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iPhone 5 hands-on!

September 14, 2012 Leave a comment

At long last, the iPhone 5. We just got our hands on Apple’s latest smartphone following its unveiling in San Francisco, and suffice it to say, it’s a beautiful thing. Some might say we’ve been waiting for this moment since October 4th of last year, but another crowd may say that the real next-gen iPhone has been on the burner for much longer. Indeed, this is the first iPhone since June of 2010 to showcase an entirely new design, but it’s obvious that Apple’s not going to deviate far when it comes to aesthetics.

Apple followers will aptly recall Steve Jobs’ quote in July of 2010 — you know, that one about “no one” wanting a big phone, with current CEO Tim Cook seated just feet from Steve as the phrase was uttered. Now, however, Apple’s inching ever closer to that very realm, with an elongated 4-inch display that enables new apps to take advantage of more pixels (1,136 x 640), while legacy apps can still operate within a familiar space. The phone itself doesn’t feel too much different than the iPhone 4 and 4S; yes, it’s a bit taller, but by keeping the width the same, you’ll utilize a very familiar grasp to hold it.

In typical Apple fashion, even the finest details have been worked over tirelessly. The metal feels downright elegant to the touch, and the same line we’ve said time and time again applies here: there’s no doubting the premium fit and finish when you clutch one of these things. Yeah, the headphone port’s now on the bottom, but avid Galaxy Nexus iPod touch users shouldn’t have too much trouble adjusting.

The rest of the leaks, by and large, were proven correct. High-speed LTE is being included in an iPhone for the first time, and the new Dock Connector is indeed smaller. Arguably, that’s the change that’ll cause the most headaches for longtime iDevice users — if you’ve purchased an automobile, a speaker dock, or any of the other zillion iReady products in the past half-decade, you’ll need to pony up for an adapter to make things work properly.

Apple’s made this one lighter than before, and while the outgoing flagship never really felt heavy, this one feels impressively light. After all, it’s both taller and lighter. The display — which meets sRGB color specification — now has an integrated touch layer, and Apple’s not holding back when it calls it the “world’s most advanced display.” Sure enough, it looks beautiful. Of course, displays across the industry have been becoming increasingly sexy to look at, and Apple’s newest most certainly pops when you ogle it. Is it better than the 4S? For sure, but it doesn’t make the 4S’ panel look dated by any means. The anti-glare measures implemented are highly appreciated, too.

The new A6 chip, in typical Apple style, hasn’t revealed itself in terms of raw tech specs. But at a glance, it’s definitely quicker than the chip in the 4S. Much like the speed increases between the iPhone 4 and 4S (and before that, the iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 3GS), they won’t take you by storm right away. But, use it for half an hour and you’ll have a hard time going back to a slower chip. The transitions are smoother, switching between apps is a bit quicker and everything just generally feels incrementally faster.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-hands-on-video-details/

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Nokia to conduct probe into fake Lumia 920 video

September 11, 2012 Leave a comment

The fallout over the Lumia 920 video, which faked the PureView optical image stabilization (OIS) feature of the smartphone, continues over at Nokia. Today, it was revealed that the company will conduct its own internal ethics investigation over the fake video.

Bloomberg reports that, according to a spokesperson for Nokia, the company now has an ethics and compliance officer that is creating an independent probe “to understand what happened” with the video. There’s no word on when the report will be completed nor what consequences, if any, will be felt inside Nokia after the report is issued.

The video in question was shown to reporters as part of the Lumia 920 launch event in New York City last week and showed off how the smartphone was supposed to have more stable video recording, with less jerky movements, than other smartphones via the OIS feature. However, soon after the video was released, other websites spotted a van with lighting equipment and a professional camera in a window reflection in the footage.

Nokia quickly apologized, stating that they meant to say that the video was a simulation of the OIS feature and confessed that the Lumia 920 was not used to take the video. It later admitted that still image captures from the video were also not taken with the Lumia 920.

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/nokia-to-conduct-probe-into-fake-lumia-920-video

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