May 21, 2012

Confirmed: iPad 3 Announcement for March 7th

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Come Wednesday, March 7th, we will know a little bit more about what the new iPad 3 will include. When it will hit the store shelves and in your hands, and if the rumors of a price hike are true. Apple will announce the new tablet at the Yerba Buena Convention Center in San Francisco. The press photos and invitations hint that the new iPad’s screen looks magnificent and a tad bigger, give or take the angle of the photo. In addition, what we can give an educated guess is that the iPad 3 will be faster, possibly with the new A6 processor. While we can be certain that the iPad 3 won’t be available on March 7th, history shows us that pre-orders will either be available by then or at least a week after the announcement. So, if you haven’t sold your iPad yet, get to it now! In addition, for reporting purposes, we call the iPad 3 so, however, we won’t know until March 7th if that will be the official name for the gadget. Whether it’s called the iPad 3, 3S, or HD, we know the screen is amazing and we will show you the invite below showing the screen in all of it’s glory.

Filed Under: Editorials, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Ordering From an iPad: At a Restaurant Near You?

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Buffalo Wild Wings is planning on incorporating the iPad into their restaurant as a way for customers to complete orders. The idea is taking shape in a couple of their restaurants, however it is currently in its very early stages. The iPad app they are using is currently working out the problems involved, but so far it has been going well.

It is important to remember that the whole ordering from an iPad concept isn’t new to restaurants. For years, you have been able to order delivery on your iDevice. Recently, new restaurants have sprouted up, including Stacked, that is centralized around the iPad. Today, I’ll share my experience at Stacked as a way of showing the possibilities that lay ahead for Buffalo Wild Wings.

At Stacked, once you come into the restaurant, you’re presented with a waitress with an iPad. She checks for available seating and reservation times. Once a time is found, you are able to go on a booth or seat. You are then presented with an iPad you can use. This is where you enter your full order, except for desserts of course, we’ll get more into this later. At Stacked, a check is shown next to your item to show when it has been cooked, a time when changes aren’t possible. You will only see a waitress from now on only when receiving orders, periodic check ups, and the final check.

If you are eating and want another drink, simply request it on your iPad and the drink will be on its way within two minutes. Once you’re ready for dessert, you are able to add it to your order like you did in the beginning. The dessert is then sent out. When finished, you are able to review the order and pay. Payment is done through the iPad with credit card, however you can pay cash (requiring a waitress). Once you pay, the waitress gives you your check and you’re on your way.

If you love the one-on-one waitress relationship you know from traditional restaurants, then Stacked may not be something you’d like at first. However, I must say that the waitresses at the Stacked location I went to near me in Carson (Los Angeles) are very friendly and I see them when they check up to see if things alright. It isn’t 100% true that it’ll feel like a cold experience. Customer service is still front and center and Buffalo Wild Wings would hopefully be no different.

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Apple Buyer’s Guide: When to Buy Your Dream Gadget

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For many consumers, they hear about a new iPhone or iPad and feel that they should finally jump on board and get one. As the wise consumer, they may have done a lot of researched and coupled apples to apples, pun intended, to make sure they chose the right product. Once you’ve settled on an iPhone and you finally go out to purchase, you find out that a new model is coming out sooner. This makes many consumers feel hesitant about buying a new Apple device, due to their seemingly short shelf life. However, that’s not the case. If you know some insider information on Apple’s unofficial practices, you’ll know when it’s the right time to buy.

iPhone Devices

Apple has an officially unofficial practice on releasing new iPhones. Their current schedule is an announcement in June, with a release soon to follow. However, the release of the Verizon iPhone bumped it back, a little bit. The Verizon iPhone 4 was released last February, which went away from the June tradition. This resulted in an October release for the iPhone 4S. As of now, the common consensus is to look to the summer as iPhone season. As of now, January, it’s safe to buy. There really isn’t a push to buy, but not necessarily an advisory against it either. Sales are stable or increasing, but supply isn’t much of an issue as it was in the early days of the 4S.

Should You Buy? – Yes

The iPad

You’ve recently seen Apple’s new push toward education and you may be looking to the iPad as a viable textbook replacement right about now. But I advise for now to not do it. If you’ve read any Apple blog, including ours I must add, you shouldn’t be a stranger to recent iPad 3 news. The device is expected to be released very soon, more around early spring. The March or early April months are considered iPad season, these late winter to early spring months are times of announcements about the iPad. We even got some news that there may be a possible iPad event coming February. We’ll cover more on this next week.

Should You Buy? - No

iPod Models

iPod models are a little more complicated, even more than the iPhone and iPad, when it comes to purchasing practices. The iPod Touch is usually considered a class of its own when it comes to iPods. This means that iPod Touch devices have more uniform release dates of early fall. This means that, as of January, we recommend buying. You shouldn’t expect another iPod Touch model for another nine or so months. That’s an eternity in our (Apple) world. The other iPod models haven’t been updated in almost two years, this is a normal practice however for Apple. Shuffel and Nano models aren’t notorious for rapid updates. This makes them one of our safest Apple buys to invest in. For now, hold off on any iPod other than the Touch. We are looking for something from Apple about these devices soon.

Should You Buy? 

Touch – Yes

Nano – No

Shuffle – No

Other Models – No

Desktops and Laptops

A computer in general is seen as the best Apple investment you can make. They usually have a great lifespan, and the quality makes the price justifiable. For this case, it’s great to have your research in order when purchasing one of the famous Apple computers. When comparing apples to apples, you have two categories, desktops and laptops. The laptop models from Apple include the MacBook Air and Pro. In the case of the Macbook Air, we’ve heard some news about plans being made for a new model being made. But this is different from hearing news that they are in production, so just like the iPhones, we aren’t pushing a purchase, but definitely aren’t warning you not to either. If you happen to be in the market, go ahead and sit on the decision for a few months. If you are in a rush, you won’t be in a sticky situation by buying one. The MacBook Pro’s decision is the same. For desktops, you have iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro. All desktops are given a warning by us to not buy at the moment. All are in talks of production, or beginning to be produced at the moment. Wait on it for a little but, and you’ll find it well worth it.

Should I Buy? - No; All Apple Devices. All near or in production.

Filed Under: Editorials, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Websites Participate in Internet Blackout [SOPA]

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today is the day that various websites across the web are blacking out their sites in opposition to SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act). We covered this yesterday in an article as well. I even joined the opposition for my own blog. Along with the most well known website taking part in this being Wikipedia, other Websites like Google are also taking part. Below are some shots of sites participating in the blackout.

Wikipedia

Google

Tumblr (By Request; Per Site)

Wired
WordPress.Com

Filed Under: Editorials, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wikipedia to Go Lights Out on Wednesday

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you haven’t heard about SOPA, then no we’re not talking about the Spanish word for “soup”. SOPA stands for Stand Against Piracy Act. Sounds like an innocent enough act, right? Well, not if you ask one of the hundreds of websites expected to go lights out for tomorrow. Many of the websites, most notably Wikipedia, are taking a stand against the Stand Against Piracy Act on account of some calling it an impediment on freedom of speech. Today, we’ll go more into the blackout and more on SOPA.

What’s SOPA?

SOPA, as we mentioned before, stands for Stand Against Online Piracy. But this is not the only act protecting such content. PIPA, standing for Protect Intellectual Property Act, more specially goes against such property piracy. We’ll go more into how this effects the Internet in general.

How are websites reacting?

As you see, this is meant to counter the illegal use of intellectual property. If you don’t know what in fact intellectual property is, it’s essentially any type of digital property that isn’t necessarily tangible. So this can be information, music, video, and the like. So what website makes such heavy use of such property? Wikipedia is such a site. Wikipedia is built nearly entirely off of others intellectual property. An article on the latest ke$ha song, intellectual property. This is why Wikipedia and other websites are going lights out come Wednesday.

How does it effect me?

As we’ve summarized above, all of these actions can affect the average content user in some way. They must be more vigilant than ever on how they use the content they may have bought but not 100% own according to copyright issues. In addition, those who create content themselves will have more restrictions on how they use content in their creations. When looking on the bright side, we notice that these are good in making sure intentional illegal use of content is prevented.

What actions are being taken now?

At the moment, the act is being considered by congress. The act will be sent down in January for decision making. In the case of the public, any websites are taking a stand and the public is showing their opinion on the issue. Some are in favour, but many are against it.

Filed Under: Editorials, News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Magisto for iPhone Review: Finalist for CES Mobile Apps Contest

January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As a video blogger, one thing I could live without is the editing process. The processing, the audio matching, the color correcting, it involves a lot of work to make the video presentable for the web. However, how would you feel if the video you recorded could be edited, with effects and all, without you  having to do much of anything at all? That is done with Magisto, an automated video editing software that was debuted at CES today. Does it really create good video? We decided to dig into this application to see if it’s worth the download.

Download and Interface

To get started with Magisto, simply search for the application in the App Store or go to their website. After downloading the nine megabyte application, you will be prompted to add your location and whether or not you would like to receive push notifications. Both are well recommended, well, actually one is required by Magisto. The application requires you to allow use of location, to this day I don’t necessarily know why they need it for the application. After making an account, you’ll be taken to the page to shoot a video or choose from your camera roll.

When shooting a video, you have the ability to choose whether or not to use flash, or to use your front or rear facing camera. You can also click the left bottom corner to exit the application, the center red button to record, and the bottom right to finish your video. As you finish recording your video(s), they go into the queue on the right side. After choosing music, you have an area of summarizing your video by making a title. The video will prepare and “upload” (more on this later in the article).

A Masterpiece in the Making?

Let’s go more into the process of making the video. When you are taken to the home screen of Magisto, you have the ability to choose which video you want to use from two options, from directly shooting it on your phone or from the camera roll. During our testing, we used the direct record option and found no hiccups in this process. We used the landscape option when recording and found this to fit in well with the finished product because that’s how the final product will be oriented, regardless of which orientation you use. When recording, there was an option for tap to focus, but there isn’t a box or anything showing this, so you should take our word on it or see it yourself. During recording, there wasn’t any noticeable degradation of the video quality, this changes later on and we’ll go more into this when discussing the cons.

After recording, the recorded product is added to the camera roll, but not the finished project. Sadly, you can’t save it on your iPhone or your computer. When choosing music, you have various options, from “birthday” to “love”, “Dance & Electro” to “Hip Hop”. Don’t find any of the options appealing to you? No worries, Magisto allows you to choose some tunes from you iTunes library on your iDevice. When clicking a genre, you can click on each song to get a five second preview. When making the final movie, it took a little longer than I thought. I didn’t make a technical jot down of the total loading time, but it was well over five minutes for a one minute product, something my Final Cut Pro X would have taken care of in about a minute or so. Once finished, i received a push notification saying my project is ready. After viewing, I also got the option to share by email, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Best and The Worst

For what it’s worth, Magisto is a nice application for casual photos between family and friends. But sadly, that’s the only good thing i have to say about Magisto, aside from its ease to use. Magisto is an application I don’t really like too much. There seems to be a large decrease in the video quality, looking something on the lines of 240p or at most 360p than the 1080p that the iPhone 4S I used recorded. In addition, if you’re in a rush, don’t expect Magisto to give you any comfort in knowing when it’ll be done. I expected it to be a couple of seconds, not five minutes. The video also isn’t saved on your camera roll, making me make the assumption that the ease of use comes at a cost. In addition, the use of the word Magisto at the end of the video made it seem like I was promoting their company rather than sharing my product.

Final Verdict

Magisto just doesn’t ring as a good video application to me. The over lack of control makes me feel like I’m in a Goldilocks situation. One software leaves me with no assistance, another offers too much control, I mean assistance, where is the software that is just right? Magisto hoped to be that application, but it seems to be the one with too much control. I gave the application a three out of five rating because the application does have potential. If you could possibly add text, or add more stuff after the product is edited by Magisto would be nice. In addition, it would be nice if the application could save the finished video to camera roll to allow more control over sharing and enjoyment. All in all, if Magisto covers even some of those issues, it’ll at least be a more viable application. As of now, I won’t be visiting it anytime soon.

Application Name: Magisto

Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad with iOS 4.0 or later

Developer: Sightera Technologies Ltd.

Price: Free

Rating: 3/5

Filed Under: App Reviews, Editorials, News, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

iPhone Turns Five Years Old

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today is a very busy day in the tech community, CES being a big headline maker. However, even some of the most avid Apple fans may be forgetting a special day today. January 9th, 2007 was the date of the release of the first iPhone, the iPhone first generation. This release set the tone for touch sensitive cell phones in general. The revolutionary device was described by Macworld five years ago as a device that brings “together several features of the iPod, digital camera, smart phones and even portable computing to one device, with a widescreen display and an innovative input method.”

The Price

The iPhone will come in two versions: a 4GB, $499 model and an 8GB, $599 model. Both will require a two-year contract with Cingular, the exclusive U.S. carrier. Both models will be available beginning in June from Apple Stores and from Cingular. (MacWorld – January 9th, 2007)

At that time, $499 could get you a four gigabyte iPhone original, a price unsubsidized by the previous Cingular at the time. In our current times, paying more than $100 for such a phone on eBay would be considered a slight rip-off. In today’s age, you can get a subsidized iPhone 4S with 16 GB for a little under two hundred bucks. This shows how our needs as consumers yield a need for more memory at a reasonable price. In today’s age, most iTunes libraries won’t even partially be supported with 4GB. The creation of the App Store for iPhone also required more memory out of the future iPhone users. In addition, a cheaper price made the iPhone of today more assessable for the average consumer. In the future, we can see this becoming more of the norm, size availability will increase to even 64GB or more, prices will become cheaper as a standard, and more.

The Form Factor

The edges of the beautiful optical-grade glass facade fit seamlessly with its stainless steel rim; the rear is an incredibly finely milled aluminum, with a hard, black plastic strip at the bottom, covering the device’s antenna array, and providing small, unsightly grids of holes for speaker and mic audio. On the rear is the slightly recessed 2 megapixel camera lens, a reflective Apple logo, and some information about the device (IMEI, serial, etc.) in nearly microscopic print. (Engadget – July 3rd, 2007)

The form factor of the initial device was considered pretty well designed. This could be considered what I like to call “version 1.0 high”. Definition: when consumers accept the novel idea of a device because of its newness. This is shown with the initial iPhone release because individuals looked past the reality that the metal backing was like a mini stove top. In addition, it is pretty prone to dings and dents. Don’t believe me? Search on eBay for a version 1 iPhone, chances are, about 60% of them will have some form of a dent. Apple answered back at this with a plastic backing with the 3G and 3Gs, but that still isn’t durable enough. Not until the release of the iPhone 4 and 4S, where glass was finally considered a durable answer to the other two failures. Or is it? Look around at individuals with either iPhone 4 or 4S, a majority of them have a case because an all glass design on such an expensive device makes it a huge target. Maybe something Apple will look at for the iPhone 5?

The Features

Its Visual Voicemail, an industry first, lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages. Just like email, Visual Voicemail enables users to immediately randomly access those messages that interest them most. Visual Voice Mail was co-developed by Apple and Cingular. (Mobiledia – January 9th, 2007)

With the release of the iPhone 1, visual voicemail was the novel creation of that iPhone version. Then, with the iPhone 3G, 3G and the App Store was front and center. The 3Gs finally brought video to such an advanced device. The iPhone 4 was the most revolutionary, adding thinness, HD video, and an astonishing display. The iPhone 4S, the best iPhone yet, tweaked the revolutionary 4 model with Siri being the main selling point. What will be the main selling point of iPhone 5?

The Future of iPhone

But even in version 1.0, the iPhone is still the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles.

In other words, maybe all the iPhone hype isn’t hype at all. As the ball player Dizzy Dean once said, “It ain’t bragging if you done it.” (New York Times – June 27th, 2007)

As we look on to the summer of 2012 and on, we expect to find the iPhone 5 to make this summer a hit for the company. Price will be a consideration for the iPhone as well. Will there be a major price change? Nothing outside the $199 price range for the newest model. But, there is always the possibility of maybe having some form of an “iPhone mini”, appealing to the consumers willing to do away with certain features for the right price.

The form factor won’t be something that we feel will change too much. Yes, there is the unspoken Apple tradition of a new form factor every two years (iPhone 1 kept the same design for two years, the iPhone 3G and 3GS kept the same rounded plastic backing, and the iPhone 4 and 4S kept the thin all glass form), but could iPhone 5 really signal a whole form factor redo? It seems like the saying “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” applies here. In terms of features, it’s still too early to say. Either my mind is cluttered too much with preparation for CES or it’s actually too early to tell, but I can’t seem to come up with what Apple may have for iPhone 5. Come back to me in the spring and I should have a better answer!

Filed Under: Editorials, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Remembering Steve

October 5, 2011 By 1 Comment

Our world was blessed on February 24, 1955, when Steve Jobs entered the world.

Steve Jobs is the Chairman of the Board of Apple, which he co-founded in 1976. Thanks to the hard work, determination and perseverance of Steve, Apple is the leader in technology, from the revolutionary iPhone, App Store, iPod, iPad, iTunes, Mac and more.

Not only was Steve a creative genius, he was also an incredible person. Every time an Apple unveiling occurred, Steve was there, turtle neck, jeans and sneakers, gleaming at every person in the room with sheer gratitude. Steve aimed for the stars, and that’s the biggest lesson to all of us.

Without Steve Jobs, advancements in technology may have never been made. Steve Jobs has not only been the creator of Apple, he created the fans, the culture, the gleaming smile whenever you take an Apple product out of the box. Not only has he left an imprint in the world of technology, but for Apple fans especially, he has left an imprint in our heart.

The Apple website confirmed the devastating news, and created a page to pay respects:

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and worth with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple”

All of us at TheAppleFreak would like to take a moment to reflect and pray for his family and friends, who have had such an enormous loss. We all feel like we’ve lost a close friend. It’s hard to put our thoughts into words. We pass our condolences to Steve’s family and friends in their time of need. The world has lost an amazing visionary and genius who will be forever missed.

Steve, you will be missed.

-TheAppleFreak

Filed Under: Editorials, Featured, News Tagged With: , , ,

New Kindle Models – Brief Overview

October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A few days ago, Amazon’s Press Release was expected to bring the announcement of new generation kindles, as well as perhaps an iPad rival. Well, our hopes came true.

The first generation of Amazon’s prized e-reader was released in 2007, with the baseline model retailing for a whopping $399.00. With todays advancements in technology, the new kindle models are sleeker, cheaper and better than ever. Amazon are still selling the Kindle 3, but we believe that they’re just clearing stock and will soon phase it out.

The Amazon Kindle line saw a strong refreshment, with new prices and new designs. The baseline model is now simply known as the “Kindle”, retailing for $79.00 from Amazon. The new model rocks and all new design with a lighter body (weighing less than six ounces), a smaller body (without screen size reduction) and the same brilliant E Ink display that’s winning over the hearts of book lovers. The Kindle rocks 2GB of on-device storage, with added cloud storage.This is also the cheapest Kindle model to date, meaning the Kindle can now reach more pockets.

 

 

 

 

The next model in the Kindle line is the “Kindle Touch”. The Kindle Touch brings touch to the kindle, with a brilliant multi-touch display. Amazon has developed E Ink touch screens, which is a huge breakthrough for book lovers. The “Kindle Touch” is slightly more expensive, retailing at $99 for the wifi only model and $149 for the wifi and 3G model. Both models have 4GB of on-device storage and are definitely a huge breakthrough.

The top of the line model is the Kindle Fire. This is Amazon’s attempt at an iPad competitor. With a brilliant colourful, bright, multitouch display, the Kindle Fire is a brilliant start. Not only can you read books, you can access Amazon’s 100,000 movies and TV shows, as well as games, magazines and browse the web, which even supports Flash (something Apple hasn’t quite figured out yet). You can also listen to your favourite music, which you can stream direct from Amazon’s Cloud Drive. The best part about the Kindle Fire is the price, at only $199, you can’t go wrong. We’re predicting that, after a few months, this may outsell the iPad, as it is truly affordable. The only negative about the Kindle Fire is the screen, although brilliant for web browsing, applications and movies, eye strain on a bright, back-lit colour screen is inevitable.

 

 

 

So after about a week, the Kindle Fire has sold more than all other models combined in pre-orders, and is expecting to sell out fast. What will this mean for the iPad? All we know is that Apple are going to have to built the iPad better, cheaper and lighter to win the Kindle Fire’s market over.

Filed Under: Editorials, Featured, News Tagged With: , ,

Mac App Alternatives #2 – Safari

October 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Safari is one of the applications that comes with OSX that bothers a lot of people. It’s somewhat sleek design is overseen by slow loading times and constant crashes. I’d always recommend a switch from Safari, so here’s the three alternatives that we most recommend. Please keep in mind that we’re talking about running this on a Mac, not on the iPhone or the iPod touch.

1. Google Chrome – Google Chrome is undeniably the fastest web browser available, it’s simplistic design and lack of third party add ons allows for a seamless, powerful browsing experience. Just in-case you don’t believe the claim that this is the fastest, take a peep at this article. This was written way back in 2008, so Chrome has dramatically improved and is now even faster. Although Chrome is fast and fun, it’s basic design may fair “too basic” for advanced users, and it’s lack of add-ons may turn people in another direction. Chrome has web-applications however, which aren’t add-ons, but merely “links” to games and online services. If you’re looking for a simple, fast web-browsing experience, Chrome is definately the browser for you.

2. Mozilla Firefox – Mozilla Firefox is a really nice alternative to Apple’s built-in web browser, Safari. Firefox is an intense web browser, and performs well in most aspects, it’s a nice all rounder. Mozilla Firefox has an endless labyrinth of add-ons (free and paid) that can enhance, enrich and enlighten your browsing experience. The biggest negative about Firefox that turns people away is the fact that it is known to be heavy on CPU. This is supposedly due to the add-ons hogging little parts of the CPU, which, if you have a dozen or so, could really slow down your system. If CPU isn’t an issue, and you’d like to make the most of your web experience with add-ons, I’d recommend Firefox.

3. Camino – Out of the three applications we’re highlighting in this editorial, Camino is without a doubt the least known. Camino’s tag line accurately describes their product, “simplicity with a dash of flavour”. What’s nice about Camino is “Tab Overview”, which lets you quickly see what you have open at a glance, this is particularly useful (for people like me, who have around 40 tabs open at once). Camino boasts a really cute interface, however it may be “too fun” for some people, with large, colourful buttons which can, sometimes, get in the way. The worst thing about Camino is the speed, it’s simply not as snappy as Firefox, and certainly slow in comparison to Chrome. If you’re looking for a simple, easy to view browser, Camino might just be the browser of your dreams.

__________

So which is best? After discussion with various writers and editors here at TheAppleFreak that, again, the best choice will come down with your personal preference. I personally use Google Chrome due to the speed, whilst others use Firefox due to the myriad of add-ons available. Camino is the simplest of the bunch, with nice, added features that would appeal to someone who wants simple, easily viewable web browsing. If you wanted to go by popularity, W3Schools revealed that Firefox is the most popular web browser, with a huge 40.6% of the market. Whichever browser alternative you choose, you’ll probably never want to go back to Safari.

Written by Nathan Dickson for TheAppleFreak.com

Filed Under: Editorials, Featured Tagged With: , , , ,
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