This is not the Apple TV you were looking for
Posted Monday, January 30, 2012 at 2:21 pm by Jason Cartwright
There’s an awful lot of rumours about Apple entering the TV market, but this is not it. Apple lawyers get ready for this, Hannspree is selling a 28” 1080p LCD. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what an Apple branded TV would look like. There’s no clean lines, impressively simple UI and latest generation processor, it’s just an Apple shaped frame around a 28” HDTV.
If you really want to gasp at the nerve of Hannspree, check out the horrible infomercial video at HSN.
More info @ HSN via @Alex_Manchester
Apple gives Samsung design options, apparently not just trolling
Posted Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 10:43 am by James Murphy
Samsung is in dire need of some advice regarding patents, it seems. Another play in the ongoing patent struggle between Samsung and Apple has resulted in Apple giving Samsung some ‘workarounds’ in order to finally appease Apple’s demands. While this may seem like a good idea, it almost seems like Apple is just deliberately trolling Samsung for a laugh – though it is entirely possible what they’re asking for could result in a change in Samsung’s design choices.
The first set of recommendations relate specifically to the Galaxy S2 smartphone, including having a front surface that isn’t black, non-rectangular in shape or without rounded corners, non-horizontal speaker slots and no front bezel at all. Most of these suggestions describe most modern smartphones, so it would be interesting to see if Apple goes after other major manufacturers if they were to win this battle, like HTC.
The Verge noted that Apple also listed alternative options for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, namely:
- overall shape that isn’t rectangular, or doesn’t have rounded corners
- thick frames around the screen
- front surface that isn’t flat
- profiles that aren’t thin
- cluttered appearance
Apple believes the changes that Samsung made with its 10.1N version of the Galaxy Tab weren’t enough, and recently asked a German court to ban the new version. We’ll see if Samsung takes any further notice of Apple’s suggestions, and whether Samsung can ever finally get a break.
More @ The Verge
Microsoft Tellme is NOT the same as Siri [video]
Posted Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 7:45 pm by Jason Cartwright
Over the past 24hours there have been a lot of posts about Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Craig Mundie, claiming that “Microsoft has had a similar capability in Windows Phone for more than a year… All that is already there, fully functionality for years.”
With Siri, Apple managed to humanise the synthesized voice with comedic responses. With more functionality like setting alarms and geo-fenced reminders, scheduling meetings and more, Tellme is really not the same thing. WP7 voice functionality still feels like last generation voice commands, regardless of how Microsoft try and sell it.
The problem isn’t with marketing as the video suggests, but rather the lack of a response to Siri. Tellme was probably on-par with Apple’s voice controls like “Play Artist xyz” in iOS4, but with Siri, Apple takes it to the next level. Microsoft needs to respond by releasing an update and not only match the functionality of Siri, but surpass it to draw attention and be a point of difference for potential smart phone buyers.
Also its worth keeping in mind that Siri is still in beta. While we are yet to see an update, when it arrives, it’s likely to add even more voice controlled functionality. Make no mistake, the race is on to be the first to deliver an OS-wide voice command API that 3rd party applications can integrate with. When that happens, it will be a game changer.
The video below graphically demonstrates the difference between the two voice systems, you be the judge.
Update
More than 500,000 people have now watched this video, you’re an opinionated lot. Below is a video responding to some of the comments.
iMessage so unreliable, users are going back to SMS
Posted Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:35 pm by Jason Cartwright
With the launch of iOS5, we got iMessage. Apple’s very own SMS replacement service. The experience is supposed to be seamless, with messages sent to contacts using an iOS device is automatically done via iMessage rather than SMS. This should save some customers still paying for SMS some coin.
It’s surprising that mobile carriers ever allowed Apple to implement a technology that could largely reduce their 160 character cash cow. All sounds like a positive for consumers right? Unfortunately iMessage may not be ready to replace SMS just yet.
A great way to have friends and loved ones pissed off at you, is to ignore their messages. iOS5 users are reporting that iMessage is actually pretty unreliable and messages are frequently being dropped. Despite posting a delivered message and sending date and time stamp, they don’t always make it to the destination.
The problem is so bad, that some users (myself now included), have switched off iMessage and are back to using SMS. What has your experience with iMessage been? If you have had any issues, leave a comment.
iOS 5.0.1 fixes battery life, improves Aussie voice dictation
Posted Friday, November 11, 2011 at 7:22 am by Jason Cartwright![iOS 5.0.1 update[5]](http://techau.tv/blog/images/iOS.1-fixes-battery-life-improves-Aussie_74B6/iOS-5.0.1-update5.jpg "iOS 5.0.1 update[5]")
Apple have released the first update since iPhone 5 shipped. The iOS5.0.1 update release addresses the much discussed battery life issues. It will take a few days of regular use to confirm if this is definitely solved, but Apple say it is.
Another improvement is the support for Australia voices when using dictation, that’s when you hit the microphone in the keyboard. As you can see from the screen shot below, it’s now pretty good, but not perfect. It was basically unusable before the update, so it’s a solid improvement.
Sadly there is no update to Siri, that means maps and businesses outside the US are still unavailable.
To get the update over the air, just go to Settings > General > Software Update.
iOS 5 now available for iPhones, iPads
Posted Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 6:44 am by Jason Cartwright
The next version of iOS is now available. In the early hours of the morning, somewhere around 4am, Apple hit the release button on the highly anticipated iOS5. With a brand new notification system, over the air updates and many other tweaks and refinements, it all sounds like software goodness.
Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)
To get the latest iOS on your device, connect your device to iTunes and click ‘Check for Update’. You should receive an alert saying iOS version 5.0 is now available. Choose the download and update option, cross your fingers and the update should be on your phone.
It seems the update may not be rolling out as smoothly as Apple would hope, Computerworld reports that Apple forums were flooded with complaints about the update failing. From the twitter crowd, it seems a number were able to successfully complete the upgrade without issue.
Have you upgraded ? Had any issues ?
More info @ http://www.apple.com/au/ios/
