iPhone 4 for Canada gets unlocked price: freedom is far from free

Sure, we in the US are pretty much stuck with AT&T when it comes to iPhone 4 indulgence, but Canada gets to pick -- for a price. We knew the of the option up north but not how much, and according to CBC News, that'll be $659 for 16GB, $779 for 32GB, and $549 for the 8GB iPhone 3GS. All Canadian dollars, of course -- the US conversion would be about $637 / $753 / $530, respectively. Carriers are still offering it up for a discount on contract, and to be perfectly honest, we think that's probably the route most people will take anyway. All the same, gotta love having a choice.

iPhone 4 for Canada gets unlocked price: freedom is far from free originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NY Convergence 1.3 for iPhone – Exclusive NY Digital and Technology News

Announcing NY Convergence, the developer of NY Convergence, has released their latest update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. While NYConvergence.com has been around since 2008, it remains the only site in existence that offers latest developments for the digital media and technology industry for the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region. The [...]

iPhone 4 vs Android Captivate

An iPhone 4 user’s experience with the Android 2.1 powered Samsung Captivate on AT&T

I’ll preface this by saying before this review, I’ve hardly laid hands on an Android device, let alone considered throwing my iPhone aside to completely delve into the OS and see if I could actually survive without my iPhone.  In my time with an Android device, the short answer would be that Android would be a perfectly passable everyday phone.  But would I make the switch and ditch my iPhone 4? Hit the jump to find out as well as see tons of videos and a gallery chock full of comparison pics!

Coming to the decision to give Android a try was the easy part.  Then came the tricky part, picking an actual Android device.  With the iPhone it’s simple, the best model is typically the newest model, and with Apple’s current product cycle, there’s only 1 a year to choose from.  Along with that, in the US you have one carrier choice, AT&T.  (Unless of course you want to unlock and use an iPhone on T-Mobile sans 3G.)  I decided the easiest solution would be to stick to AT&T and check out their Android selection.  This proved to be an easier decision on AT&T opposed to other carriers such as Verizon, which carries an abundance of Android powered devices.  My choices were between the HTC Aria and the Samsung Captivate.  Both of which run Android OS version 2.1.  I’ve never been a huge fan of HTC hardware, so I went with the Captivate, and I’m glad I did.

Hardware

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The most obvious thing about a phone, and the first thing you notice is the physical design.  Both of these phones are built extremely well.  When comparing specifically the iPhone 4 and the Captivate, both feel solid in your hand.  The back of the Captivate is a brushed metal with glossy bands on the top and the bottom while the iPhone 4 is a solid slab of glass on the back.  To me, the back of the iPhone 4 may look better, but in everyday use, I somehow feel more comfortable setting the Captivate down on a bare surface naked and not worrying whether or not it’s going to scratch.  One of my only peeves with Apple products are hairline scratches.  The plastic backs of the iPhone 3G and 3GS held up well as far as the white version went.  The black version was a fingerprint magnet and you could see any tiny imperfection.  The iPhone 4 in black holds up better in my experience than the previous models as far as blemishes, but the fingerprints still madden me.  As far as feel, the iPhone 4 still feels more solid in my hand than the Captivate.

The Camera

Both phones sport a 5MP camera.  Neither have too many options.  I’m making this short because in all honesty, I didn’t see too much of a difference.  The iPhone 4 pictures appear to be a tiny bit warmer than the Captivate’s, but besides that and the lack of a flash on the Captivate, they were about even.  I find myself not using the flash on the iPhone 4 unless it’s extremely dark and I’m forced to.  It seems to make everything look washed out in my opinion, so I avoid it whenever I can.

Compatibility

When you use a smartphone, you really have to choose a phone that suits your needs.  What do you do everyday? What are you going to use the device for?  For me, I look for a solid e-mail app, an awesome calendar app, social networking support (and more importantly, the choices you have when it comes to networking applications).  After that comes entertainment value.  And before anything else comes system compatibility.

I remember back before the iPhone when I used Blackberrys and we had to keep a PC laying around solely so I could back up my Berrys and be able to upgrade to the latest leaked OS, as well as sync my content.  Eventually 3rd parties picked up the slack for RIM, but it still wasn’t the most ideal solution.  Eventually RIM came out with a Mac client, but it was too little too late in my opinion.

I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case with Android.  But alas, I could not find an easy way to get my contacts and media on the Captivate.  I eventually asked some trusty folks on Twitter.  Instead of taking several hard routes, I created a new Gmail address and imported my contacts to that address for wireless sync.  Workable but not the most convenient method.  For media, several people recommended DoubleTwist.  It got the job done, but it was somewhat maddening that I had to go through a few different processes just to get content onto the device.  There are also programs like Missing Sync that work well, but a $40 price tag just to have better sync with Mac is somewhat ridiculous.  I understand that several years ago Mac users were a niche group and less than 2% market share.  This is by no means the case anymore, so software manufacturers need to stop leaving out Mac users.  By now, we should have compatibility right out of the gate.

With my iPhone 4, I sync to iTunes and I’m done.  I’m also a MobileMe user so I’ve never had to worry about that content being lost when switching from iPhone to iPhone.  I also found no easy way to get my iCal events onto my Android device.  To me, if I wanted to use the phone in the way I intend, it almost forces you to use not only Gmail but GCal as well.  Since I am a Mac user, the iPhone 4 obviously wins hands down as far as compatibility goes.

Battery Life

We all know iPhones don’t have the best battery life in the world, and I’m not sure about other Android devices, but the Captivate battery life was a little disappointing to me.  I’m a pretty heavy user and receive a lot of e-mails (Rene is an e-mailing machine) and I found it hard to make it through a whole day.  My iPhone 3GS typically stayed on the charger while I was at work just for simplicity’s sake and so I didn’t have to worry about a dead battery, but my iPhone 4 seems to get much better battery life and I don’t worry about it quite as much.  With the Captivate, I found myself wishing I invested in a second charger to take to work and ended up carrying the cable back and forth after 2 days of it being dead by the time I left work for the day.  I’m sure part of that is thanks to the screen.  It’s a sacrifice you’ll have to make if you want 4” of AMOLED goodness I suppose.

Applications

YouTube Link

This is one area I enjoyed exploring.  The Android Marketplace really DOES have tons of apps.  No, they don’t have the same ridiculous number Apple has, but I disagree with Apple’s representation of apps.  When I look at the number of apps a platform has, I want to know how many “quality” apps that platform has.  Leave out all the junk and apps that should have never been approved in the first place, and I’d say the iTunes app store has less than 40,000 quality apps.

I was pleasantly surprised with the selection Android users have.  Any type of app I could possibly want, I have at least 3 choices or more, which in most situations are more than sufficient.  The only area I saw a pretty poor selection in was Twitter clients.  This is probably just me though.  I have more Twitter clients on my iPhone than you can shake a stick at.  And I switch between them – frequently.  I’m flaky when it comes to Twitter clients and I get bored. For any normal person, Android’s growing selection would accommodate most non-mutants just fine.

Now let’s talk native applications.  Google put a lot of thought into basic everyday apps like the phone and texting app.  I absolutely love how you can swipe left and right in your contacts to call or message someone.  That’s ingenious and a really quick way to interact with your contacts.  I’m not sure if these features are unique to Android OS 2.1 or not, but they’re pretty frak’n sweet.  Clicking on someone’s picture within their contact card also gives you additional ways you can interact with that person.  The message app is also very easy to use and overall, I really enjoyed the interface of all the core apps.  The only thing I really did not care for was all the trial and bloatware that comes pre-installed on the device.  I spent 30 minutes clearing out junk before I actually dug into the marketplace and loaded the phone up with things I actually wanted.  This reminds me of the shiver that runs down my spine when you boot up a new PC and see a desktop loaded with nothing but crap.  Hey, maybe Best Buy can start offering Android optimization services as another form of highway robbery. (You can thank me later for the idea Best Buy, just know I’ll be expecting my royalty check every month.)

Once all the bloatware was thrown into a fiery hole of despair, you are left with a 4” canvas of AMOLED goodness to tweak and customize until your heart’s content.  And that leads me to my main focus of this article…..

Android OS vs iOS

YouTube Link

The OS is probably the single most important factor when choosing a phone.  In my experience, I’ve found things about Android that I really like, and then things that I really don’t like.

The main screen on Android OS is pretty much a blank canvas for you to do what you will with.  You can drop icons and reorder them just like you would on the iPhone, but you can also create widgets and customize until your heart’s content.  This is one area Apple really has fallen behind.  My biggest gripe with iOS is the lack of a decent notification system.  In that area, Android wins by a landslide.

The Android OS also gives you a few choices when it comes to keyboards.  I was pretty excited to get to try out Swype.  While it seems to be pretty quick, it still has its quirks.  No matter what keyboard I chose, I found myself lagging behind how quickly I can type on my iPhone.  But to be fair, I have been typing on an iPhone keyboard for over 3 years now.

Android offers a lot of cool gestures and shortcuts in general I wish Apple would take a closer look at.  But there’s also certain things that seem to be overdone.  It seemed I spent a good amount of time figuring out alerts and sounds, as well as configuring general settings.  It seemed a little overwhelming that I could pick alerts for every little thing.  The option is nice but the settings panel is a little confusing.  Sometimes I felt like I didn’t really know what settings I was changing, I had to experiment.  It reminded me somewhat of the 80 billion alerts Blackberry users are presented with.  To me, it was a little overkill.

Conclusion

All in all, I’m glad I decided to give Android a try.  My honest opinion is that it’s a platform that’s got a ridiculous amount of potential.  I think the ideas are all there, but the implementation isn’t quite there yet.  My iPhone does what I want it to do seamlessly (and I know being a Mac user gives me a leg up on PC users in some cases), but either way – the iPhone is so dead easy to use.  I’m basing my conclusions off of iOS 4.  If I were comparing previous releases of iOS to Android, that would be a much tougher decision.  Even though I’m sticking with my iPhone, Android is definitely a platform to keep a close eye on.  And here’s to hoping Apple will step up their game too when it comes to iOS 5 and beyond.  Even though I may be staying on the iPhone side of the fence, I now have a new respect for the platform as well as its users.  Just as I prefer my platform, I can see why tons of power users would choose Android as well.

Thanks to my boss who took tons of excellent hi-res pics for me since I’m too cheap to break down and finally get a DSLR. And a special thanks to @kasperapd as well for lending us some iPhone 4/Evo4G comparison shots (apparently that phone IS rarer than a unicorn!) And as always, we encourage you guys to chime with your comments and thoughts!

iPhone 4 vs Android Captivate is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Citibank says iPhone app has security flaw

Filed under: iPhone

The wire services and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that the Citi Mobile app that Citibank offered to customers has a security flaw, and that it saved personal account information in a hidden file on users' iPhones. Our own Mike Rose reports that he got one of Citi's letters to customers warning them about the security issue.

The information saved on the iPhones included account numbers, bill payment information, and even security access codes. If customers synced their phones to a Mac or PC that information would also be on those computers and could theoretically be accessible by hackers.

"We have no reason to believe that our customers' personal information has been accessed or used inappropriately by anyone," Citi said.

The newest version of the Citi app is online and is listed as a 'mandatory' update for customers.

Citibank says iPhone app has security flaw originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Citibank says iPhone app has security flaw originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple: Jailbreaking May Still Void iPhone Warranty

Cult of Mac reports that Apple has issued an official response to today's ruling by the Copyright Office of the U.S. Library of Congress to create an exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMC...

Free iPhone 4 bumpers starting to ship

Filed under: iPhone

This morning we noted that many people who ordered their free black iPhone 4 bumper from Apple as part of the free case program were being notified that the item would ship with 3 to 5 weeks. Now we're receiving tips from TUAW readers who are telling us that they're already receiving shipping notices from Apple for bumpers that were ordered last week.

If this is a general trend (perhaps our readers were the first people to order their bumpers) and not a fluke, it could be a sign that canceled bumper orders are being rerouted to the free case program. Travis from Houston is receiving his bumper by the 2nd of August, and we've heard from other readers that their bumpers are in the mail as well for delivery about the same time.

If you haven't yet ordered your free iPhone 4 bumper or case, be sure to download and install Apple's free iPhone 4 Case Program app before the September 30th cutoff date.

Thanks to Nate, Iggy (in the UK), and Travis for the tips!

Free iPhone 4 bumpers starting to ship originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free iPhone 4 bumpers starting to ship originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MyTown adds product check-ins

Filed under: iPhone

Booyah's very popular MyTown app has updated again, this time bringing some more innovation to the "check-in" idea. Instead of just checking in to locations, the app will now "check-in" to various products with the iPhone's camera. So when you use a certain product, you can use the camera to scan a barcode, and presumably, MyTown will recognize it, add it to your check-in history, and then reward points and progress as usual.

Of course, this also means that Booyah will get a list of your favorite products and merchandise, which CEO Keith Lee says is "a holy grail for marketers and brands" in the press release. It seems a little unfair to take such valuable information from consumers while simply rewarding them with a few achievement points and virtual stickers, but MyTown definitely has a following, and the app's fans can't seem to get enough of their virtual collecting. The app will eventually include other types of gaming in the service, like scavenger hunt for certain items

On the plus side for Booyah, this just means that marketers and brands will be even more interested in supporting the app. We can expect to see even more agreements with real-world businesses from them in the future.

MyTown adds product check-ins originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MyTown adds product check-ins originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey: 73% of iPhone users are fine with AT&T’s service

Filed under: iPhone

If you're the kind of person who loves quoting that ".5%" number given by Jobs at the press conference a few weeks ago as proof that AT&T's reception problems are overblown, you'll love this. A new survey released by Yankee Group says that 73% of iPhone users polled are actually "very satisfied" with their cell phone service. In fact, only 69% of smartphone users in general say they're happy with their provider, so not only is AT&T's service satisfactory according to this survey, but it's actually better than other services. Why is AT&T so hated when their service is actually good?

Yankee Group explains: it's not that the service is great, it's more that the phone is awesome. Customers really love their iPhones, and so even when the reception isn't very good, the overall experience scores high. AT&T says it's just a perception problem: "There's a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close," according to a spokesman.

I'll say this: I carried my iPhone all over San Diego at Comic-Con last week, and the reception I got was just plain terrible. My net connection barely worked, calls were dropped, and I couldn't check email even when I needed to. But I'll admit that the AT&T problems exist in a strange place -- not only does the iPhone's otherwise shining example of user experience helping to outweigh AT&T's problems, but customers' high expectations for the iPhone probably have something to do with all of the complaining as well.

Survey: 73% of iPhone users are fine with AT&T's service originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Survey: 73% of iPhone users are fine with AT&T's service originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How To Make iPhone 3G On iOS 4 Faster

Time and journal your meditations with Equanimity

Filed under: iPhone

Recently I was searching the App Store for meditation timers. It's quite distracting to glance at a clock while you're meditating, and conversely quite freeing to know that a chime will sound when you're done, so you can just concentrate and get to it.

Of course, it's simple to use the iPhone's clock app to set a timer, and I was content with that for a long time. Then I came across Equanimity and have abandoned the clock. With great features like a journal, preparation and cool-down modes and a progress tracker, Equanimity has become a part of my daily routine.

First of all, it avoids images of lotus flowers, sunsets and Buddha statues. While nice, I find them less-than-useful in this situation since the whole idea is to ignore the app. Instead, it provides the simplest white interface. To begin a session, flip the app over. Select a preparation time (I use 30 seconds) and a cool down time if you like. This simply chimes once to let you know that you've got a pre-determined amount of time -- say, 1 minute -- to go.

Once that's done, flip the app back over. A summary of your session is displayed (see above) along with a button that reads "Start Meditation." The gong sounds and you've begun. If you chose to glance at the app while you sit, you'll notice that the circle gradually fills with grey as time progresses.

Once you're done, you're prompted to write about the day's session in the journal. From there, you can turn the iPhone on its side to view some stats on your meditation history (see an example in the gallery below), like recent sittings, number of consecutive sessions, total practice hours and amount of meditation done per month. It reminds me of the way Gas Cubby displays stats when the app is in landscape orientation, which I like very much.

At US$4.99, it's a great timer with super extras. I recommend it highly. Now go sit!

Time and journal your meditations with Equanimity originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time and journal your meditations with Equanimity originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: TapMeDo Pro for iPhone

This task manager, while a little unpolished in some areas, is easy to use and a worthwhile option if you're looking to get organized.

Speed Test Comparison: iPhone 4 Vs. iPhone 3GS Vs. iPhone 3G Vs. iPhone 2G

HyperMac Stand adds 16 hours of iPad battery life

Is your iPad's 10-hour battery just not enough? The HyperMac Stand does double-duty as a stand with two propping angles and a whopping 16 hours of extra juice for your iPad.

OpenGL 4.1 Specification Set to Deliver Enhanced Graphics Performance

The Khronos Group today announced the release of the OpenGL 4.1 specification, delivering enhancements to the standards that drive high-performance graphics on Mac OS X.

Among the features ...

Vaja introduces new iPhone 4 cases

Filed under: iPhone

Yes, you're getting a bumper for free, but why not wrap your iPhone 4 in something a little more stylish and original? Vaja has released a line of its great premium leather gadget cases for the iPhone 4 -- I love these things, as they're made out of high-quality premium leather, and add an extra little bit of class to a device that already feels like a luxury phone.

I do have to say that I don't really like that flap -- I use a Vaja case on my iPod, and in that case, the magnetically-fastened flap comes in handy, since I don't usually have my iPod open. But on the iPhone, I interact with the touchscreen so much that the flap would get in the way. But Vaja also has some excellent cases (like the iVolution Grip) that just slide onto the iPhone and stay out of your way.

They're not cheap -- the Grip runs $65, and they go up from there. But they are a quality product. While the bumper cases are all right, if you want something really nice to wrap your iPhone in, give Vaja's cases a look.

[via MacNN]

Vaja introduces new iPhone 4 cases originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vaja introduces new iPhone 4 cases originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T now patching flaw that slowed iPhone 4

AT&T is patching software in its network to fix a bug that kept iPhone 4 users from getting the full upstream speed on their handsets.

Unlocked iPhone 4 Coming To Canada For $659

Citi confirms critical bug in iPhone mobile banking app

Citigroup has urged customers conducting mobile banking from their iPhones to immediately upgrade because a security flaw in the older app secreted account information on the smartphone.

American Airlines lands in App Store

American Airlines has debuted a new feature-packed iPhone app that can help with every step of your flight, from booking a flight to remembering where you parked.

Apple offering developer preview of Xcode 4

We’re one of the lucky devs to score a preview of Xcode 4 back at WWDC 2010? Worry not, Apple has been mailing out news that a new beta is available for one and all… (registered developers that is).

Get a preview of Xcode 4 — the next generation of Apple’s integrated development environment for creating Mac OS X and iOS applications.

With a brand new interface, compiler, debugger and dozens of new features, Xcode 4 is faster, easier to use, and more helpful than ever before. Quite simply, Xcode 4 will help you write better code.

Read about the many new enhancements and download the developer preview to see what’s new in Xcode 4.

It’s under NDA but we’ve heard through the grapevine that it’s a fairly impressive update. Hopefully that translates into better apps for our iPads and iPhones…

Apple offering developer preview of Xcode 4 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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