As many consumers hungrily await tomorrow's release of Amazon's Kindle Fire, there is evidence that tablets may be reshaping online viewing habits.
Tablet users averaged 30 percent more viewing time per session compared with desktops, according to data released this week by Ooyala, a provider of video services to major brands. Tablet users also tended to be more engaged, finishing videos at nearly twice the rate as desktop users.
For each minute of video watched on a desktop, tablet users watched for one minute 17 seconds, an average of 28 percent longer than desktop viewing. Video completion rates on tablets were also 30 percent higher than non-tablet mobile devices.
While online viewers were more likely to turn to laptops or desktops to watch short clips, the data suggests that viewers are turning to tablets, mobile devices, and connected TV devices and game consoles for medium and long-form videos. Videos 10 minutes or longer accounted for 30 percent of hours watched on mobile devices, 42 percent on tablets, and 75 percent on connected TV devices and game consoles.
The study also found that viewer engagement was "generally higher" for long-form videos. Mobile users tended to complete three-quarters of a long-form video at a rate of 20 percent, compared with 18 percent for desktops.
Meanwhile, viewers on connected TV devices and game consoles completed long-form content at a higher rate than viewers who watched on any other device. (A study released earlier in week found that video game consoles have become the most popular way for U.S. consumers to watch online entertainment content on their TVs.)
Apple's iPad / iPad Cases was the most popular tablet for viewing online video during the third quarter, accounting for 99.4 percent of displays and 97.7 percent of total plays.
iPhones accounted for 56 percent of video plays, compared with 36.8 percent for Android-powered smartphones. However, Android edged out iPhone in total video minutes, delivering 49 percent to iPhones 44 percent.
The data was collected from a cross section of the company's customer and partner database, which features more than 100 million unique monthly viewers in more than 100 countries.
The study comes out as Amazon get's ready to ship its Android-powered Kindle Fire--the Internet retailer's first foray into the tablet market, which has so far been dominated by the iPad. But analysts believe the Kindle Fire's low $199 price tag--most tablets retail for around $500--could help make it the first legitimate competitor in an area where many other high-end Android tablets have missed the mark.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
How to secure your iPhone's Internet connection?
If I had a buck for every time I've reminded someone to pay attention to how secure his or her Internet connection is, I'd be able to buy Apple, Google, and Microsoft — and have enough spare change for a cup of coffee.
In other words: The importance of securing your data can never be emphasized enough. Especially not when it happens to be International Fraud Awareness Week.
So let's talk about staying safe on one of the more popular mobile devices — the iPhone.
Just like your laptop, tablet, or other mobile device, the iPhone is incredibly vulnerable when you decide to use a public Wi-Fi network. Someone could hijack your Twitter or Facebook accounts, steal passwords, or even take a peek at your email and instant message conversations.
So what can you do to stay safe? You can create and maintain a secure Internet connection by using a virtual private network (VPN). And while that sounds like it'd be difficult to set up, it can actually be done with just a few taps and an app called Hotspot Shield VPN.
Hotspot Shield VPN comes from AnchorFree, a company known for its desktop VPN software, and it can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. The app itself is free, but the associated service will cost you $1/month or $10/year. (There's a free 7-day trial available if you want to give the app a shot before shelling out cash.)
Once installed, the app will run in the background and keep your Internet sessions safe. It will protect third-party apps, the iPhone's built-in Safari browser, and even encrypt your iMessage conversations.
It's worth pointing out that using a VPN service means you are trusting a third-party — such as AnchorFree — with all your data as everything passes through the secure tunnel created by the software. That's quite a leap of faith, but AnchorFree has a pretty solid history when it comes to keeping Internet browsing sessions private and secure. Its desktop software does occasionally include what some folks consider to be (optional) adware.
So let's talk about staying safe on one of the more popular mobile devices — the iPhone.
Just like your laptop, tablet, or other mobile device, the iPhone is incredibly vulnerable when you decide to use a public Wi-Fi network. Someone could hijack your Twitter or Facebook accounts, steal passwords, or even take a peek at your email and instant message conversations.
So what can you do to stay safe? You can create and maintain a secure Internet connection by using a virtual private network (VPN). And while that sounds like it'd be difficult to set up, it can actually be done with just a few taps and an app called Hotspot Shield VPN.
Hotspot Shield VPN comes from AnchorFree, a company known for its desktop VPN software, and it can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. The app itself is free, but the associated service will cost you $1/month or $10/year. (There's a free 7-day trial available if you want to give the app a shot before shelling out cash.)
Once installed, the app will run in the background and keep your Internet sessions safe. It will protect third-party apps, the iPhone's built-in Safari browser, and even encrypt your iMessage conversations.
It's worth pointing out that using a VPN service means you are trusting a third-party — such as AnchorFree — with all your data as everything passes through the secure tunnel created by the software. That's quite a leap of faith, but AnchorFree has a pretty solid history when it comes to keeping Internet browsing sessions private and secure. Its desktop software does occasionally include what some folks consider to be (optional) adware.
Monday, November 7, 2011
How to Getting along well with iPhone 4S's Siri
The more I use Siri the more I discover that the personal assistant can do for me with the iPhone 4S. Here are some simple areas that Siri is making a contribution in my daily life.
Siri is the voice assistant introduced with the iPhone 4S designed to make the user’s life easier. Through natural commands spoken into the phone, Siri jumps to provide assistance or information as required by the request. Siri isn’t able to do everything, nor to understand some requests, but the technology is imnpressive in how often it works as intended. I find myself using Siri more and more the longer I use the iPhone 4S, and have run across some useful things.
Reminders. Siri works with the reminders in iOS5 to make sure you don’t forget to do something. These are the first thing that most iPhone 4S owners get familiar with, and the longer I use Siri the more use I get out of reminders. I use it all the time for simple things.
My wife asks me to check the dryer in an hour and I tell Siri to “remind me to check the dryer in an hour”. Today I told Siri to “remind me to turn the crock pot down at 3″ and my dinner was saved.
I am getting good at not just using Siri for timed actions like those above, but for lots of other functions. I often tell Siri to “remind me to note fact A” for anything I would normally jot down on a post-it note. This is so easy to do I never forget simple things like this, now that I have a personal assistant.
Information requests. Like most folks I have become dependent on web searches to get information I need. Siri has assumed a big role in my quest for information, both searches I used to do on Google, “ipad 2 cases”, and others that are less structured.
Sunday I wondered how my local NFL team’s schedule looked the rest of the year so it was “Siri, show me the Houston Texan NFL schedule”. Siri fired up a Google search that took me right to the remaining schedule I needed.
These are very simple examples, but I am gradually coming to depend on Siri to get me more specific information through Apple’s integration with Wolfram Alpha. Preceding a request with “Wolfram” instead of Siri tells Siri I want her to use that service to look for the information I am requesting.
I am finding this useful in researching topics for writing projects, as well as stuff I am simply wondering about. “Wolfram, who played in the 1983 World Series” yields everything you want to know about that event. Every day I am finding I end up thinking about something like this and Siri gives me the exact information I am wondering. You can also preface a question with Bing or Yahoo, if you want those services to be used.
Sending text messages. I don’t text a lot of people, primarily just family members. In the beginning I would tell Siri to “Send a text to Sheri” along with the line of text I wanted to send. As I used Siri, I realized she could learn how those who I text frequently are related to me. Now I simply state “Text my wife I will be running late” and after once telling Siri which contact that meant all future texts go straight to Sheri. I’ve done the same thing with my brother, daughter 1, daughter 2, etc. Since getting the iPhone 4S I find I text folks more often, due to how easy it is with Siri.
I also use Siri’s ability to send text messages to tweet occasionally. I set up Twitter to allow tweeting via SMS, and trained Siri what number that was. Now I tell Siri to “Send a text to Twitter” followed by a short tweet. Nice and simple and totally hands-free. You can also configure Google+ and Facebook to allow you to post updates using this method.
Making phone calls. I use Siri more and more to initiate phone calls, especially in the car. I know I shouldn’t make calls while driving but I admit I do that once in a while. It is so easy to tell Siri to “call my brother at home” and have the call started with no further action on my part.
The same method is good for getting contact information I need. Asking Siri “what is Matt Miller’s address?” is a lot easier than manually finding it in the Address Book. I can even ask Siri what so-and-so’s birthday is and get the date.
Setting alarms. When I need a more persistent reminder than the Reminders app provides, I now use Siri to set alarms to bug me. This is as simple as “Wake me tomorrow at 6:30″ or “set an alarm for 6:30″. That gets the nagging iPhone alarm set to disturb me appropriately.
Scheduling. Siri is especially good at scheduling meetings and events. “Meet with Bob today at 3″ gets the appropriate event in my schedule. I really like the ability to ask Siri “What does my schedule look like on Thursday?” and having it shown. This is where the natural language of Siri really shines.
Siri is far from perfect, but as I use it more I am getting better at figuring out what type of natural language commands work best. I can state confidently that I am using the iPhone 4S and Siri more than I have used any other smartphone, because I am finding more things Siri can do for me all the time.
Siri is the voice assistant introduced with the iPhone 4S designed to make the user’s life easier. Through natural commands spoken into the phone, Siri jumps to provide assistance or information as required by the request. Siri isn’t able to do everything, nor to understand some requests, but the technology is imnpressive in how often it works as intended. I find myself using Siri more and more the longer I use the iPhone 4S, and have run across some useful things.
Reminders. Siri works with the reminders in iOS5 to make sure you don’t forget to do something. These are the first thing that most iPhone 4S owners get familiar with, and the longer I use Siri the more use I get out of reminders. I use it all the time for simple things.
My wife asks me to check the dryer in an hour and I tell Siri to “remind me to check the dryer in an hour”. Today I told Siri to “remind me to turn the crock pot down at 3″ and my dinner was saved.
I am getting good at not just using Siri for timed actions like those above, but for lots of other functions. I often tell Siri to “remind me to note fact A” for anything I would normally jot down on a post-it note. This is so easy to do I never forget simple things like this, now that I have a personal assistant.
Information requests. Like most folks I have become dependent on web searches to get information I need. Siri has assumed a big role in my quest for information, both searches I used to do on Google, “ipad 2 cases”, and others that are less structured.
Sunday I wondered how my local NFL team’s schedule looked the rest of the year so it was “Siri, show me the Houston Texan NFL schedule”. Siri fired up a Google search that took me right to the remaining schedule I needed.
These are very simple examples, but I am gradually coming to depend on Siri to get me more specific information through Apple’s integration with Wolfram Alpha. Preceding a request with “Wolfram” instead of Siri tells Siri I want her to use that service to look for the information I am requesting.
I am finding this useful in researching topics for writing projects, as well as stuff I am simply wondering about. “Wolfram, who played in the 1983 World Series” yields everything you want to know about that event. Every day I am finding I end up thinking about something like this and Siri gives me the exact information I am wondering. You can also preface a question with Bing or Yahoo, if you want those services to be used.
Sending text messages. I don’t text a lot of people, primarily just family members. In the beginning I would tell Siri to “Send a text to Sheri” along with the line of text I wanted to send. As I used Siri, I realized she could learn how those who I text frequently are related to me. Now I simply state “Text my wife I will be running late” and after once telling Siri which contact that meant all future texts go straight to Sheri. I’ve done the same thing with my brother, daughter 1, daughter 2, etc. Since getting the iPhone 4S I find I text folks more often, due to how easy it is with Siri.
I also use Siri’s ability to send text messages to tweet occasionally. I set up Twitter to allow tweeting via SMS, and trained Siri what number that was. Now I tell Siri to “Send a text to Twitter” followed by a short tweet. Nice and simple and totally hands-free. You can also configure Google+ and Facebook to allow you to post updates using this method.
Making phone calls. I use Siri more and more to initiate phone calls, especially in the car. I know I shouldn’t make calls while driving but I admit I do that once in a while. It is so easy to tell Siri to “call my brother at home” and have the call started with no further action on my part.
The same method is good for getting contact information I need. Asking Siri “what is Matt Miller’s address?” is a lot easier than manually finding it in the Address Book. I can even ask Siri what so-and-so’s birthday is and get the date.
Setting alarms. When I need a more persistent reminder than the Reminders app provides, I now use Siri to set alarms to bug me. This is as simple as “Wake me tomorrow at 6:30″ or “set an alarm for 6:30″. That gets the nagging iPhone alarm set to disturb me appropriately.
Scheduling. Siri is especially good at scheduling meetings and events. “Meet with Bob today at 3″ gets the appropriate event in my schedule. I really like the ability to ask Siri “What does my schedule look like on Thursday?” and having it shown. This is where the natural language of Siri really shines.
Siri is far from perfect, but as I use it more I am getting better at figuring out what type of natural language commands work best. I can state confidently that I am using the iPhone 4S and Siri more than I have used any other smartphone, because I am finding more things Siri can do for me all the time.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Apple makes contact: 'iOS 5 bug causes iPhone 4S battery issue'
Apple finally speaks out over the battery issues some customers have suffered with iOS 5 powered devices: In short, there’s a fix, but not for a while.
Apple has made contact with the outside world to confirm that iOS 5, its latest mobile operating system, released only a fortnight ago, is causing battery issues with iPhones.
“A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices”, the company told AllThingsD, adding: “We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”
Apple did not comment beyond the statement.
The Cupertino-based giant is seeding a minor update to developers, iOS 5.0.1, which amongst other things will address the battery life issue.
Also in the update, multitasking gestures will be fixed for the first-generation iPad, resolve some issues with Documents in the Cloud, and improve Siri for Australian users of the iPhone 4S.
But many will be angered that the update “will take weeks”, as many struggle to gain any more than 12 hours out of their iPhones in a single day.
Apple has been deathly silent over the battery issues, which threatened to replicate the issues that the company had with the iPhone 4 in ‘Antennagate’. But the company’s response has been less than ideal, as it has not publicly acknowledged a problem until now — over two weeks since the problems began to emerge.
Within a few days of antenna-related issues reported in the press with the iPhone 4, the late Steve Jobs discussed with reporters at a special press event how the company would fix the problem — not only with the smartphone itself, but its reputation amongst its customers; something the company holds seemingly ahead of anything else.
Users instead were left to scramble for their own solutions, with many finding resolve in a location-based setting deep within the operating system. Thousands of users left comments of anger and frustration, along with tips and advice for fellow iOS 5 users in the Apple support forums since the problems were first reported.
Despite the problems with battery, and some other minor bugs along the way, the iPhone 4S has been the most popular selling smartphone the company has ever produced, selling millions in the first week alone. Sprint and AT&T reached record sale highs.
Apple has made contact with the outside world to confirm that iOS 5, its latest mobile operating system, released only a fortnight ago, is causing battery issues with iPhones.
“A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices”, the company told AllThingsD, adding: “We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”
The Cupertino-based giant is seeding a minor update to developers, iOS 5.0.1, which amongst other things will address the battery life issue.
Also in the update, multitasking gestures will be fixed for the first-generation iPad, resolve some issues with Documents in the Cloud, and improve Siri for Australian users of the iPhone 4S.
But many will be angered that the update “will take weeks”, as many struggle to gain any more than 12 hours out of their iPhones in a single day.
Apple has been deathly silent over the battery issues, which threatened to replicate the issues that the company had with the iPhone 4 in ‘Antennagate’. But the company’s response has been less than ideal, as it has not publicly acknowledged a problem until now — over two weeks since the problems began to emerge.
Within a few days of antenna-related issues reported in the press with the iPhone 4, the late Steve Jobs discussed with reporters at a special press event how the company would fix the problem — not only with the smartphone itself, but its reputation amongst its customers; something the company holds seemingly ahead of anything else.
Users instead were left to scramble for their own solutions, with many finding resolve in a location-based setting deep within the operating system. Thousands of users left comments of anger and frustration, along with tips and advice for fellow iOS 5 users in the Apple support forums since the problems were first reported.
Despite the problems with battery, and some other minor bugs along the way, the iPhone 4S has been the most popular selling smartphone the company has ever produced, selling millions in the first week alone. Sprint and AT&T reached record sale highs.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Review: Apple's Siri Speaks Also on iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4G
The end of Siri's exclusivity on the iPhone 4S may be near. No, I'm not talking about Siri running on the purported Apple television set, but Siri on jailbroken iPhone 4 and -- possibly -- 3GS handsets.
Ireland-based hacker Steve Troughton-Smith and his San Francisco-based comrade Grant Paul (no relation to the author) over the weekend claimed they got Apple's voice-enabled digital assistant functioning properly on an iPhone 4 and a fourth generation iPod Touch.
The pair solved the problem using Troughton-Smith's code for the Siri port developed earlier this month, as well as software authentication tokens from a jailbroken iPhone 4S. Screenshots of the hack were posted to Twitter as well as two YouTube videos demonstrating the Siri port, one of which was given exclusively to 9-to5 Mac.
"I've tested pretty much every type of interaction you can make with [Siri on the iPhone 4]," Troughton-Smith told PCWorld in an interview via instant messenger. "It works just as well as the iPhone 4S, and I've seen it work even faster than it at times." The only feature that doesn't work, according to Troughton-Smith, is the iPhone 4S's so-called "raise to speak" feature that allows you to activate Siri's voice-command interface by raising the phone to your ear. The problem with raise to speak on Siri, Troughton-Smith says, is that it requires the new gyroscope in the 4S; it's not clear whether this could be solved. Google offers a similar raise to speak feature in its search application for iOS devices, including the iPhone 4 and 3GS.
Apple's Server Conundrum
Hackers have been trying to get Siri to work on iOS devices other than the iPhone 4S for several weeks now. But until the recent breakthrough, they had only the interface functioning while Siri voice commands on the iPhone 4 went unheeded. Siri relies on Apple's servers to do all the heavy duty processing of voice commands, and hackers hadn't yet figured out how to trick Apple into believing an iPhone 4 was actually an iPhone 4S. This problem, it appears, has now been solved.
Source: Steve Troughton-Smith
It's not yet clear how Troughton-Smith and Paul solved the Siri-Apple server issue. Another pair of hackers were also working on the problem, and said their solution will rely on a third-party server to modify data sent between an unapproved Siri device and Apple's servers. Troughton-Smith declines to say whether his solution requires something similar, although I got the sense that it would not. Regardless, the Ireland-based hacker is keeping his solution fairly close to the vest for now.
"I can't quite go into details just yet," Troughton-Smith said. "The last thing I want is for Apple to lock this down before anybody's got a chance to see it." Part of the solution to Troughton-Smith's Siri port can be credited to the iPhone Dev Team's recent discovery of a preliminary jailbreak for the iPhone 4S. This made it possible to get an authentication token for Siri from Apple's latest iPhone. Troughton-Smith said he'd known for some time that his code for porting Siri to the iPhone 4 required an authentication token from the iPhone 4S, but without a jailbroken device, obtaining that token was difficult if not impossible. But after meeting with Paul, who had access to the DevTeam's unreleased jailbreak, the pair tried out Troughton-Smith's code and it worked almost right away.
Siri Unchained
It's not clear when the Siri port will be released. Troughton-Smith said he first wants to confirm it works properly, is secure, and doesn't break other apps or functions on iOS devices. It's likely the Siri port will be available after a public release of iPhone 4S jailbreak tools.
But even once the code is released, porting Siri to the iPhone 4 and other iOS devices won't be for the faint of heart. Troughton-Smith said he plans to release source code to the tools he made, but won't create a compiled program to help you do the port. In part, Troughton-Smith is leery of creating a specific jailbreak tool, because it may be grounds for Apple to sue for copyright infringement since a complete Siri hack tool requires modifying and distributing system files taken from an iPhone 4S.
For Troughton-Smith, the Siri hack isn't really about creating the final tool, but solving the technical challenge presented by moving Siri to other iOS devices. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could make Siri work," Troughton-Smith said. "To make it easy for everyone else I'll leave to whomever takes the reins after this."
The iPhone 4 may not be the only device to get some unofficial Siri love. Troughton-Smith plans to test his solution on the iPhone 3GS in November.
Ireland-based hacker Steve Troughton-Smith and his San Francisco-based comrade Grant Paul (no relation to the author) over the weekend claimed they got Apple's voice-enabled digital assistant functioning properly on an iPhone 4 and a fourth generation iPod Touch.
The pair solved the problem using Troughton-Smith's code for the Siri port developed earlier this month, as well as software authentication tokens from a jailbroken iPhone 4S. Screenshots of the hack were posted to Twitter as well as two YouTube videos demonstrating the Siri port, one of which was given exclusively to 9-to5 Mac.
"I've tested pretty much every type of interaction you can make with [Siri on the iPhone 4]," Troughton-Smith told PCWorld in an interview via instant messenger. "It works just as well as the iPhone 4S, and I've seen it work even faster than it at times." The only feature that doesn't work, according to Troughton-Smith, is the iPhone 4S's so-called "raise to speak" feature that allows you to activate Siri's voice-command interface by raising the phone to your ear. The problem with raise to speak on Siri, Troughton-Smith says, is that it requires the new gyroscope in the 4S; it's not clear whether this could be solved. Google offers a similar raise to speak feature in its search application for iOS devices, including the iPhone 4 and 3GS.
Apple's Server Conundrum
Hackers have been trying to get Siri to work on iOS devices other than the iPhone 4S for several weeks now. But until the recent breakthrough, they had only the interface functioning while Siri voice commands on the iPhone 4 went unheeded. Siri relies on Apple's servers to do all the heavy duty processing of voice commands, and hackers hadn't yet figured out how to trick Apple into believing an iPhone 4 was actually an iPhone 4S. This problem, it appears, has now been solved.
Source: Steve Troughton-Smith
It's not yet clear how Troughton-Smith and Paul solved the Siri-Apple server issue. Another pair of hackers were also working on the problem, and said their solution will rely on a third-party server to modify data sent between an unapproved Siri device and Apple's servers. Troughton-Smith declines to say whether his solution requires something similar, although I got the sense that it would not. Regardless, the Ireland-based hacker is keeping his solution fairly close to the vest for now.
"I can't quite go into details just yet," Troughton-Smith said. "The last thing I want is for Apple to lock this down before anybody's got a chance to see it." Part of the solution to Troughton-Smith's Siri port can be credited to the iPhone Dev Team's recent discovery of a preliminary jailbreak for the iPhone 4S. This made it possible to get an authentication token for Siri from Apple's latest iPhone. Troughton-Smith said he'd known for some time that his code for porting Siri to the iPhone 4 required an authentication token from the iPhone 4S, but without a jailbroken device, obtaining that token was difficult if not impossible. But after meeting with Paul, who had access to the DevTeam's unreleased jailbreak, the pair tried out Troughton-Smith's code and it worked almost right away.
Siri Unchained
It's not clear when the Siri port will be released. Troughton-Smith said he first wants to confirm it works properly, is secure, and doesn't break other apps or functions on iOS devices. It's likely the Siri port will be available after a public release of iPhone 4S jailbreak tools.
But even once the code is released, porting Siri to the iPhone 4 and other iOS devices won't be for the faint of heart. Troughton-Smith said he plans to release source code to the tools he made, but won't create a compiled program to help you do the port. In part, Troughton-Smith is leery of creating a specific jailbreak tool, because it may be grounds for Apple to sue for copyright infringement since a complete Siri hack tool requires modifying and distributing system files taken from an iPhone 4S.
For Troughton-Smith, the Siri hack isn't really about creating the final tool, but solving the technical challenge presented by moving Siri to other iOS devices. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could make Siri work," Troughton-Smith said. "To make it easy for everyone else I'll leave to whomever takes the reins after this."
The iPhone 4 may not be the only device to get some unofficial Siri love. Troughton-Smith plans to test his solution on the iPhone 3GS in November.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
iphone 4s battery: Apple begins investigation into iPhone 4S battery life
According to a report from The Guardian, Apple engineers have started contacting vocal iPhone 4S owners that have been complaining about the rapidly draining iPhone 4S battery. During the initial iPhone 4S presentation earlier this month, Apple mentioned that standby time for the iPhone 4S battery was rated at about 200 hours or a bit over eight days.
This is a large drop from the 300 hour standby time of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, likely due to the upgrades to the internal hardware within the iPhone 4S. One iPhone 4S user reported that standby mode was eating up approximately ten percent of the battery power each hour and eventually draining the battery by the end of the workday.
iPhone-4S-battery-lifeWhile Apple engineers haven’t specifically identified the problem yet, many iPhone 4S users have collectively pointed to location services as the main culprit for the drain on the battery. Specifically, the “Setting Time Zone” function within iOS 5 that corrects the Time Zone as a user travels to different areas of the world is constantly attempting to check the current Time Zone.
iPhone 4S owners who identified this problem see the purple, location arrow icon beside the toggle setting within the menu. This means that the Time Zone has been checked within the last 24 hours. Users that have turned off the Time Zone feature, as well as many other location functions of the phone, have reported vastly improved battery life on the iPhone 4S as well as other iPhones that have upgraded to iOS 5.
The “Setting Time Zone” function can be located within Settings, moving into “Location Services”, scrolling down to “System Services” and sliding the toggle on “Setting Time Zone”. Apple engineers will likely adjust settings within the next iOS 5 update to modify how often location-based apps are automatically updated to allow for greater battery life for all iPhone 4S users.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
What You Need To Know about Nokia Lumia 800 and 710
Nokia officially unveiled on Wednesday what company CEO Stephen Elop called "the first real Windows Phone," the Nokia Lumia 800 and its lower-end cousin, Lumia 710. The 800's design is very similar (some might say a carbon copy) to the critically-acclaimed MeeGo-based Nokia N9. The N9 was also mourned by reviewers since it was Nokia's first and last MeeGo phone, and a device that never shipped in the U.S. Nokia said the Lumia 800 will start shipping in Europe in November for about $580. The 710 will cost about $375 and will first ship to Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year.
It's not clear how many of these extras will be included in Nokia's American Windows Phone line-up.
Nokia plans to introduce a range of Windows Phone devices in the U.S. in early 2012, but it's not clear if the Lumia 800 and 710 would be part of the U.S. line-up. Nevertheless, since the Lumia 800 is being hailed as "the first real Windows Phone" here's a breakdown of the company's first crack at Windows Phone 7.
Lumia 800 Specs
The Lumia 800 has a 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display with 800-by-480 resolution. ClearBlack is a Nokia technology the company says makes the screen more visible outdoors. The new smartphone is packing a single-core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512 MB RAM, 16GB onboard storage, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, micro-USB port, 8 megapixel camera with a f/2.2 Carl Zeiss lens and 720p video capture at 30 frames-per-second. Nokia claims the handset has up to 9.5 hours of talk time and up to 55 hours of music playback. The 800 weighs about 5 ounces and comes in Black, Cyan and Magenta.
Mango and Extras
Both the 800 and the 710 are running Mango, the latest Phone 7 release that includes features such as multitasking, an improved Web browser and a Wi-Fi hotspot mode. Nokia also packed in a bunch of extras such as Nokia Drive, a free turn-by-turn directions app for more than 100 countries, Nokia Music store with MixRadio streaming, and an ESPN sports hub exclusive to Nokia Windows Phones that lets you follow news, stats, scores from your favorite sports teams.
It's not clear how many of these extras will be included in Nokia's American Windows Phone line-up. More other business:
The Lumia 710 has a few similar features to the 800 including a 3.7-inch with 800-by-480 resolution, although the 710's display is TFT and not AMOLED. Both devices also have the same 1.4 GHz processor and 512MB RAM. The 710 also has 8GB internal storage, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, micro-USB port. The 710 has a talk time claim of up to 7 hours and up to 38 hours of music playback. The 710 weighs nearly 4.5 ounces and comes in a variety of interchangeable covers on the back including black, white, cyan, fuchsia, and yellow and black or white on the front.
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