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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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An Ode to Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was more then the CEO of Apple. He was the one that started a trend for decades to come. With his innovative ways, Steve Jobs entered the technology world into a whole different category. iTunes, iMac, iPod, iPad, iPhone, all of these devices that Steve Jobs created, have been a huge success in the past decade and they won’t stop there. Not only will Apple miss Steve Jobs, but the world will miss Steve Jobs.

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1,000,000 shares to stay at Apple

Apple’s board of directors has given the new CEO of Apple; Tim Cook 1,000,000 restricted stock units of Apple. Restricted stock units (RSU) are a form of equity compensation used in stock compensation programs. The RSU does not take into effect until the person is awarded them at a given time. The person who is awarded the RSU’s has the right to cash them or stock them. The board of directors did this to in order to have Tim Cook stay until at least 2021. Tim Cook will not get all of the shares at once though. He will receive the first half in August 2015. Then he will get the other half in 2021. Tim Cook will only get these shares if he stays with Apple. If Tim Cook stays with Apple and gets his 1,000,000 shares, he could possibly make over $383 million. With the market at where it’s at right now, it is uncertain if that number goes up or down.

 

Even though Steve Jobs’ has stepped down from CEO, he will still be an employee of Apple. Steve Jobs’ resignation last week was not unexpected. Jobs’ has had many health issues since he was CEO of Apple and while Steve Jobs’ was on medical leave, Tim Cook filled in for him. The suggestion that Apple will falter without Jobs’ is absurd.  When Jobs’ was gone in the beginning of the year, Apple was still going strong. Also, Jobs’ is still with Apple as chairman of the board of directors. Jobs’ has also set Apple up for the next decade or so to be a great company. I believe that just because Jobs’ is not CEO, this does not mean Apple will fall. Tim Cook will do an excellent job as the new CEO. I would also bet that Jobs’ will help Tim Cook if he asks for it.

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No More New Apple Products

Is Apple really done inventing new devices? Apple has blown the world away for less then a decade and they don’t seem like their stopping anytime soon, or are they? Apple has created the devices such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. These products have gotten a lot of attention as of lately and the different things that each can do is incredible. The price for these products isn’t even in the minds of buyers when they buy the product. All they can think about is that they have the newest and greatest product out on the market. Apple has done such a great job marketing these products that everywhere you look; there will be an Apple logo somewhere.

In terms of greatness, Apple has just broken into the scenes of the electronic world. Apple was created in 1976, and they didn’t improve until the 2000’s. Apple was just a footnote in the technology world, another company trying to make a breakout but failing. It wasn’t until 1997 when Apple actually broke down and asked Microsoft to save them. Microsoft, their biggest competitor, if you can call it that, was saving Apple. Microsoft invested $150 million dollars into Apple which promised Microsoft, that they would offer Internet Explorer on their Macs and other incentives. Also in 1997 they promoted Steve Jobs from “advisor” to “interim CEO”. That was single handedly one of the best decisions Apple ever made.

So that was a little background in Apple’s history. So, to get back to my point to why Apple is done inventing new devices. Apple has fixed what was broken about the creation and consumption of content. Everything that Apple has created was to change digital media and the internet to fix what was broken. Then came the iPod, followed by the iPhone, iPad and so on. This is exactly why Apple will stop creating new platforms. Can anything Apple make in the next decade compare to what Apple has created in the past decade? Yes Apple can build on the products they have now, but how many iPhones and iPods can they make?

One of the things Apple will make is a TV set. Is making a TV set the same as inventing the TV though? The TV Apple may make is no going to be compare to he iPod, mainly because Apple didn’t invent the TV. Apple has created a line of products that create and consume the best experience for users. Since they have already succeeded in doing that, no further products are necessary to be made. Apple has succeeded in making products that were made already, but they perfected them. Tablets were made way before the iPad came, but they just weren’t good enough. Apple created a tablet that people enjoy having.

There are many arguments that can be made about this. There is definitely no correct answer but this is just an opinion based on what I think. I do believe that Apple will continue to grow as a company outside of their devices and such. They for sure won’t stop building on the devices they have now, but there is a valid argument that they may stop creating a new line of devices. Until another crisis comes for a better product, Apple will just have to wait.

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Apple’s New Campus

Want to know what the new campus for Apple looks like? Well look no further, the Cupertino city homepage has posted Apple’s proposal in full detail. It includes high-res drawings and pictures, renderings, floor plans, and conceptual landscapes.

From an aerial view, it looks circular:

From the drawing, it looks very open and there are many trees around it. From a picture above, the area has many buildings already there. It seems like Apple is going to knock out all of the buildings and replace it with trees. Apple plans to have a main building, a research building, parking structure, corporate fitness center, a corporate auditorium, and a courtyard that could expand:

The building looks like it will have three floors, but in the high-res photo it shows four. So predict about 3-4 floors which will be nice either way. The main building is almost all glass excluding the posts that have to hold the building up. It is a very nice open building that will have a sunny view anywhere you are walking inside the building. Here’s a look:

I think that the new building will be a great thing for Apple. The building is bigger and it is a very nice layout. Especially the way Apple works, it will be a great use for all the space that are given. How big the campus is, is unavailable until the whole layout is complete. Expanding is the only way Apple will grow as a company and a bigger campus will only boost Apple’s reputation.