iPhone

by hilzfuld on iPhone

Humor: iPhone HD, iPad in Israel, and Mini iPad

By: Hillel Fuld

Sometimes I wonder what the tech community would do if there was no such thing as Apple inc. There would be no spyshots, no speculations of what the next thing is going to be, and none of the other bizarre blog posts I have read over the past few days. First there is the whole iPhone 4.0/4G/HD story. Guy finds mysterious Apple device on the floor of a bar, guy shares pictures of device with Engadget. Engadget posts pictures and causes a huge uproar and millions of tweets from geeks like me.

Next thing we know, we are all reassured by Boy Genius Report, Mashable, and countless other sites that the dull and fairly ugly device in the pictures is actually just a cheap Japanese knockoff, and not the next generation iPhone. Boy, were we all relieved… Until… Engadget pulls out their spying glasses in a post entitled “iPhone 4G: Proof“, and points out the mysterious device, which was already deemed fake, is indeed real since it appears in the old iPad pictures we already confirmed are real. OK, so that is where it stands now, these pictures are legit, and as of today, this is what the next generation iPhone will look like. According to the pictures, the device will include a replaceable battery, 80gb of storage, a second camera, and some other goodies. Sounds pretty awesome.

True or not true, this whole story just cracks me up. It is a phone, and look how much noise it has already caused two months before it is even announced.

Then there is the whole iPad being banned in Israel story, which, maybe it is just me, but is one weird story from the get go. Why are these devices being outlawed in a country that has two mobile phones per person? A country with more tech startups than any other country in the world per capita, and Apple’s newest device is being confiscated upon entry? Yea, I heard the whole different Wifi technology thing, but sorry, I don’t buy it.

Are iPads any different than other devices that use wireless internet? How did I not hear about this before? If the iPad has a different Wifi chip in it than any other previous device, don’t you think that would have been mentioned somewhere? Seems a little strange to me. I am thinking someone in whatever Israeli office is responsible for this drama, has a brother or cousin who is a tech blogger and he wanted to make sure he had something to write about that day. Once again, you gotta laugh at this story, unless you are Israel, in which case you should be trying to figure out how to fix all the bad PR you are getting as a result of this ridiculous episode.

You gotta love the jokes about this story though. People have tweeted different variations of “Won’t  be the first time the Israelites rejected a tablet, they’ll come around”. Looking forward to reading more cute tweets about this story.

Finally, the picture circulating the Web over the past few days depicting a way to upgrade your iPhone/iPod Touch to an iPad for free is just some more humor based on Apple and its devices. Not to mention the joke about the upcoming iPad Mini, which shows a person holding an iPhone. OK guys, we get it, the iPad looks like a large iPhone…

So, all this leads me back to my original question… What would me and the rest of the geeky tech community do without Apple? There is only so much we can make fun of Microsoft and their repetitive failed product launches. So, I guess we should thank Apple for providing material that occupies our time.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone

Alyssa Milano Discusses Her Twitter Addiction on Kimmel

As some of you might know, I am a huge fan of Alyssa Milano on Twitter. No, I am not the crazy fan type of Hollywood celebs, I follow her because she is very active on Twitter, and contrary to 90% of people on Twitter, she actually gets what it is about. She communicates regularly with her fans, and sometimes even follows them back, which she did in my case. I am not sure what I did to warrant that, but I WILL tell you that DMing with Alyssa Milano after growing up on Who’s the Boss is kinda crazy.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone

iPhone 4.0 Explained and Hacked for iPhone 3G (VIDEO)

After all the dust has settled from the exciting (contrary to what you might be thinking, I say that with zero sarcasm) iPhone 4.0 announcement, I thought I would discuss the parts that exceeded my expectations, as well as those that disappointed. The thing is, to cover all 150 plus of the new user features announced would require a VERY long blog post, and my readers have been kind enough to provide feedback lately that shorter blog posts are preferable. So, I present to you a short summary, then a video of iPhone 4.0’s latest surprise.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone

Touching the Future- An In-Depth iPad Review (Wifi 64GB)

When I sold my beloved MacBook Air a few weeks ago, I was taking a risk. I was betting that I would be able to replace it with the brand new iPad, a device I had never touched. In fairness, I still own both a 27” iMac and a 17” MacBook Pro. Nevertheless, the Air had served as my personal computer for over a year, and I had come to rely on it for everything from web surfing and email to word processing and podcast management. I’ve been using the iPad now for a week, and while I can’t say that it does everything that my Air did, it seems to be doing most of those things quite a bit better.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone

Apple Does it Again- The First iPad Video Review

I have a whole long list of topics I want to write about, but they all need to get in line behind the impending announcement of the iPad. I mean, what kind of tech blog would this be without at least three different iPad articles (and I am sure there will be more in the future)? When Apple first announced the iPad, there were those that recognized immediately that it would change the industry forever. Some of us had our doubts and were not exactly sure how the device would be used by the mainstream consumer

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone, Web

Former Google Employees Improve Instant Messaging with imo.im

As the Web continues to develop and change, some things seemed to have stood still for the last decade. I still remember when I opened my first email account, or when I first joined AIM (or was it ICQ?). After all these years, email is still here and it still plays a very central role in our online activities. OK, I know it is only second place to the time people spend on social media, but second place ain’t too shabby.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile

An Open Letter to Steve Jobs about iPhone Apps

First of all, let me say, I am a big fan. I was not one of the early Apple users who had an Apple product before it was “cool”, but ever since I got my Macbook over a year ago, I am now what they call a “fanboy”. I own numerous iPods and other Apple products, and I have been known to argue the point, specifically regarding the iPhone, that despite its shortcomings, it remains the most advanced mobile platform to date.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile

Nokia’s Flagship N900 Is Everything The iPhone Is Not

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to receive a nice surprise from Nokia, their flagship Maemo mobile device, the Nokia N900. To be honest, I had lowered my expectations for the device as a result of a friend’s opinion, who told me I was not going to like the phone. Before I get into details about the phone with all its shortcomings and industry-leading features and specifications, let me just state in one sentence that overall I am extremely pleased with the device and pleasantly surprised by its endless capabilities.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile

Why There is No Comparing The iPhone to Android Phones

All this talk about the Nexus One and the Droid has had two effects on me. For starters, after playing with the Nexus One, I am now 100% convinced that I want one. The phone is extremely impressive both in terms of its hardware and software. It is surpisingly thin and the screen is gigantic, relatively speaking. The entire phone is made out of some sort of rubberized material I have not seen before. In terms of the processor, the Nexus responds extremely fast, way faster than any other phone I have used, but then again, I have never used a Snapdragon device.

 
by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mac, Tech

The Apple iPad: iSuccess or iFlop?

The wait is finally over. Sort of. Early on Wednesday, Apple unveiled its long-rumored tablet computer, the iPad, and announced that it would start shipping at the end of March.Is this the reinvention of portable computing as we know it? Probably not, but it’s too early to draw any firm conclusions. Let’s take a a moment to step away from the famous Steve Jobs reality distortion field and evaluate what we know so far.