smartphone

Did Apple sell you an iPhone X or iPhone 10?

By Paul B. Kaiser on November 11, 2017

If you’re unaware of the Apple iPhone X pronunciation debate, then tell me if you pronounce the new iPhone X with the alphabet “X” or as the number “10”? No worries because everyone has been confused since the announcement. Some people argue that you say the letter “X,” while others believe the “X” is meant as the roman numeral for 10. For diehard fans it doesn’t matter. They still waited in line for days to get the phone.

Apple has settled the debate once and for all. The company said iPhone X is meant to be pronounced “iPhone 10.” The X marks the company’s 10th anniversary since the first iPhone hit the shelves in 2007.

Here are some hands on shots of the iPhone X from the Apple store today.

“The iPhone X is loaded with high-end hardware and new features”

The iPhone X is loaded with high-end hardware and new features, including multiple cameras, wireless charging and a beautiful display. However, Apple got rid of the home button on the iPhone X and launched a new feature called “Face ID” that unlocks the phone when the user looks at it. But I think everyone is pretty happy.

4 really nice things about the iPhone X

The sharpest display ever on an iPhone

The iPhone X features a colorful OLED display with more than 2 million pixels. That means sharper text for reading, more impressive video playback and more. Better yet, it has a screen that runs from edge to edge so you get a bigger viewing area without having to carry a larger phone.

Facial recognition

You can register your face with the iPhone X so that it automatically unlocks when you look at it. We’ve seen this before in phones such as the Galaxy S8, but Apple says its face unlock uses 3-D imagery that’s even more secure. It says the new tech can’t be fooled by even a professionally made mask of your face, and is more secure than fingerprint locks.

Animoji

This ties in to facial recognition but is fun enough that it deserves its own spot on the list. Apple developed new “Animoji” that allow you to create short clips of your own emotions and send them off as emojis to friends and family. Maybe you’ll make a silly face with the pig emoji, for example: Apple’s facial recognition tech will help the emoji resemble the exact expressions you’re making.

Cameras galore

Wide-Angle Camera

An ƒ/1.8 six-element lens, optical image stabilization (OIS), and a larger, faster 12MP sensor make the most popular camera in the world even better.

Telephoto Camera

Using a state-of-the-art seven-magnet solution, iPhone X includes a second OIS system in the powerful ƒ/2.4 telephoto camera. Together the two cameras enable optical zoom to bring you closer to your subject. And deliver amazing shots with Portrait mode.

The iPhone X has a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and a second telephoto lens for zooming. Apple says it offers huge improvements over the cameras we saw in the iPhone 7 Plus, which was the first to offer a telephoto lens. Also expect to see less shaky videos, improved pictures in low light, and more. Also, a new front-facing “TrueDepth” camera is capable of taking those fancy portrait shots that debuted on the iPhone 7 Plus, which create a blurred background bokeh effect that looks much more professional.

Has smartphone technology really peaked?

By Paul B. Kaiser on October 27, 2017

I have read several stories this year about the death of the smartphone, and how the technology is tapped out. I initially wrote them off as fake news or just looked the other way in denial. But after seeing the new releases of the Pixel 2, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, I’m really beginning to think they were right. It’s not that these phones aren’t the smartest devices in the world – they are. I mean they are computers in our pocket what the brainpower to fly a ship to the moon. The failure seems to be in the “lack luster” or the interest companies put into the phones. And maybe there isn’t much technology left to pack into these devices, but it’s hard to believe that Apple and Google aren’t introducing some new cool device that beams a holographic image or scans your body for diseases.

While there is plenty of hype and glitz when these phones have launched but they seem to be riddled with issues and glitches. The Pixel 2 has had screen problems and audio issues. The iPhone 8 is really the iPhone 7 for more money.The iPhone X face just looks like a awkward design. For the money that they cost, I think we all want more, or the same for less money. I mean generally speaking were getting new phones every 1-2 years.

And are these companies listening to customer feedback? Most people still want the headphone jacks in their phones. It feels like they are doing technology for the sake of technology – and to sell us new headphones.

New technology

So are Apple and Google working on anything cool besides VR? Not that VR isn’t cool but AI seems to have more use to a consumer. Here’s a rundown of some of their ventures.

Google is working on Google Lens, which is pretty cool. It’s the best of AI and technology combined. You can scan any thing, any person or data and it tells you what that object is – and files it under people or houses or whatever it is.

They are also working on getting the internet to the rest of the world called Project Loon. P roject Loon tries to solve this problem by taking it to the stratosphere. By using balloons, Google plans to provide Internet connection to the whole world. It works by acting as a node between the base Internet Service The balloons fly 20 kilometers (around 13 miles) above the ground. And Loons, powered by solar energy, can use the wind in the stratosphere to “sail” across the land.

Apple has these gems:

Project Titan – this is the Apple car that was rumored, then killed and now seems to be a reality. Apparently, Apple becomes “committed” to a project once the company begins spending huge amounts of money on tools, company acquisitions and other processes.

“We explore things with teams of people. And that’s a part of being curious,” Tim Cook said.

Apple is looking for the holy grail in healthcare. If it could monitor diseases like diabetes, hundreds of millions would buy what Apple is selling. CNBC reported that, Apple has hired a small team of biomedical engineers to work at a nondescript office in Palo Alto, California, miles from corporate headquarters. They are part of a super secret initiative, initially envisioned by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, to develop sensors that can non invasively and continuously monitor blood sugar levels to better treat diabetes, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Google Pixel 2 and the Mushroom

By Paul B. Kaiser on October 21, 2017

Some photos of the Pixel 2 at Verizon. I was surprised by the curves. I didn’t realize it was so extreme. Very “Samsung like.”

Pixel 2 XL

Speakers on both ends should be nice.

Pixel 2

Mushroom from Google

At the Apple event, Will “X” mark the spot for the new iPhone

By Paul B. Kaiser on September 13, 2017

Update:: New iPhone 8 Gold has arrived. Some early pics.

Today, the highly anticipated announcements from Apple took place at the Steve Jobs theatre, as they do every year. But this year was inherently different because Apple was in the new magnificent location (see drone footage), and the iPhone, really the first smartphone, was introduced 10 years ago. I’m going to give a few facts and specs below, but Ill let the pictures tell the story. Bottom line is that Apple is great, the iPhone is better than last year’s, and technology is held together by companies like Apple. The iPhone X is here and it looks awesome. “All you need is love” was the message that Apple and Tim Cook opened the conference with, and I believe that is what all their employees put into their products.

If you want to watch the full Apple keynote go here.

On a side note, as it relates to love, Apple literally just donated 5 million dollars to the HandinHand2017 Hurricane relief as I was writing this.

So the quick summary from the event is that there were 3 major announcements.

A New Apple Watch – Series 3 (See more here)
An updated Apple TV 4K (see more info)
And of course the new iPhones – 3 models iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus specs:

Still has a physical Home button
4.7-inch display for iPhone 8; 5.5-inch display for iPhone 8 Plus
Glass surface on front and back
Wireless charging using Qi standard (can be charged using third party wireless chargers that also use Qi)
LTE Advance for faster network connections
Water and dust resistant
Powered by an A11 Bionic chip, two performance cores
12 mega-pixel camera with two new sensors and optical image stabilizers
“Portrait Lighting” feature uses the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus’ dual cameras to sense depth and rework the lighting while you compose the shot
Highest quality video ever in a smartphone
Shoots video in 4K
New gyroscopes and accelerometers for augmented reality
Both models available in 64 GB and 256 GB
iPhone 8 starts at $699, iPhone 8 Plus starts at $799
Comes in silver, space gray, gold finishes
Pre-order opens Sept. 15, available Sept. 22

iPhone X

Basically the same as the iPhone 8 with these features.

Edge-to-edge display
Glass on front and back (same as iPhone 8)
Water and dust resistant
Comes in space gray and silver finishes
Super retina display (5.8-inch screen, 458 pixels per inch)
OLED display

No more home button on the “X”

Raise the phone or tap on any part of the screen to “wake up” the device, swipe up from bottom to go to home screen
Rather than pressing the home button, the phone unlocks by recognizing your face using the TrueDepth Camera System (infrared camera, floor illuminator, dot projector and front camera).
It works night and day, and learns your face over time so it cannot be duped by a photo or mask. Every time you glance at iPhone X it detects your face, takes an image, and checks it against a photo you took earlier.
When you take the initial ID photo, you move your head around so Face ID recognizes you from different angles. All processing is done on iPhone X and not sent to server to protect face data.
Face ID works with apps that use Touch ID, and can be used to verify payments.

The camera

Dual optical image stabilization
Larger and faster sensor
Quad-LED true tone flash

Size and price

iPhone X available in 64 GB and 256 GB models
Starts at $999
Preorders available Oct. 27, ships Nov. 3

Full photo gallery here.

Video Gallery

Cool Features on Android 8.0 Oreo

By Paul B. Kaiser on August 30, 2017

Android 8 has officially launched with the name OREO. Not a huge surprise, but everyone loves the cookie. Now will we love the Android operating system? I think so. I was a beta tester for the “O” system and I can tell you that the notifications, speed and battery life were greatly improved. I think Google has made some nice refinements to a good operating system.

My first impression is that there are not huge changes but some very nice tweaks to the system. It’s faster, extends the battery life, improves your notifications, WiFi is improved, and it’s already on Verizon for Pixel and XL – that’s the best news. There are a a few features I’d like to highlight but you can check out most of the features in the video below.

New Look for Settings Menu

The most obvious visual change is a revamped Settings menu, which features subtle dark gray text on an all-white background. Strangely, the side navigation menu introduced in Android Nougat is gone, but all of the various menus have been reorganized to make the Settings area as simple and straightforward as possible.

Notifications

Android Oreo will group notifications into channels, giving users greater control over their app notification categories. Google says:

“Users can block or change the behavior of each channel individually, rather than managing all of the apps’ notifications together.”

Another new feature will be notification dots, which are visual indicators on app icons that’ll show if you have any waiting notifications. This is a feature that iPhone users will be familiar with, as it’s been part of Apple’s iOS software for years. This could be the best feature. Being able to see whether you got email or a text or a message, this is a time saver. See the dot on my Gmail below.

Of course you can disable the notification badges with a long-press on the home screen, followed by a tap on Settings. Next, slide the switch next to All notification dots to the Off position.

Snooze that Notification

Google is also making it possible to snooze individual notifications, which is seriously useful given the persistence of some Android system notifications. You’ll be able to snooze notifications for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or one whole hour. It hides away from view, but will pop up again at a later time to remind us that we have unfinished business.

Picture-in-Picture mode (PiP)

One of Android 8.0’s flagship features, this was previously available on Android TV and has made its way to the smartphone. PiP lets you keep watching what you’re doing in a small floating window while you venture into other apps. It’s a pretty cool feature.

You can drag it around the screen and tap it to access playback controls or make it full screen. Of course, you can also disable this feature on an app by app basis if you don’t like it. Just o to the App Info page for the app in question, or visit the Special app access section in Apps and Notifications to see all apps with support for PiP.

Emojis around the house

Yes the emoji has been elevated. The stock Android blob emoji are now officially gone. The good news is that Google also released the new EmojiCompat library, which helps Android phones to “translate” new emoji and read them, instead of displaying an empty box with an X.

Wi-Fi improvements

Are you always in the habit of disabling Wi-Fi to save battery when you’re away from home? Android Oreo allows your device to automatically turn Wi-Fi back on when it detects you’re home and reconnect to your home network to save on mobile data.

Camera app improvements

Google is spending some time reworking the camera app, offering a new double-tap feature that lets you quickly get to 50% zoom. There’s also a new dedicated button that lets you switch between photo and video modes; previously, users were forced to swipe, which some may have found unintuitive.

The Android Oreo Promo Video

“Hello” iPhone – The evolution over 10 years

By Paul B. Kaiser on June 29, 2017

The TV commercial for the iPhone only had one word in the ad – “Hello.” It would be the pinnacle of accomplishment that Steve Jobs had worked his whole life towards. He drove this innovation smart and tough. The association with AT&T was bold, but a neccisity to make the iPhone an exclusive toy. The iPhone became so popular and it put Blackberry out of business, changed the way we listen to music and ultimately built the house of Apple – the new Apple campus.

TV commercial for the first iPhone – “Hello”

10 years ago today, the tech, phone, and consumer industry changed forever. The iPhone was shipped and in the hands of the consumer. I had the Palm Treo which seemed so magical, but then the iPhone came out and I felt like I had the oldest tech around. It had a full touch screen! No need for buttons – yikes.

As we near the debut of the new iPhone in September of 2017, the 10 year mark which is today, June 29th, 2017, we are is reminded just how much we love our phones. We have spent billions of dollars and created an empire. Ironically, I have never owned an iPhone, but I love Apple, and I love everything they do for technology and consumerism. I feel compelled to write about the iPhone because it was an invention, not just a phone. I thought I’d let the pictures, videos and charts tell the story.

Steve Jobs made the announcement just 6 months previous to the launch, and the promise of a tech revolution looked real. He stated that…

“Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything … One is very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Apple’s been very fortunate. It’s been able to introduce a few of these into the world.”

The evolution of the iPhone (minus the iphone 7)

iPhone 1 – 2007

iPhone 2 – 2008

iPhone 3- 2009

iPhone 4 – 2011

iPhone 5 – 2013

iPhone 6 – 2014

iPhone 7 – 2016

iPhone Fun Facts

Here are some Interesting Facts about this iPhone:

iPhone started as a Tablet Project, but when the Apple employees came up with an iPad design with a virtual keyboard, Steve Jobs thought that they can apply this technology to a phone and this is how, iPhone came into existence.
Exclusive rights for selling the first iPhone were Turned Down by Verizon – (LOL)
Apple, when looking for a carrier partner to sell the first iPhone insisted that the device will only carry the Apple’s Logo and not that of the carrier.
The App Store by Apple was the first online space that offered downloading an app legally.
All the iPhones in the iPhone advertisements show the time 9:41. This is the time when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007.
While Samsung and Apple are the biggest rivals, but not everyone knows that Samsung makes the processors for iPhones.
In 2007, iPhone was awarded as the “Invention of the Year” by Times Magazine.
In 2012, Apple sold 340,000 iPhones per day. A whopping 125 Million iPhones for the year.
Apple’s iPhone has higher sales as compared to everything being sold under the label “Microsoft”.
Apple’s iPhone in Brazil is Twice More Expensive than in the USA.