Review : iPhone 4s from TigerMobile.com.au

History loves to repeat itself, and even Apple isn’t immune to the yearly cycle of hypes and release. Leadingto each year’s iPhone refresh, excitement, and hype build to a fever pitch, features and designs are added into an increasingly unrealistic combination, and finally everyone is silenced at the device’s eventual unveiling.

The review has to start somewhere, and the path of least resistance is usually just exterior appearances - in this case the 4S is easy to go over. The 4S keeps the overall form factor and design of its predecessor, but to call it identical to the iPhone 4 isn’t entirely correct. Instead, the 4S borrows its stainless steel band break locations from the CDMA iPhone 4, which we talked about extensively when it finally released. The GSM/UMTS iPhone 4 previously had three notches, where the CDMA iPhone 4 and 4S have a total of four.

I say likely because some cases that cover the front of the 4S and are universal might not work as well owing to a small change in the placement of the 4S’ ambient light sensor. It’s going to be a case by case basis to determine which 4 cases that cover the front of the display work with the 4S.

The rest of the 4S exterior is superficially identical to its predecessor, which has become something of a point of contention for shoppers who like being able to identify themselves as owning a 4S, as opposed to a 4. There are, however, subtle differences you can leverage to tell the 4S from its two 4 brethren. The 4S includes the regulatory (FCC, recycling, European Conformity, e.t.c.) logos below its model numbers and FCC ID. The CDMA 4 doesn’t include those logos. 

The 4S design is without a doubt, however, an evolution of the CDMA iPhone 4’s design. Like the latter, the 4S includes the same improved vibration unit instead of the counterweight vibrator that most smartphones include. The result is a virtually silent, completely smooth vibrate, instead of the louder rattle and sharp acceleration that accompanies the counterweight vibration. The result is much less conversation-interrupting noise when the 4S vibrates during a call, and less intrusive notification.

Just like the CDMA iPhone 4, the 4S also moves the vibrate/lock switch down the device just slightly to accommodate the new break for the top antenna band. This is the physical change that breaks compatibility with cases designed for the older GSM/UMTS iPhone 4. If you recall previously, however, Apple refreshed its bumpers with a new “Universal” line around the time of the CDMA iPhone 4 launch. 

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Review : Unboxing iPad 3 from Amazon.com

Thanks to Amazon.com, this week we have an opportunity to review another gadget from Apple.The new iPad has been out for well over a week now and has generated mass hysteria. Apple shifted three million devices in the opening weekend, maintaining the firm's grip on the tablet market. We put the new iPad up against the iPad 2 to see if it is worth investing in the latest model or better to snap up the second generation device at a cut-price. For the purposes of this review and to help avoid confusion we will refer to the new iPad as the iPad 3.

Apple has retained the 9.7” screen size, solitary home button and 30 pin connector. The colour scheme also remains unchanged with users able to opt for a black or white bezel. The Wi-Fi only iPad 3 is 51g heavier than its predecessor whereas the 4G edition weighs 55g more than the 3G iPad 2. The main reason for the weight gain is the inclusion of a 42.5Wh rechargeable battery in the iPad 3, which is near enough double the size of the battery in the iPad 2. This is needed as the Retina display, quad-core GPU and 4G technology are very resource hungry and Apple would not have been able to provide anywhere near the 10 hour battery life that iPad users have become accustom too.

To accommodate the larger battery and 4G technology, the iPad 3 is 0.6mm thicker than its predecessor, which is pretty much negligible to the naked eye. Despite the iPad 2 being a tad thinner and lighter, the third generation model packs in some very impressive technology to justify the slightly bulkier frame and looks equally as appealing. The Retina display has been touted by Apple as the headline feature of the iPad 3. The 2048 x 1536 resolution on the iPad 3 is double that of the iPad 2 (1024 x 768) and it shows. The Retina display is extremely vibrant and is superior to the iPad 2 when displaying high-definition pictures and videos. One of the most noticeable features is the clarity of text – the lack of pixilation when reading e-books, web pages or zooming in on stocks is very impressive. Business users are also likely to find it far easier to read PDFs and edit documents on the iPad 3.

At present there are 48 apps out of the hundreds of thousands in the App Store, which have been upgraded to make full use of the Retina display. These include apps such as Twitter, Readability, Flipboard, Infinity Blade II and SketchBook Pro. This is expected to increase very quickly, but it should be noted that the size of apps will also increase.

Many of the gaming apps that take advantage of the Retina display are at least 500MB in size, with some well over 1GB. This is something to bear in mind when you are purchasing the device. If you plan to be a heavy app user if may be worth getting at least the 32GB model.Realistically, the iPad 2 still has a more than adequate display. However, the large apps that have been designed for the Retina display will not provide material benefit to the iPad 2.It is difficult to go back to using the second-generation tablet once your eyes have become accustom to the Retina display. You can buy the iPad 3 (it's called the New iPad) from Amazon.com

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This video shows how the is iPad made

Ever wonder how Apple's iconic iPad is made? Over the past several weeks, the company has come under fire due to allegegations from Mike Daisey that turned out to be completely false. Now, American Public Media's Marketplace was able to go behind the scenes at Foxconn's Longhua plant to get a look at the actual iPad production line. In the video above, you see Rob Schmitz guiding and educating us through the factory conditions.

"When I gave examples of some of the American media coverage of the working conditions at Foxconn, many workers laughed, telling me it's not really that bad" says Schmitz. "But that doesn't mean the workers don't have complaints."

Go ahead and hit play on the video above for an up-close look.

Read More  | Marketplace 

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