July 22nd, 2010 by Robert
When Apple announced the iPhone 4 and iOS 4, anyone close to upgrade time was excited about it. There have been many articles on the phone about the all the features of the new hardware and the new operating system so I won’t go into those here. Instead I will give you my thoughts on how the device performs and the features that I find very useful.
I had not planned on purchasing an iPhone 4 just yet. I was going to wait a while to see what happened with the antenna issue. However, when I walked into a nearby Best Buy, I was curious if they had any in stock. I asked and was told that they only had the 32GB model. I walked around the store for a while longer and the temptation was just too great so I decided to purchase the phone. I walked out of the store grinning from ear to ear with my shiny new toy clutched tightly in my hand.
Of course, as soon as I got home I had to try out the antenna problem. Now keep in mind that there is a very weak signal where I live to begin with so the antenna issue was obvious as soon as I gripped the phone a certain way. I did not purchase a case at the time of purchase because Best Buy does not carry my favorite case (Incipio Feather). After seeing that the antenna issue would be a major problem when using the phone at home I immediately purchased a case to use until I could order a Feather case. My next step was to plug it into iTunes and get everything setup. I was amazed at how fast the phone Synced to iTunes, it would have taken twice as long for my old 3G to fully sync. I was also amazed at how easy it was to transfer everything from my old iPhone to the new one through iTunes. This is probably not a new development but the 3G was my first iPhone so I had not experienced this before.
So, I have been using the iPhone 4 for the past few weeks now and I have to say that I am not disappointed. The ability to group apps in folders is a wonderful addition to the OS as well as the multitasking ability, even though it is not true multitasking. The iPhone 4 is way faster than my 3G and I have found that I use the iPhone 4 a lot more because of that. One of the things that I instantly noticed is that the phone works much better with the Sync system in my Ford Edge. The Blue tooth streaming is much improved and indexing only takes a few seconds rather than the hour and a half that my 3G took. (The Sync system indexes the music on devices plugged into the USB port). The audio during calls through the Sync system is also much louder than before.
I have also noticed a vast improvement in the network speeds, especially the upload speed. AT&T’s network has some weak spots but for the most part it works well in the places I usually go. Of course if you touch the “trouble spot” on the phone with your bare hands the signal will go down so will the internet speeds. I do see some improvement in the battery life; I use the iPhone 4 twice as much as I used my 3G and I can get two days out of a singe charge (the same I could get with the 3G). So for the most part it has been a great improvement from my old iPhone.
A quick word about the antenna issue before I wrap this up. I do not see this issue as a deal breaker. I do not plan on returning my iPhone because of that. I do agree that Apple should have taken care of the issue before releasing the iPhone 4 to the public but I also am happy with their solution to the issue. There are some things I do not like about the iPhone 4 but those are issues that have been around since the first generation. The inability to set custom text message alert tones without some serious tinkering is sort of annoying. Also, Exchange support is still not that great although it is much improved.
So to conclude this short little review, I believe that the iPhone 4 is a great improvement over previous models. The design, as with all Apple products, is gorgeous and it does not have that cheap flimsy plastic feel that most phones have. It does have a few flaws but most phones do. They cannot all be perfect or make everyone happy. If you are thinking about the iPhone 4 you should definitely give it a try.
July 22nd, 2010 by Robert
So I have been fairly busy this week. Between work, school, and working out I have not had time to do much. I am still working on getting the site redone. I am working on a new logo and header image so you will have to excuse the out of the box WordPress theme header.
I got a letter from my youngest brother, Adam, this week also. He is at the Marine Corps. Recruit Depot in San Diego. It was good to hear from him and to know that he is doing good. From what I have read and heard, Marine Corps. bootcamp is fairly difficult. I admire him for taking that challenge and going after his dream of becoming a Marine. I look forward to going out to San Diego for his graduation some time in September.
Like I said before, I have been working on the site as much as I can. I thought that it would be easier to use this site as my personal blog but now I have to change just about everything. All the logos had to do with a tech blog so I have to change them. It’s always fun and I am always learning something new about web and graphic design. However, I am still not very good at either.
Well, it’s back to work I go. Just had a few minutes of free time and thought I would write something real quick. I promise a longer more meaningful post in the future.
July 7th, 2010 by Robert
So it has been a while since I have posted anything. I’ve been extremely busy lately and it doesn’t seem like I will be slowing down any time soon. In fact I am actually going to be even more busy than I am now. I had a “grand vision” for this site when I started. However, now I believe it is time to step back decide what the focus of this site should be.
It is probably evident that I am very interested in technology. I work in IT so I make my living off technology. However, the tech news field is way to fast paced for any one person to keep up with on a less than part time basis. It is for this reason that I have decided to expand the scope of OneTechSys.com. This site will now become my personal blog. A place for me to share my thoughts on many different subjects, not just technology. I am sure no one reads this blog as I have not done a very good job at updating it. However, I plan to change that. I will continue to write whether or not anyone is reading. I have always enjoyed writing any way. So if you are reading this I encourage you to stop by and check out the blog on a weekly basis. I am in the process of writing a blog post about the iPhone 4.
December 4th, 2009 by Robert
Over the past couple of months have been doing a lot of research on photography. One particular technique sparked my interest, a shallow depth of field portrait. I was curious as to how this was achieved and began looking for answers. It did not take me long to find the answer, however in my searches I saw other images that I thought were interesting. So that’s how it all started, from one picture. Just this week I purchased a Nikon D3000 DSLR camera and I am planning on using it a lot during the holidays and I hope to learn a lot more. I am sure that my friends and family will be fully annoyed with me soon, if they are not already. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about something and I finally have a hobby that does not have to do with something I do every day at work.
If you’ve are interested in learning more about photography I would suggest checking out Digital Photography School. They have great posts about basic photography as well as a forum where you can post your shots and get input from fellow members.
November 9th, 2009 by Robert
If you have been to an electronics store such as Best Buy recently, you have probably seen the “new LED TVs” on the shelves or in advertisements. You may be asking yourself, ”Whats the difference between LED and LCD? It’s a question that many are asking and Samsung and Best Buy, for example, are not making it any easier to understand.
The answer to this question? The light source that illuminates the LCD display. “LED” TVs as, Samsung and other manufacturers call them, ARE actually LCD TVs. The difference is the technology used to illuminate the image. Whereas traditional LCDs use flourecent lights to “backlight” the display, “LED” TVs use LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to illuminate the image. In other words the panel technology that actually displays the image is no different from that LCD branded TV right next to it. The difference is all in the lighting.
So remember an “LED TV” is just an LCD TV with a different, and brighter, light source.
November 4th, 2009 by admin
I just wanted to post a quick note about the Dell Adamo XPS. Although this notebook is thinner than the MacBook Air, the design pales in comparison. When closed the Adamo XPS looks great but as soon as the lid is open it transforms into a hideous mess of a notebook. The top and bottom of the notebook are not of equal length, the lid is larger, so when the notebook is open the edge of the lid extends beyond the bottom. In my opinion this is a terrible design. Have you seen pictures of the Adamo XPS, what do you think?
If you have not seem pictures, you can see them here.
October 28th, 2009 by Robert
Welcome to the new OneTechSys.com. We are currently working on improving the look and content of our website. Please check back for more updates.
