iPad Mini - Apple's Entry to the 7" Tablet War

It has been talked about, rumored, and now it has finally been revealed. Apple has officially entered the 7" tablet market. The question that most people are asking now is if it is really worth checking out and what does it have to offer that is new versus that of what is already being offered by the larger iPad models that they have just released?

The iPad Mini is something of a technological marvel, at least that is how Apple people would put it. To begin with the iPad Mini in terms of pricing is placed at the upper end of the 7" tablet spectrum where the cheapest is at $329 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $459 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular(which is LTE capable) model. This is quite pricey compared to the Nexus 7 and other Kindle Fire models so how this will be received by the general public is going to be an interesting outcome.

In terms of the size factor the iPad Mini is in the larger size of the 7" tablet types as it sports a 7.9" screen. Apple claims that with this size you hold the iPad Mini with one hand(i wonder how big were the hands they tested this claim on) and that it is considerably lighter than its bigger brother(i would be surprised if it did weigh more considering it is much smaller). It also is quite thinner and has been compared to the thickness of that of a pencil. What Apple is expecting is that people who had avoided buying an iPad before due to its size now has no excuse to buy one especially that now it is easily handled in the palm of your hand.

Another thing that is different with the iPad Mini is that bezel isn't the same size all the way around like the previous iPad models. If held in portrait orientation, the left and right bezel is substantially thinner much like the iPhone. So if ever you place your thumb on the side you'd be touching the screen. The iPad Mini is also narrow enough to allow for thumb typing on the portrait mode(you'd most likely be using both thumbs) making it seem like a Giant iPhone.

Color options for the iPad Mini is going to be the classic Apple white or black, but it matches the iPhone 5 in terms of styling so the white version has a silver trim and the black has a slate trim.

The screen of the iPad Mini is not something one would have expected as it doesn't have the Retina Display that the big brother iPad 3 has. It uses the 1-24x768 resolution which is similar to the iPad 2. This entails that its aspect ratio is at 4:3 ensuring that apps and other contents should fit correctly. But unlike the iPad 2 where pixel quality can be quite noticeable because of the decrease in size, images and videos look a lot better.

Beneath the facade of the iPad Mini is the same tech that was used on the iPad 2. Which means that the iPad mini is running on the A5 chip processor that is a dual core chip and is still quite capable of running the latest IOS 6. Storage options are pretty much standard where one can choose between 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models. There is no microSD card as usual. In the rear the iPad Mini has a 5MP isight Camera and the front facing 1.2MP Facetime HD Webcam camera. It also has Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11 a/b/g/n with 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz band for Wifi. Lastly for those sporting the Wi-Fi + Cellular data models will have access to 4G LTE. Like the iPhone 5 the iPad mini will be using the lightning connector.  Battery life is claimed to last upto 10 hours which is still something that would need to be tested.

Accessories were also added in the design of the iPad Mini. They have included the iPad Mini Smart Cover, which was originally designed for the iPad 2 and 3. It is metal hinge has been replaced by one that's covered in the same material as the cover, so the design is a bit more cohesive and is quite easy to snap on and off. It is small and light adding very little to the bulk and weight of the iPad Mini. It basically gives one a feeling of carrying a small paper notebook when it is used.

Overall, If you consider the spec sheets of what the iPad Mini brings to the table and feel that the iPad Mini is just your basic average iPad 2, then you are most likely correct. What it does bring that is different is the size and form factor. Is it worth spending on? that is something only can answer and will definitely have to try it on for size. I myself still prefer the Android 7" models over the iPad Mini mainly because of the Eco System and overall feature functionality that they have, but that is based on my own opinion. Quality of the build is something that Apple has proven to be consistent about and I would guess that is what kept people coming back for more.

If you want to get to see a comparison fo the iPad Mini with its bigger brothers click the following link:
iPad Mini Compared

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

iPhone 5 Full Comparative Review: Should You Buy it or Buy Something Else?

It has been close to a month now since the release of the iPhone 5. It has been one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year and has had one of the most leaked photos and images of how its build and look would be like. By the time it did get released, the result was extremely mixed and to many was rather anti-climactic as it was exactly what the leaks were revealing. But with all the hype and hoopla about the iPhone 5, it still managed to break its own records in terms of sales compared to that of the iPhone 4s. The question that people are asking now is if it is still worth trading in their old iPhone 4s for or should they simply sit this one through.

I believe that in order for one to actually answer that question, there should be a couple of things that one has to consider. Basically, what does the iPhone 5 offer that is different from the iPhone 4s and what is the competition like in terms of costs versus features.

The iPhone 5 has come with one very obvious difference in comparison to that of its predecessor the iPhone 4s - It is longer by about half an inch. To be more specific the iPhone 5 has a 4 inch screen size in comparison to the iPhone 4s' 3.5 inch screen. Design is another factor that has been changed but only in the minimal sense. Looking at the iPhone 5 vs the iPhone 4s very little in terms of general layout has been changed. Camera position is the one thing to be noted as in the iPhone 5 it has been centered on top of the earpiece. Color and build is also different. The iPhone 4s is solid black or white and is enclosed in a glass casing, the iPhone 5 is now two toned with an aluminum back casing and has a shiny edge giving it a classy feel and design to it, which many have compared to jewelry. The lighting port is another major change which charges a lot faster than the old proprietary pin port used in all other Apple mobile devices. Speakers have been improved and so has the number of microphones making sound much better and voice communication quite pleasantly clear.

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With all those physical aspects covered, it is also important to take note of what has changed internally. the iPhone 5 has made quite a lot of changes starting with their own designed A6chip. The A6 chip is a dual core chip that Apple has developed to match their hardware and has fully optimized it in a way that regardless of it having simply two cores can still give the Samsung Galaxy Exynos Quad Core chip a run for their money(however the margin is only quite small and actual user feedback has no noticeable difference in performance). Software has also been marketed as quite different though the iPhone 4s can enjoy the same benefits of the iPhone 5 as they are both capable of running the new IOS 6. This includes over 200 new features and one of the most notable ones are the wallet functionalities and the new camera features such as panorama and image capture during video recording. The other notable new feature with the iPhone 5 is LTE.

Now back to the question of whether or not one should replace their old iPhone 4s with the iPhone 5? that is something one would find a bit tricky especially if you are someone that simply just has to have it. If you are a full avid Apple fan and simply wants to just be on top of everything Apple I would most likely recommend that you go out there and grab one for yourself. However, taking into consideration that the iPhone 4s can still carry the same functionalities that the iPhone 5 has to offer versus the somewhat minor upgrades that has been made, then it would be a much better and cheaper choice to stick with your iPhone 4s. In more ways than one you can now consider the iPhone 4s as Apple's middle range phone line as they are still intent of marketing it. They even brought back the iPhone 3Gs and is actively marketing this at an extremely low price but running on IOS 5.

There are also other things to consider before heading out to buy the iPhone 5. Out of the box, the complaints have been proving to be valid - From scratches out of the box, purple haze issues with the camera in certain angles of sunlight, poor IOS Maps, Application incompatibility with the 4inch screen, HD isn't really fully HD as the screen resolution is only 1136x640(though pixel density is at 326ppi), and touch responsiveness issues. All of these have to be taken into account and unfortunately Apple has no real solution for any of these. The iPhone 4s has proven to be of better build quality and this is because Apple has had better practice time with it. Will the issues be resolved? That is something Apple fans are expecting, but again the question being asked is when.

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Price is also something that is being openly debated by consumers. For the features that the iPhone 5 is offering is it worth the price tag? I can only vouch for this on a matter of personal preference. I have the HTC One X, The Samsung Galaxy Note, and with my hands on time with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy S3 not to mention all the other manufacturer's flagship models such as the Nokia Lumia 920 - I would have to say unfortunately it is not worth spending that much for it. I say this because all these other smartphones are feature rich as it is, delivers what they offer quite well, and a lot of the things that the iPhone 5 is being marketed to be good at is already found in any single one of these models. Taking into account that yes, the iPhone 5 does have better bench mark scores with some of these devices does give it somewhat of an edge but the margins are quite minimal and taking into the end user perspective, that is when you pick up any of these phones and run it through like any regular consumer would, there is no noticeable difference in performance. Aesthetically many of these devices provide a breath of fresh air far from the design form that the iPhone is sticking with both physically and software-wise.

To sum everything up, the iPhone 5 does present a lot of good things to those that would choose to buy it, but with all the issues, and the marginal difference it shares with its older brother the iPhone 4s, the pricing has to be adjusted to make it worth the purchase otherwise best to buy something that is a lot less heavy on the wallet but still offers a far more richer experience as a whole than spending a ton of dough on something that I have to say is just recently catching up with the rest of the smartphone pack.

Till Next Time...

-Metz-

Macbook Air 11" Intel Core i5 Real Life Review

I am not a newbie to the Mac Software and Units, as one of my old units was the 13 inch macbook pro 2006 edition. I was fairly happy with the performance of Mac OS Prior to the OS X, and have found that they are quite more responsive and hardly any lag with any of the programs installed. Formerly being a Windows user one, I had initially been fearful of that difficulty of the transition from Windows to Mac. Surprisingly, upon initial usage, I found that the Mac OS was quite user friendly and a lot of the functionalities in windows were still present with better fluidity.

With all that being said, with my old macbook retiring out, I had made the option to purchase the new MacBook Air 11" Intel Core i5 unit. Powered by the new Mac OSX (will be upgrading to the new Mountain Lion OS later in the year), I have to say am quite impressed. I haven't used any unit prior to this one that has worked so hard and so smoothly considering the size of the unit. On first glance, especially in the leatherette sleeve I have got for it, one would think of it as a piece of document and not a computer. With 128 GB of storage space and 4 gb of ddr3 ram inside I have had no trouble with storing documents nor playing taxing 3d games. The MacBook Air also charges up pretty quickly and in between charges lasts me roughly about 5 - 7 hours depending on type of usage, generally I hit the 5 hour ranges due to heavy usage such as youtube video, facebook chatting, blogging, data searching, etc... The power cable also is easy to carry as it is much smaller that the old bulky charger I used to have with my MacBook 13".

Because of the new OSX installed in this mini power house, gestures on the track pad was easy to learn and more intuitive to navigate. It basically follows that gesture patterns of what one would be using with the IOS 5 of the iPad and iPhone. This will be even more evident once we have migrated our system over to that of the Mountain Lion.

Over the period of 5 months of usage now, the overall usage and usability has been above par with any of the units I have handled and can even rival that of his bigger brothers (MacBook Air 13" and the MacBook Pro), I can say with confidence that this is a worthy machine for online workers such as myself especially those that are constantly on the go. Easy to carry just like it's touch screen Apple Brothers and yet with the power house of any desktop, I couldn't have asked for a better business travel companion.

Does it come cheap? I guess that is where one would have to find debate, but current market values of this unit is becoming quite competitive against its windows competitors, none of them have come close though to the technological ingenuity that this unit has provided. If you have a choice and want a unit that you know won't get easily replaced after a year, I'd say go for the MacBook Air. As to what size is I guess a personal preference.

For more info on the MacBook Air Line simply go to the Apple Store webpage or follow this link: MacBook Air

Till the next time...

****Updates on the Macbook Air - The new and updated Macbook Air Products including that of the its brothers the Macbook Pro have had an upgrade in terms of hardware.  It has now gotten faster in terms of computing and processor speed and the allowed ram has been increase to double of what it had before.  Cool thing is Price hasn't changed - if you have more budget to spend, you can even get your Macbook Air to go from 1.7Ghz to 2.0 Ghz and even have an increased SD Storage which was previously only at 128 GB. Everything else remains the same. Don't fret though if you were able to buy the previous version which carries the 1.6Ghz Core i5 Version as that is still quite awesome, heck am one of those people too. Just waiting to see if Apple will allow Turbo Boost with the older units as Intel has it already built in.

Check out the new specs below:

Till the next update.

Tech Special: Steve Jobs Unveils Apple iPad starting price $499

I was watching the news yesterday and finally the one news that I was waiting for was featured. Steve Jobs, recovering from his operation has shown is flair and energy as always and seemingly even more now as he unveiled the new Mac Gadget that is sure to be selling like hotcakes one released. He finally gave a name to the rumored tablet PC that they were developing and he called the iPad.

If you want to check out the specs simply click on the following link: Apple iPad
In the meantime here is the news that rocked the tech world yesterday:


iPad Overview