TechBower » Apple

Macworld 2009 Predictions

Connor Coghlan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:16:32 +0000

With the Apple keynote only a day away, suspicions and predictions are rising up, and people just want to get it over with. Out of all the predictions - some of them seem like baloney, while others are highly plausible. What are your Macworld 2009 predictions?

Here are mine…

Updated iMac
Updated/obliterated Mac Mini (either way, they’re not just going to leave it as it is)
New iPod Shuffle line

I’ve got a few more, but they’re pretty minor and not very likely. I also think Steve Jobs is going to make a surprise appearance. Maybe he’ll sit on stage, in the background, while the keynote is presented, or just pop up and say hello.

No matter what happens, I’m sure this will be a revolutionary year for Apple and I’m really excited to see what comes of it. Some people see Jobs not presenting the keynote as a negative decision, but I see it as a great opportunity to get to know more of the Apple staff.

So, what are your predictions for the final Apple keynote at Macworld? Do you think they’ll release Snow Leopard early? Looking for an iPhone Nano? Let me know.

Still the best?

Andrew — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:35:04 +0000

As you all probably know Apple came out with the new iPhone known as the 3G. Is it worth the hype? From my point of view, of course it is, Apple made it. Others might disagree, which is not a problem. I do have to give props to HTC, LG, and Samsung for coming out with products that are comparable to the 3G. Not, I don’t care what you say, the 3G can’t be touched! I don’t give any credit to any of them because they stole the layout from Apple. They did put their own little touch to the interface, but overall they copied it straight from Apple. The only mobile device corporation that is in the running with the 3G is Blackberry. Yes, I know Blackberry devices aren’t touch screen devices, but the OS that Blackberries are equipped with are very compatible with any computer you have. News has been released that Blackberry is coming out with a touch screen Blackberry, so I will be looking forward to reading about that. Anyways, Apple really worked to improve the speed and how the applications worked compared to the old iPhone. They truly listened to the consumers and did all they could to improve the phone to make it the best device consumers could possible get. Some attributes that Apple improved are the Maps and GPS application, iPhone in Enterprise, the 3G speed of course, and the application store. The new GPS application used a combination of Wi-Fi, cell tower, and 3G. Some added features that are equipped with the application are finding your location and of course points of interests (POI). Also, you can find directions to any place your heart desires. The last feature and probably my favorite is seeing traffic. Your iPhone can let you know where traffic is and is also capable of finding an alternate route to your destination. Next we have Enterprise. Apple really stressed the business part of iPhone through Enterprise. Enterprise is an application that stresses push technology. In Enterprise, you are given push email, contacts, and calendar. The second you change an appointment or meeting on your calendar, it changes it wherever you can access your calendar. This works great for the business world because it is instant. Apple introduced the application store when they came out with the first iPhone and the iTouch. It started to grow as companies made applications. Since the 3G has come out, the application store has been on a huge and fast growth spurt. The reason for such a fast and large growth spurt is because Apple has created an application that helps you create your own application. So basically you can make any application you would like by using the application creator that Apple has added to the iPhone. I can’t wait to read about the new Blackberry because I honestly think it will give Apple a run for its money.

Genius of MobileMe….

Andrew — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:06:12 +0000

Apple has done it again. The question is, when is Apple not going to make a great product. Apple has come out of the underworld and is quickly rising into new life. It all started with the iPod. Everyone had to have one of these “state-of-the-art” gadgets. This is what sparked and started it all for Apple. Apple then began to redesign their computers and their operating system. They came out with great ideas and today they have improved and built on those ideas to make one of the greatest operating systems that we have today. Now to the main focus. Apple created what is called “MobileMe”, which replaced .Mac for those long time Mac users. Anyway, MobileMe is an internet service offered by Apple that lets you access files anywhere, you just have to have an internet source. This service works with iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac, and PC. The purpose of this service is to store, send, and receive files, pictures, and videos with ease. Another purpose of MobileMe is for the user to have the power to access his e-mail, contacts, and calendar from any device that supports the internet. The service supports mail, address book, and iCal for Mac users and Outlook for PC. Apple really outdid themselves by pushing the use of push technology. Push technology makes it easy to organize and arrange files and appointments on the go. I am excited to see what Apple brings to the table in the near future.

Information from apple.com

Who Has The Better Touch?

Andrew — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:37:19 +0000

It has been awhile since Apple has put the iPhone on the market and for awhile there has been no competition for it at all. Companies like LG, HTC, and Samsung have made efforts to beat the iPhone. The question is, have they accomplished their task? LG has created the PRADA and Voyager phones to compete with Apple’s one-of-a-kind device. HTC, who created Touch for wireless services Verizon and Sprint, has also made efforts to match the iPhone. Recently, Samsung brought to the table the Glyde. All of these phones are great, but do they really match Apple’s iPhone. First off, LG’s Voyager and Samsung’s Glyde, aren’t really meant to be a business device. Yes, they do support e-mail and the internet, but don’t have the capability of doing much more. I think a Blackberry could give the iPhone a run for its money, but we are talking touch here. I personally think that the touch race is between LG’s PRADA and Apple’s iPhone. The overall appearance between these two devices are pretty different. The iPhone is 115 mm in height and the PRADA is 98.8 mm. You can see that the iPhone is a taller device. PRADA wins the race in thickness as well. The PRADA is 54 mm wide and the iPhone is 61 mm wide. The feature that I like about the iPhone is that it brings a lot of color to the table. The PRADA is boring to me. I know that you can change the appearance of the background and tabs, but Apple has done a nice job with making the iPhone look crisp and neat. Since the iPhone is a bigger device in general, you get the advantage of having a larger screen. IPhone’s multi-touch screen registers at 3.5 inches from one corner to the opposite corner. The PRADA is only 3 inches long from corner to opposite corner. Weight is also a major issue when it comes to producing the world’s top notch devices. In the “Red” corner, weighing in at 135 grams, the Apple iPhone. In the “Blue” corner, weighing in at an astounding 85 grams, the LG PRADA. So you can see, the PRADA weighs 50 grams less than the iPhone. Depending on what type of device you want, you have to sacrifice in some areas to get a feature that you desire. Lets talk pictures, shall we? So there is a draw between the devices. They both are equiped with a 2 megapixel camera. Apple has made 2 options of memory for the iPhone. You can get the iPhone in 8 or 16 GB of memory. It is not equipped with having an external source of memory like the PRADA is. Some other features of the iPhone is the Wi-Fi, maps, youtube application, and widgets. Just like the Apple computers, the iPhone has widgets, which are applications such as, stocks and the weather report for your desired area. The downfall of the PRADA is not having a QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone does have a QWERTY keyboard, which I think, gives it the edge over the PRADA. Another reason I think it has an edge over the PRADA is that it is very similar to the Apple computers. It runs a lot of the same programs that Apple run. This makes it a lot easier to use. A weakness that Apple is in the process of fixing is making the iPhone more business oriented. The price for the iPhone ranges from $399.00 to $499.00 and the PRADA is on the market for $499.99. The Apple iPhone runs off of the new AT&T Network. When it first came out on the market, it was having problems running on the network, but they finally got their act together and worked out the problems. Now, it seems like it is working like a charm. On the other hand, the PRADA is impossible to find in the United States. The only source I know of purchasing the PRADA is from eBay. I have a feeling that this phone is easier to find in Europe, but it really hasn’t been introduced in the United States. I have read many reviews about how the PRADA works in the U.S. I have heard that it works pretty well in California and brought a lot of attention to the public. T-Mobile is the only service I know of that supports this device. I have heard good and bad things about it.

Sources:

-iPhone information:Apple.com

-PRADA information: www.pradaphonebylg.com

7 Reasons Why Apple Will Take Over The World

Bernard — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:21:54 +0000

More and more people are switching to Mac. Is it their witty commercials badmouthing Vista? Or is it their sleek and slim designs put into each and every product they create? What happened to the traditional white color of all apple products? Now everything is silver….

We think that Apple is simply taking over the world, and here are 7 reasons (because we couldn’t think of 10 reasons) why we think that:

They are hip and know how to market their products. All those TV ads are being recreated and made fun of all over the web and on late night talk shows. This is a good thing, more exposure for them, one more reminder that Apple is “better” than Vista.
They are consistently improving their OS. Although Vista was a little different, anyone who has seen a Mac knows that many things on Vista where derived from Mac’s OS Leopard. Vista is just not doing anything amazing.
They have the iPod. Not too many teens and adults alike who enjoy technology don’t have an iPod. It is almost the standard, and the Zune is not going to be able to catch up….ever.
Most of what they make is SMALL. These days it seems everyone likes smaller stuff. Cell phones, cars…people are even buying more and more miniature dogs rather than the Great Dane.
They are breaking into every market possible. Apple TV? Yes it flopped big time on its first try however the second time around looks much more promising.
Their products look good. Period. Macs are some of best looking Machines out there, and there is no question they have the best looking MP3 players. People like good looking things! No one wants that bulky Dell that is made up of cheap plastic. Titanium baby.
More and more companies are switching to Mac. Although many huge software companies like Oracle or Ibm will probably never switch to Mac, it seems it is the cool thing to do for new start-ups and Web 2.0 companies alike. It is all about the image!

Macbook Air Pros and Cons

Bernard — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:14:35 +0000

So although we don’t do any work on Macs here at TechBower, for the purpose of writing about them we decided to go into Best Buy and hog the MacBook Air they had on display.

First off, we really don’t understand why anyone needs a laptop that small. Its almost too small in our opinion. I guess die hard Mac fans will appreciate the slim and sleek design. Everything Mac is going more towards design it seems, and since they can pretty much charge whatever they want for their machines, Apple stock is something worth checking out.

Back to the Air. Our first impression of it was wow, this thing is small! And then we realized that the standard version does not even come with a CD drive. What would you be doing with it? Most large businesses these days work on Microsoft machines, so the avid business traveler may not like this.

Pros:

Really small
Looks really cool
Full keyboard
Multitouch

Cons:

Kind of pointless to have unless you do an insane amount of traveling and want something really light
No CD drive on standard version
A bit pricey for what you are buying

So before you go out and buy the smallest laptop in the world, ask yourself if you really need something that small. You can get a much more powerful machine at a much cheaper price if you go with Windows.