eZanga News » iPhone

Let’s Talk iPhone–A Quick Recap

Brittany Berger — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:51:40 +0000

Today was Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event at their Cupertino campus, where they announced new versions of the iPod Nano and iPod Touch, announced the release date of iOS5 and iCloud, and unveiled the highly-anticipated new iPhone, the iPhone 4S. Here is everything you need to know!

iPod Nano

Inspired by the Nano accessories that let you wear your Nano like a watch around your wrist, Apple has added a number of clock interfaces
Larger screen icons for easier navigating
Built-in accelerometer to make tracking fitness easier
Comes in 7 colors, available now
Price: $129 for 8GB, $149 for 16GB

iPod Touch

Will be available in black or white
Runs on iOS 5, meaning it will have Game Center and iMessage (free text messaging, anyone?)
Supports iCloud
Price: $199 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB
Available: October 12

iOS 5

Improved notification system
Location-based reminders
iMessage, a device-to-device messaging system
Twitter integration
Improved Camera app
New greeting card app
Price: free to download!
Available: October 12

iCloud

Find My Friends app for location sharing
Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch/Mac–locate your missing Apple device by signing in to icloud.com
Available: October 12

iPhone 4S

Looks just like the iPhone 4
Much better camera than the iPhone 4
Uses Apple’s A5 chip, increasing speeds
HD video recording
Airplay: wirelessly stream content from your phone to your HDTV
Coming to Sprint
Siri voice assistant
Comes in black and white
Available: for pre-order on October 7, for purchase on October 14 at 8 a.m.
Price (with 2 year contract): $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB

Are you going to be buying an iPhone 4S? Which of Apple’s many announcements are you most excited about?

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

iPhone 5… Coming Soon?

Lisa Quinn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:51:42 +0000

The next-generation iPhone is said to be released October 7th…or will it be in September? Honestly, it doesn’t matter since we are finally nearing the end of the long awaited iPhone prophecy. For months now, talk of the new iPhone (4s and/or 5?) has been circulating all over the web– predictions spewing on when, how much, what model(s), what features. Whatever the truth may hold, one can expect some pretty sweet features (or serious let downs). Here are a few rumored highlights for the highly-anticipated iPhone 5:

‘World phone’– capable of working on any network carrier
To the Cloud!- Wireless software updates…and scratch any type of data storage for that matter, thanks to iOS 5 with iCloud
Screen- Bigger, edge-to-edge with no home button making the next generation completely touch
Design-said to resemble a sleek teardrop shape along with being slimmer and lighter than previous models
NFC Technology- with all the buzz around mobile payment services, one can only assume Apple will introduce this into their next-gen

What would you like to see in the new iPhone?

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

The U.S. Has iPhone Fever!!

Kristin McLoughlin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:25:47 +0000

About one third of the US population says they will be walking around talking on new iPhone 5s within the next year. The wait and withheld release date of the new phone has created so much buzz that 35% of consumers say they want it!

Rumors have it that the iPhone 5 will be launched in September, and the wait is almost over! Statements from an anonymous Swisscom source claim that Apple will be launching the smartphone in the US on September 5 and worldwide the following month. However, that is an odd date and on a holiday weekend. There are doubts that it will be released then, but it will most likely be somewhat close to it.

Of that thirty-five percent, 7% will buy it in the first week, 14% will buy within the first month, 30% before the end of 2011, and 51% say they will have it within a year of its release. Wow!! This phone is creating a frenzy!

Consumers have some pretty high expectations for the new phone, and Apple is very unlikely to let us down. 42% of consumers are looking for a better camera, 45% a bigger display, 46% are concerned about the 4G network, 55% want a lower cost, and 59% say they want longer battery life.

The craze over the iPhone 5 is great for Apple, guaranteeing them customers and hopefully giving us satisfaction! Apple seems to be making entire movements with their products and trending all around the world.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sure hoppin’ on that iPhone train in September!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

Skydiving iPhone

Kristin McLoughlin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:22:40 +0000

After Jarrod McKinney’s iPhone 4 accidently went skydiving with him, it shockingly survived the 13,500 foot drop. McKinney found his phone on the top of a building not far from his landing, and the device started vibrating when a phone call surprisingly went through.

McKinney is not sure when the phone fell out of his pocket, but he forgot to zip the pocket of his skydiving pants. He found his phone by using a GPS tracking app, and his skydiving instructor called it just for a laugh; but when it started ringing they were laughing even harder.

It’s no secret how delicate and easily shattered the iPhone is, so this was extremely astonishing for most people—especially those with cracked iPhone screens! It is also unbelievable that a phone call worked because the iPhone 4 had many reception issues with its Antennagate—which dropped calls randomly because of the design of the phone’s antenna.

The phone was wearing an Incipio brand phone case, which was broken but still on the phone after the fall. If it helped protect an iPhone from a 13,500 foot drop, maybe we should all get one of those!

Compare prices for Incipio products right here on eZanga!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

Meet the iPhone family tree!

Kristin McLoughlin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:40:43 +0000

Apple has some treats up their sleeve for consumers for the upcoming year. They are offering upgrades and better deals left and right.

Instead of a new iPhone being released in the fall, it is believed that an upgrade for the iPhone 4 will be unveiled. The version will be iPhone 4S—just like the iPhone 3GS upgrade in between the third and fourth versions.

Wall Street says the new designed iPhone 5 will come out sometime in 2012 with a bigger screen, thinner body, and 8 megapixel camera. Also allegedly being designed by sometime next year is a “baby” iPhone—a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone 4 that is convenient for iCloud usage. Not too much information has been released about that product, though.

Once the next generation iPhone is released, prices will change for the older phones, which is good for us! Rumor has it that Apple will have the iPhone 3GS come free with a two year contract. Also, the iPhone 4 will only be $99, while the fresh iPhone 5 will of course be $199/$299.

There are good things on the horizon for iPhone users—the next generation iPhone has countless new and improved features, such as no home button, better resolution, HD video recording, better battery, 3D display, iTunes cloud, and iOS 5. And we’ll all just have to wait and see how adorable the newborn “baby” iPhone is!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

Friendthem App takes Facebook Stalking to a Whole New Level

Kristin McLoughlin — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:12:29 +0000

Apple is releasing a new, possibly creepy app for the iPhone called “Friendthem.” The app allows you to see other Friendthem users and their Facebooks that are within 1500 feet of you. The app uses location-based software to find other Friendthem users, making it effortless to add new people and without going through the hassle of searching them.

The app displays a potential friends list, consisting of users that are within 1500 feet, their name, mutual friends, where they are from, and their current location. An Android version will also be released soon.

There are many pros and cons about this app. On the plus side, you won’t have to search too much for that cutie you just met at the bar, connecting with co-workers will be a breeze, and all Friendthem users won’t have to do much searching for new acquaintances. Users can send friend requests right on the spot, or save the request for later.

On the down side, however, this could potentially be dangerous. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but from a girl’s perspective, I would not want people on the street or in the mall to be able to pull up my Facebook, name, where I’m from, and my location with the tap of a screen. It would make me very uneasy to know that other people around me can find my Facebook page with an app on their phone—without me even telling them my name. Facebook should be a place for social networking, not stalking people you see in the coffee shop!

Fortunately, the only way your page will come up on Friendthem is if you use the app yourself. Users can also control what information of theirs will be shown to others on the app, as well. Any user should still be aware of the exposure of their personal information that comes with this app and the potential risks.

What do you think? Will “Friendthem” be a new, smooth pathway for Facebook connections or just a new way for creepers to pursue you? Let us know!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

iCloud: What You Need to Know

Brittany Berger — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:45:37 +0000

I’ve already told you about the Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5 news from Apple’s WWDC keynote presentation. With all of the new features, there’s no end to the things you can do and create on your computer or mobile device. Apple’s iCloud service will allow you to access what you create from any of your devices.

What is it?

iCloud is the latest cloud service from Apple. It will provide an easy way to manage content by storing your content and automatically pushing it to all of your devices, wirelessly.

Content? What content?

iCloud works with Apple applications including Calendar, Mail, and Contacts, similar to Apple’s previous MobileMe service. But it also works with iTunes, the App Store, iBooks, iWork apps, backup, and the new Photo Stream. So you will be able to access almost any content that you would access on one computer or mobile device, but on all of them.

How do I get it?

iCloud will be free and available as soon as iOS 5 is. When you sign up, you automatically get 5GB of storage for Mail, Documents, and backup. Purchased music, apps, books, and photos will not count towards your free storage.

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

iOS 5: What You Need to Know

Brittany Berger — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:58:41 +0000

I’ve already brought you the happenings from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and introduced you to some of the new features of Mac OS X Lion. Here’s a run-down of the new features of iOS 5 (the operating system for Apple’s mobile devices) demonstrated in the keynote presentation.

The Basics

Available: Fall
How to get it: downloadable on your device
Cost: free

New Features

Notification center: all of your notifications from your apps are now all in one location, easy to access from any screen including the lock screen and less distracting than the current push notifications
Newsstand: a folder to manage all of your newspaper and magazine subscriptions delivered to your device and automatically updates in the background
Twitter integration: you will now be able to sign-in to Twitter just once in ‘Settings’ and instantly send tweets from your camera, Safari, and other apps
Safari: the internet browser now has a reader feature to read articles in an RSS-like view and save things to a reading list for later (also, the iPad will feature tabbed browsing)
Reminders: store multiple to-do lists complete with due dates and locations and automatically syncs with other devices and apps
Camera: in addition to better features to help you compose a picture and sync photos to other devices, you will be able to use shortcuts to access the camera app from the lock screen and take a picture by simply pressing the volume-up button
Mail: you’ll be able to add rich-text formatting (bold, underline, etc.) to emails, search the contents of messages, and flag important messages
PC-free: you no longer need a computer to activate, update, and back-up your devices
Game center: enhanced with profile pictures, game recommendations, and friend recommendations
iMessage: a messaging service for all iOS 5 users with group messaging, delivery receipts, typing indications and more, and conversations are pushed to all of your devices

Watch out for the last article in the series, which will be about the iCloud service.

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

Attention eBook Worms! Is the iBook 1.3 Update Generating a Loud Shout with its new Read Aloud Feature–or No Sound At All?

Kristin McLoughlin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:01:11 +0000

Apple has advanced eBook reading with the new iBook 1.3 update, presenting a read aloud feature in select books with automatic page turning, highlighting words, automatically playing audio & video content in the books, and improvement on downloading large books. Or has it? Users have experienced a few glitches with the update—encountering silent narrators that make us wonder whether we should have went with Amazon Kindle or Google eBookstore instead.

The iBook iOS app update is free, requiring iOS 3.2 or higher, and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It has Apple’s usual appealing, sleek characteristics with some modernistic features.

The iBook 1.3 contains read aloud for select children’s books. The app is also capable of highlighting words as they’re being read, helping children learn to read. There is a picture of a speaker at the top of the app, and the user simply taps the speaker to enable sounds. There is also an option of turning the pages manually or automatically in this menu.

Books including multimedia content, such as audio or video, will automatically play on iBook 1.3, as well.

The update also acts more efficiently with larger books than before. There used to be incidents of the app displaying the same page twice, but this new update has corrected that issue.

However, there are definitely glitches with this update. It is said to have difficulty functioning on the iPad and iPhone 4 on the latest iOS. When the read aloud is selected, the pages will turn properly, but there is no sound. Apple is aware of this glitch, and I’m sure they will have it perfected shortly, as they always do.

Some critiques with iBook also include that it is not supported by any other devices, while its competitors most certainly are. Kindle can be read on iPad, iPhone, Kindle and PC’s, and Google eBooks is supported by iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and any JavaScript-capable web browser.

Electronic book worms everywhere are stocking up their virtual shelves, and Apple needs to fix these glitches before they slither over to Amazon or Google!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!

Crazy Toads – A HOPPY New Game for iTunes!

Christi Lenoir — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:56:26 +0000

Your favorite froggy friend, Jimmy Hoppa, is featured in his first game for iTunes, Crazy Toads! This fun, new game comes to you from VFGames.com and was created by our own gamer prodigy, Vincent Kahn. Simply click on the link or search for it on iTunes to download the app.

What does it entail, you ask? Well, the purpose is to climb your way to the top, leaping from lily pad to lily pad, while avoiding four deadly enemies. Don’t forget to collect the coins to earn extra points. Jimmy loves to hop…and now you can too! Share your score with your friends on Apple’s Game Center.

Vincent Flash Games will be updating Crazy Toads and adding new levels, more enemies, and more ways to earn points in the near future, so hop on and go. See you at the top!

Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!