B.ll Sh.t Apple Predictions: iPhone 5 With USB 3

with the excitement of the upcoming 6th generation iPhone (5), there's been a lot of talk about what's going to look like, what CPU it's going to run with, form factor, 16:9 display, and whether or not it's going to feature Thunderbolt connectivity. i have no doubt that Apple will release an impressive next gen iPhone, but aside from my obsessiveness over storage, the one thing i'm hoping from the next iPhone is USB3 connectivity and not Thunderbolt - which i think will happen for the following reasons.

iPad3, It’s Getting My Attention

my first iPod is 3rd gen.
my first iPhone is 3rd gen.
my first iPod nano is 3rd gen.

do you see the pattern here?

Apple is at the cusp of releasing their 3rd generation iPad, and it’s getting my attention.  IF the rule of "3rd gen" prevails the iPad3 will prove to be a device worth the wait.

so far the only rumors circling the blogo-sphere is that the iPad3 will have the A5X processor, and retina display. i’m surprised that no mention of increase storage has been projected; perhaps a boost from 64GB to 128GB - which would be the ultimate deal-breaker for me.

3rd Gen, More Coincidental Than A Rule

one comment i need to make regarding 3rd gen Apple mobile devices which makes it more coincidental rather than a rule.  in all cases the deciding factor has come down this one thing - storage.  if you haven’t notice i delay buying each of these device families until one was released with the amount of storage i felt would satisfy my needs.

increased gigabytes is indicative of so much more than just storage, but all the hardware that would have to be present in order to support managing it all.

working in a high tech environment you learn things like that. when a new product that boast 2x or 4x the amount of cache memory, it’s usually complimented with increased processing power to manage it all without performance loss.

3, The Magic Number

3 is the magic number designating the generation of each Apple devices that i own.  why is this so special?  it’s probably more coincidental than anything else, but when i look deeply into it waiting for the 3rd generation of Apple products have benefited me with the most feature rich products, and future-proofing - that is to say the longest lasting, most used devices.

i have outlined three particular Apples products that i own.  my thinking behind waiting for the 3rd gen, and how proceeding generations in my mind wasn’t worth the immediate upgrade.

Vimeo App

last week i downloaded the new Vimeo iPhone app just after reading about it on Lifehacker.com. i was a little skeptical cause i'm still rolling with my 3GS. but it was free, so what would be the harm. i gotta say that it's not bad.

it crashed on me a few times. and 1 was a little frustrated every time i tried to add a pic shot in portrait mode it would somehow appear turned 90 degrees to the right. i figured out i'd have to save the project every time i added something to the timeline. so after overcoming the frustration with the app crashing i managed to piece together a short video consisting of a photo and two video clips of me and my buddy jimmy climbing an indoor rock wall. i was able to add some text, however adjusting the volume levels after adding a music track was probably too much my 3GS to handle. it would consistently crash doing that.

as for the video...
my buddy Jimmy and i decided to do a little indoor rock climbing at the Lifetime Fitness center in Cary N.C.. i was about 4 feet away from reach the top. my only excuse is my 30 minutes of high cardio on an elliptical machine prior to talking the wall. it's all good fun, however. i must admit i was very concerned (and perhaps a little scared) that the safety line wasn't going to hold me if i fell. there was quite a bit of panic in that last moment just before my fingers gave out. good times.

camera work by my buddies Dennis, Jimmy, and myself.

back to the app...
despite the crashes i have to say that the app worked very well. and i'm willing to put up with it cause 1) it's free, and 2) it works on my phone.

hopefully i can make more use of it later on down the line. perhaps Vimeo will release an update that will address the crashes on my 3GS, and add some nice features that will rival that of Apple's iMovie for iPhone. one can only hope. thanks Vimeo!

peace,
@riel

NetFlix App, Whats missing.

the Netflix app for my iPhone is within the top 5 apps i use regularly.  the fact that i can watch movies or tv shows when eating a quick meal at a restaurant, or waiting for a doctors appointment, or my flight at the airport is among the best ways to kill time.  the app itself is very easy to use.  the app simplifies the process by limit you to only parts of the service that applies to the streaming video.  the video quality has yet to disappoint.  and Netflix is mindful of their customer's experience with their product and services. every so often i get an email from them inquiring about the video quality and playback of the what i just finished watching.

i have no doubt that Netflix is always looking to improve the user experience for their customers.  if Netflix were to sit down with me over coffee and ask what i think is missing in their mobile app and/or service i"d tell the following:

1. multiple instant queues

this would be nice to have so that i can organize several queues by movies vs TV shows, or comedy vs sci-fi.  

2. create and organize playlists

this would be especially nice so that i can put together a series of tv shows available and let the player run through them without having to be prompted to move on to the next show.  this may pit them even deeper against Hulu.com, but that's competition for you.

all in all i'm very pleased to have Netflix's mobile app on my iphone.  since i downloaded it i've managed to enjoy dozens of TV series such as Futurama and The IT Crowd, and movies such as MST3K.  the streaming over 3G is prompt, and the video quality is more than adequate.  and because of my frequent use it's deserving of being in my top 5.


peace,
@riel

B.ll Sh.t Apple Predictions: MacBook Air

i had a very spirited conversation with my best friend about what may be expected from the upcoming Apple event. specifically what may become of the MacBook Air (MBA) product if Steve Jobs announces a new one.

my b.ll sh.t prediction is that the Apple will forgo using Intel chips and start using the Apple A4 processor. same one found in current iPad product. in addition to that making the MBA the first Apple laptop to run iOS. this to me this makes perfect sense on so may levels.

first of all, the potential to continuously promote their Apple A4 processor. the A4 is already found in the iPhone, iTouch, iPad, and now the new Apple TV. with respect to the MBA: just think of the iPad with a hardwire keyboard in a clamshell design. no more having to buy custom Intel Core 2 Duo chips. in fact all Apple would have to do is just redesign the logic board from the iPad to fit into MBA.

second of all, why the iOS?. the next MBA is reported to have a reduction of the screen size down to 11.6 inches. just shy of the size of the iPad. why is that significant? cause Apple doesn't see their Mac OS in it's native form as a one-size-fits-all solution for all their products. continuing to use the Mac OS was important to the iPhone, but it needed to be scaled down to fit on a device with limited storage. in addition to that it needed to have the UI redesigned in order to be accommodated on a 4 inch screen while supporting the fingers and thumbs as the primary input devices. and even though the iPad's screen is substantially larger than the iPhone's, iOS continues to work well on it while allowing Apple to expand their micro OS's potential. in addition to that opening up the App Store to another product.

lets presume that the upcoming MBA doesn't have a touch screen like the iPad. how would a user interface with it using iOS 4? one basic interaction would be with the track pad. with the established hand gestures already found on the MacBook/MBPro, a user could use those same gestures to swipe from one desktop page to the next, bring up the multitask bar, or pinch & zoom. basic functions. nothing too special. of course it would just be cooler if the MBA did have a touch screen.

in terms of the kinds of 3rd party apps that would run on it, i would imagine that developers would have to include additional support for the MBA on their already existing apps. or, perhaps, develop unique apps just for the MBA just as there are unique apps for the iPad in the App store.

speaking of the App Store, this opens it up to a new device, and gives the developers something exciting and unique to develop for. especially when developers could offers their wares for free courtesy of Apple's iAd service - another service that benefits Apple's bottom line

with WiFi connectivity to be expected, the MBA could be the first MacBook to have a 3G wireless subscription service (a la AT&T) just like the iPad. if the MBA includes a front-facing camera, think about the iPhone's Face Time on it.

now let take this a step further. what if this prediction the MBA becomes true? the way i see it Apple may use the MBA as an experiment to see how well the masses respond to the iOS on Mac hardware. let's assume users love this idea, and the iOS UI becomes more liked than the current Mac OS UI. it would seem to me that Apple may one day release a Mac OS resembling that of the iOS.

of course i'm just talking unpredictable b.ll sh.t here. when it comes to predicting what Apple may release, i'm so far off. still, fun to think about it.

peace,
@riel

My blog tools: iPhone + BT Keyboard

the last couple of blog posts (including this one) have been written on this set-up. nothing more than my iPhone 3GS and my Apple's bluetooth keyboard. and i love it.

i bought the Apple wireless keyboard along with the Apple Mighty Mouse when i purchased my second mac mini (the 2GHz Core 2 Duo), but i wasn't going to use them with the new mac. instead they were slated to be part of my TV PC setup in the living room with my first mac mini (1.66 GHz Core Duo) repurposed as my media center. but since Apple added the Bluetooth keyboard support to iOS 4 (a benefit reserved mainly for the iPad), it's become somewhat of a nifty novelty to be able to the type on my phone using this. i can control the screen's brightness and the volume control from the keyboard as well and use traditional cut & paste shortcuts.

my iPhone 3GS is powerful enough to run iOS 4 along with other apps i tend to run. as i type this on the Notes app i'm listening to audio being streamed via Safari/Quicktime along with Twitter, BejiveIM, and Mail app at this time.

it is a unique alternative and experience to using a laptop. admittedly the screen is a little tight to see the text - which can be fixed by going into in the accessibility panel and changing the font size to 24pt - but all i really need is to be able to quickly type out my thoughts. and the wireless keyboard makes the experience a little more effective than typing on the on-screen keyboard.

don't get me wrong, i still want a Macbook Pro. unfortunately i'm not in position to afford one just yet - especially one with the hardware config i want. still this is more portable than a nettop, laptop, or iPad. and more convenient and lighter to carry around. and unlike a MacBook or iPad i can make or take phone calls. i've taken this out public at coffee shops and restaurants. so far i've gotten a few compliments, but mostly curious eyes.

i have to give it to Apple for coming up with some really cools gadgets.

peace,

@riel

Flatland Session #2: A Casual Day

hey folks!

here is my premier video on Vimeo. it's the second installation of my Flatland Sessions

[Vimeo detail]

this video was captured on the 4th of August, 2009. it serves as a follow-up from my last video to show off my progress. it's a casual session i decided to record using my brand new iPhone 3G [S]. the video was just an excuse to play with my iPhone, so i'm not putting a great deal of effort here. however, i've gotten a little better. more time practicing would've been spent if it weren't for all this rain we've gotten over the summer up here in Massachusetts.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR SET!

throughout the video you'll notice weird color shifts. in combination with the music i've chosen, this is an attempt to mellow out the mood of the video. just something i thought i'd throw in to help spruce up an otherwise boring video.

[end]

unlike the first captured flatland session where i condensed the length of the video by utilizing Fade In Fade Out Dissolve, i decided to leave this video intact and instead focus on using some kind of neat visual effect over a mellowed-out down-tempo tune.

one reason for not chopping it up, was because, where as the first session was captured in 720x480 resolution; the video resolution capture on the iPhone is 640x480 (the horizontal field of view is narrower). this posed a problem as i was riding in and out of the frame more often than before. also the video was shot from the ground and not from a tripod. i felt this too had a limiting affect of the field of view. in order to stay within the frame longer i had to be farther away from the camera.

another reason was the audio. unlike the first where i completely removed the audio in favor of a background music, i decided to leave the original audio in. i have yet to figure out how to mix the audio correctly in Final Cut Express 4 (FCE4) as it separates the audio from the video into its own track.

a third reason was simply time. the video for Session #1 contained over 40 minutes of stock footage from multiple angles. so i had a "40 minute" reason to shorten it down and highlight the important parts. in Session #2 only 00:11:50 of stock from one angle was taken. it didn't seem worth the effort just to shave off two minutes.

i did attempt to condense it, but did not worked out very well. still, i think final cut turned out just fine. in fact the end result came out looking really sharp for a VGA quality video compare to that from the original iPhone video, which contained a lot of grainy digital noise due to the low light conditions. the end-quality of the video was thanks to the process of taking the final video exported from FCE4 as an MPEG4 (@ 9000kbs), converting it into a DVD/MPEG2 video (@ 7000kbs) using Burn.app, then cleaning and polishing it up - using some pretty hefty video enhancements - by running the MPEG2 video through Handbrake, and back out to an MPEG4 video (@ 3000kbs). with all these conversions you'd think there be a loss of quality. well, there is, but you can't really tell, because 1) without the original stock there's no basis for comparison so you don't know what to look for, and 2) even if you could tell the loss of detail is way in the background.

unfortunately, because of YouTube's rule regarding video runtime - they limit it to no more than 10 minutes per video - i couldn't keep both sessions under the same roof, and , therefore, i had to find another home. Vimeo was perfect. so long as i keep my uploads to 500MB per week, my videos can be as long as i want. and the quality of videos on Vimeo are always good. i was really stoked when i saw how sharp my video came out. plus if you like the video, you have the option of downloading a copy for yourself. however, you have a week from the date of publish to do that, and you'll need to be a member.

feel free to stop by at the actual site and leave a comment.

peace,
@riel

My Car Set-Up

just wanted to quickly share with you my car set-up of both my TomTom and iPhone sipping energon from a Belkin Dual USB charger.

what's really impressive is how fast the Belkin's QuickCharge USB port juices up my iPhone. during the course of a 40 minute drive the charger brought my iPhone's battery from 30% to near 60%.

it comes included with two USB cables; one with an iPod dock connector, the other with a mini USB. the iPod dock cable is of a thicker gauge. i'm guessing this is because the QuickCharge USB port provides a higher amount of current. it's also a fully functioning data cable so you can plug this into your Mac or PC.

the competing charger i almost got was Griffin's PowerJolt Dual Universal. but i much prefer Belkin's design approach with the USB ports off to the side.

now i can operate both devices and keep them charged. though, i am very impressed with my iPhone's GPS functionality, i still prefer the accuracy of my TomTom. also the iPhone currently lacks the ability of multi-tasking with third-party apps like Pandora or Slacker Radio while using Maps. so with this setup i can have both. plus i just found a neat way to integrate my TomTom into my car's dashboard. no worry's; it's only covering up the RPM gauge. besides, who really pays attention to that?

the only thing not pictured here is Griffin's DirectDeck Universal Cassette Adapter which was running within my cassette deck at the time.

peace,
@riel

iPhone Video Test Shots

here are a few video test shots i tool using my iPhone's video capture feature.

enjoy,
@riel

My New iPhone 3G [S]

well, i finally got one! it's taken Apple three generations to make an iPhone good enough to satisfy what i wanted, but it's here and running great. :)

i ordered my iPhone 3G [S] from an AT&T retail store. the advantage of this was not having to pay a $36 activation fee that apparently one would have to pay at the Apple store. i'm unclear as to why, but there it is. activation from the AT&T is a courtesy.

the downside? i had to wait a week before getting it, and when it did arrive i didn't get the pleasure of opening the jewelry box containing my brand new iPhone. it was a bit of a bummer, but i understood the store associate needed to process the device to activate it.

no matter - i would be spending a great deal of my life with it. at least for the next two years until Apple release a new iteration of it. hopefully something with an 720p HD optic sensor with image stabilization, and an AMOLED screen panel.

since the day i got it i've encased it in a clear plastic case by Case-Mate, applied an anti-glare screen protector by Power Support, and downloaded a number of apps (see my twitter feed filed under "iApps post").

i've taken it out on some local road trips to tried out the 3G internet access, the digital compass, the camera, the maps app (GPS), mail app... pretty much everything it features, but the kitchen sink.

after making use of it of the past several weeks i have to say that i'm very impressed with it.

peace,
@riel

My New Toy: iPhone 3G[S].

i've had some time to digest the news of the latest iteration of Apple's new iPhone 3G[S]. after following the live feed from Gizmodo, and watching the keynote broadcast of the event last night, i gained a secured feeling that perhaps this is a good time to jump on the iPhone bandwagon. i don't think this new iPhone is the best it can be, but it's much better than previous iterations, and therefor good enough.

i posted on my Twitter feed quick impressions of some of the features and specs that were updated such as the extended battery life, and the 32GB of storage; two of the biggest selling points for me. everything else were novelties that will help enhanced the enjoyment and experience of the mobile device during the everyday use.

as i'm looking to converge my iPod with my cell, my intent with the 32GB of storage is to fill it with mostly music, TV shows, and some videos i've edited. in addition to storing more music and videos, the iPhone 3G[S] camera takes 3 megapixel photos, and can also capture & edit video. both of these features can eat a good deal of storage.

the extended battery life is always a welcome. anything that allows me to get through a day without having to worry about the battery going dead is good news.

Talk time:

• Up to 5 hours on 3G (no change)
• Up to 12 hours on 2G

Standby time:

• Up to 300 hours (no change)

Internet use:

• Up to 5 hours on 3G
• Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi

Audio playback:

• Up to 30 hours on audio

Video playback:

• Up to 10 hours of video

i think where i hold some disappointment is the advancement in technology that Apple did not incorporated into the iPhone, such as an OLED display panel instead of a LCD. substantial battery life could have been furthered with this technology. a case redesign would have been nice to distinguish the third gen from the second gen. and... no, i guess that's it. i would have like to have seen Apple utilize a 720p optic sensor for video capturing, but i suppose a sensor that small doesn't exist yet.

my only reservation is the network it runs on. i've heard mixed feelings about AT&T regarding their cell coverage, or data plans. most love the phone but hate the service, because it doesn't allow customers to take full advantage of what the phone can do.

at this moment i don't think i need much from the iPhone 3G[S] and AT&T. as long as i have connection to my cell & data plan, features such as basic web, email, and instant message services are all i require for now. at least until i can figure out what else i want from the iPhone 3G[S].

i may take the "wait-and-see" approach; just take a step back for now, and see how early adopters feel about the new revised phone. i'm sure the feelings will most likely be a positive one.

all-in-all i feel relatively good about this new iPhone. i can't wait! :)

peace,
@riel