Hasta La Gadget!

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

The most surprising thing about the iPhone 4S is that people were surprised by the iPhone 4S, for there is ample precedent to the company both confining upgrades largely to a speed bump and to saying no to a host of potential new features. As to the former, the iPhone 4S is straight out of the playbook of Apple’s successful upgrade of the Apple 3G to the 3GS, although the competition wasn’t as strong as it is today.

Similarly, when Apple first lowered the price of the iPod touch below $200 in 2009 amidst widespread speculation that it would add a front-facing camera for FaceTime (which it did in the next generation), the company noted that it didn’t think the product needed any more “stuff.” So, what, then, defines the iPhone 4S? The differentiators can be thought of as four “Ses.”

Continue reading Switched On: The four Ses of the iPhone 4S

Switched On: The four Ses of the iPhone 4S originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in ‘one to two’ weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours

Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in ‘one to two’ weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As many of you know by now, Apple chairman of the board and co-founder Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday at the age of 56. Instead of bringing you our usual episode of the Gadget Lab podcast, we thought it appropriate to take a moment to reflect on what Apple under Steve meant to us, and how his vision for products shaped the very way we interact with technology today.

We’ve gathered a number of Wired staff members to discuss some of our experiences with Apple’s gadgets from the past three decades, from the first Macintosh computer to the advent of the iPad. In Steve’s passing, we’re reminded just how much the products, the company and the man have become a part of our lives.

Rest in peace, Steve.

You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio below:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #127

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0127.mp3

FCC Fridays: October 7, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on July 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

It was the 4th of July here in the United States on Friday, and most people found themselves gathering with friends and family to watch fireworks or BBQ. Not watching fireworks was a family of 3 people (later joined by about 7 more people) who decided that they were going to start the iPhone 3G line outside of the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York a whole one week ahead of the launch. Their reason? To set a record for the longest time someone has waited in line.

When we mentioned it was a “family,” we forgot to mention the fact that it was a man, his wife and their baby daughter who is 6 months old. Our first thought was that it was insane to keep a baby outside for an entire week but as it turns out, the baby went home on Friday. Some of the other 10 people who were in line ended up going home too, but a line still remains. Other thoughts we had were:

• “a whole week early, seriously?”
• taking a week off of work for it, is this necessary?
• how long will the line be by next Friday?
• how will they feel after sitting in a line for an entire week when they see others walk in and get the same phone on the day of the launch, without needing to waste a whole week of their lives in a line?

Then of course there’s Greg Packer who’s gotta be furious. He’s the guy that has been labeled a “professional line sitter” because his hobby is to always be the first in line. Last year he was first in line to buy the original iPhone at the Fifth Avenue store in New York. He got there about 4 1/2 days ahead of launch on Monday June 25, 2007 at 5 AM. The iPhone launched at 6PM on June 29th. Now he’s going to have to find another Apple store without a line so he can still be first.

While we intend to buy the iPhone 3G, there’s no way we’d be standing in a line a whole week before it launched. In fact, there’s no way we’d stand in a line for anything for a whole week, unless… the Cubs went to the World Series! Anyway, there’s nothing else we can say about the folks standing in line, other than they’ve got to be a little iCrazy or iNsane.

Source (including image): Engadget

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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