iPhone 5 SPECs vs SPECs

Hi everyone!

So.... the iPhone 5 is out. A few days ago, I posted a blog SPECulating on the iPhone5's SPECifications.
Okay, so let's see how well I did.
First of all, I mentioned 3 main themes in the next iPhone. I can say I am quite right about them.
1st- Improvements in hardware and software - the "boring" part. Actually this is most of what the new iPhone has to offer.. faster.. lighter.. thinner.. blah blah..  2nd - Narrowing some gaps with the high-end Android phones -  4G, bigger screen, faster processor. And lastly - some gimmicks - earphones, "Lightning" pin.

Okay , I'll just list out what I predicted and how it compares with the real iPhone5.

1. Screen

"I am pretty sure it will be a bigger screen, possibly a 16:9 aspect ratio. And again, featuring its high resolution Retina screen. Prob 4 inch ballpark.
Maybe a borderless screen that goes right to the edge?"

Bingo- 4 inch Retina screen it is.

2. Processor



"Not much to guess here, expect a quad core processor, either a Snapdragon or Tegra chip. But it will be called A6, and it's true spec won't be revealed."

Pretty close - A6 - and no details revealed . Although I have heard it is a duo core rather than quad.

3. RAM

"Glaringly, the iPhone4s' 500mb RAM is not really a market leader. In fact the other day I was thinking that my current phone has a higher ram than my old desktop, which I am no longer using. Then I realised at least my old desktop still trumps the iPhone4s in this department. Expect the RAM to increase to 1 or 2 g."

Unknown- No one likes to point out they're are behind, and definitely not Apple. I suspect most likely 1g. No doubt this info will be available in the new future.

4. Casing

"Probably still something metallic. I suspect Apple will do away with the infamous 'smashing' glass coating.
Screen will feature Gorilla glass 2, but of course this won't be revealed to you."

Correct- Not much change except removal of glass back.

5. Size

"Wider, longer, thinner, lighter. However the width may not change as much if the screen goes to the edge."





Close- Longer, thinner, lighter. But width remains the same

6. Colours

"Black, white or silver."

Hmm.. Just black and white.. with some silver

7. UI

"Will Apple stick to its awesome grid of icons? I suspect this interface will finally change. With one extra interface layer added. I was going to say that Apple will allow more user customization, but I take this back now. I think the UI may change and look more fluid and multidimensional, but it will stick with 1 type of interface. The best one. At least that is what you will be told.
More multitasking ability."

Unfortunately Apple HAS decided to stick to the boring uncustomizable grid of icons.
They didn't add a new interface layer, just one layer of icons!
And yes.. Apple says it's " the most advanced OS ever"


8. Connectivity

"4G. And other stuff.. Wifi, bluetooth, and it's proprietary pin connector that will cost you $30 for an extra cable."

Bingo - 4G
Bingo- New proprietary pin that will cost old Apple users NZD$49.00 for an adaptor.

9. Apple Map/Navigation

"Apple is trying to break away from any reliance on Google products. Expect Google maps to be replaced with its own map and navigation system."



Bingo- Maps App


10. Camera

"Better cameras, front and back. Not much more to say. 10-12 megapixels perhaps?
For camera enthusiasts, before you start nagging me, I meant a better in all ways, not just increased megapixel count, okay?"

Close - No surprises here. The surprise is Apple exalting the awesomeness of the panoramic mode, which is already native feature on the Samsung Galaxy S2. Marketing chief Phil Schiller used the term " killer panoramic mode"

I was wrong about the 10-12 megapixels.



11. Some novelty software that you can't get on the 'last iPhone'. Like Siri.

"Voice controlled camera? More voice controlled everything?
Motion controlled functions.
Some stuff you won't need but will want.
More iPhone to iPhone only social networking apps.
Apple TV remote?"

Close

More voice control Siri options.
No mention of new motion controls.
Passbook.
Facetime over network. Integrated FB
New earphones.
Airplay for Apple TV.



12. Long lines

"Again, expect long lines, as people fight to fill the emptiness of their hearts."

Pretty sure there will be long lines. Not sure about the empty hearts being filled though...maybe just for a while.


I leave you now with this video, which reminds us again why we should tip our hats off to Apple.
Genius deserves respect and when it comes to marketing, Apple is in it's own class.

Speculating on the next iPhone

Whether you are a techie, 'trend-follower', business person or just need a new phone, there is no doubt one of the most anticipated new products to come into the market is the next iPhone, or the iPhone 5, depending on what Apple chooses to call it's next flagship phone.
Actually, the most anticipated 'product' in the world is still food on the table, as an iPhone remains in the domain of the priviledged.
Now that Apple has announced the next iPhone will be revealed on Sept 12, there is more speculation than ever on what the next phone will be like.
Here is my 2 cents worth on what we might see in the next iPhone. As for my qualifications, I have none. I don't make or sell phones. However, I would like to think I am quite a logical person. And I wonder if that is enough for a prediction.
I think there will be 3 main themes in the next iPhone. First it will be feature improvements in hardware and software compared with iPhone4s. Boring and expected. Second, it will have features 'more like' some of the high-end android phones, 'narrowing the gap', so to speak and third, it will feature some novelty gimmick, like the Siri.
Okay, lets get into it
1. Screen
I am pretty sure it will be a bigger screen, possibly a 16:9 aspect ratio. And again, featuring its high resolution Retina screen. Prob 4 inch ballpark.
Maybe a borderless screen that goes right to the edge?
2. Processor
Not much to guess here, expect a quad core processor, either a Snapdragon or Tegra chip. But it will be called A6, and it's true spec won't be revealed.
3. RAM
Glaringly the iPhone4s' 500mb RAM is not really a market leader. In fact the other day I was thinking that my current phone has a higher ram than my old desktop, which I am no longer using. Then I realised at least my old desktop still trumps the iPhone4s in this department. Expect the RAM to increase to 1 or 2 g.
4. Casing
Probably still something metallic. I suspect Apple will do away with the infamous 'smashing' glass coating.
Screen will feature Gorilla glass 2, but of course this won't be revealed to you.
5. Size
Wider, longer, thinner, lighter. However the width may not change as much if the screen goes to the edge.
6. Colours
Black, white or silver.
7. UI
Will Apple stick to its awesome grid of icons? I suspect this interface will finally change. With one extra interface layer added. I was going to say that Apple will allow more user customization, but I take this back now. I think the UI may change and look more fluid and multidimensional, but it will stick with 1 type of interface. The best one. At least that is what you will be told.
More multitasking ability.
8. Connectivity
4G. And other stuff.. Wifi, bluetooth, and it's proprietary pin connector that will cost you $30 for an extra cable.
9. Apple Map/Navigation
Apple is trying to break away from any reliance on Google products. Expect Google maps to be replaced with its own map and navigation system.
10. Camera
Better cameras, front and back. Not much more to say. 10-12 megapixels perhaps?
For camera enthusiasts, before you start nagging me, I meant a better in all ways, not just increased megapixel count, okay?
11. Some novelty software that you can't get on the 'last iPhone'. Like Siri.
Voice controlled camera? More voice controlled everything?
Motion controlled functions.
Some stuff you won't need but will want.
More iPhone to iPhone only social networking apps.
Apple TV remote?
And one last thing...
12. Long lines
Again, expect long lines, as people fight to fill the emptiness of their hearts.
What do you think?
Leave a comment below.
Lets see how my prediction pans out in the next few days.

" See how my prediction went here "

How to power up your Samsung Galaxy S2 - via Ice Cream Sandwich

One of my favourite cartoons when I was younger was Dragonball Z. And by younger I mean, even in med school I was trying to rush home by 4 pm to watch Gohan fight Freeza. If you are a dragonball fan, you will know that Gohan powered up to SuperSaiyan 2 in the final fight against Cell. If you are not a Dragonball fan, just ignore what I said, but I'll show you how to power up your own SS2 ( Samsung Galaxy 2). I've included the following screenshots for my phone showing the benchmark improvements after the upgrading to Android version 4.0.3 aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

It's as simple as eating ice cream.
You just need Samsung Kies installed on your computer.
Make sure your Kies is uptodate.
When you plug in your phone via USB, it will prompt you to update your firmware.
You can connect to Kies via wifi, but you cannot update firmware via wifi.
Just make sure you back up your data.
I only backed up essential data but not the photos or music.
After the update, the phone will restart itself and reinstall all your previous applications.
I didn't lose any data, not even the ones I didn't back up.
(However, backing up is still advisable)

As you can see my Quadrant score jumped from 2869 to 4230. Not bad at all

If you look at the Vellamo benchmark, it will give you comparison scores to other phones as well as the SGS2 running Android 2.3

Funnily enough there are also androids in dragonball, but that's a different story.

I leave you with a scene from Dragaonball Z- Gohan powering up to Super Saiyan 2!

FYI- Gohan's power level at SS2 was estimated at 300,000,000.

Iris, is she Siri's evil twin?

If Siri had an evil twin, what would she be called? Sara? 

Guess who I found? Iris!...Yes, IRIS is SIRI.. spelt backwards!

Of course I'm not talking about Siri, a real person, but Siri the Iphone4S voice assistant.

Anyway, I had a little play with Iris today, and actually it was a lot of fun!

Iris is developed by Dexetra, a mobile app development company based in Cochin, India. It is little known, but I have a feeling it won't stay that way for long. The app is called Iris (alpha) - I presume it is still under development.Well, how does Iris work? Well it basically works like Siri, you ask it a question, and it answers you. You ask it to do a task and it will oblige. 

So... how does it compare with Siri and what can it do? Well, I've had a play with both apps for an equal amount of time. It certainly has a different personality from Siri. I dunno how to describe it, the answer can be a little bit "out there". Sometimes it doesn't make sense at all. It doesn't say " I can't answer that " as much as Siri though. It's speed of reply is slower than Siri. Its voice recognition I feel is better than Siri, at least for me. It is powered by Google Voice/Vlingo. And it has New Zealand accent recognition. I don't think I have a real NZ accent but it certainly understands me better than Siri, which understand me 10% of the time. With Iris I get a 70% hit rate, which is good for me.

What about functionality? I tested a few things- asked the weather, asked it to call and message someone and it obliged. It also told me who Barack Obama was the first time I asked. (Siri never understand me even after about 10 tries). When asked about it's weight, Iris said 2 mb. 

Conclusion?

You could call Iris a few things..

A Siri copycat

A poor man's Siri

A Siri wannabe

An upgraded Vlingo

An improved Talking Tom ( I hate that app)

All I can say is, it's free and actually quite fun.