My Top 5 iOS 7 features (so far)

Happy iOS 7-eve!

Since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007 users of Apple’s famous handsets have been running some version of the companies mobile operating system known as “iOS” (i Operating System). Most iPhone users are currently using iOS 6, but many people may not be able to tell much of a difference between iOS 6 and the original version of the OS which debuted in 2007. In a little less than 24 hours that will change. Tomorrow millions of iPhone’s around the world will be updated to Apple’s latest and greatest version of iOS, iOS 7.

I have been using the GM (Grand Master) version of iOS 7 since it was released last Wednesday. Simply put, the “Grand Master” version is the final build of the OS that Apple sends to developers ahead of it’s public launch. To say I’m impressed with Apple’s new take on their iconic mobile OS would be the understatement of the century.

Based on my experience with iOS7 in the last week, I have chosen 5 new features from iOS 7 that I think people will love.

AirDrop: In iOS 7 Apple brings AirDrop to your iPhone. This is a handy feature that allows you to share photos, videos or documents with anyone near you that has an iPhone and it's done so with a single screen tap. My girlfriend and I went on a little vacation this past weekend and we used AirDrop often to quickly send pictures to each other. Another helpful feature is that whatever type of file you're sending AirDrop will store it in the correct location from the start. For example, in the past in iMessage to simply send a picture one would have to select the picture, select the contact and then send it. If the recipient wanted to save the picture they would have to open the picture then click the “save camera roll” button. AirDrop allows you to send the picture and it will import it directly in to the recipients photos. This works likewise with video and document sharing.  

Quick Controls Center: A quick control center that is easily accessible from anywhere on your iPhone is a feature that iOS has been lacking for quite some time. Thanks to iOS 7, this complaint is now history. It may have been somewhat copied feature from the Android OS, but how else would you expect Apple to do this feature? The control center brings instant access to things like your brightness, a flashlight, your camera and calculator as well as toggle switches for WiFi, Bluetooth Do Not Disturb mode and others. I have been using this feature a lot in the past few days and I must say it's wonderful to have, easy to use and more importantly gives FAST access to these controls. This may be my favorite feature of iOS 7 thus far.

Updates to Siri: Apple has had Siri in Beta (development) form since they launched her on the iPhone 4s back in 2010. iOS 7 brings an end to Siri's Beta run and brings about many welcomed changes to the popular mobile assistant. I was a fan of Siri from the time the software was launched. I use her on a daily basis for things such as scheduling calendar appointments, setting alarms, timers and reminders. I'm a huge fan of the "It can wait" campaign, so naturally I use Siri a lot when I'm in my car as well. I use her to send, read and reply to my messages, and control my music. Adding on to these useful features, Siri can now do things like adjust your screens brightness, or turn on/off your Bluetooth or WiFi. She also has a new voice that’s so lifelike, it’s borderline creepy. Some of Siri's improvements may be a bit overdue, but I choose not to focus on that and just appreciate that Siri is now more useful and functional than ever. 

A Redesigned Music App/iTunes Radio: The music app in iOS 7 brings a great new look to the most popular music player in the world, as well as many welcomed new features. To start, the app looks a lot sleeker and more personal. Now as you’re scrolling through your library by way of the "Artists" tab you will notice artist pictures taken from iTunes. If you have one album from that artist, the picture may be of that album artwork, but for artists that you have multiple albums from iTunes uses an image of the artist of band. iOS 7 also brings iTunes Radio into the picture. iTunes Radio is Apple's first attempt to get into the booming industry of streaming music where Apps like Pandora and Spotify have been very successful. Apple mostly gets iTunes radio right. The UI is easy on the eyes and the application functions well and provides a wide library of music. iTunes radio is free with ads and there will also be a paid version that will be ad free and provide the user with unlimited skips. iTunes match subscribes will receive the paid version of iTunes Radio for free.

A Functional Clock App Icon/Hiding the News Stand App: This feature may not sound like a big deal, (and it’s really not) but I never understood why the clock application icon in iOS 1-6 was not a functional clock. The calendar app icon has always changed with the day, so wouldn’t it make sense for the clock to work?  In iOS 7 the clock icon is fully functional right down to a sweeping second hand! Also, you can now hide the News Stand app!! (I’ll pause and let you celebrate...) Okay.

These are just five features I wanted to highlight. I am very impressed with iOS 7 and all of the new features and improvements it brings. Apple has done something very special with iOS 7. They have managed to design a new OS that looks and works different than previous versions on iOS, but you still know how to use it from the second you pick up a device running iOS 7. I’m also very excited to see what the future of application design in iOS 7 holds. A few apps have already been updated for iOS 7 ahead of it’s public release and they look great and function well. On September 18th old iPhone’s will feel new to many owners and Apple will once again give us a great mobile operating system. 

iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Why all the hate?

iOS, Android, or Windows Phone, Why can’t we all get along!? 

Let me start this article by saying that I am an iPhone user who switched from Android.  Also, I don’t care what phone or OS other people use. Interesting idea isn’t it? 

One thing that really bugs me about reading through tech articles or commenting on tech related Facebook/Twitter posts is the comment sections. It seems as though every comment section becomes this huge “Apple sucks, Android rocks” (or vice versa) war. Have you ever posted a pro iPhone or Android comment and been personally attacked? I don’t understand the motives of those who do that.

I upgraded from my BB Storm (Ugh, that phone...) to the original Motorola Droid when it was released for Verizon. I had held off on getting an iPhone 3G, cause I wasn’t a huge fan of the design and I wasn’t a huge fan of Apple (for no reason) at the time. 

I still remember the night I saw the first “Droid” commercial. I was watching a football game, it went to commercial and my TV yelled “DROID!” at me and I was glued to my TV. It was the famous “iDont” ad. The commercial did what it was meant to do, I was 100% on “Team Droid” at that point. After doing a little research on the Droid 1, I went to Verizon and upgraded. 

That was my first real smartphone and I loved it. I had a few Blackberry’s prior to that, but I don’t consider those old BBs smartphones in comparison to the first Droid or iPhone 3G. Eventually I upgraded to the Droid 2, then the Droid X. Eventually, I grew a little tired of Motorola’s take on Android, so I decided to get the Samsung Galaxy S1, then the S2. I liked Samsung’s smoother Android experience, but I wasn’t (and still am not) a fan of Samsung’s “Cartoon” like user interface. 

While I had my S2, I began to hear about the Motorola Droid Razr that would be out soon and being a former V3 Razr user from back in the day, I was very excited to see Motorola bring back the “Razr” branding. So, I switched to the Droid Razr from the S2 and I must say, that Droid was probably my least favorite Android experience to date. 

The thin design and great looking screen really sold me on the Razr. The awful battery life and faulty hardware is what caused me to look into other phones. I decided to try something new completely, so I traded my Droid Razr for for an iPhone 4s. 

I fell in love with the iPhone from the moment I picked it up. All of my complaints of Android OS were answered with the iPhone 4s including much better battery life, smoother software, great hardware and a great eco system. I will say that my switch to apple was over a year ago and Android as stepped up their game quite a bit since then with devices like the HTC One and S4, also with software updates. 

I wanted to give you a history of the phones I’ve owned to show you that I’m not just an “Apple fanboy”. I like Android just fine, but for me personally iOS just works better. I will never understand why people get so mean when discussing phones. Why can’t someone prefer the iPhone or Apple products without being made fun of or called an “iSheep”? Why can’t someone enjoy Android without being told that their hardware and software is crap? Why does “Windows Phone guy” always have to be told his phone is irrelevant and can’t compete with the “big dogs”?

Competition in the smartphone world is a great thing because it produces better devices for us as consumers. I think we all need to do a better job of understanding that everything a company comes out with will not always be a brand new idea or completely innovative, but maybe just an improvement of something that already exists. 

iOS 7 has been a hot button topic as of late. People seem to love it, hate it, or say it’s a direct copy of Android. That argument doesn’t make much sense to me simply because if you really think about it, everyone “borrowed” ideas from the original iPhone. The good news is, we seem to be heading towards the perfect phone, with perfect software, no matter if you want an iPhone, Android device or Windows Phone. Everyone takings cues from each other and improvement makes things better for the user, so I don’t understand the aggravation behind all of this.

At the end of the day, you should use the phone and eco system that works best in your life and makes you happy. For me that is the iPhone and iOS/OSX, but I’m not opposed to switching if I like something better one day. You may enjoy using Windows Phone and Windows 8, or Android and a ChromeBook. 

We all love technology, are allowed to have different opinions and like certain brands better than others, but can’t we do a better job of respecting each other? I’m not pro-Apple, Android or Windows Phone. I’m simply pro-technology and am for advancing the products that we all love, and use daily. What fan base do you think draws the most “hate” and gives the most hate?

How long does cable TV have to evolve?

How long does Cable TV have to evolve? 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the average cable bill for a US home in 2001 was $48. Fast forward to 2013 and it’s almost tripled to over $140 per home. Cable and Satellite TV  providers such as Comcast, AT&T, Dish Network and Direct TV are making money hand over fist, but are we getting any more value for our nearly tripled cable bill? 

About 3 years ago, the DVR box I was “renting” from Comcast had some hardware issues. I called Comcast and was told that I (Yeah, me the customer who is paying for the service) would need to take my DVR box to the “nearest” Comcast store to get it fixed or replaced. The store was about 15 miles away from my apartment. This lack of service didn’t sit well with me and it got me thinking, that maybe I would just ditch cable all together. After all, I was paying almost $160 a month for the few (7-10) channels that I watched on a regular basis. If were being honest, I was basically paying that much to watch The Walking Dead, ESPN, Breaking Bad and a few other random sporting events. 

I weighed out the pros and cons of “cutting the (cable) cord” and upon completing my list I had very few reasons to stick with Comcast or cable in general. I knew if I ditched cable all together that my wallet would be happier, I wouldn’t have to deal with those awful customer service reps, faulty hardware, and ridiculous 10-2 service call time slots. 

I started looking into other options to get my TV “fix”. In late 2011 I had a few choices; Netflix and Hulu Plus were available on my Xbox 360 and at only about $8 a month for each, the choice to add those subscription services seemed pretty obvious. Netflix was great for movies and Hulu Plus was awesome for the network TV shows I watched. In 2013 we have many more streaming services in addition to Netflix and Hulu so consumers are really winning the battle in that respect.  

Earlier this year, I bought an Apple TV. The $99 I spent on that little box is probably the best way I have spent $99 on anything, ever. The Apple TV is an interesting little device/investment. Some people will argue that it isn’t practical and doesn’t have a lot to offer, but I couldn’t disagree more. 

Let’s say you watch 3-5 (cable network) shows on a weekly basis. One show is on TNT, two air on A&E and a couple more air on HBO. You can purchase a “Season pass”, of a TV show for around $35-$40 on iTunes and watch every episode just a few hours after it airs. $35 or $40 up front may sound like a lot, but if you stop and think about it, that $35 multiplied by 3-5 TV shows comes out A LOT cheaper than your 12 months of $150 cable bills. iTunes also allows you to purchase single TV episodes for only $2.99 in HD, and you own them forever. 

I am fully aware that cable providers now have “On Demand” sections for certain networks where you can watch some past seasons or episodes of shows, but they still lack in the amount of content you can watch. The Apple TV was recently updated with HBO Go and I thought that was very interesting. It makes me wonder if the future of TV will be these networks offering subscription based viewing. We would have more control over what we watched and the financial savings would be great. 

I have found that one of the biggest reasons people are so attached to cable is sports. As Americans we love our sports and the professional and collegiate leagues know this. They also know that we will pay for them if they air games we want to see on cable channels, as opposed to regular TV. Sometimes this requires us to add even more to our monthly cable bill. 

The Apple TV and Roku have access to MLB TV so someone can pay one price for the year and watch every MLB game. Apple has this option for the NBA as well. If the NFL jumped on this train, I think we would see even more people leaving their cable company.

In 2013 I am still living the cable free life and both my wallet and I are very happy. So, back to my original question, how much time do all of these cable providers have to evolve before they are left in the dust? As a society we are moving towards a completely digital life as iTunes changed the way we purchase music forever and I believe devices like the Apple TV and Roku will set the standard for the future of television. It’s so nice to actually get what you pay for and be able to watch what you want, when you want, all while saving some money. What would you like to see added to these streaming devices? 

I predict, that  in the next 10 years we will either see cable providers drastically altering their TV packages and pricing, or we will see the end of the “Cable TV era” What do you think? Are you happy with your cable provider, or are you ready to move on?