First impressions…

I like it…
I like it a lot actually!

Whilst it took me awhile to track one down, as stocks are limited and the online reservation system is like a daily lottery and as always the house mostly always wins. I got an email from Apple saying one was ready to pick up this morning so off I went.

Upon opening the box at the Apple store, I checked the phone’s finish for any of the defects reported by other purchasers online. The Genius loaded in my new nano-sim and I went through basic setup of the phone to confirm it was working and took it home. There I unboxed it and took a closer look and took of the plastic shipping protectors front and back and I’m suitably impressed by the features, look and feel of this phone. The longer screen didn’t feel strange in my hand at all and apparently Apple went to great lengths to make sure this would be so and was a major factor in the overall dimensions.

After loading up my config and files etc I started to explore some of the new features and play with some of my familiar apps but then I had to get it to download all my music from iCloud and then I tried out the new designed earbuds. What can I say WOW! they have really designed some great sounding earbuds and these are stock! The bass is clear and powerful with the high end crisp and not overbearing. I normally use Klipsch or Ultimate Ears as my choice of earbud and these easily keep up with much more expensive buds. You can also buy these online for under $35 from the Apple store here.

I had a play with Siri, my previous phone the iPhone 4 does not have Siri but my iPad 3 does so I had used it before. I’m looking forward to using Siri a bit more day to day as I carry and use my iPhone all the time and I’ve taken the time to set up various contacts with the necessary info Siri can use so it should make some functions easier.

Getting back to the overall design, the new screen size coupled with the Retina display looks just fantastic and some 720 videos in full widescreen format with that display just looked fantastic. Having the extra row of icons on each home screen is welcomed but takes some getting used to. I think perhaps the icons need to be made a tad smaller as it looked a bit crowded. Email and Twitter/Facebook on the larger screen is also easier to use. I’ve noticed not all apps have been updated for the new display yet and center on the screen or stretch where needed so this isn’t really an issue at this point. The new aluminum back is much better than the glass back of the 4 and 4s model and gives me more confidence I’m not going to smash my phone if I accidently drop it. However the slightly lighter weight, the change in size makes it feel slightly heavier than a 4 but also lighter at the same time if that makes sense.

The headphone jack has been moved to the bottom alongside 2 speakers and the new lightning dock connector. The move of the headphone jack is a welcome change and I always found it awkward with the cable sticking out of the top rather than the bottom. This should make dock designs much nicer.

Speaking of this new connector “Lightning” which has been the suject of a lot of critisism and controversy and I can honestly understand why Apple changed it now I have one as it’s easier to insert, works upside down and is much smaller which makes it easier to make the phone thinner as much as smaller. The change has made some people very angry as they will have to buy adapters and new accessories which is understandble but you have to draw a line in the sand somewhere and I guess 2012 is it. The old connector was bulky and a pain in the butt to connect sometimes especially with aftermarket accessories. I like the new connector and I like being able to stick it in upside down!

You can purchase extra lightning to USB cables as well as a short original 30 pin dock plug to lightning converter. There is also a small dock adapter available as well but this is currently in limited supply and stock is scares in AU. An example of these are right:

There is an A6 chip in this beast which is noticeable when loading the camera, speaking of which is 8mp on the back camera and 1.2mp on the FaceTime front facing camera. I’ve yet to take any decent pictures with it but from all reports I’ve seen it’s pretty good. There has been a small issue of purple haze around some outdoor and extreme lighting conditions but these shall remain to be seen.

Overall so far I’m very impressed with the phone as a whole. The new features in iOS 6 also add to the overall positive experience I’ve had so far. I have however noticed a few little issues here and there such as the phone sometimes not being recognised in iTunes first time, and battery life seems a little more excessive than my iPhone 4 so far but I’ll give the phone a day or 2 to settle into my normal usage pattern and then re-assses this.

I wasn’t impressed when I asked about a cover for it at the Apple store to which I was told they will be available in November. Luckily I had purchased a cheap bumper case for it on Ebay a few days earlier which will suffice for now. The new lottery reservation system sucks the big one royally I must say. The old system of putting a select number of phones up for reservation each day on a first come first serve basis was much better cause at least you knew if you got one or not. In fact their overall stock control policy is far from ideal. Whilst I think their marketing is fantastic and obviously works, their arrogance at allowing stock out in a trickle to keep the hype going is an ethos that will probably bite them in the bum in the long term.

Stay tuned for part 2 which will come in a few days after the initial shiney impressions wear off.

It’s finally here!

Yep that’s right Apple lovers everywhere are rejoicing and Android fanbois are preparing their hate filled rants.

So much has been covered about the new iPhone 5 already in the last 12 hours I’m not going to bother.

Suffice to say… Nice one Apple!

So it’s September 12 tomorrow….

Which means it’s Apple’s media event day, or as we all like to thin iPhone 5 launch day!

Actually for us in Australia its the early hours of Thursday morning. First think I’ll be doing that morning is watching the keynote address to see all the  big news.

Speculation has been rife and many leaked photos and videos so it’s going to be interesting how much of all that turns out to be hype or truth!

So what are you looking for in the new iPhone? I never went to the 4S as I considered it not to be enough of an upgrade. Here’s my wish list:

• Larger screen – Not sure if I like the look of the new screen, it’s longer not wider.
• Near Field Chip – Hoping to store my digital passes onto the one device.
• Retina Display – Loving my iPad 3 screen, can’t wait for larger hi res screen on the iPhone.
• iOS 6 – Been testing a beta of this, coupled with new phone should be awesome.
• Increased capacity – I use mine to store a lot of music, iCloud and music match isn’t quite there yet.
• Headphone jack at the bottom – makes sense!
• Increased durability – metal back should be better, no more shattered backs!

Guess we’ll all be back here in 2 days to comment about all the new features released. Then the fun begins on watching the stock hunt as it gets released and sells out.

I’m wondering if Apple will continue its practise of a slow controlled release of stock to keep up the demand/hype. It certainly works in marketing terms but it’s a pain in the ass when you have to shop around half of Melbourne to find stock!

Stay Tuned!

I’m back… it’s been awhile!

Hi everyone,

I’m back after a long hiatus, yes it’s been awhile!

It indeed has been a crazy time, work and personal commitments have kept me busy and the motivation to keep updates going was just not there.

But I’ll try to keep things updated a bit more.

So what’s been going on? LOTS!

We saw lots of Apple things happening, indeed the IT sector has been buzzing like never before with the OS wars, the tablet wars, the smartphone wars, patent wars and lots of new shiney gadgets and fuzzy feel good marketing to make us part with our hard earned dollars.

I’ve yet to update to a new iPad 3, although I’ve seen how good they are and Apple doesn’t disappoint!

It will be interesting to see what the next iteration of the iPhone will bring. Rumours suggest a larger screen, faster, more storage and more internal gadgets to make us want one.

Let’s see what comes next!

Apple working to adopt 802.11ac 5G Gigabit WiFi this year

By Daniel Eran Dilger Published: 02:34 PM EST on Apple Inside

Apple is expected to rapidly deploy support for the new 802.11ac specification this year, adding so called “Gigabit WiFi” to new AirPort base stations, Time Capsule, Apple TV,notebooks and potentially its mobile devices.

The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple’s Macs currently use up to 3).

While not yet finalized as an official standard by the 802.11 Working Group, progress on the new 802.11.ac standard is occurring faster than previous efforts in wireless networking have.

Multiple suppliers have already issued chipsets supporting 802.11ac for consumer grade applications. Key Apple component maker Broadcom announced chips supporting the standard earlier this month at CES.

In addition to reaching networking speeds above 1 Gigabit (about three times as fast as 802.11n networks can manage), 802.11ac promises better networking range, improved reliability, and more power efficient chips, thanks to parallel advances in reducing chip size and enhancing power management.

Apple popularizes WiFi with AirPort

While Apple wasn’t the first company to sell wireless devices, it was first to bring the technology into the mainstream beginning in 1999, when Steve Jobs dramatically demonstrated Apple’s initial AirPort technology onstage at the July Macworld Expo as “one more thing” after showing off the company’s new consumer iBook notebook.

Jobs pretended to hold his new iBook notebook up to provide a clear view for the camera operator, but he then continued to use the web as he walked across the stage to the delight of the audience that suddenly realized the new notebook had a wireless connection.

 

While Intel and others were promoting wired home networking schemes using landline phone wiring, Apple quickly brought WiFi into common use with support for AirPort across its Mac desktop and laptop line and its new AirPort branded base stations, making secure wireless technology both affordable and easy to use.

The WiFi technology Jobs demonstrated was second generation 802.11b; an earlier 802.11 version had previously been developed but only offered a tenth of the speed, making it less than practical for mainstream users. At the same time, 802.11b wasn’t formally ratified until September of 1999, making Apple’s inclusion on the iBook a forward-looking innovation. It also made the iBook the first mainstream computer sold with integrated WiFi.

In January 2003, Apple launched AirPort Extreme, its brand name for the improved 802.11g standard. While backwardly compatible with 802.11b devices, the new AirPort Extreme base station and compliant computers could now achieve wireless networking speeds up to five times faster. The 802.11g standard wasn’t formally ratified for another six months after Apple released its first implementation of it.

Apple sneaks out 802.11n

In September 2006, Apple offered a sneak peek at Apple TV. It seemed immediately obvious that Apple would empower this using the new 802.11n standard, but it was widely doubted at the time that Apple could release support for the much faster new version of WiFi before the standard was ratified.

However, in January 2007 Apple announced that Apple TV did indeed use 802.11n, alongside new AirPort base stations also supporting a draft version of the still unfinished specification. The company also acknowledged that it had secretly included support for the fast new “draft n” specification in all of its previously released Core 2 Duo Macs.

Due to accounting concerns, Apple planned to charge a nominal $4.99 fee for distributing the drivers needed to activate this unadvertised hardware feature on recent Macs. After a hailstorm of caustic criticism, Apple dropped the fee to $1.99, and subsequently included the drivers into the next version of Mac OS X for free.

The 802.11n standard wasn’t formally ratified until October of 2009, nearly three years after Apple began rolling it out. By May 2008, Apple was recognized by NDP Group as having a 10.6 percent share of WiFi base station sales, and AirPort Extreme was named the top selling 802.11n router in the US.

AirPort advances since 802.11n

The new 802.11ac isn’t expected to be fully approved as a finished standard until late next year, but Apple is poised to adopt it well before then. Since the initial rollout of 802.11n Macs, AirPort base stations and Apple TV in early 2007, Apple has incrementally advanced support for new facets of the 802.11n specification and has also developed new practical applications tied to wireless connectivity.

In 2008 Apple launched support for 802.11n base stations and clients operating in the 5GHz band at the launch of Time Capsule. In this frequency band, WiFi devices can double their bandwidth allocation to a wide 40 MHz to allow faster networking speeds, nearly doubling the theoretical maximum. For existing Macs, this boosted top speeds from 130 to 300 Mbps.

In 2009 Apple enhanced AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products with support for simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHz band operation and guest access.

The following year, Apple launched iPad with support for both 802.11n and 5GHz networks. iPhone 4 followed with support for 802.11n, although it could not connect to 5GHz networks.

Last year, Apple’s Thunderbolt Macs silently incorporated support for three send and receive antennas, enabling them to achieve a top data rate of 450 Mbps on 5GHz networks with wide channels.

 

Apple also enhanced its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule last summer, increasing their range and radio power output and adding support for new Mac’s triple antennas while extending simultaneous operation to automatically use both 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

Software applications for WiFi

In addition to hardware advances, Apple has introduced a variety of technologies that focus on WiFi networking, including Bonjour-discoverable disk and printer sharing from AirPort Extreme base stations, AirTunes wireless audio distribution introduced alongside AirPort Express, and Mac OS X Leopard’s Time Machine backups designed to work with Time Capsule.

 

Last year, Apple introduced AirPlay as a replacement for AirTunes, enabling iTunes and iOS devices to wirelessly stream both audio and video to Apple TV. AirPlay Mirroring on iPad 2 and iPhone 4S enable those devices to export their primary video display to an HDTV via Apple TV.

In Mac OS X Lion, Apple introduced support for AirDrop, enabling nearby users to share files without configuring a WiFi network.

The tremendous speed gains possible with 802.11ac will continue to make Apple’s wireless technologies from AirPlay to Time Machine faster and more efficient, virtually erasing any advantage in using wired network cabling in most cases.

This iPhone Survived A 4000m Fall

By Jesus Diaz on July 19, 2011 at 8:05 AM on Gizmodo

 

The iPhone 4 may shatter too easily but apparently its guts can sustain plenty of damage, as 37-year-old Minnesotan Jarrod McKinney discovered while skydiving at 4000m.

His phone had previously shattered when his two-year-old son dropped it from a bathroom shelf, so when it fell from 4000m, he thought it would be completely destroyed. He found the device 800m from his landing point. And if you are thinking it probably fell on soft grass after being slowed down by tree leaves, that wasn’t the case.

Jarrod claims that it fell on top of a building using a GPS-tracking app (presumably Apple’s own Find iPhone app), so it was a hard crash. The phone glass and screen shattered, but when he showed it to the skydiving instructor and a few friends, the phone started to vibrate. Apparently, its guts were intact. [CNN]

Let’s Settle This Once And For All: What Exactly Is Sexting?

By Sam Biddle on July 23, 2011 at 11:30 AM on Gizmodo

It goes like this: horny teenagers have always been horny. Then they got mobile phones, and used them to exchange raunchy pics with each other. Horrified parents demanded an explanation, and “sexting” was born. But what does that mean, exactly? This.

“Sexting” has become as nebulous as it is overhyped. And this is problematic, because the definitions in use are as ambiguous as they are many. Some say a sext is just a naked pic. Some say it’s flirty. Some say it’s sexually suggestive or sexually themed. “Sexually themed” being one of those wonderfully catch-all danger words. It can be kissing! It can be nudity! It can be – sex. Is saying “I wanna make out with you” a sext? What if I include a picture of my penis with that message? What if it’s just the picture?

Nobody seems to agree – and that’s a problem. We’re swept up an exciting new word that has the potential to help unseat politicians, but we’re not exactly sure what we’re talking about.

With every wave of technology, we accumulate new words. Upload. Delete. Google. These are fine, because their meanings are technically clear and innocuous. But sexting is something one’s accused of – an act with some degree of shame accompanying it. It might be a lot of fun (I mean, right?), but you wouldn’t want to talk about doing it over Christmas dinner.

So let’s set things straight right now.

Sexting is a portmanteau of sex and texting. Agreed? Good. We’ll stick with that. It’s not sexual texting, or sexually themed texting – it’s sex texting. Texting as a simulacrum of doin’ it. Remember cybersex?

:<<OH YEAH, I AM TAKING OFF YOUR PANTS NOW. HOLD ON MY MODEM IS DOWNLOADING THE REST OF YOUR BRA.

There wasn’t any confusion about cybersex. Like phone sex before it, cybersex was the acting out of sexual performances via internet. Sexting is the same thing. If I tell you I want to make out via text, I’m not sexting. If I say I want to rip off your pants and push you up against a wall (in a sweet way!), I’m probably sexting. If you send me back a naked picture with a reply to that effect, now we’re both sexting.

If I just send you an unsolicited mobile snapshot of my junk, I’m not a sexter – I’m a pervert. If you’re my girlfriend and I do it, I’m still not sexting – there’s no message, no action – just “Here, look at my blurry genitals.”

So let’s stop being confused. And moreover, let’s stop being afraid! It’s a little dystopian and indicative of an alienated and repressed society, but pretending we’re having sex with electronics can be a lot of fun! So open up your phone, scroll down that contact list, and say some freaky shit. Dong shot optional.

Photo: Poulsons Photography/Shutterstock

5 Alternatives to Skype on iOS and Mac

Posted 05/10/2011 at 2:59pm | by J.R. Bookwalter on MacLife

As you’ve no doubt heard, Microsoft has snapped up popular VoIP developer Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion. If you’re not too fond of your favorite video chat software now being in the hands of the Borg, you’ll be happy to know there are other choices available.

It’s hard to believe that Skype has been around less than a decade, with most of that time being spent as under the ownership of another company — first eBay in 2005, then Silver Lake in 2009. Tuesday marked a new era for the little VoIP company that could, with Microsoft acquiring the company outright for $8.5 billion and big plans to set up its own Skype division in Redmond.

As with any such acquisition, there’s a bit of anxiety brewing among longtime users of the Skype service, particularly after the company’s Mac client got an unwelcome, Windows-style update recently. Could worse updates be in store? Here’s a look at a handful of Skype-esque services you might consider if Microsoft doesn’t improve things.

5 Skype Alternatives

FaceTime

Available on the Mac (99 cents via the Mac App Store) as well as iOS devices, Apple’s own FaceTime service is a great free alternative to Skype — assuming you don’t need text chat, file transfer or the ability to connect over 3G. In the case of the iPad 2, it’s one of the only native video chat services currently available, and the price is certainly right.

fring

Although there’s no desktop-based version, fring is a great solution for iOS users, particularly if you want group video calling, live text chat and even the ability to make cheap international calls (via “fringOut,” the company’s own version of SkypeOut credit). fring is also available on Android devices, which broadens the scope of who you can call up.

Nimbuzz

In addition to bundling IM services from AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, GoogleTalk, Facebook, and MySpace, the Nimbuzz iOS app also offers their own Skype-esque service with free HD voice quality calls. For now, it’s voice and text only, but there’s also a Mac and PC client so you can keep in touch from your computer as well.

Tango Video Calls

If you’re primarily looking for free voice and video calls, Tango has what you’re looking for — and unlike FaceTime, it works over both 3G and Wi-Fi, although the iOS client isn’t optimized yet for the iPad 2. Sadly there’s no desktop connectivity as yet, but since our iOS device is always with us, who cares?

VoxOx

Is it possible to outdo Skype? VoxOx thinks so, and its desktop software provides all of Skype’s key features, as well as free voicemail, conference calls, translation, and even fax services. The free VoxOx Call iOS app allows the key features to be used while on the go. Did we mention it’s free to sign up and get started?

‘Yahoo! Messenger’ Goes Universal, Adds Video Calling for iPad 2

Thursday May 19, 2011 9:31 am PDT by Eric Slivka on MacRumours

Yahoo yesterday released an update to its Yahoo! Messengerapplication for iOS devices, going universal with an iPad-specific interface and adding voice and video calling capabilities for the iPad 2.

What’s new

– iPad-optimized layout
– Voice & video calling for iPad 2
– Improved spam management: block one or all add requests from a single view
– Fixed multiple bugs including the unexpected sign-out issue

Yahoo! Messenger is a free application.

iPhone 4S Arriving This Fall With More Carriers?

By Darrell Etherington May. 13 on Gigaom

Apple’s next iPhone will be called the 4S, and won’t offer much beyond minor cosmetic changes, better front and back cameras, an A5 dual-core processor and HSPA+ support, according to Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek (via Forbes ). The information comes from industry checks performed by the investment banking firm.

Apple is also likely to announce Sprint, T-Mobile and China Mobile as new carrier partners, according to Misek’s research note. T-Mobile expansion is already expected if the AT&T / T-Mobile merger goes through. The addition of Sprint would mean Apple’s reach would extend to all major U.S. carriers, and China Mobile signing on would mean that the iPhone would become available to over 600 million potential subscribers.

While analyst expectations are not always the most dependable source of information, this report is in keeping with what we’ve been hearing about Apple’s next iPhone revision. Rumors abound that we won’t see any new hardware introduced at WWDC this June, and fall has been widely cited as the most likely candidate for an iPhone update. The iPhone “4s” name has also surfaced before, back in April when it was used to describe a prototype handset being circulated by Apple among developers with an A5 chip for use in creating next-gen games. Supplier checks also often reveal clues about future Apple products, since the third-party supply chain isn’t as easily guarded as Apple itself.

Misek also claims that LTE chipsets from Qualcomm aren’t yet ready for mass production of the next iPhone, so we won’t see LTE support in the next hardware revision.

Take this report with a grain of salt, but if Apple decides to repeat what it did with the iPhone 3G and 3GS with the iPhone 4 and its successor, this does match with what I’d expect to see from a hardware update. What do you think about this latest next-gen iPhone rumor?