The arrival of voice technology that works marks an inflection point in computing. After a month of using Siri, the new voice-controlled “personal assistant” available on the iPhone 4S, I’ve decided it may be time to add voice control to the list of paradigm-shifting ways to interact with a computer — right behind the mouse, keyboard and, more recently, touch gestures. …
Hands on: iPhone 4S ‘meets every expectation, and then some’
Don’t let the exterior looks fool you — inside, this is a new phone. On Friday, Apple’s new iPhone 4S began to reach the hands of eager buyers — a record 1 million pre-orders, including mine, were made as soon as the phone went on sale. With a noticeably faster dual-core A5 processor, more storage (up to 64GB), an improved 8-megapixel camera, a revamped …
Hands on: iOS 5 delivers ‘a wealth of changes’
New notifications, over-the-air updates, iCloud and scores of tweaks highlight what’s new. Four months after it was introduced at this year’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, iOS 5 is finally available. Apple released the free update to its mobile operating system yesterday, two days ahead of the iPhone 4S, which arrives tomorrow. Read the article…
iCloud is a bigger deal than the new iPhone
All eyes will be on hardware, but it’s the invisible stuff in the background that matters. Apple’s big iPhone event later today has naturally generated a retinue of rumors, almost all them focused on hardware. Will Apple announce one new iPhone or two? Will the next-generation device retain the basic iPhone 4 shape and design? What about the prospect for voice-activated assistance software? …
Apple’s latest Mini gets a ‘serious’ speed boost
It gains a low-end Core i5 chip, but loses the optical drive. Since its unveiling in January 2005, the Mac Mini has been the cheapest Mac that Apple sells, making it the least expensive way to get hardware that natively runs OS X. In the past, this usually meant settling for older components — especially compared to the pricier iMac …
OS X 10.8 Hands on: Mac OS X, iOS morph into Lion
Apple goes all in on multi-touch gestures in its new OS. Apple has finally unleashed OS X 10.7 Lion, the revamped operating system for the company’s desktops and laptops. Lion is the latest in a string of major OS revisions released over the past 11 years, and this newest cat borrows some tricks from Apple’s mobile lineup. Read the article…
Apple’s latest iMac looks great, even faster
New Sandy Bridge processors deliver speed; Thunderbolt port offers promise. Remember the old ad campaign for Miller Lite? “Tastes great, less filling.” The latest update to Apple’s iMac line, which rolled out in May, in a way reminds me of that. Apple left unchanged the minimalist aluminum-and-glass design while switching to Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, AMD graphics chips and adding the new Thunderbolt …
The 5 best features in Apple’s iOS 5
From Notifications to wireless OS updates to iCloud integration, good things are coming. Earlier this week at its Worldwide Developers Conference(WWDC), Apple finally offered up a look at iOS 5, the planned update to the company’s mobile OS. Although it won’t be out until this fall — Apple isn’t yet saying exactly when — iOS 5 promises to deliver much-needed changes to the …
Apple’s iPad 2 is the ‘Holy Grail’ of computing
Combo of modern hardware, App Store ecosystem makes it a clear winner. Eleven months ago, Apple released the first iPad, a touchscreen handheld computer that redefined tablets, disrupting the laptop/desktop market just as the iPod did to music players and the iPhone did to smartphones. On Friday, 15 million iPads later, Apple released its successor, the iPad 2. Many people — …
Apple’s iOS 4.3 a welcome update for iPad, iPhone
A faster Safari, enhanced AirPlay, and security fixes make it a must-have. Apple’s update for iOS 4, released Wednesday (two days earlier than expected ), offers a number of changes and new features for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners, plus 59 security patches for the mobile version of Safari. Read the article…