Apple releases iPhone 5… still playing catch up?

As Apple released the new iPhone 5 Friday, 9/21 we heard reports of users having issues with the new mapping software that Apple so much taunted to replace the Google maps from its previous iOS.

Apple decided that keeping the iPhone 5 with a 4-inch display would be a better user friendly phone, while most other phone manufactures are designing mobile phones around a 4.5-inch and bigger display. Makes more sense to have a bigger screen, not only is this helpful when viewing webpages, but for serious use of a mobile phone to view, documents, PDF files, Excel sheets and if you’re a business user, you would really appreciate the bigger screen for this types of files. And lets not forget when viewing email. Yes you could always view on a smaller 4-inch screen, but why? This also leads to why would Apple just use a dual-core processor at 1GHz? Yes I know that most of the software that runs on iOS 6 doesn’t require faster processor but, lets think about this. When Apple releases another iPhone, it will require a faster processor so you will be left out with your current iPhone 5. Yes you will be able to upgrade to the next generation iOS 7 but, most of the time there will be features that will not be available to older iPhones due to not having the hardware to run the newest iOS. As Apple try’s to catch up in the processor department, all of the newer Android devices are starting to ship with Quad-Core processor that are very powerful devices to handle high end HD content. This will be excellent as Google releases new Android OS, you will be able to use your phone for the next 2-years of your phone contract without worrying too much about not having to be able to use all the new features of the new Android OS.

The talk time that Apple is claiming on the new iPhone 5 is 8 hours, which is much less then most newer Android phones. Some users have already claimed that they are getting 12 –14 hours of battery life which is not ideal in my tech use. Again, this is what we had seen many users complain 3 years ago with Android devices, we will have to see how this spans out.  My Galaxy SIII gives me an easy 22 – 27 hours with heavy use, this includes having WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth radios on including LTE when in the area. I was surprised to see a 1440mAh battery while most of the newer Android mobile phones are starting to pack a removable 2100mAh and higher battery that will give you longer talk time and use.

The iPhone 5 does have an excellent display at 1136 x 640, IPS LCD, 326 ppi but does fall short of HD quality. You shouldn’t notice this on the smaller display, but in comparison to other mobile phones with 1280 x 720 resolution and around 306 ppi you get more of a true HD display to watch movies and other media on the phone.

For now, we will see how Apple will continue to improve the iOS to give users more features and easier to use the new iOS. If you were one of the lucky ones to get your new iPhone 5 and had the iPhone 4, would you say besides the newer 4-inch screen, is there much more of a difference? Does the iOS look different? Is there any new way of customizing the home screen? I should be picking up the iPhone 5 to give it a try and compare to my older iPhone 4.

Samsung Galaxy Note II up for Pre-Order at US Cellular

US Cellular is now showing the Samsung Galaxy Note II up for pre-order with a price of $299.99. Unfortunately no release date is yet shown on US Cellular website,  but we could expect to see the Galaxy Note II start to shipping at the end of October, so we could see it hitting store shelves early November.

The Galaxy Note II has much improved over its predecessor and now will include a bigger and more massive 5.55-inch HD Super AMOLED+ display. If you thought the original Galaxy Note had a massive display, well now at 5.55-inch, this might just fall at borderline for a small tablet. I myself really don't mind the size of the Galaxy Note, as I have the Galaxy Note 5.3-inch and really like it. It will also be powered by the Quad-Core processor running at a whopping 1.6GHz, could be the fastest mobile phone out there, 2GB of RAM, 1280 x 720 display, 16/32/64 GB of internal storage, MicroSD slot, 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front facing camera, BT 4.0, WiFi, NFC, S-Pen, and 3100mAh battery to keep this beast from running out of power.

I will be looking forward to getting the Galaxy Note II, which will replace my current Galaxy SIII.

Samsung will be releasing the Galaxy Note II with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the gate, and with 4G LTE capable, this will make an excellent mobile phone/tablet to carry around as a power user.

Video Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 White Book Cover Case

I have always been a fan of the slim type of cases, now that I was able to pick up the Book Cover for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, I went ahead purchased this one and gave it a quick look.

As I mentioned in the video, I really like how little bulk it adds to the Galaxy Note 10.1 and all the ports are open to access without any problems. The Book Cover does have a opening for the SPen and you are able to pull the SPen out without any problems.

The only con I can see with the Book Cover is, when you have a very slipper surface, it will slide down even though it does have those rubber feet at the bottom to give a good grip on whatever surface you might stand the Galaxy Note 10.1.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 is still my best tablet with a stylus, no other tablet that I have used so far has worked so well with the stylus, even my iPad or HTC Jetstream.

Sony announces Xperia T, V, and J series smartphones

Sony announced a few new smartphones over at IFA 2012 in Berlin to add to the Xperia series. The new line up is called Xperia T, Xperia V and Xperia J. From the looks of it, Sony wanted to make sure it covered each category, and of course the T series being their high end.

Sony also will bring to the Xperia T and V series line of smartphones the best HD experience to deliver connected entertainment along with NFC for a one 'One-Touch' sharing capability. Nice to see NFC starting to get embedded in smartphones.



Both the Xperia T and V will be sporting the 1.5GHz dual-core processor and using LTE for 4G connectivity. This should keep your entertainment flowing on your 4.6-inch screen for the "T" series and 4.3-inch screen for the "V" series. At launch we should see Android 4.0 running on the Xperia series, but Sony claims an upgraded to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is just right around the corner. With Jelly Bean 4.1 announced almost 5 months ago, we did expect to see the new Xperia series running Jelly Bean out of the starting gate.