Tag Archives: apple

Our new iPads

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I stood in line in front of Best Buy to try and get myself and Abby an iPad. I had already planned on getting the 32GB model while she gets the 16GB. Why didn’t I pre-order it or go to Apple you ask? Because of Best Buy’s reward zone points plus Best Buy has no interest for 18 months, that’s why. There were about 20 people in line right before they opened. The manager came out and said that they normally handed out tickets but for the amount of people in line, they will have plenty – plus another truck arrived minutes before with more. So much for worrying about getting one but I was excited to get ours so I didn’t mind standing in line for 30 minutes. I was in 4th and the guy in front said he has been there for 3 hours haha.

Anyway, we got our iPads and it’s better than I thought it would be. First off, I have a 13″ Macbook Pro, a Compaq Mini netbook, a HTC MyTouch 3G phone – so why would I want or need an iPad? What can I do with it that I can’t already do now with my portable devices? And finally, many have made fun of the iPad asking “What is it for?”. Well here is how I look at an iPad device and how I would use it.

  • Instant start up. The iPad powers on with a touch of a button and is useable right away. No waiting for boot up. I do leave my Macbook Pro on and sleeping most of the time but the battery drains – slowly but surely.
  • Size. It is the right size for what it can do. It’s smaller than my laptop and netbook (weight) and it can do the common things like surf on the internet, check emails, read files, and some word processing – I say some because of the virtual keyboard, it can get tiring typing on it. You can however use a bluetooth keyboard if you don’t mind carrying another item. It is larger than my phone but my browsing experience is better on the iPad because it’s larger.
  • iPhone OS. I just love the iPhone OS. I had the first gen iPod touch and iPhone 3G and I missed the user experience after I got rid of them. The functionality and ease of use, no one has been able to match – although Google Android is getting there. But I’m a Mac user and I guess I expect to have a similar experience on other devices other than my computers.
  • Apps and games. Similar to the iPhone OS experience, there aren’t many apps or games you can use/play on mobile devices that give the same experience as they do in the iPhone OS.
  • Ebook reader. This is one that I didn’t care too much for but I’m glad it’s there. There are other ebook readers out there like the Amazon’s Kindle that do a good job. But the iPad not only can do what other ebook readers can do, it can do more , it can be more.
  • Portable video player. It is an excellent portable video player. You can play videos purchased from iTunes, videos encoded with Handbrake or other software, portable formats that come free when you buy the Blu-ray or DVD version, online videos from apps created by ABC network, Netflix (subscription fee), Youtube, etc. And I’m betting more to come, it’s just a great platform for developers to develop on.
  • Battery life. It last longer than my other portable devices even when watching video.

There’s so many things you can do with the iPad even if you already have other portable devices. Many compare it to the iPhone and iPod touch – but just a bigger version. It’s more than that. Yes it’s bigger so your internet surfing experience is better – close to being on a computer… still no Flash support. With HTML5 standards coming soon, this shouldn’t be a problem in the future. Also, the iPad comes with a more powerful processor. Typing on it is a lot more smoother than my iPhone 3G. Apps and games load quicker and more responsive.

I definitely recommend getting one.

My new MBP 13″ MB990LL/A

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I finally bought the new Macbook Pro 13″ MB990LL/A last Saturday. It’s replacing my first gen Macbook Pro 15″ MA464LL/A. It’s 3 years old and still works great but it overheats. I was able to get a free iPod Touch 8GB and a $100 towards a printer – after rebate. I thought I could pull out my old hard drive from my 15″ and swap it with the 13″ but I was wrong. I’m guessing because the processor is different – Core Duo and Core 2 Duo. It took half of Saturday to transfer my files over but I got it to how I had my old laptop on the new one. With the help of Migration Assistant, the task was simple. It only took longer than I thought because I had a lot of files to transfer over.

I’ve already upgraded the storage with a Seagate 500GB hard drive and I’m planning on upgrading the ram to 4GB. So far, what has impressed me is the battery life compared to my old MBP. Here’s a comparison between my old and new MBP current setup.

MB990LL/A (new) MA464LL/A (old)
Processor: 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
Memory: 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 (Upgradeable to 8GB) 2GB 667MHz DDR2 PC2-5300 (max)
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 5400rpm 100GB SATA 5400rpm
Grapics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9400m 256MB shared ATI Mobility Radeo X1600 256MB GDD3 dedicated
Display: 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy 1280×800 resolution 15.4-inch TFT 1440×900 resolution
Expansion: One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps), two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps), SD card slot One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot
Network: Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet (didn’t know it had Gigabit)
Wireless: Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme (802.11g standard); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Weight: 4.5 pounds 5.6 pounds

My old MBP was a work horse so I expect nothing less with the new one. I am however, taking a big hit on the video card being shared but I won’t be doing much video editing as I thought I did in the beginning.

Here is my initial Pros and Cons on the MBP 13″ compared to my old MBP 15″.

Pros:

  • Improved battery life
  • Upgrading HDD and ram is painless
  • Runs at a lower temperature
  • Trackpad gestures similar to the iPhone
  • Firewire 800
  • SD Card reader
  • Cheaper
  • Ram is expandable to 8GB
  • Core 2 Duo

Cons:

  • Shared video memory. I noticed a much lower FPS while playing WoW and visit a heavy populated area – while running other programs in the backgroun (ie: iTunes, Firefox, Quicktime, and other apps)
  • No ExpressCard slot
  • No Firewire 400 port
  • Scratches easier
  • Being a pound lighter, it doesn’t feel at all lighter

I’ll probably extend my list more as I continue to use it. So far I’m impressed. It’s a great upgrade for me. Here’s some pics I took http://www.flickr.com/photos/w1n78/sets/72157621866087202/.

Apple announces their new toys for Summer 2009

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Today Apple announced new products: the iPhone 3G S and a 13″ version of the Macbook Pro. First, the new iPhone 3G S. I’m not too excited about this one. Most of my excitement has been sucked dry by AT&T’s lack of coverage area. It’s supposedly 2x faster, has video capture support, 32GB model, voice activated controls, and better battery life – it’s still doesn’t help get a better reception with AT&T. My iPhone is a cell phone first before any other goodies that it can do and unfortunately, it doesn’t do a good job of being a cell phone. I just can’t wait until AT&T’s exclusive deal is over and hope that a better and a more reasonable monthly cost provider gets the deal.

The second new hardware announced today is the 13″ version of the Macbook Pro line. After reading the headline and initial stats, I was excited and glad I didn’t get a new laptop to replace my old MBP yet. This is basically the black Macbook with added power and ports. There are 2 models, one with 2.26GHz and 2GB ram and the 2.53GHz and 4GB ram. I almost decided on getting the 4GB ram model until I did a comparison between all the models. Now the prices have decreased but here’s where I get disappointed. Both 13″ model have Firewire 800 support – great! But how many devices do I own or reasonably priced devices that support this connection? Nowhere did I see a listing for Firewire 400 support excep the 12″ Macbook model. The video card is also shared memory, unless you go for the high end 15″ model or the 17″ model. Another missing port is the ExpressCard / 34 slot. This is only available on the 17″ MBP model. Currently, I am using this slot for my Verizon V70 internet card. They did however, gain a SD card slot. Haha, I’d trade that slot in for any of the other missing ports I mentioned in a heartbeat any day!

I really do want a new laptop and a smaller one. I’d have to look at what I’ll be using it for and if the lacking hardware will be an issue. Either way, I’m looking into getting one in a few months.

Hurray, iPhone OS 3.0 preview

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Today, Apple held a preview of their upcoming iPhone OS 3.0 and SDK. A lot of my wants will be coming. I may keep my iPhone 3G longer than planned – even though AT&T’s coverage is garbage. Here are a few that I’ve read about so far.

  • MMS support (Finally! Welcome to half a decade ago, if not more.)
  • Copy and paste (The pics during the demo looked promising and easy to use.)
  • Spotlight search (Though I don’t use it enough on Leopard, it’s a great tool to search across multiple locations.)
  • Peer to peer connection via Bonjour
  • Multiple players for games
  • CalDAV support
  • Voice memos
  • Sync notes
  • Turn by turn map
  • Modem tethering was mentioned but not demo’d ( I wonder once this capability is available, how much will AT&T charge extra? :( )

Those are just some of the new features that will be released sometime this summer (damn, that long?). Beta is available for developers today. I may look into the SDK more this time and maybe develop some stuff too – not sure yet though.

You can read the play by play on Engadget’s website – http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/17/live-from-apples-iphone-os-3-0-preview-event/. Thanks Apple, I’m a little excited about my iPhone again.

Apple rebates under 1 week

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My cousin Von just bought a Macbook last Monday February 2. Apple is giving a $100 rebate with a purchase of a printer. He didn’t want a printer so I bought a Canon Selphy for $100 which made it free after rebate. You can now submit this rebate online at www.apple.com/promo. You will need to enter the ID number at the bottom of the receipt. I submitted the rebate that same night and today I got the rebate in the mail. I didn’t even need to enter any serial number or submit the UPC. It’s fast and convenient. Some companies are  already using this method but even then the rebates take around a month or more. Kudos! to Apple.