After perusing the canon of coverage for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4S launch, it’s safe to say that never has there been an Apple product unveiled that conjured so much cognitive dissonance.
On the one hand, some folks were disappointed by the lack of an iPhone 5, which was the longest-running rumor going in high-tech after Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire tablet was introduced last week.
On the other, analysts roundly praised the iPhone 4S, which is launching Oct. 14 in the U.S. on AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZW) and Sprint (NYSE:S). Yes, even the beleaguered Sprint hopes to find salvation in the iPhone, for which it is reportedly paying millions to offer to consumers.
Aesthetically, the new handset is the same as the iPhone 4, albeit with some cosmetic changes attributed to the new antenna and radios. It’s on the inside where the iPhone 4S shines brighter than its predecessor, the popular iPhone 4.
The iPhone 4S has a faster A5 processor, the new iOS 5 platform, boasting over 200 feature improvements, including a Find Me Friend location-based social application. On Oct. 12, the phone will work with iCloud, Apple’s new service for syncing music, movies and more content across Apple iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs. iCloud stores content and wirelessly pushes it to all of a user’s devices.
There is an 8-megapixel camera that, judging from its demonstration during the event, looks to rival the best in the market, paired with 1,080p high-definitionvideo recording.
The software highlight for many who attended the event was Siri, an artificial intelligence-based personal assistant application that lets users ask questions and receive highly contextual answers, such as “What is the weather like?” and “Should I bring an umbrella?”
This application also does things like enable users to call taxis, book restaurant tables, make calls, send text messages and do some other things that a personal assistant might do.
Analysts, who find it hard to find fault with Apple these days, were impressed for the most part.
“While the form factor does not have a bigger screen or thinner body, the processor improvements, HSPA+ [Evolved High-Speed Packet Access] speeds [particularly beneficial for AT&T and European subscribers] should drive a large number of upgrades, especially as outside the U.S. LTE [Long-Term Evolution] deployments are not being rushed,” said Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek.
Noting that 64 percent of 216 mobile phone users surveyed said they would purchase an iPhone without knowing anything about the new phone, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he expects the iPhone 4S will help the company sell 25 million iPhones in the December quarter.
JP Morgan’s Mark Moskowitz took a more skeptical view of the unveiling, if only because there was no iPhone 5 to be seen. “We had expected the company to announce two new devices, an iPhone 5 and a 4-plus,” Moskowitz wrote in a research note Oct. 5. “We are disappointed that Apple did not introduce a thinner form factor, but we see the feature set improvements in the iPhone 4S and the broader pricing strategy as positives.”
Indeed, the analyst appears to warm to the iPhone 4S, noting that iOS 5 and iCloud “elevate the Apple smartphone above the rest of the pack.” Apple’s tight integration between its hardware portfolio and iCloud is a key differentiating factor versus the competition, he added.
By the “competition” one could assume Moskowitz is referring to current high-end Android smartphones, such as the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android-based Motorola Droid Bionic, or the new Microsoft Windows phones.
But the best analogy between the iPhone 4S and Android devices is to the Samsung Galaxy S II Android 2.3 Gingerbread 4G handsets, which have sold over 10 million units worldwide.
After all, just as the iPhone 4S is physically much like its iPhone 4 predecessor, the Galaxy S II resembles its Galaxy S forebears, albeit with a thinner, lighter shell, a new processor and snazzier software. It will be interesting to watch how these phones fare pitted against one another for the holiday season.
Apple may have the advantage here, trucking with the top three carriers in the U.S. Unless T-Mobile carries its weight versus the competition, and unless there is a budding interest in the Galaxy S II in the U.S., the iPhone 4S may well whip its Android rival in sales.
So far, there is no evidence to suggest the S IIs are flying off the shelves in the U.S. as they have in Korea, Japan and Europe.
And then there is this: Apple has just opened a new front in the smartphone wars, lashing out at the area where Android has excelled overseas: low-cost smartphones.
Sure, the iPhone 4S is the standard $199.99 price point for an Apple phone with a contract, but the $99 price point of the feature-rich iPhone 4 will accelerate sales of that 16-month-old device, and the free iPhone 3GS (on contract) will help the company expand its footprint even further versus the low-cost iPhone set in Europe and especially Asia.
“We believe Apple’s strategy to cover the spectrum of smartphone price points positions the company well in further penetrating emerging markets, including China and other parts of the world,” Moskowitz noted.
Steve Jobs have unfortunately passed away this morning.
As many of you will have heard today is a day of terrible news. I for one believe he is one of the greates visionaries of our lifetime. As a mac user for the past 20 years I have always believed in Apple even when the majority didn’t. He will be missed, but he will forever be remembered by the people that love him most. He will live forever now through his products.
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com
I have been testing this SugarSync for the past few months between my iphone, 3 x apple mac computers and my ipad.
It’s a great way to keep files, photo, music, just about anything else you can throw in a folder together synchronised. SugarSync is easy to setup and manage with the easy drag and drop you have become accustomed to with MacOS software. Check out the video below.
SugarSync offers awseome incentives for you to get others to signup, and I won’t hide the fact that if you click on the link below I get an extra 500MB! Signup is simple and there are no strings attached, no spam attacks just pure peace of mind with super easy syncs. Enjoy!
Click here to get your free 5gb trial.
Feature include:
Sync files across multiple computers and devices
Automatically sync files across computers. Sync PCs, sync Macs, even sync PCs with Macs!
Works the way you do
With SugarSync, you decide which folders you want to sync and where you want to sync them. SugarSync works in the background so your most important data is always backed up and available to you – regardless of your location or the computer you are using. You can start editing a file on your office PC and finish it on your Mac at home.
Sync to the cloud for offline file access
SugarSync continuously syncs and backs up files from your computer to your secure, Personal Cloud. You can edit files on your computer while it is offline and SugarSync automatically syncs the changes the next time your computer is online. You can relax with the confidence that you are always using the most recent versions of your documents.
Sync shared folders for seamless online file sharing
Now when you collaborate with other people, your changes can be synced between your computer and theirs. When teams share project folders, changes made by one team member are automatically synced to others on the team. You can share entire folders of photos with family members, or share documents and files with your clients. Imagine the possibilities!
Browse, access, backup and sync — all from your mobile device With the SugarSync Mobile App, you have access to all of your data, right from your smartphone or tablet. Looking for mobile storage, mobile syncing, and mobile backup? With the SugarSync app installed on your mobile device, you can access files from any of your computers, share photos with friends and family, upload files and photos from your mobile device to your computer (without wires!), even edit documents, depending on the capabilities of your device. You can send files of any size remotely from your mobile phone or tablet, even if your computers are turned off. With Mobile Apps for Android and Apple iOS, you can even sync files or folders between your device and your computers. It’s like having all your computers inside your device! SugarSync has mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices.
Access your data from anywhere (even offline)
View your documents, spreadsheets, photos, presentations, and videos from your computers right from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. About to hop on an airplane? Use SugarSync’s app to sync files to your device for use when you’re offline.
Listen to your entire music collection, not just what fits on your device. SugarSync’s app gives you access to every gigabyte of music from your computers. Stream your iTunes music library, or music from any folder directly to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
Sharing files or entire folders couldn’t be easier. Ever needed to send an email on your iPhone and attach a file on your office computer? With SugarSync, every file and folder in your account has an associated link that you can share on email, Twitter, or Facebook.
You’re used to being able to organize and manage your files and folders on your computer. Why not on the go? The SugarSync app lets you copy, move and even delete files and folders. It is like you now have a super-charged remote control for all of your computers.
No more fumbling with cables or file transfers. Just open the SugarSync app to take a picture or a video on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Your mobile photos and videos are instantly uploaded using your wireless connection and available on your computers.
Enable SugarSync as your online or cloud storage source to access all your files from your editing app. Open your document in DocumentsToGo Premium or Quickoffice Connect. Make your changes, then sync the changes back to the cloud and to your other computers.
The general plan for this site is to build a massive database of links to accessories, product reviews and the latest news. So please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my little idea.
There will also be an WhyiLoveMyiPhone.com website coming up real soon. Here will be the focus of all things iPhone. This site will be dedicated to giving the most direct links to the best news and online accessory stores out there.
I should also mention that I won’t be discriminating against iPads. So plenty of info will also be relevant to the iPad on the new website.
Now there’s one thing everyone is after these days and that’s an awesome deal. The site is dedicated to iphones but on occasions we’ll pull together some irresistible deals, giveaways, prizes and freebies from others out there and eventually me here at WhyiLoveMyiPhone.
So vist regularly and see why I WhyiLoveMyiPhone is the place for you.
To celebrate the launch of the new design of MacTalk, our friends from buymac.com.au have given us some goodies!An 11inch MacBook Air and 16GB iPad 2!
Over 6 years ago MacTalk originally launched, and over this time Apple has released some amazing products.
So you’re wondering how to score one of these prizes?
We’re looking for Apple’s biggest fan!
All you have to do is get creative.. what makes you Apple’s biggest fan?
In a world where one-third of pet-owning married women say their pets are better listeners than their husbands, it’s no big surprise that we also may form strong attachments to handheld electronic devices.
No, I’m not talking about the Rabbit Pearl vibrator. Well, not intentionally.
I am talking about mobile devices like the Apple iPhone, an object so loved that talk-show star Ellen DeGeneres was forced to publicly apologize for making a spoof commercial of the product. Like mothers on Mother’s Day, the Apple iPhone seems to be an untouchable object of affection.
Why do we love iPhones so much? And, while we’re asking questions, is it possible we love them more than our mothers?
No, we’re not here to crack naughty jokes about the potential for lusty iPhone porn apps to trump our love for our beloved mothers, you dirty birds. There really may be more to this.
Fifty years ago, Harry Harlow unveiled his landmark “wire mother, cloth mother” research with rhesus monkeys. In the infamous study, cute little rhesus infants were “raised” by artificial mothers—sculptures of metal, some of which were covered in cloth. While the study was certainly unethical by today’s standards, the results were nonetheless conclusive: we primates prefer soft, squishy things over hard, mechanical things. And we love and need our mothers, or at worst, surrogates that offer us the same benefits as mothers.
Jump ahead half a century, and you’ll see that some engineers and product designers who took an Intro to Psychology class in college have attempted to exploit these instinctual drives:
Sorry I had to go Furby on you to prove a point. I spared you the MP3-playing pillows for infants; you can thank me later.
There’s also a solid argument that a human infant would have a tough time getting a date in college if his only source of affection as a child were from an interactive slate of plastic and glass. But, in general, it seems that Harlow’s theory is out the window—we humans are quite capable of loving machines and other inanimate objects.
Don’t believe me? Hop on Google or Twitter (if you have visited either more than once today, you needn’t bother—you’ve already proved my point) and search the term “iPhone love.” After you’ve watched a few YouTube videos of grown men cuddling iPhones and bought yourself an “I Heart My iPhone” thong, come back and we’ll keep going.
Go on, I’ll wait for you.
.
.
Back? Oh good. That was creepy, wasn’t it?
So, why-oh-why do we do this? The Apple iPhone is not the first machine to be loved—printing presses, CARS, gaming systems, TELEVISIONS, Tickle-Me Elmos—none of them are capable of giving us love in return, at least not in the way some theorists define love. But, whether it be a blessing or a curse, our love for them is undeniable.
Just ask my wife, who once, just before bedtime, wondered aloud if I was cheating on her with my HTC Droid Eris.
Not to worry dear. Artoo and I are just good friends.
Does our adoration of iPhones and other machines even count as love? Is it emotional, physical, an evolutionary necessity, a psychosexual substitute? And can this material love really compare to maternal love?
Lee Gomes would say no. In a story for Forbes Magazine, Gomes hypothesizes that our attraction to machines like the iPhone may not contradict Harlow’s theories, but they certainly support the behavioral theories of B.F. Skinner.
Skinner believed that we were all creatures of habit, returning again and again to that which rewards us. As Gomes (via Skinner) puts it, we are like pigeons trained to peck at buttons and paddles to get our food. Gomes claims that mobile devices are essentially neurotransmitter delivery devices that feed our need for stimulation, gratification, distraction, and entertainment.
So, perhaps our iPhones are not, in fact, altruistically agape lovers that give and give and never ask for anything in return (much like mothers) aside from requests for frequent recharging and multi-year contracts (also like mothers?). If we believe Gomes, iPhones are simply pocket-sized Skinner boxes that reward us when we peck at them.
What do you think? Is your iPhone a surrogate mother, fulfilling real emotional and social needs, or is it nothing more than your own personal pigeon-pecking paddle?
And, while I’m asking questions, have you told your mother you love her recently? Did you show your love by buying her one of these top iPhone apps for Mother’s Day?
Please leave a comment and let me know!
Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-20/201005/do-you-love-your-iphone-more-your-mother
This article from Macworld US. by David Johnson, May 27, 2011 11:30 pm
Back in the stone-knives-and-bearskin days of 2005, I wrote about the rise of camera phones: “Will we soon take all of our pictures with a camera phone? Probably not.” Shows what I know. In just six years, camera phones have evolved from taking pictures that looked sort of like Gauguin paintings to snapping sharp, high-quality photos—and in the process, have become practically ubiquitous lifestyle companions. Everyone, it seems, snaps photos for Facebook, Flickr, and e-mail with their mobile phone. The camera in your mobile phone is not yet the equal of a digital SLR, so you still need to take special care to take great pictures this way, but it’s amazing how good your results can be. And you can do things with a mobile phone that are difficult or impossible to do with a traditional camera. Case in point: this week, here are five awesome iPhone apps designed for photographers.
First up is the coolest app of them all. Microsoft recently released Photosynth for the iPhone, an app that lets you create “synths” using just your phone. In a nutshell, Photosynth takes a collection of photos taken around the same location and, sort of like a traditional panoramic program, stitches them into a coherent scene. A Photosynth image can be 360 degrees and interactive, though you can pivot around the scene from the point of view of the photographer, looking up and down and all around, and zoom in for a better view.
Microsoft’s Photosynth for the iPhone delivers all that in the palm of your hand. The app lets you take a slew of photos and then stitch them together. You can take just a few shots or diligently fill in every corner of your surroundings. Photosynth shows you what regions are captured and where the gaps in your scene are even as you shoot. When you’re done, it takes a few moments to process, and then you can interact with your synth on your iPhone or upload it Microsoft’s Photosynth site to share your handiwork. It’s all free—and it feels a little like science fiction.
Microsoft Corporation Photosynth
When Adobe first released Photoshop Express for the iPhone, I thought it was a bit of a curiosity—a fun diversion, but not especially practical or useful. These days, Photoshop Express makes it possible to clean up your iPhone photos in a meaningful way. Of course, Photoshop Express doesn’t include any of the goodies you’ll find in CS5 or even Photoshop Elements. What you will find are all the essential basic photo editing tools, smartly implemented in a way that makes sense on a phone’s touchscreen. There are ways to crop, straighten, rotate, and flip a photo. You can change exposure, saturation, and tint by sliding your finger across the screen until you see what you like. There are some special effects like soft focus and sketch mode. Buy the Adobe Camera Pack for $2 to get extra features like a noise reduction filter and self-timer for taking photos.
Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe Photoshop Express
I am a huge fan of the online storage tool Dropbox. The Dropbox iPhone app has a great feature tailored just for photographers. Start the app and go to the Uploads tab, where you can send multiple photos from your camera roll directly to any folder in your Dropbox account. Once you start the upload, it continues in the background while you go off and do other things. In the past, you could move photos to Dropbox (or other cloud storage solutions) only one photo at a time, so this is a great way to back up your iPhone photos or share them quickly with another computer that shares your Dropbox account.
Everyone, it seems, loves photos with selective color. You no longer need a program like Photoshop and a working knowledge of layers to create this effect, because apps like Color Splash can do it for you more or less automatically. Color Splash is a fun little app. For $2, you paint with your finger to erase the color from your photo or selectively bring the color back. After using Color Splash to remove the color from a few of your photos, you’ll probably wish your desktop photo editor worked just as easily.
Finally, there’s Instagram. This app is crazy popular—no fewer than three of my friends mentioned it to me this week alone. Like peanut butter and chocolate, Instagram combines two things people like: photo effects and sharing. The app lets you apply a dozen vintage-looking photography and novelty visual effects to your images, then post them to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and a handful of other online destinations. Best of all, it’s free.
How much do you love your iPhone?
iPhone 3 Otterbox Defender Case
iPhone 4 Otterbox Defender Case
If you want the very best protection for your iPhone then you cannot go past Otterbox. The Otterbox Defender’s quality build and impact resistance is one of the best around.
I highly recommend these cases if you work on building sites, for recreational sports or you are just plain clumsy. I have been using iPhone cases for over a year now and my iPhone still looks brand new. The Otterbox Defender is by far the best insurance you can have on your iPhone without paying a monthly premium. I had originally purchased the Otterbox Defender to protect my iPhone from my 2 young boys (if you have children please make sure they only use the iPhone in Airplane mode). I quickly realised that the iPhone needed protection from me. I have dropped my iPhone 3GS countless times on hard surfaces, roads, concrete etc.
Flying iPhone
My first Otterbox Defender case went flying out of my hand in a quiet back street while I was riding my bike at about 30kmph one morning. I watched my iPhone bounce along the road behind me! My initial concern was, ‘not my Otterbox Defender!’ The silicon cover protected the iPhone from impact as well as keeping the cover in good condition. The Otterbox Defender cover ended up with a very small dent in the poly carbonate shell (I had to look very hard to find it). So for $45 bucks I saved a $1000 iPhone from certain destruction. 6 months later and my iPhone is in a new Otterbox Defender case and everything is cool.
Pros: Outstanding protection.
Cons: Case is large and moisture can build up between glass and case. ( the way to minimize this is to put a matt finishing cover on your iPhone then put it in the case).
Many people laughed at my case thinking it was being over protective. I just say – ‘just think how funny it will be when you drop your iPhone 4 and crack the glass’.
The indestructable Otterbox Defender 3GS case
In the link below this guys tortures his iPhone4 and his Otterbox Defender case.
warning: please do not watch if you do not like cruelty to iPhones
peace.
‘My only connection with the outside world is my iPhone and I still use the last generation! And you KNOW I love my iPhone.’
iOS5 is about to hit us with over 200 new features. Great news for all the iPhone and iPad addicts but what do you like about this new iOS?
Let us know we want to hear it.
To see everything apple has to offer check out: http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/
This fall Apple will offer iTunes users a paid add-on to its iCloud music syncing called iTunes Match. The service will let you mirror your iTunes library on iCloud, making it possible to access any track on any device you have registered with your Apple ID for a yearly $24.99 subscription fee.
Apple’s new cloud music service has been criticised by sections of the music industry for encouraging piracy by allowing people to essentially legitimise their pirated music collections.
Apple and other companies are creating a one stop shop for all your software needs. iCloud is Apple’
I like Reminders. I sync my business and personal calendars via gmail and outlook seamlessly. I’ll d
This makes me feel so much better. I love my iPhone because of it’s limitless apps, its my organizer
why i love my iphone 
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