iPhone 4S Review

Unlike other iPhone upgrades, the upgrade to the iPhone 4S hasn't radically changed the world of smartphones. Neither did it look anything like the teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 rumors that we heard about. Yet, nevertheless, I'd still consider the iPhone 4S a substantial upgrade from the iPhone 4, with Siri, much better performance, longer battery life, and a much better camera.


Apple has succeeded in what their goal likely was with the 4S, bringing the specs of the iPhone up to that of many Android phones so that consumers have almost no reason to get an Android phone (unless they prefer the operating system or want more screen real estate), because the design of the iPhone is much nicer than what its competitors offer. Hit the read more button to see our full review of the 4S:

Samsung Advertises the Galaxy Tab on the Streets

Since the Samsung Galaxy Note was released, it's been an intriguing discussion topic for us techies. And while it hasn't been doing bad, it hasn't exactly created an entirely new product category of smartphone-tablet hybrids like Samsung hoped it would. So now, Samsung and AT&T are doing more than just web and TV advertising; they're trying out street advertising.

My guess is that Samsung realized something quite important; one can't appreciate the beauty and the extra screen real estate of their Galaxy Note until they hold it and use it in person. So, they decided to try out street advertising, a concept that may well be as unique and risky as the Galaxy Note itself.

As you can see from the pictures, Samsung representatives rode around Philadelphia in Chevy Tahoes covered with Galaxy Note ads. The cars weren't circulating; they were parked, and the representatives came out of the cars to show off the Galaxy Note to passer-bys, hoping that a few would be so amazed by the device that they would buy it themselves.

It's possible that street advertising will become popular, and that we'll soon bump into representatives selling smartphones, tablets, computers, cameras and TVs every time we walk outside. But for now, the representatives are selling an item that doesn't fit in any of the above categories; it has its own.

Ariel Atom Simulator Has 180° View

When it comes to getting bang for your buck, the Ariel Atom probably ranks in the top spot among sports cars. But sometimes, a different type of bang occurs with sports cars; the type that sends you to the auto repair shop. Sometimes, you aren't talented enough to drive a sports car, or you aren't permitted to drive it faster than 65 mph. So, Ariel has teamed up with Motion Simulation to get you the best of both worlds; a racing simulator with a 180° view.

This new simulator uses 3 projector screens acting as one to offer you a 180° view, where you can't see the bezel. To make your ride even more realistic, the seat changes to resemble different types of cars or aircraft. And, if you really want to get immersed in your ride, you can choose to have the seat give you a jolt when you hit a bump in the road.

As far as compatibility goes, it's fine with your computer as long as it supports the extra-wide 5760x1200 resolution, and runs Windows XP, Vista, or 7. Unfortunately, it may not be compatible with your wallet right now, with a starting price of 11,500 Euros (that's $18,600). But nevertheless, I have a feeling that this is just the first step in a movement that will create more and more amazing simulators. And not just for racing.

AT&T CEO Regrets Offering Unlimited Data

As most Apple followers know, AT&T offered unlimited data plans at $30/month when the iPhone first came out. However they quickly removed this option, making users either pay for a certain amount of data (200 MB, 2GB, or 4GB), or pay-per-use. So, until Sprint decided to offer unlimited data plans for the iPhone 4S, users had to settle with this option.

Now, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has expressed regrets about offering unlimited data. “My only regret was how we introduced pricing in the beginning, because how did we introduce pricing? Thirty dollars and you get all you can eat,” he said in the on-stage interview at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference on Wednesday. “And it’s a variable cost model. Every additional megabyte you use in this network, I have to invest capital," he said at a recent conference. He also said he didn't like Skype and iMessage, because AT&T doesn't generate as much revenue from them. However, AT&T has remained the most prominent iPhone carrier, with 60% of current iPhone users using AT&T. They had $29 billion in sales last quarter.

Interestingly, Sprint has not expressed any concerns about their "everything" plan, which includes unlimited data. In fact, they recently stated that they would continue to offer this plan for the iPhone even when it got 4G abilities.

Kindle Fire Review

There are many tablets out there on the market that are geared towards many types of people. You'll find tablets for movie-lovers, gamers, businessmen, travelers, budget-minded people, and many more. Yet, while you can easily download iBooks or a Kindle app on any of these tablets, there seems to be only one truly geared for readers. That tablet is the Kindle Fire.

The Kindle Fire was released last October in a New York City event. It generated great commotion, and is now the most bought product on Amazon. Unlike many other tablets, its design is more minimalistic, which Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said they did to let you "lose yourself in the content you love" as its border seems to disappear. What really caused commotion was its price tag: just $199. Usually, low price tags make us wonder if its performance will be good enough, as that's usually how companies cut down on price. Yet, somehow, the Kindle Fire has still been able to compete with other tablets despite this. Jump past the break to read the full review.

Twitter tried to buy Instagram before Facebook did

 Last week, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, neutralizing an incoming threat for Facebook and making nine Instagram employees instantly rich. Apparently, Facebook didn't have any competition for this acquisition. Or did they? Not if a New York Times report claiming that Twitter tried to acquire Instagram in the months before Facebook did is true.

According to the report, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tried to acquire Instagram in the months before Facebook tied up the deal, but they only managed to raise the price that Facebook paid to $1 billion. It's not hard to tell that Dorsey isn't happy about this; all his spokespeople declined to comment, and he no longer uses Instagram to upload photos to Twitter.

The report also includes information about how Instagram will change after its acquisition by Facebook. The app isn't going away, but it'll be working with Facebook to build the service. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said that they'll try to "build on Instagram's strengths, not absorb its features." You'll still be able to post pictures onto other social networking sites, And yes, that list will include Twitter.

Next MacBook Pro could sport a retina display and an SSD

With the launch of the next MacBook Pro about 3 months away, we're pretty sure to see Intel's latest Ivy Bridge chip inside. But this chip could really open the doors for Apple. And when the doors are opened for Apple, great things happen.

First off, this processor could power a retina display, presumably a 2560 by 1600 one, which is the resolution Kirk Skaugen of Intel mentioned at a Beijing conference. He specifically used the word retina. Currently, it would be hard for Apple to use a retina display on its MacBook Pro, because a Sandy Bridge processor doesn't have enough power to support a retina display without impacting speed and battery life. But just as a quad-core A5X processor allowed the new iPad to get a retina display, an Ivy Bridge processor could allow the next MacBook Pro to have a retina display. Besides some pages on Macs, like the system preferences window, have a resolution of a retina display (though this resolution can't be displayed through current Mac displays), which means Apple is already upgrading its OS to support retina.

Second, a USB 3.0 port could be paired with a Thunderbolt port on the next MacBook Pro, which could boost upload speeds significantly.

Finally, Apple would make the MacBook Pro thinner, as the price of SSDs is dropping rapidly. A 128 GB SSD now costs less than $100, which means Apple could allow battery life and thinness to improve despite the added burden of a retina display without increasing the cost of the MacBook Pro.

This new processor will allow Apple to do much more with their line of MacBooks. And when technology improves, Apple makes good use of it. Time and time again.

Why Facebook needs to make their own internet browser

In 2008, before Google Chrome was released, 68.5% of people browsing the web were using Internet Explorer. Now, only 35% of internet users use Internet Explorer, while 31% use Google Chrome. This means that in less than 3 months, Google Chrome will become the world's most popular browser. Which is why Facebook desperately needs to make their own browser.

Now, I know you're thinking I'm crazy. After all, Facebook is a social networking company. Why on Earth would they need a web browser? See, Google isn't launching Search, Android, Chrome, Calendar, and its myriad of other products all as stand-alones that each generate a bit of revenue. Google is making these products to help one another. For example, Search is helping Google+ with "Search+ Your World", a new feature in Google Search that lets pictures and posts from your friends in Google+ appear on search results.

Now that Chrome is becoming so popular, they can easily use this to their advantage. Google could turn their browser into a Google+ version of Rockmelt (a social browser) that puts Google+ notifications, updates, hangouts, and friend requests right before your eyes faster than you can type "facebook.com" While Google+ has only 170 million users to Facebook's 1 billion, allowing Google to do this to the world's most popular browser could easily change that number.

So what can Facebook do about this? Since they don't have any control over what Microsoft, Mozilla, and most importantly, Google do with their browsers, they're left with one option; make their own browser. Now, tech companies are known to have very good foresight, so it's possible that a Facebook browser is already in the works. But it's also possible that Mark Zuckerberg is reading this post, saying to himself, "Shoot. This guy's right."

22% of Americans don't use the internet

 While almost everything changes a lot over time in the world of technology, it always amazes me to think of how much the internet has changed. In less than a decade, the internet went from a dream to a necessity. But it's been hard to tell how the internet has evolved after that. That's why Pew Research Center just made a study about internet usage evolving over time.

According to the study, 78% of Americans use the internet regularly. While many people may regard this number as shockingly low, it's actually quite impressive considering that only 12% of Americans used the internet regularly in 2000. Besides, this number includes people in very poor parts of America.

What's even more interesting is the patterns the researchers noticed. A similar study a decade ago identified gender and race as the biggest factors in internet usage. Now, however, gender and race no longer can predict how much people use the internet. Instead, age is the key factor. When asked if they use the internet regularly, 94% of Americans age 18-29 said yes, compared to only 74% of Americans 50-64 and 41% of Americans 65 or older.

What caused these huge changes? Apparently, social networking sites did the trick. Facebook has 1 billion users, which certainly ramped up internet usage. And Google+ is almost at 200 million users in only a few months. These sites made their biggest mark on internet usage of the elderly. In fact, four times as many Americans 74 or older are using Facebook or Twitter than in 2008.

Internet usage is clearly changing rapidly, which is why we can only guess what the Internet will be like in another decade. Sites could be more directed to the poor and the elderly, the two groups of people who used the internet the least. More users could also mean a greater variety of content. The only thing for sure is that it'll change a lot.

Thunderbolt for PCs is arriving soon

Thunderbolt has the potential to be a revolutionary technology, with a lightning-quick (hence its name) 10 gb/s upload speed. At this rate, it can upload an entire HD movie in just 30 seconds. Yet, one thing is holding it back from becoming the most popular upload technology in the world; it's only compatible with Macs. Only 15% of computers in use are Macs, which limits possibilities for devices with Thunderbolt. However, a new report by CNet says that LaCie might make this technology available on PCs.

According to the report, LaCie will unveil PC compatibility for Thunderbolt, along with PC versions of both Little Big Disk SSD and 2big Thunderbolt. Bringing Thunderbolt technology to PCs would drastically improve upload times, and it would make the technology much more common. It could also make HD movies more common. The only thing for sure is that you won't have to spend seemingly endless times in front of your computer, waiting for that huge file to download.

Terrafugia Transition will hit the market as first flying car

Flying cars have long been an invention people dream about. Ever since the 60's, surveys showed that the top new invention people want to see in the future is a flying car. And, they're right; imagine how practical a flying car would be. Yet, most of these people don't realize how much the technology of a flying car would cost for it to be able to fly and drive well at the same time.

Well, engineers at Terrafugia have just taken a huge step in transforming this dream into reality with their new Terrafugia Transition (shown below), which will hit the market next year (they'll only produce 10). This beauty can seats two, is made of super-lightweight carbon fiber, and gets a fair 35 mpg. Oh, and it can fly.

First, Terrafugia has an important clarification that they want people to know. While many people are calling it a "flying car", Terrafugia wants it to be called a plane that you can drive. A flying car implies that you could soar above traffic, but that's not what the Transition is made for. The idea behind the transition is that when you're traveling, you can fly your Transition into a small airport (Terrafugia claims most people live within 30 minutes of a small airport), and then drive to your location of wish. This way, you'll save time and rental fees. It's even compact enough to park in your garage. And rest assured that you'll arrive in style.

As convenient as it may seem for frequent flyers, many people would assume there's a catch to the car. And surprisingly, they're wrong. First, it's efficient. It gets 20 mpg in the air, and 35 mpg on land. And it uses quite inexpensive fuel. Second, it's fast; it gets 100 mph in the air. Third, it's easy; it qualifies for FAA's Light Sport classification, meaning to be able to fly the Transition, you only need half as much training time as you would need for other planes.

Most surprisingly, it's relatively affordable at $279,000. While this may seem like a lot, it's actually quite cheap for a small aircraft, especially one that can drive. Hit the read more button for more pics:

iPhone 5 Will Have 4G and "Micro Dock Connector", But 3.5" Screen

When the iPhone 4S came out, many people were disappointed because it underwent very minor changes. Most of these people decided to hold off their purchase until the iPhone 5 came out. So, they got quite antsy as they waited for the media event (two readers have already asked me what the iPhone 5 will be like!). But don't worry; iMore has just received information that gives us our first good luck into the foggy future of the iPhone 5, which they say will come out in October 2012.

Contrary to previous rumors about a 4" display for the iPhone 5, iMore claims that the iPhone 5 will keep a 3.5" display, or upgrade very slightly (to a 3.6" or 3.7" display.) This fact really surprises me, considering that screen size is one of the few features that hasn't been changed since the first iPhone's release, In addition, it's the change consumers want to see; In a recent 9to5 Mac poll, 85% of survey-takers wanted to see an increase in the iPhone's screen size.

The report also claims that 4G networking will be found on the iPhone 5; it will probably support either AT&T or Verizon's 4G LTE networks, like the new iPad. And finally, it predicts that the next iPhone will have a "micro dock connector," which might me a micro-USB port. Wall Street Journal also reported the same thing a few weeks ago, adding that it would be a "new way to charge the iPhone," and that a switch to micro-USB would be highly beneficial because the technology is getting more popular, and micro-USB chargers and other appliances cost significantly less than 30-pin chargers.

iMore happens to be quite a reliable source; they correctly announced the date of the media event for the iPad 3, and they new it would have 4G long before other sources did.

Concept: The Siri Store

Lately, hackers have found many practical uses for Siri. Using jailbreaks that add code to Siri's program, Siri has been able to turn up a thermostat, start a car, and play a piano. There's also many practical Siri jailbreaks, like the one shown above where you can ask Siri how much battery life you have left. Of all these feats, only the battery life one is available to the public. And if you want it, you'll have to jailbreak your iDevice, which is quite time-consuming, and, more importantly, dangerous. Thinking about all of this has given me an idea; the Siri Store.

My idea is that Apple should open a "Siri Store" where one can download add-ons that add code to Siri. This way, it would be easier, safer, and more encouraged to start cars with Siri. And along with these ideas, a Siri Store would quite certainly open up the gates to third-party developers, who could make paid add-ons to get the money. Who knows what they could make? For, as Apple proved with their App Store, the creativity of developers doesn't have an end.

Kusa Grass Thongs: Every Day is a Walk in the Park

Think of walking barefoot in your lawn on a warm summer day with the grass cushioning every step you take, and pleasantly tickling the soles of your feet. Now, think of walking on pavement on a rainy day with work shoes on. Quite a difference, isn't it? Well, thanks to a new invention from Kusa, your feet can always feel like they're in the former situation, even if you're really in the latter situation.

A few years ago, Krispy Kreme (no, that's not a typo!) created a pair of shoes very similar to these as part of a promotion. However, their shoes wore down almost instantly, because they used real grass. And as real as the grass on the picture to the left appears, it's actually a material called Syn-Turf

Syn-Turf is designed to feel exactly like real grass while keeping the color and feel of real grass even after repeated use. Kusa's site says you'll need to fluff up the shoes occasionally because the Syn-Turf will get patted down. And as they put it on their info page, "DO NOT MOW."

Hit the read more button to see more pics of these fantastic shoes

New iPad Hits 3 Million Sales

When Apple first started making iDevices, some thought it was a phase that would soon grow old. Yet, as Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz puts it, "they're unstoppable now." And unstoppable is the right word; for Apple just hit 3 million sales of the new iPad. Already.

Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP, says this is the "strongest iPad launch yet." Apple wouldn't release intitial sales numbers for the iPad 2 because they had quite a low supply, but it took 28 days for the iPad 2 to reach one million. The first iPad took 80 days to reach 3 million sales, an accomplishment the new iPad completed in 4 days. It still couldn't beat the iPhone 4S sales, however, as those topped 4 milllion in its first weekend.

The new iPad is currently available in only 10 countries, which makes this number even more impressive, but Apple plans to release the new iPad in 24 more countries on March 24th.