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The iPad mini

On October 23, 2012, Apple released the new iPad mini. It is said to be 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the previous iPad. It starts at $329 for a 16 GB Wi-Fi model. It is also available in 32GB and 64GB and in Wi-Fi + Cellular models. There are two color choices: Black & Slate and White & Silver. The iPad mini is very similar to the iPad, except that it is a lot lighter and can easily be held in the palm of your hand, like other tablets in the market, mostly those running Android OS. Can the iPad mini compete?

Some of the features of the iPad mini are nothing new to those who have seen or used an iPad before. It has the standard built-in apps such as FaceTime, Email, and Message, and it also has access to the App Store, which houses over 275,000 iPad apps. In terms of tech specs, it uses the fast A5 chip that provides speed and fluidity to the tablet screen. It is stated to have a 10-hour battery life as well.

One feature specific to Apple products is FaceTime. It is a built-in app and can be used over Wi-Fi or cellular data. While using the iPad mini, you can take advantage of the front-facing FaceTime HD camera or the iSight camera on the rear. The iSight camera even lets you capture videos in 1080p HD and takes full advantage of the 5-megapixels to capture photos.

The iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, which means faster Internet connection with download speeds up to 150 Mbps. If you do get the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, you also have access to LTE, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPDA, and cellular and wireless networks.

The iPad mini also comes with Siri: the intelligent assistant, iCloud: Apple’s cloud service, and iOS 6: the most recent and advanced of Apple’s operating systems. However, the most recent iPad contains these features, so the iPad mini is essentially only a miniature third generation iPad. It has the same resolution as the previous iPad, 1024×768, but has a smaller screen to pack all those pixels. On the downside, it doesn’t have the Retina Display that most iPads have. It does have the same front and rear camera as the iPad with Retina Display, but lacks the Dual-core A6X with quad-core graphics, meaning slightly slower performance.

For approximately $170 cheaper, you can get a miniature version of the newest iPad with slightly less advanced tech specs. Whether it can compete against the iPad with Retina Display or other similar tablets, has yet to be determined. Your best bet is to go to the nearest Apple Store and try it out yourself. Who knows, you may end up walking out with a brand new iPad mini.

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Meet the iPhone 4S

Is it the iPhone 5? No, but it is an upgrade. Apple has released the features of the iPhone 4S including Siri, a voice control system that exemplifies why the iPhone is much more then a phone. The new iPhone comes with a dual-core A5 chip, an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video, iOS 5, and iCloud. Apple has not changed the look of the iPhone 4S, unfortunately. As many sources thought that Apple would change the look of the iPhone, it was not meant to be. Since we can’t talk about the look of it, there are many differences of the hardware for the iPhone 4S.

 

Thanks to www.engadget.com, they did a comparison between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S and came up with these differences:

iPhone 4S                                                                  iPhone 4

Price (on contract) $199 16GB, $299 32GB, $399 64GB $99 8GB
Processor Dual-core Apple A5 Apple A4
Display 3.5-inch IPS 960 x 640 3.5-inch IPS 960 x 640
Primary camera 8 megapixel AF with flash and f/2.4 aperture 5 megapixel AF with flash
Secondary camera VGA at 30fps VGA
Video recording 1080p at 30fps, optional iMovie 720p at 30fps, optional iMovie
Cellular Hybrid GSM / CDMA “World Phone”, Bluetooth 4.0 Quadband GSM, pentaband HSPA
WiFi 802.11b/g/n 802.11b/g/n
Orientation sensing Accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope Accelerometer, compass, gyroscope
FaceTime video calling Yes Yes
SIM standard Micro SIM Micro SIM
Battery life Up to 8 hours talk time on
3GUp to 14 hours talk time on 2GUp to 6 hours data on 3G

Up to 9 hours data on WiFi

Up to 40 hours audio

Up to 10 hours video

Up to 200 hours on standby

 Up to 7 hours talk time on
3GUp to 14 hours talk time on 2GUp to 6 hours data on 3G

Up to 10 hours data on WiFi

Up to 40 hours audio

Up to 10 hours video

Up to 300 hours on standby
Weight 140 grams / 4.9 oz 137 grams / 4.8 oz.
Dimensions 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm

 

As you can see, there aren’t as many changes as we thought there would be. The changes are on the inside where the iPhone 4S has the dual-core A5 chip, it also has the hybrid GSM/CDMA “World Phone”, Bluetooth 4.0. The battery life is a little strange. With the iPhone 4S, you only get 200 hours of standby time. With the iPhone 4, you get 300 hours of battery life. Maybe it has something to do with the dual-core A5 chip.

 

 

The iPhone 4S has a dual-core A5 chip which delivers up to two times the power and seven times faster graphics. With the dual-core A5 chip, everything runs faster and you will notice the difference. With just a couple minutes playing games, multitasking, and more, you will feel the power from the dual-core A5 chip. The iPhone 4S comes with an 8 mp. camera, compared to the 5 mp. camera from the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S also shoots video in 1080p HD. The iPhone 4 only had a 720p video camera. With the new iOS 5, there are over 200 new features. With the notification center, you can view stocks, latest texts, email messages, friend requests and more. With iMessage, you can send an unlimited amount of texts to iPhone’s, iPad’s, and iPod’s that are running with iOS 5.  One other thing that I think makes the iPhone a user friendly phone is the Reminders. The Reminders lets you create a list of things to do that you can check off as you go.

 

The highlight of the iPhone 4S is Siri. Siri is a voice control application that is as smart as human, maybe smarter. You can ask Siri a question just by talking the way you talk. Siri understands the way you talk, it’s almost like you are having a normal conversation with your phone. If you ask a question like “Are there any good malls around here?” Siri will look up your question and answer you. If you asked “Are there any good hot dog places around here?” Siri will respond “There are many around here.” Then you ask, “How about chow mein?” It will look up a Chinese restaurant because you asked about a restaurant in the previous question. Siri will continue to look up more information until you are satisfied. If you ask Siri to remind you about a certain date, it will remind you about it. Siri knows your address book, information, and more so it knows what you are talking about. If you ask “Please text Brittany Gonzalez.” Siri will automatically know what to do. Siri responds almost as if you are talking to a person in front of you. If you ask Siri “Will the weather be nice in Miami.” Siri will look up the weather in Miami and respond to you with “Bring your sunglasses; it’s going to be nice in Miami.” Ask Siri to write a text a contact, it will write what you are saying and send it to the person. The iPhone 4S also takes dictation. All you have to do is click on the microphone icon on the keyboard, say what you want to say, and the iPhone listens. Tap done and the iPhone will convert your words into text.

 

The iPhone 4S has three different plans. For $199, you get 16GB of memory, for $299, you get 32GB of memory, and for $399, you get 64GB of memory. Apple is also selling the iPhone 4S in white and black. You can purchase the iPhone 4S through AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Sprint is supplying the iPhone 4S with unlimited data. AT&T and Verizon are still selling the 200MB and 2GB of data. Prices may change so I can’t say for sure what the prices will be.

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How To: Buy an iPad 2

On March 2, 2011, Apple introduced the iPad 2. We all know that it will be lighter and thinner and all those other features such as cameras for FaceTime and Photo Booth, but what we don’t know, is how to buy an iPad 2. The iPad 2 is going to be released on March 11, 2011. As far as you can tell by looking at the Apple website, it says it will be starting at $499. You also have to worry about the fact that you can’t pre-order it and you will have to deal with tons of other people fighting to buy an iPad 2 once it come out. So how should you deal with this? First of all, figure out where you can buy it. You can buy it at the Apple Store, the Apple Online Store, Best Buy, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Target. The Apple Store will definitely have long lines. I think the Apple Online Store would be the best bet because you won’t have to wait in lines or get through crowds. You will have to wait for it to arrive because it ships on the day it is released, but it is the easiest way to get it. Patience is definitely required for the Apple Online Store method. Best Buy will have some on sale, but the amount is unknown. You will have to hope they have some in stock by the time you get there. Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Target are also the same story as Best Buy. They will have some available, but how much is unknown. AT&T and Verizon will also have 3G iPad 2 models available on March 11.

My recommendation is to just order it on the Apple Online Store. You just need to be patient. People who are patient always get rewarded. People will also try to sell it on sites such as Ebay, but don’t bother because they will just raised the price.

Now let’s go over the models and the prices. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will come in three models and two colors each. The prices are as follows:

16 GB = $499.00
32 GB = $599.00
64 GB = $699.00

The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will come in three models and two colors each, but will be sold by two separate providers, AT&T and Verizon, at the same prices. The prices are as follows:
16 GB = $629.00
32 GB = $729.00
64 GB = $829.00

That is about it for the rundown of the iPad 2. Good luck buying one. Leave questions and comments!

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Verizon’s iPhone 4, from the inside out

The iPhone 4 for Verizon has been released and already stripped down by the team from iFixit. The iPhone 4 from Verizon has some differences, but do the changes really change your mind about switching over form AT&T to Verizon, let’s find out. On the new iPhone, there is a redesigned vibrator, and changes to the location and design of the RF components. The most surprising part about the new iPhone is that it has a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip, which is a dual-mode GSM and CDMA compatible. On the back on the iPhone, they removed the visual warning o not throw your iPhone 4 in the trash. Unlike AT&T which has he image on the back of their iPhone. Apple has updates the model number from A1322 to A1349. This and the warning not to throw your iPhone away may be the only external difference on the iPhone. There is no Verizon emblem just like the AT&T iPhone. If you put the two iPhone 4’s side by side, there wouldn’t be a difference, until you look at the back that is.

On the iPhone, there used to be a SIM slot, but Apple has removed it from the iPhone for Verizon. According to Apple, the SIM card and SIM slot were the only user-serviceable parts on the iPhone 4. Apple now says that “iPhone does not contain any user-serviceable parts.” When you uncover the back of the iPhone4, you will notice a couple of differences. The battery is interchangeable and is listed as the same 5.25 watt-hour capacity. The battery does have a new model number, 616-0520, but I doubt that really makes a difference between the iPhone 4’s. The new battery weighs less too, from 26.9 grams to 25.6 grams. The Wi-Fi antenna is exactly the same as the GSM iPhone 4. That may be the only RF component that did not receive a revamp. The chipset is the same as the Droid Pro world phone; it supports both GSM and CDMA. Apple chose not to support GSM because they may have thought that it’s easier to design antennas for a CDMA-only phone. The last thing that may have changed is the iPhone 4’s vibrator. The vibrator has a quieter, softer feel. It also sounds a little better when it vibrates on a table. DO you think that these are big differences between the AT&T and Verizon phone? Let us know, drop a comment below.

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Apple & Android Covering Smartphone Ground

You probably all noticed that when you use your apps, there might be ads somewhere on the side. There are many ad companies that are trying to take advantage of all the apps available to smart phones. Global mobile ad network InMobi is making a big step to gain smartphone ad share. Last year in June, InMobi offered a $2 million dollar promotion for Apple and Android mobile app developers. How did it work? Usually InMobi keeps 40% of the advertising revenue, while the developer takes 60%, but during the promotion, the developer takes 100% of the advertising revenue. That encouraged people to sign up. By October 2010, InMobi was serving up 5.8 billion ad impressions on smart phones. The iPhone holds the largest amount of ad impressions for any single device out their. InMobi has also stated that in December, Android surpassed iPhone OS in holding the largest amount of ad impressions.

Google also purchased AdMob last year. With mobile advertising greatly increasing, Google wants to take advantage of all the different apps that publishers and developers make. Mobile advertising plays an important role in the marketing force. Apple at first did not allow any third-party mobile advertisers on its iAds mobile advertising platform, but it changed its agreement to allow third-party ad publishers.

Another big factor in the amount of mobile ad impressions on Apple and Android smart phone devices is the amount of activation claims. There are sources that say that there is a 2.5 to 1 ratio of Apple iPhone sales to Verizon Droid sales, but than again, there are also many other Android devices on other carriers. With the iPhone 4 becoming available at Verizon on February 10, 2011, I think iPhone 4 activation claims will increase and the iPhone 4 will definitely increase in mobile ad impressions. Ad companies should definitely keep an eye on the iPhone 4.

What do you think?

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