New iPhone will have a smaller dock

Lots of news today about the next iPhone dock being made smaller. Quick outline- Apple iProducts currently have a 30 prong dock connecter cable and have done since 2003. The next iPhone, due out around October, is confirmed to have a large reduction in dock connecter size so as to move the headphone jack to the bottom. Allegedly.

A lot of people are hence questioning whether or not the new phone will come with an adapter or if it will be sold separately.

I think that Apple as a customer oriented brand won’t charge for this extra bit of equipment that they’ve made necessary through their own design, although they did do exactly that recently enough when they decided to charge $9.99 for a power adapter for their Apple’s new Magsafe 2 Power connecterfound on the new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro.

On that note, I think that there are secrets hiding in this modification. I could very well be wrong but it feels like such a huge and potentially difficult design change for something that wasn’t really broke is a bit of a red herring.

And then I start to get excited. The main and acknowledged problem with iPhones and I guess Mac products in general is battery life. Maybe With Apple changing the way power comes into their products they’re preparing for something amazing. There’s gotta be some boom or maybe I’m just looking too hard?

iPhone: FaceTime Tricks and tips

Facetime is a nice feature of the iPhone 4 and perhaps all of us are quite fond of it. Well, here are some little tricks for you to get the most out of Facetime chat.

Facetime: Video Calls now with more fun

FaceTime has been quite popular among iPhone users for its free and high-quality iPhone –to-iPhone video calls. Though there’s the catch that you need to have good signal strength in a Wi-Fi zone to prevent call dropping, Facetime had been quite popular.

So, we thought of sharing some tricks with you that can spice it up further.

The default mode of FaceTime screen in portrait, now just try by rotating the phone by 90 degrees—you can have your image turned into landscape mode. The one you are calling will see your image turning suddenly. Nice, isn’t it? J Well, by rotating the receiver set in the same way, he or she can get it back right obviously.

Here’s another funny aspect for you. You can even show your family or friends on FaceTime what you are actually seeing at that time. Got confused? Well, we are talking about the camera-switch option from your FaceTime. While on FaceTime chat you can tap on the Camera-Rotation icon from your screen, switching from the default front to the rear camera. With the rear camera in action, even the person you are calling can see what you are seeing in front of you.

You can also do a quick bit of stuff just by changing to another program or even simply tapping the Home button. Well, while the audio contact remains on, the video screen goes black and you can do a bit of work before going back to the call. In the meantime a Green banner would pop-up and stay on the top of the Home Screen to remind you of the ongoing Call.

iPhone tips: It’s not only for ‘dummies’

We have already discussed some tips to maximize your iPhone’s usage, now we are back again with some more.

iPhone abruptly hang-ups? Just try out rebooting

One of my friends was complaining the other day—his iPhone ‘hangs-up’ and he just not could not get it working. What would you have done? Well, the better way is to try the On/Off button or  by pressing down your Home button for more than six seconds. From my experience, I can say it works on 99% cases—it ‘quits’ any locked up application on your iPhone.

Now if your problem still persists, keep your On/Off and Home button pressed for around 10 seconds. This would reboot the iPhone and you can view the Apple logo which the iPhone is booting up.

Now sync iPhone Notes with MAC: Notes on the go

Truly speaking this is a stumbling block in iPhone’s ‘Notes’ – you can’t synchronize the Notes you have in your iPhone with those on your Mac. But we have figured a way around syncing your notes.  You can create a pseudo-contact and copy-paste the important notes in the ‘notes’ field of that fake contact. So, what you have is a pseudo-contact added to your Address Book with all your important notes and hence moving on the go.

iPhone: Alternative calling from Safari and more

Rather than scrolling down to a contact number and dialing—you can even call from your Safari. It’s simple—you need to find the phone number in Safari and just tap it—and bingo; iPhone will call up in no time.

Also, you can now time-up when to receive your voicemails. When you are not using a Bluetooth headset (that routes the calls instantaneously when plugged in)—you can use the Audio button of the Voicemail screen to time-up the messages. This enables you to hear those messages only when you desire.

iPhone: Some more tips for you

We have already shared some handy tips for your iPhone. Here’s some more for you—to squeeze out the maximum from your iPhone.

Time to manage e-mails better

Now you can send e-mails from your iPhone and you can have absolute control over your emails. It happens sometimes—you try to send an email but your network is down. So, your mail doesn’t get delivered and it’s even not in your ‘Sent Items’ folder. So, where is it? Do you have to type it again? Oh! Certainly not—it gets stored in a temporary outgoing folder on the device itself. You don’t have to do anything—whenever the network is back it gets delivered.

Many a time we have read an email and then want to mark it as unread—for the simple reason it’s so important that upon logging in again you will want to read that one first. Marking read mails as unread is quite simple—while viewing the message just tap the Details; you will have ‘Mark as unread’ option. Click that one and next time on logging in onto your inbox the same message will show as unread.

Just like your PC, you can also Save messages as drafts and can later work on it. In iPhone it’s a bit different to what we are used to on desktops—after you finished your typing, just tap Cancel. You will be prompted to a dialog box with three options—Save, Cancel and Don’t Save. As soon as you tap save, the half-finished mail gets saved into the Drafts folder which you can later retrieve and complete.

The iPhone doesn’t have anything like email folders physically, but there’s one you can see on your device. Wondering how? Well, IMAP email accounts produce a shadow folder on IMAP server—though the folder appears on the device; the contents of your device gets synced with the server.

Want to know what more your iPhone can do? Keep checking out here for more info.

iPhone: Some cool tips that may come handy

iPhone Tips: Get the most out of your Safari

Bigger Keyboard means better browsing experience, right? Well, the generic keyboard of the iPhone is OK, but perhaps a bigger keyboard is much better. So, what you have to do is simple—rotate the iPhone horizontally and tap the address bar. You will have the Safari in horizontal view with the keyboard appearing horizontally. What’s better is this keyboard’s size is much bigger than what we are accustomed with.—making data entry and long text typing much convenient. But if you open up the keyboard before turning the iPhone—this won’t work.

A friend of mine was telling me that he was having trouble with reading all the forum posts of a particular site, because whenever he tries to scroll down a dialog box; the whole page scrolls down. I tried out myself and the solution is simple—you just have to click and zoom in the box and then scroll.

Perhaps we all know that while surfing if we hold on a particular link without tapping, a balloon appears giving you intricate details of the links where clicking will redirect you. On the iPhone Safari, you can even do the same on your emails. This is excellent for security parameters, because you can be somewhat cautious before clicking some obnoxious malware link that somewhat had got into your email.

So, find these little tips useful? Well, there’s much more coming.

iPhone 5: ‘Gifting’ for special occasions

In an earlier article, we talked about the NFC chip and its implications in controlling financial transactions on the next iPhone. As it turns out, NFC chips are capable of doing a lot more—Apple will be offering customers a chance to send and receive digital gifts via iTunes.

Gifting: Digital gifts over iTunes

Downloading and sharing audio and video over the internet is quite in vogue these days—but there’s the copyright law issue. A lot of digital distributors are binding up the usage and distribution of audio/video files these days, so what you have is those copyright protected medias become unplayable when transferred to a second media.

The solution to this, in the Apple way—‘Gifting’. It’s going to be a unique platform, where you buy and present music and video contents to your beloved ones. The better part; it’s not only limited to iPhones; but also available on iPod Touch and iPad over the iTunes.

Gifting through iTunes: Simple enough

Guys, the gifting is easy enough. If you are sending say, an audio file , as soon as you authorize the gift charge on your iTunes account—it gets transmitted via the NFC chip to the designated user’s device. As the receiver has to confirm the receipt over NFC, the copyright issues and illegal distribution is not at all an issue.

You may be thinking, well, my fiancée is away and I want to give her a track as a surprise gift! Then, you can submit a request with iTunes, which will be processed backend and the receiver will receive a specific encrypted gift file. Also, file transfer can be done between two remote iDevices by sending and confirming emails alongside customized voice and image greetings.

Simple, isn’t it?

iPhone latest features: ‘iWallet’ and LTE Connectivity

Apple have won the major ‘iWallet’ patent this March 6^th, LTE connnectivity on the iPhone 5!

iWallet: Using NFC to control your accounts

On 6^th March, Apple won the patent for an intelligent technology named the ‘iWallet.’ The best part of the technology is that it will empower you to simultaneously control all your iPhone subsidiary financial accounts. You can do all your credit card transactions through your iPhone itself, making use of an inbuilt Near Field Communication (NFC) chip. Not only that, you can keep yourself updated about the payments you are making– via the statements from iTunes billing systems. If you are worried about security issues, you need not be—the digital encryption confirms every transaction you are making to be safe and secure. As per reports, ‘iWallet’ will also have a ‘Parental Control’ option—to make use of the features in a restricted manner; much like a digital wallet.

LTE Connectivity in iPhone 5: A surety

Going by the positive feedback Apple received from the latest iPad, implementation of 4G LTE connectivity is almost a surety. Owing to LTE’s superior download and upload speeds over conventional 3G networks, Apple is certainly looking forward to integrate this onto the next iPhone 5, possibly a Qualcomm next generation chip. Perhaps when you are reading this article; Apple techs are busy working out ways to increase battery life in the future LTE iPhone 5.

Not All iPhone Cases Are Created Equal

The best way to cover up your precious iPhone, useful, protective, beautiful.

1.Pico Genie A100

All the tech heads I know are far more excited about projector technology over TV technology. Please step forward, the Pico Genie. This is an iPhone case, yes, but it also has a built in pico projector, extended battery and external speakers for your iPhone. Project your favorite movies, photos, anything on your iPhone onto an available wall and have yourself your own little cinema experience. Amazing. Seemingly only available for sale in the UK for the moment, you can order it online for around $392

2.Opena Case

The worlds first iPhone case with a slide out bottle opener. Get in. As their slogan says, ‘How about a beer with your iPhone?’ Uh, yes please? Free standard shipping, available in black or white. $39.95

3. Griffin Survivor Extreme Duty

This is if you are not only the ultimate clutz, but everyone around you is too. This case passed military endurance testing ( tested to meet or exceed US Department of Defense MIL-STD-810 and UK Department of Defense Def-Stan 00-35 through an independent testing procedure). This is some secure stuff. Drop your iPhone, throw it against a wall, leave it in the rain, sandstorm, duststorm, stamp on it in frustration- this case will protect it. $49.9

4.Knucklecase

Rihanna has one. Enough? No? This is an iPhone case that has a knuckleduster attached. To keep it attached to your fingers, mind. And look badass. Silver and shiny and pretty in a totally awesome way. $99.00

5. Proporta Amphibian iPhone Case

Lucky enough to be scuba diving? Snorkeling, in a pool? This is for you. Go on, make us all jealous. You can make and receive calls and take photos underwater, and it’s not some weird baggy thing, it’s a case. The Proporta Amphibian makes your iPhone 100% guaranteed waterproof to 3 metres (9 feet) underwater. $33.00

Honourable Mentions: There are two honourable mentions, for both being amazing technology, but also for not being available quite yet. The Nissan Scratch Shield and Magnifi. One is very useful and very cool, the other is very, very cool, but perhaps only useful to so many iPhone users.

The Nissan Scratch shield is a protective, self-healing iphone case. Nissan says that a small graze can heal within an hour while deeper cuts could take up to a week to fix. What?? The case is not on the market yet- but will be on sale in North America very soon.

Magnifi is another kickstarter project and is the world’s first universal photoadapter case for the iPhone. It connects the camera on your iPhone to your favorite optical instrument, allowing you to take pictures and video through the eyepiece. This includes binoculars, microscopes, telescopes and almost anything else with an eyepiece. Available soon.

The Future is Now – Top 5 iPhone Accessories

Yes, your iPhone is cool. Yes, you’re cool for having an iPhone. But wait- there’s more! Here are the top five coolest, craziest, best iPhone accessories for your iPhone.

 Be cooler.

1. Freeloader Pico Solar Rechargeable iPhone Charger

Everyone knows that whilst your iPhone is cool, the battery life is the least cool aspect. We all want our phones to last for as long as possible before we try and find our charger to make us tied to one spot. This a a great, environmentally friendly accessory to try and fight that tied-down feeling. Using advanced solar cell and lithium ion battery technologies, PICO takes only 30 minutes to deliver its power to your iPhone. PICO can be powered from both its own solar cell or from connection to a PC or lap top (cable supplied). $39.99

2. The Kogeto Dot 360 panoramic video

Once this is on your iPhone, you’re free to start taking fully 360 degree videos. This accessory makes your iPhone able to record everything. Everything. Once you’ve captured absolutely everything around you, wherever you may be, or be doing, you can share it with your friends via facebook, twitter etc. It’s like inviting your friends into a 3D version of your life. Started on the website kickstarter.com, this is an amazing app. While it seems futuristic, the future is, apparently, now.

Available in different colours, $49.00

3. iPhone Photo Printer by Hammacher Schlemmer

Using nothing other than a free downloadable app and this tiny teeny printer that you dock your iPhone into, you can get brilliant quality photo prints ( 1, 4, or 10 images on each 4 inch by 6 inch borderless sheet) from your iPhone photos. It takes less than a minute and is smudge proof, tear proof, fade and water resistant. Pictures are worth a thousand words right? $159.95.

4.Vuzix Wrap 310 XL Video eyewear

This wicked accessory lets you be kinda like a spy, wearing cool dark glasses, sitting there not actually watching what’s in front of you ( like your boring job or boring commute to said job) but instead watching any movie or video on your iPhone or iPad, through your sunglasses. It displays both standard 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and is super cool. $169.99.

5. Microscope lens for iPhone 4 – 3B Scientific iPhone Microscope 100X Magnification

Want to see if you have bed bugs? Or the really tiny little bits of, well, everything? This is for you, and it’s kind of unbelievable that this technology is available. It’s literally an accessory that turns your iPhone into a microscope. You can even take photos of all that microscopic awesomeness and share it with your friends. Around $45 Amazon.

Go get ’em.

App of the day – iTranslate Voice

iTranslate Voice

Fervent wannabe linguists rejoice- iTranslate is the best translator app since people realized that lazy people want to speak other languages too. Simply speak your chosen phrase or word into your iPhone, it senses when you stop speaking and not only spells out the phrase in your chosen language but speaks it too.

After lots of trialling by iPhone Antidote, with both American and Australian accents, it understands most sentences and phrases -even obscure- first go, and the translations seem startlingly accurate ( trialled with Slovak, Thai and Spanish).

You can even use it to learn if you’re smart and committed, but for the intended use, translating, the major ( but understandable) problem is that you do need to be connected to the internet to make it work. You would have to have a rather large data roaming plan to use it whilst travelling, but for emergencies, or the chance to ask questions or have a conversation with someone in another language whilst sitting in a wifi-connected hostel, hotel or cafe is unbelievable. On sale now for $0.99