run!
http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/real-mirror-hd/id378238414?mt=8
Keep up the great articles BTW, always enjoy reading your blog!
Oh thank goodness! Freed from the necessity of the Palm!