Tag Archives: apple

In the Tech World…Who to Pledge Alliegience to

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June has turned out to be one of the most exciting months for technology consumers with huge announcements from Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Personally I’m excited about all of the announcements and consider them all good news. When you have Tech Titans like these behemoths fighting for my attention – I win no matter which way I turn. I’ll briefly touch on some of the highlights here.

 

Apple:

  • Macbook Pro with Retina Display
  • iOS 6

To be honest, a lot of people were waiting for the iPhone 5 announcement – but Apple did the right thing in my opinion. I love tuning in to Apple events because if nothing else is true, every time they are ready to make an announcement about a new product or feature, it will be ready for the consumer almost immediately. Not the next year, and most times, not even the coming months. It’s a sure bet that you will be able to get your hands on at least one of the items announced almost immediately. If the next iPhone wasn’t ready, then I’d rather they didn’t announce it. I’ve had a chance to compare strategies and I don’t really like Microsoft’s. They are constantly telling you more and more about the coolest new feature or hardware that you can’t buy yet because it’s due to drop at some unknown time. By the time it’s ready, the excitement has died out and you aren’t as excited about it anymore.

What Apple did announce was what I consider to be yet another game-changer. I am by no means an Apple fan-boy, but they continue to crush the competition in-terms of desirability. The Macbook pro line was already arguably the most coveted power laptop, but they went ahead and went bananas on the display. Even if they didn’t do anything under the hood, it would be tough to hold in check the desire to at least see what 2880×1800 looks like. The other iOs 6 announcements were sort of exciting, but necessities if they were going to continue to stay competitive with Android. Turn by turn navigation was a must in light of Google’s magnificent Maps App. Deeper Siri integration was to be expected, and passbook was a welcome addition to iOS’s functionality.

Microsoft:

  • Microsoft Surface
  • Windows 8 / Windows Mobile 8

As I mentioned above – the excitement around Windows 8, in my opinion, was waning a bit due to the fact that it has literally been talked about for around a year or so now. You can download a preview, but I’m not interested in previews. I’m interested in a new product…And Microsoft delivered. Enter stage left: The Microsoft Surface. This product announcement totally took me by surprise. We all know that Microsoft is fully capable of serious hardware, but they’ve been leaving it up to their hardware partners to deliver the goods, and lets just say – some of the products have much to be desired. I suppose Mr. Ballmer had to show’em how it’s done. The Surface is elegant, yet clever, and if it performs, I believe this tablet will be the answer to many people’s desires. It will be for those who want a little higher level of functionality than they can get from the iPad.

Windows Mobile 8 was the next logical step, but it is mildly exciting in the mobile space. What would be more exciting is if they pulled a “Surface” and debuted more hardware, but I doubt Microsoft will ruffle their hardware partner’s feathers too much.

Google:

  • Nexus 7
  • Project Glass
  • Nexus Q

Google’s most recent I|O Conference has to have been one of the best keynotes in recent memory. Though I wasn’t there, I was totally wrapped up in the parachuting moment, and the scaling the building moment, and the biking moment! You can see the video here. I think the perspective the images and video gleaned from that vantage point, though not new, will be quite fascinating to look at once Project Glass is released. What’s new is the form factor and ease of use. Google has managed to make that kind of imaging equipment almost apart of you. I’m quite excited to get my hands on that technology. What’s also of note is not just the “look at what I did” but the “look at what I’m doing right now” effect this eye-ware will bring about.

Google also debuted the Nexus 7 which I believe will do quite well. When compared to the Kindle Fire, it’s really no competition. Also Amazon doesn’t seem to have much else, tablet-wise, under it’s sleeve. I’m sure a next generation Kindle Fire is under way set to drop sometime soon, but I doubt it will have as much fire-power as the Nexus 7. Google understood that the real desire of many people who found the Kindle Fire intriguing but not enough to purchase, and that was the desire to have a “sleeper”. You know, an all purpose ride that’s affordable and simple enough, but a beast under the hood. The Kindle Fire was all of that, without the “Beast” part. So I bought one for my mom while I patiently waited. The Nexus 7 will probably be my next gadget purchase simply because of just how powerful and inexpensive this little bad boy is.

The Nexus Q is interesting in that it allows you to control and stream content from the cloud through a Nexus device. But I have to say – at $300 bucks, I’ll probably only get one if it’s a birthday gift or something.

Best Announcement:

I have to say the best announcement was Project Glass. This device really has opened doors to wearable computing. Though computers on the body is not a new concept, it has yet to be done in a sexy and practical way. That is until now. This has literally brought the future to the present in a way many people dreamed of. Remember Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator? How far away is that now…really? I can imagine tech like that in my lifetime now, and that’s great.

New Apple Refresh Worth It?

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Yesterday, Apple confirmed quite a few things that many people were speculating up to that point. However, not all the rumors were true. There was no iPhone 5 announcement – which I was disappointed to find out. However, there was definitely enough to chew on. Catch the entire thing here as the keynote is now online.

The Major Changes of interest are as follows:
-iOS 6

  • iOS 6 brings a ton of changes and perhaps most notably “Maps”. Maps really does look quite nice and it really needed to happen. Since Google was withholding the goods (i.e. turn by turn navigation) for so long Apple decided to move forward without that partnership. In “Flyover” mode, you see 3D models of all the buildings in a particular city as if you were really looking at the city from the sky. Google unveiled a similar product last Wednesday so there will definitely be company in the 3D mapping space.
  • Passbook was another goodie that came up – with the ability to have all of your passes at your fingertips digitally. This includes your Starbucks card, plane ticket, and even movie pass. What’s really neat is the fact that your iOS 6 enabled device will know where you are and pull up the correct pass as you near your destination so you won’t have to fumble through your apps to find it.
  • Guided Access is fairly intriguing though I doubt I would have much use for it – though many people with kids – especially those with special needs – may find it handy. It gives you the ability to restrict certain areas of the phone so that the user stays focused on the task at hand.

New Macbook Pro

  • The newest computer in the MacBook family is now the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. This puppy is on sale right now (though you’ll have to wait between 2-3 weeks for it to be shipped since demand is so high). The display has literally 5.1 million pixels.
  • It’s almost as thin as the Mac Air. I’ts .71 inches thin and weighs 4.45lbs. To achieve this they did get rid of the disc drive and flattened the Magsafe port.

Macbook Pro Refresh

  • Apple has also refreshed their entire MacBook lineup with a slew of new features like a new HD Facetime Camera and all new Thunderbolt ports. The processors of each line has been upgraded with i5 or i7 processors. You can check out comparisons here.
  • The 17 inch MacBook Pro has been axed. Apple always tries to keep it fresh so I suppose it was bound to happen.

For a cool $2,199 smackers the new retina display MacBook Pro can be yours. The regular MacBook Pro of similar size starts at $1799. Do you think the new Mac is worth the extra $400?

“Guerilla Kindness” App From BoomBoom Revolution

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Boom Boom Revolution is getting people into the spirit of committing random acts of kindness through their new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I think it’s a pretty nifty idea and a little kindness goes a long way. They are calling these acts of kindness “Everyday Boom Boom” or EBB for short.

The way it works is anytime you commit an EBB or are the recipient of a kind act you are to post the picture online using the app to the Boom Boom! stream. People can share their stories and keep the good Karma flowing. You can download the app in the apple app store or via iTunes. Nice idea, but is there still time to work on the name?

Happy V-Day from Tango

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So I know a lot of you use Tango to video chat with that significant other. I’ve used it and it’s not bad. The program allows you to use your phone’s camera to video chat with another person. Its fairly new and I can’t wait for more updates to get the kinks smoothed out, but its got real potential. Actually, there’s really little downside to the app as it can be downloaded on both the Android  and iPhone OSes.  You can use it on the new iPod touch, iPhones, and Android phones along with Android tabs like Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet. Not only that, but you can talk across platforms as well. You don’t even need a front facing camera on your device as it can use the back facing camera to stream images to the other side. Sounds pretty good right? Well it doesn’t stop there. The app also works over 3G, 4G, and WiFi allowing it to function over virtually all networks.

The application has gathered a large amount of downloads, me being one of them, and I have been made privy to a new promotion they will have going on for Valentine’s day. It will be called “Tango Hearts”. Word has it that if you double tap the screen on Valentine’s day, little hearts will appear as you chat. It’s a neat little trick that may impress your lady friend. If your girl is like mine however, that definitely won’t replace the standard fare. Don’t be cheap and chuck the chocolates guys! I’m just saying!

Why Apple isn’t Playing any Games

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Steve Jobs is playing for keeps as is evident by the moves he has made with the inception of the iPod and the iPhone. Love him or hate him, Apple has fought back from the brink with hit after hit and it looks like they’re here for the long haul. But that’s not what’s on everybody’s tongue right now. Enter stage left: iSlab, or iSlate or iThingy. Whatever you want to call it, it seems destined to be the next best thing since toilet tissue.

Just the mere rumor of its existence has sent shivers down the spines of large companies and has News Papers and Magazines clamoring for a Digi-Saviour. Can Apple do to the print industry what it did for the music industry? Honestly, our money is on Jobs. He’s a mad genius when it comes to this sort of thing, and the buzz alone is guaranteed to bring some high-rollers to the table. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Harper-Collins, and Condé Nast are already in talks over the rumored Tablet, and we are pretty sure there will be more. If you’re a non-believer, that’s fine. Consider yourself in good company, but the rumored specs paint a very pleasant picture.

Imagine a kindle – but in color and a larger 10 -11” screen, not to mention ten times sexier. Total access to your library of music anywhere you go and the ability to buy more in a web-based version of i-Tunes that downloads songs over wifi – or better yet, a 3G cellphone network like Verizon’s. It may also have a “Best of TV” service offering a subscription to your favorite Television shows. The inclusion of games is a no brainer, and a faster processor and larger hard disk space can only help matters. Now the clincher – the tablet will reportedly have facial recognition software that will recognize users and perhaps perform tasks meant for specific persons using a front facing camera. Maybe it will be like the chair settings in your car where you just hit the 3rd button and it automatically adjusts the seat because you’re too tall for your wife’s settings and she insists on driving your car even though you bought her a car for Christmas, but she likes the feel of your car better. Or maybe that’s just us.

The price range should be inside of $1,000, and could possibly be subsidized if it debuts with a cell phone carrier. If anyone out there needs someone to test this bad boy out, count us in.

Source:WSJ

UPDATE:

ok, so alot of the above information turned out to be wrong…or atleast a bit premature. This doesn’t mean all the information is garbage though. For starters, the camera may still be in the works. Soooooo glad we were wrong about the price. In approximately 60 days, you can pick one up for as low as 499.99 (16GB)with the 3G unlocked version coming in at a cool 629 (16GB).

Now there has been a lot of chatter, mostly by Geeks with super-powered devices, saying that the iPad doesn’t live up to the hype. I’ll have to agree to a point. But c’mon, what device does? Just because you thought the iPad was going to levitate, pay bills, make your bed, etc… and (surprise!) it doesn’t you wanna get all salty? Look, for 500 bucks your getting a premier device that works super well, and does everything it needs to. The iWork suite looks fantastic, browsing magazines and online content looks like an absolute pleasure to do, and gaming is pretty nice. It is the first and last device I want with me on any trip. Now I don’t own anything Mac branded and even I can tell that this is a great device. Jobs and his boys just aren’t catering to those of us who happen to know what the device should be able to do such as multi-tasking and voice calling with video telephony over wifi etc.

Now to a few more details about the device…

The device is 9.7 inches diagonally, and .5 inches thin. It’s a bit heavy (depending on what your comparing it to) at 1.5 lbs. Battery life is supposed to be 10 hrs of moderate use, and almost a month at standby, though something tells me that if your online playing games, you are gonna need to plug that sucker in a lot sooner. Now I have to give kudos to Apple for making their own performance chip. I really like the way they take a really hands on approach to their product. It really seems like they care about what they put out there.

You have access to three main stores now..iTunes of course, App store, and now the iBook Store. The Screen is multi-touch capacitive and is LED backlit. Take a look at the video below:


source:Apple

Apple Tablet to be Revealed Jan. 27th?

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I’ve refrained from mentioning anything about it since there really wasn’t much concrete evidence swirling around. However, it has now been announced that Apple is hosting an even on the 27th of this month to show off its newest “Creation”! The event will be in San Franisco, and no one is willing to pay for my trip out there 🙁 so I’ll have to live vicariously through others for now. Really hope its about that tablet, or iSlate, or whatever…

via Engadget.com

Apple to Come Out With What Looks Like Giant iPod Touch

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hmmm...Intriguing

Remember that article that I did on the Crunch Pad? Yeah, me either till I saw this thing. Looks like Apple took notice that there was a market for a large touch sensitive device and is seeking to fill the void before anyone else. To be honest, I’m quite intrigued…for now. My attention span is that of a gnat so they better come with it quickly or else they might loose momentum and miss the opportunity. According to the Financial Times, this doohicky is set for a possible September or October Release at a price point of between $600-1000 bucks. What do you guys think?