Will Apple have to recall all 128gb iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones?

Apple, Tech News

Macrumors reports the following –

A number of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners have been reporting an issue with the device that causes it to crash and remain stuck in a boot loop following a restart. The issue appears to primarily affect 128 GB models, particularly those with larger app libraries, and some suggest it may be a hardware problem associated with the increased storage available on that device.

The only recourse for owners experiencing this boot loop is to bring their phone back to Apple and request a replacement. Some in the industry point out that considering that technical defects mainly occur in the 128GB version of the iPhone 6 Plus, there might be a problem in the controller IC of triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash.

As numerous reports of low read performance of the Samsung SSD 840 and 840 EVO using TLC NAND flash have surfaced on the Internet, a problem in the controller IC is considered to be the more likely cause of the defects.

The report says Apple could be facing a “huge potential recall” to address the issue, but the claim is purely speculative given that the prevalence of the problem has not been established and an exact cause remains undetermined.

All I can say that I have not experienced anything like this and have a daily backup of my phone. So should a problem arise, the beauty of an Apple product is a quick 10 min visit to the Apple Genius and then a full restore via iTunes to bring back your phone as previous.

THE Most Important Story of The Year – Buy a Burger with your Phone

Android, Tech News

If you prefer MacDonalds over Burger King, I can forgive you. I love Burger King so this news is BIG news for me at least 🙂 Well it will be when it comes to the UK.

Paypal have confirmed the following –

“BURGER KING® restaurant customers in the U.S. will soon be able to pay for their meals using PayPal, through our collaboration with Tillster Inc. Tillster worked with Burger King Corporation to develop the BURGER KING app® (available for iOS and Android), which offers customers increased convenience and savings. With the BURGER KING® App, guests can receive exclusive offers and discounts at BK® restaurants, find their closest BK® restaurant, and browse the menu and nutritional information. We will be rolling out later this quarter across the United States to all locations, BK® restaurant guests will be able to securely pay with PayPal by simply launching the app and when they select to pay with PayPal they will be prompted with a four digit pin to pay.”

Source – https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/PayPal-Forward/Money2020-PayPal-for-Burger-King-the-Post-Delivery-Pay-Movement/ba-p/898497

The Nexus 9 Tablet – review

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

The Nexus 9 review embargoes have been lifted and a number of tech sites have published their reviews.

Below is a summary of the main reviews from across the web –

Via – http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/03/google-nexus-9-review/?ncid=rss_truncated

PROS -Android 5.0 Lollipop runs like a dream,Material Design face-lift is warm, welcoming,K1 chipset is plenty powerful, despite benchmark oddities

CONS -Screen is solid, not jaw-dropping, BoomSound speakers not as good as M8’s, No expandable memory

Via – http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/03/nexus-9-review-a-little-better-on-paper-than-in-practice/

The Good –

Display: I love the 4:3 form factor, and the display itself is very nice. Great colors, what looks to be solid white balance, good brightness, and excellent viewing angles. I can find no real important faults with it.
Android L: Is pretty, adds tons of new features (many of which are quite useful), and beautiful animations throughout the OS. Easily the most mature and thoroughly styled Android has ever looked. It looks great on the Nexus 9.
Fast: The Nexus 9 is, in most situations where linear performance is the primary concern, very quick. Its single-thread benchmark results put it even ahead of Apple’s new iPad Air 2, so that K1 isn’t a slouch.
Front-facing speakers: I don’t really need to extol the virtues of front-facing speakers. They’re obvious.
Software support: OTA updates from Google mean you’ll be the first to get the latest version of Android, of course, with all the good and bad things that entails.

The Not So Good

Battery life: 9.5 hours of Wi-Fi browsing is, as far as my review unit is concerned, a fantasy. Like, there’s just no way. I’m getting half that.
Performance: It’s unpredictable. The Nexus 9 is fast, but it’s twitchy. Apps will randomly take longer to load than normal, longer than I would expect – it doesn’t feel fully optimized. That, or only having two cores is causing issues.
Build quality: It does not feel like a $400 tablet should feel. Not only is it fairly heavy for its size, the plastic back seems to have the same issues the Nexus 5’s did – it deforms under pressure, snaps, and creaks. It is not nice. Also, it’s a finger oil magnet.
Design: I’m sorry, but in my subjective opinion, the Nexus 9 is not a pretty tablet. It is decidedly generic, and not in a cool, stealthy way. It’s boring and drab. The press shots do it too much justice.
Price: All things considered, I find $400 ($480 for 32GB) hard to stomach for a 16GB tablet of this caliber. That’s generation one iPad Air money.

AndroidCentral.com – went on record to say they only got their device on Wednesday and they will spend more time with it so they can write a proper review. That makes sense to me!

Reading a number of reviews last night echoed the findings of the views printed above. Some loved it, some questioned its strengths and others were not blown away. Either way it is a direct take on Apple’s iPad space with a 4:3 aspect ratio but it does not beat the iPad Air at all.

Will Apple kill off the iPad Mini next year?

Apple, Tech News

There is plenty of rumour across the inter webs that Apple will bring our the iPad Pro a 12.2 inch tablet, and at the same time discontinue the iPad Mini range.

This year the iPad Mini received no love. Just a Touch ID home button and a new lick of paint in gold. At the same time Apple launched the iPhone 6 Plus a 5.5 inch phone. The 6 Plus is selling like hotcakes along with the standard iPhone 6, whereas tablet sales are slowing due to a saturated market and slower upgrade cycle by consumers.

The iPhone 6 Plus has been so successful for my usage, that it prompted me to sell my iPad Air. In fact, if I was going to fork out such a large amount of money, I would buy a Mac (Mini) as that would be more useful and a better spend of my money. Not that I need to do that either.

So, with the screen sizes of the new iPhones catching up with the iPad Mini is there any need for such a device. Surely it makes more sense to concentrated on the iPad Air 2 and potentially the iPad Pro 12.2 inch. Maybe, but I do not believe Apple will get shot of the iPad Mini that quickly. For some people its size is ideal for travelling and there is some chance it might fit in your pockets.

Apple releases new betas for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite – details

Apple, Tech News

Apple has released beta iOS 8.1.1 to developers. This update is contains bug fixes, increased stability and performance improvements for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s. iOS 8.1.1 is also the planned release that removes blood glucose tracking from the Health app following a series of issues.

Lets hope the older devices iPad 2 and iPhone 4S really do work better with this update!

A new seed for the Apple TV is also available. Apple released the first OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 beta earlier today. iOS 8.1.1 is the follow-up to iOS 8.1, which includes Apple Pay support, SMS forwarding to Yosemite, and iCloud Photo Library Beta.

Apple also seeded a beta of OS X Yosemite. The update to version 10.10.1 has a build number of 14B17.

The change notes indicate that Apple is making improvements in the areas of Wi-Fi connectivity, Exchange support in the Mail application, and the Notification Center, which gained support for widgets in the new operating system.

Sticking with iOS as my main operating system – reasons

Apple

So I have been pondering buying a Note 4 with the lovely S-Pen and all the editing features that brings, but the more I use the iPhone 6 Plus, the more I realise iOS 8 is just a better organised and structured operating system.

That is not to say I hate everything else. That is not the case whatsoever. I have a Nvidia Shield Tablet for my android fix. As to Windows Phone, well it just lacks the depth and breadth of apps for me. If you don’t need those especially on the gaming front, then it is a viable option.

My sticking with iOS realisation really hit home yesterday. I was looking at the Note 4 and Gear S Smartwatch and thinking once again how it would be to have cutting edge specs. In fact, my ideal setup would be the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and Gear S smartwatch. However, since owning the 6 Plus and fitting it with an Apple leather case, I completely forget the size and just end up using the phone effectively. Apps are being updated for the 6 Plus and offer such a better designed interface than that on the Note 4. The updated 6 Plus apps really provide in many cases a mini tablet look. And talking of apps, some of the improvements are incredible and the huge breadth and depth in all categories cannot be ignored. Then there is the 6 Plus camera. It is a masterpiece of just getting a great shot. Noiseless and clean and well balanced colours and in focus. And no hassle. Start using apps like Camera+ and you will get the incredible quality shots shown in the other post of mine today. Then there is the loudspeaker. It is not stereo but it is loud and clear and loud enough to play podcast in the car without the need to connect to the car stereo sound system. The sound via the headphones is equally impressive.

I mentioned the tidy structure of iOS. With the aid of iTunes I have all my media in perfect sync using the respective Apple apps. Using iMovie, I can become the masterful movie maker (well amateur at best) and with such little effort. App duplication is not an issue either.

Speed. Love it or hate it, iOS allows for the fastest way of doing nearly anything. I can action something, open something and more quicker than my other devices. Or maybe it is my imagination, but somehow the 6 Plus creates this emotional attachment of working for you rather than against you.

My other problem is family and friends. They all have Apple devices. Staying in touch just becomes easier. In fact, some of my twitter buddies who moved across from android are keeping in touch via iMessage which is so much easier as its the SMS app all in one.

So there you have it, Apple user for the foreseeable future. I would never have predicted it. I was so certain I would be using a Note 4 or Note Edge with a Gear S……

But never say never 🙂

Nvidia Shield Tablet – the negatives and bugs

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

So far I have covered off all the wonderful aspects of the Shield tablet. But I have also discovered a number of bugs and issues as below.

Nvidia Shield Tablet issues

1. Wifi Connectivity – I have noticed the range is not as powerful as my other devices. A recent OTA software update has improved matters.

2. Remote Streaming – Doesn’t work unless using an Ethernet Adapter. Wifi signal too week to stream. I have not experienced this myself, but some users have. Unfortunately, my PC is too old and does not have the minimum specs for streaming.

3. Cracks Edges on Case – Hairline cracks in all 4 corners of device. Case creaking and splitting. There are pages and pages on many forums about this. Again, I have not had this issue. But it Is worth highlighting it. Apparently Nvidia changed the manufacturing plastic bonding process with the newer LTE 32gb. However, users with this newer model have also experienced the shell suffering hair line cracks. More than likely caused by excessive heat whilst gaming at full throttle for hours at a time. The only good news is Nvidia does seem to be exchanging people’s devices. I should point out that if you get a crack, it doesn’t affect anything. Just cosmetic.

4. Poor Battery Life – 2 to 3 hours max when gaming. 5 hours otherwise. No quick charging. I have done battery tests and the gaming battery life is poor.

5. Bluetooth Controller Connectivity – Interference with 2.4GHz signal and inability to connect to certain devices.

6. OTG USB Charging and Ethernet Adapter – Not able to use a USB splitter for both the Ethernet Adapter and Charging at the same time. Not a feature advertised by Nvidia but would have been useful due to short battery life.

7. Mushy Power Button and Volume Rocker. I find these difficult to operate. Fortunately the Smart Cover turns the device on and off , and the wireless controller has volume controls.

8. Brightness Fluctuations with Screen. Auto brightness control is too aggressive and changes brightness too often.

9. Folders. I have created folders on the home screen. But apps keep vanishing out of them. Maybe I have too many apps in the folders? But then it allows me to place them inside to start off with.

Every device I have owned has issues including the Nvidia Shield tablet. However, despite all the above I am keeping this over my iPad. The Shield has flaws but it also has charm and lots of functionality that makes it a keeper.

Google Chromecast – List of devices that support cast screen

Android, Tech News

Own a Google Chromecast and want to be able to cast your screen. Then you need the following devices –

Nexus 4
Nexus 5
Nexus 7 (2013)
Nexus 10
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google Play Edition)
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Samsung Galaxy Note 10
HTC One M7
HTC One M7 (Google Play Edition)
LG G3
LG G2
LG G Pro 2
Sony Xperia Z3
Sony Xperia Z3v
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
Sony Xperia Z2
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
Support for additional devices coming soon

In addition Android OS 4.4.2 or higher required. Casting your mobile screen is currently in Beta. Casting your mobile screen is currently not supported on iOS devices.

Via Google