How iOS 7 will improve #iphonereporting
When Apple's new iOS 7 debuts in Fall, two features I believe could mean major improvements for #iphonereporting are FaceTime Audio and AirDrop.
I'm not a developer, and don't have a beta version with which to experiment, so these are just first impressions on how the new operating system could benefit journalists, public relations professionals, and newsmakers.
Forward-thinking Nick Garnett of the BBC has pioneered doing live reports with FaceTime, in its current video configuration.
In my testing, the connection is generally more stable than Skype, in both WiFi and LTE.
During FaceTime video, the microphone used is located in the phone's earpiece (where you listen during a standard phone call), next to the front camera.
Holding that microphone a few inches from your mouth provides good, but slightly tinny audio (and a close-up view of your tonsils to the person on the other end of the video chat.)
With FaceTime Audio I'm hopeful the microphone engaged will be the far-superior microphone located on the bottom of the iPhone, directly to the left of the charging part.
The microphone on the bottom of the phone has much better bass response. I use that built-in bottom mic for the majority of my #iphonereporting.
To this point, it's required some wired connections to transfer videos and photos taken on iPhone to iPad for editing. AirDrop will allow wireless sharing between devices (as long as you have an AirCloud account).
If you're enthusiastic about how other iOS 7 features could help in #iphonereporting, I'd love to hear about them!
