Apple iOS 7

Watched the latest Apple WWDC or read on iOS 7? Seen the flat UI interfaces similar to Windows Phone and Android? Is this the 2013 trend?

Love to hear your thoughts.

S.

Samsung Galaxy S4, should you take the plunge?

So finally here I am back into the writing business, and this time for Samsung Galaxy S4.

I was quite intrigued with all the hype around the Galaxy S4, such that I decided to find out a bit more about it.

Now that the dust has settled much of the critiques say that it’s a fast hardware with interesting software added on top for a headline grabbing anticipation. However strict usability gurus would condemn this to be a gimmick.

In the end, people who have followed the gold rush to the iPhone, would have lived with it for a year or two. They would ask the question

• “What’s really new” with this new Galaxy model?
• And not only so, how much of a change will it make to my life?
• Do I really need this device over what I have?

The answers variedly range. But before all that the most important question to address is if you are willing to change your iReligion (remember the ‘cult of Mac’?)

Then, assuming you have the money to spare, have been with your current device for a while,or are at the end of your contract, or would not mind getting another one – the choices start taking shape.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind ‘exploring’ alternatives. After all a phone is a phone. And more than that it should be able to do all the things that I want it to do plus more as the market grows.

Incidentally, the iPhone has been growing happily with the trend and in doing so has been establishing new market models.

Some serious thought has to be given to the point ‘do I really need a new phone’?

In all honesty, the answer would be a big NO. Why?

Insignificant but honest - A realisation has set in with all smart phone users is that their smart batteries would not last longer than a day, and hence carry a secondary phone or a spare battery pack. I carry both

The smarter the device, the more it can do, the more you will use it, the more will its battery get drained. And then when you really need to use that phone, it will give up on you.

Apart from being a show off accessory, what will a new device help you achieve?

Let’s look at the most common uses of a smart phone.

Common uses

1.       Phone – GSM, VOIP, SIP calls

2.       Email – connectivity with major Email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Exchange/OWA

3.       Messages – this includes internet based messages like iMessage, Whatsapp, Viber etc

4.       Web Browsing

5.       Variety of applications

6.       Music

7.       Videos

8.       Books – iBooks, Kindle, Google Books

9.       Maps – Apple Maps, Google Maps…

10.   Navigation – Google Navigation, Apple Navigation, Tomtom, Nokia Maps…

11.   Wallet apps – Pass book, Google Wallet

12.   Camera/ Photos

Niche uses

1.       Wireless Charging

2.       NFC payments

3.       Finger print authentication (hyped to be on a future iPhone)

From the list above, the niche ones are still hardware dependent and newer phones will continue to experiment adding newer and more advanced hardware capabilities. However, most current phones will satisfy the common uses.

If we come back to the point of this article then the choices can be reviewed with more clarity. If your phone functions well then the point of replacing it with a device which does much of the same really reduces to the one of: Would it change my life? The answer would be ashamedly NO.

As for me I am have been happily using an iPhone 4S for the past year and have decided not to take the plunge to Samsung world for now.

Take care,
Swapnil

P.S - I visited John Lewis last weekend and saw a ditto copy of MacBook Air made by Samsung running Windows 8..LOL!

Samsung Galaxy Note

Ok, this is an iOS blog and Galaxy Note is not an Apple device and neither does it run iOS. So why am I interested in it?

Well, the reason for starters is that it is too 'big' to miss (sarcasm). A Facebook friend posted a question if Samsung's Galaxy Note is going to survive or crash and burn. Lets analyse this question in a bit more detail.
I would read it as: Is the Note a craze in this quarter of 2012 and will this frenzy last longer?

The answer lies in Samsung's innovative capabilities. The Note is an excellent piece of hardware and from the reviews I have read so far, that is what most critics talk about. After all Samsung is an Electronics company.  Will it ensure that the Note has a longer shelf life? or will it be replaced by a Note 2, while having nothing or something common with the original Note? or will there a completely new product that redefines the category once again. In which case the Note would hit the end of its line.

To me Samsung, LG and HTC seem to be at an even playing field. So I would view Samsung as belonging in the same basket. Much like I would treat Ford, Fiat and Citroen.   Audi, BMW and Mercedes would belong to a different class. I am not having a debate about cars, so back to the point. I had an HTC Tytn II or Kaiser as it was called and an LG GM750, although both ran Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0/6.5, the nasty thing about these mobiles was that once they shipped out with a version of OS, there would be no further ROM or firmware updates from either manufacturers. There were cooked ROMs (hacked ROMS or whatever you may wish to call them), but not a lot of official updates. This really meant that the devices were sold as is, and once they were out of the shops, they would pretty much stay that way.

To even the playing field even further, lets not stick to Microsoft, but bring Google Android into picture. How many mobile manufacturers keep pace with the various Android Baked Cookie Dough variations of the OS that come out. The latest there is called Jellybean (or release J). So if you get a Galaxy Note today running Android 2.3 Gingerbread (release G), would you be assured to an update to IceCreamSandwich (release I)? Maybe, maybe not. Single manufacturer selling umpteen devices having different form factors (screen sizes, hardware capabilities) translates into a humongous effort to update an OS.

Reports state that some models of Note may not be supported for this release. Will upgrade to the OS be easily and widely publicised? Will the apps continue to work between the OS'es and devices? It's a wild and varied scenario, and as has been said, its a jungle out there.

Better still, let me repose the original question: Is it worth investing in a Galaxy Note for surety that it wont be obsolete in about 6 months? Obsolete not only by competition, but by cutting the lines by Samsung.

On contrast, what surprises me still is that the iPhone 3GS which came out almost 3 years ago is still eligible for iOS 5.1 (the latest, and the most advanced mobile OS as claimed by Apple). Could I assume that the investment made by Apple users with the iPhone 3GS is still safeguarded by Apple. It was pretty expensive when it came out, and is the device still in demand? A quick look on eBay says so. What about the other phones, dime a dozen, yes! I would struggle to sell my HTC for more than £50. Its best left in the drawer for that odd emergency.

Believe me when I say that I am not paid by Apple or its affiliates in any way shape or form. I am just an appreciator of the 'business of technology'. And this post doesn't imply that the only phones everyone should buy is Apple. All I am implying is that I am yet to see another technology company committed to its products, and its consumers ultimately, by way of continued support and innovation and in a manner that ensures customer satisfaction in the medium to long term. If there is then I would like to know. Your feed back is welcome.

Till then,
Swapnil

The appeal of a Windows Phone.

Have you been enticed by a Windows phone?

I have seen Nokia Lumia 800 being advertised with a lot of network freebies. It only confirms my suspicion that Microsoft and Nokia are finding it hard to woo buyers into Windows Phone contracts. Why? Let's read on.

Apple brought the 'Joy of Computing' to the PC world by the Mac. They then got a similar idea on to the Mobile world, and it was a runaway success. Only that 'Joy' was now 'of Using'.

It's the experience that counts and the WoW factor that takes it all! And I cannot get it that the company that brought XP missed the wow factor completely. I mean, the carbon fibre dashboard, natural physics, glass effect, leather bindings, paper effect, metal effect...in a nutshell emulation of real life objects wows you because you see real stuff virtually and it gives a luxurious and executive feel (although surreal at times). On the other hand for Metro styling the design principle was completely opposite. It should not imitate real objects. This was a conscious decision Microsoft made in an attempt to not be like Apple. I think this was a contradictory choice which may have been opposed by many inside and outside the company, although nothing has being said out loud about it in news or reviews. Most critics have adopted a wait and watch idea, but the sales results speak for themselves.

In my 18 years of computing experience, I wasn't exposed to Apple earlier, although I wanted an Apple Mac as my first computer, I couldn't or didn't. I based that on financial decisions or popular recommendation at that time. However the world has changed. The power of computing has come to the mainstream and is within the reach of almost everyone several times over. I say that because we own multiple computing devices (in some form) per head. Computers have shrunk to the size of mobiles. Wait! They ARE mobiles. Thats where I am typing this blog on. So if I were to have made the choice now, albeit 18 years later, what would I have done? Would a financial decision have mattered? Yes, maybe, but what's the price difference between an Apple's entry level iPhone and a Nokia Lumia running Microsoft phone software? Very little.

So what would I have done?

Gone with the popular choice and a brand. And may I ask which one is that?

1. Apple
2. Microsoft/Nokia
3. Other (as yet beyond this scope of my debate)

As usual, I would love to hear your opinion.

Best,
Swapnil

To Siri or not?

This one is for iPhone 4s users. How many times have you actually used Siri?

1. When there is nothing to do?
2. While driving?
3. In office?
4. In the train?

If you answered 1 then you are in the same boat as me. In that case the boat is probably over-full and is about to topple over.

To be honest, I don't know 'what' to ask Siri. Let alone 'when'.

The only questions I can consciously think of and without feeling stupid (even when alone and perfectly capable of handling the phone) are
1. What does my day look like?
2. Hows the weather like today?
3. Am I busy today?

Any more complex and Siri goes bonkers. The other day I was playing around with Siri and wanted to text my wife. It went as far as composing the full message, but faltered at actually sending it. So it went 'here's your message, ready to send?', I said yes in several different accents of English but the conversation went to a different level apart from sending the message. Try that while you are driving! Or don't.
It's not healthy.

I think there has to be a 'Know your Siri' education or maybe a 'Siri user manual', just so that you can open up to AI level of conversation without feeling conscious of whether to Siri or not. There is still some reservation, otherwise with so many iPhone 4s users out there, we would have gone nuts listening to a carriage full of weather reports and meeting schedules.

What do ye saye? I would like to get your feedback.

iPhone or iPod Touch?

Are you on a budget and want an iPhone?

As a user of both iPhone and iPod (among a list of other curent devices like an iPad and a Blackberry), I believe I am in quite a good position to talk about it.

This is the question I asked my self when I first set out to buy an iDevice. An iPod 4G was my first Apple. Before that I was a M$ WM6.5 consumer (who consumed others cooked ROMS) and saw through its demise.

I was extremely happy with the resolution, features and capability of iPod 4G. What was missing was the ability to get data on the go. Enter bluetooth tethering, only to find out that Apple does not allow iDevices bly'tooth to connect to any bly'device. So I had to learn how to jailbreak. Then I had to purchase iBlueVer made by Eric Day from Cydia. And then the tether worked. So all in all, its a pretty awesome device and pretty much as powerful as an iPhone 4. VOIP works when tethered. Eric has also developed a GPS tethering tool that works along with iBlueVer so 2 tools work together without exclusively hogging bluetooth (as his description says). I have only used a demo version of it.

There is a Tomtom GPS accessory windscreen mount for iPod available which you can buy off the internet. There is one little trick. I saw one being sold for about £20 which was for iPod 3G. So an iPod 4G with a silicon case on is as thick as n iPod 3G and fits the Tomtom GPS rather snugly. So you can buy Tomtom app for about $50 and your iPod is now a SatNav system.

Now the question is, why should you go in for an iPhone?

1. You don't have another phone. (C'mon, every one has a spare phone)
2. You need a digital compass. (Location based services work best)
3. You need an integrated data device. (Cutting down on bluetooth battery hogging on both tetherer and the tetheree devices)
4. You need a device thicker than an iPod! (Seems to be in fashion)
5. You wan to use crappy apps that insist on running on an iPhone due to App Store restrictions, where as technically there is no reason they cannot run on an iPod. Like WhatsApp or Localphone. (The former though can be hammered into running on an iPod)

If you answered yes to any one of them then you are building up a business case to fill the void between £150 and £450 (approximately), which is the difference between the prices of an iPod 4G and an iPhone 4G. (Prices keep dropping so this may not be accurate when you read)

As for me, my wife uses and iPhone 4 and although I have an iPhone 4S, I don't really need to use it so it lies at home and works as a WiFi router. The only reason I have it is because I got it as a bargain. I always have my iPod in my jacket pocket because its that handy and I hardly feel the weight. I do all my phone calls+email  on my Blackberry and Surfing/eBay/Facebook/LinkedIn/Skype/Twitter....(&everything else) on my iPod And the best part is that there are no running contracts and I don't have to fill it up with more airtime money every month, unless I like an app.


What isn't good about an iPhone?

Well its very tricky and I am about to enter muddy waters. Personally, being a BB user, I would say that iPhones dont do emails very well. I have used my BB SIM in an iPhone, used it for a day and then switched back to my handy BB Torch. iPhone didnt feel practical for an email. The Blackberrys are very fast with emails. Instant notification & good keyboard combined with a businessy feel to it. And have it told you that you cannot forward an SMS as an Email on an iPhone. Pretty daft huh? But you can on a BB. Do you need to do it? Well, I have forwarded SMS'es on email as proofs of communication, so its pretty handy really.

There are several pros and cons of either devices iPod, iPhone (and BB - how did it get in this post?) but its something of a debate and I will let you comment on it. Love to hear.

Swapnil

Which iPhone 4S Interposer Unlock SIM is better?

There is some choice out there when it comes to unlock SIMs. In fact these unlock SIMs are not SIMs at all. They cannot be used on their own because they do require an actual SIM card to be placed along with them. They are thin interposer IC (Integrated Circuit) that work, well like an imposter, by forming an intermediate layer between your phone's connection and the actual SIM.

So if your phone is locked to a carrier, then the interposer circuit would need to be instructed to present itself as that carrier's SIM card. This instruction is taken through the SIM Applications menu.

I have come across various interposers called

1. Gevey
2. Rebel
3. RGKNSE

There are several outlets like Apple N Berry (Each Supplier) eBay, Amazon, to name a few.

I have also come across a few dodgy sellers who list a genuine product but wont send you anything, be aware of low eBay seller rating (or higher with hundreds of penny items purchased) and a fake website with fancy badges of paypal, visa, western union etc along with a live chat feature and a local phone number to back them up. Yes, I did fall into this trap hence this caution. A fake website example is www(dot)geveysim(dot)eu . Don't buy anything from there, its bogus. There are several sites like this probably run by the same group. I managed to get a refund from eBay after raising 2 cass (one item not received, another item not as described). The live chat was so authentic that the guys convinced me to close an item not received case).

Do some research, use common sense and go with trusted ones.

Well now with introductions out of the way, do they work?

My experience with R-SIM II manufactured by RGKNSE says they do. There is competition out there and each one says the other does not work. Some accuse of IC's being filed to make them thinner, but as long as there is a money back guarantee e.g. on eBay or Amazon and the seller has a higher rating (say 1000+) then the risk is worth the taking.

Price-wise I would say don't go for the most expensive, as they could be ripping you off in broad daylight. These things cost very little to manufacture. Look at the same ones being sold for iPhone 4's (yes they are between £2-£4 each, probably even cheaper). These have come out for $50 a piece earlier and then go down to $30 in a month or so, then $20, then $15 until the market dies. I got mine for around $15. I still think I over paid, but its worth what ever it was for because my phone works.

Now depending on which iOS version you are on (5.0.1 or 5.1) it would be better to go in with the the Ultra S II or the Ultra S III of whatever is available. Buy the No 112 ones as they are automatic and saves the inconvenience (and illegality). The Gevey ones do a F981 chip which is told to be lesser battery drain and better reception. The R-SIM ones do a 9202 chip which is probably of a similar type. Also be aware that to my knowledge only RGKNSE's R-SIM is known to work with CDMA models. So don't be caught out. I did checks with a few eBay sellers and hence my advise. But be your own investigator.

I did scour the streets of Edgware Road in London checking with every mobile unlocking stall and shop amist the Sheesha Hookah parlours (sweet apple aroma) and none of them seemed to stocked the Ultra S. And some of them teaching me how to pronounce Gevey (everyone differently). So to me it seemed that eBay would have been the best option. So I went for it.

Was it easy enough for you folks or have I got a knack of landing into trouble where ever there is a remote chance of one? Do comment please.

Swapnil