Friday, September 26, 2014

Tech News: Apple releases iPhone 6 & 6 Plus

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released on September 19, 2014. Both iPhone 6 versions serves as a successor to the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The iPhone 6 series includes a number of major changes which include a thinner design, faster processor, upgraded cameras and improved wireless connectivity. The iPhone 6 models was designed with a 4.7-inch screen and the iPhone 6 Plus comes with a larger 5.5-inch display.


The following specs relate to both iPhone 6 versions:

Phone Connectivity2G Network, 3G and 4G and LTE
SIM Card          Nano-SIM
Dimensions 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)
Weight 172 g (6.07 oz)
DISPLAY   LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size          1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inches (~401 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
SOUND/Alert types Vibration, proprietary ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
MEMORY  No external card slot - Internal16/64/128 GB, 1 GB RAM
DATA GPRS Yes
Speed DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 150 Mbps DL, 50 Mbps UL
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth Yes v4.0
NFC          Yes (Apple Pay only)
USB          Yes v2.0
CAMERA Rear Facing - 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, check quality
Video                 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, optical stabilization, check quality
Front Facing - 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, HDR, FaceTime over                                     Wi-Fi or Cellular
OS iOS 8, upgradable to iOS 8.0.2
CPU Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) Chipset - Apple A8
GPU PowerVR GX6450 (quad-core graphics)
Sensors   Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Messaging  iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
Browser            HTML5 (Safari)

GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS

Apple reported the pre-orders of the iPhone 6 series exceeded 4 million within its first 24 hours of availability—an Apple record. More than 10 million iPhone 6 series devices were sold in the first three days another Apple record. However the device itself has not been without it's share of criticism especially concerning the issue of the iPhone 6 Plus case bending under pressure. The design flaw is now known in social media circles as "Bendgate". The issue was first noted by a Youtube author named "Unbox Therapy" The iPhone 6 does not seem to be affected with the issue. Apple has stated you may be able to get your iPhone 6 Plus replaced, but will need to be inspected by Apple to determine eligibility. 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Best Android Launcher

The Android user has an OS that's highly customizable, and it can be said that the app launcher is the defining app for the Android user experience.
If you’re still using your standard default screen you may feel the entire Android experience is lacking. Fortunately, there’s no lack of excellent launchers on the Market, including such crowd-pleasers as LauncherPro and Nova.Launcher and GO Launcher.
My personal favorite is Next Launcher 3D Shell which is developed by the GO Launcher Development Team.
Pictures of my phone with the launcher don't do the app justice so I linked a youtube video from the developers instead.

I've used SPB, Go Launcher HD Pad, and ADW on my Galaxy 10.1 and Blu Life View. Next Launcher offers a wider variety of screen transitions than the others. The screen grid, icon size, and transition speeds are all adjustable. The preference menu is simple to use but goes deep with options galore to choose from. Using NEXT Launcher 3D Shell will definitely boost the Android experience. Check it out at Google Play.