Design

A white iPhone 4S- Courtesy of Engadget

The iPhone 4S keeps the same design as the CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4. The front and back are made out of glass. The side band (antenna #1) is made out of an aluminium. On the front we see the front-facing camera and ambient light sensor, a 3.5″ “retina” display, and the home button. The back of the device sports a new 8-megapixel camera and LED flash, the Apple and iPhone logos, and some legal stuff. On the left we see two individual volume up and down buttons and the sound/silent toggle switch. If we flip the device over, we see the SIM card slot, which the CDMA iPhone 4 left behind. The bottom gives us a 30-pin dock connector, the microphone, and the speaker. Finally, on top, is the 3.5″ headphone jack and sleep wake button.

The design is absolutely beautiful; a work of art. It looks sporty but professional at the same time. I give it a 9/10. What kept this device from getting a 10/10? The glass picks up fingerprints and dust; and if you aren’t careful, may shatter when you drop it.

Operating System

My iPhone Running 5.0.1

The iPhone 4S comes with Apple iOS 5 preinstalled. This, in my opinion, is one of the easiest to use but yet most powerful operating systems out here. It’s main competitor is Android, which are both outstanding mobile operating systems. Not much explaining to do here, and I give it an 8/10.

A Quick Look at the Internals

Display: 3.5″ “Retina Display” at 640 x 960-very good, but may be hard to see in direct sunlight.

Processor: Apple A5 dual-core 2.0Ghz- blazing fast.

Rear Camera: 8-megapixel auto-focus with LED flash- outstanding for a mobile device.

Front Camera: Good for FaceTime and self portraits and not much else.

Battery Life: Shaky and first but got better with 5.0.1 update

Call Quality: Respectable

Internal Speaker: Not as good as some other smartphones these days, but acceptable.

Price with 2-year contract (for all major U.S. carriers): $199 16GB white or black, $299 32GB white or black, $399 64GB white or black.

Price without 2-year contract (for all major U.S. carriers): $650 16GB white or black, $750 32GB white or black, $850 64GB white or black.

An iPhone 4S With the Jett Metal

Crack Thud Thud: That’s the sound your iPhone 4 makes when it hits the ground with no case on. Fortunately for you, Case Mate was a line of great line of cases to keep your iPhone safe and crack-free. Today I’ll be taking a look at the higher-end Jett Metal case for iPhone 4 and 4S.

Design

This case consists of an aluminum band which is attached to the phone with two small screws at the bottom of the device. This is undoubtedly one of the sexiest cases you can get for your iPhone, even if it is $50. The curves on the case feel just fit, and fit into your pocket with ease, unlike those horrible $10 silicon cases that I hate so much. At the bottom and top of the case, there are several grooves mainly for looks, but provide more accessibility to the various ports and buttons.

Accessibility

The Jett Metal covers up all the switches on the side of the device, so it substitutes it’s own little buttons which match the case itself. The dock connector is covered, which actually makes iPhone docks unusable. Even third-party docks just don’t fit which is an unfortunate aspect of the phone. I actually don’t like the external buttons, because they’re tiny, and a bugger to find if you drop them. That being said, it’s nice knowing that the entire phone is being protected, even if you have to make some small sacrifices.

The Case Mate Jett Metal

Protection

The thick aluminum band on the Jett Metal will provide your phone protection from pretty much all drops, as well as scratches to the band. As the front and back glass are quite exposed, the guys over at Case Mate were nice enough to throw in a front and back screen protector, to provide protection from scratches. These aren’t really needed though, as the Jett Metal as a lip both on front and back to protection from scratches on any flat surface. It’s always nice to have more protection though.

The Top of the Jett Metal

Accessibility

The Jett is actually a two-part case, in other words you have to assemble it. You have to get all the little buttons into place, then sandwich the whole thing together to get a clean cut iPhone case. The steps to set up the case are minimal, and Case Mate provides everything you need to get it fitted in no time. They even include extra screws in case you lose some. The Jett works with both the 4 and 4S models, so you don’t need to worry about getting the right one.

The Jett Metal in Red

Value

For $50, this is one expensive case for your iPhone 4S. You can get other cases for less than half that, but you are really paying for quality and design with the Jett Metal. I don’t like how a lot of accessories don’t work with the Jett Metal, but there’s not really much you can do in that department. If you enjoy a good-looking phone, with protection that goes all the way, then the CaseMate Jett Metal is right for you.

You can get your own Case Mate Jett Metal for $50 on Amazon.com

It’s that time of year again; Apple recently released the new version of the iPhone: the 4S. Boasting new additions such as Siri, this new phone was shown by Apple as the best yet. In the following review, I will be going over the new additions to the phone, along with several other things.

SIRI

The newest addition to the iPhone is called Siri. This is a new type of voice command that is special to the iPhone. The app “understands” exactly what you are saying, then completes an action based on what you ask it. For example, if you tell your phone that you want Italian food in your local city, it will pull up a list of all near-by Italian restaurants. In my opinion, this is the coolest part of the iPhone. Although the Siri servers have been fluctuating up and down for the last couple of days due to high numbers of new users, it will hopefully be consistently up as the number of users diminishes. From my experience, the system has been about 95% right. As most of you know, old voice recognition systems would botch whatever you were saying and tell you it couldn’t help. Siri is shockingly smart. I applaud Apple for their amazing development to future voice-recognition devices.

CAMERA

The iPhone 4S has a Fifth Lens

I have one word for the camera on the 4s: wow. This is the greatest phone camera I have ever seen. The 8-megapixel front and back camera deliver perfect crisp pictures with delicate layering. The new multi-person auto-focus is extremely nice. I was with friends last night, and we all decided to take a picture with my phone. My 4s was able to detect everyone’s faces and take a focused picture. This is a huge improvement from the last iPhone. The HD 1080p video that has also been added is gorgeous. The video is perfect.

SPEED INCREASES:

This is by far the fastest iPhone yet. Because of the A5 chip also in the iPad 2, the phone is supposed to be 7 times faster than the last one. The speed in which apps open up, pictures are taken, and generally everything is ran is mind boggling. I just hope that the next iPhone will find a way to be even faster; if that is even possible… Running IOS 5, this phone has unbelievable capabilities. It has never lagged once, and connecting to wifi or internet is much faster. This phone makes every application ten times better with better graphics, speed, and feel.

THE BIG QUESTION: SHOULD I UPRGADE?

There are many of you out there, just like me, who have the 3gs and are waiting for your contract to expire so you can get a new phone. If you are in this situation: yes. Go to the store as soon as your contract expires, and buy the 4s. It is such a spectacular piece of work, there is no way to pass it up. However, if you have a 4 and are wondering, there is an option. If you do have an extra pile of cash that you are willing to spend, then yes, get the phone. But, if not, wait until the next one comes out. It will be worth it in time.

HELPFUL TIPS

Protect your phone. So far, every iPhone 4 that I have seen without a case is cracked. Spend the money, and get a nice case that protects the screen. A screen protector is not always necessary as long as you don’t put it in your pocket with keys or something like that. Also, set up an account for find my iPhone. This application will display a screen on the phone with a number to call and will lock the phone with a password. I also prefer the black because the white version seems to get scratched much easier. But that’s just my opinion, get what suits you.

The new iPhone 4S is available on AT&T, Sprint, and TMobile with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB for $199, $299, and $399 respectively on a 2-year contract.

Image Source: TechNGadgetz

I know you all were expecting an OSX Lion review. Well, do not worry that will come later. On Tuesday, Apple held a meeting discussing there new quarter earnings. Now, I know this news is two days old, but its very incredible. Apple absolutely blew the doors off with their new earnings. Apple had a 124 percent year-on-year sales increase according to the IBTimes. The main player in the meeting, was CFO of Apple Peter Oppenheimer. He said that the iPad 2 absolutely cannibalized the Mac along with destroying PC (Microsoft Computer’s) sales. I now see why Apple would want to add some iOS technology to OSX Lion, so both products get a fair share. Oppenheimer also announced that day that Lion would be coming out on Wednesday and that iOS 5 would be coming “later this Fall.” I am not surprised Apple is at this position. They are, indeed, a very successful tech company. However, bad news leaked later that day concerning about a Steve Jobs replacement. That took a hit at Apples stock.

Your thoughts on this are very much appreciated, leave a comment below!

Source: IBTimes

While Verizon iPhones have Hotspot features already it’s AT&T brother will be getting it March 11th with the release of iOS 4.3. The feature is going to allow AT&T user to create wireless WiFi hotspots with there phones, to be used with other devices. To get the hotspot feature it is going to cost you an extra $20 a month and have a $25/mo 2GB Data Pro plan on their handset, The hotspot plan adds an additional 2GB to the existing 2GB data plan so you have 4GB to play with and tether around. Verizon’s hotspot plan is similar but you they have unlimited data on the phone and only 2GB of tether data.

Additional GB of data on AT&T are $10/GB, while additional GB on Verizon are $20/GB.

Give me your thoughts on this and if you think it’s worth getting for the cost. I had it back when the 3g iPhone was new and i loved it, due to the amount of traveling i do for work it was very handy. There are products out there now like the Rover Puck that give you 4G WiFi tethering with no contract so is it really worth it to get it on your iPhone?

In the world of mobile phones speed is everything, With new phones and new technology coming out all the time. The one thing we have not seen yet is the first duel-core CPU cell phone; until now. Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG’s mobile division announced that they will be releasing the Optimus Black this spring. The Optimus is the worlds first cell phone that features a duel-core CPU!  What that means for consumers is faster downloads, Smoother operation, less lag, and better gaming.  This is going to be the first phone in a long line of duel-core phones to be released in the near future. The Optimus also has an industry leading “Nova” display allowing it to have the worlds brightest screen.  With a 1GHz processor and Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip, It allows you to play games and watch videos in full 1080 HD on the phones 4in display.  It is going to be an Android OS and will shipped with Android 2.2, upgradeable to 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Some of the features of the new Optimus are

~Front facing camera (with video chat capability)

~8Mp rear camera

~8Gb of internal memory (expandable to 32Gb)

~9.2mm thick (thinner than iPhone4)

I have used a lot of screen protectors in my life and these “EzGuardz” are some of the worst I have ever used. The surface is very rough which makes scrolling and playing games miserable. They are hard to put on and leave bubbles unless you use water (which is risky). Even after an expert application with water, there were still many bubbles. After leaving these things on for a few days, there is a noticeably large amount of scratches on the screen protectors themselves.

The only good thing about this product is the cost and the fact that it comes with 5 screen protectors. Honestly, it’s not worth the $4 as you’ll want to take off the screen protector as soon as you put it on. But if you just need a quick lot of screen protectors for skiing or something where your screen is likely to get scratched, then the ExGuardz are a quick, disposable solution. I suggest taking a look at the stuff Amzer has to offer if you want a nice screen protector.

Overall, the EzGuardz for Samsung Focus get a 5/10. They are available for $3.99 on Amazon with free shipping.

This feature packed phone from Samsung gets an 8/10. Buy it on Amazon:
http://wireless.amazon.com/dp/B003TXSKNE

Today, 10/10/10, at 10:10:10, GreenPois0n, a SHA-tter based jailbreak tool by the Chronic Dev team, was supposed to be released to the public. But guess who decided to show up yesterday with their own unpatcheable jailbreaker? GeoHot. Don’t worry if you don’t know who he is; all you need to know is that he is greatly disliked in the jailbreaking developer community.

Anyway, he appeared with Limera1n, an unpatcheable tool to jailbreak your iOS4.1 and beyond devices (unpatcheable means that Apple won’t be able to block the bootroom exploit with a new hardware revision for current generation devices), and the Chronic Dev team was forced to delay their much awaited tool. They state in their official blog post:

Thanks to the irresponsible antics of geohot, we will have to delay the release of greenpois0n (new ETA = as soon as possible), so that we have time to clean up his little mess and integrate the exploit he uses in limera1n into greenpois0n. This way, we can save SHAtter for future devices that may still be vulnerable to it.

We know that this is not what some people want to hear, but due to geohot needing to feed his ego (as usual) and revealing his limera1n exploit, we do not have any other responsible options.

The reason they decided not to go ahead and release GreenPois0n is that Limera1n uses a different bottom exploit than the Chronic Dev Team and the iPhone Dev Team used, which means that both tools wouldn’t work when Apple releases its next generation devices, so they’d rather use GreenP0ison for future devices.

The question is: Should you jailbreak your iOS4.1 device using GeoHot’s buggy beta tool, or should you wait for it to drop the ‘beta’ title (which I predict won’t happen any time soon)?

Known issues/bugs are:

some people must reboot to see Cydia
some people still don’t have windows
beta iOS versions aren’t supported
iPod Touch 2G support coming soon
for 3G, use redsn0w
limera1n app is a white box, i know. use it anyway.

I haven’t jailbroken my iPod 4G yet, I’d rather wait instead of risking it, but it’s up to you. We aren’t responsible for any damage made to your device due to Limera1n.

Download link (Windows only, DOWNLOAD AT YOUR OWN RISK): http://limera1n.com/limera1n.exe

Have you/will you/are you considering the option of jailbreaking your iOS 4.1 device? Why or why not? Leave your comment below.

Email the author of this post at pablo@omnitechnews.net.

So once you’ve launched the application, you’ll be greeted with this screen. The bar at the bottom shows how much free space you have left on your device. Now all you need to do is hit start.

Once you hit start, the upper bar will generate an IP address. This can either be just typed right into your computer’s URL bar or shortened using the “short” button to the right.

After entering the IP address into your URL bar, you’ll see this site. This is where you can upload, download, and all around manage your files. So, you can upload your files here on your home computer, and then download them using the same basic process on your work computer.

Overall, this app is definitely worth buying. It’s a really handy tool that can give you access to quite a bit of storage. It’s also a lot cheaper than buying a whole hard drive or flash drive. Thanks to TapTouchClick for providing me with a promo code for this tutorial. Simple Drive can be purchased here: http://simple-drive.com/.