Monday, December 26, 2011

Explanation for Apple Dislike

As I have made clear on countless times, I am not exactly an Apple fan. And I know there are a huge number of those fans but I am not one of them. But what people need to know is its not because I am a hippie and I think just because Apple has is so "mainstream" I shouldn't like it. That's not it. I have valid reasons for not liking Apple products. 

I get bored very easily with a phone's outlook. The covers, the wallpapers, the themes, everything. So I am constantly changing all these things to keep my phone feeling fresh. Imagine my reaction when the only thing I could change on my iPhone 3(that is the only iPhone I have used as my personal phone) was the wallpaper or the back cover. Then I found Jailbreak. Sure we can Jailbreak then use Winterboard for all these customization options that are very very cool. But what happens then? You lose performance. I have experienced it on the iPhone 3 and gotten a lot of feedback from iPhone 4 users. Performance is definitely an issue with the HK iPhone handsets after jailbreak. 

The phone that I was using right before I bought the iPhone was the Sony Ericsson Walkman.(pictured above) That was a media centric phone with an emphasis on Music. So in that phone, I could use MP3 files as your ringtone. That was a very common feature at that time for phones. Then I got the iPhone and guess what I find out? iPhone doesn't support mp3 ring tones. A "smartphone" that I just paid double the price of my old phone does not do something so simple that even very old Nokia phones could do. 


Then comes iTunes. The largest pain in the ass. I think iTunes was really the deal breaker. You cannot send any files to your device without using iTunes. Pretty much the slowest app for file transfer on the planet. My first instinct was to google it and find the solution. If you search "transfer files without iTunes" on google, you get 3,330,000 results. Almost all of those don't help. There was a solution for a while where you could transfer files through another software called iPhone Box but it doesn't work anymore. All in all, your stuck with iTunes. The worst part is this strategy isn't some kind of security feature but its actually a money maker. You can buy movies and music on iTunes so they are somewhat attracting you to buy their products by making it compulsory to use that software. I don't like it.

So anyway just to conclude, I do not like Apple products because they are too restrictive. They don't provide me with the same customization options as Android. You can't even do all the things you can do on Android on iOS but that's a topic for another day. Anyways, I have to give credit where credit is due, and Apple products are ridiculously well built for the general consumer market. The iPhone is the perfect smartphone for people who have never used a smartphone before and its very simple. I read something a while ago that really summed up Apple products. "The iPad is something my 2 year old son can pick up and start playing with. Android takes time to learn even for most Adults." So for Apple vs Android there isn't really a winner. It's just what your need is and what you are looking for.















(Not trying to say anything with this pic, just found it funny)

Happy Holidays!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Something for the Apple Fans - iPad 3



Here's something for the Apple hungry people. A new round of rumors just came in about the iPad 3 from techweekeurope. 
Here is the list of all possibilities:
1. Some sources in "supply chain" say the first units will arrive in the next 3 to four weeks. 
2. Siri may also be on board especially as it has been the selling point of the iPhone 4S
3. Improved Camera: Maybe something similar to the iPhone 4S 8MP shooter
4. Obviously has to have a better processor, since the iPad 2 had a 1GHz dual core processor, I'm thinking either a higher dual core processor, or a Quad core Processor, similar to the Transformer Prime

Well there you go, as I hear more, I will update this list to add more things. 
I really want to see this new iPad because its the iPad why I have my Android tablet. Apple products have been the line that Android tries to cross so I am always excited about new Apple products. 

Are you excited about the iPad 3. Are the above features enough for current iPad owners to upgrade? Leave a comment below.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Weekly App Recommendation - Air Droid

Every week I will be featuring an app either for Android or iOS that I think is really useful or worth checking out.

This week I bring you AirDroid for Android.

Airdroid is an app that can help you connect your Android smartphone to your PC. All you need is a WiFi connection and a browser. All you need to do is enter the web address the app gives you once you enable into a browser, any browser( I have tested it with my tablet browser and so far it works fine), and enter the password and you can access your phone through the browser. 
Example:
As in the above screenshot, the app shows you pretty much all your info. Available memory, signal, WiFi, and even battery level. I used it mostly to send and receive messages when I am using the PC. Sending messages through Keyboard is obviously much easier. 

The best about the app has to be that you don't have to install anything. You can use this app even when at school or work because you do not have to install anything. 

The best thing is that this app is free. So you don't have to waste any money if you're just trying it out. 
You can find the link to their website and also the market link below. 

Hope you Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Apple and Samsung

Found an interesting picture which I wanted to share. For all Apple fans out there. Just figured I should let you know that without Samsung you wouldn't have iPhone. Samsung makes the screen's as well so the beautiful display on the iPhone is actually a Samsung product. While Apple has contacted other companies for the screen, I read a report where LG couldn't deliver the amount and the quality so Apple had to go back to Samsung for the screens. So there you have it.

Picture courtesy to the Economist.
(http://www.economist.com/node/21525685)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Free apps for Android!

Jailbreaking on iPhone or iPod is wildly popular and everybody knows its the only way to get free apps and mod your phone. Of course many iPhone users know that to get these free apps you have to give up some performance. Most iPhone's lose performance after jailbreak. Android however does not have this problem. To get free apps, you do not have to make any modifications to your phone. I'll show you below the method to get free apps for your Android smartphone or tablet.

1. On your smartphone download any file manager app. I prefer astro File manager. If you own a samsung device, it should come preloaded with the My Files app. That works too.

2. On your PC browser, go to 4shared.com

3.  Say you want the new Spiderman game. search for "spiderman.apk"

4. Download the file that you are looking for. If it has your handset name, good. If not you can still try, most of the times it works. 

5. Move the file from your PC to your SD card or phone memory. 

6. Open up your file manager app and navigate to the folder where you saved your file. 

7. Click install and that's it. If it has some problems running, try to find a different version. 

Tips: You can also go to the website straight from your phone or tablet browser which can save you the transferring time and also doesn't require the file manager app.  
To find all apps, just do a blank ".apk" search and you can find all files currently on the database.

Thats it for now. If you have any questions just leave a comment below. 

Happy Holidays. 





Thursday, December 15, 2011

Sensation XL vs Nexus Prime

HTC Sensation XL vs Galaxy Nexus Prime (Strictly specs based comparison)


Two new handsets to hit the Hong Kong market in the last few days have been the Nexus Prime and Sensation XL. I honestly like the look of both these phones and someone asked me about which one was better. I couldn't tell you that because I have no personal experience with the phone but I am going to list out a comparison of the specs.

                                     HTC Sensation XL                            Nexus Prime

Display:                       4.7 inch                                                4.65 inch
                                    480 x 800 pixel resolutions                       720 x 1280
                                     Super LCD display                               Super Amoled HD Display

Software:                      Android 2.3 Gingerbread                          Android 4.0 Ice-cream Sandwich
                                      HTC Sense 3.5 Skin    

Processor:                     1.5 GHz Single Core                                  1.2 GHz Dual Core

Memory:                      16 GB(No SD card slot)                             16GB(No SD card slot)

Camera:                       8MP back with dual flash                           5MP back single flash
                                   1.3 MP front                                           1.3 MP front
                                  720p video recording                            1080p FULL HD video recording

Battery:                     1600mAh                                                               1,750mAh       

Other Stuff:                Beats Audio Integration                            Facial Unlock Feature
                                  In-ear Beats headphones                          Latest Android Software
                                  in the box                                               No flash yet     
                                  Flash Support          

Price:                       $4,980(Sim Free)                                    $5,328(pre-order, Sim Free)                                                       

Final Thoughts: Both these phones pack a lot in terms of specs and raw processing power. Nexus Prime to me is only better because its got the latest Android software and a dual core processor with the beautiful Super Amoled HD Display. The XL on the other hand looks much better in terms of design, a full white, with capacatative buttons only. It also has HTC's Sense UI which makes using it much easier and the Beats AUDIO integration actually is a big feature for audiophiles. The sound quality is greatly improved and you can notice the difference if you turn it off. The question is not which is better but which one is better for you. Hope this helps

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Galaxy Nexus Prime - Updated Hong Kong

Alright so this is one phone to be excited about and while the UK already got their share of it a few weeks ago, I just saw an ad for it this morning and did some research and 1010(csl) is taking orders for the phone. This is the flagship google phone and most hardcore android fans would definitely want this. The one thing that really stands out about this phone is the latest Android version Ice Cream Sandwich. This is one pretty ass software and trust me, it beats iOS by a longshot. I will review Ice Cream Sandwich and hopefully post a demo soon so you can see whether its something you like.

Here is the ad from the newspaper this morning:


Specs: 
- 4.65”  HD SUPER AMOLED Screen (1280x720 pixels) for vivid display
- Curve and Sleek design of 8.94mm
- First Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) for enriched features
- Face Unlock
- Android Beam to exchange information between NFC embedded Android phones
- Google +
- 1.2GHz Dual Core Processor
- HSDPA 21Mbps

If you manage to get your hands on this phone, let me know what you think. The price is right at $5,398. I guess the company hopes this is what you will be spending your 6K on.  For those permanent residents receiving it obviously.