Category Archives: Apple

Latest iPhone 5S and 5C rumours

Apple, Tech News

Just under 2 weeks on 10th September 2013, Apple will announce details on its new iPhones.

The iPhone 5C looks like to be a mid priced polycarbonate iPhone which will be available in a number of different colours. It is likely that the 5C will be the 5, but just in polycarbonate shell.

The iPhone 5S will be the upgrade to the 5. This will be available in 3 colours. White, Black and Champagne Gold. The storage will also be available in 128gb.

The new A7 processor inside the 5S is running at about 31% faster than the iPhone 5′s A6 chip. The iPhone 5′s A6 chip is dual-core, and the iPhone 5S will also remain dual-core. There is a possibility that it will handle 64bit. The fingerprint sensor built into the home button is a possibility, linked into some new payments system. The camera will have dual flash, upgraded optics but still only be 8mp.

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Photo via ASCII.JP

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Photos via Sonny Dickson

Decisions, decisions, decisions – which phone and operating system to choose from ?

Android, Apple, Tech News, Windows

So here I am one week later and really enjoying using the Lumia 925. And part of me now is thinking how could I move to using Windows Phone permanently over android or iOS.

In my house I have every operating system in use, including iOS, android, windows phone, Firefox, BlackBerry and Symbian. Symbian, BlackBerry and Firefox don’t cut it. Firefox shows a lot of promise, and future updates will be interesting to watch.

If anybody tells me that android is better than iOS or the other way around or windows phone is not as good, they are not being truthful. It is clear to me in my opinion , that the 3 main systems are just different. Except, windows phone is clearly very different. IOS and android are becoming so similar in some ways , there is nothing new about them. But there is a but.

Windows Phone does have more apps and games, the ones that matter. It does have services and Nokia makes some great hardware. In fact some apps are really good. But there are some apps that haven’t been released on the platform at the same level as on android or iOS. Apple still has the best made apps, android is close but has better sharing options. iOS 7 may help bridge the services and sharing situation.

So, what phone should be the next one. If I choose the Nokia Lumia 1020 I will have the best camera on a smartphone, Nokia music and a phone running WP8 that has some deficiencies in the apps I use and need daily. As a games device it doesn’t work with my games controllers. For a lot of people the apps won’t be a problem. Plus it does bring many extras like downloadable maps.

If I choose the next wave of android phones, they should have improved cameras, with all the apps, services and sharing along with a variety of shapes and sizes. My game controllers should work too.

And then there is the next iPhone. Will the software provide enough new extras to compensate for the slight improvement on the iPhone 5. At present no other company can provide a phone at its size, that is as powerful. With the iPhone the apps really are wonderfully designed.

On the tablet front, if you want variety of apps and games, just buy an iPad. Android on a large tablet screen lacks apps.

So then I had a thought. Why don’t I get a large Phablet. 5.6 to 6.5 inch screen? And then an iPod Touch so I can play my 700 iOS games and use some of my exclusive apps. But really a Phablet or larger is too big to carry around comfortably. So I’m back to square one with my thought process.

What would you do?

Apple TV – the new smart box

Apple, Tech News

Apple keeps claiming it’s black box that’s so small and compact is just a hobby. And yet it sells millions of them.
So what will be this year’s hobby update. Well if ios 7 is anything to go by, Siri has come of age. So expect to see Siri tightly integrated into the new Apple TV, along with iRadio and other services. I would also expect the design to change to allow for Siri to function better.

What would you like to see updated with the next version?

Apple is about to have its biggest product launch ever in a few weeks

Apple, Tech News,

On 10th September 2013, Apple will announce to the world the next iPhone to replace the 5, likely to be called the 5S and also the iPhone 5C (colours). In addition, a new full size iPad will be available that will be considerably lighter and have a smaller profile too. The iPad Mini is likely to feature a retina screen.

In addition, it has been a whole year without a new product from Apple. So Apple fans will be dying to reach out for the next big thing. Next iOS 6 will be replaced by iOS 7 and again this will help fuel the sales. And who knows, maybe the next new thing will appear from Apple as well.

Then there will be the marginally improvements to the rest of its range, maybe at lower price points too.

All in all, with all the changes and new markets to sell too, Apple is aiming for one mammoth sales campaign this fall.

Apple tightens guidelines for Kids apps

Apple, Tech News, ,

Apple has stated that apps aimed at children must contain a privacy policy, cannot tailor advertising to in-app activity and must not contain links to content outside the app or allow children to make purchases without verified parental consent.

Gambling apps that involve real money must be free to download and cannot offer the option to purchase credits or currency within the app. In other words, licensed gambling operations can offer supporting apps, but no-one else can create an app designed to allow gambling with real money.

This is a great stance taken by Apple,  let’s hope the other operating systems do the same.

Apple close to securing deal with China Mobile

Apple, Tech News,

Reuters has reported that a long-awaited deal between Apple Inc and China Mobile Ltd, the world’s biggest mobile carrier, that could help the iPhone maker claw back lost ground in its most important growth market, is close to being signed.

Apple is expected to unveil its redesigned iPhone next month and may also release a cheaper, emerging market smartphone.  Crucially, it also now has Qualcomm Inc chips that can operate even on China’s obscure networks. At the same time, Beijing is expected to grant 4G licenses by the year-end that favor the biggest of its domestic mobile operators.

Apple has so far ducked a deal with China Mobile as this would have required a redesign inside the iPhone to work on the operator’s inferior TD-SCDMA 3G technology. For its part, China Mobile has been reluctant to commit to the huge cost of marketing and subsidizing sales of the expensive iPhone.

By offering a mid-market Apple smartphone, China Mobile, which has 740 million users, could draw in more sophisticated, data-crunching subscribers to grow net profit that last year was only 15 percent higher than in 2008, when Apple opened its first store in China.

What’s new in the iPhone 5S?

Apple, Tech News

The iPhone 5 is a marvellous piece of kit, and as usual Apple will release the next iPhone based on the 5 but with internal components upgraded .

A few new specs to expect: (1) the new A7, ARMv8 based AP (application processor), featuring a 1GB LPDDR3 RAM chip; (2) a sapphire home button with fingerprint  sensor; (3) main camera unchanged with 8MP, but featuring a larger F2.0 aperture with dual flash lights; (4) new option for golden casing; and (5) new option for 128GB storage.

The camera upgrade will offer better low light performance which being honest is when most photos are taken.

The full reveal along with all the new iOS 7 features will be on 10th September 2013.

New Apple Patents – details

Apple, Tech News,

Apple is no stranger to patents.

“On August 15, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published three patent applications from Apple that reveal new connector related developments,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“The first invention covers a MagSafe connector design with new ‘flat attraction plates’ for better connectivity and superior aesthetics,” Purcher reports. “The second invention covers a flexible audio connector that could be made with new superelastic materials.”

Purcher reports, “And lastly, a third connector related invention reveals a new manufacturing methodology that implements lasers so as to eliminate a lot of manual labor.”

Are we going to see even thinner macs from Apple? That sure is a possibility.

Where is the 5 inch screen iPhone?

Android, Apple, Tech News, Windows,

The iPhone is now has a 4 inch screen. Will Apple release a larger screen like many of the flagship android phones. Well if you look at AT&T stats,  this may be a long wait.

Back in January of 2013, 9 out of 10 customers on AT&T chose the 3.5 or 4-inch iPhone over all other smartphones, including all bigger smartphones, combined. 6 out of 10 customers on Verizon did likewise. In the last quarter, reported in July of 2013, more than 5 out of 10 customers on both AT&T and Verizon still chose the 3.5 or 4-inch iPhone over all other smartphones, despite the iPhone 5 being halfway through its product cycle, and the presence of newer, bigger rivals like the enormous Samsung Galaxy S4 and the gorgeous HTC One, as well as various other, larger Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones.

I really think Samsung, Sony or HTC need a mini version that has proper specifications and not scaled down specifications.  Or maybe they just can’t build a phone that small with all the features like Apple does?