Free guide to the iPhone 5 plus 500 best apps

Free with The Daily Telegraph on Monday, October 1, 2012, our iPhone 5 supplement will tell you everything there is to know about Apple's latest smartphone and how to make the most of it. Plus, on Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3, unlock your smartphone's full potential with our essential guide to the very best apps on the market. 

Monday, October 1 - Ultimate Guide to the iPhone 5
Buy The Daily Telegraph on Monday, October 1 and learn how the iPhone 5 works, which accessories to buy, and how the iPhone 5 shapes up against previous models and other smartphones. 

Tuesday, October 2 & Wednesday, October 3 - 500 best apps

On Tuesday and Wednesday, our special supplements will guide you through the top 500 must-have apps.

Tuesday's supplement will feature photo and video, travel, fashion, sport, health productivity, kids, education and games apps. 

Wednesday's supplement will feature entertainment, culture, books, news, reference, finance, food and drink, and social media apps. 

Source: telegraph

5th generation iPod Touch official, A5 dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera, Siri onboard

Along with the iPhone 5,  Apple also announced their new 5th generation iPod Touch. The 5th generation iPod Touch is unsurprisingly, thinner than the previous device, and is only 6.1mm thick and weighs in at only 88 grams. It looks similar to the previous offering, but carries the same 4-inch display of the iPhone 5, as well as the new dock connector. The 5th generation iPod Touch is powered by Apple’s A5 dual-core processor, and Apple says it delivers 7x faster graphics than the old iPod Touch. Apple promises up to 40 hours of music playback on the new iPod Touch, with 8 hours of video.

The iPod Touch also gets a new, 5-megapixel iSight camera that’s backside illuminated and has a f/2.4, 5-element lens. Surprisingly, Siri will now make an appearance on the iPod Touch, a first for the software. The 5th generation iPod Touch will come in raw aluminum, black, blue, yellow and red.  The 5th generation iPod Touch will be $299  for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB version. The 5th generation iPod Touch will ship this October.

Giveaway: Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones and Werx iPhone 4S/4 screen replacement kit

It's once again giveaway time for RadioShack and PhoneArena! This time we're teaming up to offer you the unique opportunity to win the wonderful Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones, as well as a Werx screen replacement kit for your iPhone 4S/4.

Are you looking for a better audio experience when on the go? Well, with a bit of luck, you may not need to look any further than this giveaway! The Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones have been recognized to be extremely suitable for listening to modern musical genres. With a powerful, rich sound and a practical, folding design, the Beats by Dr. Dre Solo are sure to appeal to every audiophile, and pretty much every user out there.

But you have to make sure that your cell phone stays operational at all times, if you want to enjoy your new Beats Solo! This is where the Werx screen replacement kit that we're also giving away comes in. This is a service that you can purchase at RadioShack right now for $99 for Android and iPhone screen replacements, and $199 for an iPad screen replacement. Basically, upon purchase you'll receive a prepaid FedEx box, where you'll have to put your phone in the unfortunate event of screen damage. Then, you simply ship the box to Werx and in 72 hours, you'll receive your phone back, with a shiny new screen and a limited lifetime warranty.

But! Only with this here giveaway, you can actually win a Werx screen replacement for iPhone 4S/4 AND the Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones, and the best part is that the only thing you have to do is to answer the following question with a comment below:

• Have you ever broken the screen of your phone and what did you do to fix it?

We'll choose one lucky fellow next Monday (July 30) who will win the Beats by Dr. Dre Solo and the Werx iPhone 4S/4 screen replacement kit. We'll contact them via the email address that they used to register on PhoneArena.com.

Giveaway terms:

• By entering this promotion, participants agree to be bound by these terms and that the decision of Phone Arena is final and binding in all matters relating to this promotion.
• The draw is open only to USA residents aged 18 or over, other than employees of phonearena.com, its agencies or their families.
• Phone Arena reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if this is necessary for reasons beyond its control. No cash alternative to the prize will be offered.
• Phone Arena reserves the right to re-draw the prize if the prize-winner does not reply within three days after being contacted.
• Phone Arena accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant resulting from entering this prize draw or by the entrant's acceptance of the prize.
• Phone Arena reserves the right to alter, amend or foreclose this Free Prize Draw without prior notice in the event of unforeseen circumstances, which make this unavoidable.

An iPhone 4 unthethered iOS 5.1 jailbreak?

This one might annoy Apple a little, but the hacking community has supposedly been able to create an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1 on the iPhone 4. It’s been a while since the release of iOS 5.1 and a jailbreak for it has not existed until now. The jailbreaking software isn’t out for public download yet but a lot of the more recent iPhone 4 users are hoping for it to be available soon. We did hear about a possible untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1 on the latest iPad, but that one is nowhere to be found either.

iPad HD: I got a feeling it’ll disappoint a lot of people

By March 7, Apple will announce its new iPad tablet. CNET and VentureBeat both report it will be called iPad HD instead of the iPad 3. Everyone is still speculating on the hardware specification but the likely upgrades include a full HD resolution and a faster chip.

And just like the iPhone 5 where people expected something really huge will be revealed (and instead they got the iPhone 4S), the successor to the iPad 2 might look just the same, albeit with better specs.

For current owners of the iPad 2, woud you consider upgrading to the iPad HD if it will just look the same but with a higher resolution screen?

Via CNET, VentureBeat.

Apple iPhone 4S Review

Apple’s newest iteration of the iPhone was greeted with mixed reactions from the market. A lot has been said, both praises and disappointments, about what it should have been in the first place. Since the local launch of the iPhone 4S with Globe and Smart is just a couple of days away, let me share with you what I think of this phone. Check out our iPhone 4S review after the jump.

Prior to this, I was using an iPhone 4 and have actually decided not to get the iPhone 4S (was able to get the iPhone 4 free last year with Globe in exchange for a 3-year contract). Do read on our iPhone 4 review from last year to get a better perspective before reading on.

Frankly, I did not see any significant compelling reason to upgrade. I share this same advice to folks who asked me and even on TV guesting and interviews. The opportunity to upgrade came by accident so I accepted it thinking I also needed to actually use and review the handset in order to be more reasonable with my earlier conclusion.

But before I go there, let me walk you thru what the iPhone 4S offers and how is it different from the iPhone 4.

Better Hardware Configuration.
Twice the processor, more storage, better camera and faster connectivity — that’s what the iPhone 4S added to the table. It now sports dual-core processors that was used on the iPad 2 as well as options for a 64GB storage (with 16Gb and 32GB still in the menu) and HSDPA connectivity that can do up to 14.4Mbps.

There’s no LTE or even HSPA+ here so the iPhone 4S will not really maximize the speeds of the HSPA+ network of Smart and Globe.

Apple also bumped up the camera on the phone to 8MP with option to record video up to 1080p full HD. More on the camera quality and HD features later.
For good measure, they also added Bluetooth 4.0. No NFC support here, a technology that seems to be the trend now.

Still Same Old Design.
The iPhone 4S sports the same old design as its predecessor so there’s nothing to really worth mentioning in the design department.

Yes, the design and solid construction of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S is already impressive but folks like me still want bigger screen. A 4.3-inch display seems to be the minimum size when it comes to flagship handsets so the 3.5″ on the iPhone 4S feels like in the mid-range category already.

And while the design of the iPhone 4S already screams premium craftsmanship, a little bit more screen real estate would have been great (catching up to the times, eh?). Nevertheless, the 960×640 screen resolution is among the best resolution we’ve ever seen on most handsets (which normally is in the 480×800) this size.

Well hello there, Siri!
One of the purportedly best features of the iPhone 4S is the personal assistant function that’s built into the OS which is called Siri.

What makes it different from any other dictation, voice control or voice recognition software is Siri’s ability to understand semantics a little bit better than the rest. That means, you don’t have to say commands in a specific structure so it can understand you. The best part is that Siri actually has a sense of humor and personality.

Siri isn’t new either. It’s been a stand-alone app for about a year in the iTunes App Store (where few people noticed or ever used it). Apple bought the company and yanked Siri from the Store to make it part of iOS5. It’s curious though that Apple would not make Siri available to the iPhone 4.

There’s also a catch here though — you will need to be connected to the internet to be able to use Siri. This is because the commands are processed in the cloud (Apple servers) and other related services like Wolfram Alpha. That means activating and using Siri entails data charges and also contributes to faster battery consumption.

My other beef is you’ll have to talk clearly with a little bit of an America accent when talking to Siri. Otherwise, you’ll just end up repeating yourself and be frustrated in the process.

I’ve been using the iPhone 4S for a couple of weeks now and have not gotten used to telling Siri to execute commands. The only time I whip it out is to demonstrate to people how it works or how funny some of the answers are.
For the most part, I don’t see Siri as an essential feature for my daily use.
Still the Best Camera.

When iPhone 4 first came, it had the best camera in any handset that I’ve used. It was so good I am comfortable not bringing my Canon S95 with me and use it to take photos instead. Same with the HD video.

The iPhone 4S brings it up a notch and brought it an 8MP camera with full HD 1080p video recording capabilities.

The camera is one of the fastest I’ve used on a phone. From experience, I think it can do something like 2fps when taking stills.


Images are a bit saturated so colors look deeper and more prominent. Over-all sharp and clean images even at low-light conditions.

Video recording at 1080p is fast and focused with very minimal dropped frames. The microphone picks up a lot of unwanted noise though.




 

For more info visit Here: yugatech

Most Awaited Gadgets for Christmas 2011… and 2012

Believe it or not, the end of the year is approaching faster than you realize. In a few weeks, Christmas lights, trees with ornaments, and Santa Claus will be present in a lot of places around big and small cities.

No doubt, this year -2011- has been a year of important innovations in many different fields… and that despite having economic difficulties in many countries around the world. However, many of those innovations are not yet available for sale, and even it’s possible that some of them won’t be available until 2013 or later. But that is a normal thing in the technological cycle.

But let’s focus on the short term to see a list of the most awaited gadgets during the final part of this year or the first months of 2012.

A new iPhone (5 or 4S.. or both)

Apparently, a new Apple smartphone will be launched in October 2011. And there has been a lot of speculation. Some bloggers and tech journalists believe that it could come with a very important change in design. Other people suggest that it could be a phone with very similar features compared to the predecessors. And another group of people think that Apple could launch two new iPhone versions, one with minor changes (iPhone 4S) and another with much bigger differences (iPhone 5).

In any case, we will see a new iPhone version this Christmas.

Amazon Kindle Fire eReader / Tablet

Amazon has just introduced something that, for some people, could become an important rival of the Apple iPad: The Amazon Kindle Fire.

However, as far as we have seen, it’s possible that Amazon is not interested in being a big Apple competitor, but rather  they are more interested in satisfying a public looking for a reliable tablet but with a low price. And we already know that, in terms of money, the Apple products are not cheap at all -at least for most people.

The new tablet uses the Android operating system and costs around $200. Apparently, the official launch will be on 15 November.

Xbox Live TV

The Xbox Live TV is not actually a gadget to buy. In fact, if you have a Xbox Live console, the only thing you will have to do is activate this new service that is supposed to be available this Christmas.

This is a Microsoft intent to penetrate a segment where other companies (such as Google and Apple) haven’t had much success -at least for now. We’ll see what happens.

PlayStation Vita

The new handheld game console developed by Sony is about to be launched. There will be two versions: One version will support Wi-Fi only ($249)  and the other will add 3G connectivity ($299).

Among the most important differences between this and other Sony consoles is the fact the PlayStation Vita doesn’t use the XMB menu (XrossMediaBar). Instead of that, it will use a touch-screen interface named LiveArea. Also, there will be more options to share with friends through the social features of PlayStation Network.

Motorola Dinara (or Droid HD?)

Although is just a rumor for now, it seems that soon we will have a new Motorola smartphone in the market which could have very advanced features, including support for HD video.

Apparently, the smartphone will come with a Texas Instruments dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a camera with a very good resolution of 13MP.

For more info visit Here: gadgets.myddnetwork

Apple not happy Smart spilled the beans on the iPhone 4S

It’s not a surprise that Apple wasn’t happy that Manny Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT-Smart, spilled the beans on the upcoming launch of the iPhone 4S in the Philippines. The recent story that Smart will also release the iPhone 4S by December was certainly prematurely announced.

Having known Apple thru the years of covering the beat, the company is very strict when it comes to announcements.

From previous experience when Globe still had exclusive distribution of the iPhone in the country, Apple doesn’t even reveal anything until one or two weeks before the release date. Apple is very secretive and very controlling.

The first time they introduced the iPhone in the country, only 5 local journalists were able to see it before the launch and they were briefed separately, one by one.

Ozaki iCarry Time2brick powerless amplifier for your iPhone4

I love portable speakers that don’t require you to bring additional cable or power cords just to charge it when you’re on a long trip. Such is the case for the Ozaki iCarry Time2brick, a speaker or rather an amplifier for your iPhone4 that doesn’t require any power, batteries or any cord to burden you.

This solid high-level silicone speakers are designed to look like a pair of Lego bricks, one for the speaker and the other as the base dock for your iPhone 4 which also acts as a stand if you wish to do some hands-free movie marathon or do Facetime video chats.

The Ozaki iCarry Time2Brick collects the sound from the iPhone built-in speaker then amplifies the sound to spread throughout the room with a maximum sound output of 15dB. Should be enough for hanging out with friends, doing chores or bumming at the beach.

This energy-saving green audio product is already available at your nearest Apple accessories store for Php1,200.

for more info visit Here!!!

iPhone 5 is coming!

While there have been numerous speculations and rumors about Apple’s iPhone 5 for months now, it’s only today that we’re getting something more local and close to home.

At least one of the editors of a Philippine newspaper is getting an early look at the upcoming iPhone 5.

I can’t categorically reveal the name and newspaper for fear that it would get them into trouble with Apple. Besides, there’s an NDA to be signed. You know Apple is super-strict about these kinds of stuff.

Photo of an iPhone 4, predecessor of iPhone5

The review unit cannot be published nor shared or revealed publicly within the two-week period before it is announced. That should give us an idea that Apple will officially announce the iPhone 5 in 2 or 3 weeks time.

In a related news, Deutsche Telekom in Germany has actually confirmed pre-orders for the yet-to-be announced iPhone 5.

for more info visit Here!!!

iPhone 5 Announcement and Availability in August 2011 ?

There are rumors that iPhone 5 will soon be available on August 2011. Although there are some iPhone 5 prototypes that has been seen in the net, nobody except Steve Jobs and his crew could still confirm the exact date on when iPhone 5 will be released. There are also speculations that iPhone 5 will just be an upgrade of iPhone 4 but BGR ( Boy Genius Report), known site for apple products, reported the possibility of having iPhone 5  with new case design will hit the market on August 2011.

iPhone 4 was a success and I know that iPhone 5 launch has been delayed to make apple fans to crave for it’s new design.

We will provide updates about iPhone 5. I still don’t own an iPhone but perhaps iPhone 5 will let me replace my Nokia e71.

This article originally appeared at - techathand

HTC Flyer lands, priced at Php36,990

Just got a note from a source that the HTC Flyer Android tablet is now available in stores and has a suggested retail price of Php36,990, making it the most expensive Android tablet available locally.

It’s a little curious they did not reveal the HTC Flyer during the launch of the Sensation last week (they’ll probably do a separate event for this one).

HTC Flyer
1.5GHz Qualcomm chip
4,000mAh battery
32GB of internal storage
up to 32Gb via microSD card
1GB of RAM
5MP camera
1.3MP secondary front-facing camera
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
Bluetooth 3.0
HDMI out
Android 2.3

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Watch TV everywhere with Elgato EyeTV on Your iPhone or iPod

I can bet that most of us would like to watch TV on iPhone or iPod touch. And good news is that it is already possible.

Elgato - worldwide famous company for Mac based software that are easy in use and accessible. Elgato new product - EyeTV iPhone is not created to stream video records from PC to iPhone over 3G connection, but lately got a way how to allow users to do it.

Cool news for Mac folks is that now Elgato EyeTV software in tandem with new EyeTV iPhone app allows to stream TV directly or recorded to iPhone or iPod touch. Additionally, user got access to set of helpful functions as program guide, brief program info, possibility to set recordings. Useful feature is that EyeTV can stream high quality video with minimal battery use, due to used iPhone’s acceleration for playback.

Elgato claims that EyeTV iPhone through automatic search is finding Mac users via router that supports NAT-PMÐ or UPnP protocols. If router is not available, the same result user may obtain when dynamic DNS is running. When once connected, user can watch live TV at best streaming quality. When on the go, the EyeTV is the same functional via local network (Wi-Fi connection is required for live TV).

Possibility to watch TV anywhere is very attractive for many people. Now it is easy to experience due to new EyeTV and Bonjour technology. Owners of Mac computers with small effort, having Intel Core duo or higher processor, compatible TV tuner and Wi-Fi for live TV today can enjoy new perspective.

This article originally appeared at - gadgets-reviews

HTC Touch HD vs iPhone 3G vs SonyEricsson XPERIA X1

As you might see, touchscreen phone interface is strongly making its way as the main control scheme in the majority of smartphones and even regular cell phones. While it was used in mobiles prior to iPhone, Apple showed the world that touchscreen interface can be used as an easy and original alternative to regular buttons. Even if you are an anti-Apple fanatic, it is hard to disagree that iPhone, with all its flaws, was a big step forward in user interface - with many other companies now adopting the same control scheme as iPhone's thumb control. The idea of using stylus as a needed part of interaction between user and his gadget becomes more and more outdated nowadays, with devices like iPhone approving that touchscreen can be controlled by only your thumbs, with no stylus at all.

Looking as Apple making step after step to dominate the market with its upgraded iPhone 3G, companies like HTC and SonyEricsson decided to renew their device lineup and to produce some interesting iPhone rivals. And while HTC already made many attempts to compete with iPhone with its Touch lineup, many of them don’t came even close to the iPhone. They lacked iPhone's sleek user interface, its big and bright screen and many more. Now, both HTC and SonyEricsson understood that to make a powerful iPhone rival they must focus on multimedia side of their devices. So, recent products from these companies, HTC Touch HD and SonyEricsson XPERIA X1, were made with all those things in mind. And in this comparison we would like to describe and compare all of those three touchscreen smartphones: iPhone 3G vs. HTC Touch HD vs. SonyEricsson XPERIA X1.

Appearence

Design is a very questionable point of comparison, but at least we can describe the exterior looks of these devices. All three phones were made in black colors, with iPhone you can choose between black and white back panels though. Sizes are almost completely the same, with X1 being the thickest (16.7 mm), iPhone 3G - tallest (115.5 mm) and Touch HD - widest (62.8 mm). HTC Touch HD is heaviest than others (146.4 g). Complete specifications are:

Touch HD - 115 x 62.8 x 12 mm; 146.4 g
XPERIA X1 - 110 x 53 x 16.7 mm; 145 g
iPhone 3G - 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm; 133 g

Unlike iPhone and HTC Touch, XPERIA X1 is a slider, with full QWERTY keyboard hidden under the screen. It is slightly curved when opened, no idea if this is only a design move or somehow improves usability. iPhone traditionally lacks any navigational buttons, so does the Touch HD. However, SonyEricsson devise has a full set of front buttons, which are shaped in triangles (somehow resembling Nokia Prism) - two soft keys, dial / reject, button for opening Start menu, Ok / close and navigational button in center.
Overall, all three smartphones look stylish and interesting, so it is only a matter of taste which one has better design.

This article originally appeared at - gadgets-reviews

Apple iPhone 4 vs. HTC EVO 4G

Apple iPhone 4 and HTC EVO 4G are by far the two most exciting smartphones that money can buy to date. And in many ways they are very similar: both have big full-phone-size touchscreens, smart operating software, lots of free or cheap applications, high resolution photography and video recording, video call capabilities, etc. I imagine for a consumer who is not technically sophisticated it will be an absolute guess whether iPhone 4 or EVO 4G will work better for him or her. But yet somehow Apple and HTC have managed to design two completely different smartphones despite playing on the same field by the same rules. So I decided to try and look at both of them as if there was no such criteria as price, carrier, data plan, or even quality issues iPhone 4 and EVO 4G users have already experienced.


HTC EVO 4G

First up the EVO. It has been around a bit longer than the iPhone and it’s a first ever mobile phone to support 4G network. In plain English it means your Internet connection will be faster when Wi-Fi is out of access – exactly what iPhone 4 owners will be jealous of considering video calling (iPhone 4 can only do FaceTime, as they call it, on Wi-Fi). In hardware respect EVO 4G is brimmed up with latest technology (check out the specification list below). One of the few things one might not be completely satisfied with is the display. Yes, at its 4.3 inches it is quite big, but it is a standard LCD technology which compared with AMOLED or indeed high pixel density Retina opposition doesn’t perform just as good. On personal note, I also don’t like EVO 4G’s shape at the back of it. iPhone 4 is flat whole round witch most people like better – it feels nicer in a pocket and in hand as well. Still, half of the reason to buy EVO 4G is Android. At the moment of writing it is shipped with Android 2.1 but 2.2 Froyo update is cooking as we speak. And that is very important for the EVO 4G. You’ll expect this kind of smartphone to offer some of the best Internet experience in the market. It does. Android claims to have the fastest mobile browser whilst along with further enhancements Froyo quadruples Flash performance. Mind you that Safari doesn’t support Flash at all. Plus Android has true multitasking but will run its battery flat faster. All things considered including the audience that has actually bought HTC EVO 4G I’d recommend it to someone who captures and enjoys the sweet spot of the latest technology and extremely capable operating system. If you are not among them but you like the HTC EVO 4G, don’t worry – it will still fit you well.

HTC EVO 4G specifications:

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon @ 1GHz
RAM: 512MB
Operating system: Android 2.1 (2.2 update this year)
Display: 4.3" TFT LCD, 800 × 480 resolution
Storage memory: 8GB, up to 32GB w/microSD
Rear camera: 8 megapixel
Front camera: 1.3 megapixel
Video recording: 720p @ 30fps
Battery capacity: 1500mAh
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g (/n w/Android 2.2)
Cellular network: 4G
Size: 4.8 × 2.6 × 0.5
Weight: 6oz

 

 

This article originally appeared at - gadgets-reviews

iPhone vs. Samsung F700: What is better?

iPhone has been announced a few weeks ago and a lot of people were waiting for it to appear. It is one of the best smart phones in its class. However, there is another smart phone that is on the same level as the iPhone. Samsung F700 was announced later then the iPhone however it beats iPhone in several characteristics.

Samsung phones become better and better every day and the iPhone is almost the best phone in the world. These phones could be called gadgets because they are top leaders in cell phones industry.

It is very hard to compare and choose one of these phones if you want to buy a smart phone of that level. We will try to help you with that.





Which touchscreen is better?

The size of the iPhone's touchscreen is bigger then the Samsung's one and it measures 3.5 inches as opposed to Samsung's 2.8 inches display. Size does matter nowadays: more and more we watch movies and view pictures using our phones and other portable devices. Sometimes it is crucial to have a big screen even if it involves increasing the size of the device. This means that you are going to have a bigger gadget.

The resolution of the screen is a very important feature that a smartphone needs to have because most of them have screen keyboards and it wouldn't be so cool to type when you have tiny buttons displayed. iPhone's display's resolution is 480 x 320 pixels and it is very awesome for a phone. The resolution of the Samsung's F700 screen is not much smaller and it is 440 x 240 pixels, besides it has a smaller screen.

Having a touchscreen on your phone is cool and convenient. These two companies have different solutions for their touchscreens. iPhone has the touchscreen with Multitouch function and Samsung screen has the Drag and Drop function.

 

 

This article originally appeared at - gadgets-reviews 

iPhone 4 announced!

Update: See Globe iPhone 4 Price here. Read the full iPhone 4 Review here or check out the iPhone 4 Release Coverage.

So Apple finally announced its new model of the iPhone and it’s not the iPhone 4G or the iPhone HD that’s been doing the rounds on the net. Steve calls it the iPhone 4.

And though we’ve already had first glimpse of this phone back when Gizmodo featured that lost prototype they bought for $5,000, it still draws a lot of amazement from the crowd.

Apple added features that are practically common to most other smartphones like the front-facing camera and LED flash but these are not the highlights yet.

The iPhone 4 is thinner (claims to be the thinnest smartphone ever, 24% thinner than the 3GS) at just 9.3mm (the Nokia E71 is 10mm thin). Next, they made the resolution higher at 326 pixels per inch (that’s 4 times than the previous model).

The iPhone 4 specs:
Apple 1GHz A4 chip
3.5″ display @ 960×640 pixels
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
WiFi 802.11n
GPS
Gyroscope
5MP camera with LED flash + HD video recording @ 720p 30fps
2nd front-facing camera
2 mics w/ noise-canceling
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ EDR
iOS 4

The iPhone 4 has better battery life as well — 40 hours of music, 10 hours of video, 6 hours of 3G browsing and 10 hours on WiFi browsing.

Apple is also putting iPhone OS 4 in it but renames it as iOS 4.

The iPhone 4 comes in two colors — white and black and two models, 16GB and 32GB. As for the price:

iPhone 4 16GB: $199 + 24-month contract
iPhone 4 32GB : $299 + 24-month contract

As for availability:
June 24 – US, Japan, France, Germany and UK
July 2010 – 18 more countries (hopefully, including the Philippines)
September 2010 – 88 countries

Globe Telecom already has their micro-SIM card ready so all we need is to wait how much it will retail when the iPhone 4 arrives in the Philippines.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

iPhone OS 3.0 now out and ready to download

Took me some time to update my iPhone 3G after downloading the new iPhone OS 3.0 because the verification servers are down or unavailable (obviously due to the millions of iPhone owners checking in).

The update is about 250MB which took some time to completely download. With the number of new features and applications included in version 3.0, I got a couple of favorites that I found really useful.




One is the Spotlight-like search that goes thru all of your data (calendar, email, SMS, notes, etc) and shows your keyword-matched results.

The other is Internet Tethering that allows you to share internet (via USB or Bluetooth) on your iPhone to your laptop or PC (can be found at Settings -> General -> Network -> Internet Tethering).

The Cut, Copy and Paste is also nice as well as the ability to sign in to your YouTube account to access your favorites and subscriptions. 

 

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

I’m ready to quit my iPhone 3G

I’ve been on prepaid since I got a mobile phone ten years ago. The only time I was convince to get into a postpaid plan was when I got an iPhone 3G subscription plan from Globe. And for the last 12 months, I thought it was well worth it.

Not until this month when I got my last bill. I’m subscribed on the basic iPhone Plan 1599 and ever since I had it, I never once exceeded my monthly allocation. I don’t text a lot or make calls (and I have 2 other active prepaid numbers) and despite being a heavy mobile internet user, I still am not able to consume all the 40 hours a month allocation (mainly because I got wifi at home and have both SmartBro and Globe Tattoo accounts).

So it was a huge surprise to learn that last month, my bill went beyond Php6,000 (there’s another Php3,700 spill-over internet charges for this month). During that time, I actually monitor my account getting charged about Php400 every day. So I reported it, made screenshots, documented and asked some clarifications. I got a lot of possible answers:

• Push Email was set to ON and the iPhone could be connecting to 3G all the time. In the last 12 months of having GMail and Yahoo on my iPhone, I never set it to ON and it’s OFF until now. Fetch is also set to OFF/Manual.
• iPhone Apps that connect to the net in the background. Been regularly downloading new apps (including Yahoo Messenger, TruPhone and Skype). I thought no iPhone Apps can run in the background? Apple specifically disabled this feature as it hogs resources, battery life and slows down performance. I don’t think there’s an app that runs on the background. To be sure, I restarted/rebooted the iPhone several times during the day.
• iPhone OS 3.0 reset some settings/configurations. However, I did the upgrade in June so I should have experienced this problem much earlier.

The timing is also suspicious as at least 2 other friends on an iPhone plan have racked up Php17,000 and Php20,000 on their bills this same month. I’ve already filed a dispute/report and so have my other friends.

This isn’t the first time this type of incident has happened. I’ve actually helped a couple of people (both on iPhone and Nokia phones) resolve their sky-high 3G internet charges before.

The quick-fix — disable the APN. That way, the iPhone won’t be able to connect even if it tried to.

It’s irritating though that I need to edit my APN every time I want to connect online. It ruins the experience. Now, I’m always afraid to use my iPhone to connect online. If that’s the case, the iPhone looks crippled — might as well ditch it. Apple needs to look into this.

My only gripe si that I only have a Php2,500 credit limit. I assume that when I reach that amount/charge before end of the month, my account gets suspended, which it should be. So, I wonder why my fees go way beyond Php2,500.

My solution?

• Switch to Globe Prepaid. But that doesn’t solve the problem that my credits/load could get drained overnight.
• Jailbreak the iPhone and use my other existing Smart Prepaid SIM.
• Sell the iPhone 3G and get an openline HTC Magic or Nokia E72 for my Globe subscription.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Apple does Multi-Tasking with iPhone OS 4.0

And the inevitable has arrived. Today, Apple introduced multi-tasking with the announcement of the iPhone OS 4.0.

It’s an interesting development since Apple has been adamant against multi-tasking on the iPhone as it slows down the device and drains the battery faster.



So, they’re doing a different approach to doing multi-tasking via the use of APIs like audio, VoIP, location, and notifications. Developers will need to do some tweaking of their Apps in order to utilize this feature.

Among the 7 main topics discussed about the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0, the most intriguing one for me is the iAds which is basically a mobile advertising platform.

Now, that’s gonna be a huge slap in the face of AdMob, which was recently acquired by Google. Apple does not want to just hand over monetization of the iPhone platform to Google so it’s going to run its own ad network and giving developers 60% share.

Many other new features will be introduced in version 4.0 — folders, better mail management, iBooks, among others — with over 1,500 new APIs and 100+ new user features.

The upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 will be compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 2nd gen and iPod Touch 3rd gen (32 & 64GB models). It will also be available for to the iPad. As for the price, Apple has not announced how much it will cost users to upgrade to 4.0.

 

 

This article originally appeared at - yugatech