Category Archives: technology

Grading Myself

Update: oh, I was pretty close on the “official Apple case that could be used as a stand” thing too, wasn’t I?

Well, let’s see how I did with my predictions:

  • Well, I couldn’t have been further off on the name. Apple seems stuck on the “i” prefix, though they avoided iSlate in favor of “iPad”. Honestly, iSlate would’ve been better.
  • Hardware keyboard = yes, Bluetooth keyboard = no. There’s an available hardware keyboard dock which I’m not thrilled about. But there IS (thanks to @macosken for pointing this out to me) Bluetooth on the device, so 3rd part Bluetooth keyboards are not outside the realm of possibility. Of course, no Bluetooth keyboard yet exists for the iPhone or iPod Touch, due to Apple’s limitations.
  • No OLED option, I think because the size of the device vs. the cost of OLED screens. But there are several options as far as memory size, plus 3G access is a separate charge, meaning you don’t HAVE to get 3G capability if you don’t want it.
  • No camera. WTF?
  • But YES on the microphone. DING DING DING! I got that one right. Of course, I had assumed video recording capability which would require a microphone. So the fact that there is a microphone without a camera leaves me slightly baffled.
  • It’s 0.02 inches THICKER than an iPhone 3G(s), so I was wrong there. But they’re comparable.
  • Even though it’s not OLED, it’s still (technically) HD, boasting up to 720p.

So overall, I don’t think I was any better or worse than anyone else as far as predictions go. The price point I was sorta right on, saying that the low model would go for $499, but I figured that would be for a 32GB model. Instead, that’s what Apple’s charging for their 16GB model. I think most people were calling it a lot higher than that. But yes, I did say the 64GB model would go for $699 which is what it is (minus 3G), but to be fair I had thought that the 64GB model would be OLED (which it’s not).

Overall, I’m giving myself a C. Your thoughts?

Mac Tablet Netbook Thingy – My Predictions

  • Forget the iSlate. It’ll be called the “MacBook Touch” or thereabouts.
  • It’ll have a multi-touch screen (like the iPhone), but also will let you use an optional bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse.  An officially sanctioned Apple case will include a kickstand for using on a table top.
  • There will be both a regular LED and an OLED option.  The OLED version will be significantly more $$, but in addition to that you’ll get more flash memory.  For example, $499 for LED/32GB, $699 for OLED/64GB.
  • Front-facing iSight camera. NO rear-facing camera.
  • Microphone (duh).
  • Integrated battery (i.e., non-removable) with at least 4 hours of active life (slightly longer with the OLED version).
  • This thing will be THIN, slightly thinner than the iPhone 3Gs.
  • The OLED version will be HD quality.

Okay, this is all guesswork, and certainly not breaking any new ground. But I’m just going against the rails on some of the predictions I’ve seen out there (removable battery, “Minority Report” style full motion interface).  I *definitely* think OLED will play some role in this device, but that technology is still much more expensive than the traditional LED that we’re all more familiar with.  Given Apple’s history, they tend to lump in other goodies with their more expensive upgrades as a way of making it seem like more of a value.

We’ll find out next week!

Posted via email from taupecat’s posterous

Listening to Video Podcasts w/o the Video on Your iPhone

I subscribe to several news video podcasts (such as the NBC Nightly News) that I listen to at work. I subscribe to the video feeds because I like to have the video option available, although 90% of the time I’m content to just listen to it. And since this is at work (and I don’t keep an iPhone cable with me), I’m often concerned about exhausting the iPhone’s battery before the end of the day.

So, in order to keep power consumption at bay, I’ve found a trick to turn off the video on a video podcast yet still listen to the audio content. By default, you can turn off the screen on audio content and continue listening, but to do so on any video content will also turn the audio off. Here’s the way around that:

  1. Go to Settings > General > Home Button and check “iPod” under “Double-clicking the Home Button goes to:”. Also, set the slider for “iPod Controls” to “On”.
  2. Go into iPod mode of the iPhone, choose the video content you want to listen to and begin playback.
  3. Turn off the screen by clicking the power button on the top right of the iPhone. Audio and video playback will stop.
  4. Double-click the home button on the iPhone. The iPod controls will appear underneath the clock.
  5. Press the “Play” triangle. The background screen will change to the title screen of your video content, the audio will begin, but the video will not begin playing.
  6. Click the power button on the top right of your iPhone again. The audio will continue, but the screen will go dark.

This will work for music videos as well as video podcasts. I’m presuming that it will also work for TV shows and movies, but I don’t have any content like that on my iPhone so I can’t test it.

Unfortunately, once you go back into your iPhone (that is, move the unlock slider from left to right), the iPhone will immediately resume the video playback, and if you try to leave iPod mode to go do something else, the audio will cease again. (This stinks because I often need the calculator while working, and hate having to stop and start my podcasts all the time.) At least, however, this is a way to conserve some battery life when you really don’t need to see the video in your video podcast.