Tag: iphone

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It’s Almost Here

Apple has finally sent out invites to their much anticipated September 12 press conference. What is almost here? Why, the iPhone 5, of course!

It’s not the new iPhone because, well, there’s that shadow there. It will be a taller phone with an aluminum back but still following the general design pattern of the iPhone 4/4S. Pretty much what all those leaked purported iPhone 5 photos all over the net show.

Although the display will be taller, the horizontal resolution will remain the same as the iPhone 4/4S because they want to leverage the current existing Retina apps. Apps not automatically supporting the new display size will be letter-boxed.

It will have a quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and 64GB storage in line with current smartphones specifications. But these will not be highlighted or maybe even mentioned.

Finally, it will support glasses-free 3D and will have a second rear-facing camera at the lower section for taking 3D photos and videos.

Now let’s see if I got anything right.

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OtterBox Commuter for iPhone 4/4S (Class A)

The Otterbox Commuter is a mid-level risk case slotting between a bumper and a heavy-duty case like the Otterbox Defender. Unfortunately, they’re rather expensive at P2,100 or thereabouts at local shops. And then I saw Edong’s Class A OtterBox Commuter case for his Samsung Galaxy S-III. “Class A” is a euphemism for knock-off so it was way cheaper. I was impressed with the quality (for the price) so I got one for my own phone.

Just like its “inspiration”, the case is composed of two pieces: a silicone inner layer and a polycarbonate outer layer. The silicon layer covers the back and wraps around the edges giving the screen a slightly raised protective rubber bezel. This protects the screen from direct contact when the phone is face down. The buttons have touch-through covers but are still reasonably easy to press. The proprietary Apple USB port is covered by a flap and should be easily accessible to most accessories. There are cutouts for the camera, flash, and silent switch. The silent switch is still easily accessible with a finger.

The polycarbonate layer clips onto and around the silicone layer giving it another layer of protection. The whole case fits the iPhone snugly and makes it look like it could bounce off the floor. I’m just concerned about the the durability of the polycarbonate considering this is just a “Class A”. But at P300 (and could be lower) a pop, it should be less painful to replace.

 

 

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iOS 6 beta

So iOS 6 was announced at WWDC and I grabbed the beta soon as it became available. It generally looks just like iOS 5 in keeping with Apple’s incremental improvement approach. There were changes here and there but the biggest ones I noticed were:

  1. Maps – out goes Google and in comes TomTom, their new maps data provider. New features are turn-by-turn navigation and 3D view. Level of detail is less than Google Maps at this time though.
  2. Passbook – one place for all your electronic/digital passes, tickets, discount cards, coupons, etc.
  3. Siri – gets new functionality such as launching apps.
  4. Call Handling – Do not disturb mode (with exceptions to selected number or repeated calls, how cool is that?), send SMS to reject call (Nokias had this since like forever), callback reminder.
  5. Parental Control – better restrictions on apps and content, Guided Access mode (stay within one app). Just be sure your toddler doesn’t slam your iDevice on the floor in frustration.
  6. Privacy – better privacy control
  7. Mail – Mailbox management (VIP and flagging), add attachments from the new message screen, new pull down to refresh animation.
  8. Clock – Alarm sound can be a song. You can wake up to the sound of Manic Monday and Friday I’m In Love :P
  9. Safari – offline reading, syncing
  10. Share Button – graphical, colorful, and prettier. Way better than the previous text list.
  11. Built-In Apps – built-in apps such as iTunes and Music have sleeker, easier-to-use interfaces. Unfortunately, Find My Friends isn’t one of them. Not that anybody uses it.
  12. New Wallpapers – 3 new wallpapers including the official iOS 6 ripples background.
  13. Facebook Integration – Similar to the Twitter integration introduced in iOS 5. Couldn’t care less about this :P