What to Expect from Apple’s iPhone 6 (or 5S?)

(Photo credit: International Business Times)

The next generation of iPhone is likely to debut in a few months. The earliest possible date is June 10 - 14 when Apple hosts Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Its actual product sales launch could be sometime in July or even September, considering the previous launch time.

Amid worries about Apple’s slowing growth, iPhone is definitely the key to reassure investors’ confidence. iPhone sales account for more than half of the firm’s revenue and it’s the key driver for Apple’s growth over past 5 years. Every single release of iPhone has been highly anticipated. The coming one is without exception, and it could be even more interesting.

The much heated competition in smartphone space has brought a lot of pressure on Apple’s ability to stay innovative, especially after Jobs’ departure. iPhone 5 is a major redesign from iPhone 4S, however, in terms of its operating system, iOS 6, it is not that ‘surprisingly’ good, not mentioning Apple’s fall in its own developed Maps app.

Personally, I still feel that iPhone 5 is the best phone I have ever used. It does the work and it does not have too many quirks except occasional hiccups. It is difficult for Apple to improve something that is already this good, but they have to. :) Below is just some of my guess what will be appearing in the next generation of iPhone.

Hardware-wise, there should not be much radical redesign. The possible upgrade could be

1. Faster processor and possibly larger RAM. That is something that is most likely to be going in.
2. Camera. better lens, or larger sensor and higher resolution.
3. NFC integrated: that’s one thing missing in iPhone 5, which eventually makes Passbook App useless. Hopefully NFC technology could enable this app again. NFC could be used for contactless payment, identification and data transmission, etc.
4. Larger battery capacity. iPhone 5 has been blamed for its short-living power performance especially in the use of LTE(4G) network. Longer battery life is always something desired.
5. 128GB storage option. Since the latest iPad is already offering the option of 128GB internal storage, there is no reason that iPhone would not follow the same.

Compared to hardware, I believe it could be a major revamp for iOS. The interface has not changed much since day 1. Since the departure of Scott Forstall, the ex-chief of iOS team, Jony Ive has been working closely with the interface team. I certainly think that he will have a quite different idea for iOS interface. Other features may include:

1. Enhancement of Siri. A lot more will and need to be added to the current Siri functionality. Most people only tried Siri in the first week when they get their new iPhone. It means that there are plenty of room to improve in this feature.
2. Major redesign of some built-in apps such as Mail, Weather, Calendar, Stocks, etc., as part of the UI revamp.
3. Passbook could be made to support contactless payment, with the help of NFC chips.

In brief, Apple will need to remain focused on user experience and innovation at the same time to keep the iPhone popular. However, it can still give us a surprise that nothing I listed above is correct. For me, the waiting part for new iPhone launch is always the most fun part.

If you are expecting any features from the next generation of iPhone, please leave a comment below! I would love to hear yours!

Technorati Tags: Apple, Commentary, iOS, iPhone, News

Read More

HTC One: BlinkFeed, User Interface, Zoe Photo and Many More!

HTC One has created quite some hype on the Internet because it is first of its kind in HTC's smartphone history. All I want to say is, I love the design of this phone! It is as good as iPhone's hardware design, if not superior. In this post, its focus is on the user experience of HTC One. 

Upon launching the phone, the first thing you would notice is the BlinkFeed. If you have used Flipboard board before, you can imagine how it looks like. It can be customized so that the information and updates you want to see will populate on the home screen. It can be news, like straits times or ESPN, apps such as Facebook and Twitter, and even Calendar items in the phone. In short, it's a one-stop information centre on the phone screen.

HTC Sense UI 5.0 is something I'd like to mention as well. Among all the Android UIs I have used, I like HTC's Sense the best. It is simple, clear and easy to navigate around. The settings are intuitive. In the app menu screen, instead of navigating the apps by swiping left or right, it's up and down. However, the screen can't stay at any random position, it is still displaying the apps page by page. 

The task manager screen is a bit different from other Android phones, much like a mini 'mission control' on Mac.

The font is sharp and layout is clear. 

The built-in weather app is awesome.

Even Play Store is customized to HTC style.

Thanks to 2GB RAM and Quad-core 1.7GHz CPU, it is pretty smooth navigating across the screens and very responsive when launching the apps. It supports LTE connection so download speed is not a problem. But I found the Chinese input in HTC One is not very user-friendly and even troublesome. Luckily I can download 3rd party's input from the Play Store.

The sound quality of HTC is impressive, too. With the dual frontal stereo speakers, and built-in beats amplifiers, the phone delivers much richer sound. It is perfect for playing the music or watching movies.

The biggest attraction is HTC One's camera. Unlike the usual marketing campaign, this time the focus is not on the number of megapixels. Interestingly, it's the opposite. HTC One's UltraPixel camera resolution is only 4 megapixel, but the pixel size is as three times as those 13MP phone camera. What does this mean? It means that it captures 300% more light. The largest aperture of 2.0 and built-in optical image stabalization make it more capable in low light situation. 

From the sample images above, indeed HTC One does a decent job in low light, however, because of its relative low resolution, image quality and details are somewhat compromised.

However, that is not the best part about HTC One's camera yet. Its best feature is Zoe. It works like as if you were taking a video, but in fact it is just a continuous stream of pictures with 4 second interval. You can stop at any point to choose the best shot it has got. Also, in each event folder, there is a video highlight that puts together all the Zoe and normal photos in one clip of 30 seconds. Some sample videos are below.

It is definitely a lot of fun shooting the Zoe photo/Videos and it makes the gallery more lively! However, one thing I don't like is that the video highlights is only auto-generated based on the photos and videos under the same event. Moving the photos and videos is not so easy that I could not edit on the best videos I have. 

Battery wise, it is more power efficient than my iPhone 5, at least it could last about a day with the Power Saver mode on. However, I notice that charging the phone through USB port powered by my laptop is extremely slow, which is not the case for my iPhone 5. Charging speed seems improving when I used the socket charger, but still it is not something as fast as I'd expect. 

Verdict

HTC One is something I would recommend my family or friends to have because it has unique metallic design, very intuitive user interface, fast performance and a lot of fun elements with its BlinkFee and Zoe photos. The downside is that the built Chinese input isn't that great, the photo quality is compromised due to lower resolution and slow charging speed. If you are now looking for a new Android phone, this is definitely the one you should at least consider. 

Technorati Tags: HTC, HTC One, Review, Smartphone

Read More

Love at First Sight: HTC One First Impression

To be honest, I didn't use an HTC smartphone before, except that I played a little bit with my mum's HTC Wildfire (yea, I know..that's from ages ago). While in the Android space, Samsung is taking the lead, HTC is trying its best to stop the declining sales and yes, from this latest flagship: HTC One, I can see that they have put a big bet on it. It is something completely different from HTC's past product line.

Before I saw HTC One, My impression of HTC phones stays at this: plastic phone design, curved corners and big camera right on the back of it. It is difficult to tell what exactly the model is by judging purely on the seemingly identical design. And HTC One just changed all my stereotype. The aluminium unibody build makes the whole design much more tasteful. The white and silver grey are a perfect match and it is suitable for both business and personal.  

The 4.7-inch screen is hidden behind the Corning Gorilla glass. Its resolution is enormous. 1080 x 1920 pixels, which sets the PPI 468. The brightness and sharpness need no further comments. It is just great.

 

Below the screen, there are two touch buttons, Back and Home. That is different from Android's common design of three buttons: back, home and settings. I guess the reason that settings button is removed is that most apps now have the setting button inside the app.

On the back of it, it is the camera and this design reminds of the old generations of HTC phones. I am a bit concerned about whether the camera glass will be scratched by the surface when it is facing down. In addition, this camera is one of the biggest selling point in HTC One and it's called Ultrapixel camera. I will have a more detailed review on the camera in the later post.

 

Beats audio is still part of the HTC smartphone eco-system. The earphones that come with HTC One is beats branded as well. I have not yet try out the earphone though.

On top of HTC One is the power button and audio jack. You can also see that the cutting at the edge is very beautiful. However, it needs to be taken good care of, otherwise it gets dented pretty easily. HTC One is a bit thicker and heavier than iPhone 5 but doesn't feel bulky at all. But the sleek design of aluminium body is somewhat slippery. It is better to put a case on it in case it slipped out of hand.

In all, I really love the design of HTC One, the aluminium unibody case is way better than any 'advanced' plastic. Yet it doesn't add too much bulk in the pocket. t haven't got much time on exploring its functions. I think I will do that over the weekend. Please check back the blog frequently so you don't miss that!

Technorati Tags: Review, Smartphone, HTC, HTC One

Read More

Sony's New Flagship Smartphone: Xperia Z Review, Part II

After writing the first part of Sony Xperia Z review, I went home for a small trip, so it took a while to complete this second part. As I used Xperia S before, it didn't take me much time to get along with the phone. But I have to say that there is still a bit of switching cost if you happen to be an iPhone user like me. Xperia Z is equipped with Android 4.1.2, and I am sure that there is a scheduled update of 4.2 for this new flagship. 

Read More

Sony's New Flagship Smartphone: Xperia Z Review, Part I

Before I got my current iPhone 5, I was using Sony Xperia S, which is the flagship smartphone of Sony by then. The reason I chose it is simple. The design is unique compared to other Android phones, both exterior and interface wise. However, in the end, I am not quite satisfied with the phone as it became really slow after use for a while. The short lasting battery could be another reason I gave up on Xperia S (though iPhone 5 is not much better). Now, the latest Sony Xperia Z is just released and it's an upgrade from Xperia S. Let's see what it has got to offer.

First, Xperia Z comes in even bigger size now. The phone has a 5-inch screen with a massive resolution of 1920*1080 pixels. That brings the pixel density to 441 ppi (pixel per inch), which is even higher than iPhone 5's retina screen, 326 ppi. The display is sharp and bright, and the contrast is high. I have to say, it is a pleasure to look at the Xperia Z's screen.

Compared to my iPhone 5, though Xperia Z is much bigger due to the screen size, it is almost as slim as the former (7.9mm vs. 7.6mm). 

Xperia Z is beautifully and well built in its exterior design: ports are covered so that they are hardly noticeable in daily use.Front and back are made of glass that is supplied by Corning. It is durable and resistant scratch. However, rather strangely Sony has put another layer of protector above the glasses of front and back. And that piece of protector is NOT scratch resistant, in fact, not at all. I have already seen small scratches on the protector. 

On the left side, there are metal contact point, which is used for connecting the dock accessories, micro SD slot and microUSB port. Xperia Z has an internal storage of 16GB and can be extended up to 32GB through microSD. As I said, the ports are well covered that even I took a while to figure out where the microUSB port is.

On the right side, there are volume control buttons, power key and the SIM card slot. The power key position is a bit different from Xperia S, and most other smartphones, which is on the top of the phone. However, it is quite comfortable no matter I grip the phone using my left or right hand, as it naturally falls under my index finger or thumb.

On top of the phone, it's the 3.5mm audio jack. I heard that the earphones that come with Xperia Z is good, but I have not tested that out yet. 

The camera has been upgraded from 12 megapixel to 13 megapixel. I will have a detailed review on the camera performance in the next post.

Front camera has also been upgraded to 2.2 megapixel. Now it's capable of shooting a 1080p video. 

As we have seen that all the external ports of Xperia Z are covered under the phone, it's all because of serving the great feature of dust proof and water resistant. By water resistant, but not water proof I mean, the phone may not be able to go scuba diving or swimming with you, but you can trust that normal splash or a quick dip in the water won't do any damage to Xperia Z. So I did a small test. I put Xperia Z under the water from a water tap, for quite a while. It is still functional, just as advertised. 

In summary, Xperia Z has made a step further in its hardware design: it's sleek and slim with water resistant and dust proof feature. The screen is large and such a pleasure to look at. Though the protectors at the front and back are something mysterious, they are neither resistant to scratch nor to finger prints. Other than that, I love Xperia Z and I am just feeling good when I grab it in hand.

Technorati Tags: Review, Smartphone, Sony, Xperia Z

Read More

Firefox OS: the Newborn Mobile System Is Coming

 

In the smartphone space, while iOS and Android are still fiercely fighting against each other, Firefox just joined the battlefield. Mozilla, the company that is famous for its internet browser, Firefox, announced that they'll launch their own mobile operating system, Firefox OS in about a year's time. 

In brief, Firefox OS will be an open source system, which is the core spirit of Mozilla. However, unlike Google's Android, Firefox OS is based on HTML5 web platform. It will be backed by hundreds of thousands applications out there on the web. Firefox OS will be highly customizable and also make smartphone even more affordable. Many manufacturers have shown their interests in this newborn system, such as ZTE, Alcatel and even Sony. In the coming year, we'll probably see more Firefox powered smartphones in the news. 

Read More