iPhone 5 - Setting Up and Brief Test Use of the iPhone

This blog post follows after Sneak Preview of the iPhone 5


This morning, finally the sim is activated and the iPhone 5 can go online. Anyway, I was busy syncing some of the apps from my iTunes to the iPhone 5, and since it's been like months I last use the iTunes, i need to re-download the latest version from the apple website.

The process of setting up the iPhone 5 is not tough, anyone can do the job - of course, one will need follow the step one by one. First of all, install the iTunes (min iTunes requirement to sync apps into iOS 6.x.x devices is iTunes 10.6.3, well just to be on the safe side, I install the latest and most updated version of the iTunes)

The iPhone 5 - with casing

 

iOS 6 loading first time

Then plug the lightning port to the USB port of the laptop and launch iTunes, and iTunes will prompt up to ask whether you want to restore from previous backups or setup as new, in my case, I setup as new. It will then ask for iTunes account and then ask whether you want to use the iCloud, in my case, I choose not - you can still change this option later. Then next up, of course sync all the apps that I downloaded - roughly about 400++ apps as of today, taking about 16GB of the space - still loads of space for photos and musics.

So, for the first day of the iPhone usage, I feel that the battery life is not really that good, it is now at 28% after about almost six hours of usage, although I must agree that I whatsapp a lot, and I put the wifi and 3G on. I tried taking panoramic photos, but it's just so difficult to steady the iPhone and you cannot move the iPhone fast - maybe this needs training.

First time trying to take panoramic photo using iPhone 5

The battery last about 6 hours before I'm taking it for another charge.

 

Sneak Preview of iPhone 5

The long awaited iPhone 5 finally reached home, after confirming the transaction online at the Digi Shop for renewing the iDigi88 - the plan good enough for my sister since she will be around at Singapore almost all the time.

So, here I am, today at home unpacking the package with consists of the instruction to activate the sim card as well as the iPhone 5 box, delivered together with the Digi nano sim and the privilege card. 

The iPhone 5 delivered together with the nano sim by Digi

Inside the box consists of the standard iPhone package, the iPhone 5, the charger as well as one headset. I think Apple thinks that their iPhone is so easy to use that the box does not come with any of the operating manual, which really surprise me. I agree that the phone is so easy to use that I don't need an operating manual to operate it, but still, to me, I think operating manual is a must. It only comes with a leaflet showing the feature of the iPhone.

The box with iPhone 5 inside includes headset and charger

Anyway, since it comes with the Digi nano sim, I might as well cut my work short by directly using the sim card - at least I don't have to go to shop and asked them to cut my sim into nano sim. To insert the nano sim to the iPhone, it is exactly the same way how iPhone 4 users insert the micro sim to the iPhone 4. Just use the clip inside the box to poke (real hard) at the small hole at the nano sim holder, it will come out, and then you can directly put the Digi nano sim to the phone.

Clipping out the nano sim slot to put the Digi nano sim

After slotting in the sim, the next thing to do, of course is to boot up the iPhone 5. This iPhone 5 is come with pre-installed iOS 6.0.1. This iPhone comes with 64GB storage, with about 8GB used for OS - so you roughly will have about another 56GB for apps, musics, videos and photos.

Booting the iPhone 5 for the first time

The iPhone 5 bundled with iOS 6.0.1

Well, I guess that's all for now. Will blog more about the iPhone 5 once I have sync it with all the apps that I have on my laptop.

iPhone 5 sold out at DiGi online store

Well, it is to be expected....the latest iPhone 5 was sold out at DiGi Online Store....a good sign for Apple...Malaysians still love the Apple products...

Most Malaysians still love the Apple iPhone 5 even though the latest reviews are not too convincing...but Apple fanboys will always be one who wait at the long queue no matter what...

Honestly, it's disappointing to even look at the iPhone 5...taller and faster...that's suppose to be it. Anyway, most people are still buying the ads from Apple: the plenty of apps in Apple store...but what the heck...I have about 20 or 30 plus...max close to 50...but that's bout it. Do we really need so many apps to play with? You'll find the answer as no once you got it. 

Anyway, if you intend to buy the new iPhone, you will probably be tempted to do so during this hype...

The package offered by DiGi are pretty competitive:


The postpaid plans comes in three packages – the iDiGi 88, iDiGi 138 and iDiGi 238.
The iDiGi 88, which is the entry level package, allows customers to sign up for the device with a monthly commitment of RM60 a month.
Customers who sign up for the package will get 200 minutes of voice calls, 200 text messages, 20 MMS and Internet quota of 1 gigabyte (GB) a month. The voice calls and text messages they make will cost 15 sen a minute, and 10 sen per message, respectively.
For those who sign up for the iDiGi138, they will be able to get 450 minutes of voice calls, 400 text messages, 40 MMS and 3GB of data. Voice calls and text messages under this package will cost 12 sen a minute and 10 sen per message, respectively.
The higher end iDiGi238 package will offer significantly more voice minutes, text messages and data quota, and voice calls and text messages will cost 10 sen each.

I am definitely not buying Apple's ads this time around...the iPhone 4 was a revolution with the introduction of a lot of new features...the iPhone 4S is definitely just another 3Gs....so I'm pretty disappointed to see iPhone 5...the so called Steve Jobs' legacy....Nevertheless, I'm sure the iPhone will continue to sell like hot cakes for quite a while...and let's not forget...the preorder for iPad mini starts on Monday....how about that for making money? 

Apple iOS advantages and main disadvantages review

Apple finally officially released the latest iOS mobile operating system, version 6. If you are a user of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch then immediately download and enjoy!



How to update our  iDevice to iOS 6?

File sizes range from 609MB iOS 6, depending on your iOS device you have. To download this file, iOS device users are welcome to choose from the two methods below.



The first way of each iOS device, by going to the Settings menu (Settings), and General (General), and Software Update (Software Update). There iOS 6 available for download and install.



The second way, by synchronizing mobile Apple devices to iTunes.

See also: Apple iPhone 5 advantages and disadvantages

Apple offers many updates features in iOS 6, including systems integration to Facebook, Passbook application and voice command feature Siri smarter. Apple also decided to remove Google Maps and YouTube as the default application in iOS 6.



Furthermore, they will be a standalone application that is downloaded from the Apple app store App Store. Well, below are the pros and cons of Apple iOS 6.



Apple iOS Key features and advantages

• Faster and more stable all around


• Siri available on iPad 3, wider language support with Canadian English, Spanish (Spain/Mexico), Italian, Italian (Switzerland), Korean, Mandarin (Chinese/Taiwan),Cantonese (Hong Kong)


• Siri now serves sports info, movie and restaurants reviews. It can launch apps and do status updates


• System-wide Facebook integration: Facebook contacts and events appear in the phonebook and calendar


• Notification center gets quick Facebook/Twitter update keys


• New Maps app with TomTom data, turn-by-turn voice navigation and 3D/Flyover view mode


• Better Safari browser with iCloud tabs, full-screen mode, offline reading and faster performance


• Passbook e-ticket app handles loyalty coupons, boarding passes, tickets


• Photo Stream can share photos with other iOS users. Likes and comments are supported


• Updated Mail app with VIP and Flagged mailboxes


• Unified FaceTime/iMessages ID. FaceTime works over the cellular network


• New UI for the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, Music, Weather apps


• You can set songs from your music library as alarm tones


• Improved privacy settings


• New accessibility options and guided access (single-app mode for kids)


• Re-organized settings, various new icons


• Panorama mode in Camera


• Game Center now supports challenges (achievements)


• Reject call with SMS


• Do Not Disturb mode


• Lost mode


• Improved keyboards and auto-correction


• Power toggles moved to top of settings menu (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Tethering)


• Various improvements under the hood

Apple iOS Main disadvantages

• No offline maps support and maps are not up to scratch currently


• Variable compatibility across the device range


• Passbook not on par with Google Wallet, not truly useful


• An altogether conservative approach to design and layout


• Notification Center could've offered more functionality


• No widgets


• Underused lockscreen


• Limited themes and personalization options

Apple iPhone 5 advantages and main disadvantages

iPhone 5 is Apple's most advanced smartphone that made ​​its debut a few months ago, and now you are able to get a smart phone at a price that varies of course.



iPhone 5, according to Aple is the thinnest smartphone in the world, such as whether the advantages and disadvantages? Let us find out!



Apple iPhone 5 advantages and main disadvantages



Apple iPhone 5 advantages and Key features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA


• LTE support where carriers support it and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers


• 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution


• Scratch-resistant screen glass, fingerprint-resistant coating


• 1.2GHz dual-core custom-designed CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP3 GPU, 1GB of RAM, Apple A6 SoC


• iOS 6 and iCloud integration


• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and touch focus


• 1080p video recording at 30fps


• 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera


• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot


• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass


• 16/32/64GB storage options


• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor


• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone


• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0


• Excellent audio output quality (though worse than 4S)


• Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 56 countries


• Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant


• Supports HD Voice (needs carrier support too)


• FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular


• Impressively slim and light


• Great battery life

Apple iPhone 5 Main disadvantages

• Aluminum body looks cool but is easy to scratch


• Proprietary connector, incompatible with previous-gen accessories (needs adapter)


• The new display is not proportionally bigger, but only taller


• Unadapted apps run letterboxed due to the unusual resolution


• nano-SIM support only


• Apple Maps app not up to scratch


• No USB Mass Storage mode


• No FM radio


• No stereo speakers


• No microSD card slot


• No NFC connectivity (though that may be nitpicking)


• Stuck with iTunes for loading content


• Mono audio recording in videos

iPhone 5

The announcement of the Apple's iPhone 5 has come as expected...

For those of you who have yet to follow the news, here are some of the features of the iPhone 5:

Taller, thinner and metal black

The new iPhone is 18 percent thinner (0.30 inch vs. 0.37 inch thick) than the iPhone 4S. Apple says it's the thinnest handset around, but that's a race that changes often. That means it's also 20 percent lighter for a total of 3.95 ounces. 

The Retina Display expands from 3.5 inches (its size since the original iPhone) to 4 inches. The total resolution remains the same, though, at 326 pixels per inch. The total pixel count is 1,136x640, and we now have a 16:9 aspect ratio.

For those of you who have always wanted to have more row of icons in the home screen, you just got your wishes come true, without having to jailbreak...a fifth row of icons on the home screen. That's pretty nice since it will let you cut down on the number of home screens. You'll also get a full five-day week view in the calendar, the calendar will show more events, and all iWork apps will take advantage of the bigger display. Third-party apps that haven't been updated will continue to work, but you'll see black borders on each side (so they won't be stretched or scaled). Apple also promises that wide-screen movies will look better, with 44 percent more color saturation than on the iPhone 4S.

iSight Camera

The camera stays at 8 megapixels (with the best resolution being 3,264x2,448 pixels) with a feature list that includes backside illumination, a hybrid IR filter, a five-element lens, and a f2.4 aperture. 

A dynamic light mode is new, and you should be able to launch photography apps up to 2.1 times faster. Another addition is an image signal processor in the A6 chip. That will bring spatial noise reduction and a "smart filter" that produces better low-light performance and captures photos faster. 

Finally, there's a built-in panorama mode that stitches shots together for one large 28-megapixel photo.

The secondary front camera now can shoot 720p HD video and it gets a backside illuminated sensor. FaceTime can also be done via cellular network...no more waiting for wifi to have video call with your loved ones...

Smaller dock connector, smaller sim card

On the bottom of the iPhone 5, there's that new and long-anticipated smaller dock connector. Called "Lightning," it has an all-digital, eight-signal design and an "adaptive interface" (we're not quite sure what that means yet). It's 80 percent smaller, and since it's reversible, both ends will be the same (that's kind of nice). In a way, it is bad news for those with a lot of accessories that have the old bigger dock connector.

The new connector cable will mainly be used for syncing and charging by most people who own an Apple TV or Bluetooth/AirPlay accessories.

iOS 6

Inside, the iPhone 5 will debut with iOS 6 already onboard. Highlights include the new Apple Maps app, Passbook, shared photo streams, Siri updates, and the aforementioned FaceTime over 3G. Siri could be used to make bookings in restaurants as well in the iPhone 5...something more useful and practical.

iPhone 5, it's almost here

It might be difficult to believe but with Windows Phone 8 getting announcement and launching ahead of the Apple's iPhone 5, all eyes will be on the iPhone now...this will be something special given that it was supposedly to be a work unfinished by the legendary Steve Jobs. Many will wonder just how well will Apple cope without its' biggest fan, Steve Jobs.

But wait no more, as Apple has sent invites for an event on the 12th September, and given the shadow reflected, the name will definitely be "iPhone 5" instead of following the iPad line up, with a change of name.

Rumours said that the coming iPhone will be 30% thinner than the current one and it will be interesting to see how it is being done. 

Apparently, the iPhone will be slightly taller as well though Apple is not making the iPhone wider suggests a degree of confidence in the form factor. Larger devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy S3, can feel too wide for some users. 

Well, there are a lot of rumours out there on the iPhone 5 but the wait is no longer necessary...as Apple puts it: it's almost here.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC One X (Quad core war)

                            SAMSUNG GALAXY S3                            HTC ONE X

                                                

                                              (May 3rd)                                                 (Feb)

 CPU ~                    Exynos 4 Quad Core 1.5 ghz        -      Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-core 1.5 GHz


 Camera ~               12MP  auto-focus and LED flash   -      8 MP, autofocus, LED flash


 Display ~                 4.8" Super AMOLED MIPI         -      4.7" Super IPS LCD2
                                    capacitive touchscreen                       capacitivetouchscreen                       
                               
 Ram ~                  1.5 GB RAM                              -        1 GB RAM


 Storage ~                 16 GB & 32 GB                          -        32 GB Internal memory
                                 Internal memory (expandable)                    (no memory slot)
 

SAMSUNG GALAXY S3:Leaked image has hit the web, claiming to be taken from the instructional manual for Samsung's Galaxy S3 handset and showing off the handsets technical specifications. Take a look at the picture above to see what's rumoured to be launching come Samsung's big reveal on May 3rd.Though Samsung have already revealed that Exynos 4 Quad processor 1.5GHz,so far we've been told to expect a 12MP sensor, not the 8 megapixel snapper with auto-focus and LED flash listed here.The 4.8-inch Super AMOLED MIPI (C-Type) would fit the bill nicely.

HTC ONE X:The HTC One X is a superb Android smartphone that packs in just about every key feature you can think off.The HD screen is the best we've ever seen, its quad core processor is mighty fast, its camera impressive and its design is reasonably smart. However, a few ergonomics and design issues just take the edge off enough to leave us a tiny bit disappointed. Nonetheless, it's currently one of if not the best smartphones on the market.