iPhone Download World

Smartphone Shootout: Apple iPhone 4S vs. Motorola Droid Bionic vs. Samsung Galaxy S II – International Business Times

Screens and Sizes

The Galaxy and Bionic both have 4.3-inch screens. But the Bionic’s 960-by-540 pixel screen is a little sharper than the Galaxy’s 800-by-480 screen. The iPhone 4S has the tiniest 3.5-inch screen, but is the sharpest with 960-by-640 resolution.

The Galaxy is also the biggest phone with a height of 6 inches, a width of 2.6 inches and a depth of .4 inches, but weighs the least at 4.3 oz. That is compared to the dimensions of the iPhone at 4.5 by 2.3 by .4 inches and weight of 4.9 oz. also the Bionic is 5 by 2.6 by .4 inches and weighs 5.6 oz.

Camera

All three phones have an 8-megapixel camera rear camera, an LED flash and are capable of 1080p video capture. The Bionic and iPhone both have VGA front cameras compared to the Galaxy’s 2 megapixels.

Wireless Speed

The Bionic has the fastest speed supporting 4G LTE on Verizon’s network. The Galaxy is the second fastest with HSPA+ 21, followed by the iPhone’s 14.4 HSPA on AT&T or 3G EVDO Rev A on Sprints and Verizon. The iPhone 4S runs a little faster on the AT&T network versus Sprint and Verizon.

Mobile OS

The Bionic and Galaxy both run on Android’s Gingerbread OS. it features a refined user interface from previous OS’s, faster and more intuitive text inputs, better power management, near-field communication apps and Internet calling for those with SIP accounts. The iPhone 4S’s new iOS 5 has a new safari reader, a new notification center, a great camera interface, iCloud, iMessage and the new Siri Voice Assistant App.

Though Android users can find Siri-like apps on the Android, they can’t match Siri’s functionality and personality. The Android OS might be able to match the individual functionality of the iOS 5, but it just can’t be the amount of integration that is the basis of Apple’s mobile OS.

Battery

The Galaxy has 11 hours of talk time compared to the Bionic’s 10-and-a-half hours and 8 hours of talk time on the iPhone 4S. also the Galaxy’s battery is rated at 1650 milliampere-hours, the Bionic at 1735 mAh and the iPhone at 1420 mAh. though the Bionic has more juice that 4G LTE really sucks up power.

Cost for Storage

Apple has the widest range of prices for models with different onboard hard drives. The iPhone 4S will cost $200 (16GB), $300 (32GB) and $400 (64GB). The Bionic costs $300 with 16GB of onboard storage and a 16GB microSD card pre-installed. The Galaxy costs $200 with 16GB of onboard storage and an empty microSD slot. A 32GB microSD card runs about $40 on Amazon.com.

The $200 price range will get buyers 16GB on the iPhone and the Galaxy. Apple also stays competitive with the Bionic for 32GB at the $300 price range. However, it is extremely pricy for more GB on the iPhone 4S and once you buy it you can’t expand its memory at all. That being said the Galaxy and Bionic’s memory can be expanded, but they can’t touch the iPhone at its highest capacity.

Final verdict

It’s sort of a tossup between the two Android phones. The both have similar screen sizes, storage capacities, and rear cameras. The Droid has faster wireless capability but also costs $100 more than the Galaxy. The Galaxy also has a slightly faster processor, a better front camera and is a little lighter. So the Galaxy is probably the smarter purchase since it is the most price efficient.

That being said it is hard to beat iPhone’s iOS 5. it is a great mobile OS with a ton of nice polished features. Siri is a really powerful voice assistant that is just fun to use. iOS 5 offers a cohesive and consistent user experience across it’s OS.

So if you want a technically better phone get an Android. But we’re giving the nod to the iPhone 4S for its OS that is a great experience. At end of the day the interface is what matters most. But we’ll see what happens when Android debuts Ice Cream Sandwich.

dexim Frixbee iPhone 4 wireless charger review – Appletell

Provides: Wireless iPhone charging, protection Colors: Black Developer: Dexim Minimum Requirements: iPhone 4 Price: $79.90 Availability: Late March 2011

dexim is a company that makes use of cool technologies, and often does so at a price lower than many competitors. For instance, dexim has a Super-Juice Power Case that is similar to that of Mophie’s Juice Pack Plus but for a little less money. Still, regardless of price, the point is that dexim makes some good iDevice power products. And as you’d expect, the Frixbee is one of them.

The dexim Frixbee is their product meant to fill the inductive charger market. Basically, it’s built so you can simply set your device down on a surface to charge it without needing to fumble around for wires. It’s extremely similar to the Powermat chargers you’ve probably seen for a while now. However, dexim gives you the case, charger, and necessary wires all for around $80, while other companies often charge $80 for the charger alone.

Setting up the Frixbee is fast and easy. You basically plug the mat into the wall using the power cord it comes with, put the case on your iPhone, set the iPhone down on the mat, and you’re done. the iPhone simply begins to charge so long as it is on the mat in the right orientation. I make that emphasis because sometimes getting the device to recognize the iPhone can take a try or two. the mat is built such that each side is a separate station, meaning you can charge two iPhone 4s at once. This also means the iPhone must be centered on the mat such that the mat and the case can appropriately sync up with each other to charge the device. that said, there is a small magnetic force that helps to align the two.

A big part of this system is obviously the case. Since the system relies on a link between the case and mat, the case will need to stay on your phone to use the product. Luckily, it’s a lot smaller than many of the other cases I’ve seen used with these systems. While it’s certainly smaller than the Mophie or even dexim battery cases, it seems to be smaller than many of the inductive system cases as well. In fact, it’s at a size such that I don’t really mind using it day to day.

But there is one annoyance. the case is constructed in two pieces: a smaller top piece that comes up and then a bottom that the phone slides in to. In my experience with the case, the top part doesn’t snap on very strongly and can fall off with small tugs or something that might happen in your pocket. the case does, however, have a small USB port on the bottom so that the iPhone can be charged and synced with a computer while in the case.

I’ve also confirmed with the dexim PR that they do plan on offering different cases for this product. While they aren’t sure of a timeline yet, I’d imagine they’ll announce some sort of iPod touch and iPhone 3G/3GS cases, too.

All in all, it’s a pretty good product for charging iPhones. the charge time is quick enough that you aren’t sitting around for unreasonable periods waiting for your device to charge, and it’s much quicker to simply set the phone down on the mat rather than try to find a plug for it. yet it would be nice if the mat was a tad bit bigger to allow more of the phone to sit on it instead of hanging off the edge. Also, if it’s quiet enough in the room, you can hear the small magnets or something in the device clicking around as they charge. It’s not disturbingly loud or annoying, but is certainly noticeable at times.

As I said, though, it’s overall a very solid and good product if you want a nice, not-too-expensive inductive iPhone charger.

Update to Popular Note Taking App Now Available – 7notes 1.4

New version makes it easier to create, share and save memos on iPhone.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 29, 2011

7knowledge Corporation, an innovative productivity application developer for tablet and smartphone devices, has released 7notes 1.4, an update version of the popular application for iPhone that includes new features and functionality to make it easier for consumers to create, share and store notes and memos.

“7notes continues to receive rave reviews from users. they enjoy using an app that makes it easy to take notes in real time, without the hassle of worrying about spelling or punctuation,” said Kaz Ukigawa, the CEO of 7knowledge. “Their response is what encouraged us to make this update in order to deliver an application that continues to meet their wants and needs and make their note taking experience event better, and improved creative options, share and save capabilities were among their needs.”

Among the new features in 7notes 1.4: new background colors and other creative elements such as various seasonal template and rich memos, and SMS and clipboard abilities. while iPhone’s small tiny keyboard limits the potential of the power of device, 7notes will unlock the limitation for user to be more productive with the addition of an extended keyboard that will provide a wide input area that makes the tiny iPhone keyboard obsolete.

“A common complaint among iPhone users is its tiny keyboard. 7notes will offer a more enjoyable note taking experience with an extended software keyboard, providing a more comfortable text input mode, while its stroke and convert abilities will easily convert handwriting to digital font. now with 7notes the headaches of taking notes on the iPhone will be eliminated.”New design elements will help bring notes to life, while the addition of more vibrant background colors or picture images will enable users to think of their smartphone as a device that will support their creative work, like writing and drawing, as well as gaming, listening to music and watching videos.

New clipboard features will allow users to save work, while SMS capabilities will take sharing ability beyond DropBox and Evernote, making it easy to text notes to friends, family or colleagues. “7notes already allowed users to sketch ideas, organize thoughts and share, but now there is even more creative and greater ability to share and save at social network services,” Kaz added.

With 7notes proprietary state-of-the-art handwriting recognition software, users can take notes on the go with their fingers or a pen for the iPad and event switch between handwriting and keyboard entry with a single touch. Memos can even be saved into different formats through DropBox and Evernote. Standard features include simple note taking features, built-in Spell Checker, autocorrect and auto-completion and PDF Document Creation.

7Knowledge continue to offer solutions that eliminate barriers between smartphone users and their keyboards, with future plans to expand its 7notes for iPhone and iPad app, as well as 7notes for Android.

7notes is available for download in the iPhone and iPad app store at: itunes.apple.com/app/id449800424.

7notes’ Seven Benefits:1. new wide input area makes the tiny iPhone keyboard obsolete2. Import pictures and add notes right on top of them. various seasonal templates make your writing fun.3. Write now, record your thoughts and digitize them.4. keep track of your important dates and set alarms for your messageshave a tickler file at your finger tips.5. Share your writing with personal feelings by “Edit it” server beyond any limitation of numbers of characters.6. use handwriting to send SMS messages, E-mail , post to Facebook, twitter , quickly and naturally7. State-of-the-art predictive engine make a litter effort for writing and typing

New Features of 7notes 1.4:

SMS messaging
Memo on pictures
Template Gallery for seasonal greeting
Accuracy improvement for the predictive engine
Performance improvement

About 7knowledge, Corporation 7knowledge Corporation, subsidiary of Metamoji, was established by the founders of JustSystems (listed on JASDAQ) in 2011 to contribute to the advancement of human beings by providing innovative application and services. for more information about 7knowledge Corporation please visit 7knowledge.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/9/prweb8835090.htm

In Sydney, Apple turns down olive branch from Samsung

October 4, 2011 at 4:57 am

Apple today before a Sydney court rejected Samsung’s seemingly practical proposal calling for the removal of certain Galaxy Tab 10.1 capabilities in exchange for a smooth tablet launch in Australia. Samsung reportedly agreed to take out the feature which ignores unintended touches on the home screen to prevent apps from being launched accidentally. Apple, it appears, instead wants a definite ruling on a temporary Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction, which should be expected later this week.

If the court sides with Samsung, it gets to launch its iPad rival in Australia in time for Christmas. if not, the case drags out into another year, possibly without a clear winner in sight. Remember, Samsung threatened to ban sales of the new iPhone in Korea the instant it launches. Apple is scheduled to unveil their next iPhone at a media event today in the Cupertino headquarters at 1pm ET, 10am PT. The event is headlined under the “Let’s talk iPhone” tagline, suggesting that the rumored Assistant feature will be in the focus, among other things.

Lawyers for the Cupertino, California-based Apple insist the Galaxy Tab 10.1 “is vastly the one that is going to be targeting the iPad 2″. According to Reuters, Apple lawyer Steven Burley made it clear that “the main reason we are here is to prevent the launch and maintain the status quo”. Note: The Wall Street Journal provides a live blog of today’s court hearing. such a legal maneuvering on the part of the iPhone maker suggests that Apple isn’t interested in settling its dispute with Samsung out of the court unless, of course, unexpected legal setbacks arise.

This is the second blow in two weeks to Samsung’s efforts to make peace with Apple, its largest buyer of components such as NAND flash chips, custom-designed iPhone processors and displays.

Samsung first voluntarily agreed to temporarily cease sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet until either the dispute with Apple had been resolved or they had won court approval. it was reported last week that the Korean consumer electronics powerhouse offered Apple a secret deal that would see Samsung launch its tablet in the country with a reduced software functionality. Apple’s legal counsel Stephen Burley reportedly told Justice Bennett that Samsung’s “inconvenience would be diminished and we would be comforted” if the deal were to be accepted. Per Bloomberg, Samsung lawyer Neil Young said his client was “willing to abandon plans to launch the product because missing the Christmas season would result in the new tablet being ‘dead’”.

Cross-posted on 9to5Google.com.

Unlocked iPhone 4S out Earlier than Expected – International Business Times

Should this report be true, it could be good news for those who spend excessively on international roaming charges and are tied down to AT&T's World Traveler Service, priced at $6 per month.

Meanwhile, Sprint has shipped the first batch of its iPhone 4S unlocked. “The Sprint iPhone 4S will ship with its micro-SIM slot unlocked. however, it'll be locking that slot “shortly after launch” via an update pushed to those devices. after the slot has been locked, Sprint says that it'll allow customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use in the future, Sprint spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein said in a statement.

Sprint offers two international voice plans for their customers who are roaming abroad. the Canada Roaming add-on is $2.99 per month and all calls placed from Canada are only 20 cents per minute. without this add-on, calls from Canada are 59 cents per minute. the Sprint Worldwide Voice add-on is $4.99 per month and offers discounted rates in countries around the world. For example, calls from Italy are $1.69 per minute with this add-on or $1.99 per minute without the add-on; calls from Peru are $2.29 per minute with the add-on or $2.49 per minute without it.

As the iPhone 4S launched on Friday The Dev-Team Blog announced the release of tethered redsn0w jailbreak for iOS 5, supported for the – iPod touch 3G, iPod touch 4G, iPad 1 and iPhone3GS. Jailbreaking allows users to fully customize and alter their OS to run software and functions that aren't sanctioned by Apple. after jail breaking you can also have full access to app's that are not supported on the official Apple Store.

Philips’ Fidelio DS8550 Bluetooth iPad/iPhone Dock: The New Digital Boombox Champ [Review]

Even as a munchkin bolting around on my grandparent’s farm, weeds licking at my calves, my life had its own soundtrack. that the sound came from the single anemic speaker of a heavy, D-cell burdened cassette-radio that loved to lunch on my Queen’s Greatest Hits tape didn’t matter — there was music in the grass, floating through the dust, on my shoes. It was awesome.

Flash forward to our MP3-laden, music-streaming days of wonder where, unexpectedly, Philips’ powerful, Bluetooth-equipped Fidelio DS8550 triggered that same feeling in me — which is pretty impressive, considering my expectations have evolved far, far beyond tinny speakers and misbehaving machinery. In fact, Philips has stuffed so much sound and so many clever features into the DS8550, it’s become my go-to gadget in a way that maybe no other sound accessory has before.

At $300, Philips is squaring off this particular Fidelio — which slots in just behind their top-of-the-line, $500 DS9000 — in the most fiercely competitive class of docks, against the likes of Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin Mini and the Bose SoundDock Series II. Visually, it distinguishes itself from the pack. It looks a bit like a Tylenol capsule cut lengthways — in a good, clean, sharply dressed way. But while it’s certainly no vagabond, the Fidelio’s materials and finish don’t have quite the same feel of quality as some of it’s competitors.

Sound is impressively big and meaty; this dock is really a boombox in disguise. Bottom-end from the two down-firing bassports easily fills a large room with palpable lows and warm mids. While the highs are not quite as clear as some other docks in this range, they’re still sharp; there’s a slight dullness at the top end that’s really only noticeable when listening to passages exclusively composed of treble — and even then, it’s slight. overall, the DS8550”s sound is dense, warm and colorful.

That warmth makes it perfect for a party, or outdoor use. I actually felt myself wanting to take the dock everywhere I went: onto the deck by the pool, out to the park, off to the fetch the mail — easy impulses to indulge due to the dock’s generous hidden handle and simple form-factor. Unplugged, the dock lasted a marathon eight hours on battery power, even with the volume cranked. It’ll even charge the docked device while the dock is running on battery power.

The DS8850 has to be one of the most flexible, accommodating docks in existence: of course it’ll dock an iPhone or iPod, but it’ll also accommodate an iPad. better yet, you can connect any of these via Bluetooth. Music streamed sounded almost as good as music played from a docked device; I had a hard time telling the difference. Bluetooth streaming also doesn’t seem to drain the battery much faster — testing resulted in about six hours instead of eight with Bluetooth on. A tri-colored LED indicator light on the front indicates remaining battery power. the dock is also cleverly equipped with a hinged, springloaded connector that’ll accommodate an iPhone with even moderately bulky cases (it’ll balk at something the thickness of, say, an Otterbox though).

Finally, the free Fidelio app provides some cool little app-enhanced functions for the dock: a clock, (hardly useful), a more precise battery indicator (not bad), a sleep timer (better) and a fully customizable, five-band equalizer with a dynamic bass switch (bingo).

Here’s the only real caveat: the unit’s remote needs some serious work. Range and activation angle are both very limited, and printing on the buttons is difficult to see under most conditions. Worst of all, the skip backward button on our test unit’s remote failed to work from unboxing. It was probably a fluke; still, that’s the first remote we’ve come across that shipped in a faulty state.

Even with its remote issues, the DS8550 is a stellar performer; a fantastic sounding, performance-oriented dock with features that clearly raise it above others in its class.

Rating:

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BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB placed on the “to be discontinued” list

At last count RIM reported BlackBerry PlayBook shipments reached 700,000 in 6 months. this number is certainly not up to par with all the other tablets that saturated the market in the last year, but RIM always stated the PlayBook is the “world’s first professional-grade tablet”. The price points of all models recently received a price drop, which was well accepted, but owners are still waiting for native email, calendar and contacts to appear. The last rumour was from Bloomberg’s sources who pegged a September availability for these features.

The good news is that RIM is “highly committed to the tablet market” and will be releasing new versions of the PlayBook, most notably a 4G LTE PlayBook that should drop sometime “during the second half of 2011” (time is quickly running out). We’ve been given word that the 16GB version has been placed on the “to be discontinued” list. The screenshot is from TELUS and the doc shows the final date of returns is on November 8th and the last day to place orders is on October 10th. Finally, the date the PlayBook will no longer be available is currently blank, most likely will be that way until stock reduces. bottom line, the 16GB is being discontinued and no indication of the 32GB or 64GB models.

Virgin Mobile to release the BlackBerry PlayBook
Update: BlackBerry PlayBook reduced to $249 at Walmart Canada, $299 at Future Shop & best Buy
RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook becomes the “first tablet certified for deployment within U.S. federal government”
Sears drops BlackBerry PlayBook pricing until October 2nd, available from $299.98

Discussion 21 comments for “BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB placed on the “to be discontinued” list”

Facebook app finally comes to iPad

One of the enduring questions of the technology world: “When will iPad users get their very own Facebook app?”

That questioned has now been answered after Facebook said it was set to release an updated version of its iPhone application, one that’s also designed to fill out the iPad’s larger screen.

The lack of an iPad app for the world’s most popular social network has confounded users ever since Apple launched its tablet computer a year and a half ago. Third-party developers have made money selling their own apps that show Facebook pages.

“We’re releasing it now because it’s done,” Bret Taylor, Facebook’s chief technology officer, said in an interview.

two weeks ago, Facebook engineer Jeff Verkoeyen announced on his personal blog that he was leaving to take a job with Google and that the iPad app he had worked on was nearly complete in may. It was then “repeatedly delayed through the summer,” he said, without saying why.

Rumours have swirled that Apple and Facebook were in talks about deepening the integration of the social network into the system software of the iPhone and iPad. But Apple’s updated system software, announced this summer, will feature integration with Twitter, another social networking service, rather than Facebook. That will make it easier to “tweet” from other applications besides Twitter’s.

Like the previous Facebook app for the iPhone, the new “universal” iPhone and iPad app is free.

the updated Facebook app deals with one shortcoming of the old iPhone app, which didn’t play well with apps developed for Facebook’s website. they simply weren’t available.

in the new iPhone and iPad app, some applications developed for Facebook will work.

In Praise of Minor Upgrades

Courtesy Apple Inc.

For once, the instant critical analysis of an Apple product announcement was muted, not ecstatic. the new iPhone was faster than its predecessor and included a better camera. you could get it with double the storage. But the case design hadn’t changed a bit, and most of the changes involved subtle refinements. People expected something eye-poppingly new; Apple delivered a phone that didn’t tamper too much with a proven success.

The iPhone in question? Nope, not the iPhone 4S that Apple unveiled in Cupertino, Calif., last week. I’m thinking of the iPhone 3GS, which the company announced back in June of 2009. much of the punditocracy declared it to be a disappointment. (Here’s one example.) Consumers, however, seemed pleased. so much so that it’s still with us more than two years after its release — a rare accomplishment for any gadget. It’ll remain on the market, along with the iPhone 4, once the iPhone 4S hits stores on Oct. 14. (See the 50 best iPhone apps of 2011.)

As for the 4S, the Apple rumor mill has always been fueled as much by fantasy as by fact, but in the months leading up to last week’s launch, it switched into some sort of hitherto unknown turbo mode. there was going to be a radically new iPhone in a thinner, “teardrop shaped” aluminum case. the iPhone’s screen was going to get bigger. T-Mobile was going to start selling the new iPhone, or maybe it would be a Sprint exclusive. the iPhone was going to use near Field Communications (NFC) to let owners use it as a digital wallet.

Wait, did I mention that there were going to be two new iPhones? And that one would be a cheaper, smaller model?

In the end, Apple released one iPhone, with a faster processor, better battery life, a camera packing multiple improvements, and an improved, built-in version of Siri, the remarkable voice-controlled software the company acquired last year. it didn’t up the display size or change the case. the phone is now available on Sprint as well as AT&T and Verizon, but not on T-Mobile. And there’s no NFC. (See Apple’s top 10 moments.)

In short, everything about the iPhone 4S is evolutionary, not revolutionary. it kept all that was good about the iPhone 4 and improved a few things in a strategic fashion. That’s perfectly O.K. in fact, it’s worthy of celebration.

Evolution may not get anyone’s pulse pounding, but it often pays greater dividends in the real world than audacious changes that cry out: “Look at me!” big changes often bring major downsides; smart tweaks, however, are almost always nothing but good news.

With the 4S, for instance, Apple skipped NFC, a technology that’s still a work in progress. But it did improve the phone’s existing camera in just about every way it could: it upgraded the sensor, the lens, the flash, the video-capturing capability and the image-processing software. People who buy the 4S will benefit every time they snap a photo.

See photos of the iPhone 3G hitting stores.

Read more about the life and legacy of Steve Jobs in the tribute book from TIME, Steve Jobs: the Genius who Changed our World.

Unlocked iPhone 4S Coming In November, A Bit Expensive, Aren’t They?

You read that right, Apple is finally embracing the free iPhone, I mean free of carrier. The news came in today, a day after the sad demise of Steve Jobs owing to his long illness and Pancreatic Cancer and Apple following the visionary’s path, is back in business, staying hungry, staying foolish. I am sure Steve Jobs would have done the same, resumed work immediately after leaving planet Earth, I mean if this was possible by any means.

Just not one thing though, Apple isn’t selling Free iPhone 4S nor is it having Cheap iPhone devices. These unlocked iPhone 4S will be available November onwards and will begin from 16GB costing $649 to the 64GB costing a whopping $849. I guess many would rather go for the contract based device and than manually unlock it. It is a good news for people in countries like Pakistan where people usually have to take a really expensive route at getting an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS, even now. with this everyone can buy a Factory Unlocked iPhone fairly cheaply. Finally the search queries like Free iPhone, Cheap iPhone, iPhone 4 unlock will be lessening.

Just to highlight, these Unlocked iPhone 4S devices will support GSM only.

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