Introduction

There has been a lot of hype surrounding Apple's new iPhone 4 but has it really lived up to it?

Pros

• The screen is awesome
• The interface is good, as usual
• battery life has improved
• Fast

Cons

• Facetime is useless
• Glass makes it feel too delicate
• Not really revolutionary

Design

Well, if you don't know what Apple's iPhone looks like, then you must have been living under a rock for the past few months. Anyway, it feels nice in the hand and noticeably slimmer. It also feels quite solid. I, however, was a bit nervous, the glass looked good but it made the phone feel like it could scratch easily. I was also scared of dropping it in case the glass cracked. I did find a nice case to put it in, but phones always look better when they are out of the case.

Performance

When, I first turned the phone on, I noticed the bright screen. The display was crisp and vibrant and it looked really good. I watched a few YouTube videos on it and they also looked really crisp. The phone's screen also felt a lot more responsive than the older iPhone 3G although it did feel a little sticky which was weird. The interface looked the same as it has done on all iPhones since the first one so there is nothing new worth mentioning. However, when comparing performance between the 3G and the 4, there was a huge difference. This could have just been because the 3G was running iOS 4 which made it sluggish. I looked at iBooks and there was no delays on the iPhone 4 while on the 3G, it took a while to even turn the page.

Logically, the next step would have been to explore the new camera and it feels really cool. The photos came out quite well and the addition of a flash makes a huge difference to the photos. Personally, I liked the tap to focus feature which was really useful and I thought it made it easier to focus than a conventional compact camera. The fact that the phone can also capture video is cool as is the ability to switch between the two cameras to take photos of yourself, if that's what you're into. This brings me onto one of the most hyped features of the phone, Facetime. Facetime is essentially video calling, except worse. Instead of being able to call anyone who has a phone capable of video calling, you can only call other iPhone 4s. On top of this, both of you have to be on WiFi. So essentially the feature is useless.

There have also been a lot of complaints about the reception of the phone but when I used it, I found no such issue. This could have been because the phone is on Telstra, one of the best networks which has really good coverage. I never noticed any drop in signal strength no matter how I held the phone. Call clarity was also really good throughout and I had no call drops. Again, this could have just been because of the network. I have heard AT&T is quite crap so this could have been why signal was lost so quickly.

Conclusion

Overall, the phone is quite good. it is fast, responsive and the retina display is really crisp and vibrant. The phone feels nice in the hand and is incredibly solid. The new features that were promised all worked well. However, i don't think the phone is really worth upgrading to if you have the 3GS. It has a few new features but nothing revolutionary. If you have the 3G though, it is a worthwhile upgrade as you get a better camera and compass functionality. On top of this you also get a much speedier phone and a better screen.

In light of what has become a PR nightmare over the faulty reception issues of Apple's iPhone 4, could the tech giant be considering a recall? PR experts say it'd better.

In a recent Cult of Mac post, PR experts outline the dangers of Apple continuing to skirt the recent accusations of a bad antenna design, especially after yesterday's news of Consumer Reports magazine claiming it is unable to recommend the iPhone 4 after recent tests found too many faults with the phone's hardware. “Apple will be forced to do a recall of this product,” Matthew Seeger, an expert in crisis communication, told Cult of Mac. “It's critically important. The brand image is the most important thing Apple has. This is potentially devastating.” [Source: Techland]

Read Full Story

Apple's iPhone 4 seemed like a pretty cool device when it first came out but now it seems like Apple's image as a company which prides itself on the quality of its products is in tatters. The iPhone 4 has a serious design flaw with its antenna and the problem is not the design fault itself, as many great companies have released a product with a flaw in it, but the fact that Apple is not admitting to the mistake. In fact they are blaming the consumer by saying that they are holding it the wrong way. It is this arrogance which could lead to the failure of the product.

After a week of testing Microsoft's latest operating system out, here is a full review on how it is.

Pros

• Redesigned Taskbar
• Gesture Controls
• Faster than Vista
• Smaller Footprint

Cons

• Similar Appearance to Vista (Not really a bad thing but I like change)
• Some features are a bit gimmicky
• Pricey for Australians (unless you buy the OEM version)

Overview

I don’t have to remind everyone of the epic failure Vista was but Microsoft has now released their latest operating system, Windows 7. It has promised to be everything Vista was not. Judging by first impressions, I was very impressed. Installation was incredibly fast and easy (I performed a clean install) and surprisingly Windows found the drivers for ALL my devices automatically. My wireless card drivers were even there. I didn’t need to touch any of the CDs I got with the devices or manually go to websites to download 64-bit drivers. So far Windows 7 was living up to its claims.

Features

The most obvious new feature is seen as soon as the desktop has loaded. It is the new taskbar. I must say that it is nice to have large icons for a change. The taskbar is much tidier than the older windows ones as when a program is running, all you see is the icon of the program lit up on the taskbar. You can preview all the windows just by hovering over the icon and Windows will even maximise that windows will the mouse pointer is over the thumbnail. The new taskbar is very similar to Mac’s dock however minus the visual effects of bouncing icons and Mexican waves. Another new feature is the fact that the system tray is not clogged up with icons anymore. Instead all of the icons can go to an overflow area unless you specify that you want the icons on the system tray. Also, instead of having annoying pop ups saying your anti-virus is turned off etc. there is a new action center which is indicated by a flag. You just need to click on it to see what problems there could be on your computer and you can easily disable the message. Another new feature is Aero Peek which is a little button on the far right of the taskbar. If you hover over it, it turns all the windows transparent and allows you to see the desktop. Clicking on the button will minimise all windows. I honestly don’t see any point for this feature except for eye candy. The only thing you could use it for is if you needed to see the weather or check the currency exchange rates but it still is a fun thing to play with. Windows 7 also features a new search bar which I found extremely useful. The search is much more detailed and covers Control panel items as well. Once you use it you will never want to go back. This covers most of the new taskbar improvements.

Another feature which I really like is the gesture controls. For example, if you want to maximise the window you simply grab the top of it and drag it to the top of the screen. To restore it, you just drag down again. There is Aero Shake which means if you have hundreds of windows open on your desktop and you wanted to focus on that one window, you simply shake the windows you want to focus on and all the other windows will be minimised. If you want all the windows back, you just shake the same window again. Finally, there is Aero Snap where you can drag one window to the right of the screen and the other to the left and they will fit side by side making it easy to copy text from one to the other. When the two windows are side by side, you don’t to click twice to activate the other windows and do something. Instead you can just normally copy text without having to click the other window hundreds of times just to get it to activate. These small features easily become second nature and increase your productivity however I feel these features will be much more effective on a touchscreen rather than with a mouse. Another thing is the boot up time. This is significantly improved over Vista. Not only this but while everything is loading, you can use programs. You don’t have to click the Internet Explorer logo and wait 10 minutes with just the blue loading ring going on. It will load as fast as it does everytime. This just about covers the major Windows 7 improvements and the ones which are worth covering.

Installation

Windows 7 was a piece of cake to install. It is like installing any other program. You just keep clicking next and it will be installed. I managed to get it fully installed with updates and drivers in less than one hour. The OS also takes up a smaller footprint partly because Microsoft hasn’t included Windows Photo Gallery and Movie Maker. These can be installed as part of the Live Essentials program though and both programs are an improvement over their Vista counterparts. The new Movie Maker has the Ribbon interface which makes it easy to use and there are several new effects. it still can’t match iMovie though. Microsoft also but their Ribbon interface on Wordpad (The free version of Microsoft Word) and Paint. Microsoft has significantly improved Paint. It has new brushes and is a lot of fun to use. The brushes look realistic as well and some even “run out” of paint! Windows 7 also has new types of themes which allows you to have a line up of wallpapers which will change after a specified amount of time. In these themes you can also set the colour of the Aero glass. There are many downloadable themes from Microsoft’s website including ones for different countries. There are also a few themes from different companies such as Coca-Cola and Porsche. Microsoft has included quite a few themes pre installed and you can easily create your own theme if you want to.

Along with Windows 7, Microsoft released a free Security suite called Security Essentials. It is basically just an anti-virus. I tested this program out and it is actually really good. it doesn’t eat up RAM and is easy to manage. It is non intrusive and barely slows down start up time. I would highly recommend this product for average computer users. Those who need a lot of protection for their valuable data might want to look elsewhere as this suite doesn’t have some of the advanced features which many payware suites do have. There is a full review of this coming soon.

Conclusion

Overall, Windows 7 really has lived up to its claims. Although there are no real gaming performance advantages, Windows 7 loads faster and overall feels more polished than Vista was. There are several new features and although some may be gimmicky, it is still fun to use. Honestly, Windows 7 is on of the best Microsoft OS’s I have ever used and I highly recommend it to anyone. It will work on many computers, even those with low system specifications. Windows 7 really is what Vista never was.

Judging by the overwhwelming response I got from all these people in my last post. I thought I would even the argument out a little. Here are 7 Reasons why a Mac is better than a PC.

1. Almost No Viruses

The majority of Mac users don't even have an anti virus. This is because there are very few viruses out there for Macs. This is due to the fact that there are more PCs in the world so people only want to make viruses which can spread quicker. This makes a PC the medium of choice. This is great news for Mac users who don't need an additional anti virus which means there is no additional program to slow their computer down and eat up RAM. There is a built in security to stop viruses if they do come. This is of course free as opposed to Microsoft's Live One Care.

2. Heaps of Software Built In

Macs come with so much useful software built in to them. These are mainly part of the iLife suite which includes things like iMovie, iPhoto and Garageband. These pieces of software are so much better than their PC alternatives as they are easy to use and not to mention free. For designers, the software they need is much cheaper than any comparable software on PCs and it is the same, if not more powerful. Take for example Final Cut Studio which is cheaper than Adobe's Premiere. This makes a Mac almost ready to go as soon as you buy it.

3. Dock

The Dock in OS X is so much easier to use and access than Windows' start menu. All the programs you need are conveniently viewable and much more accessible than the "All Programs" menu. The Dock is also more flexible as it can be made bigger, hidden etc. This also leaves the desktop free of clutter and gives it room to put all the drives on it. This makes it easier to quickly access all your drives instead of going into My Computer and searching through there.

4. Display

Apple Monitors are always very bright and vibrant. They reproduce colours very well. Their Macbook displays are especially good when compared to other Windows laptops. This makes Macs a very good choice for designers who need accurate colour reproduction.

5. Build Quality

Even PC users will agree that Apple's build quality is excellent. Their computers always feel expensive and oozing of quality. An example is the Macbook Pro. These have a unibody aluminium shell, glass screen and glass touchpad. Their iMacs are also similar in design.

6. It Runs Windows!

The fact that Apple supports Windows means that it has a bigger software pool to choose from. This means that a Mac user can have the advantage of getting things like iPhoto and iMovie, which outweigh their Windows competitors, as well as having support for Aperture 2 and Final Cut Studio. They can also choose from a wide range of PC software and hardware should they want something which Mac doesn't support. There are no Windows computers that can legally run a copy of Mac OS X.

7. Seamless Backups

Apple's Time Machine makes backing up your Mac easy. It is a powerful software which can perform backups at regular intervals. Compared to Vista's backup solution, Apple's software is incredibly easy to use. Anyone who hasn't backup up a computer before wouldn't find this a challenge.

Lately Apple has gained a lot of popularity everywhere. Many people are talking about switching from windows to mac and I have been in countless arguments over which is better. Note: I will write an article later about why Macs are better than PCs just to be fair.

1. Customisability

PCs are infinitely more customisable than Macs. It is very simple to build your own computer, choosing the exact parts you need to suit your needs. There are infinite combinations and choice when it comes to making a PC. If you don't want to make one, there are heaps of people who will make one for you to suit your own needs. Retailers such as Dell and HP also offer many options to customise a PC. Macs however are very limited. They often don't use the latest hardware for about a year while PCs have already had them. You don't see any Macs with Core i7's inside them. Any extras you want to add on will cost you a fortune for example adding an extra 4GB of RAM will cost you around $800 but if you had a PC, a similar upgrade for 4GB of DDR3 will cost a maximum of $200 but can be had for $150. This makes a PC much more affordable. There is so much choice out there as to parts that you can make it look however you want. Apple only offers a few variations of their computers with little customisation options at a price set way too high. Not to mention the premium you pay for the Apple logo.

2. Hardware and Software Compatibility

Many people argue that Macs have enough software to keep them going. The fact is that if you have a PC, you have way more options. You have more choice when it comes to any software or hardware. Basically every piece of software compatible with Mac is compatible with PC (except for the software made by Apple). PC has way more choice when it comes to games and any game on a PC will run better if you have a newer computer as the newest Macs have outdated Hardware. Mac users will always have to always check if the hardware or software they are buying is compatible with Mac. Yes, you can run Windows on a Mac but what is the point. If you are going to use Windows for everything then you might as well just buy a PC. Not to mention all the Office software for Mac is incredibly hard to use and completely illogical. Some basic commands which can easily be found on the Windows version of Office are incredibly difficult to find on a Mac. Not to mention Mac users don't get the slick new Ribbon interface of Office 2007.

3. Full Operating Systems

Apple charges its customers for minor updates to its Operating Systems (also known as Service Packs). Microsoft gives these out for free and only charges users for a completely new operating system. This will significantly add to the cost of your Mac if you plan to upgrade everytime  Apple releases a new version of OS X. The new features which are given in these updates are pretty insignificant and none have overhauled the OS. Is it really worth the price tag?

4. Windows Explorer is Way More Powerful

Windows Explorer offers a lot more features than finder. It offers cut and paste to easily move files around as well as offering window resizing from all corners or edges instead of just one. Not to mention it is much more easier to quit a program in Windows than Mac by simply pressing the X button instead of Command+Q. Apple's maximise button doesn't even work properly.

5. Support

There are many more PC users than Mac users. This makes it very easy for anyone with problems to find someone to help them. Many people know a lot about PCs however Apple's community is limited and there are much fewer places where you can get help from. Apple support also has a history of denying a problem exists even if it clearly does. Not to mention warranty for Dells and HPs cost a lot less than Apple's Applecare.

6. OEM

Microsoft offers the OEM version of their operating system for much cheaper than the retail pack. Apple does not sell OEMs. Vista Ultimate used to retail for $799 but at the same time, the OEM cost around $280. This gives system builders much lower costs when compared to Apple's computers and when referring back to point one, much more customisable as well.

7. Deleting Shortcuts actually works

Apple has a very visual OS while Windows is more intuitive and logical. For example when you want to delete desktop shortcuts, you can just hit the delete key. When you want to do this on a Mac, you need to drag the icon to the trash can. It makes a cool effect but it is so irritating. The menu bar on the Mac is also really irritating. When you minimise a program, the menu bar stays there which also becomes annoying when trying access other things on for example Finder. This makes using a Mac a real pain to use.