As we all know, the iPhone 5 was released a few weeks ago, and sold in record numbers, but why? Because let's be honest, just from looking at it, it just looks taller and thinner, which is correct, but the phone offers a lot more than it's predecessors. It is the same shape as the iPhone 4/4s but it does have a 4 inch display, half an inch bigger than the 4/4s (with the same pixels per inch, 326). Many people who have the 4s (myself included) are reluctant to upgrade to this iPhone for several reasons. Firstly, I think it looks the same aesthetically (apart from the obvious height and thickness), and there are only minor improvements from the 4s. If you look at the table below, you can see that there is not much of a difference between the 4s and the 5, the rear camera is the same 8MP that was on the 4s, the video capture is also the same as the 4s (1080p).

Although there are only a few changes, all of the changes that have been made are really nice touches, like the bigger screen. I have to concede it feels better to grasp in your hand than the 4s does, and the weight, the weight is arguably one of it's defining features, this phone is stupidly light for the size of it. With both of them in your hand the 4s feels like a brick, whilst in the other hand there's a really light, really sleek, and really quite beautiful. Also another defining feature of the new iPhone is the lightning connector. This connector has replaced the 30-pin connector which Apple have been using on the majority of their portable devices since 2003. Some people see this as a positive (space saving, etc.), but multiple people also see it as a negative, because of all of the adapters that they have purchased beforehand for their old 30-pin devices. In my opinion, this smaller connector would have happened eventually, so why not now? It was an inevitability, they would have had to put it on one of their devices to begin, so why not the iPhone 5? and the new iPod touch range?

Now I am a huge fan of all Apple products, a tiny bit of a fan boy to be perfectly honest, but all things considered I think that if you have the iPhone 4 then it is worth the upgrade, but if you have the 4s, you should only really upgrade if you want it/ can afford it, don't feel like pressured to purchase it because there's a bigger screen and better colours, I think that it would be worth the wait for next year's model, but that's just the way I look at it, obviously if you want to go out and buy it then be my guest, but I think it would be wise if you waited until next year!

4G· Apple· Comparison· EE· iPhone· iPhone 5· Lightning· Technology

Is there a point in getting the iPhone 5?

As we all know, the iPhone 5 was released a few weeks ago, and sold in record numbers, but why? Because let's be honest, just from looking at it, it just looks taller and thinner, which is correct, but the phone offers a lot more than it's predecessors. It is the same shape as the iPhone 4/4s but it does have a 4 inch display, half an inch bigger than the 4/4s (with the same pixels per inch, 326). Many people who have the 4s (myself included) are reluctant to upgrade to this iPhone for several reasons. Firstly, I think it looks the same aesthetically (apart from the obvious height and thickness), and there are only minor improvements from the 4s. If you look at the table below, you can see that there is not much of a difference between the 4s and the 5, the rear camera is the same 8MP that was on the 4s, the video capture is also the same as the 4s (1080p).

Although there are only a few changes, all of the changes that have been made are really nice touches, like the bigger screen. I have to concede it feels better to grasp in your hand than the 4s does, and the weight, the weight is arguably one of it's defining features, this phone is stupidly light for the size of it. With both of them in your hand the 4s feels like a brick, whilst in the other hand there's a really light, really sleek, and really quite beautiful. Also another defining feature of the new iPhone is the lightning connector. This connector has replaced the 30-pin connector which Apple have been using on the majority of their portable devices since 2003. Some people see this as a positive (space saving, etc.), but multiple people also see it as a negative, because of all of the adapters that they have purchased beforehand for their old 30-pin devices. In my opinion, this smaller connector would have happened eventually, so why not now? It was an inevitability, they would have had to put it on one of their devices to begin, so why not the iPhone 5? and the new iPod touch range?

Now I am a huge fan of all Apple products, a tiny bit of a fan boy to be perfectly honest, but all things considered I think that if you have the iPhone 4 then it is worth the upgrade, but if you have the 4s, you should only really upgrade if you want it/ can afford it, don't feel like pressured to purchase it because there's a bigger screen and better colours, I think that it would be worth the wait for next year's model, but that's just the way I look at it, obviously if you want to go out and buy it then be my guest, but I think it would be wise if you waited until next year!

Mobile data connection speeds of of 100 Mb/s or over is something that we can benefit from, and this future sensation called 4G is not too far away. At the moment the UK uses the 3G network and compared to the upcoming 4G has terrible speeds with a UK average of 1.5 Mb/s or in good coverage areas 7.5 Mb/s.

Trials were held in December last year by O2. The mobile companies are getting ready to use the 800MHz spectrum, which has recently been freed up on the 18th of April by switching off the Analogue TV signals. They tried the 4G trail using the 2.6GHz spectrum, which was meant to be the 3G expansion but was left unused because of legal trouble between the networks. Although we might have to wait until next year until we start to see 4G being rolled out to us its definitely something worth waiting for.

The CEO of O2 explained that the 4G services will be a huge benefit to consumers and business:

"The forthcoming spectrum auction is a watershed moment for the UK mobile industry, releasing the airwaves that will power a whole range of exciting next generation mobile services.  The new spectrum will increase capacity, quality and speed (we estimate that mobile broadband capacity will increase by 20 to 40 times from today's levels), and will allow us to deliver true connectivity through a suite of innovative digital services."

3G· 4G· Android· iPhone· News· o2· Technology

What Will Be The Successor To 3G?

Mobile data connection speeds of of 100 Mb/s or over is something that we can benefit from, and this future sensation called 4G is not too far away. At the moment the UK uses the 3G network and compared to the upcoming 4G has terrible speeds with a UK average of 1.5 Mb/s or in good coverage areas 7.5 Mb/s.

Trials were held in December last year by O2. The mobile companies are getting ready to use the 800MHz spectrum, which has recently been freed up on the 18th of April by switching off the Analogue TV signals. They tried the 4G trail using the 2.6GHz spectrum, which was meant to be the 3G expansion but was left unused because of legal trouble between the networks. Although we might have to wait until next year until we start to see 4G being rolled out to us its definitely something worth waiting for.

The CEO of O2 explained that the 4G services will be a huge benefit to consumers and business:

"The forthcoming spectrum auction is a watershed moment for the UK mobile industry, releasing the airwaves that will power a whole range of exciting next generation mobile services.  The new spectrum will increase capacity, quality and speed (we estimate that mobile broadband capacity will increase by 20 to 40 times from today's levels), and will allow us to deliver true connectivity through a suite of innovative digital services."

It is about that time in the year when Apple finally releases their well awaited iPad model. On Friday the 16th of March 2012 Apple stores worldwide opened their doors to allow eager fans to get their hands on the new iPad (iPad 3). And with Apple reporting 3 million iPad sales on the opening weekend (Making it the strongest launch yet of an iPad) I'm sure like me, you're asking yourself is it worth buying? Well, lets get a brief understanding of the new iPad, starting with the basics:

Colours: Black and White

Price: 

Wi-Fi Only=

16GB-£399 or $499

32GB-£479 or $599

Wi-Fi and 4G=

16GB-£499 or $629

32GB-£579 or $729

Surely you could just buy the iPad 2, or if you have one already just stay with it instead of spending nearly £400 or $500 on the new version. So what improvements has Apple made to the iPad 3 to persuade us to purchase it:

What the iPad 2 and 3 Retina display
looks like under a microscope

1. Firstly by providing the long awaited 4G LTE support, a totally new feature. The iPad 2 only offers 3G support.
2. Better screen resolution. The iPad 3 offers 2048 x 1536 Retina Display screen, vs 1024 x 768 resolution  in the iPad 2. This is a huge improvement in image quality!
3. iPad 3 features a new processor (A5X), which is designed to work with the Retina Display, which will make iPad 3 much faster. Where the iPad 2 only has a A5 processor. 
4. Apple also improved the rear camera as it has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, amazing compared to iPad2 with its 0.7 megapixel camera.
5. Finally they have increased the RAM (Random Access Memory) size, from 512MB found in the iPad 2 to 1GB/1024MB found in the iPad 3.

In the end it is down to you if the iPad 3 is worth buying, but for £70/$100 more than the iPad 2 you get all of the upgraded features, which I would say is worth it.

Click here to find out more about the iPad 3 (US version)

Click here to find out more about the iPad 3 (UK version)

2012· 4G· Apple· Cost of iPad 3· Friday· Home· iPad· iPad 2 vs 3· iPad 3· iPad 3 Features· iphone/ipod/ipad· March· Reviews

Is the iPad 3 Worth Buying?

It is about that time in the year when Apple finally releases their well awaited iPad model. On Friday the 16th of March 2012 Apple stores worldwide opened their doors to allow eager fans to get their hands on the new iPad (iPad 3). And with Apple reporting 3 million iPad sales on the opening weekend (Making it the strongest launch yet of an iPad) I'm sure like me, you're asking yourself is it worth buying? Well, lets get a brief understanding of the new iPad, starting with the basics:

Colours: Black and White

Price: 

Wi-Fi Only=

16GB-£399 or $499

32GB-£479 or $599

Wi-Fi and 4G=

16GB-£499 or $629

32GB-£579 or $729

Surely you could just buy the iPad 2, or if you have one already just stay with it instead of spending nearly £400 or $500 on the new version. So what improvements has Apple made to the iPad 3 to persuade us to purchase it:

What the iPad 2 and 3 Retina display
looks like under a microscope

1. Firstly by providing the long awaited 4G LTE support, a totally new feature. The iPad 2 only offers 3G support.
2. Better screen resolution. The iPad 3 offers 2048 x 1536 Retina Display screen, vs 1024 x 768 resolution  in the iPad 2. This is a huge improvement in image quality!
3. iPad 3 features a new processor (A5X), which is designed to work with the Retina Display, which will make iPad 3 much faster. Where the iPad 2 only has a A5 processor. 
4. Apple also improved the rear camera as it has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, amazing compared to iPad2 with its 0.7 megapixel camera.
5. Finally they have increased the RAM (Random Access Memory) size, from 512MB found in the iPad 2 to 1GB/1024MB found in the iPad 3.

In the end it is down to you if the iPad 3 is worth buying, but for £70/$100 more than the iPad 2 you get all of the upgraded features, which I would say is worth it.

Click here to find out more about the iPad 3 (US version)

Click here to find out more about the iPad 3 (UK version)