Rumoured Apple iWatch

So the Apple rumour mill is a buzz with talk of the Apple iWatch (or whatever they decide to call it). Information has surfaced recently that Apple has a patent for what can best be described as a "slap bracelet".

"In a first equilibrium position they can be flat. The second equilibrium is typically reached by slapping the flat embodiment across the wrist, at which point the bracelet curls around the wrist and stays relatively secure in a roughly circular position."

Read more at IGN

This is quite intriguing, imagine being able to take your iWatch off and straighten it out and use it differently to when it's wrapped around your wrist. Maybe for playing a game, or even a game controller for your iPad or Apple TV. Perhaps a camera for stills, video or even scanning.

Use Case

I try to not be that guy that just buys anything Apple sells, but this iWatch idea does appeal to me. I agree with what many people are saying, this will reduce the number of times you need to remove your iPhone from your pocket, if it displays all the notifications you get on your iPhone. But for me personally, I never hear my iPhone in my pocket, or feel it vibrate. I really do miss a lot of important messages or calls when my phone is in my pocket. So what I do now is constantly look at my iPhone substantially increasing the risk of dropping it.

I have not worn a wrist watch for many years, so wearing an iWatch will take some adjustment, but if it does what people are suggesting, it will be worth it.

What do the rumours say it will do?

So from what I can gather is as mentioned above, all sorts of notifications. The possibility to reply to messages via the device and/or voice (Siri). Video calls via Facetime. Reminders and calendar events. Plus some kind of health tracking, such as a pedometer or even more sophisticated body measurements like pulse rate. It will be an iOS device, so provided it is not locked out by Apple, we could see a number of apps built specifically for it.

What will it look like?

For an artists mock-up I found this image on iDownloadBlog

Looks like it could be quite an interesting product, in typical Apple fashion we almost don't see a need for something like this, but once we get one we will probably wonder how we ever lived without it.

Please post your comments below, let me know if this would be something you would consider purchasing.

Women and their digital lives in 2013

Being the go to person in my group of friends and family for tech help, I have started to notice more women taking a greater interest in technology. I decided to test my theory and ran a rather informal poll on my Facebook page. I wanted to gauge how many of my lady friends had taken to using a smart device like a tablet or smartphone and how they get what ever they want working. Do they do it themselves or get some other geek in the family to do it for them.

All the respondents said they love using their smart device and load the necessary apps themselves. Most girls load apps based on recommendations from others, some actively discover new apps themselves and one girl said she is a total geek and finds this stuff child's play.

I must say I was a little surprised, I thought girls relied more on other people for help, but this is what I am seeing now as a trend, women are taking control of their digital life and making their smart devices work for them.

What are women actually using their smart devices for?

Well unlike men who tend to have quite a few apps loaded on their smart devices just to show off, with some kind of "wow your friends" factor. Women tend to demand that all their apps have some use in their day to day lives.

Social Media

I know quite a few girls who say if Facebook was not loaded on their smartphone they would never find as much time to interact. Just think of having to make time to site down in front of your PC and log into Facebook. Checking in with your friends for a round of strawberry daiquiris would never have been possible without a smartphone and Foursquare.

Photos

Moms are always snapping those precious moments when on the run with their smartphone. No more is a 2 megapixel camera ok, girls are demanding good images, they understand that the vast majority of pictures of their kids are going to be from their camera phone. Also, women are getting into using some kind of picture processing before posting their pictures to social media sites, whether it be filters or collages, girls like their shared pictures to be pretty.

News

Women are also using their smart devices to gather news. I have had a few of my lady friends say they actively watch Twitter or some kind of news feed for their update on the world around them. It also seems as more apps are built for specific news channels they follow, these are loaded and checked throughout the day.

Instant Messaging

By far the most popular app must be WhatsApp. I have heard some rather nasty mutterings from girls about other people when they do not use WhatsApp, it's almost like sending an SMS is shameful in this day and age.

Not a really big focus on email I found, seems email is becoming less popular these days, it seems to be used to get invoices and statements.

Why the noticeable change?

I think it comes down to portability. Smart phones have always been portable, but since the iPhone all smart phones have become better. Ease of use is important, girls just want things to work, none of this tweaking and fiddling. Also the introduction of tablets, these portable devices have become invaluable for women on the run, you can really get quite a bit done in your life on a tablet, sitting at a coffee shop at the kitchen table or even in bed.

Whats next?

I see that Moms would be especially happy if schools created some kind of app to keep them informed.

I think friction free banking would be a win for women who run the family finances. SA banks have come a long way recently with their mobile banking apps, so lets see how many moms are doing some quick payments in the car while waiting for the kids to finish soccer practice.

I think it is great that women are taking control of their smart device experience like this. No more do they rely on their brother, boyfriend or husband to set up their phone for them. Gone are they days of wives saying I just want a phone that makes and receives calls.

Let me know what you think, I welcome your comments below.

iTunes iOS update has NO RESUME!!

How often has it happened that iTunes is busy downloading the update file for your iOS device, and it fails, with NO RESUME!! So you have to start all over.

This page might help, because you get a direct link to the file on the Apple site, and you can use a download manager to get the file with resuming.

iPhone Direct Download Links

iPad Direct Download Links

iPod Direct Download Links

Thanks to OSXDaily

Firmware files have an .ipsw extension and can be found at the following locations:

On Windows XP :
Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates

On Windows Vista/Windows 7:
Users\[UserName]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates

On Mac:
~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates

Thanks to iPhone FAQ

You can then place the file in that location and run the update, iTunes will pick the file up, verify it and skip the download portion of the update.

Apple iPad Event 7 March 2012 - Lets see how I did

Apple will announce a next gen iPad - TRUE

• Not sure if they will go with iPad 3 or iPad HD - FALSE
• Seems they were not sure either its just called "The New iPad"
• It will have a retina display - TRUE
• 2,048 by 1,536 or 3.1 million pixels
• It will have better camera's - TRUE
• 8MP at the back, 3MP in the front - FALSE 5MP, didn't mention the front
• It will have Siri - FALSE
• But it does get voice dictation
• Not sure about LTE or 4G
• Gets 4G LTE for US and Canada
• It will have a faster processor (CPU) - TRUE
• A5X Chip said to be 4 times faster
• It will have faster/better graphics processing (GPU) - TRUE
• Now has a Quad Core GPU

Apple will announce an update to iOS - TRUE

• iOS 5.1 available today

Apple will update the Apple TV - TRUE

• Apple TV will be updated with new hardware - TRUE
• Overall package will remain the same - TRUE
• Dual core A5 chip - They didn't say
• 1080p Video output - TRUE
• iOS 5 in line with the rest of the devices - There is an update not sure of the version
• Would love to see an Apple TV app store, but that's unlikely - TRUE

 Apple will announce something new - TRUE

• There is a lot of speculation on this one, my money is on a 7" touch device. - FALSE
• I suspect this will be a new iPod Touch
• This will remove a link to it being a "small iPad" and having to call it iPad Mini or something
• This will breath some new life into the iPod Touch.
• It would probably be WiFi only.
• Announced iPhoto for iPad
• Looks very nice
• Only works on "New iPad" - UPDATE - Downloaded on iPad2 works fine
• Will work on iPad 2 and iPad "3", iPhone 4 and 4S. Requires iOS 5.1

 Didn't do to badly I thought

My feelings on this are, if you have the bucks, then upgrading from your iPad 2 will give you an awesome screen and better performance. There is not a massive difference between iPad 2 and iPad 3.

If you are considering a tablet for the first time, the iPad 3 will have the best screen experience., nothing else compares at the moment. But you will pay for that.


I will be keeping my iPad 2 for now, unless I get some bucks to blow, because I would love the iPad 3. Oh and by the way, the price stays the same.

Apple March 7 2012 Event Predictions

Apple will be hosting an event later today, so I thought I would put down my predictions before hand and see how accurate I was.



Apple will announce a next gen iPad

• Not sure if they will go with iPad 3 or iPad HD
• I think iPad 3 would be an all new device, with the updates being mostly internal I think iPad HD more likely.
• It will have a retina display
• I think this is a given bringing the iPad in line with current iPhones.
• It will have better camera's
• 8MP at the back, 3MP in the front
• Given that the cameras on the iPad 2 are really bad for still images, this is a must.
• Upgrading the front camera would be in line with better Facetime quality.
• It will have Siri
• Apple needs to put Siri on more devices to get more widespread use, but this does present a problem for WiFi only iPads being off the internet now and again. Given that users understand that web searching won't work from the browser anyway, they should not be surprised that Siri can't search either.
• Not sure about LTE or 4G
• Given that these technologies are different around the world and in the USA, it would be surprising if they could make a one iPad fits all LTE model.
• This might just be too much for this iPad update, maybe the iPad 4 (or iPad 4G)
• It will have a faster processor (CPU)
• I say a faster dual core processor not quad core.
• Quad core is too much of a change to the way the operating system and apps would need to effectively use all the cores.
• It will have faster/better graphics processing (GPU)
• This is a given with the retina display, plus they will need it for all the HD games and movies users will be getting.

Apple will announce an update to iOS

• This will be an update to iOS 5 not an all new iOS 6, that should come with iPhone 5

Apple will update the Apple TV

• Apple TV will be updated with new hardware
• Overall package will remain the same
• Dual core A5 chip
• 1080p Video output
• iOS 5 in line with the rest of the devices
• Would love to see an Apple TV app store, but that's unlikely

 Apple will announce something new

• There is a lot of speculation on this one, my money is on a 7" touch device.
• I suspect this will be a new iPod Touch
• This will remove a link to it being a "small iPad" and having to call it iPad Mini or something
• This will breath some new life into the iPod Touch.
• It would probably be WiFi only.

Well lets see how many I get right