• apple,  apple watch,  ios 6,  iphone 6

    The Apple Watch – Part Two: Unboxing the Sport Edition

    May 3, 2015 /

    After going through all of the pre-Watch hoopla of waking up early in the morning to order and then try on a Watch at a local Apple Store, and a seemingly unbearable two week period of waiting, my Apple Watch Sport Edition finally arrived.

    This is the second part of my Apple Watch coverage.  If you haven’t already done so, you can read The Apple Watch – Part One: Announcement, Pre-Order and Try Ons.

    Here are my unboxing photos of my Apple Watch.

    Detail of the box top
    Description of the contents
    Unpacking the exterior box
    Unpacking the Apple Watch Sport Edition
    Apple Watch Sport Edition on interior felt lined box case top

    Unpacking the information and resize band sleeve
    Booting up the Apple Watch
    Language selection screen
    Beginning the iPhone paring process
    Pairing is done by “scanning” the pattern with the iPhone Watch app
    iPhone and Watch Paring process is complete
    All synced up and ready to go
    Now that my Apple Watch Sport Edition has been paired with my iPhone 6, it’s time to start using it day-to-day.
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  • battery,  iphone 6,  iphone 6 plus,  mophie

    Mophie Announces Juice Pack Cases for Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

    January 7, 2015 /

    Today, on the second day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Mophie has announced the new Juice Pack Air and Juice Pack Plus.

    Orange County, Calif., (January 6, 2015) – mophie—the #1 selling mobile battery case in North America(1), and innovator of power and storage solutions for mobile devices—announced today its lineup of protective battery cases for iPhone® 6 and iPhone® 6 Plus. Introducing the juice pack air® for iPhone® 6 (more than 100% extra battery), juice pack plus® for iPhone® 6 (more than 120% extra battery), and juice pack® for iPhone® 6 Plus (more than 60% extra battery).

    Users get up to 17 more hours of talk time, up to 12 more hours of web browsing, up to 13 more hours of video playback, and up to 60 more hours of music playback.

    “Our journey to bring the juice pack to consumers for every generation of iPhone continues with our latest solutions for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,” said Daniel Huang, mophie CEO and Co-Founder. “Since release of the original juice pack for the first iPhone, mophie battery cases have become a necessity to legions of smartphone users. Because we understand how vital these solutions are, our team remains intensely focused on quality and the level of innovative design needed to drive the direction of this industry.”

    I’ve been a fan of the Mophie Juice Pack series of batteries since I picked up an iPhone 4S.  The Mophie cases add a lot of utility to your iPhone by adding a spare battery and doing double duty as a durable, handsome looking iPhone case that doesn’t add a lot of bulk.  I’ve been on many an overnight and long weekend trips with my kids and the Juice Pack has kept me charged up and connected to family back home and other team leaders on the trip.

    Any serious iPhone user really needs to have one of these cases.  If you have more than one iDevice that you need to keep charged – say an iPhone 6 and an iPad Air, then I would highly recommend one of Mophie’s PowerStation “universal” batteries.

    The new Juice Pack cases for the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are expected to begin shipping in about three to four weeks.  You can pre-order your Juice Pack now with prices starting at $99.95 for the iPhone 6 and for the iPhone 6 Plus.

    The full press release is available on the Mophie website.

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  • apple,  apple store,  ios 8,  iphone 6,  retail

    Happy iPhone 6 Day!

    September 19, 2014 /
    Hello!

    Today, September 19, Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to the cheering legions of Apple fanatics around the world!  Today, I was lucky to be one of them.

    I don’t think all of these people are here for L.L. Bean.

    The day started off with my arrival at the Danbury Fair Mall.  I didn’t think all of these cars were here for L.L. Bean.

    The mall opened it’s doors at 5:00am to accommodate the crowds.  I think being inside really helped keep people calm and comfortable with easy access to food, drink, and restrooms!

    At least this couple has breakfast.
    This is not the line you are looking for.

    Fortunately for me, I pre-ordered my iPhone last Friday in the 3:00am Internet shopping frenzy and this is the line that I got to stand in.  Sweet!

    iPhone 6 reservations line is much, much more manageable!

    There wasn’t as many lunatics who stayed up ’til 3:00am last Friday night to spend money on a phone smart people as I expected who pre-ordered their new iPhone.  After we saw the really long walk ins line, we were all pretty glad that we did pre-order last week.

    I arrived at the store with Dad at 7:00am.  Waiting wasn’t going to be hard with Amber keeping us informed and the Coca-Cola vending machines stocked chuck full of cold bottles of Diet Coke!

    Two knuckleheads in line.
    Amber kept everyone updated.
    Go figure, I was standing next to a case of Coca-Cola!

    Just before 8:00am local time, all of the Apple Store employees were called inside for a pre-sale briefing meeting.

    As you might have expected, the store staff came running out and counted down the final seconds until 8:00am!  While I was waiting to go in, I managed to get in a few selfies.

    As with all product launches, Apple put up new window signs.  This one was a metal spiral ring around the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.  You can see the first batch of people getting their iPhones inside the store.

    Once inside, you were paired up with an Apple specialist who helped you get your new iPhone, make sure you understand the new Apple Care rules (you now have 60 days to buy the additional coverage rather than last year’s 30 days), point out accessories if you needed them (I have my cases delivered to the house) and generally be there to answer any questions you may have.

    Because I was crazy enough to stay up until the middle of the night to order a new phone, I was able to get a new iPhone 6 on launch day.  If you didn’t get a chance to buy an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus today, you’ll be able to get one in the coming days and weeks.  The iPhone 6, as cool as it is, is still just a phone at the end of the day.

    And now, for your viewing pleasure, the unboxing photos.

    I’ll see you again next year.  Stay hungry, stay crazy!  Thank you, Steve.

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  • ios 8,  iphone,  iphone 6

    Link Bait? High Quality iPhone 6 Screen Capture Leaks

    April 9, 2014 /

    It what is sure to drive traffic for many Apple rumor blogs today is a new high quality leaked screen shot of what is reportedly from a prototype future iPhone running iOS 8.

    Since I’m still on year one of my two year Sprint contract, I’m trying not to get dragged into the hysteria the comes just before a new iPhone launch.  (And as my Dad will tell you, I keep all of my old phones, so the cost of upgrading for me is will over $700 USD.)

    Still, I’m sitting here at my desk trying to imagine how much larger a future iPhone would be from my current iPhone 5S.  I’m not so concerned about height, but in terms of length and width.

    My guess would be that the forehead and chin of the iPhone 5/iPhone 5S design will shrink slightly to squeeze in another row of icons; growing the icon grid to a hight of 7 from current 6.  As for the width, I can see Apple increasing the total width of the iPhone and shrinking the side bezels slightly to get the extra 0.5″ to get an extra column of icons on the display; effectively growing to 5 columns from 4.

    I think which ever way Apple decides to grow the iPhone, it is going to be a hit.  As more and more time goes by, I seem to be in the minority about popular phone sizes.  I’m perfectly happy with the size of my iPhone 5S.  Using one hand, I have just enough clearance with my thumb to reach the top of the screen and still hold the phone securely in my hand.

    It’s becoming pretty clear, that for many people around the world, the iPhone is the only computer they are going to ever own or want to use.  And for that to work better, screen sizes need to grow from their current sizes.

    [Via BGR.com…]

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  • apple,  iphone,  iphone 6,  rumors

    iPhone 6 Rumors, meh

    February 13, 2014 /

    Ok, so the iPhone 5S has been out for about five months now.  It is hard to not notice the Apple rumor sites going full tilt crazy with new rumors and supposed hardware leaks.

    Just in the last few days, we’ve seen an alleged future iPhone chassis, overall thinning due to thinner backlights, new larger sapphire displays, new front and back side cameras from Sony, and a new bezel-free design.  Throw in a healthy does of “iWatch” and AppleTV rumors and any Apple fanboy should be blown out of their iSocks.

    Except I’m not.

    Don’t get me wrong.  I love my iPhone 5S and iPad Air and I’m planning on getting a new MacBook Air this summer.  But I’m having a hard time getting excited about these rumors.

    First of all, the alleged iPhone chassis has already been debunked by eagle-eyed observers.  I’m sure there will be many more faked competent leaks between now and whenever the new phones arrive.  (And I do expect two flavors again this year.)

    For me, I’m more interested in what the software is doing to do.  Apple is putting the final wraps on iOS 7.1.  All indicators are pointing to a March-ish release.  iOS 8 is, I’m sure, already under development.  While component leaks are just part of doing business these days, the software, the real heart and soul of our favorite iDevices, is what’s really interesting.

    Will Apple finally leverage it’s massive iTunes business to process credit card transactions for things other than it’s own goods?  What new delightful features will our iOS devices be able to do in 12 months?

    What about the “iWatch”?  Apple has been bulking up their “wearables” team.  Whatever they have ins store, I’m sure the device or devices will be able to tell time.  I envision an Apple device to be something that might look like a Nike+ FuelBand with with all kinds of interesting sensors inside.  Oh, and a clock.

    Whatever Apple is cooking up in their labs I’m sure it will be interesting, easy to use, and no doubt will delight us.  But as for the iPhone 6?  Meh.  I can wait until June, or September, or whenever Apple gets around to releasing it.

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