Rai Niaz Ahmad

iPhone 5: What Can We Expect?

Rai Niaz — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:59:19 +0000

It’s that time of year again. Analysts and Apple fans alike are anxiously waiting for the latest iPhone. The rumor mill has already been active trying to predict what new features and functionality the device will bring. Soon enough, we’ll know which ones were right and which ones were not.

In the meantime, here’s a look at what we think the next iPhone will bring to consumers:

Processor

Inside the device itself, all signs point to a dual-core A5 chip to function as the new processor, giving the new iPhone a speed boost. Since the original release of the iPhone, Apple hasn’t released any new devices without an update to the core hardware, and it’s hard to believe this one will be an exception.

According to CultOfMac’s analysis, when the iPhone 4 was released, merely months after the iPad, Apple decided to use the same A4 processor for both. If Apple were to continue the trend, then the A5 would be the most logical processor for the upcoming iPhone since it’s currently used in the iPad 2.

Physical Properties

Apart from the iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS update, every other iPhone update has trimmed a little bit of body weight and size from the previous generation. When Chinese case makers leaked photos of their claimed next generation iPhone cases, it became much more likely that this trend will continue to the next generation iPhone.

The case leak shows a considerably thinner profile for the device along with rounded edges, almost taking the design of the iPad 2 and applying it to a smaller form. With this newfound design, the case is pointing to a larger width, which could lead to a larger screen as well.

Even though one of the staples of the iPhone has been the standard screen size, that may soon change. Ever since Android smartphones have been coming up with 4 inch screens, many people have hoped Apple would follow suit and build a bigger screen. Combining this with the new cases, it’s easy to imagine a bigger screen, and makes this rumor relatively likely.

Camera

Most industry sources and experts agree that the next iPhone will have an 8 megapixel camera, a definite upgrade from the iPhone 4′s 5 megapixel camera. Once again, Apple has a history of updating cameras between product refreshes, and an 8 megapixel camera upgrade certainly follows suit.

Recently, an image popped up across the Internet that appears to have cropped an 8 megapixel photo to about a 5 megapixel photo, which has a geotag location of Apple’s campus. If this picture is accurate, then Apple has been testing the new camera on a prototype device already.

NFC Chip

NFC–A short-range wireless payment system–came into the spotlight after Google began its “Wallet” program in late May. Sadly, since it launched, the only financial institution onboard with Google Wallet is Citibank. Sure, merchants love the idea of an easier and faster way of taking money from consumers, but financial backers apparently don’t see it the same way.

New York Times reported in March that two sources “with knowledge of the inner workings” verified a Qualcomm chip with NFC technology would be included in a future iteration of the iPhone. Still it seems unlikely. Hopping onboard Google’s pet project doesn’t fit Apple M.O. It’s got the bones for something great in the future, but for now NFC is more of a novelty than a must-have feature.

Carriers

A more likely rumor is the iPhone being carried by all four major U.S. carriers. Rumors of the iPhone escaping the grasp of AT&T and Verizon surfaced in August when the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources who said the iPhone was coming in mid October on the Sprint network. Just a day later, rumors of the iPhone making its way to T-Mobile surfaced as Apple blog MacTrast cited a T-Mobile insider who said the fourth largest U.S. carrier would also be sporting the device. But, is this likely?

Well, yes the claims do make sense. Apple initially went with an exclusive deal with AT&T because it meant a bigger payout. That exclusivity is now gone as AT&T is now offered on the Verizon network so opting for a bigger market on more carriers seems logical.

4G/LTE

Peter Misek of Jefferies & Co. analyst group was quoted in Forbes as saying Qualcomm’s LTE chipset, “is currently not achieving yields sufficient for inclusion in the iPhone 5.” In other words, the infrastructure just is not there for it to be considered by Apple. Why would Apple add a technology still early in development into its flagship mobile device? The LTE coverage in major cities are spotty at best and practically non-existent in rural areas.

Launch Date

Whether it includes the speculative new features or not, there one questions all Apple fans have in mind: When is it coming?

In past launches, June and July were traditionally when new iPhones have been introduced. But this year, the months came and went without even a hint of the new device.

Some say unexpected natural disasters are to be blamed and other speculate it might the patent wars delaying the launch. Whatever the case, the latest on the matter seems to be pointing to the date of October 15 as the launch date. So how likely is this?

This one’s a toss up. It’s definitely possible the iPhone would be launching soon. After all, history tells us the expected launch date has passed. But, a month leaves very little time for Apple to set up its usual iPhone hoopla at Cupertino.

iOS 5 release to come five days before iPhone 5

Rai Niaz — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:42:25 +0000

Apple’s iOS 5 software update is getting closer as we hear various rumors of carrier testing, and the software being readied for installation on the next iPhone. Today we can tell you that the iOS 5 release is to come a five days before the iPhone 5 is launched to the world.\

There are now reports that Apple has alerted its AppleCare arm to be ready for an increased number of iOS queries from customers starting on October 10th. This could mean the timeframe for the release of the operating system update being release to the public. According to AppleInsider a source is claiming that a local AppleCare call center has been warned to expect a massive increase in calls on that date.
The source didn’t confirm for definite that iOS 5 will be available that day, but did say the increase in inquiries will be for iOS. Apple normally release software updates before the release of new hardware, and last year iOS 4 was released on Monday June 21st with the iPhone 4 coming on the following Thursday.
Meanwhile CEO of French mobile carrier Orange, Stephane Richard, has allegedly said that the iPhone 5 will be available five days later. He said “If I believe what we heard, the iPhone 5 will be released Oct. 15”. We recently told you about claims that an O2 staff member had said the iPhone 5 was being released in the UK on October 21st, so whether one is for a US launch and then for the UK remains to be seen.
The golden master build of iOS 5 is expected to reach manufacturers of the iPhone 5 soon for installation onto already assembled handsets. While the iPhone 5 has not been confirmed to be coming by Apple, iOS 5 had already been slated for release during the fall.
It is widely believed that Apple will be announcing a press event to take place before the end of the month. This is thought to showcase the iphone 5 and a new iPod Touch with 3G compatibility.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or connect with Gary Johnson on Google+.

iPhone 5 To be Released On October 1st In Canada

Rai Niaz — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:27:10 +0000

New rumors on iPhone 5 launch indicate an October release, October 1st to be more precise. The recent speculation comes from Canadian wireless carrier Telus, who has recently leaked a document indicating the exact date of Apple’s fifth generation iPhone launch.

If the rumor is true, than Apple will be launching its next-gen iPhone on a Saturday. The scenario doesn’t quite fit the company’s tradition, since Apple’s devices have been historically launched on Thursdays and Fridays. On the other hand, the leaked document seems to list not only the launch date for iPhone 5, but also of other devices and the October 1st date might indeed be accurate.
The rumor lines up pretty well with other recent rumors that have hit the Internet waves, suggesting that iPhone 5 would come in October and providing reasons to justify their supposition. But the October story contradicts the generally embraced belief that iPhone 5 is being launched in September, following Apple’s traditional annual cycle.
There is another possibility though. Maybe the Canada release date doesn’t coincide with the official US launch, and in this case the October 1st timeframe may be true. Looking back in Apple’s history, the company mainly focuses on US and sometimes on several other countries as well within the first months upon release and only afterwards it expands gradually to other markets worldwide.
Whether is September or October, one fact is becoming more and more certain: Apple’s fifth generation iPhone is most likely coming this fall. As Apple is probably not going to give any information any time soon, all we could do is take the rumor with the right amount of salt.

Nokia axe Symbian in North America – Windows Phone 7 the future?

Rai Niaz — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 06:57:11 +0000

For a long time now Symbian OS has felt dated, many experts think the operating system has played a big part in Nokia’s lack of impact in the high-end market and earlier this year Nokia revealed that in the future a lot of its smartphones would use Windows Phone 7 instead, well today we have a pretty substantial update on the situation which affects North Americans.

According to a recent article posted on AllThingsD, Nokia has confirmed that plans have been put in place to stop selling Symbian-based smartphones and feature phones in the United States and Candada, instead Nokia is planning a marketing push and putting their money where the mouth is with Windows Phone 7. We can also confirm that the Meego-based Nokia N9 will not get a U.S release either.
Below we have added a quote from Nokia’s President, Chris Weber, he said:
“When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc” and also went on to say that “It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that. The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do (elsewhere).”
As you can say this is a massive statement which seems to suggest that if Nokia fail with Windows Phone 7 they will not be able to succeed in today’s feature phone and smartphone market, we could be misinterpreting what has been said by Mr Weber, however what else could this mean.
Weber goes on to say that North America is Nokia’s priority as this is a key market for Microsoft, it also seems as if Nokia feel that success in North America will play a big part in global success. This makes sense but it does mean that Nokia is relying on Microsoft’s mobile operating system very heavily, we wonder why Nokia decided against dabbling in the Android smartphone market as so many other manufacturers have seen success here. In terms of call quality, general phone usage and camera clarity Nokia has a lot to bring to the table, do you think gambling on the success of Windows Phone 7 will pay off?
So far we only know of one Nokia device to run Windows Phone 7 which is on the way, this is codenamed Sea Ray and you can find out a lot more about this device here, what do you think of Nokia’s future plans?
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or connect with Jamie Pert on Google+.
Download our free iPhone and iPad apps, or read more in: Cell Phone Information, Cell Phones.

iPhone 5 Website Leaked?

Rai Niaz — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 06:44:38 +0000

Browsing around the web today I came across a Youtube video that supposedly features the website of the new iPhone 5, which is expected to be launched in September of 2011.

As you’ll see in the video below, the video is a screencast of someone visiting the Swiss version of Apple’s official website. The guy goes to the iPhone page, and then he shows some hidden links below the normal ones. Once he clicks on one of them he’s redirected to the iPhone 5 page, which includes images, specifications and so on.
Normally I am skeptical about such videos and images, but this one looks real (either that or the guy who faked the video put a heck lot of effort into it, which is always possible given the kind of fanatics we have around). And it’s also possible that the Apple’s tech team responsible for the Swiss website forgot those hidden links there while testing the new version of their website (not likely, but possible).

How to Create Your Own Dictionary For Your Android’s Keyboard?

Rai Niaz — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:58:40 +0000

If English is not your first language and you really want to learn how to add Dictionary to your Android’s keypoard, than this tutorial is very useful, However, the dictionaries included with the Gingerbread keyboard seem to be somewhat lacking. One of the Android lover on xda development has made a great tool for us to make our The most important thing is probably to ensure that your source is as accurate as possible, but other than that, the process is simple and very well laid out on the reference site.

1. Good source for word list frequency
Good prediction Dictionary relies on word list frequency, as defined by the AOSP
http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=pla…275504;hb=HEAD
So, you need a source from which you can extract how often different words appear. After some thinking, googling, trial and error I came to conclusion that for smartphone usage there is no better place than big national forum. That’s what I used, anyway.

2. OpenOffice (and MS Office) dictionary for your language
You can find it here:
http://extensions.services.openoffic…n/dictionaries
You don’t want to have misspelled words in the dictionary, right? So, after creating word list from the source, you’ll want to throw out the words that are not in this list.
Just to be sure that I’ll keep all the ‘good’ words in the list I also ran MS Office Spelling procedure trough it. Will explain it later on.

3. Tools – GNU Utilities, MS Office, Ultraedit, Wget (HTTrack)…
There are no more powerful tools for stream editing than Unix tools. Period.
At first I tried to do something without it and when I learned a bit about them, realized how great these are for task like this. Get them here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/unxutils
Windows comes with it’s own ‘sort’ command but you’ll want to use the one from GNU utilities, so put it in the directory where you start your commands from.
You’ll need to download that forum that I mentioned earlier somehow. I used wget:
http://www.gnu.org/software/wget/
It was pretty slow (took like two days to mirror part of the forum with posts). When I was near the end with the download I learned about HTTrack:
http://www.httrack.com
I tried it out shortly and it seems a lot faster (can do multiple connections!)

4. Makedict
Get it here:
http://softkeyboard.googlecode.com/s…ctionaryTools/
For Windows, you need makedict_Windows.bat and makedict.jar

PROCEDURE:
You can find more information in the guide thread.

Please leave some feedback and if you feel like sharing your customized dictionaries, please do so as well.

Other Useful Resources:

How to Find the Right Android Keyboard for You
Create Your Own Custom Keyboard for Android Devices
Best Android Keyboard | Find Your Android Keyboard Replacement
Want To Create Your Own Dictionary For Your Android’s Keyboard?

Free Download Google+ App for iPhone

Rai Niaz — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:32:48 +0000

Google+ is the big challenge for a new social network and to Facebook and Google has submitted its app for approval to Apple and finally Google+ app for iPhone is available free for download through App Store.

Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler. Huddle lets you send super-fast messages to the people you care about most. And no matter where you are, the stream lets you stay in the loop about what your friends are sharing and where they’re checking in.

Features:

Circles let you share the right things with just the right people.
Stream is where you can get updates from your circles or see what people are saying about things nearby.
Huddle is super-fast group messaging for everyone in your circles.”

Google+ app is compatible with iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G and requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Download Google+ App for iPhone

How to Send Free Texts From Your Smart Phone

Rai Niaz — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:39:20 +0000

With your smartphone, there are plenty of ways to avoid paying for text messaging. These text messaging apps are often much better than just texting because they allow cool things like texting with groups, better media management and free international text sending facility. For free SMS from your iPhone or Android, blackberry, Samsung, Nokia, check out the following list:

Beluga - Group Messaging Made Easy

Beluga helps groups of friends stay in touch on the go. Use it to plan a night out or just share updates and photos. It’s instant, intimate and simple. Best of all, it’s completely free.

textPlus - Free Messaging, Groups, and Pics

Texting is how you keep up with your friends. Now, the easiest way to start chats, share pics and discover new people in conversations is with textPlus on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

GroupMe - Your Real Life Network

Start groups with the people already in your contacts. When you send a message, everyone instantly receives it – it’s like a private chat room that works on any phone.

WhatsApp - Cross Platform Mobile Messaging

WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other!

PingChat - Free Text, Picture, and Video Messaging

PingChat! lets you send and receive instant messages, pictures, video, locations and voice notes with your data plan or wifi connection. Best of all, it’s completely free.

How to add SMS Text Messaging services to WordPress Blogs and WebSites

Best Inspiring and Free Android Photo Apps

Rai Niaz — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:52:30 +0000

In my last post I present you a Best Inspiring iPad Application Websites which is much appreciated. Now this is round one of the best free photo apps for your Android system. It’s exciting that anyone out there is giving app love to the android users. So I’ve listed best of my favorite free photo apps, with examples.

Best Android Apps

FxCamera

This is a great photo app. It has the following features:

ToyCam
Polandroid (witty)
Fisheye
SymmetricCam
Warhol
And Normal

Retro Camera

Take delicious old-school pics on your Android.
Instant Nostalgia now free.

With Retro Camera you’ll take delicious old-school pics your friends will drool over. 5 cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch, black and white & cross processing effects for that off-the-hip analog look. Inspired by the Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana, the toy cameras and Hipstamatic. Instant Nostalgia now free.

Vignette Camera

Vignette: Add film and camera effects to your photos.

Add film and camera effects to your photos.

• 68 effects & 56 frames
• Retro/vintage styles
• LOMO/Diana/Holga toy camera styles
• Polaroid/instant camera styles
• Cross-process, tilt-shift, photobooth, double exposure and more.

• Flash (if your phone has one) (not working on Dell Streak)
• Front-facing camera support (on some phones)
• Self-timer and time-lapse
• Digital zoom
• Geotagging

If you have problems, please check our web page for help, bug fixes and contact details. If you just leave a comment in the market, we can’t work with you to find a fix.

http://sites.google.com/site/neilandtheresa/Vignette/FAQ

Picplz: Share your mobile photos in style

picplz offers a simple way to take photos and upload them in just a few clicks. It’s easy to add a caption, tag your location and check in. Connect and share with your Twitter, Facebook and more.

ActionSnap

Simple camera to capture action, enjoy the “sampled” four frames photo.
Simple camera app fantastic for capturing action and movement.
Take multiple photos and combine
ActionSnap supports combining 4 or 9 photos. You can choose a time interval from 0.1s to 5s and start capturing photos by one click only, or you can use the custom mode to take photos one by one.
Cool effects
ActionSnap provides two effects, LOMO and Speia. Besides the default image ratio, ActionSnap also supports taking square photo.
Share to the world
Share your amazing, creative life photos. Sunsets, architecture, action, life. There is beauty in everything. Follow your friends photos and explore the world through the lens of the Steply community.

Keywords: Multishot, Photo Grid, Action Snap, ActionSnap, MultiCamera, QuadCamera, lomo, steply, photo effect

Little Photo

Add film and retouch effects to your photos.
This is free. New effects will be added in version update.
Stack multiple effects for your photo style !

Fatbooth

PiVi & Co is launching the Android version of its famous FatBooth app, one of the most popular iPhone apps ever. FatBooth for Android is available to download for free on the Android Market.
Tired of diets?! Get fat instantly with FatBooth for Android.
What would you look like with a “few” extra pounds? And what about your friends?
Find out with FatBooth for Android, a fun way to instantly supersize faces on your Android device.
Use FatBooth for Android on family, friends or colleagues photos and share them via email, FaceBook, Twitter.
Features
• Works with photos taken with your Android device camera or from your photo gallery
• Auto-cropping using face detection
• Transformation process is instant with no internet connection needed
• Shake device to see before and after views
• Scroll results into the app gallery
• Save results to your photo gallery
• Share with your friends via email, FaceBook or Twitter

Zombiebooth

How would you look as a zombie?! What about your friends?
ZombieBooth is a fun way to instantly make your face into a 3D, animated zombie!
CUSTOMIZABLE 3D ZOMBIES!
- ZombieBooth makes any 2D portrait fully 3D
- Create a huge collection of 3D, animated zombies from photos of you and your friends
- Shake or Tap to choose from several zombie variations to pinpoint your undead doppelgänger

image reference: 70 Free Cool Google Android Apps

Best Inspiring iPad Application Websites

Rai Niaz — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:39:16 +0000

With iPhone, iPad also growing rapidly. Developers now developing applications for iPad and there is huge list of apps in its store. If you have iPad and interested to see these wonderful apps than this list is for you, As well, If you are a developer and going to start to develop your own iPad app than you can get inspiration from this list. I am sure you must find them The Best Inspiring iPad App Websites.

Sources:

iPad Applications Reviews
Apps Sites
The iPad Fan