04 October, 2011

Apple iPhone 4S Siri Assistant, 8 MegaPixel Camera, 1080p Full HD Video Recorder, Dual Core A5 Processor and Other Features, Explained!



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT
Check out the official follow-up to iPhone 4. (That's right, no iPhone 5 yet; Apple's saving that for 2012, I guess.)

Meet Apple iPhone 4S:

iphone 4s

"iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever," shares Philip Schiller, Apple SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing.

"While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together."

Aple iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, Apple's most advanced mobile operating system, which comes with over 200 new features including Notification Center, allowing users to easily view and manage notifications in one place and iMessage, a new messaging service letting you quickly send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS5 users. Soon, iOS5 will also be available to iPad, iPad2, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G and 3G users.

iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant helping you get things done simply by asking. Siri understands context letting you to speak naturally when you ask it questions. For example, if you ask Sir, "Will I need an umbrella this weekend?" it will automatically understand that you want a weather forecast.

iphone 4s

Siri is also smart when it comes using the personal information you allow it to access. For instance, if you tell Siri to remind you to call your mom when you get home, it can find "Mom" in your address book, or if you ask Siri "What's the traffic like around here?" and it can figure out where 'HERE' is based on your current location. Siri even helps you make calls, send text messages or email, search the Internet, schedule meetings and reminders, find local businesses, get directions, make notes, and more. You can also get answers, perform complex calculations and find facts just by asking.

iCloud is a new set of free cloud services, including Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, and iTunes in the Cloud that work seamlessly with your iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, iPad and iPad2, iPod touch 4th and 3rd generation, Mac or PC to wirelessly and automatically store your content in iCloud and push it to all your iDevices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are automatically updated.

iPhone 4S flaunts a new camera with what Apple calls 'The most advanced optics of any phone'. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels letting you take high quality photos with more detail than ever. iPhone 4S features new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture and an advanced hybrid IR filter producing brighter, sharper and more accurate photos. Apple designed an image signal processor in the A5 dual-core chip for added performance, and paired with the features built into iOS5, this makes Apple iPhone 4S' camera one of the fastest on any phone. iPhone 4S' Camera app launches much faster with two times faster shot-to-shot capability, so you'll never miss capturing another moment.

New features found in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the iPhone 4S' lock screen, and you can even use the volume-up button to snap a photo. Optional grid lines you align your shot and a simple tap locks exposure and focus on your subject. Also, the new Photos app allows you to rotate, crop, enhance and remove red-eye, and organize your photos into albums right on your iPhone 4S for sharing on the go. iOS5 comes with built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so users can instantly share their photos on Twitter directly from the Photos application and send the shots through iMessage to groups or individuals. With iCloud's innovative new Photo Stream service, any photo you take using your iPhone 4S can be sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your other iDevices. You can even view your photos on an Apple TV!

iphone 4s

iPhone 4S records video in full HD 1080p resolution and with video image stabilization feature, you can take smoother and clearer clips. Other iPhone 4S video capture improvements include increased sharpness and sensitivity, and increased low light video capture capability. thanks to iMessage, you can now instantly share videos with your loved ones.

iPhone 4S flaunts the same glass-sandwich stainless steel design that millions of Apple fans around the world have grown to love, while being completely enhanced and improved on the inside. iPhone 4S' dual core Apple A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics performance than Apple iPhone 4, all while maintaining good battery life of up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G.

iphone 4s

Improving on the stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of its predecessor - the iPhone 4, Apple iPhone 4S is the first smartphone to intelligently switch between two available antennas to send and receive data. iPhone 4S supports HSDPA download speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps and as a world phone, it runs on both CDMA and GSM.

Watch the official Apple iPhone 4S promotional video:







Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:02 AM PDT
This post aims to collate all relevant information about iPhone 4S in the Philippines. Rest assured that it will be updated regularly or every time we get an update regarding Apple's newest phone.

Announced today, October 5, 2011, in an event in Cupertino, California, iPhone 4S is latest iteration to Apple's smartphone, the most successful in the world.



iphone 4s


Although Apple iPhone 4S doesn't really look different from its predecessor - the best-selling iPhone 4, it does come with a number of improvements in its innards. The new iPhone features include a dual core Apple A5 processor - similar to what powers iPad2, 2x as fast at CPU tasks. Also dual-core graphics. Up to 7x faster in the previous iPhone. One area you really see it scream is in games. Also, iPhone 4S comes with an 8 MegaPixel camera (vs. the 5 MegaPixel camera of iPhone4) with CMOS backside illuminated sensor, which gets 73% more light and 1/3 faster than the sensor of the previous iPhone. On top of that, Apple placed a high-end IR filter for greater accuracy and uniformity.

As for calls and data, iPhone 4S intelligently switches between two antennas between send and receive to make even better call quality. Data can now download up to 2x as fast. Theoretical max performance used to be 5.8 up and 7.2 down — now doubles to almost 14.4Mbps down.


One of the coolest things about iPhone 4S is Siri, the intelligent assistant to get things done just by asking. You can ask Siri all kinds of stuff, like where the nearest Greet restaurant. You can even ask Siri to read your messages to you and to define words! Siri does dictation — now whenever you see a keyboard, you'll see a microphone.


Talk to Siri, tap done, and in the blink of an eye it comes back with your text. Speak with your natural language. Compose and dictate email right to Siri. Set timers. Look up contacts, create notes, search the web, search Wikipedia. It's absolutely blow-away. Well, who is Siri? Just ask! Siri: "I am a humble personal assistant."

Running iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating sytem, iPhone 4S gives users all the improvements that the refreshed platform brings, which include Twitter integration, iMessage, Notification Center, Improved Safari Browser and Newsstand.

Pricing and Availability:

AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will be the official carriers of iPhone 4S in the US. iPhone 4S will come in two colors, Black and White. There will be three variants for each color, which will don these price tags: 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399. Of course, the pricing will be a lot different in the Philippines. No word yet on its exact release date in the Philippines but iPhone 4S will be available in Apple Stores in the US starting October 14. Again, don't worry, we'll keep you posted.

In true TechPinas fashion, here are the complete technical specifications of iPhone 4S:





TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Apple iPhone 4S
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category High-End (Flagship Release)
Dimensions115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
Weight 140 grams
Available Colors Black, White
Operating System iOS 5
Display 3.5 inches (~326 ppi pixel density), 960-by-640-pixel resolution, LED-backlit IPS TFT Retina Display capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical), 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
Processor Dual Core 1 GHz Apple A5 Processor
Camera 8 MegaPixels with autofocus and LED flash, VGA front facing camera
Video Capture 1080p Full HD, 30 frames per second
Audio and Video Playback Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Ports 3.5 mm audio jack, 30-pin dock connector
Connectivity CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only), Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology, UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
Memory 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage options, non-expandable
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, 3-axis Gyroscope
Battery Li-Po 1420mAh
Uptime Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)
Standby time: Up to 200 hours
Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Value-Added Features Dual-core CPU, 2x as fast at CPU tasks. Also dual-core graphics. Up to 7x faster in the previous iPhone. Improved stills and video capture
Announcement October 5, 2011 (1:30 AM Manila Time)
Availability Q4 2011
Price in the US - 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399 with Sprint




Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 10:56 AM PDT
OK. I just got this from Apple's iPhone event currently happening in Cupertino.

iOS5 will officially be released for public consumption on October 12, 2011. And it will be available to the following devices:



ios5
In case the photo doesn't load, these devices will support iOS5: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad2, iPod Touch 3rd Generation and iPod Touch 4th Generation.


iOS5 comes with a lot of cool new features including Twitter integration, improved Safari browser, iMessage, Notification Center and Newsstand.

The two things I'm most interested about are iMessage and Notification Center. iMessage in iOS 5 brings the functionality of iPhone messaging to all of your iOS devices―iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Built right into the Messages app, iMessage allows you to easily send text messages, photos, videos or contact information to a person or a group on other iOS 5 devices over Wi-Fi or 3G. iMessages are automatically pushed to all your iOS 5 devices, making it easy to maintain one conversation across your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Notification Center, on the other hand, provides iOS 5 users with an innovative way to easily access all notifications―text messages, missed calls, calendar alerts, app alerts and more, all in one place, from anywhere in iOS 5. When they arrive, notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen without interrupting what you're doing. With one swipe you can see all your notifications, and a simple tap will take you right to its app for more detail.

Let your friends know!



Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:35 AM PDT
Tonight, in Cupertino, Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver a keynote introducing the latest refresh to the iPhone.



Tonight, all the rumors and speculations about THE smartphone will be put to rest.

Tonight, we'll meet either iPhone 4S or iPhone 5... or both.

So let's all watch the event unfold.


TP Note: We just learned a few minutes ago that, this year, there won't be any official Apple Webcast or Livestream of the iPhone Event. What we have here is a live commentary video from three Apple fans on the iPhone 4S announcement.





Live Blog courtesy of Apple Insider




Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 08:53 AM PDT
If you're already 100% sure that Samsung Galaxy Y Smart Netphone Edition is the Android phone for you, then why not take the extra step and pre-order your handset NOW?




This particular Netphone model sells for Php 5,990 with Smart Prepaid Kit and even comes FREE with Smart Data Lite Plan 500 and All-in Plan 800. Learn more about Samsung Galaxy Y.


What's great about getting a Smart Netphone Edition Android phone is that it comes with SmartNet services that make mobile browsing more affordable and convenient. With SmartNet, you only pay for the services you need so you don't have to worry about extra charges.

So what are you waiting for?! Reserve your Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone HERE.



Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 04 Oct 2011 07:54 AM PDT
TechPinas Exclusive:

CDRKing has altogether gotten into the Android tablet game by releasing FastPad, a slate running Android 2.2 Froyo with a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor!



cdrking fastpad


This one comes with a 7-inch 16:9 capacitive touchscreen display, a 3 MegaPixel camera in front (oddly enough, none at the back), Full HD video playback, HDMI port, a microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack, and Wifi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity support.



cdrking fastpad


Priced at only Php 8,800, CD-R King FastPad is perhaps the most affordable capacitive touchscreen Android tablet out there. However, it does come with one seemingly major down-side: It just has a 2200 mAh battery. (In contrast, Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000, a tablet with the same screen size and operating system, and almost similar technical specifications, has a 4000 mAh battery pack.) So off hand, I'm not really expecting all that much from FastPad in terms of uptime. (I'd be glad to review FastPad unit and test how long its battery would last on a full charge. Let's see if CD-R King would bother to send us a unit).

So there. Oh, and let I forget, FastPad comes with 3-months service warranty and 1 week replacement guarantee. Isn't that nice?

TP Asks The Crowd: Are you willing to bet your money on this tablet, TP Friends? Or would you rather save your cash (since Php 8,800 is already quite a lot, when think about it) and just add a bit more to it this Yuletide for something more high-end -- like that slim and powerful Apple iPad 2 or that hot and svelte BlackBerry Playbook, maybe?





TechPinas Tablet Technical Specs Table (TTabTST)
Name CD-R KING FastPad Android Tablet
Type Tablet
Price Category Entry Level
Weight 0.39kg
Available Colors Black bezel, White back cover
Operating System Android 2.2
Display 7-inch TFT, 16:9, 800x480 pixels TFT Capacitive Touchscreen
Processor 1 Ghz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, Samsung S5PV210
Camera Front-facing 3.0 megapixel front facing camera, no camera at the back, no flash
Video Capture 720p (to be confirmed), High-definition
Audio and Video Playback 1080p HD Video, HW decode
MPEG4/H.264/H.263/, VC1/RMVB/RM/3GP/AVI/, MKV/MOV, MP3/WMA/WAV/AAC/AAC+
Built-in Ports HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB 2.0
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR, HSPA+ (4G), EDGE, GPRS
Memory 4GB TF Card, Maximum support up to 32GB (optional)
Sensors Proximity, accelerometer, digital compass and gyroscope
Battery 2200mAh
Uptime 5-6 hours of browsing, standby time of around 24 hours (according to user reviews)
Value-Added Features Android Market, Flash 10.1 support in Browser
Announcement Q3 2011
Availability Q3 2011
Price Php 8,800




Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 03 Oct 2011 10:56 PM PDT
If leaked information on Nokia's much-anticipated Windows Phone 7 devices posted on WinRumors were to be believed, then a smartphone called Nokia Ace could very well be the Finnish company's first flagship WP7 handset.



nokia ace
Nokia WP7 Phone Concept


According to the rumor website, Nokia Ace will come with the following technical specifications: A massive 4.3-inch AMOLED Clear Black display, 8 MegaPixel Autofocus Camera with Carl Zeiss lens, HSPA+ connectivity support, 1800 mAh battery, 16GB of internal storage and a 1.4 GHz processor, which it will use to run WP7 Mango OS. Totally flagship specs, if you ask me.

As yet, we haven't heard a word from Nokia on the availability or even on the very existence of this phone. Nokia World, however, is just around the corner so I'm sure we'll get some confirmation soon.



Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter:



Posted: 03 Oct 2011 09:44 PM PDT
Smart is giving away 12 units of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Yes, that big Android Honeycomb slate with suggested retail price of Php 30,000!) via the recently launched Pixel Galaxy Promo!



samsung galaxy tab 10.1


OK, so what's there to do?



JOIN NOW!


Here are the mechanics:

Smart Pixel Galaxy Promo Raffle and Game Mechanics

How to Join:

1. User must allow the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 promo app to access their information.
2. After allowing the app to access their information, user will then be redirected to the promo microsite at www.sgt10promo.com.
3. User is asked to provide personal details requested on the form in the microsite.

Required Fields are:
Name*
Mobile Number*
Home Address*
Non-Required Field: Telephone Number

4. After successfully providing their info, each registered contestant is given one (1) raffle entry and twenty (20) pixels to play the game.
5. Contestants also have the chance to win instant prizes by playing the Samsung Galaxy Tab game.

Determination of Winners: HOW TO WIN

There are 2 ways to win: Winning in the Grand Raffle and Playing the Game in the Microsite.

Winning the Grand Raffle

1. Contestants' registered information is stored in a database for the electronic raffle.
2. After the promo period, two (2) winners will be picked randomly through an electronic raffle from all the registered contestants and each raffle winner will win one (1) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
3. Contestants who win an instant prize through the game are still qualified to win in the grand raffle.

Winning the Samsung Galaxy Tab Game

1. On the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 game located in the microsite, contestants must select pixels to unlock to find the hidden instant prizes. There are a total of 1,024,000 pixels that can be unlocked, each pixel in the game may only be opened once.
2. As each pixel is unlocked, factoids about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Smart Communications are revealed.

Examples:

- "The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has 25 patents pending with the US Patent Office"
- "The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is made up of 7, 836 parts"
- "Smart Postpaid Plans are simply the BEST! Unlimited calls and texts for as low as P599 a month"

3. The user is then asked to click again anywhere in the game screen to find out whether they selected a winning or losing pixel.
4. If the user unlocks a winning pixel, they instantly win a prize.
5. Winners will then be notified via phone and email for further instructions on how to claim their prize.
6. The game is active as long as there are pixels left unopened, however once all the pixels are opened, the game ends.
7. There will only be a total of ten (10) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1's and ten (10) Samsung E1080 handsets to be given out to the first twenty (20) users who successfully unlock the winning pixels hidden in the game.
8. Instant prize winners may only win once for the entire duration of the game. After unlocking a winning pixel (whether it unlocks a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, or a Samsung E1080), the user will not be able to play the game any further, regardless of remaining pixel credits.

Earning Additional Pixels Through Referrals:

1. Each user is assigned a unique coded URL which they may share with their friends. Every successful referral gives them five (5) extra pixels to open.
2. Remaining balance of unused pixel credits will be stored in the system should the user wish to continue to open their remaining pixels at a later time.

Promo Duration:

1. Promo duration is from September 21 – October 21, 2011.
The game will lock regardless of the remaining unopened pixels.
2. The raffle draw will be held on October 25, 2011, at the Havoc Digital Inc. office on the 2nd floor of the Casmer building, Salcedo St., Legazpi Village, Makati City.

Procedure for Determination of Winners:

1. Users who register to the promo are given one (1) raffle entry for the grand raffle draw, to be held after the end of the promo period on October 25, 2011. Winners for the grand raffle are to be selected
through an electronic raffle draw.
2. The first twenty (20) users who play the game and successfully unlock the winning instant prize pixels will each win one of either ten (10) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1's or one of ten (10) Samsung E1080 handsets.
3. If any of the winners are found to be under 18 years of age and/ or not a Filipino citizen, they are immediately disqualified from the contest.
4. Contestants who win more than one (1) instant prize by playing the game through multiple user accounts will only be awarded one prize. Instant prize winners can only win once by playing the game.
5. Instant prize winners still qualify for the grand raffle draw.

Procedure for Claiming of Prizes:

1. Winners will be telephoned via Smart's special access # 7777 to confirm a date and time for pick-up of prize by Havoc Digital Inc.
2. Winners will also be sent an e-mail declaring the user as the winner.
3. Winners MUST present two (2) valid ID's and the e-mail confirmation they received from Havoc Digital.
4. If a prize is not claimed within 2 months (60 days), the prize will be deemed forfeited.

List of Prizes:

12 units of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1s (P 30,000/each)
10 units of Samsung E1080 (P 1,200/each)

I've joined na!



Enter your email address to subscribe to free daily TechPinas newsletter: