Apple announces the iPhone 4S

October 5, 2011 By

iPhone 4S

People’s devotion to Apple is a strange phenomenon. It’s almost religious in its fervour sometimes, as people sift through all the available information to try and find the kernel of truth at the core. I’m not saying this as an outsider looking in, either, I’m one of those people who happily read the rumours of what shiny new piece of technology is about to be released and try to work out what is true and what isn’t.

I tried to look nonchalant as Twitter exploded with information about Apple’s media event yesterday, but I still ended up reading one of the many live blogs to try and find out what was happening.

And what was happening? Well, if the media predictions were to be believed it was the unveiling of the iPhone 5, but in a half-expected twist, it turns out that Apple were actually unveiling the iPhone 4S.

If you’ve paid attention to the iPhone’s evolution over the last few years, you’ll know that the iPhone 3G was superseded by the 3GS, then the 4… see the pattern here? I will admit I was a little disappointed at first, but having taken a little time to look over the iPhone 4S’s specs and capabilities, that feeling is fading fast. Let’s look at the 4S in more detail then.

Physically, it looks the same as the iPhone 4, which is going to be something of a shock to the many phone case makers who were given the specs for a unit with a thinner profile and larger screen. The internals, however, are completely different:

  • The processor is Apple’s A5 chip, a dual-core processor which delivers two times the processing power of the iPhone 4, and up to seven times faster graphics.
  • Battery life is now 8 hours talk time on 3G (14 hours on 2G), and 6 hours 3G browsing or 9 hours WiFi.
  • The iPhone 4S is GSM and CDMA compatible. If this doesn’t mean much to you, it means that it is able to speak to mobile phone networks worldwide and should work in any country.
  • An 8 megapixel camera will be installed in the new iPhone which, as well as taking high quality photos, can shoot video in 1080p HD. I’m a big fan of my DSLR camera, but it will be great to have a quality camera on my phone for those times when it’s not appropriate or possible to take a larger one with me.
  • An improved dual-antenna system should also prevent those annoying drops when making phone calls because, you know, it should actually work well as a phone.
Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is Siri voice control. This allows you to do more than just dial numbers from your phonebook – you can ask your phone “What’s the weather like in London?”, or “Tell my wife I’m going to be 30 minutes late” and it will fire up the weather app or send off a text message. I particularly like the example of, “do I need an umbrella today?”, which elicits an appropriate response based on the local weather. Now, I don’t get on particularly well with voice control, possibly because of my Scottish accent, but I will be very impressed if this works.

iOS 5

The latest version of the iPhone’s operating system will be released on Wednesday 12th October, before the iPhone 4S’s launch date of the 14th. iOS 5 includes over 200 new features. Again, let’s take a look at a few:

  • iMessage – a text-based messaging service that’s “unlimited”. By unlimited, Apple mean messages will go over your data connection most of the time. They may be sent via SMS if iMessage is unavailable, however. It will allow instant messaging between iOS devices, and I’m thinking it might be something of a response to Blackberry Messenger. If you have used What’s App on your iPhone, it looks like it will be pretty similar.
  • Twitter integration – tweet straight from Safari, YouTube, Photos, Camera and Maps. Nice, but I wonder if this will herald the beginning of the end for iPhone Twitter app developers?
  • The camera will be useable straight from the lock screen – no more faffing around with trying to unlock the phone before taking a photo, only to realise the moment has passed. It will also be possible to edit and touch up your photos with the built-in photo app.
The iOS 5 update will be free for iPhone 3GS or later.

iCloud

iCloud is a wireless syncing service. When you buy something on one of your iCloud enabled devices, which will include the iPhone 4S, it will automagically be downloaded to your other devices, such as home Mac or iPad. Take a photo with the iPhone, and you will be able to access it on your Mac. No more mailing photos as attachments or plugging in the cable to download them to Aperture.

If you want your friends to be able to find you, you can broadcast your location so that you show up on their Find My Friends maps, and if you’re somewhere you don’t want others to know about, we are assured that it is a simple matter to take yourself off the grid for a while.

All of this sounds great, especially the idea of being able to access all your past iTunes purchases over the cloud (I keep forgetting to sync them to my iPhone) but there is one slight concern. This could really eat through your data usage, so I’m hoping there’s a way to limit iCloud to syncing when on WiFi or when items are under a certain file size.

Roundup

I’ll say again, I was a little disappointed not to be writing about a redesigned iPhone 5 today but, actually, the iPhone 4S looks like it’s going to be very, very good. Will I be in the queue at an Apple store for launch? No. Will I be enquiring about upgrading to a 4S when my mobile phone contract expires (very shortly)? You bet – watch this space for more information when I get my hands on one.

What do you think about the Apple announcement? Is there anything missing you think should have been included? Any features you think look particularly attractive? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

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Gumdrop Drop Series Case for iPhone 4 [review]

July 11, 2011 By

It’s a standard question when buying a new mobile phone: “Do you want to take insurance on that?” On the one hand, it’s an extra expense and, of course, you’re planning to be very careful with your new gadget. On the other hand, accidents happen… unfortunate meetings between toilet and telephone, children getting hold of your handset, or whipping your phone out of your pocket to answer a call and having it tumble from your hands only to land on the unyielding pavement below.

I have always preferred my mobile phones “naked”; that is, without a case. But having dropped several phones and seen how quickly they get scuffed and scratched I now always use a case. So when MobileFun asked me to look at one of their Gumdrop offerings, I jumped at the chance.

The Gumdrop Drop Series Case for iPhone 4 gives a very distinct impression. If you were looking for a single word to describe it, I’d go for “rugged”. It looks chunky and as if it could be made from a piece of tyre!

The Drop Series case is made up of several layers of protection. A hard inner layer clips around your iPhone very snugly. In fact, it is so snug it can be hard to open again but I would rather that than something that doesn’t fit properly. The nice thing is that the inner layer includes an integral screen protector too, so there is pretty much all-over protection.

Hard cases do still have a tendency to crack if dropped, though, so the Drop Series Case has a rubber outer section. This is what makes it look like a tyre, and what adds to the size of the case. It will absorb the shock of a drop and makes the whole affair very, very grippy.

That’s something you want in your phone case, but here it’s almost too much. Having the Drop Series Case in your pocket and trying to get it out quickly to answer a phone call invariably results in an inside-out pocket. It’s not a huge problem but it could become annoying in time.

A few friends also offered their views of the case, and pointed out that it adds nearly a centimetre in every direction over the “naked” phone. That, and the overall styling, makes it seem that this case has been styled more for male tastes than female. It doesn’t have to be that way, of course, but this is the feedback I received from the women I showed it to.

Overall my friends and I agreed that the Gumdrop Drop Series case is a tough piece of kit. It’ll protect your iPhone 4 from drops and knocks very, very well but at the expense of making it slightly chunky and those inside-out pockets I mentioned.

If your primary concern is protection over looks, or if you happen to like the rugged appearance of the Drop Series case, this is well worth a look.

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World of Goo HD [iOS - Review]

June 1, 2011 By

Blimey – it’s June already !? Better start thinking about Christmas soon ;)

Anyway, that’s not what I want to write about today. I’d rather tell you about one of my favourite games. It’s not exactly brand new, but it’s worth mentioning. The game in question is World of Goo.

I first played World of Goo on my Mac, and it is also available for PC and Linux, but it’s the iOS version that’s recaptured my interest. Let’s talk about the game in general first, and then we’ll look at why the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch are so good to play it on.

World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game. The game world is inhabited by millions of goo balls, who don’t know they are in a game or that they are extremely delicious. The object on each level is to help the balls reach the exit pipe by building them into various structures. There are several types of goo balls, which react in different ways to each other and the environment.

Sometimes you’ll be using your brain to work out the right sequence of events, using the right goo balls for the right task, and other times you’ll be manically building a structure hoping to reach the pipe before it collapses under its own weight.

If that were all there was to World of Goo it would be a pretty good physics game, but nothing particularly special given the number of Flash physics puzzles you can play online for free. What makes World of Goo even better is the interesting storyline, revealed through the writings of a mysterious sign painter, brilliant cartoon-style graphics, and an amazing soundtrack (which is also available to download for free, by the way).

It’s the combination of that storyline, how it all looks and sounds, and the enjoyment of solving each puzzle that makes World of Goo a very addictive and fun game.

Now, World of Goo is good when played with a mouse, but the touchscreen interface of iOS devices takes it to another level. See, you’re dragging and dropping those goo balls to build your structures, and it just seems natural to do it with your finger. I’ve certainly found that I can build structures more quickly with touchscreen than mouse controls and it really does just feel “right” to do it that way.

In short, World of Goo is fun, addictive, and on occasions nothing short of beautiful. I would recommend playing it on an iOS device, but if you want to take a look without dropping any cash on it there are demos available for Mac, PC and Linux machines.

World of Goo HD is available for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) from the App Store. For other formats (PC, Mac, Linux) check out the publisher’s homepage.

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Navigon SatNav for iPhone [review]

April 27, 2011 By

Navigon, makers of Satellite Navigation systems, recently released version 1.8.0 of their iPhone SatNav app. There are a number of SatNav apps for the iPhone now, so what makes Navigon’s offering worth a look?

Version 1.8.0 brings up to date maps (always useful) and an augmented reality mode called “Reality Scanner”. Selecting the reality scan mode brings up a moving image taken by the iPhone’s rear camera, and overlaid is a band that tells you when you are facing a nearby Point of Interest. So by scanning your iPhone back and forth you get an instant idea of what’s nearby. This is of much more use when out walking than driving, to be honest, but could be very useful when wandering round a town or city centre.

Another new feature is the Traffic Check. After calculating your route a screen pops up to tell you if there are any known traffic problems on the way. Bear in mind, however, that this isn’t a full-blown traffic update service. To get live traffic information en-route requires an in-app purchase.

Speaking of in-app purchases, there are a number of add-ons that can be activated for an additional fee. Surprisingly, postcode navigation is one of the add-ons. It’s one of the cheaper ones, at just £1.19, but it’s still something I’m more used to having included as standard with a satellite navigation system.

At the other end of the scale is the Truck and Caravan Navigation add-on, which costs £59.99 and suggests routes suitable for larger vehicles.

In terms of actually using the Navigon app, all is rosy. It’s simple to navigate, knows even the more obscure addresses I’ve tried (many systems struggle with new estates), and it has a nice clean look to it. I’m particularly liking the emphasis on making it easy to find parking, and how when you arrive at your destination it tells you which side of the car you should be able to see it on. Google search integration makes it easy to find destinations the Navigon database doesn’t natively know about.

All in all, Navigon’s iPhone SatNav app is a very good offering from a well known navigation company. At £19.99 it comes in near the middle of the price range for the various apps available, and I would say it’s certainly worth your attention if you’re looking to buy some navigation software for your iPhone.

Navigon for British Isles is available from the App Store.

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Home improvement – making it easy with mobile apps

April 25, 2011 By

This is a guest post by Drew Davies

It’s that time of year again and whether you’re spring cleaning or doing a major revamp, your smart phone can help you take the pain factor out of your DIY. From mixing your own paint palette to calculating exactly how much concrete you’ll need to construct a wall (or an entire house), there is an app to help you out; planning, budgeting, room layout, interior design, technical calculations and installations, shopping lists and project management are all covered.

The scope and emphasis across these apps varies. Proprietary tools, such as B&Q’s free iPhone app, offer ‘How to’ guides for technical jobs, store finders, wish lists and special offers, while others provide forums, articles by guest contributors and space for users to display their interior designs and other handiwork.

Here are some of our favourites:

  • Wiki How (iPhone, Free) – Offering a wide range of tips from “How to Clean Your Bedroom” to “How to Have Fun with your Cat”. There’s a search function, a “How to of the day” and most interestingly, a Survival Kit with advice on Animal Attacks, First Aid and Home Emergencies.
  • DIY Chatroom Forum (iPhone, Android, Free) – An app-based forum to discuss all your Home Improvement questions – from carpentry to flooring and DIY repair. The community seems knowledgable and good-humoured (see the response to “how to get tape off the wall” for a more tongue-in-cheek reply to a question) and although it’s a little US-centric (lots of talk of broken range cookers) this is a great way to crowdsource an answer to your difficult DIY issue.
  • HomeRoutines (iPhone, £2.99) – More of a productivity app, this brightly coloured scheduler allows you to add tasks by time of day, time of week or zone (such as kitchen or bathroom) which makes it especially useful for home repairs. There’s also an Accomplishments section for you to reflect back proudly on the day’s achievements (and maybe show your significant other).
  • Big Yellow Space Kit (iPhone, Free) – Should you need to move items out of the way while a room – or even your entire home – undergoes transformation, a self storage unit could provide the answer. Help is at hand in the form of this app, which features a cunning room layout tool (which you can populate with furniture), a paint calculator and storage archiver.
  • Dream Home (iPhone, iPad, £1.19) – A look book for people trying to decide on a new colour or style for a room, this app offers full color inspiration images. You can upload photos of your own home and, while it would have been nicer if the images were retina display, it comes with a great range of styles. This is a fun app to use in bed when you’re trying to prove a point about minimalist lines accentuating a modern bathroom. There’s also a Dream Home Spring version of the app, if you’re so inclined.

OK, so we’ve shared our favourites. Now over to you. Are there any mobile apps you have found useful when thinking about home improvement? Or have you tried some of the apps above and want to share what you think? As ever, tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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Track your WiFi use with WiFiMan [iOS]

April 18, 2011 By

Last October I mentioned an iPhone app called DataMan, which tracks the amount of cellular data your iPhone is using. Since most mobile carriers are now metering their cellular data, it can be useful to keep an eye on how much you’re chewing through.

The same company has now released WiFiMan, which tracks WiFi usage.

While the bandwidth limits on WiFi accounts tend to be much more generous than on cellular, it’s a hard fact of life that many WiFi plans do still have a limit. Are you likely to run into that limit on your smartphone? Well, I guess that depends what you’re using it for.

Heavy VoIP use, video conferencing, watching TV or videos and so on can soon start to eat into even a generous bandwidth limit so, again, it’s worth keeping an eye on how much you’re going through.

But wait…

But here’s the kicker. Ready? If you already have DataMan, it does WiFi usage as well as cellular. It won’t alert you if you’re about to go over a WiFi limit, but it will track how much you have used. So you have to ask yourself whether you want to buy a second app for the luxury of alerts, or can you trust yourself to manage your data usage just by keeping an eye on the counter?

WiFiMan is available from the app store for iOS devices. But personally, if any, I’d buy DataMan.

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Navigon iPhone 3GS in-car holder with charger [review]

April 6, 2011 By

If you’ve been reading Geek-Speak for a while you’ll know I love my gadgets and wouldn’t be without my iPhone. You might also have picked up that I love cars and, of course, there are times you want to combine the two. Since smartphones can now operate as SatNavs, it is important to be able to hold them properly while driving. By which, obviously, I mean an effective way of mounting them within the car.

Navigon, who also make SatNavs, have produced an iPhone in-car holder. I tested the 3G/3Gs version from MobileFun.co.uk.

The first impression is that this is a sturdy piece of equipment. No spindly arms but a solid piece of plastic holding your phone in place, and the sucker cup firmly attaches the whole setup to the windscreen. Perhaps I’m just spatially disadvantaged, but it did take me a few moments to work out which way up to attach the holder!

The iPhone clips firmly into the holder, which curls around the bottom ensuring that even if it somehow came loose it shouldn’t drop out.

The Navigon in-car holder also comes with an adapter to turn your 12v cigarette lighter socket into a USB port, and a USB cable for charging your iPhone on the go.

The overall impression of this in-car holder is of a solid piece of kit that holds your phone securely in place, and looks pretty good to boot. When you think about it, what more could you want from a gadget holder?

Mobile Fun has a good range of iPhone 3GS car holders, and an iPhone 4 version of the Navigon holder.  If you’re looking for a way to keep your gadgets safe while in the car, check them out.

[Navigon iPhone 3G/3GS in-car holder and charger]

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F1 Live Timing App [iPhone and iPad]

March 28, 2011 By

Well, F1 fans, the season is under way. After a delayed start due to the political situation in Bahrain we got to see some actual racing in Melbourne yesterday. The new Drag Reduction System was an interesting addition, and I think we have yet to see the full repercussions of its introduction.

Formula 1 is one of the most technologically advanced sports around, with the cars streaming data to the pit lane and control centres back at the teams’ headquarters. On board control systems allow the race stewards to enable the DRS, and GPS keeps a close eye on where each car is on the track.

That GPS data is available to you and I through facilities like the BBC’s driver tracker, and an app I’m trying for the first time this season: the F1 Live Timing App from Soft Pauer.

What do you get?

The F1 Live Timing App gives you access to the timing boards, which tell you how quickly the cars are getting round the track, their race position, and the gaps between them. You should be aware that this information is also available for free on F1.com or by using the F1.com mobile application. Where Soft Pauer’s offering differs is the inclusion of a live GPS feed overlaid on a map of the track.

What difference does that make? Well, and I admit this is pretty geeky (but then, that’s that this site is about, isn’t it?), but it’s great to be able to get an overall picture of what’s happening on track, as well as being able to visualise the track’s layout. See, even though I play plenty of F1 on the Xbox 360, I struggle to retain an overall picture of the track when all you see on the TV coverage is discrete shots.

Being able to see just how close the pack is behind a televised “battle” helps you understand the consequences for the drivers who are caught up in their immediate surroundings, and allows you to check for yourself some of what the commentators are telling you.

How much!?

OK, let’s get down to brass tacks. The F1 Live Timing App is by no means cheap and weighs in at £20 for the entire 2011 season. If you’re thinking that’s not a lot of use as the season has already started, you also get recordings of the data for past sessions so you can rerun any of the practice, qualifying, or race sessions you’ve missed.

Is it actually worth it?

That’s the big question, isn’t it? If you’re not a huge fan of F1, I think the price alone might put you off. If, however, you are a huge F1 fan the ability to keep up with the timings and GPS positions is absolutely brilliant.

The F1 Live Timing App is available from the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

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Infinity Blade for iPhone [Review]

March 10, 2011 By

Infinity Blade, a 3D fantasy game for iPhone and iPad, comes from the venerable publishing house Epic Games. Epic’s other franchises include Gears of War, Bulletstorm, and they were the producers of the classic FPS Unreal.

So Infinity Blade has some pretty big shoes to fill if it’s going to live up to its predecessors, but could a game on iPhone and iPad really live up to these giants of gaming?

I first saw Infinity Blade in an advert for the iPhone 4 and was immediately hit by how detailed the graphics looked. It was almost like a screenshot from a dedicated games console. Oddly, soon after seeing the advert I forgot all about it again until last week when I decided to take a look. The graphics certainly are excellent and, since you hold your phone much closer to your face than you would a TV, the screen size is comparable.

The geek in me wants to know how Epic have managed to squeeze such high quality graphics out of the iPhone, and I can’t decide if some sections are pre-rendered or not. It doesn’t matter to any extent, really, I’m just curious. However they’ve done it, the results are astonishing.

The gameplay is fairly simple, and employs a recursive storyline to make up for lack of content. I guess  I’d better explain that, hadn’t I? Infinity Blade starts off with a warrior being killed by an unnamed enemy. You then jump forward about twenty years as another warrior pledging to avenge his father’s death. This is done by battling through numerous enemies by dodging, parrying, blocking with your shield, casting spells and plain old hacking (that’s with a sword, not an Internet connection).

As you fight through all the enemies, you realise you’re working your way back to the place your father was killed… and the being who killed him. Chances are you’ll get there and die a very quick death, but this is where that recursive story comes in. You jump another twenty years as another warrior pledging vengeance. Fortunately you keep the skills and upgrades you earned during the last bloodline, giving you a better chance when you reach the big boss again.

And that’s it, really – wash, rinse, repeat until you’re strong and skilled enough to beat the end boss.

It might sound a little repetitive, but there are plenty of different enemies to defeat, with different attack and defence techniques to overcome for each. There is also an equipment upgrade system that encourages you to try out new items. Some of those items are better for attack or defence than others, and some give you extra abilities like spells or increased loot drops.

Infinity Blade is a great mix of stunning graphics and simple yet compelling gameplay. It’s not got an epic (boom boom!) storyline or anything but, to be honest, not many mobile phone games do! If you want to see what your iPhone (or iPad) can do, it’s well worth checking out. And it’s even fun :)

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Dot Gloves for Capacitive Touchscreens [review]

February 10, 2011 By

Capacitive touchscreens are the in thing at the moment – used on many of the current generation of smartphones. These screens rely on the fact that the human body is an electrical conductor, and when you touch the screen you affect its electrical field. This lets you use just the lightest of touch, and does away with the need to use a stylus.

There’s a problem, though, that rears its head in winter. Gloves tend not to be conductive, so trying to use your smartphone when wrapped up against the elements just doesn’t work. There have been a number of companies producing gloves to overcome this. Some use silver thread to make the gloves conductive too. The other day I received a pair of Dot Gloves from Mobile Fun to try out.

The Dot Gloves have Silicon tips to act as the conductor. When I first heard that I did wonder what they would be like – after all, the Silicon I’m most familiar with is bathroom sealant! I didn’t like the idea of gloves with rubberised fingertips. Fortunately I was wrong – the tips feel just like the rest of the gloves, and they feel, well, normal.

Do they work? Absolutely – the gloves are like those magic gloves that stretch to fit but look quite small before you put them on. That means they’re pretty skin-tight, and the control you have while wearing them is similar to when you don’t have gloves on at all… except that your hands are warm. As with magic gloves, these aren’t windproof, but it’s a definite improvement on going without and it’s great to be able to use my iPhone without having to take my gloves off.

If I have any complaints it’s that the stitching isn’t quite perfect. There are a few loose threads where the Silicon tips have been sewn on. A little attention with a pair of scissors will remove the loose ends, however, so this isn’t a massive problem.

All in all, the Dot Gloves are a nice way to keep using your touchscreen mobile phone during the winter months. They aren’t going to keep your fingers warm in extreme conditions, but if you’ve worn “magic gloves” before you’ll know what to expect. The stitching could do with being a little tidier but, barring that, they’re great.

Thanks to Mobile Fun for sending me a pair of gloves to review. Mobile Fun stocks a huge range of mobile accessories, including iPhone 4 Screen Protectors. If you’re after something for your mobile, head on over and check them out.

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