Category Archives: Apple

New iPad and iPhone 5C – details

Apple, Tech News

Indications from several sources (including our own) indicate that the iPhone 5c is set to see an expansion tomorrow with a less-expensive, lower-capacity 8GB model. But that might not be only Apple iOS device reshuffle announcement for tomorrow. According to a source, shipments of Apple’s fourth-generation iPad with Retina display have been arriving at Apple Stores with notices to not open until today.

The fourth-generation iPad includes the thicker iPad design introduced with the iPad 2, A6X processor, and a five megapixel camera. The device was originally introduced in October 2012 alongside the first iPad mini, and it was discontinued upon the launch of the iPad Air last fall. 16GB versions of both Wi-Fi-only and LTE-compatible in black and white color options have begun hitting stores.

More at 9 to 5.

So is this Apple’s way of combating poor 5C sales and offering a cheaper model to compete with lower cost non iOS phones?  And the same with the tablet. £200 android tablets are getting really good now.

The 8gb 5C is now live on O2 – click here.

Microsoft Office for Mac – launch date details

Apple, Tech News

Reuters reported that the CEO of Microsoft has confirmed Office for iPad is arriving on 27th March.

In other news. ….

7 years ago this would have been news. It may be useful to the corporate world or excel gurus but nowadays there are so many options like Pages, Numbers,  Google Drive and Quickoffice,  Dataviz Docs to Go and more.

The Legendary Apple Service – the new cost

Apple, Tech News

Something is changing. Apple is slowly introducing more charges for accessing its support. Appleinsider is reporting that online support chat will now cost $19 per incident once your apple care coverage has lapsed. Actual telephone support chat is even more expensive.

Is this fair to charge for access to online chat as well? I’m not so sure. How would you feel if genius appointments became chargeable if outside the initial 90 days? Would this make you think twice before buying a product or accepting it as it is ?

Jonathan Ive – The Man behind Apple

Apple, Tech News

The Sunday Times published a 5 page article on Sir Jonathan Ive.

“Jonathan Ive designs tomorrow. He has transformed computing, phones and music with his iMac, iBook, iPad, iPhone and iPod. Apple’s secrecy and his modesty means he has never given an in-depth interview — until now.

Only one country has made the modern world twice. Britain. We industrialised first and paved the way for the mass production of everything from cogs to togs. Two centuries later, two rather shy blokes from London have defined the 21st century as the technology century. Sir Tim Berners-Lee from East Sheen invented the world wide web, then a chap from Chingford put it in our hands, our pockets and our ears. We’ve been taking it — him — with us ever since.

We use Jonathan Ive’s products to help us to eat, drink and sleep, to work, travel, relax, read, listen and watch, to shop, chat, date and have sex. Many of us spend more time with his screens than with our families. Some of us like his screens more than our families.”

I actually subscribed to read the rest. But annoyingly to buy the single episode you needed a Kindle device.

Apple passes Samsung in emerging markets – why?

Android, Apple, Tech News

People want what they can’t have. For many of those living in emerging markets, that’s an iPhone.

Apple is the most desirable mobile-phone brand among inhabitants of emerging markets, according to a report from marketing firm Upstream and researcher Ovum. In the study conducted this year, Apple edged out Samsung Electronics, which was the leader in a separate survey by Upstream last year.

Samsung saw a slight decline in its share of developing-market consumers who favour its phones from 32 percent to 29 percent, according to Upstream. Apple’s share jumped dramatically from 21 percent to where Samsung was last year. More at Bloomberg.

With market research like this, Apple is very unlikely ever to lower its prices.

Haunted Empire – Apple After Steve Jobs

Apple, Tech News

I bought the above book after hearing about it on the Cultcasts podcast. I got it from Amazon Kindle Store as a digital download.

I have now finished reading the book and it really does offer a no holds bar look at Apple. In fact if you are an Apple Fan Boy you might even take offence. But you shouldn’t. Nothing in the book is revolutionary but it is very well written.

And it does make me think hard at some of the devices I have owned and the dangerous tortuous conditions workers endured.

Well worth a read in my opinion.

Google just started a price war on storage plans

Android, Apple, Tech News

20140314-042556.jpg

Google has just heavily reduced its Google Drive storage plans to just $1.99 a month for 100gb of data storage. This limit works across all Google Products including your photos and gmail.

Apple’s iCloud storage costs seem very expensive in comparison. 50gb of data costs £70 a year. That’s not even 100gb. Apple really needs to amend its pricing structure before it loses everyone to Google.

Top Shortcut Tips for the Apple TV remote

Apple, Tech News

Ever been stuck deep down inside Netflix on the Apple TV and wished there was a way to instantly jump all the way back to the main Home screen? Ever been frustrated by fast forward going too slow or too fast and wished you could simply skip chapter by chapter instead? Ever had Home screen icons disappear or services say they’re not available and wished you could reboot with only a couple of clicks? Well, you can! The little aluminum remote that comes with the Apple TV might not seem like much but there are a lot of options hidden behind those buttons. Here are some of the best!

How to instantly jump back to the Apple TV Home screen
How to put your Apple TV to sleep with one button press
How to jump through video chapters on Apple TV
How to quickly pair and unpair an Apple TV remote
How to reset your Apple TV in two button presses
How to mark videos as watched or unwatched with the Apple TV remote
How to reorder channels with the Apple TV remote

A handy article by imore.

Top 6 phones for April and May 2014

Android, Apple, Tech News, Windows

The new range of handsets are about to be unleashed but below are my current top new 5 phones to be aware of for April and May 2014.

1. All New HTC One – with its unibody design and new 2 camera lenses for the rear. This will be one fast and great camera phone.

2. Samsung Galaxy S5 – release date 11th April. The kitchen sink of specs. Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor, fast auto focus camera and so much more. Plastic fantastic.

3. Sony Xperia Z2 – waterproof and dustproof. Looks gorgeous and comes with a 20.7mp camera. One to watch for sure.

4. Motorola Moto G – this has been around for a while but just can’t be ignored as it’s low priced but a decent phone.

5. iPhone 5S – Apple is about to release iOS 7.1 which will add more functionality and fix some bugs. A very strong phone offering and a decent easy to use camera.

6. Sony Xperia Z1 Compact – a full fledged mini phone without compromise in specifications and the first small sized android phone to really take on the iPhone. With a 20.7mp camera and snapdragon 800 processor it sure is a beauty.

Of course there are some phones already released that are well worth looking at. First up the Samsung Note 3, LG G2 and Nexus 5. In fact, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be heavily discounted so well worth a look too.

And if you want a bit of window phones love with the venerable Nokia Lumia Carl Zeiss camera optics then look no further than the Lumia 1020 or 1520.

Are there any other phones on your hit list.