Upgrade your iPhone4/4s to iPhone 5?

courtesy of www.apple.com

Apple has just announced the release of the new iPhone 5. “But I just bought my iPhone 4s yesterday together with all the funky cases and different usb cables!”, you say. Well you probably didn’t heed our advice. 

At least you still have time to atone for deeds and think about upgrading. If you’re living in the US, the iPhone 5 won't be around until the 21^st. But if you’re getting one here in the Philippines, you may still have even more time to ditch your iPhone 4s because, as of the moment, they're still mum about the release..

But the real question is not "when?", but "why?"

Here’s a summary of the notable new features of iPhone 5:

1.     Taller, thinner, and lighter. It now has a 4-inch screen (now with 5 rows of apps on the screen), is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4/4s.

2.     Battery time is a little longer thanks in part to the upgraded A6 chip that puts most applications on a power diet.

3.     iOs 6 will update all built-apps to fit the new display size. Some 3^rd party apps that won’t update will just have black borders on each side.

4.     Everything is faster. Internet usage should be faster since LTE connection or 4G will now be available, but it will still depend on how your network providers will deliver. You'll get the same snazzy game graphics but with less loading time latency.

5.     The Lightning. It is the new cable connector/charger. It is smaller than the old one, but you don’t have to throw your old connectors away because Apple will be selling a Lightning to 30-pin adaptor for your old cables. That's if you can stomach its $29 retail price.

courtesy of www.apple.com

6.     EarPods. Apple says it’s a breakthrough in-ear type of headphones that will fit comfortably and stay inside your ears. We’ll still have to see about that.

7.     Better camera, new and improved apps, new iTunes interface, a smarter Siri, and a whole lot of other surprises to keep you on your toes. They had us at the smarter Siri, though.

Online prices are $199, $299, and $399 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB respectively. We say, if you have the budget, go switch. Key upgrades here are the new screen size, Lightning and the earpods. With these new features, all accessories will also upgrade to keep up with the new iPhone like the cases, chargers, speakers, battery extenders, etc. Most likely, the next generations will have the same screen and cable connector, so if ever Apple announces an iPhone 5s or 6, your accessories won’t be so old and you can wait out for the next couple of new iPhone models.

If you have a tight budget, now is the perfect time to buy accessories for your current iPhone because prices will surely drop.

Other notable products announced are the bigger iPod Nano (that can’t be worn as a wristwatch anymore), and the thinner iPod Touch with the same screen size as the iPhone 5, with new color options aside from black and white, a LED flash, and --- wait for it --- Siri!   

Unlike what we advised before, the rumors of an iPad Mini wasn't confirmed. But we are not losing hope because Apple fanatics and gadget experts think that Apple will have another product announcement by October. So, fingers crossed 

Read all ye who want to buy CD-r King's Mirror Screen Protector for their iPad

Start of scenario:

You're playing Temple Run on your iPad on a public place, say, in MRT (we know you wouldn't dare, but just play along). You're having a good run; intense, yet somehow you make it through all the time. You're getting all the coins, jumping and turning and sliding with impeccable timing. You're good at this, you thought, and you're making the crazy monkeys eat your dust.

But then you're about to cross this gap on the road. "You got this", you told yourself. But something went wrong. You felt it, and your jump was half a heartbeat too late. You gasped right before you fell in the bottomless pit. Game's over. Bummer, yet that didn't bother you that much, because you realize something else was amiss--- others gasped at the same time you did.

You lift your gaze and find that people around you were watching the whole time. They're smiling, though not necessarily at your failure, but because of an experience you did not mean to share, and you don't like that one bit.

Then you remember that CD-r King has one of those 200-peso iPad Mirror Screen Protectors designed to limit your gadget's viewing angle range. You bought it, had it installed, and went home giddy thinking you've bought privacy at a bargain.

Then the nightmare begins.

You notice there is no hole for the front camera. You take pictures with it and notice that its shots were darker than usual.

And on your iPad's screen, you see colors. Lots of it. Ripples of blue, pink and yellow. All of which shouldn't be there. You realize you have just forfeited your iPad's retina display feature and the crisp and vivid images it used to have.

Compared with an iPod touch without the mirror screen protector, rainbow discoloration appears in most of the iPad's viewing angles. So much for privacy.

Very reflective indeed.

Both have retina display and same brightness levels. But the iPad with CD-r King's Mirror Screen Protector seem to be darker. Also, notice the discoloration on the iPad even at my usual viewing angle.

Then you regret ever buying this screen protector for the rest of your life.

End of scenario.

P.S. Don't get us wrong. We love and respect CD-r King for offering cheaper alternatives of otherwise overpriced accessories and gadgets. But not this one.

The Pentax Optio WG-1 On Trial: When the going gets tough…

If a compact camera could wear a raincoat, thermal wear, bullet proof vest and a full plate mail all at the same time, the result should be something like the Pentax WG-1. With its water-, shock-, cold-, crush- and dustproof built and design, it claims to be the perfect companion for any adventurer seeking thrill high up in the mountains or deep under the sea. You can check out its specs here.

But really. Screw the specs. We believe what we see. And so, we put the Pentax WG-1 to the test.

We went to Camarines Norte in the Bicol Region to try kayak surfing. For those who are not familiar with this sport, it’s just like surfing. Only, you’ll be riding the waves using paddles and a two-seater boat called a kayak instead of a surfboard. A GoPro camera may be the most popular and logical choice for an extreme sports coverage like this, but we already have the Pentax WG-1. All we needed was a stable and secure mount. 

These were all that we had that time:

Clothes hanger

Packaging and duct tape

Rubber bands

Buttload of creativity

And here’s what we’ve come up with:

An inconvenient limitation here is that Pentax WG-1 can only record up to 10 minutes of video per clip.

Here’s a sample of what we recorded.

Notice that it got a lot of beating as the kayak was going against the waves. The strong current even had us biting our nails after it tipped the boat over the first time. When the surfers went back to shore, we were relieved to see that the ocean hadn’t claimed our camera, and that the rig was, surprisingly, sturdy enough for a few more rides and tip-overs. Our improvised hanger mount was a little bent, though. But the real highlight of the event was that our little trooper went on recording during the entire whitewater whacking. And what’s more, Pentax WG-1’s video output did not show any signs of distortion due to impact.

Next, we thought it would be fun to see the kayak surfer’s point of view. So, we attached the camera to a helmet using the same materials, only this time, we added a small piece of styrofoam to serve as cushion/stabilizer.

This is how it looks like when worn:

And here’s a sample of the video it took.

Then, we were off to Nasugbu, Batangas to try the Pentax WG-1 on a sumo surfing ride. It’s a relatively new extreme water sport in the country. Like wakeboarding, you’ll be dragged across the water by a jetski. However, instead of standing up on a board, you’ll be surfing face down in a Superman fashion.

Here’s how sumo surfing looks like from the shore and from the boat.

And here’s how it looks like from the sumo surfer’s point of view.

This was a tough one because we couldn’t find anything stable to attach the camera to. For lack of better options, we just decided to strap it on the sumo surfer’s wrist and asked him to aim the camera forward during the ride. But bad framing aside, the point of the entire exercise was to see how Pentax WG-1 will fare when it’s hit by water at this speed.

Next, we went helmet diving in Boracay Island, Aklan and took our Pentax WG-1, 20 feet under the sea.

Video quality was decent thanks to the sufficient light coming from the water surface. But what’s really important here was that Pentax WG-1 was fully functional at 20 feet.

Now, if only Boracay’s coral reef was 13 feet deeper...

After putting it through these tests, we can say that Pentax WG-1’s performance was well within our expectations. Video-wise, its output was decent considering its price. We were also amazed [and relieved] to see that this camera hasn’t shown any signs of corrosion even without us giving it proper care after using it in saltwater. However, there are a few concerns we’d like to point out:

First, the camera is hard to clean. It has several grooves where dust and sand can get stuck into. We were rather dismayed to find out that most of the sand that we had trouble taking out were found near the opening of the battery/memory card compartment which is basically the entry point to the camera’s internal parts.

Second, and this one is slightly related to the first one, we noticed that the lid of the compartment itself is not perfectly sealed in place, allowing a little water and dust inside the camera. This is a major concern because water and dust inside the camera means farewell to summer vacation memories or even the camera itself. We had to bring it to the service center to have it checked. We don’t know if we’re speaking in behalf of all the people who have bought the same Pentax model when it comes to this problem, but you may want to take this into account when you’re buying an underwater camera.

Finally, throughout the test, the videos have this noticeable discoloration. This is called a vertical smear. It usually happens when the lens is exposed to harsh light and is quite common among digital cameras using a CCD sensor just like Pentax WG-1. Well, each type of sensor has its own pros and cons, so what we’re really trying to say here is that there won’t be any point in getting pissed off at vertical smears simply because... they happen.

To learn more about vertical smear, click here.

Word is out that Pentax WG-2 is has been released on March 2012 this year in the Philippines. It will be interesting to find out if Pentax can deliver what we all want to see in new versions of any gadget: all the good stuff from the older model, all the improvements from the previous version and a few but useful additional features for us to explore.