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Aug 30 2010
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Apple, iPhone, Technology

iPhone 4 – Everything Covered?

Image by Catyb. via Flickr

As I type, I’m on a kid-infested flight returning from a two week holiday.

I require three things while away (I’ve omitted several ‘givens’): music, camera, entertainment.

Previously, this involved carting around about three-hundred separate gadgets, each of which would end up either coated in sand, broken or lost.

During my time in Kefalonia, however, I’ve made an unexpected decision to sell my SLR camera on my return. Not because I found a better one, or because I have to pay for a costly foreign medical bill, but because I fell, hook, line and sinker for my iPhone 4′s camera. This was unexpected.

Apple chief, Steve Jobs, describes it as a ‘camera system’, casually brushing off any notion that more pixels equals better pictures in typical Apple fashion; indiscriminately and arrogantly with a heavy dusting of patronisation for good measure.

Like many people, I laughed at yet another over zealous semi-branding of centuries-old technology, courtesy of the man who has made the practice something of an art form.

It turns out, however, that the turtle necked one is absolutely correct. The iPhone 4 produces stunning still pictures.

Much is made of them via the phone’s incredible Retina Display (another needless piece of branding), yet they shine even when transferred to any other device.

The same could not be said for my old 3G. That would only produce a half-decent shot when presented with studio-like conditions. Attempting to take photos anywhere else, i.e. houses, parks, pubs, hotels, theme parks or, well, anywhere, produced the kind of grainy, dull pictures associated with disposable cameras.

iPhone 4 rarely fails to adjust itself correctly to prevailing conditions and even manages to adjust depth of field without you having to lift a finger (I’ve never seen convincing depth of field on point-and-shoot cameras, let alone mobile phones).

Video, too is perfectly useable. It’s 720p HD and, while it occasionally suffers from some judder on panning shots, it perfectly captured every moment I asked it to and, more importantly, didn’t make me look like a Handicam-wielding burk.

This got me thinking. Why do I need an SLR which, admittedly, has seen very sparing use since I bought in several years ago. Why lug something around which weighs the same as Eamon Holmes and is about as attractive? It simply isn’t required anymore. Photos are for remembering and sharing. If they look good as your desktop wallpaper, that’s a bonus.

My iPhone is my iPod. It plays games. I can watch movies and TV on it. Show me a better device which does all this and still fits in your pocket. You’ll struggle, before you start looking…

The only thing which did slightly disappoint while away was my iPad. It beats the iPhone hands down as a media player for the flight, and is handy once again to watch movies on in bed (plus the battery is just jaw dropping), but I wasn’t once tempted to take it to the poolside or beach to read an iBook. This was partly due to an inherent fear of scratching, smashing or sitting on it, but in reality, you simply can’t sit outside and use this thing for any great length of time. You spend most of the time tutting at your increasing number of chins, which are the only things visible on the screen. I do not want to study my chins while on holiday.

That said, I have just typed out this entire blog on it. Which is nice.

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Jun 03 2010
1 Comment
Apple, Technology

iPad Review

The day Steve Jobs held his new creation aloft I, like many others, couldn’t help but feel somewhat aggrieved. Here, after months of speculation, was the magical device Apple claimed would transform the mini computer market. Netbooks would be rendered pointless. The need for a folding device with separate keyboard and screen would soon be considered old fashioned and highly inefficient. Our lives would never be quite the same again. Etc.

And there, in Jobs’ hands, was what looked like a a massive iPod touch. A really big iPhone. Without the phone bit. Or the camera. A huge, gigantic disappointment.

I really wanted one.

To spare my credit card further pain, I spent the next few weeks explaining to everyone how pointless it was. And the device is, on face value, difficult to justify. I have a netbook. I have an iPhone. I have a MacBook Pro. Where would an iPad fit in? No matter how many times Jobs and his cronies banged on about the fun to be had ‘just picking it up off the coffee table to enjoy fantastic email’, I couldn’t think of a legitimate use of this £500 piece of techno eye candy.

Then, a few days after the UK launch, I took the thirty minute journey to PC World in Milton Keynes to have a play with one. Within second of the home screen arranging itself I’d decided I required an iPad. So I bought one.

A few days in, I feel qualified enough to write a few words on Apple’s new baby and I’ll start by reiterating that it really is a luxury device. No one on this planet needs an iPad. Neither will it replace your laptop. The lack of a real keyboard cements that fact.

I’ll start with the screen, which is stunning. There was a whole lot of hokum about the fact it doesn’t possess a true widescreen aspect ratio and the fact that it’s surrounded by a fat black bezel, but as soon as you set your eyes on one, neither of those things matter. It is fabulous. The bezel, in fact, actually makes perfect sense as it gives your thumbs somewhere to rest whilst not obscuring the screen.

Built quality is something else which strikes you; it feels sturdy, immaculately constructed and tough. Granted, I wouldn’t want to drop it, or frisbee it across to someone at the other side of the room, but it does feel like it’ll last. If the iPhone 4 is anything like this, we’re in for a treat.

Apps, while expensive, are impressive and bring to light the benefit of the larger screen, when compared with the iPhone. It’s genuinely very exciting when you consider the kind of apps we’ll see from those clever and friendless enough to develop them. As a part time bedroom music producer, I can’t wait to see how this thing will complement my studio with synth and DAW controller apps.

The keyboard. I hate the iPhone’s keyboard. I’ve found it’s got harder to use the longer I’ve had the phone, regularly hitting incorrect characters or the backspace button. iPad’s keyboard is obviously far bigger which makes it possible to type almost like you can on a ‘real’ keyboard. Not quite though. It’s still prone to errors and the lack of tactile feedback is one of the many reasons it won’t replace your laptop. Indeed, I wrote 50% of this blog on the iPad but had to resort to my MacBook after a while.

Key to understanding and appreciating the iPad is realising that it is simply a device which makes ‘passing the internet around’, checking email, viewing photos and listening to music incredibly simple. The battery is astonishing. Apple quote 10 hours and I don’t doubt that. If anything, it might be a little more. Whatever it is, you can leave this thing anywhere about your house and pick it up when you need it, safe in the knowledge it isn’t going to die on you. Its also on, instantly, therefore you don’t have to wait for the OS to boot up before you check your email.

The lack of Flash? This subject bores me to the core so I won’t labour on it. I’ve hardly noticed it. Although, to be fair, I visit a fairly limited number of websites, most of which don’t include flash content or utilise the HTML5 (something Apple will almost certainly force a web-standard out of). We all know Apple disallow the use of Flash on their mobile devices because they want to protect the App Store, but I really can’t get too excited or angry about it. They were the first to abandon floppy drives, after all…

Should you buy one? In short, only if you can afford it. My house is flooded with technology to the point where I simply don’t have time to use it all. The iPad has, however, made a bit of a mockery of my MacBook when it comes to web browsing and ‘pick up and play-ability’. It’s just incredibly handy to have around.

If you can’t afford it at the moment and need to save, give it a few months and see what apps appear. Maybe even wait until the first hardware revision which should certainly include a camera, at the very least.

I’ll finish with ten of my favourite apps so far:

  1. Press Reader – download digital versions of newspapers – thousands are featured from all across the world and prices are reasonable.
  2. AccuWeather – pretty and informative weather app.
  3. Wikipanion – great Wikipedia app.
  4. Eurosport – far better than its iPhone equivalent.
  5. RightMove – simply fantastic if you’re a UK resident house hunting/selling
  6. Early Edition – great RSS reader which formats RSS feeds in a newspaper-like format.
  7. Guardian Eyewitness – features one photo a day taken from professional news photographers. Also offers technical tips on how the shot was taken.
  8. WordPress – makes far more sense than the iPhone version and is a masterclass of simple design.
  9. Korg Electribe – iPad version of a classic groovebox. Much fun.
  10. IMDb – brilliant for film information and trailers.

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Apr 30 2010
2 Comments
Apple, General, iPhone, Technology

Jobs Fails to Justify Flash Snub

iPhone no Flash

It is clear that the App Store is Jobs' primary concern when it comes to Flash

Big boss man of Apple, Steve Jobs, has recently attempted to justify his company’s reasons for not allowing the use of Adobe’s Flash on it’s mobile platforms. It’s an interesting read: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/.

However, all it does is confirm the one deciding factor he claims isn’t a deciding factor: the App Store.

In his second paragraph, Jobs begins by quashing any idea that Apple’s phenomenally successful application store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is at the heart of the denial of any Flash-based web content:

Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues.

Later on in the piece, he goes into full-on contradiction mode:

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

…Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices. We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.

…Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen.

Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps…

And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

Not trying to protect your App store, Mr Turtleneck? I’m not so sure.

There’s nothing wrong with this, but it once again highlight’s Jobs’ ignorance and, surprisingly, apparent disregard for proof reading; the irony and contradictions in his article above are nothing short of laughable.

You don’t like Adobe and you don’t want Flash to be available on iPhones because it represents a direct threat to the growth of the App Store. That’s fine. Just admit it!

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Apr 09 2010
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Apple, Home studio, Technology

Goodbye PowerPC, some of us will miss you

If a PowerPC Mac were a chicken, this would be the announcement of Christmas

If a PowerPC Mac were a turkey, this would be the first mention of Christmas

Having installed iLife ’09 on my Apple Mac G5, I launched Garageband, eagerly awaiting my first experience of the much hyped music lessons included within.

What transpired was both surprising and teeth-scrapingly frustrating. You see, while Apple will allow you to install their latest consumer software suite on your old PowerPC-based Mac, they will quite happily deny you access to one of its main features. Because you don’t have an intel chip, like.

Alarm bells started to ring.

iLife ’09 was joined by Google Chrome and, perhaps most disconcertingly, Snow Leopard. None would entertain my sad old G5.

I’m sure there are plenty of other instances of similar intel-only programs, but the three above signaled the final nail in the coffin for my studio workhorse.

Frustratingly, my G5 would be perfectly capable of running these pieces of software (and Apple’s new operating system, no doubt). Apple have simply closed their doors to what was once hailed as the most powerful consumer computing platform around. And they can. They have the power to do this when their entire hardware platform is proprietary. What they say, goes, and there’s only so long you can hold on before succumbing to the inevitable.

I now sit typing this on my new MacBook Pro. Everything suddenly works. There are no restrictions. I just have a somewhat lighter wallet…

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Feb 11 2010
1 Comment
iPhone

Sleep Cycle Alarm: Tiring

Sleep Cycle Alarm

Sleep Cycle Alarm: Faff overload

Those 59p iPhone Apps are nearly always tempting. Because they’re 59p. That’s nothing, after all. Loose change. The kind of stuff you loose down the back of the sofa.

So, it was with little trepidation I purchased Sleep Cycle Alarm. A little App which monitors your sleep patterns and wakes you up at your most ‘awake’ within a thirty minute window you preset.

Reviews, while nearly always developer-led, were 99% positive, so what did I have to loose?

Sleep, as it turned out. Far from leaving me feeling refreshed and ready for the day, Sleep Cycle Alarm appears to be largely useless, faffy and tiring.

Firstly, it only monitors movement. It doesn’t plug into your brain, so despite the statistics graph suggesting it is aware of when you’re dreaming, it simply isn’t.

This presents several problems. Firstly, unless you’re single or you and your partner posses a 400ft-wide bed, it will register every single movement both you and your loved one make.

Secondly, it must be placed under your bed sheet but away from your pillow. Once again, unless you sleep in Shaq O’ Neal’s bed, this isn’t particularly practical. It also means you spend most of the night checking the phone is still in place or hasn’t been crushed by your constantly tossing and turning head.

Lastly, the statistics graphs are interesting. Once.

There’s no snooze function, either. I understand the whole point of this is to wake you up when you’re most with it, but we’re not designed to wake up instantly. Snooze buttons are essential.

So, to round up, don’t bother with Sleep Cycle Alarm. You’ll only end up more tired.

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Jan 28 2010
2 Comments
Apple, Technology

The iPad: Will we Want it?

Apple iPad

Someone tries out the 'massive iPhone'

So, it’s called the iPad. After what was essentially months of mindless, pointless speculation, Steve Jobs this week unveiled Apple’s latest product: an iPhone OS-based tablet device.

We all knew it was going to be a tablet and we all knew it was intended to prove that netbooks, essentially, are crap. And that’s pretty much how Jobs started his presentation, proclaiming that the mini laptops which have taken the mobile computing market by storm are slow, uninventive and run useless operating systems (‘Windows’ to you and me). As dismissive and arrogant as always. Don’t you just love him.

During the run up to this week’s event, I commented on Apple’s mastery of marketing and their unique ability to leave the job of whipping up a storm of interest to their loyal – and not so loyal – following. Once again, with the announcement of the iPad, it worked brilliantly. We were all waiting with baited breath as Steve Jobs trudged onto the stage in his trademark black turtle neck and Primark stone-washed jeans.

I think they may have screwed up with this one, I’m afraid. Apple’s product line, almost without exception, is successful because of one common element – desire. We want everything they make. I have an iPhone. I don’t need it. Any phone will allow me to send texts and ring people. I use a Mac in my music studio. I don’t need it; a decently specced PC running Cubase would do the job just as well and at half the cost. However, I parted with hard earned for both of these things simply because they were desirable.

Look at the entire Apple range – iPods, laptops, all-in-one computers… even their keyboards are sights to behold and use. Expensive they may be, but for a company that can claim a worth of around $50bn, it doesn’t seem to matter.

The problem with the iPad is that I just don’t think the desire will be there. It is a very odd product which simply doesn’t seem to fit any gap anywhere. ‘Pick up the iPad laying in the kitchen’ said Jobs as he idly flicked through the NY Times website during the demonstration. Indeed, at times, he seemed to be nodding off; hardly a ringing endorsement for a product he has labelled ‘one of the most important things we’ve done’.

It remains to be seen how it will fare once it’s thrown out into the wild. One thing it has on its side is price. It is, like few Apple products, genuinely affordable. That might just be enough to carry it through, but one question remains: are we going to want this enough for it to be a success? I’m not convinced.

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Jan 18 2010
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Apple, iPhone, Technology

Apple – Masters of Marketing

Apple event

...cue raucous laughter, applause and lots of whooping

It goes without saying that, as something of an Apple nut, I look forward to their ‘events’. These are essentially conferences held at key times during their financial calendar at which new products are announced, impressive figures are embelished upon and much back slapping is dealt.

On 27th January, Apple will be holding their latest event in San Francisco, unveiling their ‘latest creation’.

The rumour mill has been spinning for longer than usual on this one with many people citing the long-awaited tablet as the main focus of the conference, with further suggestions that iPhone OS 4.0 will be unveiled, along with the next version of  iLife. Apple Insider’s take on the latest rumours can be read here.

So, what’s Apple’s secret? How do they market these events so well and generate such a furore of interest? Its pretty easy, as far as I can tell. They do one thing, and that’s… nothing.

Granted, few companies are at the level of social revere as Apple, but their mastery of suspicion, rumour and the sheer weight of expectation is a sight to behold.

We’re told that they purposefully release incorrect information or ambiguous titbits for us all to apply our own theories to, but the truth is they really do very little. They don’t need to – we do the marketing for them.

None of us know what next Wednesday holds and you can guarantee 99% of the reported content will be wholely incorrect. That is irrelevent, though; interest is drummed up at such a rate of knots that by the time the event comes around, everyone is eagerly tuned to social media waiting for the spotlight to fall on Steve Jobs (or whichever minion he has summoned to do the job for him).

I don’t mind admitting I’m excited about this one. I’ll report back with my thoughts after the event…

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Jan 14 2010
1 Comment
iPhone

Momento: Brings out the Adrian Mole in you

Momento iPhone App

Momento iPhone App

As a new decade chimes in, the unstoppable leviathan that is social networking continues to provide a vehicle for the millions of people who feel it necessary to inform us all of what they’re up to. Whether it be on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, an incomprehensible number of people are more than happy to provide an intimate (and nearly always hugely dull) account of their daily lives. This always makes me smile, bearing in mind the aforementioned sites’ roots as domains for the terminally geeky.

While I use both Facebook and Twitter regularly, I’m of the opinion that people don’t really give two hoots what I’m having for dinner or where I’m going at the weekend. I struggle to care myself, sometimes.

It was therefore with some delight that I discovered Momento, developed by d3i. This beautifully designed App allows you to create what it refers to as ‘moments’. Daily thoughts, an account of what you’ve been up to… whatever you like, basically.

Where it gets clever is with the way in which Moments are organised. They can be categorised via tags, places, people, events and even a star rating for you to hunt out and reminisce on those good days past.

Key to Momento’s inevitable popularity and the reason it takes pride of place on the first screen of my iPhone is its ability to make diary writing addictive. The simple process of being able to tag entries with the information described above makes it a joy to use and something that you’ll keep coming back to.

Integration with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Last.fm helps ensure that you have a complete, searchable record of your digital account of life.

I’ve never kept a diary, but being fond of writing and somewhat cautious over the publication of my private life on social media networks, Momento has got me right into it. I can jot down whatever I like without the fear of boring people and the handy password entry means no one can read my incompressible ramblings and thoughts.

Furthermore, photos taken are stored against their respective dates, undoubtedly making this App a very handy tool for Photographers.

So, here’s one of the few iPhone Apps that has a genuine longevity factor – Momento. In fact, it’ll probably hold that crown for life, as I suspect it is something that will accompany people for the majority of theirs.

10/10. Go check it out.

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Jan 13 2010
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Music, Technology

YouTube: An Aspiring Musician’s Dream

YouTube LogoA post I wrote a little while ago on YouTube and its benefits when it comes to learning the piano has sparked a lot of interest. I’m not surprised; there is so much content on there for the beginner and pro alike – I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I recently purchased a Fender Squire Strat for my studio. This was partly to add a bit more flair and scope to my productions but, at the back of my mind, I’ve always harboured an ambition I’ve had since a kid to learn the thing for real.

Being an essentially lazy person, the Yamaha electric I received for Christmas when I was around 12-years-old very quickly found its place in the corner of my bedroom where it quietly gathered dust for about ten years before I eventually sold it to a builder. Poor thing. Not much of a life.

However, things are different now. Aside from being older and realising that, with the gradual ebbing away of time, I had better get on and do things sooner rather than later, YouTube, the internet and my iPhone are already making the learning process far more appealing.

Last night, having not had my guitar more than a couple of hours, I was delicately picking away at some BB King blues riffs, thanks to YouTube. At the same time, I downloaded a chord finder App for my iPhone and used it to suss out some of the chords referred to in the video.

This simply wasn’t possible when I was a lad. You had two choices: buy some books and teach yourself (unappealing, too much effort) or book lessons (cost-implications, far too school-like, too much effort). I now have pretty much everything I need to grasp a basic, playable understanding of both the guitar and piano.

I’m sure (and hope) this doesn’t spell the end for music teachers, as nothing can replace one-to-one tuition, but for someone who simply wants to feel more comfortable picking up a guitar or sitting at a piano, you can’t beat it.

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Dec 14 2009
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General, In the news, Technology, Travel

Better, Connected? Well, That Would Be Nice.

It’s 2010. I’m sitting on a train desperately trying to reconnect my Vodafone 3G dongle to some kind of network. I don’t particularly care what, but having to constantly reconnect to my work VPN, wait for Exchange to shake hands and then hit ‘send/receive’ – only for the internet connection to disappear as we pass through yet another part of the UK that has next to no data coverage – is proving rather tiring.

It’s not as though I’m travelling out in the sticks, or through Wales, either. No, I’m taking the rather popular route from London Euston to Northampton.

I’m not Simon Cowell or Richard Branson, therefore cannot afford to travel everywhere first class on trains that have WIFI connections. Nor am I asking for much in an age when Mr Branson is planning to offer weekends away in space.

There was yet another news story on the BBC this morning about the UK lagging behind the rest of the world in the internet race. I can’t remember what exactly the report centred around, but I can wholeheartedly agree, regardless. The internet should be everywhere, whether you’re moving or stood still. I don’t care how much people would prefer to be able to get away from the connected world, because I rely on it on an almost daily basis, regardless of where I am. Responding to emails speedily is a key driver for any business. You’ll get left behind if you’re not quick enough.

Rather than ploughing money into pointless climate-changing hare-brained schemes, the Government should ensure that 3G is available everywhere and that internet access is provided to all homes free of charge. The majority of companies supplying web connectivity are no doubt heavily subsidised by the other services they offer, and I refuse to believe it would dent their profits much if they allowed us all to connect to the information highway for little more than an agreement to pay for satellite TV, or a telephone line.

We shouldn’t have to pay quite so much abroad, either. When I was in Thailand last year, O2 wanted to charge me around £8 per megabyte for data access on my iPhone. Eight quid for barely more than a couple of emails?? Suffice to say, I’d rather place my testicles in a bowl of boiling water (I think I did during that holiday, although that was probably part of a massage).

Today has only provided one counter argument to the above, and one I’m happy to stand by. Whenever I travel the congested, sweaty, smelly London Underground, I never fail to find solace in the fact that there is not a single suited oik barking orders into their mobile phone. There shouldn’t ever be any kind of signal down there; its the only safe haven left when it comes to avoiding the terminally irritating yuppie mobile users.

But, the internet. Come on, Gordon.

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