Future Tech
Apple’s HDTV? Here comes iTV!
Well it’s coming eventually..in 2013 maybe. Confirmed by the Chairman over at Foxconn, iTV is on the way. Chairman Gou also states that “neither development nor manufacturing has begun.” According to TechCrunch.com from China Daily the television set will have an aluminum construction, Siri voice controls and FaceTime video calling. That sounds interesting. It seems like it will be an iPhone, Apple TV (which is basically a terminal), and an iMac all rolled into one. No word on possibly pricing but just know it will be on par with Apple’s usual pricing: high because they can and want to be! I’ll keep you posted.
Will This Technology Kill TV?
Have you heard of BitTorrent? Well if you haven’t is it an open source peer-2-peer file transfer protocol. Think along the lines of Napster if that helps. People usually use this protocol to download huge files. The maker of this specific protocol has come out with another open source protocol which allows someone to stream video peer-2-peer. He says he has been hacking away at the engineering for this protocol for the last 3 years and it will connect someone directly to a video stream that will allow millions of viewers at a time. So what does this mean? It means a change in the distribution of content. Instead of going through a TV network to get your content out or even a site like uStream or LiveStream, you have access to anyone you want with no middle man and at minimal cost. All that’s needed is a 1 time small file download then it works in your browser after that. The maker is working on the packaging of the protocol to allow anyone to use it. I’ll be looking out for it. You can check the beta out now at BitTorrent Live .
Apple iPhone 4S for Sprint & T-Mobile? Have you heard about it?
If you haven’t heard, it is rumored that there will be an iPhone coming before the iPhone 5. They say it will be named the iPhone 4S and will be Sprint and T-Mobile compatible BGR.com reports. 
It’s said the phone will have an improved camera with a separate flash; probably 8MP. It is already known that Apple has been testing an iPhone compatible with T-Mobile’s network for some time. This claim supports previous speculation that the next iPhone won’t have 4G capabilities such as LTE. Would you get a Sprint or T-Mobile iPhone?
AT&T+(T-Mobile)= -No Good^2 (I Hear Ma Bell Calling)
So I’m sure by now you all have heard about the acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T for $39 Billion of which $25 Billion is cash and the rest is in stock. This acquisition is bad news. 
This could only mean less innovation in technology, higher prices and pushes towards a monopoly. There are currently 4 major wireless carriers. AT&T with around 90 million subscribers, Verizon with around 80 million subscribers, Sprint with around 50 million subscribers, then T-Mobile with about 35 million customers with Sprint and T-Mobile being the “low cost” players. If you all remember in history class Ma Bell; what American Bell Telephone Company (1877-1984 long time right…) was known as after it was disbanded because of its practices. Once during its near monopolistic reign there was a government sanctioned monopoly but it was “regulated”. Regulated being the government had a consent decree with them in which Bell couldn’t have no more than 85% of the market.. This almost sounds like one of AT&T’s explanations to our current government to allow such a thing.
They say they will have about 95% of the country covered (over some years) with a high speed data connection (LTE) because of the extra spectrum they will be gaining from the T-Mobile take-over. The Obama administration is pushing for more connectivity in our country all around and in rural areas so this seems like something the government would possibly be interested in. This still needs to be approved by the FCC. Now does this sound like a repeat of the past or what!? American Bell was disbanded in 1984.
We know there are other options our there but AT&T is attempting to cover 95% of the US with their service. We should have most the country covered by many carriers.It’s also interesting to know that from American Bell Telephone came Southwesten Bell, BellSouth, Northwestern Bell, US West (Quest), Verizon (yes o_O), and AT&T; to name a few. There are benefits that would arrive (supposedly) sooner for AT&T subscribers with this deal but as a whole it’s not good. As Americans we are pretty greedy but my goodness..(Don’t get me started on Google~a love/hate)… In the end the customers lose. What’s your take on it?
Apple CEO: 2011 is the year of the iPad 2, not copycats
So the iPad 2 was introduced today and will arrive online and in stores March 11th. It is 33% thinner than the original. I hear it’s beautiful, well as beautiful as technology can be. Apple is the king of innovations and they want you to accept the iPad as a replacement for the PC. The specs in layman’s terms
- Has a better processor (Dual-core 1GHz A5 processor, which is “up to two times faster” than the previous version, Steve says.)
- Improved graphics (The GPU goes at nine times the speed as before. says Jobs)
- Same low power consumption-battery still lasts 10 hours and a month on standby
- Front facing and rear facing cameras for FaceTime & Photobooth (or any other app, camera on back has 720p HD video capability)
- Built in gyroscope-just like the iPhone 4
- HDMI out to TV/Monitor that mirrors what’s on your iPad screen ($39 Apple Digital AV Adapter cable)
- You can download iMove & Garageband to it-video editing and music software
- New cover that “attaches magnetically to the iPad 2 and it covers only the screen, adding minimal weight and bulk. Inside, it has a microfiber lining to clean the glass every time to move it. You can fold it to hold the iPad 2 in any position you want.” Apple says.
- Comes in WHITE as well as the usual Black
- Available on Verizon and AT&T for the 3G models
Prices: We know how Apples does with new products. Prices will be the same.
Wi-Fi models: $499/16GB, $599/32GB, and $699/64GB.
3G models :$629/16GB, $729/32GB, and $829/64GB.
So what does that mean?!?! YOU CAN GET A 1st Generation iPad for cheaper! 🙂 (around $300 or $400 for base models) Merry Christmas! lol
(FWD this post to your unaware friends)
What in the world is NFC? It’s coming to a future near you!
NFC is coming to a device near you. It might even become a big part of your life in the coming years. You ask what is it, it’s near field communication. Near field communication is short-range wireless technology. It’s just like bluetooth but the distance at which the two devices communicate are shorter, (basically contact on contact) and the connection automatically establishes quickly. It can be used to transfer data. The wide-spread usage of this technology will more than likely be with payment systems. That’s where it comes into your future. Many countries other than America have been testing payment systems using NFC for sometime. This technology will be coming to the forefront of our view with Apple and the Android OS. It is fact that Apple has applied for patents with a few of their devices that included this technology with rumors being that the iPad 2 will have this technology built-in. Apple could use this technology for living room use such as tapping it on a TV or a remote control with this technology to pull up info for programming for example but for sure some kind of payment method. 
As far as Android is concerned, the new mobile operating system Gingerbread (Android 2.3) has NFC built-in so that hardware makers can utilize this technology with their devices including Google’s new phone, Nexus S. This technology can be used in a wide range of real world applications such as the healthcare arena for scanning drugs for example or the maintenance field, with inspectors, and on site management to name a few.
(The N-Mark, (interesting..hmmm)..Lets you know which devices has NFC built-in)
Verizon’s iPhone 4! Blast it in the media, it will come true (sometimes)
So it’s official! The iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon Feb. 10th with pre-orders on or around Feb. 3rd. Prices are $299/16GB and $399/32GB both with 2 year contracts and $649.99/16GB and $749.99/32GB without. It has a few new inner workings that make it compatible to the Verizon network which is CDMA compared to AT&T’s GSM technology. They say the death grip is gone. Great. But remember, it’s the same model so nothing crazy new and spectacular as far as features go. You won’t be able to talk and surf the net on the Verizon version of the phone like you can with the AT&T version because CDMA technology just doesn’t do it. It is said they are working on a fix that will allow it by the end of the year. The coming phone won’t work on Verizon’s new super fast LTE 4G data network. Apple says the iPhone 4 is not LTE because that would have meant a lot less battery life, something they didn’t want to compromise. We don’t know the strain that the new iPhones will put on Verizon’s data network as yet but we do know they are data hogs but won’t wreak havoc like they did during the initial days of the phone being on AT&T’s data network. A cool thing about Verizon compared to AT&T is that they offer unlimited data with the phone and you will be able to use this phone as a wifi hotspot that supports up to 5 devices. I’m sure I’ll have a hack for that for you all. (stay tuned) ALSO!!! The fact that Verizon and Sprint use the same CDMA technology means it can be flashed onto the Sprint network. (stay tuned for that also) and just a tidbit…the AT&T bumper/case won’t fit on the Verizon phones because of new button placement.
Should you wait? YES! For the last couple of years Apple has annouced a new iPhone in June/July. I couldn’t imagine them not doing so this year. If you buy the iPhone 4 you will be locked into a 2 year agreement so that means no new one for you when the new one came out unless you pay full price. Since Verizon is gallivanting their new LTE 4G data network, I could see the new iPhone with this technology since the phone is all about data.
A Rival to the iPod Touch by Samsung
Samsung is busy working on a new player called the Samsung Galaxy Player. It’s debuting at a gathering of industry tech heads in Vegas called the Consumer Electronics Show. It is said that is will rival the iPod Touch giving Apple a run for it’s share in handheld devices. The Galaxy Player will run on Android 2.2, and will include a 1GHz processor. It will have a 4.4″ full color touch screen, high definition video playback, as well as Bluetooth 3.0, wi-fi, and both a front facing and rear facing cameras. The device will have the Android Marketplace. Just like the iPod Touch is a non cell phone of the iPhone, this device is the non cell phone of the Samsung’s Galaxy S series phones. One thing that is unknown about this device is the price which could very well help with competing against Apple’s product. Stay tuned….
Is the iPad the only Tablet out there?
No, there are better ones out there actually. Apple’s iPad isn’t the only thing in town. In some cases the Ipad is limited compared to what is out there. Here are a few with the basic specs listed. The tablets that have the Android OS come with the Google goodies like navigation, voice search, and flash to name a few. The iPad doesn’t have a few of those things. If you have any questions about any of these tablets hit me up and I can suggest one best suited for you and your needs.
Enter HP Slate
Price: $800
OS: Windows 7
Screen size: 8.9″ widescreen
Storage: 64 GB
Estimated Battery Life: 5 hours
Enter Dell Streak
Price: $550 or $330 with 2 year contract (Update now $99 with contract)
OS: Android
Screen size: 5″ TFT LCD
Storage: Micro SD card slot (16GB pre-installed)
Estimated battery life: 10 hours talk time, 400 hours standby (this thing is also a phone)
Enter Galaxy Tab
Price: $600 or $400 with contract (update: $299 with some carriers) I have one, It’s great!
OS: Android
Screen size: 7″ wide screen TFT LCD
Storage: Micro SD card slot (16GB pre-installed)
Estimated battery life: 7 hours
Price: $499-$699
Price: $500-$830
the urban tech 