Browsing Tag

apple

Apple’s New Macbook. More than just more powerful and thinner.

May 12, 2015 By Aaron Luboff In Technology

After playing with the new Apple Macbook last week, one thing is clear to us: this is a device we NEED to use. Instead of just making it more powerful and thinner, Apple have added in features that make our laptops at home seem a bit under par, like the new keyboard, the force feedback touchpad, and so much more.

First off, Apple have put Intel Core Ms in the new Macbook. The chip is designed to stray between running cool and silent for when you just need to use Word or watch a video online, and pushing for higher performance. While you can’t have 15 programs open while watching a video, we expect the laptop to handle day to day life without breaking a sweat.

One of the big new features Apple won’t stop talking about is the keyboard. Their keyboard used to have a scissors like mechanism under the buttons, which made them pop up slightly. They’ve now changed over to what they call a butterfly mechanism. The buttons are now almost in line with the rest of the device. Apple claimed that if you take a glance, it almost looks like the keyboard isn’t there at all. After messing around with it for a while, we have to agree. Apple have also put LEDs under each button, perfect for working at night.

The other brand new feature is the force-feedback touchpad. Under the pad there is an electromagnet that shifts when it’s clicked. It can sense how hard it is being pressed and Apple have incorporated it into Safari and it’s other programs. For example, if you’re crawling through Wikipedia and find a word you don’t know, you can put the cursor on it and push down harder with your finger. Safari will immediately bring up a dictionary entry for the word.

The battery life has been greatly improved too. Apple have developed all new batteries that look more like cloths than rectangular blocks. They claim that the new design has helped them to squeeze all the power they can out of the device and promise a 9-hour battery life. While we don’t care much for the design of the battery, 9 hours is enticing.

Apple didn’t say much in terms of release date, but they said it will start around R12 000. The Macbook comes in three colours. Gold, Silver and Space Grey. The base model has a 1.1Ghz processor, and the second has a 1.2GHz. While it’s not a huge difference, those who want the best from their laptop will have to consider it. Bear in mind that the new Macbook uses one USB-C drive for charging and for all other accessories. An adaptor for this costs R950. While it’s a shame that we need to fork out more just to plug in a USB drive, it’s a necessary trade off for just how thin the device is.

Get it: R12 000 and up
From: www.myiStore.co.za

Apple debuts CarPlay. Intuitive touch and voice control for iDevices from the seat of your car

March 7, 2014 By steve In Motoring

Apple has announced that it will be rolling out the CarPlay fully integrated iOS infotainment system for using your iDevice in your car. So far Mercedes, Volvo and Ferrari have signed on with the other major car manufacturers looking at the CarPlay iOS for future models.

Aside from being a first from Apple, it’s also one of the first things we’ve ever seen Apple do without putting an i in front of it.

The CarPlay iOS will allow the driver to intuitively make calls, use maps, listen to music and access messages with the touch of the Siri button on the steering wheel or by muttering a voice command.

No comment the millions of ex-Apple users who have sworn off using Apple products in the name of the ever popular Android offering.

Aston Martin overtaken as coolest brand on earth. Apple takes the lead. Here’s the Top 20

September 28, 2012 By steve In Technology

Aston Martin is no longer the world’s coolest brand. That accolade now belongs to Apple. Well this is according to 3,000 British consumers and a panel of 39 “key influencers”. So just in the UK then.

Either way, interesting results from www.coolbrands.uk.com. Many more technology brands in the top 100. And most interesting of all, where’s Facebook. Not in the Top 20.

Apple
YouTube
Aston Martin
Twitter
Google
BBC iPlayer
Glastonbury (music festival)
Virgin Atlantic
Bang & Olufsen
Liberty
Sony
Bose
Haagen-Dazs
Selfridges
Ben & Jerry’s
Mercedes Benz
Vogue
Skype
Nike
Nikon

iPhone 5 revealed. Full specs and details

September 13, 2012 By steve In Technology

The wait is over. Here’s your instant pub-chatter for the weekend ahead.

New body
Firstly the iPhone 5 has a new look and a new design although by looking at it…

It is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, 18% thinner and 20% lighter to be exact. That’s quite a lot. Along with a new, slimmer and longer body, they’ve included a 4-inch Retina display, like the one on the iPad 3. The taller body might not seem like a big deal, but it means that one handed typing is as easy, if not easier than on the previous version. This is important, because it’s one of the biggest gripes I had about the Galaxy S III…too fat and not conducive to driving and typing. Don’t judge me, you do it too.

What’s not there
While the phone specs look as expected, there are some notable omissions which must be brought up. Firstly there is no Near Field Communication on the device, something I was really hoping for. Including this sort of tech in a device as popular as an iPhone would have instantly pushed the use and convenience of NFC in to our everyday lives. That being said, it is a tech which is still in its infancy, and hasn’t been tested properly in the wild of South African supermarkets. So perhaps we’re thinking too far ahead?

Also, many were hoping to see wireless charging come in the iPhone 6. It didn’t. It’s coming in Nokia’s new Lumia 820, so why isn’t it in the iPhone?

Design. In a word. Apparently the slimness and size of the new iPhone 6 prevented Apple from including these rather important features in the phone. That and the added cost and bulk that these techs would’ve added to the retail price of the device.

No point in whining over something you can’t do anything about, I suppose.

What’s inside
Inside you’re looking at a lightning quick A6 chip which will be running an all new iOS 6 and facilitating 4G LTE technology. Obviously this means little in South Africa at the moment, but it’ll get here eventually.

The new iOS 6 has over 200 new features including: an all new Maps app with turn-by-turn navigation, something iPhone Maps has lacked for a long time, and a promising new Flyover view. There’s Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center. And Siri has got some more languages, so finally the Chipowok Eskimos of the Yukon are gonna stop their griping.

All this is going to weigh heavily on the new A6 chip which has a lot of heavy lifting to do with its multi-tasking requirements, twice the CPU and graphics performance, a bunch of new features and a juiced up wireless connection. They’re promising that they’ve improved the battery-life, something all Smartphones struggle with, but only a hands on try will prove that.

Many were hoping that the iPhone 5’s new camera would be 10 or 12MP, but I warned you not to get your hopes up. It sits at a decent enough 8MP but it’s 25% smaller than the iPhone 4S and is bolstered by a panorama feature and video face detection for up to 10 people. They’ve also thrown in the ability to take stills while you’re recording.

The iPhone 5 does, as feared, have a new connection called Lightning and it’s much slimmer and smaller. The reason for this is being explained as due to the thinness of the phone, making the traditional connection impossible. Sadly this new connection is apparently not even adding much speed to data transfer, still running on the USB 2.0 format. But the next gen might change that. So no USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt just yet.

The iPhone 6 becomes available on 28 September internationally and in SA shortly after that. Colors are white & silver or black & slate. Dollar prices below:

$200 for 16GB
$300 for 32GB
$400 for the 64GB

Shit Apple fanatics say PART 1

September 10, 2012 By steve In Technology

With the imminent arrival of the iPhone 5, here’s a little bit of candy for the Apple haters out there.

The inability to right click gets a fisting of note!

Burner App creates instant disposable telephone numbers

August 13, 2012 By steve In Technology

“There are a million situations where a disposable phone number makes incredible sense, craigslist, conferences, sensitive one-time business transactions, drunken encounters… this works right out of the box, super fast, shockingly easy.”

That’s a quote straight out of a review on the iTunes store. Man that person put a lot of thought in to this.

The Burner App is one that hitmen and cheating spouses alike have been waiting for. Named after Burners or disposable phones that are cheap and easy to get rid of if the heat gets to much, this app lets you do just that.

Cheating on your spouse has never been easier. And also, I think that’s it. We now have an app for absolutely everything!

New from Apple. No iPhone 5…and look, the world still turns!

June 12, 2012 By steve In Technology

Yesterday was a big day for apple, it being their annual WorldWide Developers Conference and all. While everyone was waiting to hear the words “iPhone 5” spill out of the mouth of Tim Cook (the guy who took over from Steve Jobs but nobody thinks is worthy), the miracle never came.

Instead Timmy did announce a bunch of new Apple related toys and upgrades that should give Apple Fanboys something to spend their money on while the iPhone 5 is put together.

The broad strokes:
A new mobile operating system, iOS 6
A new Macbook Air lineup
A new Macbook Pro model
And Mountain Lion OS x

Here’s what it all means.

The new iOS 6 will only be around later this year once developers have finished working on it to make it worth our while. But there is a lot to expect, depending on your perception.

Firstly this version of the OS will bring Siri, good and proper, to the iPad. Not that naf “dictation” thing it used to do, but proper Artificial Intelligent assistant Siri.

Siri will also be able to launch apps on your iDevice for you, just say the name and it’ll open. How lazy do you have to be? And the phone app on the iPhone has even received a bit of a bolster in the form of Siri taking things over for you.

If someone calls while you can’t speak, you can reply with an SMS. Siri will remind you later that you missed the call.

She’s also been updated with a “Do Not Disturb” feature that enters a mode which doesn’t receive calls or messages. It’ll then notify you when you wake up of who called. This feature can also be found in some other devices by activating the “silent” button and then the “ignore” status of your consciousness.

The Macbook Air revamp is quite a significant move on Apple’s part in the face of competitive brands dishing out Ultrabooks like they’re dehydrated food packs in Somalia.

The tiniest Apple notebooks all get the new 3rd generation Intel “Ivy Bridge” processors and up to 512GB of flash storage via a solid state hard drive (solid state is the way to go for immediate access to applications and programs). These enhancements make this device twice as fast as its predecessor.

The Apple MacBook Pro range is getting similar upgrades including a 60% speed boost in graphics processing thanks to the new Intel chips and Nvidia graphics technology.

And even better news, a whole new Macbook Pro model with Retina display technology (like in the iPad 3), a 15-inch screen and a body almost as thin as the Macbook Air.

The last big announcement was the new OS x Mountain Lion. The main change, it’ll now have a drop down menu with all your notifications like you saw on the iPad or iPhone in iOS 5.