iOS 4.2 Release

Hello!

On Monday, November 22, 2010, Apple released the 401-megabyte iOS 4.2 update. This update contains security updates, simple tweaks, and more wireless integration (AirPrint and AirPlay.) All of the updates are effectively making the iOS devices less mobile; they are slowly bridging the gap between computers and mobile devices - and may even usurp small computers' dominance in word processing and the like.

In regard to security updates, the iOS has followed a general theme: removal of arbitrary code execution vulnerabilities. (Such vulnerabilities are found in parts of the iOS system that are crucial to the operation of the most basic components.) Essentially, Apple fixed the faulty code [of the programs that receive input and produce output] to block attackers from taking over a phone whose user is simply viewing a picture. Apple accomplished this by correcting vulnerabilities in CoreGraphics, FreeType and WebKit. Since all of the aforementioned pieces of software are components of the web browser (although they are not limited to that use) the user will now be more protected on the web, when dealing with images (CoreGraphics) and plain old - javascript or non-javascript inclusive - HTML pages (WebKit and FreeType.)

(Click here for a description of WebKit, FreeType, and CoreGraphics)

Apple added some nice features that revolve around wireless interaction of devices, giving the user more control. Put simply, the the addition of AirPlay and AirPrint makes the user's iOS device more interactive with other devices. The AirPlay technology allows users to stream music throughout their entire house, assuming they have other devices such as an iMac or an AppleTV. For example, you can stream music directly from your iPod/iPhone/iPad to an AppleTV or other AirPlay-enabled devices. The Printing technology is pretty self-explanatory. Essentially, now you can print files from Mail, Safari, and Photos. (NOTE: Only some printers are automatically AirPrint-enabled; click http://www.lisanet.de/?p=71 for instructions on how to enable AirPrint for almost any printer connected to your Mac. You can type the URL into Google translate if you don't speak German.)

As for some simple tweaks, Apple changed around some icons (Voice Memos), allowed for different fonts in "Notes," and added a search-in-web-page function to Safari, amongst other things. The productivity just keeps on increasing at a rate, at which the adoption rate is not overwhelming.

The iPad update also received some long-awaited updates: Folders and Multi-tasking. Now apps can be grouped together into folders that can contain 12 applications each. The folder's are automatically named based on the category of the applications within it; however, the name can always be modified. The iPad has also received multi-tasking, allowing multiple applications to run at the same time. (Since the multitasking is implemented differently to cope with limited resources, please read my article in order to better understanding it's implementation.) The gap is bridging as productivity increases and limitations decrease.

Added to all iOS devices were keyboard and dictionary enhancements, as well as keyboards, languages, and more-advanced dictionaries. Better input equates to higher productivity for all devices.

In sum, the iOS 4.2 update furthers the transformation of the previous iOS devices into a device with capabilities closer to those of a desktop. The security updates protects your data (suitable for business world); AirPlay and Printing improves interaction among devices (suitable for students who have to complete assignments); the keyboard tweaks improve input on the devices (more efficient input for all); the iPad updates eradicate many of the iPad users biggest qualms; and, the Safari update makes finding and working with data easier (everyone). It is very possible that sometime in the near future, more people will be integrating their iOS devices into their lives and homes as they use it to write reports, take notes, research, and receive entertainment.

Samsung Blast Review

The Samsung Blast has a nice form factor(slide), is very thin and looks nice.

On the inside the Samsung Blast has 11 MB of RAM (disappointing when you look at the smart phone capabilities of 256 MB but not bad.) The RAM is sufficient though because I have never had any application crash on me. When compared to phones like the EN V and other Samsung phones the processor seems pretty slow but only really noticeable when starting the camera application otherwise it doesn't seem slow at all. Another hardware feature is the 1.3 Megapixel camera. I think that a theme of this phone is give you only what you need. But then again whenever it came out it could have been really advanced.

Call quality is pretty good and volume is nice. Unfortunately, it is hard to talk when slid closed because it blocks the microphone. Anyway, you can navigate the entire phone with it closed without opening until text-input is required. For the outer key input devices it has a shortcut key and quick access to the web. When it comes to the keyboard this phone is great. The keys are about the size of that of a Blackberry and it is QWERTY. However, it has T9 text prediction to help with typing because there are two characters per key. Nonetheless, I enjoyed texting, e-mailing and browsing the web on it.

The texting setup was great except for the fact that it was not organized as if it were a chat, like the iPhone.

E-mailing had a nice interface but was a little slow because it is on an EDGE network.

Web browsing was as good as any other phone of the kind. Of course it had limitation but it was good that the screen was a little larger then normal. Overall it was a fully-functioning browser. This seems like a pretty good office suite beside the fact that there were no word processing applications.

Unfortunately, many SD cards were not recognized by the Samsung Blast. But, I didn't have a problem because transferring music through bluetooth was VERY easy.

For battery life, my phone died at about 5 o'clock. It lasted from 7 in the morning to 5 o'clock.

Lastly, voice control was ok but not good enough to the point where it is actually worth using.

Overall, this was a nice phone and satisfied my technological needs. If it had an office suite and a better battery I might never have upgraded. (Hopefully, by Saturday I will have a review of the Samsung SGH-T439 and the iPhone)

Two Ideas about the iPhone; One about jailbreaking

Number One:
I think that facebook makes money from Mobile Texts. It might set up a deal with the service provider and say that it will help people go over their texting limit and make the company more money. This money of course supports facebook's servers and programmers, etc. Without that it would slowly "fall" off the web. So if push notifications were integrated into Facebook for iPhone they would lose a lot of people that would use mobile texts. iPhone makes up something between 25 and 50 % of Att users. That would be huge losses and that could havev prevented them from purchasing friend feed and losing that great technology.

Number Two:
There haven't been major upgrades in batteries for a while. So there is a limit to what we can do hardware wise. The only thing to do is use software "hacks". FOr example, if processors never sped up there are only a few software ways to artificially speed it up. RIght? well, cell phone's have to frequently (on a second long basis) contact with tower which EATS your battery. So to save battery life iPhone can only go so far because it is limited by hardware. So it communicates with tower less frequently to save battery. That is why it takes an extra second to connect when calling. So I see a correlation between battery life limitations and the phone service on the iPhone. They inverse.

Jailbreaking Idea:
To make the iPhone a fully functioning computer. It would require a jailbreak so you can edit the keyboard, multitask, have a file navigation system and then allow a little programming for some add-ons (add-ons would be limited based on how much power can go through the phone at once.)