iPhone 4S - Apple's New Smartphone

Apple iPhone 4S

The wait is over. Apple announced the next incarnation of its smartphone - an iPhone 4S - at an event yesterday at its headquarters.
Apple finally announced the long-awaited iPhone 4S. Looking identical to the previous iPhone 4, it certainly isn't the radically redesigned iPhone 5 many people were expecting.


Apple is trotting out a new iPhone on Oct. 14, but it's not the iPhone 5 some were expecting. Instead, it's a more modest upgrade, the iPhone 4S. Here are some facts to help you decide if it's time to make the plunge.


Apple announced the iPhone 4S, which looks exactly like the iPhone 4—on the outside. On the inside, it’s a whole different story, and that the message Apple tried to get across during its presentation yesterday.
"Don't be fooled. Inside it is all new" Apple's Phil Schiller said during the phone's unveiling. Indeed, while the iPhone 4S looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4, it's packing some seriously upgraded hardware and promising new software.

iPhone 4S Black

First, and most importantly, the iPhone 4S will be powered by a new A5 processor. The A5 is a dual-core processor which will be up to twice as fast as the current A4, and seven times faster processing graphics. Apple is also claiming faster data speeds (with maximums of 14.4 Mbps download speeds, and 5.8 Mbps upload). The battery life is slightly longer *8 hours talk time versus 7 hours for the iPhone 4), but standby time is much less (200 hours versus 300).


The iPhone 4S is powered by Apple's new dual-core A5 chip, which Apple claims can deliver up to two times more power and seven times faster graphics performance than the iPhone 4. In addition, the iPhone 4S will be available on Sprint, along with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. It is a world phone, meaning it will support both CDMA and GSM networks.


Second, it’s got a dual CDMA/GSM chip for different networks, making it a world phone. The antenna is also redesigned to improve call quality.


Third, the camera is much better. Not only is it an 8-megapixel sensor with 60 percent more pixels than the one in the iPhone 4, but it is also designed to capture 73 percent more light 33 percent faster. The camera includes a high end infrared filter as well as five layered lenses which should improve the sharpness of pictures by up to 30 percent. And since the camera is one of the most used features on the phone, double-tapping the home button now opens the camera. The time it takes to get off your first shot is 1.1 seconds, and half a second for each shot after that. And it shoots 1080p video as well.


Based on the specs it’s probably the best camera system attached to a phone on the market right now, though real-life tests will have to be performed next month to determine image quality and evaluate the veracity of Apple’s speed claims. The changes aren’t superficial, though, and the camera should be on the short list of reasons to consider upgrading.

iPhone 4S White

The iPhone 4S also will ship with iOS 5, and all the iCloud-enabled apps. AirPlay will aslo work on the phone so that you can stream videos wirelessly to your Apple TV.


In addition to these improvements, the iPhone 4S will feature advanced support for voice-recognition and control through Siri.


It's the biggest new piece of software that takes advantage of the A5 chip - the Siri Assistant - a voice-controlled assistant you can call up anytime by holding down the home button for a few seconds. You can ask it the weather, time, directions from Yelp, schedule a meeting on your calendar, reply to messages, play a song from iTunes, or ask any factual question via Wolfram Alpha. All with voice commands.


Despite these improvements, many things remain the same. The physical design, for instance, has remained untouched, and the phone has the same 3.5-inch display found on the iPhone 4.

Apple iPhone 4S - White and Black

Let's see the iPhone 4S features:


- Operating system: Apple iOS 5


- Dimensions: 4.5 inches tall by 2.31 inches wide by 0.37 inch thick; 4.9 ounces


- Display: 3.5-inch, 960x640-pixel Retina Display touch screen


- Processor: 1GHz Dual-core Apple A5


- Storage: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB internal


- Camera: 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, 1080p HD video recording, backside-illuminated sensor; front-facing VGA camera


- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n); dual-mode world phone; GSM/HSPA+ 14.4; CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A


- Battery life: 8 hours talk time on 3G, 8.3 days standby time


- Expansion slot: No


- World phone: Yes


- NFC support: No


- Carriers: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint


- Price (on contract): $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB




So, if you travel a lot, it might be worth upgrading from the 4 to the 4S because you'll be able to use it on wireless networks in other countries.




Take a look at the Apple iPhone 4S introduce video:

NASA Releases Historical Sound Bites as Ringtones

NASA Logo

NASA has released a collection of famous sounds and commentaries that can be used as ringtones or as computer notification noises.


NASA has been going through its audio archives and come up with a selection of what it’s calling “historic and interesting sounds” that can be used as ringtones or computer notification noises.


Imagine that, every time your phone rings, you could have Neil Armstrong piping up with the immortal line: “One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”


“NASA has been making historic sounds for over 50 years” NASA App project manager Jerry Colen said in a press release. “Now we’re making some of these memorable sounds easy to find and use.”


The sounds have been arranged into four categories: Shuttle and Station, Apollo and Mercury, Current Missions, Beeps and Bytes. In total, 36 clips are available for download.


Lines you might recognize include “The Eagle has landed” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” There’s also a clip from JFK’s historic moon speech.


The sounds have been made available in MP3 and M4R formats.


You can check out the sounds here.

Microsoft Buys Skype For $8,5 Billion

Microsoft has agreed to buy the popular Internet telephone service Skype for $8.5 billion in the biggest deal in the software maker's 36-year history.

The deal gives Microsoft access to the market for real-time video and voice communications. The software maker said it plans to use Skype to support such products as the Xbox gaming system and Windows Phone.

Buying Skype would give Microsoft a potentially valuable communications tool as it tries to make a bigger splash on the Internet and become a bigger force in the increasingly important smartphone market.
The sellers include eBay and private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said: "Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world."

Skype will become a new business unit within Microsoft, to be run by current Skype CEO Tony Bates, who will report directly to Ballmer.

Skype filed for a $100 million IPO last year. But the actual offering was delayed, and rumors surfaced last week that the company was in talks with Microsoft and Facebook.

Skype was founded in 2003.

Skype boasts about 663 million users worldwide. According to regulatory documents, Skype users made 207 billion minutes of voice and video calls last year.

Calls to other Skype users are free, while the company charges for those made to both traditional landline phones and mobiles.
Most people use Skype's free calling services, which has made it difficult for the service to make money.

The White iPhone 4!

Apple announced the availability of the white iPhone 4.

The white iPhone 4 is available since April 28th.
Unlike the black version it's able to reflect all colors of the visible spectrum, making it white.

See the Apple iPhone 4 white review :

iPhone 4 Exploded!

Apple iPhone 4 got on fire by itself!

How would you feel if iPhone 4 explodes in flames on your wooden table, the fire and the noise are scaring you wife and kid to death?

That happened to Omar after his iPhone exploded.
He writes : "The phone got hot, then started smoking, then blew up. My wife and kid were in the room and it set off my fire alarm. It slightly burned my hand when I tried to pick it up. Basically the batteri caught on fire."

Omar is contacting Apple to se if he can get a new iPhone. Hopefully one that doesn't swell up and explode on his coffee table.