Category Archives: Apple

Perspective – Apple sales vs Samsung figures

Android, Apple, Tech News,

Samsung earned industry praise for estimating that it will ship 10 million Galaxy S4 to carriers in its first month on the market, six months after the same journalists voiced disappointment that Apple had sold only 5 million iPhone 5’s in its first 3 days.

Just a little perspective.

And a bit more.

The Apple iPhone is launched as being available in 16/32/64gb. Guess what. From day 1 you could order whatever size you wanted. The Samsung S4 was launched as available in 16/32/64gb. Guess what. From day 1 only the 16gb was available.

Just a little bit more perspective.

iOS or Android or Blackberry or Windows Phone

Android, Apple, RIM, Tech News, Windows

Have you ever visited a website that has the word mac, or Apple, or android, or windows or Blackberry used in its title, or that promotes one operating system over another. It is rare to find a site that isn’t biased towards one system or one manufacturer.

Why does this happen? Fact of life. Advertising. Appealing to get more views and more advertising. PR companies send free phones to a lot of these websites, with NDA agreements and such like. If a manufacturer is spending thousands or more on advertising you are not going to slate their new phone.

That’s why Gavin’s Gadgets is so non biased. Look around. No advertising. And any devices reviewed have been bought from my pockets so far. I genuinely love tech and everything with a pulse. That is anything with a on / off button that does something techie. Even my vacuum cleaner is a gadget. It’s a Sebo. It has sensors that detect thickness of carpet or floor covering and raises or lowers the height from the floor. It flashes as it adjusts the height. Hoovering is so much more fun.

So what operating system do I use or prefer. Well believe it or not I currently have every operating system in the house and love them for what they are. I also am not afraid to move to something else if it is better. I want the best or the best compromise for a certain situation. I am also not afraid to mince my words if I don’t agree with something.

Currently my phone of daily choice is the HTC One. My backup phone for when my daily adventures may be more rough and tumble due to the outdoor weather environment of Dartmoor, is the Nokia Lumia 620. In fact I have a weak spot for this phone and the operating system. iPad Mini for tablet viewing and for work I have a Blackberry Curve.

My phone and tablet choices change quite a lot, but I have to say I don’t dislike any platform. I like to find the positive attributes of each platform, and apply them to a given situation.

My dream smartphone doesn’t exist yet but it is getting close. My key ingredients for this phone would be practically unbreakeable, water and dust resistant,a 5 inch 1080p screen, week long battery life with auto charging via light, stunning audio quality and speakers and pureview 808 camera quality or higher, all in a 9mm body with expandable memory and replaceable battery.

Problem is that if a company manufactured the perfect smartphone as described above, nobody would really need to buy another. And that is why you will never get to this stage as companies need you always to have and want an upgrade path.

My iOS AppStore library

Apple, Tech News

Over the last 5 years I have steadily increased my iOS apps and games. As I backup on my computer it is easy to see what apps and games sit in my library.

Scarily I have acquired nearly 1,700 apps/games. Far too many but that is another story for another day. So at the weekend, I started to delete apps and games no longer used, never would get used or those that hadn’t been updated so would not work on newer devices.

A few hours later, and 1,100 apps/deleted and nearly 80gb memory saved, my iOS library looked much cleaner. And only 600 now to manage 🙂

So how big is your iOS apps/games library? And have you slimmed it down yet and if so how much did you crunch away?

BBM arriving this summer on iOS and Android

Android, Apple, RIM, Tech News

Finally BBM is coming to iOS and android in the summer. This might be the turning point for the company. The official news release is as follows –

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – May 14, 2013) – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB) today announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), available to iOS® and Android™ users this summer, with support planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, all subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. BBM sets the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, engaging experience that includes delivered and read statuses, and personalized profiles and avatars. Upon release, BBM customers would be able to broaden their connections to include friends, family and colleagues on other mobile platforms.

In the planned initial release, iOS and Android users would be able to experience the immediacy of BBM chats, including multi-person chats, as well as the ability to share photos and voice notes, and engage in BBM Groups, which allows BBM customers to create groups of up to 30 people.

“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.

BBM is loved by customers for its “D” and “R” statuses, which show up in chats to let people know with certainty that their message has been delivered and read. It provides customers with a high level of control and privacy over who they add to their contact list and how they engage with them, as invites are two-way opt-in. iOS and Android users would be able to add their contacts through PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan, regardless of platform. Android users would also be able to connect using a compatible NFC-capable device.

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps. Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are.

Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.

If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download in the Apple® App Store(SM) and Google Play store. Additional details about system requirements and availability will be announced closer to the launch.

Reasons to buy Android over iOS

Android, Apple, Tech News

Google has a rather decent array of apps and on its own operating system they are generally superior to those on other platforms, sometimes as simple as on an android device they can be set as default apps, something Apple doesn’t allow.

Apart from Google Mail, Maps and Navigation all offer a superior feel, and are very polished too. These apps provide a service as well as an experience. And sometimes the service is more important that the app itself.

With Google I/O upon us, what other surprises will be pulled out of the hat? And will Google finally introduces enough new services to level the playing field with Apple. Could be interesting!

But bear in mind, next month it’s Apple’s turn to fight back with it’s own developer conference.

iPod Classic 160gb vs HTC One

Android, Apple, Tech News

The iPod Classic 160gb is still sold by Apple, and is currently a top device if you want to carry all you music around with you. But with mobile phones including Apple’s own iPhone fighting back, it probably won’t be long before the iPod Classic finally hit the dust.

iPod’s are all about the music, the quality and the sound. So how will it pitch up against the HTC One that also features sound as its strength either via its boom sound speakers or via the headphone jack using Beats technology.

I started on Saturday with a wide variety of headphones, some so big you simply wouldn’t normally use them with any portable player, and others of more modest sizes, right down to in ear canals. I had borrowed a number of headphones off a few friends to help with this test. Brands included Audio Technica, Sennheiser, JVC, Sony, Beats, Beyer and Denon.

First up the loudspeaker test. The HTC One wins this hands down as the iPod Classic doesn’t have any built in speaker or speakers.

Next using the headphone jack. The iPod Classic did very well with most of the in ear canals producing a lovely detailed sound across a all genres. But the HTC One also competed really well, and then destroyed the iPod Classic with all the over the ear hard to drive headphones.

In fact the HTC One built in DAC and headphone amp is so good, that I would use the phone as a standalone MP3 player. The only saving grace for the iPod Classic is its memory of 160gb. The HTC One has 25mb available plus you can connect a USB hard drive or memory card if you need.

Apple App Store promotion update

Apple, Tech News

Apple today increased its promotion for the upcoming milestone of 50 billion downloads from the App Store, an event the company is marking with a contest in which the person who downloads the 50 billionth app will receives a $10,000 iTunes Store gift card while the next 50 downloaders will now receive $500 gift cards each.

Great offer but can anyone calculate the odds of actually winning these prizes?

New Reviews coming soon – details

Android, Apple, Tech News,

Just as heads up to expect 2 new gadget reviews in a few weeks time.

First up is the Sony PHA-1 headphone/DAC amplifier. This is a gorgeous piece of kit, flexible as it can be used both with Apple and Android devices. More info is here.

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The next review will be the renowned JVC HA-FXZ200 in ear headphones. Details can be found here.

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These features a revolutionary sub woofer, carbon fibre and brass. They also are meant to sound incredible

Foxconn might be about to do a Samsung

Android, Apple, Tech News

The New York Times has reported that Foxconn’s “new strategy is a shift away from making products that other companies design, and toward developing products of its own, with an especially aggressive push into designing and manufacturing large, flat-screen televisions.” The good news for Apple, then, is that Foxconn for the time being isn’t looking to become a direct competitor as Samsung did when it started producing its own high-end smartphones and tablets to take on Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

I sense trouble ahead.