A Beautiful iOS 7 Concept and Wish Lists...

On June 11 at around 1 am (PhST), the keynote at Apple's 2013 Worldwide Developer's Conference will start and we'll find out when iOS 7 will be coming out.  iOS is among the most anticipated Apple products at this time since this is were we will finally see the results of Apple's 230 days of silence (since they released the iPad Mini on October 23, 2012) and their counter to their competitor's efforts of which there are a lot!  (To see what's been happening to the gadget world since the iPad Mini release check this excellent article...)

They may announce iOS 7 tomorrow, or they many not.  but this is a small video that not only shows you how it MAY look like, but also summarizes the most common wish list items people have been screaming for in a future iOS release.


Aside from the announced "flatter" appearance by Jony Ive, which are cosmetic after all, they show:

• A sleeker and more functional lock screen.
• Customizable widgets so that the content of your choice can instantly bee seen on the home screen.
• A more intuitive calendar app.
• A cleaner camera gui.
• A simpler and more useful Siri screen.

Every veteran iOS user has their own wish list.  There are also a slew of articles out there about their own wish lists.  Let me give you mine:

The iPad "Mini" soon to be a reality?

The iPad "Mini", which is what a lot of people are calling the rumored 7.xx" iPad, seems to be shaping up to be a reality.  When Steve Jobs was still living, any and all rumors about a smaller iPad I took with a grain of salt since he believed that the 9.7" screen was the absolute minimum size for anyone to browse the WWW without any loss of productivity.  Now that he's gone, the equation has changed.

According to iMore, not only will an iPhone 5 be announced on the 12th of September and released on the 21st, but that the iPad "Mini" will also be announced.  Release date for the latter though has not been reported yet, but speculations put it at the start of the Christmas season.

These reports seem to be confirmed by other sources such as Digitimes who reported that Apple's supply chain in China is ramping up production of 7.85" iPad parts.

What does this mean for us iOS addicts?  I do know for a fact that many people would really like to have a 7" iPad.  Many of whom have already bit the bullet and got themselves a similarly sized Android tablet but have complained about a more confusing interface, some lag or choppiness in the touch screen response, and less intuitiveness.  Not to judge them, but I daresay an Android user who switches to iOS would probably have the same issues.  Many iPad users would welcome a smaller form factor, especially those in the medical community who wear lab or smock gowns to work daily in whose pockets a 7" device would fit perfectly.

Reading or watching a 7" device for an extended period is also better in a lighter device... although eyestrain could be a new problem especially for the more senior and presbyopic fans.

Mockup of the 7"iPad by iMore

For myself, the 9.7" iPad serves my needs.  One of my most common uses for my iPad is to read eComics and eMagazines.  Compared to a real comic book or graphic novel, the 9.7" screen is actually slightly small, but is still a reasonable compromise.  Going down to 7.85" may be unacceptable for this use.

In any case, it would seem to me to be overkill to own an iPhone 5, an iPad "Mini", an iPad, and a Macbook (Air/Pro).  Owning three devices already shows bit of Apple FanBoy madness, but owning all four?  That's a tad overkill.

For practical purposes, and probably most people, will have to choose between the 7" and the 9".  The advantage for Apple is that it will keep their fans who prefer the 7" from "biting-the-bullet" and switching to Android but then how high a number is this?  One drawback is that t may also scavenge sales from the 9".  Thus as far as total sales are concerned, the total sales of the 7" and the 9" may not be as far from the 9" was when it was the only size iPad you can get.

One interesting scenario, which my daughter would love, is to get rid of the iPhone and switch to a normal T9 keyboard feature phone with basic telephony and SMS features then use a 7" iPad with a persistent 3G/HSDPA/4G/LTE microsim with an unlimited data account, that you carry around. Skip the iPad 9", then use a Macbook of any flavor.  When you have a need for iOS touchscreen goodness, a less conspicuous and lighter weight device is what you pull out.  It's like going back to the days when you had a Nokia phone and a Palm OS device (Yup, been there!).

I'll probably have a more definite picture IF (and that's a BIG IF) and when the 7" iPad does come out and I am able to get my mitts on it in the store.

Globe's Bridge DataRoam (Plus), A Near Perfect Data Roaming Solution?

I had the opportunity to visit two countries in my last Globe Postpaid billing cycle with BridgeRoam support.

In a nutshell, Bridge DataRoam Unlimited & Bridge DataRoam Unlimited Plus are promos for Globe Postpaid clients who want unlimited data access on their mobiles when abroad, akin to their SuperSurf locally.  If you're a gadgethead like me, who always has to be online, is used to having a SuperSurf account, then this may be a good solution for you.

You may ask, "Why not just get a prepaid sim from the country you're visiting?"  It's not as simple if you're more into data access compared to just telephony/SMS functions.  Fee for the sim can be from 12 to 30 Euro, then load it with data, which can cost anywhere from 15 to 60 Euro.  Not that bad, however when you look at the fine print, you'll see that this is for a cumulative consumable load of around 2 Gb.  Gadgetheads like me will find that not nearly enough.  I'd probably go through that in a few days, especially if you use the GPS apps with online maps.  Why not use GPS apps with offline maps?  Aside from being expensive, I don't think it's worth it, unless you go to that country frequently enough and drive.  If it's just to get directions, prevent getting lost, or just to see the progress of your travels, then a data connection is much more versatile since you can also use it to email and surf.

Bridge DataRoam isn't cheap but considering what you're getting is an unlimited data account for the duration of your plan, then the equation changes.  What are they exactly?  One is Unlimited, the other is Unlimited Plus... the loose difference is that the former is for Australasia region while the latter supports the Western hemisphere.

Bridge DataRoam is supported in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.  You activate it by sending a text or USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) request (dialing *143#).  Once activated you need to check which specific provider in that country supports Bridge DataRoam.  Configure your phone's preferences to use that provider... do not use Automatic since it will select the strongest signal and it may be an unsupported provider thus charging you full roaming rates.  In addition, you need to enable Data Roaming in order to use it.  Data Roaming in the iPhone 4x is disabled by default to prevent unnecessary data roaming charges.  However, once you've activated the DataRoam and have connected to the specific supported provider, you can turn Data Roaming On to enjoy full unlimited Internet connection.

Below are the charges for Bridge DataRoam Unlimited (Australasia):

Plan Denomination	Unlimited Data Roaming Service
US$10	1-day unlimited
US$27	3-day unlimited
US$40	5-day unlimited

Below are the charges for Bridge DataRoam Unlimited Plus (USA, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Spain, UK, and China):

Plan Denomination	Unlimited Data Roaming Service
US$15	1-day unlimited
US$35	3-day unlimited
US$55	5-day unlimited

As you can see, the Plus is more expensive, but still you'll be hardpressed to find a prepaid solution that has no Gb cap.

I had used Bridge DataRoam Unlimited in Singapore early last month and it worked like a charm.  SingTel is the supported provider.  Speed was really fast and I couldn't complain about anything.  You can even enable Personal Hotspot or tether to your laptop.


Later that month, I used the Plus service in Spain, and again, it worked flawlessly.  In Spain however, it is listed in Globe's website that the provider is Telefonica.  Unfortunately, unless you do the research, when you search the telecom's available, you will not find Telefonica listed in your phone.  It turns out, Telefonica is now named Movistar, and that's what appears in your phone's telecom search.  Once I had selected Movistar and activated Data Roaming, again flawless and quick.

To the Left is a screenshot of my iPhone 4's Map app showing directions from San Sebastian to Pamplona in Spain using the Movistar (Telefonica) network.

It is actually quite expensive, however, if I had used the prepaid solution, it would probably been only a bit less expensive and have a Gb cap to boot.  With Bridge DataRoam you have a true unlimited mobile Internet.

My First 72 hours with iPhone 4

Before you turn it on, you will notice the construction and weight of the iPhone 4. It's relatively heavy since there is little plastic in the chassis. It's made primarily of tempered glass and metal. No, it does NOT feel like a toy as compared with a lot of phones out there. When you feel it in your hand, it feels very solid, no creaking when you squeeze it, it truly feels expensive... and it is... which then makes you want to treat it very gingerly. Thus the next thing you want to do is to apply a screen protector and a good case. Choosing a case and screen protector is a whole blog by itself....

The iPhone 4's new Retina Display is really impressive. It is to date the highest resolution of a mobile phone. The pixel resolution is 960-by-640, which implies that it can play 720p HD video, which I've tried and it does! There are pages-upon-pages of descriptions out there talking about how great the Retina Display is, so I'll just say that it really is as good as they say! That being said, I think it would be a shame to mute such a display with a matte type case. Although these cases are more fingerprint and smudge proof as well as being anti-glare, the one I put on my iPhone 4 decreased the brilliance of the screen such that it decreased the significance of it's clarity over the iPhone 3G.

Migrating from a 2-year old iPhone 3G, the most significant advantage of the iPhone 4 is the speed. It is TRULY ZIPPY! Apps (HandBase in particular) that used to crawl in the 3G now pops open immediately. I have a trio of ebook readers (iBooks, eReader, Kindle Reader), all of which have search features that are quite slow. The iPhone 4 searches significantly faster. With the speed also comes the ease at which you can switch between apps through the iPhone 4's unique brand of "multi-tasking". Pundits may say that it isn't "true" multi-tasking, but who actually needs "true" multi-tasking in a phone?!! The only task that I want to multitask from the background is music or even Pandora. I'd use a full Mac computer when I need multitasking.

What about this issue on antenna reception and dropped calls? I haven't experienced any so far. I've got a bumper case on mine so that was said to fix the problem. As far as antenna reception, it wasn't truly outstanding (as compared to my old Nokia 8910 had excellent antenna performance) but it wasn't so bad either. As compared to my old 3G, I'd say it was roughly equal. In any case, the issues happen when:

1. Your network's coverage is borderline.
2. You aren't using any case that covers the metal frame.
3. You touch the gap in the lower left side.

Since Globe's cellular coverage in NCR and most parts of the country is quite good, that counts #1 out. I doubt if many Filipino iPhone 4 users will be leaving their "precious" naked. Filipinos generally "overdress" their personal technologies.

For a more detailed explanation, check out this nice article from eWeek.com.

One feature that I've been eagerly awaiting for them to improve significantly is the camera. The first iPhone and iPhone 3G had 2.1mp while the 3GS had a 3.1mp. My own personal opinion is that for casual photos, the minimum should be 5 megapixels. The iPhone 4 now has a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video, autofocus, digital zoom, and LED flash. It won't be able to compete with a dedicated digital camera or camcorder, but considering everything else that it can do, that's good enough for me... for now!

Couple of years ago, my clutch bag had, a compact Canon iXUS 65 digital camera, a Palm TX, a 16gb iPod Touch 1st Gen, and an 8gb iPod Nano 2nd Gen plus a Sony-Ericsson z610i on my belt. When iPhone OS 3.0 came out, and the apps for kept getting better, and HandBase was finally ported over, I ditched the Palm TX. When a larger iPod Touch came out (32gb), I could let go of my 8gb iPod Nano since now it could handle apps, videos and still have space for music. Then the iPhone 3G came out along with iPhone OS 3.0, I got rid of the feature phone. Only now can I totally leave the digital camera at home... finally, the only personal technology that I wear is the iPhone 4. The dream of a true "convergence" device is nearing reality!

Globe's iPhone 4 Launch Experience

Sunday the 26th, not thinking about the iPhone 4 at all (see previous blog entry), we decided to do a long-overdue spring-cleaning... had some interesting discoveries but that's another story. After cleaning, at 7:27pm I received an SMS in 3-parts:

"GLOBE_IPHONE4 Good news! You now have a chance to get your iPhone 4 TODAY, Sept. 26. Please be at Makati Shangri-La Hotel (Rizal Ballroom) anytime before 10pm. Hurry! First come, first served. Limited stocks only. See you there!"

I didn't really know what to do with this immediately. I had just had supper, so was basically winding down after a day of cleaning. I wasn't really that anxious about getting the phone... not really. I could have easily waited. However, I thought, "It's a Sunday... no traffic... it's up to 10pm, so plenty of time... I had a full stomach... not at all tired yet... WHY NOT?!"

We now set-off for Makati Shangri-La. True enough, no traffic, parking was easy. We get to Rizal Ballroom... SO MANY PEOPLE!! But quite orderly.

They had 2 lines, one for 16gb, the other for 32gb. The 32gb was the significantly longer lin

e... and that was my line! After a couple of minutes, they tell us that they had run out of 32gb models this afternoon. Hokay, I just ask calmly, "Then, why did you send out this SMS if the stocks of 32gb had run out?" They said it was a failure in their part to specify that the 16gb was still available. I say, "Okay, so if there are none, I'm going home, are you quite sure wala na?", in a very calm, casual manner. She then said she will double check. After a few moments, she comes back and says that there were a handful of 32gb units that had arrived from New World Hotel (the other launch site). So, they counted how many 32gb clients there were, and guess who got the last unit?!

Now, flashback to the launches of the iPhone 4 in other countries, with lines stretching for blocks, customers camping out in the cold, crowds gathering, etc.

In the Philippines, we were in a 5-star hotel ballroom, air conditioning, very comfy cushioned chairs or couches, snack buffet (sausage & salsa, pastry shell with meat, empanada), brewed coffee and tea. They give you a number which is strictly followed, and inside you will see around one hundred workstations to process all of the clients. This was around 8:30 pm on a Sunday, and they've been there since 5:30 am, still with hundreds of clients to go! You can imagine how many people had come and gone since that morning! I'm not surprised they're able to afford a 5-star hotel ballroom with complimentary food and beverages. How many phones (the cheapest being 38k) do you need to sell to pay for the accommodations? Peanuts to them! Everything was orderly without raised tempers which is more than I can say for the Corporate User's launch on the 24th!

With all the workstations the large number of ushers and staff facilitating, the movement of the line was still quite slow. Approximately one person is called every 3-5 minutes. Occasionally 2 or 3 will be called at one time, but it was still very slow. Later I found out why.

When my turn came up (I was one of the, if not THE, last one), they sit you down in front of a person with a workstation. This is when you have a one-on-one discussion on what Post-Paid Plan to get, new vs retention vs loyalty points vs pre-paid. You can imagine how long these conversations take (if I get..., how much?). Also the amount you pay not only varies with choice of plan, so does the mode of payment. A LOT of people paid in cash! I can imagine that there were armored cars coming in after the launch ended. I paid via PayLite 0% interest for 6 months. Makes it more painless. Others I saw, paid for it partially in cash then credit card.

One big problem, especially for the 32 giggers was that the extra stocks had only arrived a few minutes ago, and thus the stocks had not appeared in the computer's inventory, so as far as the computer was concerned, "out-of-stock" pa! They probably had to encode each unit one-at-a-time before it came in, and only after will the unit be brought to the ballroom to be released. If you think about it, it was a logistics and sales nightmare, and everything could have SNAFU'd quite easily... good thing it didn't... but it did take a long time.

After getting your unit, you go to the activation desk where they unbox your new toy, hook it up, and activate it. There's no getting away from this! You can't do it at home. I was disappointed since I, of course like any geek, prefer to unbox these things myself.

Afterwards you're free to go, but there are two more stops of note. There's a "Synchronization Area" for those who are computer illiterate or don't have a computer to sync it to... which I can't really understand! You're buying one of the most advanced and expensive phones in the world, and yet you don't have either the knowledge or the resources (or both) to synchronize it to your own computer?? I will NEVER synchronize any of my gadgets with a computer that isn't mine for obvious reasons (if it's not so obvious, in a nutshell it's, Security and Personalization). But this may be a rant for another day.

The next stop is a kiosk that was set-up by PowerMac where you can buy accessories such as cases, cables and chargers. I didn't bother to get any since I had already looked at virtually all cases available in the local market and had chosen the Momax i Case Pro which is similar to Apple's bumper but with a plastic cover at the back.

Then that's it... we went home and I just charged "My Precious" and went to sleep. Tomorrow's my birthday, and that's when I'll play with my new present!

Waiting for Globe's iPhone 4 Launch...

Like many Apple fanboys in this country, I was among those who had been anticipating the arrival of the iPhone 4 to our shores.

As far as Apple products are concerned, the Philippines are among the last to get their latest staff, which to my mind has it's own advantage. By the time the new stuff gets here, all of the best and comprehensive reviews had been released, giving the prospective buyer a good idea if that product is truly right for him. In addition, whatever software or OS bugs that had "escaped" their quality control would have been fixed by the time the product is released here.

That said, in spite of the myriad of options in which I could have gotten my hands on one, whether it be the grey-market, relatives coming home, or eBay, I decided to get the official Globe release... even though it is around Php 10,000 more expensive than in Hong Kong or the USA. There are however two glaring advantages (and one other disadvantage, aside from the price) in getting the Globe release. One, you have a one-year iron-clad warranty that you can claim in this country. The iPhone is the only Apple product that has NO international warranty and must be claimed in the country it was purchased from. Two, you can buy it via a 0% interest credit card scheme. The other disadvantage is that it is sim-locked to Globe, but then I can always jailbreak it if and when I need to, when I go abroad. However, how often do you really need an open-line phone abroad? Only if you're staying a long time (say 2 weeks or more) and you need a full data account, which to me happens very rarely.

Thus, like every Pinoy Apple fanboy, when Globe announced that they were accepting "intent to reserve" requests last August, your truly was one of the first to register in their website. Saturday, September 18, they sent email and SMS messages to us that the launch was on September 24 for Business accounts and the 26th for Personal accounts. They also asked what model (16 or 32g) and plan (New Post-Paid, Loyalty/Retention, or Pre-Paid) we wanted. I wanted to retain my present plan but NOT really wanting to have myself in a 2-year lock-in if I go for a Retention Plan, I requested for a Pre-Paid Kit. I then received a confirmation email that my request will be processed and I will receive an email or an SMS in 3 working days.

Wednesday, no email or text. Thursday, no email or text. This went on until Saturday the 25th. When I was looking at accounts in Philmug, sure enough, many of them were saying that they received their, so-called, "e-stub" via SMS. But then most, if not all, were New Post-Paid Plan clients. Apparently, Globe was prioritizing these clients, 2nd were the Loyalty/Retention, and last were us Pre-Paid Kit clients. According to some at Philmug, Globe will be sending SMS e-stubs until midnight of the 25th. Midnight came and I stopped waiting and forgot all about it.

September 26, 7:27 pm the text came...