Times of Apple

United We Stand.

2013-02-03T14:27:00.003+05:30

RIM (Research In Motion), the BlackBerry maker has killed itself to live. Confused? Well in simple language RIM has now rebranded itself as whole BlackBerry saying "One Brand, One Promise". It is done to simplify the BlackBerry experience since a lot of people who own a BlackBerry device don't even know about RIM. This announcement was made during the press release of their 2 new BlackBerry 10 Devices, Z10 and Q10 which feature the all new BB OS10 which is said to have a fully re-invented UI and performance.

BlackBerry Z10

Design

The Blackberry Z10 is a completely new device from BlackBerry. Its just totally different from it's previous full touch and touch-and-type phones since it has a no navigation buttons at all. The device has a gesture based navigation but everything has a positive and a negative aspect and this too has that. First of all the bad thing about the new full gesture based navigation is that WE ARE NOT USED TO IT. Learning a whole new way of navigating through a vast OS can be a pain and Smartphones are designed to lessen the pain of using a phone (I guess this is one of the reasons why they are called smartphones). The good thing about this is that after getting a hang of the gesture based navigation it can actually come out to be more efficient and easy-to-use than the touch navigation buttons on Android or Home Button in the iDevices. It also simplifies the design of the device and makes it much smoother and appealing.

Hardware

Z10 has nothing much special in its hardware, just a basic device made to match the present day smartphones. It has a nice 1,280x768-pixel WXGA HD resolution display which is 350 pixels per inch (The iPhone has 326 ppi). Though the text and webpages are crisp enough but the iPhone still outshines the Z10 in terms of details and brightness. The board has a 2GB RAM and a 1.5GHz Dual Core Processor whose type is not yet known. It maybe probably a snapdragon but since there is no official notice we cannot say anything in this. The Dual Core processor seems to be a non-shiny thing when compared to the powerful quad core phones such as Google Nexus 4 and HTC Droid DNA but its actually just enough for the phone is optimized very well and runs smoothly. Z10 comes with only 16GB of storage and can be upgraded upto 32GB via MicroSD card.

Software

The Z10 comes with the whole new BB OS10 which BlackBerry claims to be a totally new experience and it seems to be true when looking at the new things. There is nothing special in the OS but actually its just the gestures which make it an interesting OS. Some basic gestures of swiping can allow you to peek through apps at any point of time even when you are playing a game or watching a movie. I will be writing a separate article on this OS so for now we can conclude that this software is good but the absence of a nice Map App and lesser Application support is a let-down.

Camera

An 8MP HD camera capable of shooting above the average pictures and Full HD (1080p) videos is what the Z10 has. A 2MP front camera is just more than enough for video calls. It also has an LED Flash for shooting in places with lesser light but the new add-on here is the TimeShift Application which is similar to the Burst Shot features which has gained a hype in these years. What this basically does is that it shoots a many images at one instance and then let's you choose the best among the bunch.

Money.

So this is what matters actually when a consumer buys a phone. A sensible smartphone is the one which actually shows the things for which the consumer should pay the price. Well, BlackBerry Z10 is a nice phone but at a price of $199 (on a two-year contract) is nothing special because at this price the Google Nexus 4/iPhone/Samsung Galaxy S3 would be a better option having a better brand value and mature OS. The release date is not specific in all countries such as it will be available in UK on 31st January which just one day after the release of the phone but other countries still have to wait......

Blackberry Q10

This is a normal touch and type QWERTY phone almost the same hardware specs but a smaller screen. I will write about that later because I AM TIRED. So did you like the BlackBerry Z10? Just comment below to tell us what you think of it.

Something More To Expect from Apple

2012-10-21T10:10:00.001+05:30

Apple have recently launched their most anticipated iPhone, iPhone 5 with a whole lot of updates in software and hardware. There were some confusions caused by the Apple Maps but I hope all the problems of the Apple Maps will be solved soon. Now, after the launch of the iPhone 5 we were now waiting for the iPad Mini a small tablet which could make the original iPad much more portable.
Apple has issued some invitations for it's Media Event saying "We've got a little more to show you." This is quite strange because we have never seen Apple launching so many products in such a small interval of time. The Media Event for the iPhone 5 was done just the last month and now there is another Media Event on 23rd October which seems to be the day for the launch of iPad Mini because it is the only product left with a lot of picture leakages and foxconn leaking the manufacturing process of a smaller iPad.
This event can also be the day for the launching of a new full fledged iPad 4 or iPad 3S but this seems kind of impossible for now. All we now about till now is the iPad Mini. Some features that Times of Apple thinks the iPad Mini will have are:

7.85" Retina HD Display
1 GHz Quad Core A6X Processor (or the same Dual Core A6 processor as in iPhone 5)
Quad Core Graphics (Like in the current iPad)
5 MP iSight Back Camera and 1.2 MP FaceTime Camera
4G LTE and NFC (Near Field Communication)
iOS 6 (Pre-installed)
Panorama Mode
3D Maps
A cheap price of $329 (INR 18,000 Approx.)

Well, not only the iPad Mini but there are some possibilities of Apple launching an improved version of the iBooks and a 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display. Whatever it may be but for now we can only guess about what will be launched and iPad Mini and 13" Retina Display Macbook Pro seems very promising in this event. Stay tuned to Times of Apple for more updates about this event.

iPhone 5 : Is It Just The 5th Row of icons?

2012-09-25T14:07:00.000+05:30

The most awaited iPhone is finally out with an all new design and features. The new iPhone almost seems like the pictures of the iPhone 5 leaked before the launch. This iPhone doesn't seem quite different on the first sight but when you go deep into it's functionalities then we see the difference. iPhone 5 now has a 4 inch screen whose height is increased to keep the width same as before so that typing with one hand is easy. The iSight camera just got even better with the panorama feature which gives a resolution of 28MP but the normal camera remains 8MP.

iPhone 5 is much lighter and thinner than ever which some people think is a disadvantage of the iPhone. Some people say that expensive and valuable things like an expensive watch should be heavy not light. Some say that lighter iPhone have more chances of falling as we may not feel that we are carrying it. I don't think the lightness is a problem instead it is an advantage because first of all Force = Mass x Area that is lesser mass and area will have less forces applied on it hence, it will get less damaged. The Second thing is that be careful as you are carrying a $700 mobile phone for god's sake.

The iPhone 5 will come with iOS 6 out-of-the-box and a new technology of charging and transferring data called lighting port which is the new alternative for the 30mm connector. We don't need to worry about this alien port as it is there in the iPhone which means that the accessory makers will make their new devices compatible with this port from now.

One of the most anticipated addition was the 4G LTE compatibility which is to be convicted by Samsung I guess.

Overall, the iPhone 5 seems to be a nice package with a little high price but it's really worth it with the quality of the materials used for example the high quality brushed aluminium and the ceramic glass.

iPhone 5 to launch in September 12: Confirmed!

2012-08-28T18:52:00.000+05:30

It seems that the most awaited iPhone ever is going to be announced on 12 September, 2012. As soon as the iPhone 5 will launch on this Apple Media Event, we will get to know what all rumors were true and which were fake. There are some more rumors like a newer version of the iPod Touch and the manufacturing of the iPad Mini in October as their screen provider is facing problems in manufacturing the screens before October. So, stay tuned for more information about iPhone 5.

Mars Curiosity Rover: Now see a 360 degree view on your Apple iPhone

2012-08-16T20:16:00.003+05:30

The Mars Curiosity Rover had successfully landed on planet Mars and has sent some images from Mars. You can now see a 360^o of the land on Mars on your iPhone. Just point your Safari to the site of 360cities.net or you can see it here on Times of Apple :D

Before iPad 3

2012-08-12T13:06:00.001+05:30

Thanks to AYTM for such a nice infographic.

Source: AYTM Research

What's Up Tim ?

2012-08-07T20:24:00.000+05:30

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is the man who has got the responsibility to guide Sir Steve Job's beloved company which is now on the peaks of success due to his innovations and great design concepts which I think no other tech company matches till now. Tim Cook is a good person indeed but still lacks some aspects that Steve Jobs had. Steve never focused on the pricing of the products, he only focused on the product quality. I have observed that all the keynotes done by Tim Cook basically focuses on making products cheaper than what they cost. This isn't bad but this sudden price fall may someday lead Apple to decrease the product quality. Well these things aside, we have also heard about a lot rumors about the iPhone 5 in September 12. The sources say that iPhone 5 will really launch on September 12 and it is also said that this new is leaked by Tim Cook himself. Rumors for a new iPad are also being heard which will be the newest iPad with a smaller screen said to be iPad Mini. Well probably I don't think there is any chances of iPad Mini to come out in the market right now because iPad is already dominating the world, see this this website to see how: Engadget: iPad stil the king of tablets. There is a chance that iPhone 5 will be launched in September. Let's see what are the new things that can be added to this iPhone.

Some features that are rumored to be added:-

A 4" Touch Screen Retina Display with some more hilarious amounts of pixels.
A smaller docking/charging port which will give more space at the bottom and will bring the 3.5mm audio input jack to the bottom.
Near Field Communication
iOS 6 (out-of-the-box)
A Thinner Body
A6 Quad Core Processor
2GB RAM

These features would be a great addition to the iPhone but I don't think the features like 2GB RAM and NFC would be there because there is no need for these. Apple's simple iOS is so fluid and faster than other Mobile Operating Systems although it has a simple 1GB RAM. The 2GB RAM will just occupy more space and money and nothing else. The NFC will not allow the iPhone 5 to slim down. The other features can make stand out for those people who think that other smartphones beat the iPhone just because of these.

A message to Google

2012-07-05T23:04:00.000+05:30

Google's Android is really gaining heat nowadays although the previous versions of Android such as 2.3 Gingerbread, 2.2 Fro Yo etc. used to be slow and laggy due to all the widgets stored in the OS. The touch of Android also used to be disaster. These things always used to annoy me and not only but a lot of people but because of its open source environment people didn't care as they were getting a big OS with good specifications at a very low cost (not all are at low cost :P). Whatever but those days are gone now, Google's new update to their Android has overcome those problems. Due to their so called "Project Butter" the touch interface has got a much smoother response.

But nowadays because of these new add-ons people are starting to think as if Android is the best on it's own and if you also think like this then you are wrong because NO, Android can do nothing on it's own. Android exists in this world because there are other brands like HTC (a good competitor to Apple), Samsung (a disgusting touch screen and design with high rates) and Motorola (value for money!) have started taking interest in Android and are creating products with advanced hardware specifications.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

IT Companies like Samsung can make nothing except of good screens but because of the high resolution and thick glass the touch sensitivity decreases. These brands have never made smartphones that could be comparable to the iPhone. They have always made phones like Guru and all that stupid classic phones. That's why still their design remains stupid. HTC has a really good control over its designs as it only focuses on smartphones and no other types of phones just like Apple. Motorola has good designs but they aren't comparable to either HTC or Apple. Whatever these brands offer their main selling point is their price specially in India. My message to Google is that now that they you have bought Motorola Mobility then why don't you create your own products instead of relying on other brand's potential. Let's see of you can do the same as Apple did. Apple kept one rule in mind that don't keep the products open source or the device will be destroyed. Let's see if Google has the guts to create their own product and make some money out of it instead of claiming in the media that they earn more money from Apple devices than Android devices. Please do leave your comments below if you have something else to say about this

Apple's New Macbook Pro

2012-06-26T14:54:00.004+05:30

Apple has recently launched it's new Macbook Pro with Retina HD Display with completely new features. The strange thing is there is no 13 inch or 17 inch version of this model and the 17 inch model of the previous Macbook Pro has been kicked off!

The new Macbook Pro with Retina Display was launched during the WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) 2012 along with iOS 6 and Mac OSX Mountain Lion. New Macbook Pro has great new specs like 512 GB Flash Storage, a 15.4 inch Retina HD Display with 2880 X 1800 pixels (awesome), Intel Core i7 Quad Core Processors, 8GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics
4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching, 720p HD Facetime Camera and all this with just a thickness of 0.71 inches and weight of 4.46 pounds. Right now the Macbook Pro Retina Display comes with Mac OSX Lion but after the launch of Mac OSX Mountain Lion it will come equipped with it. Mac OSX can be a game changer for Microsoft as the developers see it as a more neat and clean, easy-to-use Operating System than the Windows 8 which now has a cool Metro UI. Now Comes the price which is the new thing here. This monsterous machine comes with a starting price tag of $2199 and ending at $2799. Now this is very expensive. Probably I won't buy this thing as my requirements are not that much but if you want this or have any thing to share please write down in the comments below.

Facebook Fails on The Wall Street

2012-05-31T15:03:00.001+05:30

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has recently entered Facebook into NASDAQ Stock Market at a Stock Price of $38 approx. and dreamed of defeating Apple's enormous Stock Price but now his dreams look like broken because Facebook's Stock Price is falling down and is now at $28.19 which is a whole lot of change while Apple's Stock Price remains up at a cost of $579.17 with a profit of 1.21%. The reason for this fall of stock price in Facebook is because Mark Zuckerberg didn't even think about the risks in it. Apple gains huge profits because they sell solid products which are present in real life and can be used anywhere while Facebook doesn't sell anything other than accessories and earns money from Apps. Facebook is just a name which is there on the internet but not present with the user and hence the product becomes priceless, at few places Facebook is banned too. These factors make people think twice before going for Facebook and they go for some other brand like Apple.

Google buys Motorola!

2012-05-25T18:35:00.002+05:30

Google has recently bought Motorola Mobility at a deal of $12.5 billion. Motorola mobility is a major mobile phone making brand which has a few decently designed yet powerful smartphones and now as it has been taken up by Google, Androids might get a new personal identity like iOS. Apple has kept the iOS compatible only for Apple portable devices which have a touch User Interface. Android is an open source mobile operating system and can be used on any device which makes the software of much lower quality as compared to Apple's iOS. This deal tells us that Google wants to leave Apple's iPhone, iPod and iPad behind which is a very difficult task and no brand is able to do it till now. Will this deal bring Apple down? Will this Google and Motorola together become the number 1 mobile device brand? Let's see what are the tactics and possibilities behind this deal.

Google's Android is an open source operating system and was available to every mobile device of any brand except Apple. This compatibility with so many devices led to creation of so many versions of Android and by versions I not only mean the software versions but I also mean the UI versions like every mobile will have difference in the resolution and for that Google has to make a new version with particular resolution and features according to the Mobile Device. This re-sizing of the OS again and again makes the UI of the Apps look very boring. At the other hand Apple's iOS is available only for Apple Mobile Devices and hence the size ration never changes although the resolution changes and thats why they have less versions and are give much more sharper and better quality UI for Apps than Androids.

Google Becoming a Threat for Apple?

Will this tie-up of Google and Motorola Mobility become a threat for Apple? I think it is possible for a sometime but when Apple will start launching its long rumored iOS devices like iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5G, iPad 3S/iPad 4 and iPad Mini then Google will not be able to do anything other than just sitting and watching the success of these devices and the long lines at Apple Stores during the first few weeks of launch.

A lot of iOS devices expected this year!

2012-05-14T19:32:00.003+05:30

We are now getting a lot of rumors that Apple will launch its new generation of iPhone, iPad etc. but I don't think that bringing all these innovations together will be a good idea. So, first of all lets have a look at all the rumors that are turning up for this year.

1. iPhone
Because of the launch of such great and new smart phones by Samsung and HTC like HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy SIII, Apple really needs to launch a new generation of iPhone which would be named iPhone 5 rather than putting some other alphabet to the number of the generation. iPhone 5 is expected to be Tim Cook's first own designed product after Steve Jobs. We all know that the iPhone 4S's design was already given by Steve Jobs before he died.

2. iPad
Although the bringing of new tablets to the portable computer segment is now slowing down a bit and because of this Samsung might prepare himself to give us a new generation of their 'Tab'. The newer tabs can be more powerful and more sleek than the new iPad recently launched by Apple which is gaining the company good profits. A new generation of iPad would mean that it will again become a tablet which no one can defeat as iPad is the company's most favorite product as said by Tim Cook. The rumors for the next gen iPads are iPad 4 (possible that it remains "The new iPad") and the second is iPad Mini which is considered to be the smallest version of the iPad ever made. It will have decent features and looks as the iPad at lesser cost as the screens size is rumored to reduced from 9.7" to 7".

3. iPod
A newer generation of the iPod Touch is now the most awaited gadget by any person because it has a very beautiful design and good features but has a few parts where the iPod Touch makes the user feel very disappointed like the Camera really sucks in the iPod Touch 4G and previous generations. The iPod Touch also does not have a SIM Card Slot and compatibility which restricts the users from using all the internet using features like iMessage, Facetime, Game Center, iTunes Store, Maps, YouTube and App Store from being used outside the house or places where we do not have a WiFi connection.

My Thoughts on these rumors
Although these rumors sound very interesting an promising but the thing is that Apple should not release them at the same time because if they do so then the competitors will be able to just snatch the concept and make a better one and the profit will be lesser. Releasing their products one after the other has always been Apple's strategy from the beginning. This strategy has got Apple to such heights because then their revolutionary thoughts will remain with them till the first launched product's popularity starts declining. As the popularity and sales of the products starts declining they launch another product and leave it for an year or more. This gives them time to create and test a newer generation of the previous product and the product which has been just launched. This strategy sounds very simple but to execute it you need to be with time because at times the strategy might fail due to the late work processes by the company authorities. I hope Tim Cook will keep up the company's reputation.

A New Galaxy Smartphone : Galaxy SIII

2012-05-14T16:11:00.001+05:30

Samsung has recently launched its new generation of Galaxy S which is Galaxy SIII. The Galaxy S had a great success in the beginning but because of the release of new mobiles and brands like HTC in the High End Smartphone market it lost its identity and the good user response also began to decline due to the stickiness on the handset's touch screen which at times becomes difficult to use. Samsung launched a newer version named Galaxy SII which also had a lot of tech guys waiting for it but were annoyed as except the screen and the OS nothing had changed much. The Screen remained sticky and just a minor upgrade of the camera although its a good camera but cannot compare to the one which is in the Apple iPhone 4S. Yes, iPhone 4S was the main reason because of which a lot of people left the idea of buying Galaxy SIII.

As soon as Samsung launched it's Galaxy SII, a rumor about a new iPhone had spread with a whole lot of new features and Apple did that. iPhone 4S gave a Apple a very huge profit. Now Samsung really needs a device which can boost its profit and popularity among High End smartphones and to do so they have launched Galaxy SIII whose official technical specifications have not been leaked to the public. So lets have a look at the device's till now leaked technical specifications:

Operating System : Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (Name sounds ridiculous but that's that)

RAM : 1GB is the common RAM nowadays but according to rumors it might be the first smartphone to feature a 2GB RAM.

CPU : Quad Core 1.4GHz Cortex A9 Processor.

GPU : Mali-400

Internal Memory : It should be 16GB Minimum and an option to expand it till 64GB.

Camera : 8MP but to give it something different it can be 12MP and a 2MP Front Camera (possibly)

Screen Size : 4.8" AMOLED High Definition Screen.

These technical specifications may not seem that new but still they can simply beat a few smart phones if Samsung keeps the pricing of this device sensible which they never do. Now let's have a look at some new things that are there inside this device.

Design

The design doesn't seems to be that fresh and stylish as compared to HTC One X and Apple iPhone 4S but still the design is much better than Samsung Galaxy SII and SI. The body of Galaxy SIII is brushed plastic and feels very light in weight when held in the hands. This gives the Galaxy SIII a cheaper feeling than other smartphones and specially its not comparable to iPhone 4S which has Aluminium body with shiny glass which give a truly luxurious feeling.

User Interface

The UI of the new Galaxy SIII is quite improved. The Lock Screen is now much cleaner and the dock which contains your favorite apps can now contain 5 apps. The screen is much more smoother than the previous versions. The Lock screen now has a swipe to unlock feature which much more smoother and does not have any special graphical excitement but does have a water ripples when the finger is swiped over the screen accompanied with a water dropping sound which might be irritating to a few.

Features

Samsung Galaxy SIII really has some new features which make it a new tough competitor to the iPhone 4S. So lets have a sneak peak at the new features of Galaxy SIII :

S Voice
S Voice is a mobile voice companion just like Siri, the voice companion of iPhone 4S. S Voice is good but not at the level of Siri as it needs to be trained to get a hang of your voice tone and can not do a few functions that Siri can.

Social Tag

With social it really gets easier to connect to your friends and family. You just have to tap on their face and connect it to social streams and you easily know their status and interact with them.

Direct Call

This is a very simple yet intelligent concept. Just imagine that you are text messaging your friend and you want to talk to him, for that in normal mobiles you will have search his name through call logs but in Galaxy SIII you just have to bring the phone near your ear like you do during a call and Direct Call will dial his number for you.

Smart Stay
Samsung Galaxy SIII uses its front camera to keep a track of your eyes so that it can automatically dim or brighten the brightness of the screen according to the purpose the mobile is being used.

S Beam
With S Beam you can easily share photos, documents, videos and songs with all the friends nearby. To use S Beam you just need to put the back side of the phones together and connect by tapping on the are where it says "Touch to beam"

AllShare Cast
Just like Apple's AirPlay, Samsung has created its own media mirroring function called AllShare Cast through which you easily mirror your media content like videos and pictures on an HDTV. This is a good option for gamers as they can play their favorite games on a much bigger screen and use the phones buttons as gesture controls and the best thing that its wireless.

Pop Up Play
This feature opens the video you want in another window. Now this might seem ordinary but the new thing is that with the power of the Quad Core Processor you can easily watch the video along with the work you are doing like messaging, surfing the web etc. You can resize and drag the window to anywhere on the screen.

Best Photo
Samsung Galaxy SIII has a good camera but is not that comparable to the lens of the iPhone 4S or the Nokia N8 but still gives a nice picture quality but there are times when you taking a picture of a person and he blinks his eye at that moment so your photo doesn't look good and to prevent this Galaxy SIII quickly snaps a continuous series of pictures and chooses the best of the collection for you.

4G LTE
Now this feature should not be used for comparison purpose because it is available only in a few countries but still it is good to have compatibility to such fast connections and this phone has the capability to run 4G LTE.

Final Results
	Remarks	Rating (out of 5)
Hardware	Hardware is very nice and competitive	4.9
Software	Software is good but they could have given newer software	4.2
User Interface	Better than the previous versions but needs improvement	3.8
Design	This thing sucks and no doubts in that!	1

Conclusion
This new Samsung device is very well packed with feature is no doubtly awesome but the design factor and the material used really disappoints us and decreases the life of the phone. Hence, It can beat the HTC One X but still looses in front of the Apple iPhone 4S.

HTC One X : Can it beat the iPhone?

2012-04-29T22:44:00.001+05:30

HTC has launched its new smartphone which is amazingly powerful and can be a reason to worry for Apple. Its got a good design, powerful CPU and GPU, very smooth audio and a beautiful camera. HTC is hoping to get as much good results as Apple got for iPhone which is likely impossible. For Indians this smartphone is really a cheaper option with very nice features as compared to the iPhone. Here is a video to give you the features of this smartphone:

Screen

HTC One X has the largest screen ever used in any HTC Smartphone. It has got a screen size of 4.7 inches and a resolution of 1280 x 720. This Huge screen is a full treat for only those people who have very big hands.

CPU

Its got a very promising NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad core Processor which is clocked at a speed of 1.5GHz (Well, Thats Amazing!). While Apple's iPhone 4S is still a dual core processor with 800MHz (Still its an Apple A5 and does better performance than the Google Nexus S).

Memory

This smartphone has 1 Gigabyte full of RAM and 32 Gigabytes full of Internal Hard Disk Drive. But a lot will be taken off from the Hard Disk Drive because of the Android Software.

Operating System

The operating system might become a plus point for this giant. HTC One X comes with Android ^TM 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. It also has HTC's smart technology called HTC Sense which is upgraded in this model to HTC Sense ^TM 4.

Sensors

This smartphone contains a lot of sensors. It has Gyro Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass, Proximity Sensor and Ambient Light Sensor.

Connectivity

HTC One X has the following Connectivity Ports :

3.5 mm stereo audio jack
NFC₃
Bluetooth with aptX™ enabled (Bluetooth® 4.0)
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)

Camera

It has a 8.0 MP Camera with HTC Sense feature, Auto Focus, BSI Sensor (for better low light capture) and Smart LED Flash. Its camera supports 1080p HD Video Recording. This smartphone also features a dedicated imaging chip, 1.3 MP front Camera and a 28mm lens.

Audio

There is nothing to write in this section as HTC has got Beats Audio built in this smartphone which gives you crystal clear sound with an excellent balance between bass and treble and phrase.

Media

Here are the multimedia support details of this phone:

Audio supported formats:

Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma

Recording: .amr

Video supported formats:

Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3)

Recording: .mp4

Battery

The smartphone has a lot of features and heavy hardwares thats why it consumes a lot of battery and thats why its 1800 mAh battery gives it a very small battery life.

Conclusion: With all these cool features, HTC One X might win the attention of Samsung smartphone buyers but not Apple buyers because HTC doesn't provides that body quality, service and trust as its been just a decade of HTC's existence in this world.

iPhone 5 : On its way!

2012-04-27T21:24:00.000+05:30

This Quarter Apple had a huge profit due to the rapid increase in the number of iPhones and iPads. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook says that the Company is really happy with the numbers shown by the iPhone 4s and new iPad has got a great start too. He also added that a new generation of an iPod and iPhone will be seen. This concludes the launch of a new iPhone a.k.a iPhone 5. The new iPhone should be somewhat like a smartphone which can easily distract all the smartphone buyers who are thinking to buy a Samsung Galaxy Note or Google Nexus S. The design might not change but the screen size might change a bit to beat the odd screen sized mobiles like the Galaxy Note. Now lets look at some changes that might be seen in iPhone 5.

Design

'Design' and 'Shape' is the first thing that comes in the mind of a Smartphone buyer specially the novice ones. The design factors of Apple have always been a huge success and I hope that they will keep the new iPhone really simple and elegant like the previous generations of iPhone. It might b more sleek than iPhone 4s and 3Gs if the screen size increases. The next and the most noticeable change will be the removal of Apple's Trademark "Home Button" with make the iPhone different from all the other smartphones but because of this Home Button it also loses it "Full Touch" thing and hence becomes a semi touch Smartphone as in Android Smartphones the bottom edge of the mobile has touch gestures such as for changing brightness and theme etc. The removal of Home button might make it difficult to differ the iPhone from other smartphones as some smartphones have copied the structure of iPhone.

Hardware

Hardware is the region of a smartphone which informs about how much power does the mobile contain and till what extent can you push the device's CPU and GPU. The new iPhone will probably have a better camera if not then obviously the previous camera. If they put the new Camera then it might be of about 12 MP. There might be a stereo speaker with subwoofers and a 20 watt amplifier like the iMac. The improved camera and speaker might increase the thickness of iPhone 5 which we don't want because then there will be nothing new in the design area. But the camera can still be improved by increasing the screen size and spreading the glass more thinner which improve touch sensitivity also. iPhone 5 might also get an Apple A6 processor with a capability of 1.2 GHz or more and also 1GB of RAM.

Software

The thing that influences a smartphone the most is its software. Nowadays everyone is concerned about which operating system does a particular phone have either an Android, iOS or Windows Operating system. The iPhone will obviously have iOS and Apple will never put any other OS in its devices. The software is also same but there might a few difference in the UI of some internal apps like the Calendar, Mail, Music, Videos and Camera Application just like the new iPad has some UI differences. For other software thing there is nothing new as the iOS App Store is growing bigger and bigger.

Cost

This is the thing which every smartphone is given carefully, "Price". The price of a smartphones matters a lot. Although price cannot determine whether which is the best mobile but seriously people think more of price than the features and thats why Apple might cut of the price of iPhone 5 to make it the cheapest iPhone ever. It's price might be at about $499.

iPad Mini : Is it True?

2012-04-21T20:05:00.002+05:30

After tremendous success of new iPad, there are lot of rumors about iPad Mini. iPad Mini is considered to be the junior version as the name suggests. iPad Mini can be a huge success as there are not so many successful 7 inch tablets because the number of big screen lovers is increasing rapidly. The iPad Mini will be a good option for the business guys who left the iPad just because the screen was big and it was much more difficult to carry than those tablets which had a smaller screen.

What is it?
So the thing is as to what all should it have and what all will it have. First of all, the major change will obviously be a smaller 7 inch screen in place of the 9.7 inch. However the Retina HD Display will not be sacrificed. It can be revolutionary thin because increased amount of thickness of new iPad disappointed a whole lot . Massive 9.7 Inch Retina HD Display with the resolution of 2048 X 1536 pixels, forced Apple to increase the thickness. With the smaller screen the pixels layers could be spread out a bit to reduce the thickness. It might have a smaller camera of about 3.2 mp compared to 5mp one boasted by the new iPad. The good news is (as suggested by Bloomberg or imore) that it might carry an interesting price tag of close to $249. Interesting thing to watch would be if Apple would think about beating the Amazon's Fire (Kindle) Tab of $199. Nevertheless an iPad is an iPad and I am not sure if Apple would like to pick a battle with kindle Fire which is largely an eBook reader - an extended Tablet.

Is it True?
The main thing is that is there any possibility of Apple launching a smaller iPad with lesser features just for the sake of price. Given the Tablet crowd, and various tweaks happening in the handheld computing device market with phones being merged into tablets, tablets being extended to desktop/laptop units, hybrid tabs etc, it could push Apple to be there with something hugely affordable, portable, stylish, of the same generation. This can go there to create all together a new product vertical for Apple for a segment who need not sell something god gifted to own an iPad. The flip side is that it could be as false as it is true and Apple may choose to stay away from fighting a price war just to be there as it boasts of technological leap than the price edge. Apple is focussing on other segments of the technology and would, for sure, want to retain its tech numero uno position in all those areas like portable Music Player, Video Consoles, Gaming Consoles,Extended Screens etc. Since all of these would draw Organisational energy and certainly has longer stake brand strategy in than the price edge (which actually strips the value off the brand). Still there are chances that Apple gives the world a surprise by launching another iPad (a.k.a iPad 4) with more features. Keep reading for further updates as we march into future with Apple in our hands:)

Living Things : The new LP Album

2012-04-16T20:50:00.001+05:30

So this is the first article about the franchise of Apple. This article is about the new album launched by Linkin Park. The name of the album is "Living Things" and the first single of this album called "Burn It Down" has been launched today on 16th April 2012. The whole album will be released on 26th April 2012 but the pre-orders for the album are open and LP fans can buy the album now if they want to.

Now you might be thinking that what is it with Apple to do with rockstars and specially metal addicted rockstars like Linkin Park. So lets first see their history.

Linkin Park is an Alternative Metal/Alternative Rock band from Agoura Hills, California formed in 1996 and got their international fame due to the Album "Hybrid Theory". Linkin Park have won 2 Grammy Awards too. Their albums are:-

1. Hybrid Theory

2. Meteora

3. Minutes to Midnight

4. A Thousand Suns

5. Living Things

There were a few side projects too such as Collision Course and Reanimation. But Linkin Park is alive due to the good understanding between the members and the members are:-

1. Mike Shinoda : Vocalist, rhtymic guitar, keyboards

2. Rob Bourdon : Drums

3. Brad Delson : Lead guitar, backing vocals

4. Joe Hahn : turntables, samples, keyboards, backing vocals

5. Chester Bennington : lead vocals

6. Dave "Pheonix" Farell : bass, backing vocals

Some Former Memebers:

1. Mark Wakefield : vocals

2. Kyle Christener : bass

3. Scott Koziol : bass

So with these great possesions they are capable of getting a contract with a brand like Apple and so they use Apple's garageband app on Mac for drum processing and some extra sound making and mixing they also use some stages provided by Apple and give the 50% to Apple. Linkin Park's new single Burn It Down is available for listening by people all over the world.

Tips for Accessorizing your new iPad

2012-03-24T14:20:00.001+05:30

The iPad is a very elegantly designed tablet by Apple and the new iPad really stands out better than its predecessor although the iPad 2 was thinner but the new iPad is a better deal! (see the comparison from my previous post ) There are a lot of companies like Sena, Griffin, Bose, JBL, Hex, Scosche, Beats, Philips, Marware etc. which make accessories like cases, speakers, headphones etc for iPad but selecting the best accessory among them is the biggest puzzle. This article might help you in finding which accessory to buy for your new iPad and all those who are waiting for the new iPad to be launched in their own countries, there is a good news for you; the new iPad has been launched in 25 more countries yesterday.

Which type of accessory to buy?

The first thing is deciding which accessory is needed to flaunt your new iPad even more. Accessorizing an iPad isn't just about givng looks to your new iPad accessories are also meant for people who need extra things such as keyboards, mice and stylus etc. People who are interested in using their iPad as a multimedia device for just listening to music and watching videos. So these people can't depend on the built-in speakers of the iPad, they need a good quality headphone/earphone or an external speaker with good sound quality. Now the choice is yours!

1. Cases

You might be thinking that why do we need an extra case for the new iPad which is already beautiful itself but the thing is that there are some times when our iPad faces a disaster due to excitement or accident. Our iPad is already aluminium covered but still the there can be some scrathces and cracks which seem very annoying. The crystal clear Retina Display needs some extra protection in these scenarios. Some people need protection and colorful looks together so they use slim colourful cases. If you need both protection and looks then you can use "Hybrid Therom" case by Gearmaxx which is very cheap at a cost of $3-4 a piece from this site or if you want some exclusive feeling then you can buy Ultraslim case for iPad by Sena at a cost of $59 (seems expensive!) and you can get it from their site.

Sena Ultra slim Case Gearmax Hybrid Therom

2. Multimedia

The best part of an iPad is its large external multimedia gadget compatibility. There are so many companies which make multimedia gadgets such as headphones/earphones and external speakers specially for the iPad. Companies like Bose and JBL make excellent speakers and headphones/earphones for the iPad with amazing sound quality (They can amazingly expensive too!). My choice will be the Bose AE2 Audio Headphone at a cost of Rs. 8,800 (approx)

Bose AE2 Audio Headphone

3. Accessibility

Some people who are not comfortable with physical keyboard they need an extra keyboard and mouse. Some people use stylus for pointing things in iPad as it gets difficult for people with thick fingers in pointing small things on a touch screen. So for the keyboard and mouse thing you should stick to Apple itself as they have very elegant wireless keyboards and mouse for the iPad and for the stylus you should go for AluPen by Just Mobile.

Apple Wireless Dockable Keyboard Just Mobile AluPen

So these were the main accessories which can make the experience of your new iPad even better and if you go with my suggestions then you can save some time in deciding the company and product that will suit your new iPad. Thanks for reading!

Zebra crossing for an iPad buyer !

2012-03-21T18:12:00.000+05:30

Till now you all must have decided about which iPad you want, an iPad 2 or a 'new iPad'. You also have decided which storage and network to be taken. Well if you haven't decided which colour should you choose (Black or White) and you have decided to take the new iPad then this article is meant for you. In this article I will help you by telling you which colour has what all advantages and disadvantages.

First of all lets take the old Black Colour :

Black, this is the signature colour of the revolutionary iPad and it makes the iPad the most elegant from all the other tablets as this black colour suits the curvatures of the iPad but every colour has some disadvantages and advantages, although colours don't have so much advantages and disadvantages but still I will try to enlighten the most visible features.

Advantages

The most visible feature of the black colour is that it dissolves with the content playing on the beautiful Retina Display of the new iPad.
The Black doesn't discolour easily and remains crisp forever

Disadvantages

The disadvantage is that Black is and old colour and doesn't give the user the feeling of exclusivity.
The Black colour shows the fingerprint and smudges more dramatically.

Second comes the White Colour :

To make some choice between the colour choices in iPad, Steve Jobs thought of giving the iPad a new colour yet as elegant as the Black Colour. The white colour has been there in the market for almost more than 1 year. This colour first came for the iPad 2 and then the iPhone and then iPod Touch and now is coming for almost every Apple Product (If Tim Cook has brains then iMac and Macbook are exceptions).

Advantages

The white colour gives the new iPad a really exclusive look as people when see the white colour they get to know you have a new iPad or and iPad 2 (as white was not there for 1st iPad)
The white colour looks more beautiful with iPad accessories than the Black colour.

Disadvantages

There are some rumors that white colour discolours after a long time of usage. It isn't true for me but if you still have some doubts then you can stick with the black colour.
The white colour distracts the user from the content that is playing in the iPad even though its a white e-book as white is a very bright colour.

Final Decision!

Now is the time for the final decision about which colour to take and I promise that I will not leave you saying that "the decision is up to you" if I say this then what will be the use of writing such a long article so for me the winner is White as it really makes the people outside know from far that it is either a new iPad or an iPad 2 which gives an exclusive feeling but still if you have some problems with the content distraction ( I don't have!) then you stick with the old black colour but for me the White is the iPad I will buy.

The new iPad selling like Potatoes!

2012-03-20T17:14:00.004+05:30

On 16^th March 2012, AT&T Wireless Mobiles informed that over 250 million new iPads were sold on that very Friday itself (16th March 2012). This means that the new iPad has really got people attracted towards it. The selling of 250 million new iPads reported by AT&T Services means this value is only valid for the 4G LTE (only in US, its available as 3G in other parts of the world) and not for WiFi only models. Therefore, the number of new iPads sold will be more than 250 million.

Other Wireless Mobile Service companies like Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are yet to give the report on the number of new iPads sold.

The Times of Apple Page

2012-03-19T16:51:00.000+05:30

Facebook

Google+

This "Times of Apple" blog are now available on the 2 famous social networking sites - Facebook and Google+

Facebook: Click on this button or Scan this QR Code to visit the the Facebook Page

Google+ : Click on this button or Scan this QR Code to visit the the Google+ Page

The new iPad out in Stores

2012-03-16T16:15:00.000+05:30

The new iPad is finally out stores! So, all those who want this "Big Apple" in their hands can finally get it in their homes, offices and schools etc. The iPad was promised to be available in stores on 16^thMarch 2012 Friday which means today. People can buy the new iPad by the following two ways:

The Apple Retail Stores:-

Apple has some retail stores set up in different parts of the world. These retails stores are very different from the normal retail stores, these stores provide the exclusivity which other stores can't. They are also real architectural marvels. Inside the store their is a well trained staff which helps you in deciding which products can give you what all features. The best part is when you buy the product and you are exiting the shop. While you walk out of the shop they give you a flower bouquet, make you walk out using the the red carpet and put your picture with the product on the Hall of Fame. Amazing!

The recently opened Apple Store at Grand Central, New York, USA

The Apple Store App:-

Apple has made an application which lets the iOS and Mac OS users to buy their Apple Product online. Its very easy just download the App from the iOS App Store or Mac App Store.

This is the preview of Apple Store App download screen on an iPhone

You can download it using iTunes also on your Windows or Mac using this link: Apple Store App Download or scan this QR code with a QR Code Scanner on your iOS Device:

These were the two methods which can provide you your favourite new iPad!

The New iPad

2012-03-10T00:41:00.000+05:30

Recently Apple has launched it's next generation of the revolutionary iPad. This successor of iPad has some minor but very important updates which only sensible people might be able to understand (like me!)

In this post I am going to compare the iPad 2 with the new iPad.

Name

When Apple launched their first tablet it was named 'iPad' and its successor in 2010 was named the 'iPad 2' so people were thinking that it will somthing like iPad 3 or iPad 2s and there were some rumors about iPad HD also (HD refers to the expected Retina Display at that time) but as expected Apple always is a step ahead of our thinking; the name they gave it was again the cute and simple name The new 'iPad'. So, the name remains from the 1st Generation.

2. Hardware

Now comes hardware, this is the part where 'The new iPad' gets beaten by its predecessor. The iPad 2 has the same height, and width as of the new iPad but the new iPad is thicker than the iPad 2 by 0.6mm although it can hardly noticed but still remains a difference.

3. Display

The display is one of the major difference between the new iPad and all the previous generations of iPad. The new iPad now feature a "Retina Display" giving a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels (3.1MP), now this a huge difference. The iPad 2 has only 1024x768 at only 132 pixels per inch and the new iPad features the 3.1 MP screen at 264 pixels per inch.

4. Performance

To support such a powerful display the iPad needs to upgrade the chip inside it. So, Apple launched a new version of its A5 chip called A5X having Quad Core Graphics but the downside is that the CPU remains the same Dual - Core as the same present in the iPad 2.

iPad 2

The new iPad

5. Networking

The new iPad has finally got the most awaited network compatibility i.e "4G LTE" so the second iPad model after the WiFi model changes from WiFi+3G to WiFi+4G. The Antennae of the new iPad is made by keeping in mind about the other parts of the world and hence it is 3G World Ready.

iPad 2

The New iPad

6. Photography

The main disadvantage of the iPad 2 was the camera, which really doesn't match this giant tablets personality. The iPad 2 had a QVGA camera with 720p HD video recording at 30 frames per second and a VGA front camera with VGA quality
video and still camera but now the new iPad has an excellent iSight camera taken from the iPhone 4s of 5MP (iPhone 4s has 8MP) and an HD FaceTime Camera on front. The new iPad also has 1080p video recording and still camera with features like - auto focus, Tap to Focuse, Video Stabilizer, Face Detection and Photo and Video Geotagging.

iPad 2 QVGA Camera

The new iPad iSight (5MP) Camera

7. Software

Well the thing that make the iPad beautiful from inside its applications and to the make the new iPad even more beautiful they have reinvented the built-in apps making them a way different from the built-in apps of the iPad 2 for example the camera App has been changed completely. Apple has also launched an updgraded version of their mobile operating system called iOS 5.1 which can be downloaded on your compatible devices form iTunes.

iOS 5

iOS 5.1

You might be thinking that there should be 10 differences in a post but there are only 7 in mine because I don't think that a lot of writing will make understand the differences as I told you there aren't that much major differences and to explain better stay tuned to my blog for the unboxing of the new iPad by me which might explain you better. Thanks for reading!

Mac OSX Mountain Lion

2012-03-01T21:42:00.002+05:30

Apple is going to launch an advanced version of its amazing computer operating system called Mac OS X Lion. The new version of the OS will be called Mac OS X Mountain Lion. The following features will be there in the new OS:-

iCloud for Mac

The concept of cloud computing on the iPhone, iPod and iPad has been a great success with the launch of the extremely useful 'iCloud'. iCloud on Mac will require the Mac user to sign in with his/her Apple ID and iCloud will set up automatically so that if anyone deletes, adds or edits something on a Mac then the same will happen on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch and vice versa.

Messages

RIM's Blackberry became popular among non-corporate guys because of the Blackberry Messenger but to beat the BBM Apple launched the iMessage for the iOS Devices which has started to gain popularity among every corporate and non-corporate person and it deserves this popularity as the UI is very neat and easy to use and no need for the PIN stuff just use the Apple ID to add people to list but now this app will now not be limited to just the iOS devices and will be available on Mac and Macbook so the iChat will be replaced with the iMessage which is an important change for both iOS and Mac users.

Reminders

The Reminders in Mac will help the user to make reminder alarms for small things like shopping list, homework etc on the iOS devices the reminders was useful as they are portable devices and we can make shopping list, homework, materials required for any competition or reminders for business matters but still the reminders on a Mac improves the accessibility as a person sitting on his Mac can make a reminder for the person using the iOS device.

Notes

Notes on Mac is very much important though it looks almost the same as the Reminders App but its as different as Windows is from Mac its features a Memo Pad like UI which gives the feeling of real note taker and fills the user with the will of using notes than the old Word editors like MS Word. This app is useful for users which have both an iOS device and a Mac at home so they can easily sync their notes with their gadgets.

Notifications

No one likes to open every application and social networking site again and again for the just the sake of checking the updates so the Notifications thing stands here. This is a feature of iOS 5 which allows all the apps on the iOS device to give notifications like for missed call, new mail, Facebook updates, and App reminders but with Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Mac users can also get updates from all the Apps on the Mac. A thin leather like textured strip comes on the right side of the screen whenever there is an update on the Mac.

Share Sheets

Now lets come to something which looks as a small feature but saves time. Take an example:

You are surfing the net and you read an article which says iPad 3 : Coming Soon! and you find it interesting and want to show it to your friends and family for that normally you have to copy the text which does not allow the pictures and video to come and then paste it or paste the link and that also at different places but on iOS devices its very simple as you can Share Sheets function to share the thing by email, twitter, and iMessage and with Share Sheets on Mac you can easily share any website, video, photo or an image made from Photo Booth.

Twitter

Finally a native App of twitter has been designed for the Macintosh. This is a great update for twitter lovers and social celebrities. All the Apps stored in the Mac (only those made by Apple but may be some exceptions) will have a tweet option to share the thing with all your connections.

Game Center

The Mac has got even more amazing with the new feature,'Game Center'. This makes gaming on Mac more interesting as you can play Multiplayer HD games which concludes the usage of only one word 'Fun!'.

AirPlay Mirroring

Imagine you are downloading your favorite movie and you get to know that your DVD player is not working and you have to send it to repair and you think of connecting your Mac to your TV but get to know you have to use either ThunderBolt Cable and display which cost you Rs. 50,000 which is damn costly. This is the time when Apple helps you; with the AirPlay Mirroring feature, HDMI cable and Apple TV you can connect your Mac to your TV, Projector screen etc this is a much cheaper and convenient way.

Gatekeeper

Security: This is the thing which every computer can give but only the Mac does it the best. The Mac is well-known for its world's safest Firewall which doesn't allow any type of virus to enter your Personal computer and saves all your precious data. The new feature Gatekeeper prevents the user from downloading any type of Malicious software and provides you the control over what you download on your Mac, it now provides the user with 3 security settings and also lets the user decide which setting is best for them.

New Features for China

Apple's Macintosh has got more Oriental! So all the people living in China will be able to get special things like easy to set-up Mail, Contacts and Calendar with QQ, 126 and 163. Baidu, the leading Chinese search providir will be built-in feature of Safari. The video sharing websites - Youko and Tudou are included in the Share Sheets and they can also blog with Sina weibo, the popular microblogging service. And with improved text input, typing in Chinese is easier, faster, and more accurate.

So with all these things the Mac OS X Mountain Lion should really beat the Windows 7 and even upcoming Windows 8

Apple to make TVs!!

2012-02-10T13:10:00.000+05:30

A rumor from Bloomberg informs that Apple is finally entering the world of Television a.k.a The Highest Level of Entertainment. The main competitors will be first of all Samsung as Samsung is doing great job in the world of T.Vs with the range of Televisions such as LCDs, LEDs, 3D TV and 3D LED TV. LG, Panasonic and Sony are also there in the way of Apple as these companies are already established in making TVs but it won't be difficult for Apple to take over these companies as Apple is much more established and advanced brand than these companies. The few things common people might need in the iTV (My name given to the future TV) are:-

The first thing confirmed is that it is an OLED TV so its till now the brightest, thinnest and also the smoothest TV display technology.
It might have 'Siri' the digital assistant from Apple to people which will make the Television experience even better and the operation will be easier as its the best electronic assistant ever in any electronic gadget with modified language understanding.
The 2D to 3D technology engine will be better than present TVs which means the 2D version and the 3D version of the image will be of the same 1080p quality.
It will also have Facetime HD camera like the Macintosh and Macbook which can take place of the skype feature in other TVs
The last thing will be the price which is the main thing in Television and as OLED will be a new technology for the world of Televisions it will be extremely high priced so if Apple wants to sell it like the Samsung and Panasonics it should be below Rs. 1,00,000

The design of the iTV will be surely thinner than normal LCD and LED TVs provided by Sony and Panasonic etc. The screen will be huge as its an OLED HD TV so to make the experience amazing it might have huge screen and SRS Dolby Digital or Bose built in Audio System. Till then we can just wait for the launch date which is rumored to be in the mid of April after the iPad 3 reaches everybody's homes.