Microsoft will give you at least $200 to trade in your iPad for a Surface

microsoft promo store trade in your ipad somegadgetguyIf you’ve been wanting to make the jump from iOS to Windows 8 for your tablet usage, Microsoft is more than happy to help you make the transition by cutting you a check.

Yup, on the Microsoft store, they’re currently running a promotion that will pay out a minimum of $200 for you iPad 2,3, or 4. Sorry first gen iPad owners, but no one really wants anything to do with tech that old…

Now, this might be a good, convenient solution for people who just want to buy a Surface or Surface Pro and don’t want to hassle with offloading their old Apple gear, but if your iPad 2 is in good condition, and if you’ve kept the box, it’s likely you could score around $250 for that tablet on eBay.

Microsoft Surface “Trade in your iPad” Promo.

I Ask YOU: Why Do We Need 64-Bit Processors in Phones?

apple a7 and m7 processors 64 bit somegadgetguyNo seriously folks. I don’t get it, and I need your help to understand.

Why do we need 64-bit processors in our phones?

First Apple announces 64-bit will be included in the iPhone 5s, and now Samsung says they’ll be getting in on the trick in 2014. As best as I could understand, one of the primary reasons we moved to 64-bit on desktops and laptops was to allow us to use more than 4GB of RAM.

Are there other advantages I’m not aware of? Might this be a preemptive move for some future technology? I’m nonplussed…

Drop me a comment. School me folks!

Apple’s Crisis of Confidence: Consumer Perception and Stock Market Response

tim cook apple logoBefore I dive into this, I need to make it clear that I don’t hate Apple. I used to be an Apple product specialist working a JIT contract for DOE facilities in New Mexico. This was during the dual socket days of the PowerMac G5. It was a glorious machine, and I used to adore Apple. As Apple walked away from markets and product lines that I cared about, that adoration became a loving competition. The recent glory days of the company provided me a terrific nemesis as I moved over to Windows 7 computers and Android Phones.

Following Tuesday’s unveiling of the iPhone 5C & 5S, I came to an unsettling realization: I’m worried about Apple.

See, my world as a tech enthusiast and writer just doesn’t make sense without a powerful Apple, and the company which was on display during this last keynote was anything but powerful.  Continue reading “Apple’s Crisis of Confidence: Consumer Perception and Stock Market Response”

Zagg Ahead of the Curve with new Accessories for iPhone 5S & 5C

zagg accessories iphone 5c 5s somegadgetguyI wonder if accessory manufacturers will continue to consider Apple a “safe bet”. The iPhone 5 is only getting a one year run, and the 5S will probably only get a one year run. You used to be able to count on at least two, if not three years of sales for a new model of iPhone.

Anywho, Zagg is getting out ahead of the curve by announcing their new line up of iPhone accessories for the 5S and 5C. A lot of their announced line up are universal products like iFrogz headphones and Zaggsparq portable batteries, but their terrific InvisibleSHIELD screen protectors are ready to go, and we’ll see a pair of case options. The iFrogz Chemistry is a slim cushioned bumper featuring bright colors and designs, and the Zagg Arsenal will be one of the slimmest rugged cases available for the iPhone 5S.

Full PR after the jump!

Continue reading “Zagg Ahead of the Curve with new Accessories for iPhone 5S & 5C”

AT&T posts iPhone pre-order page for September 20th release

170455-mrq-iPhone5C-bg-972x460If you’re on Big Blue and looking to shop one of those shiny new iPhones we’ve been hearing all about over the last day or so, AT&T has helpfully created an email alert page just for you. Of course they’ll be carrying the new iPhones, so if you want to make sure a little box has your name on it on September 20th, you will want to be alerted when pre-orders go live on September 13th.

Jump over to www.apple.com/iphone to make sure you’re all signed up.

Apple Officially unveils iPhone 5S & 5C. Available September 20th.

iPhone5c_34L_AllColors_PRINT“In the past, when we’ve launched a new iPhone, we lowered the cost of the old iPhone, making it more accessible to new people. But this year, we’re not going to do that.” – Tim Cook

Yes, they’re officially official! The iPhone 5S will reign as the new premier handset and the iPhone 5C will replace the iPhone 5 as a mid range offering. The iPhone 4S will remain as a “free on contract” option for frugal buyers.

The iPhone 5C is largely an iPhone 5 in a candy colored polycarb plastic shell. Inspired by phones like the Nokia Lumia, Apple is releasing the iPhone 5C in green, white, blue, pink, and yellow. Pricing will be very reasonable, coming in at $99 for a 16GB version and $199 for the 32GB model. This is a smart play by Apple, as it provides a much needed mid-range which wont be as expensive as the uni-body aluminum iPhone to produce. This should also help open up some Asian and African developing markets where consumers might not be interested in paying the Apple premium for the 5S.

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The iPhone 5S will retain the aluminium shell of its predecessor, meaning in the wild it will be difficult to see whether someone is carrying the latest and greatest. In part to address that, the color options for the 5S have changed. Silver remains, but instead of Black, the 5S  will come in “Space Grey”. This may also be a response to complaints that the black iPhone was easily scratched. Also, for those wanting a bit more bling, a Gold version will also be available. I would expect this to be the top seller for this generation of iPhone, as even I can be guilty of wanting other people around me to know I have a bleeding edge phone. And yes. I did just say “bling”.

iphone 5s camera rear goldWhile the 5S wont be visually much different than the iPhone 5, it is packing new equipment under the hood to improve the iOS experience. A new camera is on board, marking the first improvement in two generations of iPhone. The resolution remains the same at 8 megapixels, but the new sensor is larger allowing more light to hit individual photo sites. When paired with a new f2.2 aperture lens, this should improve low light capabilities. The new camera app will also be capable of shooting continuous 10 frame per second stills. A new slow-motion video mode is also included which can shoot at 120 frames per second to catch all those great sports and pet moments in delicious slow motion detail.

A new processor is on board. The Apple claims the A7 is up to twice as powerful as the A6, though details regarding actual performance are thin. Interestingly enough, the new A7 is a 64-bit chip. I can’t really understand why Apple made this jump now, as the move to 64-bit on desktops was to facilitate more than 4GB of RAM (which the iPhone does not have). This could perhaps be a preemptive move towards unifying OSX on the desktop and iOS on mobile devices? We’ll just have to wait and see…

The new chipset does feature improved graphics processing thanks to OpenGL ES 3.0. Apple showed off a preview of Infinity Blade 3 which demonstrated dynamic lighting, improved texture mapping, and larger playable areas.

For those active smartphone users, the 5S packs a new sensor co-processor dubbed the M7. It’s a small mini-brain responsible for driving and collecting all of the data from the various sensors, gyros, accelerometers, and the compass. This is a cool piece of tech, as all that info can be collected and sorted by apps without the new A7 processor turning on. This should help battery life, and open new doors for tracking and location apps with the new M7 API.

Speaking of power, Apple claims 10 hours of LTE browsing, 40 hours of music listening, and 250 hours of standby time. No word yet on whether the battery can sustain real world use through dinner time…

iphone 5s touch id home button fingerprint sensor somegadgetguyLastly, for those a bit more security conscious, Touch ID was introduced, which builds a capacitive fingerprint scanner into the Home button on the 5S. Apple demo’ed the feature, which should make unlocking an iPhone near invisible to the person who owns the iPhone, just by tapping the Home Button. This should be of interest to corporate and government IT departments which have to force smartphone users into using alphanumeric passwords which can sometimes be difficult to enter on a touchscreen display.

iPhone 5s will follow in the footsteps of previous iPhones launching at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for a 64GB version. The iOS7 update goes live September 18, and iPhone pre-orders start September 13. The phones will be available for purchase September 20 in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and China. That last is very important for Cupertino, as this will be the first time an iPhone will include the Chinese market at launch, and offering that mid-range iPhone 5C could help open up Asian markets which haven’t warmed to Apple’s mobile offerings in the past.

Watch the keynote at Apple.com. Full Press Releases after the jump! Continue reading “Apple Officially unveils iPhone 5S & 5C. Available September 20th.”

Reactions to Apple’s Keynote. Enobong Etteh from BooredAtWork joins us to talk iPhone 5C and 5S

enobong etteh booredatworkEnobong Etteh from Boored At Work joins me to talk about the Apple September 2013 Keynote which introduced the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C and iTunes Radio. We’ll also take a stab as to why the stock market wasn’t very excited by the news, with Apple stock falling 12 points after the unveiling.

Boored At Work on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/booredatwork/

Apple Intros iTunes Radio to compete against Pandora, Spotify, Google, Microsoft, etc…

itunes radio announced somegadgetguy streaming internet musicThe iTunes Radio announcement was one of the first things discussed during Apple’s keynote today, but Tim Cook ran over it so fast, I think you can still see tire tread on its back.

What should have been one of the more interesting services announcement for Cupertino was largely ignored. Apple created the online music sales market as we know it today, yet even with that legacy, very little was said about iTUnes Radio. With a nod and a collective shrug, we just took it for granted before moving on to hardware announcements.

Simply billed as “coming soon” on the official iTunes site, Radio will be another streaming service designed to compete with offerings from Pandora, Spotify, Google, and even Microsoft. It will allow you to build “stations” for your favorite music, and those stations will be synced across all of your devices via iCloud, so iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV can all get in on the act.

On a personal note, it’s a little shocking that even Microsoft was able to beat Apple to a service like this. Plus, it’s uncharacteristically tame of Apple not to work being late into more of a consumer oriented selling point. In the past being late to a service, Apple would’ve boldly claimed that they waited to perfect the offerings which were obviously inferior or confusing to consumers. There was no such bravado on display here today, and lacking that confidence is a dangerous place for Apple to be in this viscerally competitive market.

Full deets on Apple.com