Jackery Leaf extends iPhone 5, 5S battery with on-the-go charging

If you're like me and have been having problems making it through a full day without having to recharge your iPhone battery, then I have the solution for charging on the go.

I've been testing the Jackery Leaf for the past few weeks and I no longer dread the mid-afternoon battery run-down saga, which was just like clockwork every day. Now I'm able to use my iPhone until bedtime with no worries about a weak battery.

The Jackery Leaf is an integrated rechargeable battery and spiffy case that provides plenty of extra juice for iPhone 5 and 5S devices. According to the Santa Clara, California-based technology company, a maker of portable batteries for smartphones and tablets, the Leaf gives users up to 50 extra hours of operational time, depending on the types of applications and tasks that are running.

The Leaf accomplishes this feat with an Apple certified micro-USB Lightning connector converter built into a rechargeable 2400 mAh Li-ion battery, which also slips into a stylish case to make one compact unit. The device can be charged as one unit with the iPhone or separated and the battery charged while the case is still on the iPhone.

The setup is a breeze to install. Just slip the iPhone into the case and then slide the iPhone/case onto the Lightning connector built into the base of the charger. Everything fits snugly with a unique hook that is hidden from view when everything is fitted.

The Leaf charger uses a micro-USB cable and it takes about five hours to fully charge the battery, which can monitored by a three-color LED indicator light on the back of the charger unit. It starts out blinking red and progresses to blue and finally green to indicate a full charge.

Once the Leaf's battery was fully charged during my test, my iPhone stayed charged for several days, with me only charging the iPhone/Leaf charger each night at bedtime, like I normally would do. I finally depleted the Leaf's battery after about two-weeks of use, but I still had enough to juice to use my iPhone while the Leaf was charging.

The Leaf is not as fussy as say, the Mophie Juice Pack charger, which has similar technology, but uses a combined case and charger. With the Mophie, a switch on the back of the charger turns the charging feature on when needed and a button controls a row of indicator lights to indicate the charging strength of the battery unit. But with the Leaf, charging seems to be automatic, as my iPhone's battery indicator stayed green the majority of the time.

In the Leaf box, you'll find the extended battery, snap-on case, a Micro-USB charging and Sync Cable, Audio Extension Cable and a second colorful orange case in you don't like black. The Audio Extension Cable is needed for headphones, since the design of the Leaf unit causes the headphone port to be recessed on the iPhone. There are also cutouts for the iPhone's speakers at the bottom of the charger unit.

Because of the matte black finish on the Leaf, it is more susceptible to fingerprints and smudges than the Mophie, but they wipe off easily. The Leaf is also slightly heavier at 3.4 ounces than the Mophie, which is listed at 2.44 ounces.

With the Leaf's larger battery capacity at 2400 mAh, compared with the Mophie's 1500 mAh battery, the Leaf is the better buy at around $60. I like the features, the two cases and the extended battery capacity the Leaf provides for my iPhone.

The Leaf unit gives a nice, quality feel to an iPhone and I don't mind the extra bulk. It's the extra battery capacity that counts.

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Verizon's Ellipsis 7 is a good deal in the small tablet arena

When the Ellipsis 7 tablet from Verizon Wireless arrived in my hands, I had a feeling that it could be a keeper. This is Verizon’s home-bred, in-house, call-it-their-own device and I could hardly wait to take it for a spin.

The first thing I did was to see if it would fit the inside pocket of my business jacket. Bingo, it did. So finally I had found a tablet that I could carry around without having to hold it my hands or place in a brief case. Just tuck it in my inside coat pocket and go.

The Ellipsis 7 is a 4G Android device running the 4.2.2 operating system, also known as Jelly Bean. It has a seven-inch display and front-facing speakers along the bottom that sound really good. Along the top of the device you'll find the headset port, which is where I think all headset ports should be located – hint, hint to the iPhone 5 designers.

Along the bottom is the USB mini port for charging, while the right side holds a MicroSD card slot, microphone, power and volume keys, along with the SIM card slot.

On the back is a 3.2 megapixel camera, which is probably the weakest link of the Ellipsis 7 features. But who takes serious photos with a tablet, so I didn't mind having a lesser-quality camera than some of the competing tablets. Having only 8 megabytes of memory could be also be looked at as a weak link, compared with other tablets in this category that are sporting an average of 16MB and tops out at 128MB for some tablets, such as the iPad Mini.

Setting up most email accounts only required a username and password, with the tablet doing most the behind-the-scenes setup. My Google and Hotmail email accounts were up and running in a matter of minutes. Setting up a corporate Exchange account was equally as easy, you’ll just need to pay close attention to your Domain and Server settings. I had Exchange mail arriving in under five minutes.

Although I have access to a Mac desktop, laptop, iPad and iPhone, I found myself using the Ellipsis 7 often to check multiple email accounts, conduct google searches and monitor my social media accounts. The speed of Verizon’s 4G network and the 7-inch size made this tablet quite handy. I especially like the front-facing speakers and the quality of the sound, which was great for YouTube videos.

During my time with the Ellipsis 7, I download several apps from the Google Play store without a hitch. Again, the fast network was the key for a smooth download process. This device also comes with several desirable apps installed, such as iHeartRadio, Flipboard, Amazon Kindle reader, and Redbox Instant for movies. The included Navigation app is also pretty handy.

The other tablets in the 7-inch display category have similar or better features, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, Google Nexus 7 and the Samsung Galaxy 3. Although they also might have more memory options or a faster processor, the Ellipsis has them all beat on price. At the current time the Ellipsis 7 can be a great holiday gift until Dec. 31 for $49 with a two-year contract, or for $249 if you don’t want to sign a contract.

When you think about a starting price of $329 for the iPad Mini with Retina display that can quickly rocket to over $800 loaded, or around $400 for a fully loaded Kindle Fire HDX, the Ellipsis 7 looks good for the budget and will satisfy most digital needs.

If you need more display area, the iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch display is very generous for a small tablet, but you’ll need to open your wallet a little wider. Or you can move up the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX for a few more bucks.

But if the budget is tight, the Ellipsis 7 will take you anywhere you want to be in the digital world and perform like a champ for less cost. I’m call it a good deal.

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Defeat iOS 7 download, install woes with the proper preparation

Now that iOS 7 is available, lots of iPhone users are anxious to get Apple Inc.'s latest operating system on their older devices, such as the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.

While some are having good luck with the iOS 7 download and install process, the Apple discussion forums are filled with users have problems with the install or the behavior of their iPhone after the update.

To ensure a problem-free update,there are some actions to be aware of that might make the process a little smoother.

The No. 1 thing you need to do before attempting to install iOS 7 is to backup your iPhone through iTunes. This will ensure that you don't lose your valuable contacts, photos and other things of importance on your iPhone. Some users are getting a "restore to factory defaults" message during the download process for iOS 7. If you haven't backed up beforehand, that's not a good feeling.

Then you're going to need at least 3.1 gigabytes of free space on your iPhone for the iOS 7 install. You can check your available space by tapping the Settings icon on your home screen, then going into General, About and look for the Capacity and Available tabs. The Available tab will show the amount of space left on the device.

The best way to free up space for the iOS 7 update is to back up your iPhone and then delete some photos. You could delete some apps that you might not need, but it'll take a quite a few of them to be deleted to free up a significant amount of space.

Some users are saying their iPhone 5 is updating to iOS 7 automatically, without any user input. I have not had that experience, but going to Settings, General and Software Update does show that iOS 7.0 is available for me to download.

After getting iOS 7 installed, then you might encounter new issues when trying to use your iPhone for the first time under the new OS.

Lots of users are reporting not being able to connect to Wi-Fi, especially on the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Wi-Fi button might be grayed out. Then the keyboard might be sluggish when typing text messages or emails. Others are reporting charging issues via the same USB cable that worked before the iOS 7 update when plugged into a computer.


The solution that seems to work for some of these problem is a "reset of the device." I would start with tapping the Settings icon on your home screen, then General, Reset and tap the Reset All Settings option. This does does not erase you contacts, music, videos and other media and data, which is very important at this point.

Some of the other issues attracting lots of discussion involves the clock not being automatically set to the correct time zone after you have installed iOS 7. You're either an hour ahead or an hour behind. Hopefully, that can be cleared up with a reset of the device.

If all fails and you're totally frustrated with iOS 7, then you next thought might be to go back to iOS 6, or downgrade to your previous OS. Well, the bottom line is that Apple does not recommend or support this maneuver; most say it can't be done and you stuck with the new OS. But MacWorld has an article on how to accomplish this, if you don't wait too long. But be advised that if you have to jailbreak your iPhone to bring a previous OS back to life, that is not a good choice, especially if you think you'll ever need support from Apple in the future.

To add to the hoopla surrounding iOS 7, the iPhones 5C and 5S are available to today and I imagine this will open up another round of questions and issues for customers that took the leap and brought new devices home after standing in line for a while. But it didn't take long for the new gold iPhone 5S to be out of stock, with an anticipated debut of sometime in October.

I will wait a few days before putting iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. At least that will leave time for some of the downloads and new activations to taper off on Apple's servers. It's also important to point out that not everyone is having problems with iOS 7. But according to the discussion forums, some users are facing some issues when upgrading their existing devices.

As with any new OS or device, there are always a few bugs to be worked out and I'm already hearing rumblings of iOS 7.1 update. But somehow, I hope we'll all get past this and once again become happy "iPhone" campers.

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Apple showcases colorful 5S, 5C iPhones; rolls out iOS 7 update

As expected, the 5S and the 5C iPhones were unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 10 with a splash of colors.

In the past, a new iPhone announcement was always a magical moment, thanks to all the hype created Apple Inc., the media and Apple fans all around the world. The magic continues with these two devices.

The initial excitement surrounding iPhone announcements started on Jan. 9, 2007, at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, when the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs pulled an iPhone 2G out his pocket. The hoopla surrounding Apple smartphones announcement has been gaining traction every since and there seems to be no end in sight. The true Apple fans can probably name them all, starting with the 2G in 2007, the 3G in 2008, followed by the 3GS in 2009 and the 4G in 2010. We're not done. Then we had the 4S in 2011 and the evolutionary, if not revolutionary, iPhone 5 just a year ago.

Now we have the iPhone 5S, a souped-up doozy of a device with fingerprint reader technology and a 64-bit A7 processor with a 8 megapixel camera has set yet another standard for processing power in mobile devices. Gamers will rejoice, especially if the A7 chip finds its was into future iPads. The 5S will be available in new colors – gold, silver and "space gray" – to go with all that processing power.

The 5C, a colorful cheaper device for emerging markets, will be a fashion statement, with five color cases to choose from. Depending on what mood you're in, you can choose from green, blue, yellow, pink and white. It'll have a 4-inch Retina display and Apple's A6 chip.

The fingerprint sensor technology, which Apple is calling "Touch ID," sounds like a winner, because I, for one, have too many passwords to remember anyway. That feature alone would be worth an upgrade from an older iPhone if I had to do was press the home button to wake the phone and get busy.

I find it surprising that there was no mention of the new iPhones having the Near Field Communication technology, now commonly known as NFC. Apple has stayed away from this short-range wireless communication technology, while other manufacturers, such as Samsung, Nokia, HTC and BlackBerry have been incorporating this feature into their devices since early 2012. Now that NFC Tags and mobile payments are becoming more popular, I can't see Apple staying on the sidelines much longer.

As Apple moves past traditional white and black devices, the gold color for the 5S, the flagship device, attracted the most attention, but I'm not likely to rush into the store for a color change. My black iPhone 5 is serving me well. But iOS 7 will be available for download Sept. 18 and I'll be first in line for the update.

We can kick this news of the latest iPhones around for hours and never get tired, so let's talk pricing. The iPhone 5S is $199 under contract for the 16GB, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB, while the 5C starts at $99 for the 16 gigabyte model and tops out at $199 for the 32GB model. Both iPhones will be available Sept. 20, so it will be time to start lining up soon.

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BlackBerry Q10 is a lot of innovation looking for longtime BB fans

I have been enjoying the company of the BlackBerry Q10 for the past couple of weeks. Some might think this smartphone is too little and too late. I think it's a lot of innovation and I hope it's not too late.

My soft spot for the BlackBerry platform goes all the way back to the trackball or roller ball, and the scroll-wheel days. These devices set the standards for security and email management and were considered the "must have" mobile phone during its heyday, especially for enterprise customers. Now fast forward a decade and the BlackBerry is fighting for survival among the iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, Motorola Droids and a host of other newcomers.

But the latest BlackBerry, the Q10, with the QWERTY physical keyboard for us that remember the good old days, is quite a smartphone and I wouldn't count BlackBerry out just yet. The Q10 is running the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which is supposed to propel the BlackBerry devices into the future of smartphone innovation.

Straight out of the box from Verizon Wireless, this devices has a feeling of quality, with a textured back, rounded, smooth edges and an extremely tight fit. You can't help but notice the keyboard occupying the lower one third of the Q10's 4.7 inches in height. Then you're left with a 3.1-inch display, which is small by today's smartphones standards, but gets the job the done.

I guess having a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor is fine for now, but if BlackBerry is going to compete with its most fierce competitors, such as Apple, Samsung, HTC and LG, it will need to move into the quad-core territory.

I can stand behind the Q10's 8 megapixel camera though, especially in low-light situations. I shot some gorgeous photos just before sundown, with some of them in dark shadows. The colors were vibrant, life-like and impressive for a smartphone camera.

When I was setting up all my various social media and email accounts on the Q10, I was surprised to see integration for Evernote, a popular online note management application, become a part of the BlackBerry's Remember app. Now that falls into the very useful and cool category. As a heavy Evernote user, I like it and was thrilled to see this feature integrated into the Q10.

Here is one of the reasons I still think the BlackBerry has a fighting chance. When I look at the iPhone home screen, I see 24 icons with various red numbers in rounded-corner boxes. When I look at the Q10's home screen, I see my next appointment, which in was in 41 minutes on this particular day, along with "new' email and voice mail notifications. The synergy between all the calendars, social media accounts, task keepers, messages and multiple email services is nothing short of amazing. The Q10 became my go-to device to see what's happening next in my schedule.

I also like the shortcuts built into the device. From the home screen, you can just type "text" to begin sending a message, or "c" to call someone, or "T" to jump to the top of any page.

I did find it odd that Web pages don't rotate when you rotate the device, but fell in love with the "Reader" feature, where information comes up in plain-text view with no other distractions. You'll find this little nifty feature under the menu while visiting Web pages that contain articles to read.

I also don't know if the BlackBerry platform will ever catch up with Apple and Android in the number of apps available, and now even Windows Phone 8, who has also passed the 100,000 mark and iOS and Android marches toward one million. But I do know there are some good ones available for BlackBerry and one of the first apps I tried out for the Q10 is the famous BlackBerry "Password Keeper." It's as rock solid as ever and still sets the standard for password apps.

With all the talk from the BlackBerry corporate board about finding a buyer, exploring joint ventures or going into a partnership, it's hard to imagine to what's next for BlackBerry and their smartphones. The PlayBook tablet bit the dust a couple of months ago and might not resurface under the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

I think the BlackBerry will be around for years to come and will remain competitive. The Q10 is available from Verizon Wireless for around $200 under contract.

But here's one last effort to bring some traction the BlackBerry and especially the Q10. It's kind of a "Back to the Future" approach, which is to bring back the trackball in the land of touchscreens, much like the BlackBerry Bold 9930. I find it difficult to place and move the cursor around when editing text on this BlackBerry. Sometimes, you need to back up when writing a sentence to make a correction or insert a word and there are no arrows keys on the Q10's keyboard to move left, right, up and down.

I found the physical keyboard on the Q10 to be comfortable and precise. I made less typing mistakes than with a touchscreen device. The Q10's touchscreen above the keyboard was wonderful for swooshing from screen to screen, launching apps and getting into the Hub.

If I had only had a trackball, I would have had the best of all worlds — a touchscreen, physical keyboard and a quick, precise method to manage the cursor without having to go to the touchscreen.

Then the BackBerry Q10 could lead the way back into the game as the powerhouse among the business users, just like in the old days. Now that's something to think about.

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Apple rolls out the 'wow' factor with iOS 7 for iPhone, iPads, iTouch

Well now, just when it seemed that Apple's innovation has slowed down, as the Android camp was full-steam ahead, the guys from Cupertino dealt what could be a winning hand at the start of the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Apple unveiled the mysterious and tightly-held-to-their-chest iOS 7 software update, stamped with the work of the possibly soon-to-be-famous Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of design. Already, it is being called "the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone that took the stage in 2007. After watching the video, I believe them, or they did a good job of snookering me and probably a lot of other Apple fans.

I can't keep this to myself any longer; this update that is due this fall is going to be one fine upgrade, as every nook and cranny of the current iPhone software has been redesigned. The appearance is clean, minimalist, simplistic and very appealing. The icons for apps look fresh and not overdone, with crisp colors and simple lines. It's almost like the designers wiped the slate clean and started over, which is exactly what I think they did.

The list of new stuff could go on and on, with a new palette of colors, and bits of translucency, a new lock sceen, the introduction of a control center and multitasking. Let's let that soak in. Then we have new photo features with automatic time and date stamp, "popular near me" apps and full-screen browsing in Safari. Let's take another break.

As we gather again to explore the new iOS 7 update, Siri will accept commands to control the iPhone, such as turn on Bluetooth. Another new feature is AirDrop, which will allow easy sharing of content with people nearby using peer-to-peer transfer. We'll break again in a minute, but Safari has enhancements that need to be told, with features like simplified searching, a new bookmarks view and new Safari tabs. While we're talking about online, iCloud Keychain is coming for your passwords and credit information that will be available on all your devices. Now let's pause for a few seconds before the music starts.

Apple was really excited about the new music app and especially the new iTunes Radio, which will be a free Internet radio service. The keyword is "free." I like it already. It'll have over 200 stations, which will be enough music to get you through any waiting room stretch of boredom. There's more.

Some additional features of the new iOS 7 update will include – do I have to say it – a "new" Find My Phone activation lock feature that'll require your Apple ID and password. For night owls, Apple says the Night Mode in Maps feature will respond to ambient light when your use if after dark. And finally, something that caught both of my eyes is a proposed enhanced in-car integration, which will bring the Apple experience to a drivers seat near you. This could be the start of the iCar and iTruck. Sorry, the domain name for iCar and iTruck is already taken; I checked.

Apple seems to have put their best foot forward with this update and if the real thing is anything like the prototypes in the promotional video, it's going to be a humdinger of a software upgrade for the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and fifth-generation iPod touch.

Now we're going be in the highly-anticipated mode for iOS 7 during the next several months of hot and steamy weather in my zip code.

I can cope with the heat, but I can hardly wait for the new iOS 7.

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BlackBerry Z10 innovation, features were worth the wait

I've never been as excited about a FedEx delivery as I was for the package with the BlackBerry Z10. It arrived from Verizon Wireless in an understated velvet-black box. Now it's showtime.

All the hype about the new BlackBerry was running through my mind — the delays and months of waiting while other smartphones made their debut. The promise of a new operating system based on QNX technology that is also known very well in the automobile technology circles and the nuclear reactors industry. So I'm thinking this device had better be special and worth the wait.

At the first glance, I noticed that the Z10, clad in solid back with a grippy, textured back that almost sticks to your hand, has grown in size to a respectable 4.2-inch display, which makes my iPhone 5 seem small. BlackBerry needed this size increase, as the older models seemed to stuck in the past, much like the earlier iPhone devices were for several years, while the competitors rocketed past them in width and height.

The Z10 has flexed its muscles by being a couple of millimeters taller than the iPhone 5 at 5.12 inches, but falls short of the Samsung Galaxy's S III and the HTC One, which are both at around four inches when standing tall. The Z10 weighs 4.78 ounces, which heavier than the iPhone, but lighter than the HTC One. I imagine the textured back adds a little weight, but it's a good thing, as the Z10 is not slippery in your hands.

A dual-core 1.5 gigahertz processor runs the Z10, backed up with two gigabytes of RAM and a 1800 mAH battery rated at 10 hours of talk time. A micro HDMI port will provide a connection to a HDTV or projector.

While the new hardware has good tale-of-the-tape specs among the competition, this device is all about the new Blackberry 10 software.

The Z10 is not a device that you'll purchase in the morning, spend all day with it and decide you don't like it. That's not enough time to uncover all the goodies and features the new OS has to offer. It's going to take several days and the like-ability will grow each day, as you spend time learning all the "gestures" that controls the new OS.

The touchscreen keypad on the Z10 is now one of the best around. I could type my entire email address with bringing up secondary characters for numbers, the @ symbol and a period. As you compose a message, the suggested words are quite helpful; you just flick them up into your sentence as you type. Somehow, the Z10 knows what you might want to say next, which according BlackBerry, will get smarter and smarter as the Z10 learns your writing style.

The all-familiar red blinking light in the upper right corner alerts you when a new message arrives. Then the "BlackBerry Flow" feature swings into action and you can follow along me as I flow into BlackBerry Hub interface.

I hit the power button to wake the Z10 and see immediately where the message is coming from by way of a red star on the email icon one one of my social media apps. A quick upward gesture unlocks the display and a couple of gestures to the right gets me to the Hub. Ah, the red star is on the email icon, so a tap opens my inbox and another tap open the message. Another neat feature is how calendar entries appear above the list in your email inbox. Just swipe downward to view what's next on the agenda.

The Z10's multitasking feature keeps several apps open and ready for you to choose at any time. A quick upward gesture will get you to the running apps panel. I predict this feature will show up on other smartphones soon.

Another favorite feature of mine on the Z10 is the "BlackBerry Remember" interface, where you can organize to-dos by color-coded folders. This is pretty common, but the new BlackBerry 10 OS takes it a few steps further by adding the capability to send emails and information from the Web to Remember folders. So, the BlackBerry becomes sort of like a Evernote or a general repository for various tidbits of information that can be acted upon later. Tags and voice notes can also be added to the notes to make the easier to find later.

Just being able to turn emails into a to-do or action item can be a powerful productivity tool for enterprise users. I know of other productivity applications that are designed around this feature alone, as well as clipping notes from the Web browsing.

I am off the corporate email grid right now and was unable to try out the full email capabilities, but the Z10 did a good job of managing my Hotmail account. I just to had to remember to make sure I'm logged in to receive the latest emails. But some early adopters are reporting problems with setting up their business email accounts.

As the Near Field Communication, or NFC, technology continues to emerge, BlackBerry has embraced it with useful capabilities built into Z10. Although just a tap will transfer information to another NFC-enabled device, I found the use of custom tags to be the most interesting. The Z10 has a Smart Tags app, which can save information from NFC tags that you encounter as well as create custom email or text messages to be sent with a tap, such as "I'm in a meeting, will call you later." I see this as being another useful tool for business users.



The Z10 is chock full of innovative features, such as the "video with screen share" and the unique "camera with time shift" to capture the best moment from the eight megapixel camera. You'll need to spend some time learning about this device and just exploring to really appreciate all it has to offer. Just knowing which direction to swipe your finger to accomplish something is a good start to mastering the Z10.

I spent a few days waking the Z10 by hitting the power button until I learned to swipe upward from the BlackBerry logo at the bottom of the display. A two-finger swipe from the bottom shows the keyboard; a long press on the space bar or two-finger swipe downward hides it. For the Hub, swipe upward from the logo, then once or twice to the right. There are numerous other navigation tips; too many to mention here. For new Z10 owners, you have some learning to do.

The Z10 is intuitive and innovative, but also challenging. But I would ante up around $200 for this device if I was smartphone shopping. It's the best of all the BlackBerry devices I've had experience with and finally, thank you, thank you, it has an excellent Web browser based on the HTM5 interface. I don't even miss the infamous roller ball or scroll wheel from earlier devices.

As for apps, the Z10 launched with around 70,000 apps available and the latest count is around 100,000. As a BlackBerry apps developer, I need to get busy and submit something to the BlackBerry App World. But I'm sure a quick search will turn up some of your old favorites, such as BlackBerry's rock-solid Password Keeper.

The Z10 is currently available on Verizon, the source of my review device, AT&T and T-Mobile . If you're a die-hard BlackBerry fan and must have a QWERTY physical keypad, I hear the next model of the BlackBerry 10 devices, the Q10, is due in a few months.

In the meantime, the Z10 is my thumbs-up device. I can say it was worth the wait.

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Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV in a show-like performance

Update: The Samsung Galaxy S IV is coming to AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and possibly Verizon Wireless soon. T-Mobile is offering an early-bird "sign up now" option to be notified for updates about the Galaxy S IV.

The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy S IV finally took the stage tonight at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

While the BlackBerry 10 platform had the spotlight for a while, The S IV will now bask in the limelight with a long list of innovative features. It did not disappoint us.

Right off the bat at the Radio City Music Hall event, Samsung President of Mobile Communications J.K. Shin took the stage and pitched the innovative feature of automatic scrolling and Smart Scroll/Pause using eye tracking, a unique feature among smartphones currently on the market. For example, a video you're watching will pause when you look away.

According to Shin, the Galaxy S IV is slim at 0.31 inches, or 7.9mm, and he refers to it as a "life companion." But it's still not quite as slim as the iPhone 5's 0.30-inch depth. It missed being among the thinnest smartphones by a hair.

But with a five-inch display and weighing in at around 4.6 ounces, 2.7 inches wide and 5.4 inches long, the Galaxy S IV joins other big-screen smartphones, such as the Motorola Droid DNA and the Sony Xperia Z. Only the Samsung Galaxy Note devices have larger displays at well over five inches. It has a 13 megapixel main camera and a 2 megapixel camera on the front. Both cameras can shoot video simultaneously, which might be an industry first and unique to the Galaxy S IV. Under the hood, you'll find a 2600 mAh removable battery that powers Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, running alongside two gigabytes of RAM and 16 GB of storage that can be expanded by adding a micro-SD card for up to 64 GB.

A unique photo-mortising feature will allow anyone taking a picture with the rear 13 MP camera to also insert themselves in the picture, which would be taken with the 2 MP front camera. Along the same lines, if someone walks through the background of your photo, they can be erased.

An S Translator feature on the Galaxy S IV will convert languages for travelers or anyone unfamiliar with a foreign language. The Galaxy S IV understands nine languages and supports text-to-speech to speech-to-text. It has translations for French, German, Italian, Chinese and other languages. Over 3,000 common and "useful" sentences also are included in the translation database that are not depended on a wireless connection if you're out in the boondocks.

Just like the BlackBerry 10 platform, the Galaxy S IV has a work space and personal space known as Samsung Knox that will separate business information from personal files.

This new device has a big bag of goodies and tricks. A Group Play music feature allows music sharing among eight devices. Air Gesture lets you navigate the phone without touching the screen. Air Call Accept allows a call to be answered by waving your hand. Adapt Display will adjust screen brightness based on what you're viewing. The build-in Near Field Communication, or NFC, works with HomeSync for cloud storage of all your stuff. Just a tap will keep the Galaxy S IV in sync with all the content.

The Galaxy S IV will come in Black Mist and White Mist colors and is expected to be available this spring on most of the major carriers.

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Nokia Lumia 822 showcases Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft

I've had another experience where a particular smartphone was just a joy to carry around. This time, it was the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon Wireless.

Maybe it was the live tiles of Windows Phone 8 or the seamless integration with everything Microsoft, such as Windows Live and all the features surrounding it. Whatever it was, I took a likening to the Lumia 822 and now I must say "well done" to Nokia and Microsoft.

Nokia has been around for the long term and most of us remember them as always having quality hardware. Although the Finnish crew have been making mobile phones since the early 1990s and used to be the King of cell phones, the smartphone craze from Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform caused Nokia to fall by the wayside.

Microsoft has been around since 1975 and needed something significant and exciting in the mobile communications arena.

So these two giants teamed up in 2011 to create market-leading mobile products. Before the year was out, the Lumia 710 was announced as being the first Windows phone from Nokia in the United States, but it was running Windows Phone 7. About a year later in September, the Lumia line of devices was announced for Windows Phone 8.

The Lumia 822 is the upgraded version of the 820, which was announced in September along with the flagship Lumia 920. Now I'm pretty familiar with Android devices and I carry the iPhone 5, but the live tiles on the WP8 devices, such as the Lumia 822, are pretty ingenious.

You can make your start screen as personal as you like, with your favorite things just a touch away. That's why so many WP8 fans are having so much fun with their devices. The live tiles work very well giving the very latest updates and information. Live tiles are a winner. Simple as that.

The other feature I found really enjoyable on the Lumia 822 is the integration between the phone and your Windows Live account. Every photo taken with the 8 megapixel camera goes to Windows Live without a hitch. Your email account is just a tap away, along with any calendar appointments.

Then you have the People tile that pulls in all you social networks into one list. This became my favorite morning pastime with a cup of coffee — just seeing what's going on in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — all in one stream.

When you compare my iPhone with it's 4-inch display to the Lumia 822's 4.3-inch display, I found typing and texting to be much easier. Having the extra space around the characters makes a difference and the suggested words feature on the Lumia speeds things along by saving keystrokes.

The Lumia is a little heavier at 4.99 ounces compared with my guy at 3.65 ounces, but the extra weight didn't bother me all, mainly due to the rounded corners and quality feel of the Nokia hardware. It simply feels good in your hand.

The 1.25 gigahertz processor of the Lumia 822 falls right in line with some of the other WP8 devices, such at its sibling, the Lumia 920, and the HTC 8X. But the latter devices trump the Lumia 822 with better screen resolution and the 920 has a higher-rated camera at 8.7 megapixels. During a surprise snowfall in my town, I had fun with the Carl Zeiss lens on the Lumia 822's 8 MP camera. Nice pictures is what I can say.

As for apps, the Lumia 822 comes with ESPN, My Verizon Mobile, NFL Mobile, The Weather Channel, Nokia City Lens and a few others. Then you can shop among the 120,000 or so in the Windows 8 store. That's nowhere near the 600,000 to 700,000 apps found in the Google Play and Apple stores, but I found a few of my favorites that worked well on the Lumia 822.

The Nokia Wireless Charging Pad allows you to put your phone down on a plate to charge the battery.

The Lumia 822 can be made even better with accessories, such as a Nokia Wireless Charging Cover or Charging Pad and a JBL Wireless Speaker.

You would think you might need a couple of hundred bucks to snag a Lumia 822, especially after considering all the features I've mentioned, but it's a bargain at $49.99 with a contract.

For the past of couple of years, the smartphone arena has been ruled by the iPhone and Android, while other platforms revamped their offerings. Things are changing now.

At this point, the Lumia 822 could be the deal of the year, as we wait on Samsung's next move with the Galaxy line of devices and the upcoming new BlackBerry 10 smartphones that will be announced on Jan. 30. Let's also not forget that Google made a $12.5 billion play for Motorola about a year ago and we're yet to see what they're up to for a new smartphone from the twosome.

The Windows Phone 8 devices are off to a good start while things are calm and the Lumia 822 is one good example of what's available.

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Shopping with the iPhone 5 Passbook app a pleasant experience

Update: Apple Inc. is releasing guidelines to developers for an "Add to Passbook" badge that can be incorporated into their apps and websites for devices running iOS 6.

After a few days with the iPhone 5, I figured it was time to go shopping with the Passbook app as my guide. This mysterious app included with iOS 6 will organize gift cards, coupons, passes, tickets and more, with the idea of making your wallet a lot thinner and lighter.

But it requires a few advance maneuvers before you head out to the store or look for your boarding passes. It's not as automatic as you would think.

The first thing the Passbook app will want to do is connect to the App Store through iTunes and this where things can come to a standstill a hurry, as there are numerous reports from iPhone 5 users about connection difficulties. You might see the dreaded "can't connect to iTunes" message.

I experienced the same problem with the Passbook app and iTunes, until I discovered some steps to change the time and date settings temporarily. That worked for me and I hope it works for any other iPhone 5 users having iTunes connection problems.

Once in the App Store, you'll find a rather short list of stores and other companies that are currently Passbook compatible. For my part of the country, Target and Walgreens were my choices, so I downloaded those.

But here is where using Passbook can get confusing, as the digital store cards are not automatically loaded into Passbook. In my case, I had to first sign up for the loyalty card using the store app and then you should see a "Add to Passbook" button in the app. Clear as mud, right?

Think of it this way - the Passbook app is where you'll store the loyalty cards; the store app is where you'll send the card to Passbook.

I managed to get both Target and Walgreens cards into Passbook, where you can shuffle between them on the iPhone 5 display. As more cards are add, your thumb will get a workout shuffling for the right card.

I'm ready to go shopping, so let's jump back to the store app, or my case, the Walgreens app. I was able to see the coupons and weekly ads right on my phone. I zeroed in on a few items and added them to the built-in shopping list in the Walgreens app. Each coupon in the app has their own barcode that can be scanned by the cashier.

As I got near Walgreen's front door, the iPhone 5 determined my location and displayed a "swipe to access Walgreen card" as I entered the store. An audible alert would have been even better, but just having the visual notification was pretty slick. According to Apple Inc., if I was going to the airport, my boarding passes would pop up as I entered the terminal.

I wandered up and down the aisles in true guy fashion, looking for items on the shopping list. At this point in my shopping excursion, none of my grocery items chosen are loaded into Passbook. The selection of items and the shopping list is still within the store app.

When I made it to the cashier, this where I reached for the iPhone 5 instead of my wallet or key chain for a store card. I open up the Walgreens card in Passbook and handed it to the cashier for scanning. She was just as thrilled as I was that it worked and called it a "cool thing."

Now this where the Near Field Communication, or NFC, technology would have been handy, as I could have just paid for items by tapping my iPhone against a special terminal at checkout. But Apple has put NFC on the backburner for now; maybe it'll appear in the iPhone 6. So I pulled out my wallet for some cash.

In the meantime, NFC will be found on several iPhone competitors, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and Victory and the upcoming Nokia Lumia 920, Motorola RAZR i and the HTC 8X. But the stores will also have to come onboard with the necessary terminals to handle NFC payments.

Although the number of participating retailers for Passbook is limited, it does work and I can't wait for my favorite grocer to join the list, so I don't have to give my phone number over and over and over. Having the store card in Passbook will be much easier and I won't lose it.

That wasn't a bad experience at all, so I say bring on more store cards for the Passbook app.

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iPhone 5 replaces my longtime buddy, the iPhone 3G

I joined the five million or more customers buying the iPhone 5 over the weekend. My longtime buddy since 2008, the iPhone 3G, has found a nice spot on the shelf. May it rest in peace as it gathers dust.

My 3G would no longer power off and I couldn't do a reset. The battery was about shot and the back panel was cracked. It would mysteriously make phone calls on its own accord to the person you last had a conversation with. The list of odd behavior goes on and on.

It was time for an upgrade a few years ago, but I was determined to hold out as each new iPhone model was unveiled. I skipped the iPhone 3GS because it looked just like my 3G. I skipped the iPhone 4 because of the antenna flap. Then I skipped the 4S because it looked just the 4.

So the iPhone 5, although it's similar in design to the 4S, got my nod for having a larger 4-inch display, being thinner and lighter, while also being a lot faster with the A6 processor, compared with the 412mHz processor in my 3G. Throw in the eight megapixel iSight camera and the 4G LTE service and I'm the kid in the candy store.

The other determining factor is that the iPhone 5 was just a good deal for me. I paid the exact same amount of $199 for the 3G when it was released in 2008 as I did iPhone 5. But the 3G had eight megabytes of memory and the iPhone 5has 16MB. Apple began offering twice the capacity for the same price with the iPhone 3GS in June 2009 with 16GB model for just $199 and they also unveiled a new 32GB model for $299.

Now, it's great to check Twitter and Facebook with the built-in social networks integration while also exploring all the 200 new features in iOS 6. With the increased speed of the iPhone 5, most apps or Web pages now open between a walk from the couch to the refrigerator.

I did splurge on a protective case, but might not need a screen protector, thanks to the "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating" on the iPhone 5's display, which also combines the screen and touch sensors layer into one piece for a thinner profile. But I shouldn't be cheap and will probably purchase a screen protector when more choices are available the store shelves for the iPhone 5.

The big fuss about the smaller Lightning connector to replace the longtime 30-pin connector has not bothered me at all. I think we'll see the benefit of this change when the new accessories start to hit the market, such as docks and other devices. I also wouldn't be surprised if the logic behind moving the headphone port to the bottom also makes sense later. I have a hunch the audio port will be utilized in the new products when the iPhone 5 is docked.

I did experience the "rattle inside" that early buyers have been discussing in the Apple Support Communities' forum. But a trip to the Apple Store and the Genius Bar solved the problem. I'm rattle free now.

The Passbook app also needed some tweaking, as it wouldn't connect to the iTunes store. But after a bit of research, I discovered some steps that also got me on my way with the Target and Walgreens discounts apps in Passbook. The participating retailers worth a download will vary by your location and I imagine more will be added soon.

The Apple support forums are full of other concerns and issues about the iPhone 5, but they seem to vary from device to device and not all customers have the same experience. If you're researching a problem, the support forums would be a good place to start before heading back to the retailer. There might a trend among concerns and issues that Apple will need to address.

I think I made a good choice and I'm a happy camper so far.

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The wait is over; iPhone 5 sales move into the weekend

Friday was the big day for the iPhone 5 to go on sale in retail stores. Having two million devices in pre-orders was a good start and I imagine it'll rocket on past three to four million or maybe even five million in sales this weekend.

I was at one of the AT&T retail stores bright and early Friday morning, where the lines were modest and pleasant. I didn't notice any dancing, but wouldn't have been surprised if some of the fans cut a few steps.

The iPhone debuts have been drawing crowds since day one, or on Friday, June 29, 2007, at 6 p.m., when the original iPhone was available for purchase. The headline on the website of my newspaper simply said "Come and get it" at the magic hour.

It was called a revolutionary device at the time, and according to Apple Inc., was one of the reasons Apple retail stores were created so that customers could touch and experience a ... new product and get the most from their new iPhone with Genius Bar support.

Now here we are with more than 300 stores in eleven countries and some of them will hand the sixth generation of the iPhone across the counter. If you're out of luck for an Apple Store in your area, the Apple Online Store, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and certain Apple authorized resellers are ready for your business today. C Spire Wireless will have their iPhone-mania day on Sept. 28, along with a worldwide roll out to 22 more countries.

If you're buying this weekend, I'm sure you have your money counted out, but here is a reminder. You'll need $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. Then you might have the toughest decision of all, which will be choosing between white & silver or black & slate.

In a nutshell, the big day was Friday and I imagine weekend sales will be just as big. Everything will be counted and added up by Monday for the number of iPhones sold and it'll be something worth bragging about. Here we go.

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Hello iPhone 5 with the Lightning Connector; goodbye 30-pin connector

The iPhone 5 has started out with a bang, as pre-orders were sold out in around 60 minutes on Friday. So now, we can probably expect lines of fans when the retails stores open their doors on Sept. 21.

AT&T announced a sales record for the iPhone 5 over the first weekend of pre-orders, making it their fastest-selling iPhone ever. Some of the hype so far has been all about the revolutionary - for Apple at least - 4-inch display.

I say for Apple only, because the iPhone 5 joins several other smartphones with 4-inch displays that have been on the shelves for a while. These include the Samsung Galaxy S, which arrived in mid 2010 and the Motorola Atrix, which made its debut in January 2011. And let's not forget the Google Nexus S 4G1 that came along in April 2011, or the Nokia 808 PureView in February.

But perhaps the biggest area of discussion about the iPhone 5 has centered around the redesigned dock connector. The 30-pin connector is history, replaced by a smaller Lightning 8-pin digital connector. Now the worry is about all the 30-pin accessories and how to transitioned to the new guy. First a little history.

The 30-pin dock connector first appeared on the third generation iPod in April 2003. Up to that point, the iPod models had been using a firewire port to update the songs or charge the battery. The 30-pin connector allowed USB to be used instead of firewire.

Although the 30-pin connector had a nine-year run, the end has come and Apple is going digital with the Lightning connector. Some say it's because the iPhone 5 is thinner and the designers needed the space in the area where the speakers and the EarPods port are located. At any rate, it's done and we've got to deal with it.

Apple was quick to say a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter is available for all our clock radios and other accessories that also serve as iPhone docks and charging stations. I must say, these accessories have been pretty handy over the past several years, especially when you lose that white 30-pin cable for the umpteenth time.

There was some confusion in the beginning about whether Apple would throw in the 30-pin Adapter when you buy the iPhone 5. The very latest is that it'll cost you $29. Of if you want a Lightning to 30-pin cable, count out $39. I also hate to break the news to you, but Apple says by way of an asterisk, that some 30-pin accessories are not supported. So that dependable iPhone accessory that you fancy may or may not work with the iPhone 5.

What Apple will give you with the iPhone 5 to make connections is a Lightning connector to USB cable and USB Power Adapter. Now you might say "hmm" to the latter, because that's the one item you can salvage from your old 30-pin cable setup. Since one end of the new Lightning cable is USB, you should be set to go with an extra power adapter. Do don't throw that part out with the 30-pin cable.

About all we can say about the 30-pin-cable saga is "oh well" and move on. I'm sure the Apple engineers had a good reason to make change. Maybe the iPad Mini, if it makes an appearance in month or so, will use the same Lightning connector.

By the time the iPhone 6, or whatever, comes along, we will have forgotten about it all anyway.

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Apple unveils the iPhone 5 with larger display, 4G LTE

It's here. The iPhone 5 has been introduced. It was called "an absolute jewel" by a top Apple guy.

Apple Inc.'s sixth generation iPhone, made entirely out of glass and aluminum, is sporting lots new features that includes a larger 4-inch display, a new 8 megapixel camera, and the capability to add a 5th row of icons to the home screen. A new A6 chip, which Apple says is two times faster than the A5 chip, will provide processing power.

The battery life is rated at 8 hours of 3G talktime, 3G browsing and 8 hours LTE browsing.

Apple is calling it the world's thinnest phone at 0.30 inches in depth and around four ounces in weight. By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S III is rated at 0.34 inches in depth and 4.5 ounces in weight.

As expected, the iPhone 5 will run on 4G LTE networks, such as AT&T, C Spire Wireless, Sprint and Verizon. T-Mobile customers will have to wait awhile longer for network upgrades.

The pre-launch rumors of a redesigned dock connector were on target, as the iPhone 5 has an all-digital 8-pin Lightning connector to replace the nine-year old 30-pin connector. A 30 pin to Lightning adapter is available to allow access to existing iPhone accessories.

Some of the other features that have already leaked out were a new maps apps to replace Google maps and a fine-tuned Facebook integration.

The biggest surprise is the lack of a Near Field Communication, or NFC chip. But Apple also is rolling out a Passbook app in iOS 6 to serve as a virtual wallet for future mobile payments. While other mobile payments options are already on the market with Google Wallet, Square, PayPal and several others, Apple seems to be taking a more cautious approach and let the enterprise market get more comfortable with this emerging technology.

The iPhone 5 will come in black and slate, or white and silver, and will be available on Sept. 21 for $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB. Pre-orders will start on Sept. 14. If you need a bargain iPhone, the previous 8GB iPhone 4 is now free and the 16GB iPhone 4S is $99.

From looking at the specs and the features of the iPhone 5, it appears that maybe Apple has hit another home run, but we'll see how long the lines are when it's available.

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