iPhone – NerdBeach

Take Live 360 Degree Video With Your iPhone 4 Using Dot

We can all agree that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S have a great video capability, and ithe auto focus and great light sensitivity makes it very easy to use. But did you now that it could grab 360 degree videos just as easy? You can, if you have Dot.

Dot is a mechanical device that is designed to hook to your iPhone and provides a small dome shaped mirror for grabbing the video. You snap it on, turn the iPhone flat, and start grabbing everything around you. A dedicated app processes the raw dome shaped video into a 360 degree panoramic that allow you to pan and move while the video plays. Simple and effective – how cool is that?

This capability really allows the user to share everything that was going on around the user at a given time. You can even revisit taken videos and see what was happening beside or behind you as needed. I think this is a great idea, and puts a whole new spin on the VR pictures you can find on the web now, but puts the power in your own hands.

The Dot Project is a Kickstarter project, and a pledge of $99 gets you the Dot device, the app, an invitation to the launch party, and even a hug when it launches in 2012. I am actually excited about Dot, and would love to see such capabilities built into a future device. If included by Apple, it could be as simple as a small bump on the top of an iPhone. But in the meanwhile, this should be a great way to share videos with anyone. Who knows, maybe you and a friend can explore a place together, since you may have missed something the first time around.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.

source:wikipedia

Aluminum iPhone 5 with 4 Inch Screen Coming in March 2012?

Greg Chaffins

The iPhone 5 might be a different form factor than the 4, but will it be available in white? Probably.

When the iPhone 4S surfaced, there were many that were vocal about their disappointment. This was no doubt fueled by many different articles in the tech blogosphere. Those rumors were running rampant about a completely new design for Apple’s flagship mobile device. But they turned out to be false.

Of course, if you look at recent history, something along the lines of the 4S should have been expected. After all, the iPhone 3GS followed the iPhone 3, and it was an improvement over an existing design – the same relationship that the 4S has with the iPhone 4.

But now we are facing the strong possibility of a new iPhone design. What are the rumors this time around about the potential new device? Let’s take a look at them.

4 Inch Screen

According to multiple sources, both Sony and Hitachi are already supplying 4 inch screens for the new device. This is in sharp contrast to the “one handed thumbs reach” theory of the current device, but pressure from competitors may be pushing the change. The fact that both Sony and Hitachi have been identified as suppliers is in line with Apple’s long standing habit of having multiple suppliers for key components. In other words, it sounds likely.

High Tech IGZO Screen

That big 4 inch screen is new for more than just the size. The rumor mill has it that the device will utilize a IGZO (iridium, gallium, zinc) display, which could allow for a potentially thinner design. How much of that space saving will be translated to a thinner design instead of more battery is unknown, but the potential is there.

Metal Case

Instead of the glass wrapped design of the current model, the new device may have an aluminum case. This is inline with other Apple devices, so it is at least believable. While Apple has just went to a glass backed device starting with the iPhone 4, the increased size of the device and the cost of durable glass may be a factor in the change. Then again, it could be a shape that simply works best in metal. One thing we will probably not see is the teardrop shape rumored for the 2011 model.

8mm Longer Design

According to industry sources (okay, tech blogs sharing rumors), the iPhone 5 will be longer – 8 mm, to be exact. While it will still fit in a pocket okay, you can forget about the current cases. Of course, you already knew this due to the bigger screen.

Possible March 2012 Launch Date

Now this is one rumor that I don’t agree with – they are saying that the iPhone 5 will launch as early as March 2012. Feeding this rumor is the supposed delivery of prototype units to Apple headquarters, and the possibility that Asian factories are already mass producing the device.

Instead I would expect more of a summer release, with June/July as the target. This is especially true if you look back at Apple’s history of mobile releases. Of course, without Steve Jobs in place there are certainly changes afoot at Apple, so it really is anyone’s guess.

4G Support

I can’t imagine the new iPhone not having LTE / 4G support. Giving the expected lifetime of the device, it would almost certainly need to play on those fields. Of course, LTE means greater battery drain, and this might be why a thinner display may not directly translate to a thinner device – it needs the battery room.

While we can spin rumors all day long, one thing is certain – we won’t know for sure until it ships. When that inevitably happens, it might be fun to take a look back at all the rumors to see how many were hit or miss. But until then, please, no gambling – unless, of course, you are an iPhone case or accessory manufacturer.

iOS Over The Air Update Is A Welcome Change

Greg Chaffins

Today Apple released their first official over the air (OTA) update for iOS devices, letting iOS 5.0 move up to 5.0.1 The fixes included a battery drain issue that iOS 5 created, and a security fix that had allowed non-signed code to be ran from a trojan app.

My experience with the update was pretty straightforward. Just go to settings/general/software update and the availability of the update should show (if you haven’t already updated and you have network access).

On my WiFi network connection it took about a minute to download the update and about two minutes to prepare for the update. Then the device (an iPhone 4 in this case) restarted, and a progress bar along with the infamous Apple logo displayed for about 3 minutes. This happened twice, then the iPhone booted up like normal. For the record, I did this on battery power alone.

Users of the original iPad will want to grab the update for the return of the multi-touch gestures that iOS 5 removed. Plus, with the battery life fix and the security update I would suggest that all users of iOS 5 do the update.

As far as the OTA version of updating goes, I think it is a welcome change. In the past I would have to hook up the device to a host machine and update through iTunes. In the process iTunes would insist on doing a backup and copying over every app that had changed on the device, despite having the “Sync Apps” option off. Now it is finished faster than the backup itself would take.

One of the biggest issues for iOS 5 users has been battery life, and on this particular phone I did not see the severity of problems that many report. However, for the hour or so since the update the battery has seemed to be on par with what it was before the upgrade to iOS 5. Everything else works as expected, but I’ll make a note if any problems arise.

Apple continues to tweak iOS, making it better with each iteration. But in my opinion OTA updates has just made iOS devices much more capable machines that stand on their own merit, no host machine required – even for an update.

iOS

iOS (formerly known as iPhone OS) is Apple’s mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware. As of October 4, 2011, Apple, Inc.’s App Store contains more than 500,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 18 billion times.

source:wikipedia

Managing iCloud’s Photo Stream

Greg Chaffins

With iOS 5, Apple has connected its iOS devices to the cloud, its cloud, aptly named iCloud. And in doing so, it has never been more convenient to keep your life in sync across multiple devices and platforms. And, it must be said, one place where this new found connectivity shines is with photos and iCloud’s photo stream.

Enabling Photo Stream

The desktop also works with iCloud’s Photo Stream, and enabling it is quite simple. Assuming you have OS X 10.7 x (Lion) and an updated iPhoto, simply go to settings, click on the iCloud icon, and check the box that says “Photo Stream” (see image below). At that point you have a two way connection from iPhoto on your desktop to iCloud, and from there it will propagate to any iOS devices hooked up to iCloud.

Closing the Floodgates

But, handy as that is, you have a potential problem. If you download a lot of pictures from your camera to your Mac on a regular basis, you may not want gigs of photos flying out to the cloud. Fortunately, this is simple enough to manage. Open up iPhoto, go to preferences, and click on the Photo Stream tab (see image below). From there, look for the “Automatic Upload” checkbox and deselect it. Problem solved.

Of course, you still want some photos to sync across your more limited resource devices, and that is simple enough. Just select the photos you want to send, and drag them to the Photo Stream entry on iPhoto’s sidebar. From there they will happily take to the cloud, so to speak.

Deleting Photos from Photo Stream and iCloud

Naturally, to have this work you must have the device connected to the cloud, and it will stay in sync automatically. And that is where the next problem could arise. Let’s say that you were having a rather “creative” night, and took some pictures on your ever so convenient iPhone that, with the light of day, wish you could delete from existence.

The problem is, those photos are now stored on Apple’s server for the next few weeks. But there is a way to get rid of those potentially embarrassing images. Using a web browser on your Lion desktop, sign in to iCloud.com and click on your name in the top right corner. When the dialog comes up, click on “Advanced”. This will take you to the “Reset Photo Stream” option (see image below). Click on that, and it will reset your photo stream, deleting the photos from the server.

But you are not through yet. You now need to go to all of your devices and disconnect them temporarily from Photo Stream. Delete the photos in question, and then reconnect them to the stream ONLY after every device is clear of said images. Be sure to check the “Photo Stream” area of the desktop iPhoto. After every trace of the image has been disposed of, you can then safely reconnect everything to the cloud like it never happened…

Photo Stream is a great tool for iOS and Mac users to keep their photos organized and in sync. But, like any handy tool, there are a few steps to remember in order to make sure that it works for you and not you working on it.