So unless you are 100% out of the loop, today is the launch of the iPhone 3G, and version software 2.0. The #1 reason I am excited is because, it is an Apple product launch. Even when the Macbook Air was announced and launched, I was extatic. It does not mean I’m getting one though. My last article was one about the switch from the iPhone to the Nokia N95 8GB. One thing I was surely afraid of was selling my iPhone, purchasing the N95, iPhone 3G releasing, and me selling the N95 to aquire the newley designed iPhone. This is not the case.

I love you Apple, but here is the rundown of the new iPhone:

The Design:

3G, assisted GPS (not turn by turn), and black or white plastic backing.

The Software (Which ANY iPhone user can take advantage of)

This is the main selling point of finally getting the Jesus Phone.

MobileME support, and small kinks worked out with the OS.

The mere fact that they are pushing features of 2.0 does not support the reality that the iPhone 3G is still way behind when it comes to the advancement in the mobile market. The strong points: 3G, WiFi, GPS should all be standard these days. Not to mention, MMS, Video, and IM (just to name a few) have been a standard for quite a while. This is still missing. In the end what it comes down to is, if you feel you really need 3G upgrade, if not, just do a software upgrade.

Revolutionary Design= YES

Revolutionary Mobile Phone= NO

I’m sorry Apple. Maybe a revision or software update will change my mind. Until then I am still doing everything and much more on my N95 that I could do with the iPhone 3G.

-Jake

The N95 8GB (US version) has arrived.

The whole issue with getting this phone was getting the money for it. So i had to decide: To sell drugs, become a Gigolo, rob a bank, or sell my iPhone. Seeing as how I do not know anything about drugs, prostitution, or robbing, I packed up my Apple iPhone, sold it, and made the switch. Being a enormous Apple fanboy, it was tough. So for anyone thinking about leaving the iPhone this review is for you.

Throughout this post I will not, nor do i intend to put the iPhone in a negative aspect. After all, i never imagined myself giving it up. I just felt so limited with the iPhone. It is 100% revolutionary. But in comparison to all other devices, the N95 8GB seemed to be the only phone up-to-par, even though it was the complete opposite of what the iPhone is. I will not go into the deep technical attributes or basic review of the N95 (you can see video on YouTube or something) but these are my initial expectations/thoughts of my new toy.

The all black, sliding keypad,3.5G capable, 5.0 MP camera having phone was quite impressive from first glance. It is amazingly light, much more so than the iPhone. The phone comes with 8GB standard with NO expandable memory. I don’t see why you would need so much anyway. but here are the key points and comparisons from the iPhone to the N95 8GB:

The Camera

The brilliant Carl Zeiss Optics 5 megapixel camera is one big point on the N95. Unlike most phones, this camera takes just as long as iPhone camera to get rolling and snap photos. On the N95 you have the choices after you snap the photo to send, delete, and upload. The upload feature rocks!! You just configure your Flickr account during set-up, and simply click after taking the photo to send to Flickr in real time. You can also add ANY picture service you want to upload captured Photos and Video.

Video is amazing, at 30fps i have been utilizing video on my phone more than i ever have. I have the full version of video recorder for the iPhone, but with only 2 megapixels and only a max of 15 fps, it was almost a joke.  Not to mention i am now on QIK! Qik will work on edge, 3g, or wifi to stream live video to your page.I understand the iPhone will support this soon, and that is exciting, but I’m sure yo will only be able to use this over Wi-fi or 3G, and wont look all that great.

The Design

All Black (easy housing exchange for any color) looks great. The screen takes up most of the space on the front, which makes the screen look big for the device. as compared to the old N95 which has a small recessed screen. There is 2 way sliding keyboard which is quite durable and works out to an advantage for locking the phone or switching to landscape when using GPS (I’ll get to that in a bit). Its a fat phone (especially compared to the iPhone), but this only bothered me for about an hour.

GPS

Im using Garmin XT software wth the Built-in GPS for FULLY functional navigation. There is a GPS service you can use with Nokia maps (built in) but you have to pay. Garmin XT is 3rd party that rocks the N95 internal GPS antenna for turn by turn directions. I know that the new iPhone 3G will support GPS so this may be up to par.

The Browser

The Nokia N95 shows full web pages unless you specify you want a mobile view. With full settings on Edge, It was WAAAYYYY faster than Mobile Safari. Mobile Safari is the best mobile browser hands down, with the rendering and all, but if I’m browsing from my phone, it doesn’t need to looks amazingly perfect. On the N95 i have full accessibility, fast downloading (especially if Wifi is around) … oh and embedded flash is supported.

Applications

Installing direct or 3rd party applications is simple. The Nokia Media Transfer application, for Macs, will easliy allow you to drop in applications or you can install from browser. Using the Browser i was able to download and configure QIK in about 5 minutes. A new feature Nokia has implemented on this version of the N95 is background apps. So you can run IM, the browser, media player, and GPS all at once, and never have to close anything. I felt most applications for iPhone were well done, but not really too useful. They were more toy and games than anything.

Plays amazingly well with my Macbook Pro thanks to an iSync Plug-in (found on Nokia site)

Messaging

SMS, MMS, video message, email (pop, IMAP)

need I say more.

The Verdict

Im just rambling now so here is the deal:

I do NOT regret the switch at all. The Nokia n95 8GB might be one of, if not, the BEST smartphone on the market.  I actually feel quite accomplished to be able to find a phone that is at the level my beloved iPhone was at. With things I miss on the iPhone make are made up to me on the N95. Also the potential of being able to run Google Android on it is quite exciting.

If you have any questions about the phone to help rear your decision on getting one feel free to ask.

-Jake

Below is a great review on the N95 8GB

As soon as the WWDC ended, eBay was flooded, and everyone I knew started planning on how to sell the “old” iPhone to earn money for the “newly priced” Jesus phone. Unfortunately, the 1st iPhone design is already viewed as futile. The fact is, anyone who has an unlocked/jailbroken iPhone should cherish their iPhone like a treasure.

The recent announcement for the July release was very expected, but also very exciting. Although, there is a ton of things to consider when it comes to the new 3G IPhone, Especially for people without AT&T service (which is most of us):

The Contract

- You CANNOT buy the iPhone without signing your life away for 2 years with AT&T. This has changed drastically since the first release. So to acquire that shiny new black or white iPhone get ready to have the crappiest service known to man.

- Signing the contract does not necessarily mean you will get it at the $199 price tag. You will have to qualify for the special price, so if you have crappy credit, get ready to spend a stupid amount of money for the upgrade.

- No go-Phone purchase… AT&T and Apple have surely done their homework on how to keep people from staying away from the AT&T chains.

The Phone

- Lets face it, the newest design has 0% change in the phones interface and workability. No upgraded camera, buttons….nothing except for the headphone jack.

- It might not even be worth the $200 price tag. Using the plastic backing makes it look fresh, new and Apple-like, but its merely a way to make phones on the CHEAP. It probably cost less than $100 to make each new iPhone.

Overall it is going to be an amazing device, with 3G and new color, but to me this does not kick out the prior iPhone model, but will actually make the PRICELESS! Think about it. There will not be unlocked 3G iPhones in the wild for quite a while (with new purchase procedures), and even with that, do you think these cats that acquire the phone and unlock it are going to sell it for $199?  The design is now out of production. This alone makes your matte aluminum backed iPhone that much better. Oh and you can use your “old” iPhone with ANY GSM service these days. The software, storage, and usability will be the same as the 3G iPhone minus the 3G of course. I Guarantee the iPhone 3G will be the new Moto Razr. Every dude-bro, half-wit and their moms will have the glossy plastic AT&T-only device…. Hang on to your old iPhone non AT&T people, you wont regret it. By the way, The price of the 1st gen iPhone will are and will continue to sky rocket in value, as oppose to drop dead.

-Jake

On my daily excursion to Engadget this morning i could not have help but be intrigued at some findings on this weeks WWDC keynote. What was it? Screen shots of what looked to be a front-mounted camera on a demo 3G iPhone. I watched this video over and over and it was quite exciting to think of the possibility. Then I glanced at my iPhone. I noticed that i have the same “camera!” This being a clumsy mistake on putting on my screen protector. Photos are blurry but you can get the idea.

note: I have privacy film with my iSkin Revo, so there are just top and bottom pieces on the phone, thats why it looks like crap.

-Jake

My iPhone

Phil Schiller’s iPhone @ WWDC

There were a bunch of cool things announced in San Francisco today for the new iPhone:

-awesome SDK stuff including PUSH service for things like IM, gaming, the APP Store

-GPS

-Enterprise Support

-MobileME

Surely I do not need to get into any information about the acutal 3G iPhone that was released today. There are a ton of Blog posts about that. So we need to analyze a couple of things that took away from the excitement of the WWDC 2008. It pretty much boils down to one thing. iPhone software 2.0.

Lets take a look at what the new “features of this will be”

- Contact Search - this should have been implemented from day one

- iWork and Microsoft Office Doc support- This is a plus

- Bulk Delete mail, and save attachments- finally, overall good

- Scientific Calculator- Who cares

- Parental controls - If you are a parent in need of Parental controls, your kid probably does not deserve an iPhone.

-NEW LANGUAGES!!- OH MY GOSH, WHO GIVES A CRAP!

Free for iPhone users/ $9.99 for Touch users

I think the only we were really looking for was AppStore and GPS, but what about the others!? Here is what we expected and didn’t see with Firmware 2.0 and 3G iPhone:

-iChat (will probably show up later)

-VIDEO SUPPORT

-improved camera/front mounted camera/flash

-landscape text

-improved storage

-MMS

-COPY/PASTE

The list goes on and on. If I saw at least MMS, I would be a bit happier but at the moment I am a bit steamed. The new iPhone is gorgeous, which i hope to get in white, but new features will not have me going the extra mile to get it.

-Jake

Click for live coverage with Gizmodo 06/09/08

10am PST / 1pm EST

A good day for all.

-Jake

(New 3G iPhone Dimensions)

The first question I get asked when i comes to the new iPhone is: “are you going to get it right away or wait it out to see if its worth it?”  We all know the newly hyped iPhone will not come cheap, and jumping into the new wave of Apple’s iPhone is something in which I have to personally think about, long and hard (thats what she said). Not because I don’t think its going to be amazing, but because I’m just not rich and cant be spending money on technology the way I would like to.

(normal iPhone dimensions)

New photos were discovered today by way of MacRumors.com of a prototype of a rubberized skin, Made by XSKN, for the new 3G iPhone. Now the only reason i can get remotely excited for this is because before the iPhone came out, over a year ago, the same thing happened. I believe Macally or iSkin released photos of their prototype, with dimensions, and it was 99% accurate. This new “leak” gives the iPhone a Blackberry-like ‘girth’ to it with a rounded back. I am quite positive the screen will be a bit bigger, and not like the original “1st Gen” shown in the photo. One of the only things that intrigues me very much is that the camera on the rear seems to be much bigger (hinting at a higher quality shot), thus leading to the much needed Video capability. Also, looking at the front, it seems as though there is space left on the front for non other than a Front-mounted VGA camera, possibly incorporating, video in a newly released iChat application? I’m just throwing it out there.

Via MacRumors

-Jake

UPDATE: The site currently holding the 3G iPhone case is down. Maybe they f-ed up

This article is completely non-Apple related but i feel like I have to write it for certain people who want a new phone but do not really want to head into the iPhone direction. Before the my beloved iPhone entered my life, I was an avid Blackberry user. I do have to say, without any regret, is that it was probably one of the most reliable mobile devices i had ever used. Many people think “Business” when it comes to the Blackberry name, but it is mainly because of the reliability.

I strongly believe in your mobile device being able to keep you connected in every aspect possible from the phone, text and MMS client to 3rd party apps (QIK, social network clients, etc) and of course reliable e-mail. This Phone definitely has

Introducing the new Blackberry Bold. If i did not have an iPhone this would be my next purchase. This AT&T first exclusive (followed by a T-Mobile release, then Verizon I’m sure) release phone will hit stores any day now. With the 3G revolution stirring about this 3G Blackberry will fit right in. This revamped phone has all of the normal (but advanced) BB features, plus a crap-ton more including: Read the rest of this entry »

The day is nearing when the new iPhone will be announced! Most likely June 9th during the Apples WWDC. Although what do we have to look forward to? There had been a lot of talk and speculation ever since the SDK was released so, Lets explore that shall we?

First off, we can obviously check off 3G support because that has already been confirmed. Surprisingly enough not only is the public ready for it, but so is T-Mobile!! Kind of strange how they just so happen to roll out 3G when we are among word of the hi-speed iPhone. Coincidence? Probably, but after speaking with a T-Mobile rep (fixing up some internet issues) it seems the iPhone is an everyday set-up for them. T-Mobile knows a lot of their service is supporting the AT&T exclusive device so why not take it up a notch with 3G. To also clear up any speculation about T-Mobile’s 3G, it was stated by blogs that it will be voice support only, when in fact T-Mobile’s press release leaves open the possibility of voice and data service.

Everything from here on out people can only guess and use their sources to their capacity. Kevin Rose had made a prediction a while back saying there will be 3G, ichat, video support, and front mounted video for video chat. With the recent unveiling of Video Recorder, 3rd part app that gives your iphone video capability, it makes the possibility seem more likely. The reason i think it may NOT happen is because I feel there i not going to be a major change in hardware. It’s just like a Blackberry. They do not add all of those extras, and in doing so sales hardly suffer. Plus with confirmation of the new $199 price tag, i doubt you will get a whole bunch more than the 1st generation iPhone.

This leads to the re-design of the iPhone. There was a whole bunch of rumors that the Phone would turn out to be an all BLACK design, which was supported with photos. This turned out to e some 3rd party Japanese housing you can buy online. Then Gizmodo gives us a story, from iLounge, which details specs for the “new” iPhone from peripheral manufacturers. These new specs show a new sensor arrangement, which could bring us back to the possibility of a front mounted camera, and a whole new color scheme (White, Red, or Black). This is probably the most influential source of material i have received thus far.

The fact of the matter is, there is not any one person that knows more that 3G for sure. For all we know we may be seeing a completely revamped, better working iPhone that will make the first gen obsolete, or the “new and improved” iPhone will pretty much be the same, saving all of us early adopters the time of putting them on eBay to upgrade.

Photos via Gizmodo and Engadget.

-Jake

From day one i had not been a huge fan of big social networking sites. I could not get into Live Journal, I don’t really care for MySpace, and did not understand the use of Twitter. Now after tons of trial and error, to see what really keeps you in touch and what doesn’t I am now very much within the social networking..network. But with careful consideration, I feel there are only a few worthy of getting the job done.

Read the rest of this entry »

Im still torn and doing a ton of research to decide if I should stick with my iPhone or switch over to the awesome Nokia N95… story soon

-Jake

First and foremost, the reason I am giving these needed suggestions on protection is i have got plenty of emails asking what’s good, what sucks, and what’s unnecessary. Ok here we go. After investing in something beautiful like a Macbook Pro, you will want to treat it like its your kid…a very expensive kid. Those of you owners know what I’m talking about. After spending lots of time and money i think a have come up with the perfect bundle that will take care of your laptop and make it look good at the same time. All of these products can be purchased from their websites, or get a deal on eBay. I will also go over what the best kind of carrying case is. Click story for the list…

Read the rest of this entry »

As a long time Starbucks employee,   I can now safetly say, “It’s bout F@##ing time!” A while ago there was some rumors, going around about AT&T taking over Starbucks Wi-Fi, which would not only kick T-Mobile to the curb (which is what they get for the bull crap price of $19.99 for hotspot service), but offer FREE wireless to frequenting starbucks customers. Even as an employee I still could’nt get a WiFi “hook-up.” Today a San Antonio Starbucks cafe was shown to have the AT&T service pop up when connecting to Wi-Fi and their favorite store. This is good…very very good. I hope this roll-out happens FAST! The way i understand it is: People with a Starbucks Card (gift or Duetto) will get 2 hours of free WiFi every day for as long as they have the card(s). I guess to show that you are at least a customer. This is a good deal. Finally Starbucks gets smart. Oh yeah if you still pay for T-Mobile HotSpots you can still access them at Starbucks. ::High Five::

-Jake

My favorite web host, and producer of Mahalo Daily, Veronica Belmont is going to be the new Co-Host on Revision 3’s Tekzilla with Patrick Norton. The former CNET show creator, who has also been on shows like  DL.TV, MSNBC, CNBC, the G4 Network, “PC Gamer,” and “This Week in Tech” , will add a sort of fresh take on the already failry good podcast. A few episodes ago she co-hosted, and it made the show that much more enjoyable….and more good lookin. Great choice by Revision 3 and be sure to subscribe to Tekzilla with your favorite podcast reader.

-Jake

via Revision 3