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The other question is whether you can incorporate it into a regular iMovie workflow. It would be nice if I could import the work done on the iPhone to my Mac for continued refinement. That way I could post a produced movie "right away" and then replace it with a more refined version later if I so choose (without having to redo it all from scratch). I also assume it is non-destructive editing for the same reason (in particular soundtracks, texts and transitions can really mess up future editing).

As to whether it replaces the pocket HD cameras really is whether we'll see this in the iPod Touch. I'm not sure they'll be a lot of people who just want a pocket shooter to tie themselves into a 2 year cell phone contract. Certainly those that have such contract and have iPhone 4 may not need a pocket video shooter though.

I do think there's a real niche market for iMovie on iPhone. I think of the low budget field news reporter or CNN "iReporter" type who may want to quickly put clips together with titles and get them up for newsworthiness. True it's a small market but I do think news is heading in this direction.

On that note, I'd really like to see "FaceTime" link to a one to many streaming app or service whether Qik, Ustream, Livestream or simply send to something like Wirecast for low budget live streaming news.

Apple is good at creating niches where they didn't exist before and iMovie for no budget news and FaceTime for reporter to subject type live streams would be an excellent and growing niche.

I would hope that a iLife'10 version of iMovie would sport these capabilities. We heard nothing about iLife so far this year. Hope it comes out soon.

FredrikWallenberg, on 08 June 2010 - 10:36 AM, said:

I'd think so. Currently when you connect an iPhone 3GS to your Mac, you can import the movies on it to iPhoto. Within iMovie you can then select your iPhoto library and import videos.

Ideally, the next version of iMovie will support a direct connection from the iPhone so you don't have to detour through iPhoto first.

Good points in both of the above posts.

I look forward to using iMovie on the iPad with the additional screen real-estate.

While the iPad has no camera it can connect directly to a USB camera (including iPhone) via the CCK (Camera Connection Kit). Alternately, the CCK comes with an SD card reader/writer that could be used to share (sneaker net) SD content among the cameras and the iPad.

In addition to a larger screen, the iPad offers faster hardware, longer battery life and more storage,

I can, easily, envision the iPad being used for immediate, on-the-spot highlight editing by a small crew-- with later more precise editing back at the Mac.

I want to use it for just that purpose-- three grandkids soccer games every Saturday!

.

Chris,

I agree that folks with Macs who have those Macs nearby will probably prefer to use them instead of iMovie for iPhone. But I think there are also a lot of situations (some of them demonstrated in the FaceTime video Apple released) where a person would want to edit it on their phone and post it right away: Things like new children / grandchildren being born (and a parent or grandparent couldn't be there), baby's first steps, "Wow!" moments during vacations or other times where access to the computer could be days or weeks away, and the like. Basically a situation where the person taking the video knows that the people who would be interested in seeing it want to see it ASAP.

Not all of those situations would really warrant the use of themes, depending on how urgent the "NOW!" factor is. But they'll still have the benefits of quick clip trimming / joining / transitions, without needing that much more prep time, so people will be more likely to use those features.

Ah, but will an iPad optimized version become available this fall when iPad gets the iOS 4 upgrade?

aralim_1, on 08 June 2010 - 10:56 AM, said:

I agree. I'm interested in how the spontaneity factor plays out. Let's say you have one of these Wow moments. Will you have the patience to sit down and edit for 10 minutes, try to upload an HD movie, and then find that it's going to take a very long time to upload it over a 3G connection (and seriously eat into your data allotment at the same time)? At what point does this no long seem spontaneous but rather a chore?

I have no idea how this will play out. It's possible that people will take to iMovie for the iPhone in a way that they haven't taken to iMovie on the Mac. Or it could wind up being one of those very cool features that the majority of people don't take advantage of. Or something in between, of course.

I have a quick question...say I buy iMovie and I make a short film on my phone and send it to a friend who doesn't have iMovie on their phone...will they be able to view it?

I think this will be more suited to small edits and improvements, rather than large-scale video editing. Nice little feature either way.

I knew there was a reason why I never got one of those Flip video cams.

The iPhone 4 comes at exactly the right time for me. I qualify for an upgrade, I'll need to take high quality photos without using my big DSLR next month, and my trusty old 2008 iPhone 3G's battery isn't holding a charge for as long as I need.

@ Chris Breen: "At what point does this no long seem spontaneous but rather a chore?"

Answer: At the point where you start to do blogs and/or news videos.

Being able to edit video of something like a new product launch or interview, then immediately publishing it, is important for many web journalists. I've seen bloggers and journalists using Blackberries to shoot interviews and publish them minutes later.

Last year they were using small handycams, then editing and converting the video on MacBooks. This year they're using smartphones.

SockRolid, on 08 June 2010 - 11:24 AM, said:

I bet it holds out longer than my original iPhone battery haha.