iOS 7 Golden Master/ Consumer Version set for September 18th Launch!

After months of Beta testing, Apple is finally ready to release its perfected new operating system. In reality theres not much so anticipate when you look the technical details of the OS but consumers have been long awaiting this release for the simple reason that its something new to ponder over. A whole new way to look at your iOS device. Its utterly beautiful! Transparency, Gradients and simplicity comes together to create a mobile operating system that is fit for use by the beginner smartphone user and corporate heads at the same time. We've seen Apple give us a glimpse of iOS 7 at WWDC 2013 and since then Apple has released 6 Beta versions. So it is almost guaranteed that you will be using a bug-free OS. iOS 7 may not boast the best software features and tricks but iOS does gloat when it comes to perfection. Apple is preparing to 'Seed' this new operating system to all of you die-hard 'Apple' fans out there on September 18th. First with the iPhones and other iOS devices to soon follow. I personally haven't used the developer Beta versions so I will get a real feel of iOS 7 on Wednesday and I will do a full review on it soon after. So to read that review as soon as its posted and to read other amazing content, Become a member.

INTRODUCING iOS 7

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iOS 7 Beta 6 : A taste of Apple's new Flavor...

Our mouths are drooling to taste the latest flavor from Apple. iOS 7 is yet to make its consumer debut but beta 6 was recently seeded to developers. The Beta version gives us a striking look at what the consumer version should look like and I wont lie, we like what we see! So we decided to wet your tech-loving palette for the latest that Apple has to offer! 

This is just a sneak preview. A full review of the Golden Master / Consumer version will follow after its release.  

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What's On My Homepage! (iOS Edition) EP1

There a Millions of apps out there on multiple platforms, there are apps that can be useful and others that can be a waste of Space on your Device. Its become insane with Developers even designing apps for your Cats! So how do you know what to download and what not to? In this post i'm going to explore the vast iOS App Store to find the best Apps for you to download....

HEADS UP 

Heads up is my favorite party game on the App Store. Its amazing to play with friends with guaranteed roll on the floor laughing! This game is inspired by Ellen Degeneres's Game "Celebrity" which features on her talk show. You can choose between many categories including "Accents" (A personal favorite) ; "Act it out" ; "Animal Sounds" and "Icons,legends & Stars. The Game displays a word or name on the screen and gives you an allocated time to get another person to guess the word. Front-Facing camera support means you can capture the funniest reactions and share them with the world! (Which is very funny.) Watch Ellen as she does a Tutorial... Available for iPhone and iPad

STAMPSY

Social Media Apps are booming, with hundreds of Facebook want-to-be's im really exited to see something totally unique and original. Stampsy is a platform to share your media content be it a photo , artwork or writing, this app showcases you work in a form called "Stamps."Stamps really bring your content to life. Stampsy is easier to use, with palettes of colours and a grid to help plan out your stamps. After you publish it your stamp gets its own unique URL code which you can share with people. Publish yourself with Stampsy.                                                                           

MUSYC

Don't read music note, but love music? This is the app for you! No knowledge of music needed. All you do is drag your finger across the screen to make music. Different in-app purchases means you can spend hours not to mention many dollars on this app. Musyc is a original and unique app that is perfect for any music lover. Creating music has never been this easy. Its seems almost 'magical' the way the songs come together. When you are done recording it there are multiple sharing options including iTunes, Drop-box or Sound Cloud. 

MINECRAFT - POCKET EDITION 

Build your own virtual world by day , fight the monsters by night. Minecraft is the ultimate way to show off your creative side. Place Blocks and create your virtual kingdom. Minecraft offers 3 settings, Survival, Creative and Hardcore mode. In Survival mode, you can need to eat and keep yourself safe from monsters. Collect blocks and save them in your inventory. In Creative mode you get unlimited blocks and you can fly. Available for iPhone and iPad

ASPHALT 7 : HEAT

Asphalt by Game loft comes back with "Asphalt 7: Heat" a more graphically intensive game with circuits that look very true to reality. The game is my favorite Street-Racing game available on the app store with over 60 different cars. However, I do warn you that the game is VERY heavy on RAM so I advise you to close all background applications before hitting the circuit. The improved multiplayer feature makes it easier to race with your friends and family. Asphalt 7 is the best Asphalt yet!
Available for iPhone and iPad

IMOVIE

Tired of movie editors that are complicated and hard to use? Aren't we all! Make your home movies worthy of the red carpet with Apple's Mac software now available on the App Store, so you can edit your movie on the plane ride home and show it to your family immediately. It is simple and easy to use. With easy theme settings and controls that are adapted to touch screens. iMovie is perfect to use, whether you are an aspiring Videographer, an actor or even a avid traveller wanting to share your video diaries or snapshots. Available for iPhone and iPad

Thanks for Reading
Keep It connected

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A Multi-platform BBM (Blackberry Messaging) : The Full Story

Have you ever dreamt of BBM, Blackberry's exclusive messaging service, on your iPhone or Android Phone?  - Well the reality is , you probably haven't. Slow messages, annoying Broadcast messages and a shorter battery life as a result are all problems that i've experienced when using BBM. The fact is the majority of tech-users are and will use Whatsapp (or other messaging platforms) on their iPhones or android phones and even if they moved to a blackberry, I'm sure they'd still use Whatsapp over BBM. 

(Photo Credit : Elie Chahine's Blog.)

Why I don't like BBM!

Below are the reason why I seriously don't like BBM and why id much rather use Whatsapp. 

• BBM is slow and often doesn't work at random times ( when you need it the most.)
• The Broadcast Message - Yes, if you've had BBM you'd definitely know what im saying. Those irritating messages from people who have nothing to do. For people who don't know what they are - They are Messages that are sent from one of your friends to all of their contacts and often        sound like this ... "Happy Mother's Day - if you don't Broadcast this message in 20 seconds, something bad is going to happen to your mother." or the all common , "Blackberry is shutting down users profiles at 12:00 AM , if you don't broadcast this code, your phone will fail to work. This is a serious note from the CEO of Blackberry, John Blackberry." I don't know why people Broadcast these stupid messages, but then again, they did buy blackberries! 
• The overall performance of your Blackberry. When you have ± 300 contacts on BBM, your blackberry becomes really slow overall and often it freezes and restarts while you using the phone however this shouldn't be a problem with the Q10 or Z10. The slower processor on the Q5 may be affected. 
• The horrible Battery life, this is as a result of your contacts updating their profile pictures and statuses as well as sending and receiving messages. Your battery can go from lasting a day with medium use but with BBM disabled to a matter of hours with the same use and BBM running in the background.   

Multi-Platform

Blackberry is to release BBM as an App available for : 

• iPhones (iPhone 4 , 4S and 5.) running iOS 6
• Android Phones (Running 4.2) 

Once launched you will be able to download it off the App Store / Play Store and use it just like on a Blackberry 10 device however features will be updated on Blackberry 10 devices before it is updated on the application. The App will be Free of charge! 

Why does Blackberry want to release it as a Multi- platform Messaging Service? 

I should actually rephrase that heading and rather ask - Why does Blackberry NEED to release it as Multi-platform Messaging Service? Well with Blackberry (formerly known as RIM, which I called RIP.)  under piles of debts and Blackberry 10 showing to be less successful than blackberry anticipated,   A Multi-platform BBM will not only Boost sales of Blackberrys but will give Blackberry the opportunity to sell Ads on the iPhone and Android version of the Messaging service. A Multi-platform BBM could also give Blackberry much needed recognition and exposure, which I think is all Blackberry needs right now.  (Photo Credit - Business insider.)

PROs

• Better exposure for Blackberry 
• Advertising. Which could in essence Keep BBM alive even after Blackberry itself is dead. 
• A boost is sales of Blackberrys as more people have BBM and BBM therefore is more efficient and useful to the consumer.  
• cheaper than Whatsapp. Free compared to $0.99 / year. 

CONs

• BBM will no longer be exclusive to Blackberry Owners hence people who bought Blackberry's in the past solely for BBM, might not buy Blackberry's now. 
• There are bound to be more users and more users means slower messages. 
• Blackberry Software programmers and designers have to spend time writing the Android and iPhone Apps when they could be spending that time bettering Blackberry 10, and it needs ALOT of bettering to gain market share!

Tell me what you think Tweet using #iBBM for a chance to be followed and re-tweeted by us!  

Conclusion 

Although bold, I think this move of releasing BBM as a Multi-platform messaging service will definitely pay off in the long-run with more exposure for Blackberry. The idea has potential but the execution is what im waiting to see. Will Blackberry successfully recreate itself or will 10 be Blackberry's unlucky number... 

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iBlog Awards : TOP10 TABLETS

1.) Microsoft Surface Pro

2.) iPad with Retina Display

3.) Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

4.) Apple iPad Mini

5.) Sony Xperia Tablet Z 

6.) Nexus 10.1

7.) Samsung ATIV 

8.) Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9'

9.) Nexus 7

10.) Samsung Galaxy 2 Tab 7'

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iBlog Awards : TOP10 SMARTPHONE

1.) Samsung Galaxy S4
2.) HTC One
3.) Xperia Z
4.) Blackberry Q10
5.) iPhone 5
6.) HTC First
7.) Nokia Lumia 925
8.) Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
9.) Nexus 4
10.) Blackberry Z10

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What I Want To See In WWDC 2013

Yes, its this time of the year again folks. So you might as well find an excuse to trash your 'old' Apple devices because Apple's WWDC (World Wide Developer's Conference) kicks of on monday!

                             WHAT I WANT TO SEE

iOS 7

A brand new Operating system. Not just some bug fixes here and there, with added applications that never seem to work (like iMaps.) I want to see a Apple Social Media platform, something to rival Facebook and Twitter. I want to see a 'flatter' OS. Apple should let us choose between iMaps and Google Maps as our default Mapping Service. Apple needs to redesign their App Store and last and definitely not least we need to see some widgets on iOS. 

iPad Mini with Retina Display 

A new updated version of the the iPad mini running iOS 7. Spec-wise I expect it to have a better processor (maybe the A6X) and a Retina display screen. I also would like to see the iPad mini coming in a few different colours, maybe a red, blue and green.

Macbook Air with Retina Display 

A revised design, it should be thinner and should come in a 15 inch variant. A faster processor and a new version of Mac OSX. A Retina display. 

The iWatch

A first for Wearable tech in Apple. After the Google Glass buzz, the Apple iWach would be a success. The idea is to have a watch with customizable bands and clock-faces as well as traditional iOS application functions. It should have Retina Display and 4G LTE connectivity. Siri and iMaps. 

  WHAT APPLE IS PROBABLY GOING TO DO

The more I read over what I want to see, the more I know its not going to happen. I think Apple needs to really design a new flagship device, something that is completely new and exiting but the reality is that they wont! Apple is playing it safe at the moment but playing it safe might have worked a year ago but it  wont help now ,when Apple's competitors are catching up...

Apple needs to show us new products - Read my blog on Monday to see what Apple has packed as well as a link for you to watch it yourself. 

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5 Gadget Gifts Ideas for Mothers Day.

As you know national mothers-day is this sunday and if you are anything like me , you have either forgotten or are going last-minute gift shopping. So here are a few GADGET GIFT IDEAS!

1. AMAZON KINDLE PAPERWHITE

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite in my opinion is the best E-Reader on the market with a stunning new Kindle Operating system which is simple and easy to use (perfect for mom). The 6' E-Ink screen is touch screen with quick (almost unnoticeable refreshes) and a new built in reading light so that mom can finish her cliff-hanger murder mystery at night. The Kindle paperwhite has an amazing 8 week battery life , perfect for traveling and just plain day-to-day use. With over 6 fonts and different font sizes for mom to pick from. With the new WhisperSync feature , you can buy books for mom on your iPhone (or any iOS; Android or Windows device) as well as read them yourself. Mom is guaranteed to love this light-weight E-Reader.     

 R2200

2. IPOD NANO 

If your mom loves music, this could be the answer. The new iPod nano has a stunning new design. The simple OS is based on the 2.5' multi- touch Screen. The form-factor of the nano is small enough to fit in mom's pocket or handbag and big enough to use comfortably. Mom could easily load her music, an audiobook or even the audio copy of the Qur'an/Bible. The nano comes with pre-loaded apps (Music, Video, Radio, Photos, podcasts and Fitness.) At present the iPod nano doesn't have any App Store or ability to load more apps onto the device. Mom can also store pictures of her children or even grandchildren. The Nike Fitness+ app means that mom can go for a morning jog/walk listen to PowerMusic on the way and have a look at stats like how far she walked, how many calories she burnt. It is an amazing way for mom to keep in shape and track her progress doing it. Mom will definitely love     it and if she doesn't i'm sure you will!

R1899

3. APPLE MACBOOK AIR 11'

If you are really looking to spoil you mom this mothers day or just kissing up to her - The Macbook Air is a perfect entry laptop into the Apple Mac world. Mac OSX is a simple software that allows users to customize the size of apps so that mom can see them easily however buying a macbook itself can be pretty expensive as well as extra costs for software like Office for Mac (R1200). The macbook is slim and light-weight. An amazing companion for work or hobbies.

 R9999

4 . SONY S-FRAME WI-FI SERIES

What better gift than to remind mom of all the good memories  you've had. The Sony S-Frame is the best way to do that. Mom can view pictures from a SD card, the devices memory or even your Facebook profile (which could or could not be a good thing). The Sony S-Frame can also give you the weather, your Facebook updates and the date. A easy and cheaper alternative to printing and framing pictures. The S-Frame automatically organizes and plays your pictures on the amazing screen out of the box. mom doesn't have to spend hours setting up it, she can enjoy amazing slideshows from day one. 

Mom will love it!

R799

5. SAMSUNG GALAXY S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the perfect way for you and your mom to keep in touch. the S4 runs Android Jelly Bean 2.2 with Samsung's Touchwiz UX which is both the easiest and most customizable software out there , whether you mom is 30 or 90, I can guarantee she will love this amazing software! I'd definitely recommend it, I think its better than the iPhone 5. The S4 makes it easy for mom to communicate, keep healthy and fit (using the S'Health app). I would suggest if you go for this option you should buy yourself one too! (if you don't have one already)

 R7899

Happy Mothers day! Hope these GADGET GIFT IDEAS! were helpful - Send your pictures of  your mothers day gadget gifts to : iblogunscripted@yahoo.com. 

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iPhone 5 Review

 The iPhone is very unique in the sense  that it doesn't need a introduction, everybody knows the iPhone. Its famous , for obvious reasons -


 1.) Its an Apple iOS Device
2.) Its has an amazing build quality
3.) its resale value is very good
4.) its popularity
5.) its just amazingly simple ( for the young and old).

The New addition to the family has gotten a huge amount of upgrades - a bigger screen with a higher resolution , LTE capabilities and off course a new design of unexplainable beauty.  So lets see how this iPhone compares to its predecessors and off course its hungry competitors!

HARDWARE

The factor that I love about Apple products is what i call the  i Factor ( i as in iDevices are truly a blessing to the eye)- And they are like i said 'unexplainably beautiful'! With the iPhone 5 many people said when it came out that the design was just enhanced from the iPhone 4S to accommodate the new bigger 4' screen (including myself) but you cant say that before you have held the device in your hand and had a good look at the iPhone. It has a Apple's signature home button on the front and a Black/ White bezel wrapped around the Screen. The Side and back of the iPhone comes in either Slate / silver (depending on the color you chose). Around the side you have the Sleep/ Wake  button on the top, the Nano SIM card tray on the right side and the volume rocker on the left hand side. The 8-Pin lightning connector and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is located on the bottom along with the speakers. The iPhone 5's Multi- tone back is actually inspired by the iPhone (1st Generation) which also had a multi-tone back, The design at the back is 2 strips polished black/White strips on the top and bottom and then either slate/Silver in the middle. The Design overall is very spectacular and premium and I think its amazing compared to most phones on the market at the moment.

SCREEN 

The phone has a bigger 4' Retina Display which is the same width just longer. The Screen is 326 pixels/inch. The Resolution on this phone is stunning and it separates this phone from the rest. However  I don't think it was necessary for Apple to upgrade the screen size to 4' , I think the previous 3.5' Display was perfect (size-wise) and I think Apple just lost money and customers by making the phone bigger ( because after all people who use iPhones everyday don't want something that big) 

CAMERA

The iPhone 5 has an amazing 8MP iSight Camera. The new camera app has a feature to take panorama shots (which are 180 degree pictures). However compared to other phones the iPhone 5 has very few options and settings when taking pictures and the zoom is so bad, its not useful at all. (which is a huge downside.) 

                                                 A picture taken with the camera

THE BATTERY

Theres not much to say about the battery , it does its job and carries me through the day without fail.

THE NEW 8-PIN LIGHTNING CONECTOR 

For anyone who doesn't know, Apple has updated its charging port from the big 30pin dock connector to the new smaller 8pin lightning connector. Theres no big reason why Apple changed the charging port other than its smaller, it saves space and its faster but the new lightning connector may make consumers who have many docking stations and other exesories using the old 30-pin dock connector however you can buy a 30pin to 8pin convertor from Apple and that may work on some of your docking connectors. 

iOS

There is truly nothing like iOS! thats why it suites the phone itself. The iPhone 5 runs iOS 6. Now don't get me wrong iOS 6 is spectacular but there is a very small gap between iOS 5 and iOS 6 and thats a very important thing to note because if you get bored of a phone very easily the iPhone 5 or infact any iPhone isn't the phone for you. iOS doesn't really get updated with brand new features quickly unlike Android OS all in all I think iOS might be too simple not allowing users to customize and personalize as much as Android , Blackberry and Windows Phone OS allows you to. The Good part about iOS is the Apps! Comparatively the iOS App Store has much more quantity and quality, the Apps available for the iPhone 5 work in complete harmony with the device especially high graphic games which play beautifully on the 4' Retina Display.

Siri

Theres many virtual assistant systems like S'Voice , Google Now) but Siri is the original one and I think its the by far the best. In iOS 6 Siri is able to answer your question about almost anything, she can book movie tickets, tell you the weather, send messages , remind you and tell you scores. Siri now has full Facebook and Twitter integration so that you can update your status just by saying it to siri.

iMESSAGING 
Send messages to any other Apple iOS device for free using Wifi or 3G. You can talk to someone on your iPhone and your message will automatically sync to your iPad , your iPod and your Mac.

iMAPS
Apple's battle to eliminate Google from their system continues in iOS 6 as Apple makes a leap to replace Google Maps ( the previous default mapping system on iOS 5 and older) for their own mapping system - iMaps, which is a collaboration between Apple and other navigation specialist like TomTom. The New software brings new detailed maps that I really believe look better than the previous version. The biggest leap forward is the Voice guided navigation, it works pretty well but uses a lot of data and still isn't as good as systems like Nokia Drive. iMaps ,in my opinion, isn't perfect and often can't even complete simple actions like finding my correct current location but nevertheless I think iMaps is a step in the right direction for Apple and with some improvements I think it could be an excellent feature.

PHOTOSTREAM

Apple introduced photostream with iOS 5 as a way to get easy access to your photos from your iOS device or your Mac. iOS 6's Photo stream allows you to now share your photos with other iOS devices and Macs allowing others to like and comment on the photos you share, this feature is spectacular. 

OTHER PICTURES

CONCLUSION

Overall I thought the iPhone 5 is amazing and is definitely one of the best Smartphone on the market at the moment. However I think the iPhone 5 is a lot like the iPhone 4S which is a lot like the iPhone 4, What i'm trying to say is that Apple hasn't really made many significant changes with their devices over the past few years they just 'enhanced' it and I think if Apple doesn't make a significant improvement in their devices soon competition like Samsung will soon pass them. Apple used to be the leaders in the smartphone game but now they are falling behind - its taking them way to long to bring new features into iOS and often Apple users only get to use those features last. In conclusion I think this phone is spectacular it beats it predecessors (by half an inch) and it beats most its competitors (for now) ...


SCORECARD

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