How to use whatsapp on multiple devices

One of my main gripe about the popular messaging platform whatsapp is its inability to be used simultaneously on multiple devices. Worse, it can only be installed on a phone device, leaving tablets in the cold.

Well, there is a partial workaround now. Earlier this year, whatsapp created a web app so you can have your whatsapp chat on your desktop computer using the Chrome browser. Things get more interesting, the fact that the web app now supports Firefox and Opera browsers. This creates a workaround to have whatsapp on however many devices you have.

If you have an Android device, it’s very simple. Simply go to web.whatsapp.com with the Chrome browser. You would be redirected to a page telling you to download the native app. Don’t worry. Simply go to the menu and check “request desktop app,” and now you should be greeted with the QR code you can scan with the whatsapp app you have on your phone. That’s it. This is great if you have whatsapp on your Android phone, and you want whatsapp messaging on your other Android devices, be it a tablet or phone. Do note that the way web whatsapp works is that you still need the phone with the native app connected to the internet at all times.

What if you cannot use Chrome? Download the Opera browser and do the same thing. Make sure to set the user agent as desktop.

What if you have an iPad? Well, unfortunately this workaround doesn’t work, even when you use Chrome for iOS. You will be simply redirected to a page saying your browser is not supported. So too bad for iOS fans.

It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Ideally, you have a cloud based solution and native app on all platforms like telegram. This web app approach is actually more flexible as you can access the platform from any supported browsers. On the other hand, it depends on the browser on the specific platform. Android works fine, but not iOS.

Hope this can be useful for whatsapp fans.

 

Nexus 4 vs iPhone 5 Quick Impression

When Google released the Nexus 4 16GB for $349, it’s a no-brainer for a gadget geek like me. I have blogged my rant about Apple’s iPhone 5 pricing. Getting the Nexus 4 seems a perfect follow up.

I have had the Nexus 4 for a couple of weeks now. The device is made by LG a glass back (reminds me of the iPhone 4/4S). It makes the device feel substantial, even luxurious. It makes the Galaxy Nexus feel cheap. Of course, having a glass back has its own downfalls, mainly fragility. Some online reviewers have theirs cracked. I would think it’s similar to the iPhone 4/4S, and since my iPhone 4 is still pristine, I think I can handle the Nexus 4.

Unlike the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 4 has a built-in battery and an external tray for the micro SIM. Yes, it uses a micro SIM. Not a big deal nowadays as plenty of phones use micro SIM now (eg. Nokia Lumia phones). The tray design is vaguely familiar, like the ones on iPhones. Except, the hole is a lot smaller, so you cannot use the iPhone’s SIM eject tool, nor a paper clip. YES, LG DECIDED TO MAKE A SUPER TINY HOLE TO EJECT THE SIM, SO YOU HAVE TO CARRY ANOTHER TINY SIM EJECT TOOL. Yes. this is incredibly frustrating. Seriously, why? The hole is so tiny that when you use the included SIM eject tool, you feel that you might bent/break it. I mean come on Google, you didn’t do this on the Nexus 7 (made by Asus). Stupid LG. This is by far my biggest problem with the Nexus 4. It doesn’t have a microSD slot either, but this is nothing new as Google has eliminated SD card slot since the Nexus S. Your option will be 8GB or 16GB on-board.

Okay, setting that tiny hole aside, the phone feels really nice, again thanks to the materials used. The form factor is wider than the Galaxy Nexus. While the Galaxy Nexus has 720p screen resolution, the Nexus 4 extended the width to 1280 x 768. Google took advantage of this, cramming more apps in the app drawer, 5 apps per row. It feels very tight though. Another thing to consider with the wider resolution is the wallpaper. If you have Google restore your phone, you might find your old wallpaper cropped to fit the wider resolution.

Physical buttons follow the Galaxy Nexus design. Power button on the right side, volume on the left. Micro USB on the bottom and headphone jack on the top. The power button seems a bit recessed though, and coupled with the wider body, sometimes it’s not easy to press the button with one hand. Having a case that covers the power button may worsen the condition.

The Nexus 4 runs Android 4.2. The lock screen allows widgets, and I am seeing more and more apps supporting this. Careful though, having your emails right on the lock screen means anybody can read them too. Swiping the screen to the left turns on the camera. This is a very useful feature, giving Android a similar capability to iOS and Windows Phone. Speaking about the camera, 4.2 gives you 360-degree panorama feature, called Photo Sphere. So far, I find it to be so so, with resulting picture having plenty of stitching errors and distortions. Can’t comment enough about the camera quality, but so far, it seems so so too (not something you would brag against an iPhone 5 or Lumia 920 users).

Usability wise, the Nexus 4 is smooth. If you think the Galaxy Nexus is smooth, well, this is better. The wider screen may take time to get used to, but it makes typing a bit more comfortable. The Nexus 4 really is the benchmark of Android experience as intended by Google. If you have a Galaxy Nexus or a Nexus 7, you are probably already familiar with the 4.2 features. The Nexus 4 doesn’t really bring any extras on 4.2 that you won’t get on the Galaxy Nexus, other than maybe HDR photo. What you get from the Nexus 4 is a better processor and GPU (running the latest Krait CPU and Adreno 320 GPU). Oh, and it has better support of 5GHz Wifi n. The Galaxy Nexus supports this, but only on a very narrow group of channels. The Nexus 4 fares better. In addition to penta-band HSDPA, the Nexus 4 also supports dual-carrier HSDPA. No official LTE support, although the tinkerers online found out that it supports one LTE band with a hack (not going to be useful for practical purposes).

I am a fan of the Nexus lineup, owning the Nexus One, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and now the Nexus 4. I am a fan of phones that are unlocked and not carrier controlled. At its price, the Nexus 4 is right. I do have to say though, skip the 8GB version. 8GB is not enough with modern usage, unless you don’t have any content on your phone. 16GB is the bare minimum.

Now, let’s move to the iPhone 5, Apple’s latest and greatest money maker. I had the chance to observe the new iPhone 5 unboxing, and using it long enough to have an impression. I will make comparison with the Nexus 4 along the way.

First of all, build quality. Yes, the scuffgate you read online is real. The white iPhone 5 I observed had a big scratch/dent on its side out of the box. This is ridiculous, especially if you are paying $$$ for it. I have owned many Apple and other consumer electronic products, and I have yet to have one that have a physical damage out of the box. Good thing Apple knows this and having it replaced with a new one is easy, but still, it’s ridiculous, considering a company like Apple. One thing though, the iPhone 5 feels very light, which is kinda amazing considering what Apple packs in it. My iPhone 4 feels like a brick compared to the 5.

Other than that, the iPhone 5 is, well, an iPhone. I have the iPhone 4, and although it remains smooth enough under iOS6, the iPhone 5 feels a lot snappier thanks to its A6 processor. Apps launch almost immediately compared to the iPhone 4. The smoothness feels so great that even my Nexus 4 feels “laggy.” This is what I like about iOS. Android is trying to catch up with Project Butter, but it has quite a bit way to go (not helped by 4.2 that seems to make my Nexus 7, the poster child for smoothness, laggy). While the Nexus 4 is wider than the Galaxy Nexus, the iPhone 5 is taller than the iPhone 4. So adjust your wallpapers. The extra height gives you an extra row on the home screen for apps. Compared to my Nexus 4, however, the keyboard on the iPhone 5 feels cramped. Yes, it has the same width as the iPhone 4, but the taller screen adds the cramped feeling as the body looks narrower now.

As for iOS6, my iPhone 4 does not get many of its new features. Apple introduced its own Maps app in iOS6, but since the iPhone 4 doesn’t have Siri, it doesn’t have turn-by-turn navigation either (thank goodness for Google Maps app). Another feature that my iPhone 4 doesn’t get is panorama. Just like previous iPhones, tethering on the iPhone 5 is carrier controlled, even if you buy an unlocked version. Hardware wise, the iPhone 5 supports LTE, dual-carrier HSDPA, and 5GHz wifi n, a clear advantage over my iPhone 4. However, I’ll take my Nexus 4’s penta-band HSDPA anytime. I was ranting about the new lightning connector, but I kinda like it now. It’s very compact, and the design makes it much easier to plug the connector in and out, without worrying about whether you do it right or upside down. The only problem is for people that have invested a lot of money in the 30-pin dock connector accessories (including me).

In the end, the iPhone 5 is an iPhone. If you managed to get one that didn’t self-scuff in its box, it’s a very nice phone. It is very light and snappy to use. After looking at the Nexus 4, however, the unlocked iPhone 5’s price is a jaw-dropper.

Both phones represent the latest and greatest form the perspective of the platform, pure Android vs iOS. The Nexus 4 is definitely the best bang for the buck. At $349, the 16GB model is still cheaper than even the iPhone 4. The only challenge is trying to get one. However, the iPhone 5 does carry the strength of iOS. Apple’s ecosystem and walled-garden is a very nice place, if you can afford it.

 

Apple WWDC 2012 Keynote Impression

Well, Apple’s WWDC 2012 Keynote is now online.

Let’s do a recap and impression.
Just like any Apple keynote, it started with Tim Cook talking about stats here and there, how great WWDC is and will be, how great the App store is, etc. Oh, and also the obligatory touchy feely warmy video. Apple really do quite a bit of work to make their devices and OS more accessible imo. Surprisingly, this segment is a bit short this time as Apple had a lot to show.

Phil Schiller started with the new Macbook Air. Ivy bridge, Intel HD graphics 4000, USB3, 720p Facetime camera, all expected. Phil kindly reminded us that all the USB ports are USB3, unlike those Windows laptops. Sure. Okay refresh. Shipping that day. Same price points as before.

Next, a light refresh on the existing Macbook Pro. Same stuff, Ivy Bridge, Intel HD graphics 4000 for the 13″ and nVidia Geforce GT 650M for the 15″, USB3. Nothing much changed though, still has the optical drive, same screen resolution (the 13″ MBP is still lower res than the 13″ MBA). Shipping that day. Same price points as before, but 17″ went bye bye.

Of course, the one more thing. This is what we’re waiting for. The Next Generation Macbook Pro. This is the MBA-styled MBP. Super thin, 15″, Ivy Bridge, GeForce GT 650M, USB3, no optical drive, SSD only, HDMI port (!), but no more Firewire nor ethernet ports. The trade-off, you get 2 thunderbolt ports, and Apple will gladly sell you a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 and a Thunderbolt to Gigabit ethernet adapter. But the big thing is, retina display. Yes, the 15″ screen has 2880 x 1800 resolution. It’s mind boggling. Editing photos on this is going to be amazing. I mean viewing photos on the iPad 3 is already amazing enough. Just like the MBA, the next gen MBP has most of its inside filled with battery, with 7 hours battery life. Oh, you can put in up to 768GB of SSD, if you have the money that is. Basically, this is THE Macbook Pro you want, not the ones that just got updated. Oh, Johnny Ive wants you to know that it has asymmetrically spaced blades in the fans. Yeah, in case you’re wondering… Priced at $2199 starting. Expensive, yes, but for that screen, it’s probably decently priced. Oh, shipping that day.

See the pattern? Every single products announced are shipping that day. Compare this to the other OEMs that cannot even ship their tablets, phones, ultrabooks, on time or in more than few countries. This is why Apple is winning, the fact that they actually deliver their products so people can buy them. The competitors just talk big during announcement.

Next stop, OS X Mountain Lion. I remembered when a new OS is announced, the features that people are talking about would be the file system, things like Open CL, etc. Well, OS X is so mature now that what Apple is talking about is more like consumer features. All the stuff parodying iOS, like Messages and Documents in the Cloud. Not new concepts, as we’ve seen the basis of these before. In any case, that free 5GB storage on iCloud will soon feel small. I do like the idea of having iOS-style (or Android-style if you want) notification system. It would be more intuitive. Amazingly, it is pretty much a built-in twitter client too as you can post tweets right on it.

Dictation on the Mac. I don’t think this is new, but it’s just more featured. OS X also has quick sharing to Twitter or Flickr. Great way to share stuff on Twitter without having to cut-n-paste URLs and whatnot. New Safari now has an awesome bar, one bar for URLs and search, just like Chrome. It will also sync its tabs through iCloud with iDevices and Macs. So careful when you have that porn site up on one of your tabs. 😛

Power nap, keeping your Mac up to date while it sleeps. Err… is this why my iMac with Lion now refuses to sleep automatically? Looks like it’s only compatible with the 2nd gen MBA and the next gen MBP. System wide Airplay is long overdue, previously only available on iTunes. Game Center is a meh. I never use it. Steam is where gaming is. What is interesting is that Craig was showing Game Center and a game playing over Airplay to Apple TV. Is this a hint of something coming?

Next is the intensive improvements of Chinese language support and integration with various Chinese services like Baidu. This is huge. I bet many US tech blogs and analysts will skim over this, but Apple’s decision to support these Chinese sites shows what Apple thinks about China. Even Craig said “get your apps ready for China.” That is a big hint.

OS X Mountain Lion, next month, $20, for ALL your Macs. Yup, just $20 will upgrade ALL Macs you have, even from Snow Leopard. Take that Microsoft. How much do you have to pay for a single license for Windows? And only Upgrade license? Yeah.

Scott was up next with iOS6. He started with an obvious jab against Android, and how iOS 5 is more prevalent than ICS Android 4.0. Yeah, suck on that Google. I love my Galaxy Nexus though. 🙂
Improvement on Siri, now you can have her launch apps. Oh, she also learned a LOT more languages, including Spanish, Chinese (both mandarin and Cantonese), and Korean. Scott is showing off Siri knowing a bunch of sports info, pulling restaurant info from Yelp and partnering with Open Table for reservation (something that the old Siri could already do, before Apple bought it), and pulling movie information. Cool, but my iPhone 4 doesn’t have Siri, so bah.

An exciting feature is Eyes Free. It’s basically Apple working together with car manufactures to integrate Siri’s voice commands, and those manufactures includes Honda and Toyota (but no Nisan, and clearly absent, Ford). All I want is for car manufactures to have a slot for an iPad as the center console.
Oh, and finally, iOS 6 will enable Siri on the new iPad.

Next, Facebook integration. Considering how sucky the Facebook app is becoming, this is highly welcomed. Sharing photos has been quite a chore as Facebook’s own app is dog slow. Being able to do that straight from the photos app would be great. Contacts integration and birthday integration with calendar is great too. Oh, the app store will have Facebook like button now. Wonder what would happen to Ping.

Other features include call options, including features to text a reply quickly or set up a reminder when somebody is calling. Then there’s a “Do not Disturb” toggle. Hmm, that’s the point of having silent mode, no? The nice thing is it has granular control, eg. allowing certain calls to go trough. Facetime over 3G. Big whoop, all the carriers are already imposing draconian caps that I doubt people would use this. Heck, even Singapore carriers are now axing down their data quota to 2GB, mimicking the US carriers. Video calls over cellular is dead.

Safari on iOS6 allows you to upload pictures on websites. This is huge as before, iOS didn’t allow access to the filesystem via the browser. Photo Stream finally can be shared and selectively. This is the answer to the missing feature in iPhoto that used to be called photocasting. Flagged inbox in mail is nice too.

A new app, pass book. It’s collecting stuff like boarding passes, store cards, movie tickets, etc in 1 app. This is Apple testing the waters on mobile transaction. Guided Access, allowing fine tune control of UIs on apps, even disallowing the home button to exit the app. This is great as it finally allows you to lend your iDevices to your friends, without being afraid they mess with your other stuff (like checking out your porn tab in the new Safari that got synced with your desktop).

Oh and it’s final, Apple ditched Google Maps. New maps app, with local search and Yelp integration (nice), traffic service with incident reports, and the biggie, turn-by-turn navigation complete with Siri integration. So yeah, finally those ads about iOS not having turn-by-turn navigation can be cancelled/taken down. This is great and huge, pitting iOS squarely head to head with Android. Another thing is 3D flyover, another jab at Google’s own Maps and Earth. Cool, especially on an iPad, but it’s just eye candy imo. I can’t wait for the turn-by-turn direction feature, but I wonder if Apple would make it work on the iPhone 4 without Siri.

Couple on the side features, Lost Mode, allowing you to send a call-able phone number on your lost iPhone screen. Also, a new iPad clock app. FYI, the iPad didn’t actually have a clock app before. And another huge hint, the integration with China web services.

iOS 6 shipping this fall (with new iPhone too probably), and it’s for iPhone 3GS and later, iPad 2 and later, and iPod Touch 4th gen. Err…. did you see something’s missing? Yeah, no iPad 1 and no iPod Touch 3rd gen. Thing is, these 2 devices are faster than the iPhone 3GS hardware wise, so it’s interesting that Apple decided to ditch those 2 devices. The iPad 1 is practically useless anyway, it’s so slow that even browsing the net with it is no longer enjoyable. Still, I was hoping for a bit more longevity.

The keynote ended with Tim Cook promoting how great it is working at Apple. It’s a recruitment!

Let’s recap on my prediction:
1. OS X Mountain Lion. I thought it would be free, but $20 is still cheaper than $30.
2. iOS6. Still no shuffle-by-album? The ditching of Google maps is well-known already.
3. Hardware: No updates on the desktops. I did guess right that the new MBA_style MBP was the “one more thing.” Although they did axe the 17″.
4. And yes, no iPhone nor iPod Touch.

Ok, new tasty Apple products, as always. Great keynote despite not having Steve Jobs. I’ll just wait for the new iPhone though.
Enough with WWDC and Apple, time to go back to making another Accel World AMV (and patiently waiting for Accel World Ep 10). 🙂

 

WWDC 2012 final prediction

Well, it’s mere hours till the event, so here are my final prediction (since I’m bored due to the delay of Accel World Ep 10).
1. OS X Mountain Lion
Kinda obvious. The beta is already out. Probably just a bunch more iOS-related enhancements like notification, which could be useful. I can’t think of anything significant since the OS is so mature already. Wonder if Apple would just give it away for free through an update via the app store.

2. iOS 6
Announcement and start of the beta. Again, not sure what Apple would add to the maturing OS. The rumors are that Apple ditching Google Maps and using their own mapping technology. And maybe pimped up SIRI. All I want is shuffle-by-album feature on the music app, something that Apple neglected to do.

3. Refresh Mac lineup
This is where the rumors are hot. Every Macs, including the Macbook Pro and Mac Pro are going to be updated. Question is, how? The rumors are redesigned Mac Pro casing and MBA-style Macbook Pros. Also, rumor is the 17″ MBP is going to be axed. I don’t know. The MBP is Apple’s only “pro” laptop with desktop class processing power. I doubt that they would drop the 17″. I can see the 13″ and 15″ getting a redesign, ditching the optical drive in favor of more battery, possibly dual-HDD/dual-SSD/SSD-HDD combo, and retina display. The resolution update is overdue as the MBA now has higher screen res. Everything will be Ivy Bridge, and maybe USB3 (finally?). iMac with retina screen? Not sure as it will jack up the price too much at that size.

4. New iPhone? New iPod Touch?
Nope. Many rumors are hyped for a new iPhone, but there’s a reason why Apple released the 4S fairly late last year. I mean iOS6 is not even announced yet, so I doubt Apple would release a new iPhone without a new OS right off the gate. This WWDC will be dev-centric, the software development. iPhone will be later this year. Same thing with the new iPod Touch, which imo would be the larger screen device that has been floating around.

Well, there you go. My last minute prediction. I think the new Mac hardware would be enough for Apple to garner attention. I’m also predicting that the MBA-styled Macbook Pros will be the “One More Thing,” in addition to a standard MBPs with optical drive.

For the live blogging of the keynote, I’ll be following TheVerge and gdgt as they usually have great commentaries and pictures.

 

New iPad announcement

I have not posted anything on this blog for a while because I’m too lazy, but I guess it’s time for an update because, well, the iPad 3. 😀

So, here’s my keynote run-through and impression.

1. Tim Cook rehashing the same thing about how Apple is so great in this post-PC era, how they are making a boatload of money, how great their retail stores are, and how you will buy whatever they are announcing today. (I made the last part up). I just went to their 5th Ave store in New York, and it’s quite amazing how many people were in that store, in the middle of the night. I mean really, the store even opens 24 hour. Unbelievable. Every retailers on the planet are salivating.

2. iOS is great. Sales, numbers, Siri, bla bla bla. But hey, now Siri can speak nihon-go. iOS 5.1, available today. How many Android devices got updated to 4.0? Yeah.

3. iCloud, it just works. Err… not really Tim. It’s cool, but still need a lot of work and features. Now iCloud supports movies, and iTunes has 1080p movies.

4. New Apple TV with 1080p support. “The quality is off the charts.” Meh, I can rip my blu-ray to get 1080p movies DRM free myself. Boring demo. Still $99.

5. iPad 3, or “the new iPad.” Yeah, Apple drops the numbering altogether. It will be just the iPad. Just like the Mac, no numbering anymore. Tim Cook went on and on about how people love iPads. Hearing Tim Cook talking made me sleepy. Sorry, but it’s hard for anybody to match Steve Jobs’ performance and presentation. Tim is also showing how the apps on Android tablets are inferior to the iPad version.

Amazing new iPad! It’s magical! No, Tim didn’t say magical, but might as well. Phil is doing the actual announcement, not my favorite person to do keynote either. So, what’s new on the new iPad?

-Retina display. 2048 x 1536 resolution, higher resolution than even my iMac! More than any 1080p HDTV! It’s quite amazing, 264ppi. Wait, that’s not 300dpi. Phil went on explaining why they still classify the iPad’s 264ppi as retina based on distance. Whatever.

-A5X chip, not the A6. So instead quad-core CPU, it’s still dual-core CPU but quad-core GPU. 4X Tegra 3? Holly mackerel, and Android tablets using Tegra 3 are barely coming out (Yeah Asus, where’s your Transformer Prime?). Amazing.

-iSight camera. Errr, ok, now Apple is using the iSight monicker again after changing it to Facetime on Macs? Phil says that the front facing camera is Facetime camera, and the rear facing camera is an iSight camera. Ooookay. 5MP, 1080p video with image stabilization. Sounds great, right? Yeah, considering how many people out there are using iPads to take pictures and videos in the wild, it’s going to get worse. Really, holding an iPad to take pictures in public places doesn’t make you cool.

-Voice dictation. Oh come on Apple, can’t you just put Siri on it? Voice dictation also in nihon-go.

-4G LTE + HSPA+. So real 4G and fake 4G, included. Problem is, AT&T version will be different than Verizon version since both LTE is not compatible with each other. Luckily, either of them have world-compatible 3G. Oh, and personal hotspot feature…. if your carrier supports it. Uh huh, yeah, good luck with that on US carriers.

-Still 10-hour battery life. Well, Apple put more battery on the new iPad, resulting in a bit thicker body compared to the iPad 2.

-Same pricing for all levels of storage capacities starting at $499 for the 16GB wifi. Alas, no 128GB version.

Availability? March 16th in 10 countries, including Singapore, and pretty much everywhere else a week after that. Compare that to the Asus Transformer Prime, which was released at the end of last year, yet still not available in retail today. This is why Apple is successful, and funny thing is, the competitors just don’t get it, still following their old way of slow time-to-market schedule.

6. Game and app demos. Ooohhh, shiny. Console quality games. Err, no, not with touch screen. Autodesk, selling a ton more apps on iOS than the desktop. “Amazing.” “Retina display is luscious.” Epic games, with a diablo clone.

7. Updated iWorks apps and iLife apps. The multiple instruments on multiple iPads on Garageband is pretty cool. iMovie is updated, now with trailers. iPhoto for iOS! Finally! It’s long overdue. Imo Apple should’ve just replaced the current photo app on iOS with iPhoto. Currently, it feels weird having both apps. On the Mac, there’s no “photo” app, just iPhoto. The journal feature is very nifty. A must download.

8. And finally, yet another video talking about everything that was covered.

9. Oh, and price drop of the iPad 2, 16GB wifi for $399. Yup, Android OEMs are still having problem producing enough of their stuff, now they have to compete with $399 iPad. Maybe they will finally learn a thing or two about how Apple does their business.

So, that’s it, new Apple TV and new iPad. Do I want one? Well, gotta catch’em all…

 

iPhone 4S Keynote Impression

Well, the iPhone 4S Keynote is available now, for download and for streaming. Here goes my impression:

First, we have Tim Cook, looked and sounded subdued for whatever reason, talking about the new Apple stores in Hong Kong and China. For some reason, he kept talking about the glass staircase, saying how only Apple could do that. Hmmm, maybe Apple patented glass staircases now? 😛 The Hong Kong stores look great though.

Then he talked about Lion. Errr, I thought this was iPhone keynote? 6 million downloads of Lion. Tim Cook is comparing Lion to Windows 7, and how it took longer for Windows 7 to reach 10%. Well, 10% of Windows users is a heck lot more than 10% of Mac users. :roll eyes: Just the typical statistic spin of Apple. Mac outgrows PC… well duh. It’s easy to grow from 1% than 99%. 😛

Next he talked about music, iTunes, revolutionize, blah blah. Guess what Tim Cook, I still cannot buy many J-Pop and Eurobeat tracks from iTunes US as they are only available in iTunes Japan. So much for “revolution.”

iPod sales. With the death of the Zune player, it’s a clear win for Apple. As such, being the dominant player, things are slowing down. It’s a given ever since Apple jumped the shark and added a camera to the nano. The classic has not been updated, again. And, well, no updates on the iPod lineup at all. We’ll talk about this later.

iPhone 4 (finally, he’s talking about iPhone), best selling smartphone, “ever.” Well, considering it was selling out in countries like Singapore at the beginning of the year, yeah, it’s selling a lot. Mobile phone satisfaction…. yeah yeah, this BS talk is getting old.

iPad sale. You know, for a keynote that secifically said “Let’s Talk iPhone,” Tim Cook sure did talk a lot about everything else. Everybody loves iPad, sure, blah blah. Watch for the Kindle Fire. Tim Cook sounded like a really old person. Steve Jobs had so much more energy, even at the later days where he’s so skinny.

Next, Scott Forstall. Good, as he sounded more energetic than the tired Tim Cook. Blah blah apps blah blah app store blah blah number one blah blah billion.

New app, Cards. You can create and mail cards directly from the iPhone. Yeah… when the last time you send a card to somebody? There’s something called email and Facebook. Push notification when the card is sent. Sure, knowing how “reliable” the USPS, this is not anything you can rely on. $2.99. Meh.

iOS5. Urgh, just a recap from WWDC. 200 new features, notifications, iMessage, Reminders, Twitter integration (yup, no Facebook here), Newsstand, Camera, Photos, Game Center, Safari, Mail, PC free (it’s weird the he didn’t talk more on this other than what we already know from WWDC). October 12th.

Eddy, iCloud. Again, more rehashes from WWDC. *yawn Something new though, Find My Friends. Yeah, an official stalking app. I’m guessing a more controlled version of Google Latitude. 5GB free storage for documents (music and photos are not counted against the 5GB). iTunes Match, $25 a year, the service to legalize your downloaded music. Not something I’m interested as most of my music are not available in iTunes anyway. Same ship date as iOS5.

By the way, Apple is very good in making these videos of their own products to show the features and whatnot. I mean they have an iPhone downloading music automatically while a dad is taking care of his baby in the background. Talk about subconscious marketing.

Phil has been downgraded to talk about nothing new on iPods. LOL. Big icons on the nano and more skins for the watch feature. Whoop dee doo. Previous nano users should be able to get all these new features via an update as nothing has changed hardware wise. Phil said how people are using the nano as wristwatches by themselves. No Phil, Steve Jobs actually hinted at it when he said one of the board member was going to clip it to his arm band as a watch. It has been planned all along by Apple. Slight price drop, 8GB for $129 and 16GB for $149.

iPod Touch, nothing new. Only a white version and price drop on the 8GB version to $200. Nothing else changed, not even the prices of the 32GB/64GB Touch. Sad. What’s the point of trying to push the Touch as a gaming device if you don’t even put the A5 in it? This is another sign how innovation slows down to a halt as Apple has virtually no competition in this market.

Well, Phil finally talked about the new iPhone 4S. Sound similar? Yes, Phil also did the keynote for iPhone 3GS. iPhone 4S has A5 chip (dual core), like the iPad 2. Who knows if it’s clocked as fast as the iPad 2 though.

Mid intermission, Epic Games was showing Infinity Blade 2. Ooooh, Koi in the pond. Phil doesn’t look too amazed though.

Okay, back to iPhone 4S. 8 hours 3G talk time. “Fantastic battery life.” Sounds good, right? But what Phil didn’t mention is the standby time is a lot less than the iPhone 4, down to 200 hours from 300 hours. New switching antenna. LOL. Now you don’t have to worry if you hold your phone wrong. HSDPA+, 14.4Mbps down, fake 4G. World phone, meaning there’s only 1 version of iPhone 4S, having both GSM and CDMA radio. Question is, will it be unlocked? Nobody knows.

New camera. 8MP sensor, backside illuminated CMOS (sounds like the one Sony was talking about), f/2.4, software features like face detection (something that is commonly available in point-n-shoot digicams), faster than Droid Bionic (getting a cup of coffee?) and SGS2 (well, better be). One of the sample photos showed no barrel distortion, something that is a problem in most compact digicams.

1080p video recording. Meh, I hope it can be scaled back down to 720p. Also I find it funny that Apple never supported their own iFrame format in their own hardware. The big thing is video image stabilization. If this works, it will be a God send. The camera features themselves imo is worth getting the iPhone 4S.

Airplay. Meh, I don’t have the Apple TV.

“Most amazing iPhone yet.”

Oh, Phil forgot something. Yup, as rumored, Siri personal assistant, built-in to the iPhone 4S. The idea is mind blowing. Yeah, it’s Star Trek’s computer that you talk to. Scott Forstall doing the demo. The problem with voice recognition is recognizing the words for a non-perfect-English-speaker. Hopefully this will work, because currently the voice recognition of iOS4 is mediocre at best (I cannot have it do anything). Siri + wikipedia + wolfram alpha = ultimate exam machine. God, I wish we had this technology when I was in school. 😀 This is going to freak out a lot of old school teachers that think you have to memorize everything on earth. Now in beta. Can’t wait for the technology to enable automatic real-time translation, just like Start Trek’s Universal Translator.

More videos. Where’s Johnny Ive?

Black and white, 64GB option. Apple also keeps the 3GS and iPhone 4 (downgraded to 8GB). Subsidized price for 8GB 3GS is $0, or $375 unlocked. Yeah, it’s the first time Apple made an unlocked 3GS available in the US. It took them like what, 2 years? iPhone 4 8GB subsidized price is $99, $549 unlocked. Subsidized price for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB 4S are $199, $299, and $399 respectively. No info on unlocked price yet, but looks like it’s going to be $649 for the 16GB version (and adding $100 for the next size up). New carriers mentioned, Sprint for US and KDDI for Japan. My biggest question is, since the 4S is a world phone and (maybe) unlocked, does it mean users can jump from AT&T to Verizon to Sprint and back willy nilly? I hope so, but US carriers are notorious for their anti-consumer and anti-competitive business practices of provider locking. Hopefully Apple can lead the way to a world without provider-locked phones in the US.

October 14th, shipping to 7 countries. October 28th, pretty much everywhere else. Compare this to Android OEMs that are dragging their feet in releasing their phones in the US. Yeah, I’m looking at you Sony Ericsson, Samsung, taking 6 months after releasing their phones in Europe/Asia to the US.

Keynote ended with an old and tired sounding Tim Cook. I hope he’s just nervous. He needs to be more upbeat and energetic like Scott Forstall.

Well, there you go. And yes, I’m going to get one as to me the camera and A5 alone are huge improvements. Besides, I’m a sucker for new gadgets anyway. Gotta cath-em-all!

PS: I’m typing this entirely on my iPad (with a bluetooth keyboard of course, the touch keyboard on the iPad sux). Just trying to live in a post-PC world. 🙂

 

Apple event coming up, iPhone 5

Well, it’s just hours from now. Regular live blogs: gdgt, Engadget, and thisismynext.

My guess:
-iPhone 4S: A5 chip, 1GB RAM, up to 64GB config, HSPA+, new voice recognition features. Same design as iPhone 4.
-iPhone 4 8GB taking over the 3GS spot for the “lower end.”
-iOS5 and iCloud tie-in will be the bigger focus.

I have a feeling that’s about it. The evidence for the iPhone 4S is just too many to ignore. I was hoping Apple would use a continual numerical system instead (iPhone 5 instead of 4S). It was perfect with the tie-in with iOS5 and A5 chip, but I guess not. There are rumors that Sprint is getting an exclusive iPhone “5,” but I doubt it. Why would Apple want to make a Wimax iPhone just for 1 carrier, while the future is LTE? Besides, world market is way larger than Sprint’s, so it’s in the best interest of Apple to make a GSM/HSDPA iPhone 5, if it was to exist. There’s also a rumor about Apple keeping the 3GS. I don’t know. Apple is known to iterate and ditch the old stuff quickly. Why would they stick with a 2+ year-old hardware with so many new features they want to bring with iOS5?

Since the invite specifically mentions iPhone, I don’t think we will see any iPod related announcement… unless Apple makes the iPod Touch into the “cheap iPhone.” Apple is pretty much un-contested in the portable music market. Even Microsoft stopped production of the Zune. Apple could simply let things the way they are, maybe just cut some prices for the Touch. It’s sad though, as I feel there wouldn’t be anymore exciting stuff in this segment as the market is overtaken by smartphones.

Well, it’s just hours before we find out the real deal. Get you wallet ready. 😀

 

Returned my Samsung Infuse 4G

Well, I returned my Samsung Infuse (good thing AT&T has a 30-day return policy). Not, it’s not that I didn’t like it. It’s okay, but there are things that started to annoy me.
First of all, what I liked about it:
-Large screen. In the past, I wouldn’t imagine having a 4.5″ screen phone. Now, everything seems too small and too tight to use.
-Android and Google Voice integration. This is more a plus for Android. I love the integration of Google Voice in Android, that it’s seamless. Not the case on iOS.
-Generous internal memory for apps.

Now, I find the Infuse to be fine on day-to-day use. But then the small things are getting annoying:
-It’s still Froyo. With Gingerbread already 6+ months old, it’s abhorrent that Samsung/AT&T released this phone with Froyo. And who knows if AT&T is going to update it. I inquired AT&T about it, and they said that they will only release an update if it meets their high standard. :puke: Really? High standard? Outside the US, Samsung handsets (SGS and SGS2) are sporting Gingerbread already, and I’m sure Samsung would know a lot more of their phones than AT&T. Bullshit. Using Froyo means that there are bugs, bugs that are only fixed with Gingerbread. Accessing things like the list of apps and general usability put Gingerbread above Froyo. Granted, Samsung’s Touch Wiz is actually not bad, and Samsung seems to manage to smooth out a lot of the quirks on Froyo. But going back to my Nexus One with Gingerbread after a month of using the Infuse breathed so much fresh air. Gingerbread is simply a lot smoother, and the keyboard is better too.
-AT&T controlled. Sure, I did manage to unlock it, but certain features like tethering and wifi hotspot remain under AT&T control unless you root the phone. But why do I have to do that? My Nexus One has those features available without having to root.
-Questionable touch-tone keypad. I think this is a Samsung issue. I found out about this issue when I was trying to navigate the touch-tone-base menu of a bank. The Infuse is literally unusable. Every touch tone key press on the virtual keypad of the Infuse registers as multiple numbers, even if I only tap the number really lightly. I don’t understand why. My N1 and iPhone 3GS don’t have this issue.
-Useless front facing camera. The only app included with the Infuse that can interact with the front facing camera is the camera app, and it can only take pictures, not video. I tried using other apps like Qik and Tango, the video captured by the front facing camera is rotated by 90-degrees. WTF? It’s close to useless.

I guess my next venture to Android will be on the Nexus 3. I’m sick and tired with carrier-controlled phones. With Apple now selling the iPhone 4 unlocked, I might go back to iOS, and replace my 3GS, the only provider-locked phone I own now.

 

WWDC 2011 Impression

The streaming video is available on Apple’s site now.

1. OS X Lion.
The show started with Phil Schiller talking about Lion and some of the features like gestures and what not. We’ve seen this before. Craig was showing the demo, showing the new scrolling paradigm and the new photo booth app. The focus is full-screen apps. What’s nice about it is how smooth things are. Whenever Craig swiped stuff around, the OS looks just silky smooth, something I like about Apple. Craig also showed the more intuitive mission control for spaces. Not bad, but nothing superbly amazing.
Launchpad is basically iOS-like launcher for OS X. Resume and auto-save seem like basic ideas, but I bet these will require app support for full functionality. Versions has the similar vibe of something that Microsoft is already doing on Windows (shadow copy, previous versions, etc). But obviously Apple is doing it with a lot more flair, with a Time-Machine-like UI and interactivity.
Airdrop is a nice feature, peer to peer encrypted wifi file-sharing. No more trying to find that USB stick. Oh, and also a confirmation that the server “version” will be an add-on, probably via the app store. Available July, but only available via the app store? What about a clean install? As for price, as I predicted, it’s just $30. The beauty is, since it’s part of the app store, it means you just spend $30 to upgrade ALL your Macs. Amazing! No more family pricing and whatnot. Microsoft, take a hint here, how much are you going to charge for Windows 8?

2. Mac App store
Yeah. Apple wants that cut, and at the same time, developers want the sales. Phil was saying how the Mac App store is the number one software retailer (not sure what measurement they are using, but whatever). The biggest change is app updates. Right now, as with iOS app store, whenever there’s an update for any of the apps, you’re downloading the whole apps again. Looks like Lion will allow delta updates. Hopefully this means everytime Apple updates iTunes, I don’t have to re-download the whole iTunes software anymore. 😛

3. New Mail.
Basically Mail on OS X is getting a UI refresh based on Mail on iOS with additional niceties like conversation view. By the way, Craig is just good at demo-in all of these. The way he talked and what not definitely shows you that the whole keynote is well produced, especially when you start comparing keynotes from Google/Microsoft/HP.

4. iOS5.
Scott is up, talking about the typical sales and whatnot. Yadda yadda. iOS5 is the news here. Finally, a revamped notification. The dumbphone-level notification is too silly for a smartphone. Notification Center. What is it? A copy of Android’s notification system. Yeah, it is even invoked by dragging the top bar down, JUST like Android. LOL @ Apple. Lock screen is improved by showing the notification with direct access to the app that got the notification.
Newsstand is just an extension of the iBook store, but for newspaper and magazine subscription. Meh, can’t remember when the last time I read newspaper or magazine. There’s already something better, it’s called RSS feed. 😛
Tighter twitter integration with support for single sign-on right on iOS, and twitter services from other apps.
Mobile Safari is improved with the same reader function like the desktop version. Many websites actually don’t like this as it gets rid of ads and page click. Oh, and full tab browsing for the iPad, with the tabs on the screen instead of having to go to the thumbnails of websites.
Reminders. Uh oh, this doesn’t bode well to some apps as before, you need a 3rd party app. The beauty is the geo location where you can trigger a reminder when entering or leaving a particular location.
Improved Camera app. Now there’s a camera icon on the lock screen of iOS5 that immediately brings you to the camera app. Gee, how did Apple get this idea? *cough*Windows Phone 7*cough*. Even funnier, using the volume button to take picture. The irony here is that Apple took down an app in the past that brought that functionality. There’s also AE/AF lock when you touch the area on the screen, a great feature. Editing is now built-in so no more trying to find a 3rd party apps for simple cropping. Of course, 3rd party devs may not be as happy.
Improved Mail… meh.
And, a split keyboard for thumb typing on the iPad. Hmm, where didn’t we see this very recently? Yeah, on Windows 8. LOL @ Apple.
One of the biggest feature would be PC free. This means no need for iTunes activation (phone can be used out of the box), OTA OS updates (delta, not redownloading the whole OS like before), just like, oh, any other phones out there. LOL.
I couldn’t care less about Game Center.
iMessage (gee, what a creative name), a messaging service for any iOS devices, including iPod Touch and iPad (not just iPhones). If you and your family/friends have iOS devices, pretty much you don’t need any of those IM apps anymore. Oh, and this could mean you can bypass your greedy wireless carrier’s SMS charges extortion. Neat. 😀
Other stuff: AirPlay Mirroring, Wi-Fi sync to iTunes (Finally!). Not mentioned: LED flash for incoming calls/alerts (obviously iPhone 4 only), Smart Playlist sync from iTunes, different tones for voicemail/mail/calendar alerts, emoji, ability to delete songs, and oh, custom vibration patters. LOL. Available this Fall, and still supports the 3GS! Hopefully it won’t bog down the 3GS like iOS4 did for the 3G.

5. iCloud.
Steve is back on stage and talked about multiple devices syncing driving them crazy. Agreed. Thus iCloud as the “hub,” automatically upload and push content from/to all your devices (presumably just Apple devices, meaning iDevices and Macs). Oh, and Steve poked fun at MobileME. Good one. iCloud is going to replace MobileME and available for free (What happens to my subscription?). I think I’m gonna love this, and makes drinking Apple’s kool-aid a bit sweeter with this kind of integration, but since I also have Android, I think I may have to stick with Google services for things like contacts and calendar.
App and iBook syncing, which is crucial to the PC-free idea for iOS5. Also backup to iCloud, and just like Google’s Android, you will be able to buy a new iPhone and once you signed on, iCloud will push down all your stuff to the new device.
Documents in the cloud pretty much syncs your projects from Pages, Keynote, and Numbers via iCloud. Not a new idea, but neat for those that use those apps.
Photo stream, same iCloud syncing for photos. This would be awesome, but how about capacity? Apple is only going to store the last 1000 photos, and only for 30 days. Errr, yeah, what happens after 30 days? What if I want to view it a month or 2 later? You have to save it to an album. Fair enough I guess, but it means it’s still a local copy then. So the iCloud is just a temporary basket, not a true picasa/flickr replacement.
iTunes in the cloud, which basically allows you to re-download previous iTunes purchases on any iDevices. Make sense I guess, and should’ve been a feature from way back when. It also pushes new purchases to other devices. Again, critical for the no-PC idea, but you’re stuck with the iTunes ecosystem. What if you have your own music? That’s the one more thing. Well, Apple is offering iTunes match for $25 a year. Basically iTunes will match your songs to see if it has it in the store. If it does, it uses its 256kbps AAC for the song (wonder how this will work with the recording labels? Will it require the CD? Or can people get matches based on MP3s?). If not, it will upload the track. But then how about storage? Need more explanations here.

5GB free storage for mail and backups, and oh, photo stream is not counted! Well duh, because Apple deletes them after 30 days.
Beta today, and will launch together with IOS5 in the Fall.

so what happen if I already paid for MobileME? And where’s the new iPhone? 😦
Update: I logged in to my MobileME account, and there’s an option to request a refund. Phew. 🙂
So MobileME will officially end on June 30th, 2012.

 

WWDC 2011 prediction

WWDC 2011, Apple’s developer conference is coming up, and Steve Jobs is going to do the keynote on Monday. Let’s start the predictions:
1. Mac OS X Lion. We saw a preview of it late last year. We would probably see a bit more of a rehash, but maybe also a price and shipping date. Considering Apple charged just $30 for Snow Leopard, I doubt they would price Lion back into the $130 price range. My bet is it will be still $30, with the option to download it from the Mac App store as a bootable image that you can put on a USB stick.
2. iCloud. Apple’s online services. It was .Mac, then MobileME, then iCloud. Free for simple email and Apple ID (for Facetime, iTunes, etc), but I think Apple will still keep most of the good stuff for a cost. Who knows how much would it be (previously it’s $99 per year for .Mac/MobileME), but I wonder if Apple would consolidate this with their iTunes streaming service.
3. iTunes streaming. We see Amazon and Google jumped in first. Amazon has a nice integration with its MP3 store, while Google is just offering a basically online storage where you can upload your own music. Apple would need to do better than Amazon in terms of integration with the iTunes store and all Macs and iDevices. We’ll see.
4. iOS 5. Hopefully Apple revamp the notification system. Let’s face it, at its current state, notification on iOS is like a dumbphone. It’s even sillier on the large screen iPad. We see good examples already, from Android, WebOS, and various implementations by the jailbreaking community.
5. iPhone 5, or maybe iPhone 4S. The rumor is Apple don’t have a new iPhone ready. Well, I don’t know. It’s a bit risky to extend the iPhone 4 to compete with the slew of new dual-core Android phones. I bet we will see a refreshed iPhone, probably the iPhone 4 with A5 in it. All I want is for Apple to sell the damn thing unlocked in the US, something that apparently is a difficult concept for them. The iPad sales have proven that people are willing to pay Apple $500+ for an unlocked device. No reason to deal with AT&T anymore that is obviously unwilling to unlock iPhones forever.

Well, there you go. I hope Apple do a live stream of the keynote.
Live blogging from:
–Engadget
–Ars Technica
–This is my next