Friday, August 31, 2012

iPhone 5: What I Could Dig Up

The iPhone 5 has many secrets. Some are obvious. Others aren't. Last year, the iPhone 4S brought amazing pictures and the voice assistant that can kick off WWDC 2012, Siri. But what's next? Here are some rumors.

My personal theory is the name might not be iPhone 5 at all. It may follow in iPad's footsteps and be called the new iPhone.

Also, the date September 12th may not be the date for the smartphone's unveiling. It could also be September 4th. This new date has been recently rumored. This event is also expected to showoff the iPad Mini as well. Mark your calendars!

If you take a look at the picture that's supposedly the iPhone 5 below, you will see a familiar shape. However, if you look at what's different, you will find several changes.
  • The front camera is above the receiver instead of next to it. 
  • The body is taller. 
  • The headphone jack is at the bottom instead of the top (just like the iPod Touch except on the left side instead of the right side). 
  • There are different speakers (much more like the iPad). 
  • There is a new dock connector. 

What does this all mean? Apple could be trying this new docking system with all Apple products. However, they haven't changed the connector ever from what I know. In addition, the camera is above the receiver. This may help align your image with the camera feed. Also, the taller screen could mean a similar interface of an iPad running an iPhone app. Take a look at this video from Mac Rumors of how your apps could look on the iPhone 5.
Keep in mind that these are just rumors. Be sure to post your questions, tips, opinions, rumors, or whatever you want in the comments below!


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Geeks Have To Go To School Too!

Hi Guys,
The end of Summer has finally come. I probably won't be able to write as much during the weekdays. However, I will be able to post during the weekend. I am also considering to get some guest writers to give tips on possibly more platforms such as Droid. I will be back very soon!

-Alex

LOL! TT4GTAKBSC4I!

If you read the title, you probably have no idea what it stands for. It actually means, "Laugh out loud! Tech Talk 4 Geeks talks about keyboard shortcuts 4 iOS! Today, I was in the car, texting for my mom when she told me to write IDK. That's when I thought I would tell you guys about some nifty keyboard shortcuts in iOS 5. If you type omw right now on you iOS device (unless you've removed it), you will get On my way. You can add your own shortcuts too! For example, if I type :-), I get 😄 (If this appears as random gibberish, this is a smiley emoticon).


By the way, you can type with smileys and more by doing the following. First, go to your iOS settings > General > Keyboard > International Keyboards > Add New Keyboard... > Emoji. After that, you can type with emoticons by tapping the international keyboard button. You're set. 😃

📱👄4⃣👾
Translation:
Tech Talk 4 Geeks

Friday, August 24, 2012

iPad Third Generation Review

The third generation iPad improves mostly on what it's predecessors lack. Camera and display quality. The display is so much sharper. However, some apps don't support the Retina Display which makes it look worse than without the display. Even some small images in the iOS aren't Retina supported. That includes the progress wheel when you shut down the iPad. If you have a Wifi + Cellular (Yes, Apple renamed it to cellular instead of 4G), the carrier logo isn't Retina supported when you view your plan. Like I said, they're small images, so it's not the end of the world.


The Camera is much better as well. The iPad 2 wasn't the best picture taker compared to the iPhone 4. The New iPad has a much better camera.  However, if you're looking to take pictures, you can get better quality from a regular point-and-shoot or iPhone 4S and get more portability.

All in all, the iPad is a great buy. But, if you can get past the display, photo quality, storage size, and speed of the A5 chip then, the iPad 2 may be worth it.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Microsoft's New Logo

You may have known about Microsoft's new logo, its first since 1987. A logo might not be very related about technology, but it may be hinting at a few things. First of all, you will notice that it's a much simpler logo. No 3D effects or reflections. Even the font looks like the Myriad Pro Semibold font, used in much of Apple's modern marketing. You could make the logo with four sticky notes. It also looks more like the logos in front of the Microsoft stores.
It also looks like the logo for the Windows Operating System.
What these changes could be telling us is that Microsoft may start to make brand new products (such as a new version of a Windows Phone) to go with the new logo. If you look at the video below, you may notice that the video showcases three of the four key products (Windows, Office and Xbox, leaving out the Windows Phone). 
In the description of the video Microsoft wrote, "It's been 25 years since we updated the Microsoft logo. Now is the perfect time for a change." If you noticed, Microsoft said that it was the perfect time for a change. That may mean something new may be coming out. It could be anything from Windows 8 to the Xbox 720. However, I am not as updated about Microsoft products as Apple so I could be wrong as these are just my ideas. 

Be sure to leave your ideas, questions, comments, or anything else you would like to share.

Save apps 4 later

Here's one of my favorite tricks on the App Store. Every Thursday, the App Store showcases a free app that you would usually pay for on the featured page. Or there might be an introductory sale for a new app. But, you're not going to have a perfect use for each free app. However, you never know when it might come in handy.

Here's what I do:

First, I download that app for free. If you happen to need / want this app right now, skip the next step. After it downloads, I delete it (you can still play with the app before you delete it). Although I deleted it, it's waiting for me in the cloud, in the purchased section of the App Store (or iTunes Store for Mac). If I need it later, I just download it when I need it.



NOTE: You still need some sort of Internet connection to download the app again.

Be sure to post your questions, tips, opinions, rumors, or whatever you want in the comments below!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Grand Central Station, NY Apple Store

In the depths of Grand Central, a bright, glamorous Apple logo shines through the walls. The Grand Central Apple Store lets you buy an iPad, an accessory, or whatever you need on the go. Here I am at the Grand Central Station.

New Haven Apple Store

This is a picture of me at the New Haven, CT Apple Store with a family friend.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cambridge Apple Store

I know this isn't too relevant about tech, but I'll show it to you anyways. Here's a picture of me at the Cambridge Apple Store. I'm on vacation right now and hope to post more pics of me on this blog and on my Google+ page.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Apple vs. Samsung

You may know about the tension between Apple and Samsung. I made a quick video about most of the things Samsung has copied, included plug-ins, app icons, and design. Check it out!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Secure your Security!

You may know about the great, free service, Find My iPhone. And being a person having that service, you might feel like your iPhone is invincible. Nothing can happen to it. Well, I've learned that there is just one flaw.

Picture this scenario:
You're walking down the street when a thief snatches your iPhone without you noticing. When you get home, you realize that your iPhone is missing and look for it on the convenient Find My iPhone app on your iPad. However, your iPhone isn't being shown on the map. You can't see it's location!

This issue is becoming more and more common among people. In this story, the thief was genius enough to turn off location services in order to take the iPhone completely off the grid. How can you prevent this? You can do a passcode. Or you could be more sophisticated and keep the thief from disabling the location services in the first place. Simply go to Settings > General > Restrictions and enable the restrictions if you haven't already. Then, scroll down to the "Allow Changes" section. Select Location Services. After that, select "Don't Allow Changes". And of course, you can turn this on and off as you please with your passcode.

Be sure to post your questions, tips, opinions, rumors, or whatever you want in the comments below!

Monday, August 6, 2012

A 7" iPad? Really?

Okay. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I think a 7" iPad is just wrong. No offense to the people who want one but I feel that that is so Droid of Apple. If you guys want a smaller iPad, just get an iPod Touch or iPhone. And my nerd/geek friends agree. And apparently Steve Jobs agreed too. However, he eventually gave in and was won over by the arguments. But this is really unnecessary for the iPad. Also, for the people who want a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch, just get an iPad. It's simple logic. For the people who want a bigger iPhone but still want it handheld, I think you can just use the accessibility features, zoom and large text. It's simple and it keeps your text as big you want. If you look at the XL series from Nintendo (DSi XL, 3DS XL), they can barely fit in your pocket and can be easily broken or injuries can occur. What do you guys think? +1 this post if you think there shouldn't be any large iPhone or small iPad. Also, try our new poll widget and vote what you think Apple should do.

Be sure to post your questions, tips, opinions, rumors, or whatever you want in the comments below!

Hello People of the Internet!

Hi! My name is Alex! I'm super excited to start posting tips, rumors, and my humble opinions on this blog. I look forward to hearing from you.