Apple vs Samsung Update

For those who have been enjoying the life of those who live under rocks, Apple and Samsung have been very unhappy with each other over the last little while. They have expressed this unhappiness through the law, as you do.

They have both basically been going back and forth calling each other big cheaters and copiers and tattle tales  over their technology patents being infringed upon.

This has been going on for a while, but this time, Apple has lost. The United States International Trade Commission are the people in charge, and they have just overturned a previous judgment from last year, which had ruled in Apple’s favor.

They are now saying that, yes, Apple did infringe on some of Samsung’s patents, specifically to do with their 3G technology, and have henceforth banned some of Apple’s products from being imported into the States.

What does this mean iPhone Antidote?

Well, at the moment it means that the following AT&T products are banned from US imports and sales; iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G, and iPad 2 3G.

This doesn’t mean anything if you have any of those models currently, or are planning on buying a used model. It also doesn’t affect Apple very much to be honest, because those products are specific to AT&T and are all old models.

What it does do is pee Apple off, and worsen the relationship between the two biggest smartphone providers. Yaaaay?

Apple will be appealing, with the defense that Samsung made these patents available for use under FRAND terms. FRAND = Fair, Reasonable and Non Discriminatory. This is used to cover technology that is a standard and is meant to prevent litigation like this, and it seems to have been ignored by the ITC in their ruling.

Hey, guys, why can’t we just get to the part where we’re all friends and making super awesome blow our minds technology? Huh?

Image courtesy of applerumors.it

What Tim Cook said at D11: All Things Digital, and what it means.

Tim Cook has confirmed that OS X 10.8.4 and iOS 7 will be announced and previewed at WWDC 2013. Well, d’uh Tim Cook.

And I know I just said D’uh, but iPhone Antidote just thought that was obvious- we’re still SUPER excited about seeing the updated software previewed! Yay!

Mr. Cook confirmed this at D11: All things digital, where he also expressed Apple’s interest in wearable devices ( Hello iWatch), said that he can’t imagine trying to convince someone who doesn’t wear glasses to do so ( … take that Google glass!) and spoke about how Apple is, for reals, not done in the business of game changing technology. Duh! And Yay!

Mr Cook also announced the hiring of ex- Environmental Protection Agency Chief Lisa Jackson. Tim did forget Lisa’s official job title (oops) but said that her role within Apple would be to coordinate their environmental responsibility efforts. Cook also reiterated that Apple had achieved 100% renewable energy use at its data centers, with its corporate facilities using 75% renewable energy. Nice job, Apple.

So this is what a few people in the tech world are miffed about- what Tim Cook failed to do, and completely on purpose, is to give away anything that people hadn’t already kind of knew about. He was very good at staying mute on subjects such as the next iPhone, and only hinted at the possibility of other product lines in Apple’s future.

Which we should be used to, really. Apple is the king of secret products and well laid secrets, leaked when and to whom they want.

A lot of people say that they have been waiting for too long for an Apple game changer, a product that blew our minds, but in reality after a shockingly good rate of 3 game changing products in 10 years, and then a three year wait, now is the time where we are amping up. Where Apple is amping up. Apple has genuine competitors now, and a new look, tighter, executive team since last years shake up and Steve Jobs’ death.

Everything ( as well as a subtle Tim Cook) is pointing towards a software heavy WWDC, with the hopeful inclusion of iRadio and some super exciting announcements starting this fall, extending into early 2014. Think a beautiful new iOS and OS X,  iWatch, iRadio, iTV, new iPhone, new ipad, and new Macbooks.

It’s an exciting time to be an Apple user!

Image courtesy of techland.time.com 

100 million iPod Touch’s sold and a new, cheaper update released!

Another milestone for Apple- they’ve just sold their 100 millionth iPod touch! That’s like, 5 iPod touches for everyone in Australia! Yay!

The device has been around since 2007 and the latest update has just been released last Thursday- with interesting results.

The updated iPod only comes in two colors, is only 16GB and has no rear facing camera. That all sounds …a little bit bleh, until you discover the reason for this is the lowered price- now only $229 compared to the 32Gb at $299 and the 64Gb at $399.

Selling cheaper versions of their products has been something that Apple seemed to have shied away from previously. Now however, with this cheaper iPod update, it seems like the first steps for Apple in trying to provide a bigger price scale of their product line to reach more people.

This gives credence to the rumors that Apple is planning to bring out a less expensive version of the iPhone.

According to Analysts, an ‘iPhone mini’ will be announced in July, called such not in reference to size, but in price- with guestimates pointing at a price tag of about $350- $400 to buy outright.

That’s a pretty penny saved compared to the price of the iPhone 5 which is currently $700-$900.

Just like Apple, we’ll have to wait and see if this iPod touch product meets with enough success in sales to know if the move to provide cheaper Apple products is a good path to take.

The risk of trying out this path is that people might rather stick to what they know, be it more expensive Apple products with all the bells and whistles, or another cheaper brand that is already established in that price range.

We vote… good move, Apple!

Image courtesy of engadget.com

Friday Afternoon App review: Tinder…

The two newest dating/meetup Apps that everyone is talking about are ‘Tinder’, and ‘Bang With Friends’.

Yes, you read that right.

We at iPhone Antidote take app reviewing seriously so we have tested both of these (…not to the full extent…) and, if you’re interested in meeting up, dating, or, umm… banging people, whether it be Facebook friends or strangers/potential friends, here’s the low down.

Tinder first.

The rather more subtly named Tinder has gained extraordinary popularity spread mainly by college students (those horny buggers). You sign in using your Facebook logon information, although what happens in the app, stays in the app- the (necessary) promise is that nothing will ever be shared on Facebook or posted on any walls!

The app does however use your Facebook profile picture, (cue reminder to make sure your profile picture is you, not you and your boyfriend/girlfriend, a group of people/a cat.)

The app scans the area using preferences set by you in the settings tab. Preferences include- the scannable distance from a 5-mile to a 50-mile radius, and the gender of people that you’re interested in.

Then, it scans. It’s pretty exciting.

And this is the crux of the app. A photo appears on your screen, and you say if you like them or not.

Tinder is mainly based on looks, but you can also see if you have similar interests from Facebook, like the 49’ers or Coachella and you can also see if you have friends in common, which is good to know for many reasons, from ‘oh that’s neat’ to ‘oh god, don’t click like, don’t click like, avoid that awkwardness’.

You have two choices to like or dislike someone. You can click the cross or the heart, or you can swipe left for not interested, right for interested. Warning- this has the potential to become too automatic!

The first time you like or dislike someone, you get a warning asking you if you’re sure – and after that, you’re on your own. Not the end of the world, though.

Once you like someone, if they’ve already liked you, then you get a match! Yay! You now have the ability to message them through the app. You can also get notified if someone you like, liked you back after the fact. That’s a lot of liking.

If you dislike someone, well, no-one will never know. Kind of.

The people who had the most likelihood of being liked, in our humble opinion, was not only good looking people, but people who had good pictures- pictures of famous landmarks, famous people, the people doing awesome things.

Even though the app is designed to be almost purely superficial, it is human nature to respond to other triggers within the photo that suggests personality traits that are more admired- success, adventure, fun etc.

The user average (in our area at least) was 18-24 for girls, and mid to late twenties for boys, but there were ages up to 70 in both genders.

In our testing, guys will say that they like a girl far more easily than girls will say that they like a guy. Kinda like the world, right? Am I right?

Out of about 30 matches, only 2 people messaged after the match, one was super graphic, one was really nice. Sorry really nice guy, iPhone antidote was just testing!! Bad iPhone antidote.

So, Tinder. Definitey an addictive ego boost. Definitely useful for singles, but only if you and the person you match with are in it for the same reasons and you actually talk to the people you match with! Also, kinda like life.

Next time: Bang with friends. Review. Bang with friends review.

Image courtesy of Businessinsider.com

Tablets taking over the world?

Tablets are predicted to overtake notebooks this year in sales, and projected to overtake sales of PC’s and notebooks combined by 2015, making tablets pretty much the king of the computer castle.

This is according to research firm IDC who released the figures in the last week, saying that tablets are expected to grow 59% this year, shipping 229 million units compared to a measly 144.5 million last year.

Although tablets have been around for a long time, their recent popularity is thanks to the Apple iPad, but the current growth is due to the proliferation of cheaper Android tablets and the role of Apple pushing for tablet use in education.

Here is a graph:

Pretty impressive, tablets. Anyone would think you had an evil plot to take over the world…or something.

Of course, these numbers don’t account for the mini computers we call phones, or any super awesome blow your mind technology that will be released between now and then, and it certainly doesn’t render the personal computer sector obsolete. Take that, tablets.

Now, when we start to get tablets that are flexible, have holographic keyboards, floating capabilities ( so you don’t have to carry them, d’uh), and an included wormhole for teleporting, then maybe tablets will be ready to take over the world.

p.s I love you iPad.

Photo courtesy of crowdcare.com

More iOS speculation

More speculation yesterday about Apple’s upcoming iOS 7!

So far, we all ( think we) know that the system update will be flatter and less skeuomorphic than the iOS we all know.

This means that some such features originating under Steve Jobs, such as the Notes app looking like a real notepad and other real world aesthetic replication will be gone under the leadership of Mr Jony Ive who took over in October last year. Gone also will be the shine and gloss of app icons.

Now, according to website 9to5mac, as well as being flatter, iOS 7 will have a monochromatic design and according to their sources, each app will have a white back with a splash of color individually assigned to that app.

Jony Ive is said to have made his mark throughout the whole of the updated version of iOS 7, which is due to be announced and previewed at the keynote address of WWDC on June 10th in San Francisco.

Looking forward to it Jony!

image courtesy of Redmondpie.com

Yahoo acquires Tumblr!

The acquiring of Internet social media/blog sensation Tumblr by old school industry stronghold Yahoo made headlines when it was announced on the 15^th of this month.

Tumblr has become a super popular social media icon both by hosting over 108 million blogs and by the public blog content increasingly creeping into other popular social media sites such as Imgur and Reddit.

Yahoo acquired Tumblr for a mere 1.1 billion dollars. That’s billion, not, like, a hundred. 1.1 Billion.  That, for those counting at home, is the most money anyone has paid for a social media company in years, the closest being Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram for 1 Billion dollars.

Yahoo has promised, and I quote; “Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business”. If they stick to it, this is good news to extremely loyal Tumblr’s who have been (and are)  scared that Yahoo will ruin their beloved social media site and who have threatened to boycott the site under the control of Yahoo.

Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO since July last year, seems to be making changes and acquisitions in an attempt to bring Yahoo into the future by gaining new technologies, and focusing on new trends in the tech industry.

As well as Tumblr, so far this month, Yahoo has also acquired the following:

Astrid – Productivity

GoPollGo – real time surveys)

MileWise – Travel Search

Loki Studios – Mobile Gaming

Playerscale – Online Gaming.

Fewf. To top it all off, on Friday  may 24^th, Yahoo submitted a formal bid to buy Hulu, the video service currently owned by Newscorp and Disney.  They are bidding against at least five other companies, and their bidding price, although undisclosed, is rumored to be between 600-800 million dollars.

Although Yahoo is still a popular website, Miss. Mayer, one of Time magazine’s top 100 influential people, is trying to envision a path to take Yahoo into the cool, trendy, (moneymaking) future.

Good Luck Yahoo! ( and Tumblr….)

Image courtesy of Redorbit.com

AT&T discontinuing HTC First!?

The Facebook phone, otherwise known as the HTC First, is not doing so well, guys. First released just over a month ago on April 12th, the phone is the first Android device to have Facebook’s interface- Facebook Home- preloaded.

The phone, once in critic’s and customer’s hands, was given overall generally positive reviews, especially for a low-end phone. The downsides were also duly noted by all, in particular a less than stellar camera with limited functionality, and the fact that your phone and therefore life was now taken over by Facebook. The phone actually encourages 25% more time on Facebook. eek.

Now, the end seems just a little nigh for the HTC First. On May 13th AT&T started selling the phone at a discount. Instead of paying $99 for the phone on a two year contract- now it’s just $0.99. If you wanted to pay for the phone off contract, you’re looking at a $100 price cut from $450 to $350. Take that anyone who bought the phone on the 12th!

The price cut is apparently due to poor sales, with less than 15,000 phones being sold since the phone’s launch and less than 1 million people downloading the Facebook Home interface for their Android phones.

Although this has yet to be confirmed, according to the guys at website BGR.com (who have secret AT&T sources, d’uh), AT&T has made the decision to discontinue the phone altogether, selling off as many units as they can before sending any unsold inventory back to HTC.

I’m fighting back tears, here.

But, it’s ok guys, really it is. It’s not the end of the line for Facebook Home! The Android interface is still available to download, and both the App and the joint App + device marriage will, after a bit of tweaking, be back. And better, maybe. And available on iOS at… well… some point. If we want it.

Until then, you can just  click on that little blue F whenever you want to, and spend that 25% of your time like, dancing instead. Yay!

Image courtesy of BGR.com

Know someone who broke their phone this weekend?

So, three day weekend, huh? Did everyone have a good time? Yeah? Party? Yeah?

Well here’s a story from our weekend for you.

One of iPhone Antidote’s friends was having a really good time, a couple of kegs were involved, a flip was attempted, and, as you do, the dude tried to take a video of said flip. On his iPhone 5. Whilst he was doing a drunken flip.

Needless to say, it was hilarious. Also; now he has an iPhone that looks like this:

Good thing he’s friends’ with iPhone Antidote, cos he just sold that stinky broken phone to us, and now he has this instead:

And that bag holds exactly $325 cash! Happy friend.

Do you guys know of anyone who may have committed a similar party foul this weekend? Let them know that they can be a friend of iPhone Antidote too!

We’ll make it allll better. With money of course! And… maybe a video of a dude trying to do a flip. Trust us, it is really hilarious.

The 2013 Webby Awards

The 17^th annual Webby Awards were held on Tuesday, celebrating the best of the best from the internet world. This is relevant because, well, we’re both on the Internet right now aren’t we? …right?

Each category has a people’s choice winner, taken from votes from over 200 countries and territories as well as a winner as judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Here are a couple of highlights from the people’s choice!

Best User Experience– Tumblr! They also snagged best community. Let’s hope it stays that way, eh Yahoo?

Best Writing on the Internet goes to – The New Yorker. Don’t worry, I’m not crying, it’s just been raining on my face…

Best Business Blog goes to Mashable. Yay! We love Mashable!

Best Cultural Blog goes to mentalfloss.com. Awesome site- check it out if you haven’t already!

Best Game was angry Birds Star Wars edition.

Best Social Media Winner was Pinterest. We don’t really get Pinterest yet, but looks like we’re going to have to give it a try!

The Webby Person of the Year was Frank Ocean, for his use of the internet ( specifically Tumblr) to come out as bisexual, which in turn will hopefully help to combat homophobia in the hip-hop world. That escalated quickly…

The Webby Awards are well known for restricting the winners to an acceptance speech of five words, which was demonstrated quite nicely on Tuesday night by Steve Wilhite, the creator of the GIF ( Graphics Interchange Format), who received the life time achievement award. His five word acceptance speech was thus:

“It’s pronounced JIF, not GIF.” Groovy.

Jerry Seinfeld, while accepting his award  for outstanding comedic performance (for his web series  ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee’) said this:

“Why five words? It doesn’t…”

oh, that Jerry.

A full list of the 2013 Webby Award winners can be found here: http://winners.webbyawards.com/2013 but be warned, ironically enough, the website is a little clunky.

Image courtesy of geekosystem.com