Apples iOS 5 Set To Reclaim Lost Ground
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Google has made inroads into many tech areas but Apple have refused to take this incursion lying down. The new iOS 5 features aren’t just another bag of bland tricks or eye candy for techies. The new apps and inclusions are designed to do only one thing: maximise your time spent using Apples iOS.

Sure, the new improvements to Safari have brought the iPhone and iPad into the 21^st century (just every other vendor has had tabbed browsing since the year dot) but that’s only a little of what’s on offer.

Real time search or real time news? Google had a deal with Twitter. Google paid Twitter money to access their real time Tweets. The deal ran out. Google stopped supplying real time search results. Coincidence? Not likely and Apple know this. Forget Google+, at least for now, Twitter has around 175 million users. On average, there are around 50 million Tweets per day. By giving users an integrated Twitter app (including feed aggregation) Apple have just punched a big hole in Googles real time search strategy.

iMessage is here. Admittedly, it should have been with us a long time ago but we’ll put that argument to bed for now. Google created a messaging framework called Google Wave. Sadly (I mean that will all honesty) it nosedived! So what’s the difference between Google Wave and iMessage? The platform. Apple own it and, when they launch new products, we’re likely to use them. iMessage will bring many of the features found in Wave (group messaging, content sharing and secure, encrypted communications). Is there really any need for GChat?

Not long ago, getting your hands on a free photo editor was pretty hit and miss until Google bought, and gave away, Picasa. iOS 5 comes with enhanced photo editing capabilities including edit and crop, red eye reduction and auto-enhance. Once you’re done, whisk your photo’s off to be stored in iCloud or share them with iMessage. It’s basic but it’s functional and the photo editor is integrated with your camera menu which pretty much does away with the need for a third party editor.

Streaming media/TV integration is another area where Apple have hit back at Google’s forays into new markets. So far, Google TV offering has seen little enthusiasm from consumers. The lack of consumer uptake has given Apple a chance to open up another another chink in Google’s armour.Tight integration with iOS 5 lets user securely stream content from their iPad 2 onto an HDTV (via an Apple TV box, of course). To many, that might seem like old news but consider this: television is still one of the biggest sources of revenue for advertisers. You can almost hear the pennies dropping into Apple’s piggy bank!

News feeds are old… news! Apples News Stand brings yet more disruptive technology to the fore. News aggregators have long been used as a way of slicing up and delivering content that we’re actually interested in. The only problem is that most of them required a live internet connection. News Stand downloads content based on your subscription preferences providing you with offline content… just like ‘old fashioned’ newspapers. Sure, this is a paid service but it’s one that may well become the standard model for delivering online news content.

In much the same way as Google’s early days, Apple have provided the platform. Now we’re starting to see them leverage not only consumer demand but also every aspect of social interaction to build something that everyone can be a part of. Where is Google?

Want to know more about me? I’m James and I run Voucher Frenzy and as well as regularly sounding out my own opinions I provided my subscribers with a huge range of discounts for electricals and gadgets;.

The iPhone is a series of best selling smart phones licensed with AT&T. Created by Apple, the iPhone continues the line of innovative Apple products such as the iPod mp3 player. The iPhone has become famous for its application system, a marketplace of downloadable applications that give the iPhone unlimited functionality. Since 2007, there have been four models of the iPhone with a new phone released each year.

The Original iPhone

The original iPhone was created as a hybrid between cellular phone and PDA technology, utilizing new designs such as a touchscreen interface. The glass touchscreen was unique for its multi-touch functionality. The user could touch multiple points on the screen for additional functions (such as zooming). The keyboard and mouse controls were incorporated entirely into the touch interface, similar to a tablet PC. Internet access was provided through the EDGE network. The original iPhone was released with a 4GB and 8GB model, with a 16GB model released later.

The iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G was the second generation of iPhone, released in July 2008. The iPhone 3G came with much of the same hardware as the original iPhone, but had an increase in software functionality. The major introduction for the iPhone 3G was the Apple App Store. The App Store allowed users to purchase and download applications, small programs which added additional functions to the phone. This became a trademark of the iPhone brand that has continued to this day. The iPhone 3G was also the first iPhone built to use the 3G wireless network for internet access – the original used only the slower EDGE network.

The iPhone 3GS

The iPhone 3GS, released in June 2009, was created with a focus on hardware improvements. The display screen for the phone was updated to use a greater number of pixels and have a richer color display. The processor and memory were upgraded for the first time since the original iPhone, allowing for faster speeds and better performance of applications. A new camera was also added, allowing 3 megapixel photos and video capture in high definition. The iPhone 3GS also included a compass application, using a built in magnetometer.

The iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is the latest model of iPhone, released in June 2010. The aesthetics of the phone were the focus with an all-new steel frame and glass display. The phone is thinner than previous models – the exterior antenna in the steel housing gives the phone a smaller profile than older iPhones. The iPhone 4 also received a hardware upgrade with a new processor and double the memory of the iPhone 3GS. It also uses a forward mounted video camera (in addition to the rear HD camera) to allow for video conferencing.

This guest article was contributed by Jennifer Bell from Health Training Guide. Check out her site to learn more about vocational nurse training and other exciting health careers.

Photo credit: Burt Lum

With the iPhone approaching its fifth iteration, a monumental milestone for the lifecycle of any product, an Apple fanatic has to hope that Apple has something up its sleeve for its release. While evidence is building that changes are in the works, nothing is for certain until Apple itself removes the sheath on the highly desired product. As the normal, annual release window for the iPhone has already passed, the rumor-mill has been speculating that the delay has been partly caused by new changes in the physical product, along with the development of iOS 5 and iCloud.

I myself still have a 3GS and was hoping I would be able to update this June to the new model, so I’m holding out that the new phone packs some killer updates. Additionally, upon past analysis, it seems that the 3GS was a very mediocre upgrade and I am also hoping that the supposed “4GS,” as other sites have been calling it, incorporates more than just faster speeds. The following is a list physical features that I, as well as many other fanboys, would love to see.

Bigger Screen

Most Android phones, the iPhone’s biggest competitor, seem to have a much larger screen than Apple’s product. While the product will no doubt continue to remain relevant, to keep up and hopefully surpass competition, Apple should definitely expand iPhone screen size. This would allow better gaming and video display (movies and FaceTime), a larger touch keyboard, and more open space between apps on the Home screen (a la the iPad) for a less busy feeling. Supposed pictures have leaked out of iPhones with larger screens, so it looks like Apple has taken notice to what others are doing. But, who is to say that the larger screen will actually happen? The Motorola Droid 2, with a much larger screen, is already on its second iteration and gaining followers. If Apple knows what is best and wants to halt customers from switching to phones with larger displays, they know what they need to do.

NFC

Rumors have also been circulating that Apple is toying with near field communication technology in the next iPhone. This technology is popular overseas and could act as a payment device or e-wallet as some call it. Potentially, the phone could store your credit card data and would allow the user to “swipe” their phone instead of your card. My phone is always within easier reach than my wallet and I’d think this feature would be great for speedy transactions. While NFC technology is not widely used so far in the US, if Apple, being a leader in just about everything these days, does incorporate this feature into the next iPhone, you can expect a huge increase in adoption of this tech.

Larger Storage Capacity

iTunes was released over 10 years ago and people have been building their music libraries ever since. Lately, it has become a struggle for me to decide what music I want to remove from my iPhone in order to put new music on. I know I’m not the only one with this problem. A 64 GB model, along with a low-end 32 GB model, would be great for keeping more media on the phone: more music, more videos, more pictures, and more apps.

Better Cameras

Thankfully, the iPhone 4 included a camera upgrade. Again, since the competition has bested Apple in the photo-taking abilities, Apple should include an 8 megapixel camera. With all-in-one devices becoming almost universally popular, this feature would only strengthen the possibility of iPhone adoption. I remember the days when I carried an iPod, a Blackberry (*sigh*), and a camera. With an 8 megapixel, we can safely remove the camera from our pockets or purses and not have to suffer from low-quality photos. A better front-facing camera is another feature that would be great to see. As Apple pushing for FaceTime to become the default video-calling program, a high megapixel front-facing camera would help Apple define its products as best-in-class for this service. Let’s just hope we can use the network for this too.

With only a few months to wait before an announcement, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for these features.

About the Author: August Drilling works for CliqStudios.com, an online site for Kitchen Cabinets, and can always be found with iPhone in hand.

Today’s world is now almost totally dependent on technologies. There has been a rapid advance of technology in the recent years and the iPhone is one such product of the rapidly growing world of technology. The iPhones are an internet and multimedia enabled Smartphone which are mainly marketed by Apple. The very first iPhone got unveiled by Apple on January 9, 2007 and it was released in the market on June 29, 2007.

What are iPhones?

The iPhones as said above are internet and multimedia enabled Smartphones which can equally work as a cell phone and video camera. The user interface of this phone is built in with the touch application and it also includes a virtual keyboard. Most of the iPhone applications are meant for the newest iPhone 3G model and are also supposed to work with the recent versions of iPod Touch. For that purpose, you will be requires to have an active iTunes Store account and then you may be able to download free applications and even the purchased applications into your iPhone.

How can you find useful iPhone applications?

In order to find the applications for your iPhone cell you can:

1. The Apple website has included some useful applications for targeted visitors, like applications for cooking, for students, and so on. You will be able to get other such applications if you browse Apple staff’s favorite Applications in “App Staff Picks” at Apple’s website.
2. You can also get the applications from your friends. The best part about this is that you are not even required to ask about all these from your friends. There’s an application for this too – “Chorus” that uses the social networking approach in order to let you and your friends share the cool applications.
3. There are also some web based services that provide for customized applications recommendation known as the “apptizr”. It provides you the personalized recommendation of the top applications from the application store based on your likes and dislikes.
4. There are also websites like the AppStoreHQ which does the search for you. The AppStoreHQ too uses the social networking approach like the “Chorus” in order to find the best and most suitable mobile applications for you.

You can also do some random research on the iPhone applications in the Internet in order to get some interesting ones.

Lately there have been many rumors about the iPhone 5 and while it’s hard to know what to believe the following concept is something we liked and I think you deserve to see it.

The mockup above was recently publish and incorporated the rumors of repositioning the flash, implementing a larger screen, and of course the widgets implementation of solving the problems with signal loss. I like how he made this concept and I think this is one of the best mockup for an iPhone 4 with a 3.7-inch screen (this is actually the original screen).

Of all the changes above I believe the repositioned flash will be the only rumor found in the iPhone that will be launched this year.  The image above though shows what could be possible in the future.

Also, let me talk about the interview with Digital AllThings, where Stephane Richard (CEO of France Telecom) left to assume that the next iPhone will be small and thin.  In our opinion this would be for the best. So, we have to wait a bit a bit longer to see if the rumors are getting closer to the truth.

This is a guest post by Costea, a writer on Next iPhone News. Visit his website for the latest iPhone 5 news, rumors and leaks!

Here are some quick bits from the past week, just in case you missed them.

Palm CEO: I’ve ‘Never Even Used’ An iPhone – I understand hating the competition but how do you know what your competition is when you have never tried the competition?

Exclusive: Qualcomm to Power iPhone – it has never been a matter of if the iPhone will land on the Verizon network, just a matter of when.  Sounds like that will be this summer.

iPhone wins touchscreen quality test – this is probably one of the things that I will always evaluate as new phones come out as I think the touchscreen and gestures are really important on smartphones these days.

Facebook’s iPhone App Gets New Push and Sync Features – this is the first time I have used the push notifications on my iPhone and love the contact sync.  The contact sync is a small feature, but its just nice to have the pictures automatically pulled into your contacts for you.

iPhone Runs Toy Helicopter Taking Off at CES 2010 – while the iPhone still has a little bit of a wow factor when you show off some of the funny/cool apps that you can run, this would definitely make jaws drop.  Especially the live camera feed while flying the helicopter.

Apple: Three billion downloads from iPhone App Store – the App store still gives the iPhone an edge, but the playing field will be leveled as the Android Marketplace gains momentum.  At that point, I think it will come down to the software on the phone.

So what better way to start off 2010 other than a post that lists my top predictions for the iPhone in 2010.

1. The iPhone will land on Verizon.  This is just a matter of time and if the rumors are right the exclusive contract is up this year and some version of the iPhone will land on the Verizon network.
2. Android momentum won’t catch the iPhone.  Right now, Android looks sweet and is driving competition against the iPhone.  The main reason it has a lot of momentum is because Verizon users don’t have any other device that can compete with it.  Once the iPhone hits Verizon I think people will take the iPhone over a Droid phone.
3. Multi-tasking, Voice Commands, 5mp camera, LED flash will come to the next version of the iPhone.  You can thank competition from the Droid and Pre lines for this one.  I may even go to say that there will be a front facing camera with some sort of live conferencing capability.  The voice commands are something that is built into the Android platform and is pretty slick, the iPhone will need to catch up to that.
4. Storage is the next thing to increase but they still won’t support external storage cards.  Do they really need external storage if you have 64GB of space?
5. The App store will hit 350,000 apps by the end of the year and there will be an option for developers to expedite their approval process by paying extra.
6. Subscription services will come to the iPhone and iTunes.
7. Flash won’t come to the iPhone in 2010.  I know Adobe has the mobile version but I just don’t see Apple letting that run on the iPhone and take away from their game market.
8. The overall form factor of the device won’t change much but the screen and internal CPU compoents will get get an upgrade.  The screen should get an HD upgrade, while the processor will go dual core which will allow them to open up multitasking.
9. Major enhancements to the default maps application, even a move away from using Google.  Integrated Traffic and weather?  Better GPS?
10. Continue to dominate sales and be the best phone out there.

What are your predictions?

Today was the start of Adobe’s Max Developer Conference and the big announcement from the conference so far is an enhancement to their Adobe Flash Platform that will allow their player to work on smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks, PC’s and other Internet connected devices. You can see the official press release from Adobe here. A public beta will be available later this year and will be available for Windows Mobile, Palm webOS, and all the major desktop OS’s with Android, Symbian, and RIM are all expected to be available at a later date as well.

As you can tell the list of vendors jumping on board to support the initiative is pretty broad, but Apple is no where to be found, which is perfectly fine by me but more on that in a minute. I think we need to look at why Apple is so hesitant to allow Flash on to the iPhone. Once they allow Flash on the iPhone Apple would be giving developers a way around their AppStore Cash Cow. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal for utility type applications because the user experience would not be the same (Flash apps would probably not be allowed to have an icon on the main menu system), this could be a big blow to Apple since they are marketing the iPhone as a gaming platform. If the iPhone had Flash that can take advantage of the accelerated graphics and video, why would developers create a game that is specific just for the iPhone and go through the Apple approval process?

On the other side I think more and more iPhone users are starting to get used to life without Flash, which makes you wonder how necessary it really is. Based on my usage, I really don’t see a need for Flash anymore and I hope it never comes to the iPhone. I visit more and more sites each day that just created a mobile or iPhone version of their site that works great without Flash. I find that most sites that I visit use Flash for either navigation or ads which can easily be replaced with a non-flash version of the site that performs better and does not eat up system resources. The only real use I could see for Flash would be for streaming such as video from Hulu, but I would rather see that implemented as a native app that is feature rich and not in the browser.

So where do you stand when it comes to Flash support on the iPhone?

Leave your comment below.

During Apples 2Q earnings call, Apple’s COO acknowledged that Apple is considering changes to the App Store so that they help level the playing field when it comes to 99 cent apps, and $29 dollar apps.  Here is the quote from Tim Cook:

“As you know, today we do it by type of app and also have show popular apps and top-selling apps, et cetera,” Cook said. “We realize there’s opportunity there for further improvement and are working on that.”

Apple Insider provides a post that details a lot more information about the call.  So, what can Apple do to really improve the App Store?  Here are a few ideas on how I think they can do it:

1. Allow sub categories - This will allow users to filter down the list of apps within a category.  This would really help in the games category
2. Ratings Sort - Allow users to view a list of apps based on rating, not just free, paid, and release date.
3. Provide Preview Period – create an automatic demo mode that is available for every app.  Apple could eaily track this within the iPhone and allow users to try the game out for  a certain time period.
4. Genius - bring over Genius from iTunes but for app store purchases.  This little service could make recommendations based on past purchases
5. Improve Social Network – Improve the social network around app ratings and follow the model that Amazon uses by creating top reviewers, and have these reviews provide more weight to how the game is factored into qualifying for the top cateogires

What do you think?  How do you think Apple can improve the App Store?

I had a conversation recently with some friends about the true cost of owning a smart phone.  I decided to run some numbers to see what the total cost of ownership really is across 5 of the more popular smart phones out there such as the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, Blackberry Storm, Android G1, and Palm Pre.

Here is a summary chart of what I found while shopping online:

[singlepic id=74 630 h=166 float=center]

As you can tell the monthly cost of ownership between the iPhone and the Storm are pretty close.  The G1 is your best cost saver across the board, except for when you get into the unlimited talk, text, and data.  Once you get to that tier, the Palm Pre comes through as the cheapest.

Now some basic disclaimers.  I tried to put some carrier specific disclaimers on each chart listed below.  These prices were effective on 7/20/2009.  When listing the price for the phone, I took into account what offers the carriers had running at the time, regardless of if it was a mail in rebate or instant rebate.  The prices do not include any state or federal taxes.  Finally, all of this is based on signing your life away to a 2 year contract as a new subscriber.

Here are the rest of the charts:
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