Smart phones | Selection advice, New releases, Concepts

[p(-)0ENiX]

New iPhone Concept Has a Slightly Curved Back

Jsus is the same designer that showed us the Xperia Play 2 concept and some other very interesting designs. Now he’s back with an iPhone concept, that promises a revolution and uses a slightly curved back. Notice the big departure from the small rounded volume buttons on the iPhone 4S to the unified volume button here.

The physical Home button is still here and I can’t say that this iPhone 5 design is shocking or game changing. What’s really a nice touch and interesting detail is the fact that the Apple logo here resembles the one for the WWDC 2012 invitation, hinting at a possible launch of the new iPhone there. From what I’ve heard at WWDC 2012 we will be seeing iOS 6.0 and some new MacBooks, but no new iPhone. Anyway, this new iPhone is certainly something that Apple would do, since it doesn’t stray from past design lines and it’s still pretty classy.

The only problem I have here is that the device seems a bit too thick, since it has a 3 layer design: the screen panel area, the metallic frame and the back cover, that seem to create a bulkier than usual iPhone. Anything special you’d like to change about it?

 

[WAQAS119]

SII is 8mp if I am not wrong... never heard about 12mp Galaxy SII

Oh my bad! I thought SII has 12 MP camera and SIII lies somewhere in between Nexus and SII in term of camera. Even then I did not like samsung's approach. Nothing innovative.

New iPhone Concept Has a Slightly Curved Back

This seems much more realistic.

 

[Hyde]

Oh my bad! I thought SII has 12 MP camera and SIII lies somewhere in between Nexus and SII in term of camera. Even then I did not like samsung's approach. Nothing innovative.

Samsung has been the most innovative company since last couple of years... after Apple introduced the magical device we now know as "iPhone".

It is probably true to say, if Apple wasn't there we might still be using Nokia handsets

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

Here is an interesting wishlist along with a bunch of predictions for iOS 6.

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iOS 6 Predictions / Wishlist


With iOS 5 our devices received many new features that were expected and a few that were unexpected but still useful. One thing that is on our minds now is what will Apple give us with iOS 6? If we know Apple we could probably expect some amazing new features as well as a bunch of less exciting but still needed features here and there.

It is hard to consider iOS 6 with out looking at what was added to the iPhone 4S and maybe even the 2012 iPhone, as the software features will probably collaborate with new faster hardware.

Sprint getting the iPhone 4 and 4S might allow the iPhone to eventually get 4G on their network and full LTE connectivity. With this newly acquired speed Apple would have a lot to play around with as far as iCloud or anything else they have up their sleeves.

Apple did not make any major changes to the design of the iPhone 4S but probably will with the next iPhone the release.

FaceTime might receive a FaceLift (=P) with iOS 6. An HD FaceTime camera will probably be added eventually to the iPhone, iPod touch 6th generation, and iPad 3rd generation to correspond with the Mac version of FaceTime. The iPad will probably get group video calls, and I would expect FaceTime to get pretty well integrated with iMessage. Who knows, with iMessage and FaceTime set up, Apple might work its way into the social network industry, it is like Apple to try to be in the cyber world as much as possible. This may or may not happen with the release of iOS 6, but I fully expect an Apple social network by iOS 7.

The new apps that Apple added will probably be tweaked as users have a chance to fully use them. Older stock apps might be improved also similarly so to what they did with the Mail app. Things like turn-by-turn directions is popular request for the maps app. A better comment system for the YouTube app is a big one too. The ability to reply to comments is needed, and if we can view videos in portrait we might as well not waste screen space and be able to see the comments like you can on android.

The notification center will likely receive 3rd party widgets in either a later release of iOS 5 or iOS 6. So developers should be able to develop widgets and put them on the AppStore or maybe Apple will even make a new storefront dedicated to widgets. Another way they could integrate widgets is the way they integrated the newsstand app. A widget would appear as an icon and simple tap makes it visible but your still on your home screen.

Multitasking does its job very well but it could be better. Apps that don't support multitasking should just close and not show up when you press your home button twice. Also it would be nice to have landscape support with multitasking the way notification center does.

iOS 6 might also have Facebook integration the way it got Twitter in iOS 5, and depending on how Googles new social network Google+ goes we might get that also. In my personal opinion is that google+ is unlikely because Apple is currently "at war" with Google.

As usual if you want to use iOS 6 before its public release you would have to get your UDID activated with us, you can do that right now so you won't have to wait days when iOS 6 first comes out.

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It is probably true to say, if Apple wasn't there we might still be using Nokia handsets

I agree with this completely, if there was no iOS then Android would never be what it is today. Microsoft may not have faced a lot of pressure to start from scratch by introducing Windows Phone 7. Nokia & RIM would not have had to face a massive decline in their market shares. In such a scenario though, I would be using BlackBerry phones.

This seems much more realistic.

Yeah, I agree that this looks like something Apple would come up with it. Personally though I hope the next iPhone looks better than that. That concept doesn't look way too different from the current generation iPhone.

 

[yyetttt]

Apple needs fingerprint lock technology! That would be so cool! They could add on to the iPhone on what they did to the pad on the Macbook Pro that only moves when a human finger touches it!

I personally didn't like Windows Phone because it looked like something from 2003 and looked too boring...

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

Dashtweet: the first dedicated Dashboard X widget

Dashboard X — the new upcoming widgeting system for iOS — has its first official widget in the works, and it’s based on Twitter.

Dashtweet is the name of the new widget, and it allows you to send tweets from anywhere on your Home screen.

This is likely the first of many official widgets designed specifically with Dashboard X in mind. Check out our video coverage of Dashtweet in action…

Dashtweet (Preview) - YouTube!

Dashtweet is a very simple Widget that performs one specific function — it allows you to send a tweet from wherever you decide to place it on your Home screen. The widget uses iOS 5′s built in Twitter authentication to connect to your Twitter account.

As of now the widget is still in development, as is the platform it’s based upon. Even still, we can see the potential that Dashboard X brings to the table.

The developer of Dashtweet has recently updated the widget with the ability to change the color of text, but that’s hopefully the first upgrade in a line of improvements that will make its way to the widget before it hits the public.

Admittedly, Dashtweet isn’t the most exciting prospect that one might imagine, but as stated, this is only the beginning of what will hopefully be a well supported endeavor within the jailbreak community.

Thoughts?

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Please note that in order for you try Dashboard X, you must have a jail broken iPhone.

 

[yyetttt]

Hi mates can anyone tell me what happens if you jailbreak your iPhone/iPod? I am a bit scared my device might crash

 

[gubbi]

Hi mates can anyone tell me what happens if you jailbreak your iPhone/iPod? I am a bit scared my device might crash

Jailbreaking voids any warranty you might have. Apart from that, if properly done, you can install third party apps which are not available from Apple Store. You also tend to make it vulnerable for viruses and other malicious programs. If not done properly, you can simply restore the factory settings through itunes. Its that simple.

However, why would anyone want to jail break the iphone? You get all the apps you ever need on Apple store. Moreover, iPhone is so simple to use, a caveman's son can use it easily! Really, no fun at all in trying to jailbreak the iPhone.

If one really wants to play around with the phone's architecture/OS, and it gives you a kick, I suggest trying to root your android phones and tweaking it as you want. Now thats something for brainiacs!!

 

[Hyde]

Dashboard X — the new upcoming widgeting system for iOS — has its first official widget in the works, and it’s based on Twitter.

See.... Apple is following Android!!! that's what I was talking about

 

[gubbi]

Your friend might not have issues with the size of the Galaxy Note, but I am quite certain that not everyone wants a phone with such a large screen as it effects its usability & makes the phone less pocketable.

Have you seen those things used to 'protect' the iPhone. A good iPhone cage is much larger than the Galaxy Note! And btw, Android users are not that vain!!

ps: I was once an iPhone user. Now I am a happy and satisfied Android convert!!

 

[DesiGuy]

Jailbreaking voids any warranty you might have. Apart from that, if properly done, you can install third party apps which are not available from Apple Store. You also tend to make it vulnerable for viruses and other malicious programs. If not done properly, you can simply restore the factory settings through itunes. Its that simple.

However, why would anyone want to jail break the iphone? You get all the apps you ever need on Apple store. Moreover, iPhone is so simple to use, a caveman's son can use it easily! Really, no fun at all in trying to jailbreak the iPhone.

If one really wants to play around with the phone's architecture/OS, and it gives you a kick, I suggest trying to root your android phones and tweaking it as you want. Now thats something for brainiacs!!

You are the first person i have heard this from. don't know about oversees....but here in US, iphone without jailbreak is like....um......sport without player...

Why pay for apps when you can get for free...besides that...the choices you get after jail-breaking...are just amazing.

Had 3g then 3gs..now iphone 4....done jailbreak all of them.

 

[gubbi]

You are the first person i have heard this from. don't know about oversees....but here in US, iphone without jailbreak is like....um......sport without player...

Why pay for apps when you can get for free...besides that...the choices you get after jail-breaking...are just amazing.

Had 3g then 3gs..now iphone 4....done jailbreak all of them.

Like I said before, been there, done that. Meh!
Just how many free 'paid' apps are you going to install and use? Seriously? I have used only the free apps from Apple store and they have done all the work I ever needed by the iPhone. And thats all you can do with the iPhone. Not stimulating enough.

btw, there are people whose livelihoods depend on the sale of those apps. If you want free stuff, adopt the open-source way.

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

Hi mates can anyone tell me what happens if you jailbreak your iPhone/iPod? I am a bit scared my device might crash

Can you tell us which iPhone model you are using along with the iOS version, because you don't want to attempt to jail break your iPhone without reading up on the subject.

See.... Apple is following Android!!! that's what I was talking about

Haha

Have you seen those things used to 'protect' the iPhone. A good iPhone cage is much larger than the Galaxy Note! And btw, Android users are not that vain!!

ps: I was once an iPhone user. Now I am a happy and satisfied Android convert!!

Are you saying that us iPhone users are vain? Trust me, I am not filled with excessive pride, & I don't know any other iPhone user like that either. In many posts in this thread I stated that people should use any platform that suits them & meets their needs or requirements the most. You are free to use any platform you want, it's none of my business & frankly I don't care.

Are you referring to cases such as the "OtterBox Defender"?

OtterBox Defender Series Cases // OtterBox.com

These cases are optional & thus your analogy of comparing an iPhone with such cases on to the Samsung Galaxy Note isn't valid. Besides, such phone cases are available for Android phones as well.

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

This is an off topic post, but I feel it's necessary. Let me introduce you to Samsung's new mobile operating system called "Tizen"!

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Developer device running Tizen OS gets hands-on treatment

We have been hearing about Tizen for quite a while now but The Handheld Blog has gotten some hands-on time with a developer unit running the OS.

At first glance Tizen looks quite familiar to the TouchWiz implementation on Android but there are enough difference to set the two apart considerably. The apps seem to be placed directly on the homescreen like on iOS instead of a dedicated application drawer on Android.

There is a pull-down notification bar at the top but instead of the notification screen appearing on top of the current screen it just pushes the current screen down. Here you can also see TouchWiz style shortcut buttons for stuff like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Tizen uses a back key that always appears at the bottom right corner of the screen when you are within an app. In fact you get a bar at the bottom that houses all the application related functions that reminds a lot of Nokia Belle. To go to the homescreen, you click on the thin Home button in the top left corner of the screen that's always visible.

All the apps were in their early stages and the developer device didn't even have some apps like the camera. The performance was understandably a bit glitchy but despite this the browser performed very well and as we have seen before posted the best score for any mobile browser out there in HTML 5 test.

The developer device had a 1024 x 720 resolution display and a physical Home button although the final products can be completely buttonless, except for the usual power and volume buttons.

From the video, we weren't quite impressed and didn't see anything here that we haven't already on Android or Bada. Then again, the OS is still in its early stages but we don't see where Samsung could be going with this.

Tizen on Samsung's First Prototype Device - YouTube

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What do all of you think about this OS? I know that it's still under development & that it's too early to judge, but I don't like it at the moment. It seems like it's just a mixture of other smart phone operating systems combined in to one.

 

[DesiGuy]

Like I said before, been there, done that. Meh!
Just how many free 'paid' apps are you going to install and use? Seriously? I have used only the free apps from Apple store and they have done all the work I ever needed by the iPhone. And thats all you can do with the iPhone. Not stimulating enough.

btw, there are people whose livelihoods depend on the sale of those apps. If you want free stuff, adopt the open-source way.

well...not many people use iphone just for calling and sms...with thousands of apps...i easily download hundreds of apps in a month or 2...now if i started paying for each app..i would soon be bankrupt.

agree..that piracy is bad...but apps are i think over-priced....espically on app store. its like you are saying why download free movie when you can buy...well, just like apps, movies are over priced too. once again, i am talking about US, don't know in other nations.