iPhone

I strongly prefer Android, so why did I pre-order an iPhone?

Written by

Nick Pierno is a longtime Android user. What would make him even consider switching?

It just kinda bums me out how mediocre all my photos and videos are. Not to mention all the missed opportunities from slow autofocus, bad low light sensing, etc. I know, I know.. woe is me. But if I can, I’d like to look back on the next 5 years with a bit more fidelity.

I’ve also been stricken with a bit of a bum rap this past year. I have an illness that has kept me stuck at home and in beds/bathrooms/waiting rooms/etc. a lot more than usual. This results in increased phone use, and of course, battery drain. Well… turns out the Nexus 5, despite being a truly outstanding phone, isn’t a champion of endurance.

There’s a lot more to this piece. Interesting to see how an Android user views the iPhone. One thing that is quite clear is that the move to a larger screen has opened up the potential audience for Apple.

Actual size of iPhone 6, 6 Plus versus iPhone 5

Written by

Ever since the announcement, I’ve been wrestling with which new iPhone to buy. I’m at the end of my existing contract, and I’ve already got the funds set aside. The question is purely one of size. I dug through Apple’s site, trying to find an image comparing the iPhone 5 to the newer models.

I ended up rolling my own, using images from Apple’s site. Print and cut and you’ll have something you can use to see if your favorite model fits in your pocket.

iPhone 6 pre-order demand overwhelms networks

Written by

As the clock ticked midnight in California, Apple fans around the world made their way to the Apple Store web site and app, as well as to many telco sites, in an effort to get their hands on an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. There were problems on many fronts, as demand trumped availability.

Thoughts on the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch

Written by

I just walked out of Apple’s keynote introduction of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch. After spending some time in the hands-on area that Apple set up for attendees, I thought I’d give you my thoughts on the products. […]

Jean-Louis Gassée on Apple, NFC, and payment systems

Written by

Jean-Louis Gassée weighs in on the potential for Apple to introduce an iPhone 6 with some form of payment system tomorrow.

If Apple does introduce the ability to use a near field communication enabled iPhone 6 as part of a larger payment system, will a transaction fee be part of the model, or will the added value to the ecosystem be enough?

How to make an iPhone app promo video

Written by

This is a postmortem, lessons learned from a sequence of attempts to build a promo video for a specific iPhone app. Some terrific insight into the process.

Stealing a pin code with a FLIR iPhone camera and how to prevent it

Written by

[VIDEO] The FLIR ONE personal thermal imager is an infrared camera that snaps on to the back of your iPhone 5, allowing you to shoot infrared videos and stills. I’ve played with one and they are fun, easy to use and work well.

The down side of the FLIR ONE is that it can be used to pick up pin codes and other lock combinations by tracking the heat signature left by your fingers. The video embedded below shows how this is done and how to prevent it. Worth a watch.

iPhone camera tricks

Written by

[VIDEO] The Washington Post ran this video showing a series of seven iPhone shooting tricks. Some of them were just OK, but I found a few of them to be brilliant.

Did you know you can use your headphone switch to take a picture? Combine that one with a water glass and you have a clever, albeit slightly risky way to take some underwater shots. I wonder if you could achieve the same thing with a very tall baggie.

Forget your Tesla S key fob? Use your iPhone instead

Written by

The new Tesla S electronics update will communicate with your iPhone (there’s no Android support), sending you notifications and allowing you to use your iPhone to start your car. The question has been asked before about the security of remote start systems like this. No car is theft proof. And the convenience seems high enough to be worth the potential risk.

Ford replaces employee BlackBerrys with fleet of 9,300 iPhones

Written by

Bloomberg:

The second largest U.S. automaker will replace BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY)’s smartphones with iPhones for about 3,300 workers by the end of this year, Sara Tatchio, a Ford spokeswoman, said yesterday in an interview. About 6,000 more employees will receive iPhones over the next two years, replacing flip phones, she said.

Finland Prime Minister: Steve Jobs took our jobs

Written by

This article was translated from Swedish using Google Translate.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the country has not recovered.

“We had two pillars that supported us. Nalle Wahlroos described it pretty well when he said that iPhone struck down Nokia and iPad hit the forest industry. “

So Steve Jobs struck Finland?

“Yes, Steve Jobs took our jobs,” said Alexander Stubb.

How to quickly put your apps in alphabetical order

Written by

My iPhone is a bit of a mess. My front page contains the apps I use the most, but the rest of my pages are in a random order that slightly resembles the order in which I purchased the apps, shuffled in my attempts to move apps to my front page. Sound familiar?

The linked article talks you through the relatively simple process of sorting all your apps in alphabetical order. This might not work for all people, but it does make it much easier to home in on an app when you have 9 pages of apps.

Read the full post for an exception and solution.

With iOS 8, the iPhone will become your digital hub

Written by

Interesting case being made for the iPhone, and not iCloud, being the center of the coming universe.

With iOS 8, Apple encourages this trend by pushing nascent ecosystems to focus on mobile. Nearly every aspect of the “new” ecosystem Apple showed this week revolves around having the iPhone as the center of your digital experience

Patent troll on the verge of winning 1 percent of iPhone revenue

Written by

This is simply incredible.

In 2012, Apple won the year’s biggest patent verdict—more than $1 billion against Samsung. The company also lost one of that year’s biggest cases when an East Texas jury ordered it to pay $368 million to a company named VirnetX for infringing patents related to FaceTime and VPN On Demand functions used in iPhones, iPads, and Macs. VirnetX is a company some call a “patent troll” because its only business is now patent enforcement. Then, in March, US District Judge Leonard Davis ordered (PDF) an ongoing royalty to be paid to VirnetX. The number was downright stunning: 0.98 percent of revenue from iPhones and iPads sold in the US.

Forbes: “Apple, be afraid: China’s Xiaomi going global”

Written by

Forbes:

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, announced on Wednesday that it is planning to enter ten countries this year. By New Year’s Eve, you should be able to buy the Mi3 in India, Brazil, and Russia as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Xiaomi is already selling phones in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Cupertino should be worried. Xiaomi’s Mi3 in China is cheaper than the iPhone 5c—1,999 yuan versus 4,488—and better—the Xiaomi phone has a larger and sharper screen and a camera with higher-density pixels. Unless you insist on having a depiction of a piece of fruit on your device, you will go with the Xiaomi offering every time. No wonder Xiaomi outsells Apple in China according to research firm Canalys, shipping 7.3 million phones in the fourth quarter of last year. The American company came in at about 7 million in the period, enough for sixth place behind Xiaomi’s No. 5 ranking.

This is disappointing. The poorest level of journalism, if you can even use that term here. There might be something to this. I don’t have any experience with Xiaomi’s Mi3. But when I read the sentence, “Unless you insist on having a depiction of a piece of fruit on your device, you will go with the Xiaomi offering every time”, all credibility is gone.

Forbes, you should be ashamed to have your name associated with this tripe.

NY Times compares Samsung S5 to iPhone 5s

Written by

While there are probably some people who go out to shop for the best Android phone, I suspect that most people want to know which phone is best of all, whatever operating system it runs. In other words, how does the Galaxy S5 compare to the iPhone 5S, Apple’s six-month-old flagship device and the champion to beat?

The answer: Not very well. I’ve been using the new Samsung for about three weeks, and while I do think it is the best Android phone you can buy, it sure isn’t the best phone on the market. By just about every major measure you’ll care about, from speed to design to ease of use to the quality of its apps, Samsung’s phone ranks behind the iPhone, sometimes far behind. If you’re looking for the best phone on the market right now, I’d recommend going with the iPhone 5S.

No surprise there.

Writing Aid, a real assist for writers

Written by

If you are a writer, check out the Writing Aid, an iPhone app by Benjamin Mayo. The interface couldn’t be simpler. Launch the app, type in a word or phrase, and a banner appears at the top of the app, scrolling side to side with a list of synonyms. At the same time, the definition of the word appears in the main body of the app.

Tap a synonym to jump to a new page with more synonyms and a definition of that word. And so on. You can tap on the upper left of the screen to climb back out to previous synonyms.

Simple, elegant, effective.