New App for my iPhone: Angry Birds

So, I have finally succumbed to the temptation and bought the much talked about app on iTunes, Angry Birds. Even though I have got the app on my phone, I have yet to play it so once I do, I will post a more detailed review of the game here.

iOS 4 Ready for Download

Yay! The new iOS 4 is now ready for download.

Just link your iPhone to your iTunes and click on update and the software will do the rest of the installing. I wanna get home soon so that I can download. My crappy office network blocks traffic from Apple's website so it's impossible to download. =(

iPhone 4 Goes on Sale June 24

So dear old Steve Jobs has finally announced the golden date.

June 24th. Mark that down in your calendar. That day will be the day that lucky mortals in United States, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Japan will get their hands on the coveted iPhone 4.

Yes. Mark that date right now especially if you happen to be in these 5 countries. Me? Nope. Gotta wait it out. =(

Read more on the iPhone 4 from Engadget

You can go to Engadget's website to read more about Apple's new iPhone 4 here. It's all taken from Steve's presentation at the WWDC 2010. =D

Totally awesomeness on iPhone 4

Steve Jobs said: "You gotta see this in person. This is beyond the doubt, the most precise thing, and one of the most beautiful we've ever made. Glass on the front and back, and steel around the sides. It's like a beautiful old Leica camera."

"24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS. "

"Here are the volume controls... we have a front facing camera, micro SIM tray, camera and LED flash on the back..." 

"Something we call the Retina Display. What's that? In any display there are pixels. We dramatically increased the pixel density, Four times the amount."

"Because we have four times as many pixels, we get really, really sharp text. Now the retina display as 326 pixels per inch."

"Bang! 960 x 640 display"

"3.5 inch display"

" the iPhone 4 is powered by the A4 chip. This was designed by our own team. This is wonderful to have in the iPhone. You take the back off -- first thing you notice is that the iPhone 4 is packed to the gills. There's the A4 right there... micro SIM -- we needed the space! You can see the biggest component is the battery."

"7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music..."

"And 300 hours of standby."

"Quad band HSDPA, 7.2Mbps."

"Dual mics, 802.11n WiFi, GPS, compass, accelerometer."

"We're adding a 3 axis gyro, and we tied the gyro and accelerometer, compass, and gyro together for six axis. It's perfect for gaming."

"Now everybody loves to talk about megapixels, but we tend to ask the question how do we make better pictures? Megapixels are nice, but what these cameras are really about is capturing photons and low light photography. So we've gone from 3 megapixel to 5 megapixel, but we're using a backside illuminated sensor."

"In addition to that, when most people increase megapixels they make them smaller, but we've kept ours the same size. They don't capture less photons. 5x digital zoom, tap to focus, and we've got an LED flash."

"records HD video" ... 720p at 30fps!

"iMovie on iPhone 4"

"iOS 4!"

"Multitasking!"

"I wanted to hit on the enterprise stuff. Data protection, device management, multiple Exchange accounts... and on the consumer side, we have Google search and Yahoo!, and we're adding Bing."

"Number seven - iBooks. We are bringing it to the iPhone with the iPhone 4."

"We'll have it on the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod touch. What can we do with these together? First, you can purchase and download a book. It will download wirelessly. You can download the same book to all your devices at no extra charge. Buy it on your iPad, download to your iPhone. And iBooks will automatically and wirelessly sync your current place, all your bookmarks, and all your notes."

"Number eight... iAds. Why are we doing iAds? To help our developers earn money."

"We're going to turn on iAd on July 1st for all iOS 4 devices."

"It's called FaceTime. WiFi only. iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. No setup."

"Pricing -- there's two colors. White and black. Pricing -- $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB."

"These go on sale June 24th."

"Pre-orders start a week from tomorrow. And we're shipping in 5 countries. In July we're shipping in 18 more." 

Gosh! That is so much more than what my iPhone 3GS is offering!!! And tomorrow is 8 June 2010!

If you are wondering, the 5 countries are United States (duh), France, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan. Lucky Japan since it's the only country in the East to get special privilege from Apple.

One last thing from Steve Jobs:

"And I'd like to talk for minute about iOS 4 upgrades. For the 3G, not all the features are supported, same with the iPod touch, and this excludes the first generation. Upgrades are free for all these products."

And the WWDC continues on...

*Credit to Steve Jobs and Engadget*

Steve Jobs Live on WWDC Keynote! iPhone 4 Arrives!

Oh gosh!!!! It's for real. The boss of Apple has just confirmed it. The newest generation, iPhone 4, has arrived at California!

Right now, Steve Jobs is live at the WWDC keynote and this is a liveblog feed. He is going through the new specifications of the iPhone 4 and it certainly has many many new features that makes me wanna change my iPhone 3GS and mind you, it was still a new model since it was released only last year.

Oh man, Apple has got everybody all keyed up for its new offering and no one will let it go without ever showing its new baby and no, I'm not talking about the iPad. The feed is still live as Steve is still in the midst of his presentation.

Gotta go!!!

Movie Watch: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Last night, I managed to watch this movie that I wasn't able to catch while it was screening in the cinemas. Through one of the Apps, I got to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on my iPhone.

The quality wasn't that bad, considering that the screen of the iPhone is small compared to a cinema screen. The movie wasn't that bad and I enjoyed the humour that peppered throughout the movie. Not to mention that this movie is full of greek myths and I love greek myths. (^o^)/

We follow the story of Percy, son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He gets accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Zeus demands the return of the bolt within 14 days, on the midnight of summer solstice, failing which a war will be waged upon Earth and Poseidon. Together with Annabeth, daughter of Athena and Grover, his personal protector, Percy gets to go on the journey of his life when he makes his way to hell and Olympus to convince the gods of his innocence.

I love the part where Percy fights with Medusa using the back of a shiny iPhone to avoid staring at her eyes directly. Slapstick humour is gratefully provided in the form of Grover, a satyr or a goat-man. He was initially thought to be a cripple until he revealed his goat legs to Percy in the moment of danger.

 

Medusa gets distracted by the iPhone while Percy strikes.

The whole movie smells of Harry Potter and that could certainly be attributed to its director, Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter films. The CGI effects are awesome, with real-looking monsters going after Percy to Medusa's hair of snakes.

Plus Persephone totally rocks in this movie with her sharp-tongued dialogue with her hell husband, Hades.

Hades: [yelling] Persephone! What could possibly be taking so long? Don't ignore me!
Persephone: [yells back] Or what? What will you do?
[quietly]
Persephone: I'm already in Hell.

Other humorous quotes include:

Chiron: [from trailer] Use this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon.
Percy Jackson: This is a pen.
Chiron: Only use it in times of severe distress.
Percy Jackson: This is a *pen*.

--

Percy Jackson: Oh I wish I could spend all day in the water instead of this place
Grover: Oh like High School without the musical

--  

It doesn't hurt that the star of the show, Logan Lerman, looks so handsome.See his pictures below.

Overall the movie is not too bad and the CGI effects should look great in the cinemas. Too bad I can only watch it only on my iPhone but at least I got to watch it. It's better than none. Plus it is apt to know that Hollywood has been chosen to be the gate to the depths of hell while the Empire State Building is chosen to be the gate to Olympus.

^_^

Apple announces iPhone OS 4.0

Wow... Apple is really going places with its hugely popular product, the iPhone. The latest news from Apple announced that OS 4.0 is going to be released for the iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod touch and iPad.

This new OS will add one critical function to the iPhone, multitasking. Currently, the iPhone is not able to multitasking and each time a new App is opened, the existing App will be closed. In other words, switching between Apps is not possible right now.

Other touchscreen phones are able to multitask without any hitches, so it's high time that Apple should follow suit in its competitors' footsteps. With multitasking, the iPhone is seriously going to kick some ass.

When the new OS comes, I can switch between my Facebook App and eBuddy App without closing either one of them. This saves me lots of trouble in opening and closing Apps all the time.

Hopefully Apple will continue to put in more attractive and relevant features so that the phone will be a better product that rises above its competitors.

Dinner and Karaoke with Queenie @ Suntec City

Today I met up with Queenie for dinner as well as karaoke. Well the karaoke was decided at the last minute as we don't know of any other activities that we could do at night. Furthermore, recent offerings at the cinemas are not so good and thus karaoke is the only option left.

For dinner, we went to the Ministry of Food at Suntec City. This a a new fusion Japanese restaurant that serves nice Japanese food. The best thing of all is that it even serves onigiri, a Japanese staple that can't be found in Singapore.

My choice of food can be seen in the pictures below: 

Onigiri! My favourite!

Well, I sure eat a lot of food, as you can see from the pictures above. The tamago sushi is also not bad and its sweetness is just right.

After we finished our food, we went to Kbox for our karaoke session. I was surprised to see that Queenie is finally using an iPhone. She works in the IT industry yet is one of the last people to get the fabled iPhone. Amazing, eh? She put her iPhone to good use by checking out the operating hours of the Kbox outlet in Marina Square.

It's amazing how long we could actually sing if given the time. We checked in at around 8+pm and by the time we ended, it was 2+am in the morning. Wow.... It was so rare to get Queenie to accompany me for so long since she's always busy and running out of time. Perhaps she is making up for lost time? Or could it be that the next time that we can meet is gonna be a long time from now?

Oh well, at least tonight we got to sing like crazy. So that's all for now.

TuzkiSnap is one cool App!

I have just downloaded this fun and cute app from the iTunes App Store and can't stop myself from playing with it.

TuzkiSnap is solely made for the iPhone and users can either use a new photo or choose one from their existing library to use the features on the app. For my first shot, I took a picture of the dried grass patch that can be seen from my kitchen. I did mentioned before that the weather is extremely hot these days and I am using this snap to show it. After taking the shot, I can add accessories like frames and little tuzki around the picture. The final result is shown below:

Well, it is not a very fanstastic shot and my photography skills are awful but that's the best I can make do for now. From the picture, you can see that all the grass have turned brown due to lack of water and the extreme hot sun. Looks like we have to endure this sort of weather for quite a while. In fact, our meteorological station had stated that this is the driest February we ever had in 140 years.

Gosh that is so hot and dry! It's as though we are living in a desert. Tropical countries are really pain in the ass to live in, you know? I hope that I can get out of this country when the opportunity comes.

Nonetheless, I have lots of fun playing around with TzukiSnap and I used some old photos for decorations too. Strangely enough, I can't upload those processed photos onto Facebook. Hmm... I wonder what went wrong. In fact, I had to email the above picture to my gmail inbox then save it on desktop before uploading it to a hosting site. That was so much work.

Oh well I shall have to explore further to get the basics of this app. For now, it's snap time! >O<

Yay! Manga on my iPhone!

I have finally figured out how to create manga files and read them on my iPhone using this software that I downloaded from the Apps Store.

eManga helps to create manga files by using its own software and then synchronizes with a compatible iPhone to the manga library. It is quite a nifty software and I can read my favourite mangas on my iPhone.

The only thing is that it requires a lot of effort in creating the manga files from my own database. That alone takes up a lot of time as I need to sort out the cover page, credits page and the manga pages into the software during the creation.

With the amount of time it takes, I am better off reading my mangas off the computer and it sure doesn't take up much time either.

Loading some mangas on my iPhone can help to pass the time while travelling outside. So far I have loaded a bit of 07 Ghost, Penguin Prince and Zettai Kareshi.

Anyway my real problem is not getting to read mangas on my iPhone but how to manage my huge manga collection in my external hard disk. My 1TB external hard disk is already maxed out and I still have more new manga releases to be stored. It looks like I have got to buy another external hard disk soon. Thank goodness the IT show is coming on 11 March and I can resolve my storage issue for now.

Still, I have got to plan out how to manage my storage space efficiently since I can't be buying external hard disks all the time if I run out of space to keep my e-data. Man, I wonder if anyone could offer me a permanent solution to this and no, I don't have a DVD writer either. This kind of sucks.

My manga collection can take up a lot of space in a disk. Oh, I also have my anime collection too. So these two collections are more than enough to suck up all the free space in my 1TB disk. Scary eh?

I seriously need some advice on this storage issue. Gah! X_X

Now I'm A Fanatic. Or Not.

Like many other millions of users out there, I went ahead and bought myself an iPhone 3GS earlier tonight at the Singtel hello shop at Takashimaya Shopping Centre.

I suppose you can say that it is an impulse buy for I had no original intent to buy anything tonight, other than having a dinner appointment with my university friends, Joanna and Vanessa. All I wanted to do was to check out the corporate price plan for buying and using the iPhone and voila! I ended up being an iPhone owner overnight.

My dear NTT Docomo Sharp phone has barely been used for half a year, mind you. The only saving grace that the iPhone will have over my SH-06A is the connection to Singtel's satellite. Now I will no longer experience a sudden signal cut from my phone.

I bought the white version of the 16GB model. Too bad the phone doesn't come in red. That would have been a killer model.

Nonetheless my fingers are not quite used to the typing on the iPhone's screen keyboard as I tend to hit the wrong letters. Just writing a SMS to my friend takes me around 10 mins as I just can't get the hang of the keyboard. Argh... I gotta keep practicing to master the typing for this iPhone.

Anyway I am not to going to become an Apple fanatic who gets all defensive if someone else critisize my phone. Go ahead. I also can't stand some of the nitty gritty details that are missing on the iPhone. For example, changing the ringtones and SMS tones should not be made so difficult. I know Apple wants to make more money but simply getting users to pay US$0.99 for a ringtone for a song that they already own in the first place is bullshit. That kind of money-grubbing attitude from Apple is something that I can't stand. Apple stands to earn millions just from selling songs via its iTunes store. Why does it need to earn more by forcing iPhone users to buy their ringtones from Apple? It doesn't make any sense to me.

I managed to get around changing my ringtones on the iPhone without buying them from the iTunes store but I can't change my SMS tones. Those are way too tough and require a jailbroken iPhone. I am not going to jailbreak my iPhone for the sake of some measly SMS tones.

Next, the wallpaper setting on the iPhone is quite weird. I only can see my wallpaper each time I unlock my iPhone to get to the main screen. The home screen doesn't show my wallpaper but a black blank background. Not very appealing to me. Being able to display the wallpaper on the home screen is a basic mobile phone function yet the iPhone is not that clever enough to allow that.

Then there's the odd missing function of allowing you to copy your contacts from your iPhone to your SIM card. Strangely enough, this function is not implemented by Apple. The only way iPhone owners can save their contacts is to sync to a PC via Microsoft Outlook. That is so unnecessary and stupid. Even my SH-06A can do this simple task. Why not the iPhone? That said, many experts acknowledge that the iPhone is not the most technologically advanced smartphone out there. It just happen to be the most user-friendly and the most popular, mostly thanks to Apple's skilled marketing tactics.

Oh well, I'll see how it goes for me. I hope I haven't wasted my bucks for nothing. See ya on the iPhone next time.

iPhone price plans for M1 and Starhub out

Finally we get to compare the pricing plans for the highly sought after Apple iPhone offered by both M1 and Starhub. They have joined the market which used to be dominated by Singtel. How do their plans score?

Cnet has compiled a table for easy reference. The official date launch for both telcos are 9th December 2009, which is this coming Wednesday. Will many Singtel customers make the switch? For me, I am still under a current contract with Singtel and that will only be due next May. So I have got a long wait ahead of me.

Still it wouldn't hurt to start researching and comparing those prices. On the other hand, Singtel has announced they will be making revisions to their current price plans for the iPhone. How much of a difference it will make depends on how big (or small) the revisions are.

I shall be waiting for Singtel's move before making the final decision.

All 3 Telcos in Singapore to carry the iPhone 3GS

The latest news from CNET is circulating around the web, that Starhub is the latest telco to announce that they will start carrying the iconic iPhone. Singtel has been selling the iPhone since August 2008 whereas MobileOne announced in October that they will start carrying the iPhone at the end of this year.

iPhone 3GS

This is nothing but good for all consumers in Singapore as it could mean that the iPhone could come cheaper and more affordable for many people to buy. For me, I won't be able to buy any contract phone as my two years mobile contract is not yet due for renewal. The earliest time for me is next May so I might as well sit back and relax.

This goes to show how big of a success iPhone has proven itself to be worthy of Apple's new cashcow status since the iPod days. Everywhere you go, people can be seen carrying or using an iPhone in one way or another. I think it's only a matter of time before the iPhone will overthrow Nokia as the world's top selling mobile phone ever.

How will the local mobile phone scene play out for the telcos and the consumers? It could potentially lead to a pricing war between the 3 telcos or it may not. However the consumers only has goodness to gain from it all. It's the telcos' fight to earn and keep the consumer dollar firmly in their hands. Only their pricing plans will sway consumers successfully to their side, provided it's the most competitive amongst all.

I can barely wait for the drumroll to start. =D

New iPhone 3G S Coming

I had just received an advertisement from Apple, which states that they will be launching the newest version of the iPhone, iPhone 3G S, worldwide soon.

Apple claims that this iPhone is the fastest phone yet and it will come in 16GB and 32Gb sizes. Naturally prices will be high due to the foreign exchange rates. Singtel will be bringing the phone in July 2009, that's 1 more month to go.

Let's see how the reception to the new phone will be like. My guess is that it will be phenomenal as this version addresses a lot of issues that current owners have with their iPhone 3G. I shall wait and see if it would be worthwhile to buy. Otherwise I will settle for a Japanese mobile phone instead.

I shall write more about that the next time. See ya!

New HTC Magic

Whoa, andriod phones are starting to invade the mobile phone market and the newest model from HTC is the MTC Magic.




It looks so much better than its predecessor, the HTC Dream. So far not much details are known about this phone except that it doesn't come with a slide out keyboard like the HTC Dream.

Based on looks, it sure wins over the HTC Dream anytime but iPhone is still way too sleek for its competitors to catch up to it in terms of the looks.

So far reports are saying that the phone will be selling in Europe but no releases has been announced for Asia yet. By the time that release comes, Apple will probably have released its third version of its hugely popular iPhone, which is slated for an update this July.

New iPhone Coming Soon?

There are rumours afloat on the internet that Apple might be releasing a new generation of its hugely popular iPhone soon.



If that's the case, I might be able to get my hands on the new iPhone by the end of this year. Hopefully Singtel will get to sell the new phone and at a competitive price so that I can buy it.

I like the phone more for its design rather functionality. However it does not seem to be doing very bad in the funtionality department either. If the latest reincarnation of the iPhone manage to address all the grips that current iPhone users have, then it would be the best phone in the world.

Whether Apple will have a successful 2009 or not probably depends on this new baby. If the new phone turns out to be lousy, then Steve Jobs will have lots of fans to answer to.

Anyway I'm still stuck on contract with my Nokia N95 8GB till next August so it's kind of early for me to buy anything. *sighs*

Rumours of an Apple Netbook?

Rumours are abound with leaked news that Apple will be producing its own version of a netbook, the only computer firm that has yet to release any.

If the rumours are to be believed, Apple will release a touchscreen-enabled netbook that will offers the company's signature sophisticated gadgets and operating software.

At this moment in time, one can only hope how Apple won't be pricing the supposed netbook way out of netbook range. Otherwise we are better off with web-browsing on its iPhone. Hey, I just thought of a lame name for the netbook, iNet. Wahahaha!

If the netbook comes out with that name, you know you read it here first.

iPhone 3G Glory

Now that I am starting to get excited over the iPhone 3G (i know it's a long time), I am keeping a lookout for any good iPhone 3G deals from Singtel.

In the meantime, I can only goggle at these iPhone 3G pictures:


















There are even talks of a red iPhone that might be released by Apple in conjuction with the holiday season as well as to boost the sales for the PRODUCT(RED) charity project.

I wonder what are the next plans that Apple has for its red-hot product. Last time, it used to be its own iPods, now its overtaken by its own iPhone. Things are certainly looking more and more exciting now.

For the consumers, things can only get better.

Microsoft Makes its First iPhone App

According to CNET, Microsoft have just rolled out its first iPhone application, Seadragon Mobile, which was added to Apple's iTunes on Saturday.

Seadragon Mobile is a free image-browsing app that allows users to quickly "deep zoom" images while online and is intended to demonstrate what is possible with a mobile platform.

Hmmm, looks like the iPhone is starting to get attractive as the days go by. Many interesting and fun accessories and apps have been made specially for the iPhone. So much so that even I have been tempted to want to buy an iPhone for myself.

Too bad I had bought my Nokia N95 8GB way back in August and if I want to do a handset upgrade, I have to wait till August 2009. However, I have got another phone line to my name but its of a lower value and the number is different. I wonder if I could use that to upgrade my handset but limit it to my own mobile number?

That sounds very complicated, doesn't it? Oh well, at least I could wait till Apple releases a third version of the iPhone. That's when it would be the most ideal handset to purchase. Hopefully it would be end of next year, then I could trade in my N95 8GB for that droolicious iPhone!

w00t!