When Peter met a Retina MacBook

On Friday afternoon, we paid Louise's parents a visit. Not long after arriving, my Mother In Law stunned me by announcing that she had bought a new Retina MacBook. Looking back at this wondrous moment, I now realise that the fact I didn't even hug her makes me a very bad Son in Law indeed!

Moments like this don't come along too often in life for gadget geeks like me. This is as close as I am probably ever going to get to owning such a truly amazing device. Not only was I allowed to play with it, but I was also asked to upgrade it to OSX Mountain Lion.

To say that I was as happy as a pig rolling in some brown stuff would be an understatement. In fact, I was so happy that I may have slightly ignored everyone all night, and also seriously over indulged my passion for whiskey consumption too.

I can't begin to describe how amazing this device is. If you have the money to get one, then you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't. If you don't have the money - then I would recommend you beg, borrow, or steal to get your hands on one of these.

For now, I will simply leave you with these pictures of my time with the Retina MacBook. It's simply the best laptop I have ever ever seen!
















Take Care!

Peter

Thursday Tech Roundup

Outlook.com

Microsoft are continuing with their "reinvention" project by saying goodbye to hotmail and rebranding it as outlook.com.

The new look has a very Windows 8 feel to it and I think it's pretty nice. You can still keep your hotmail address but you have the option to separate it into a different folder. This is quite handy if like me your hotmail account gets more spam than anything these days. It lets you clean things up and start from scratch. I like it!

Surface Release Date

Sticking with Microsoft, and it's really no surprise that their new tablet device is being released the same day as Windows 8 on October 26th. No word on pricing yet however.

I am hoping it will be in line with the iPad pricing structure as I really want to get one of these. My instinct tells me these will end up being pretty expensive though!

RIM CEO in the UK

Thorsten Heins, CEO of Research in Motion has been in the UK for a few days and went to the Olympic opening ceremony with Prime Minister David Cameron.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, he predictably outlined a positive outlook for Blackberry, but admitted that the fallen smartphone giant may have to reinvent itself by licensing its new BB10 platform to OEMs such as Samsung and Sony, rather than continue to manufacture smartphone hardware themselves.

A "Bold" move indeed (pun intended), and it will be interesting to see how this one plays out. BB10 is apparently quite promising, but in my opinion most Blackberry phones have been truly awful over the past couple of years.

Apple vs Samsung

This whole patent war is starting to get boring in general, but was livened up this week when Apple were forced to reveal images of several prototype models of their iPhone and iPad devices. Some of these look very raw and "concepty" as you would imagine, but there are one or two that I actually think are nicer than the real thing.

I don't see any end to this saga anytime soon however. Whoever loses this 4 week trial will undoubtedly appeal and it will go on and on for goodness knows how long.

iPhone 5 rumours

As per my last post, the next iPhone is widely expected to look like this;

As I've already said, I'm pretty unimpressed with the design but if this turns out to be the real thing then I guess it may grow on me. Seems like Apple playing it safe as opposed to taking risks though. I expect we will find out for sure in an Apple event that is expected to be announced for September.

And that's about it for another week.

Take care!

Peter

I really hope this isn't the next iPhone!

A lot of respected tech websites having been showing these pictures over the past few days.  Apparently they leaked from a source in China where Apple hardware is manufactured, and many are claiming that this will in fact be what the next iPhone looks like.

All I can say is, I really hope not.  If this is not a fake or some sort of Apple smokescreen, then it really makes you wonder if Apples design department has lost its way?  Lets be honest, Android phones are evolving - and many of them are looking very very sleek.

However, the iPhone 4/4S case is really starting to show its age, and these images basically show more of the same!  It's pretty much that same iPhone 4/4S case but a bit longer, with the rumoured new docking port, and with a two tone colour scheme on the back. It's pretty dull and uninspiring in my opinion.

It is widely reported that Apple will soon announce a September event to introduce the next iPhone prior to its release in October alongside iOS 6.  An iPad mini is also rumoured for this event too.

To be honest, I just don't know what to expect.  I had my fingers burnt last year when I insisted that all this talk of an iPhone 4S would turn out to be nonsense and that a super duper new iPhone 5 would in fact be revealed!  Shows what I know doesn't it!!

All I can really do for now is cross my fingers that what we see in these images is not what comes to pass.  I would find this to be a major disappointment.  I am craving major change when it comes to the next iPhone, and I think most people are too! That being said, like the fool I am - I'll probably end up getting one whatever it looks like!

We'll just have to wait and see I guess!

Take care!

Peter

But Sir, nobody worries about upsetting a Droid!

Well, I now own an Android device. I've been trying to hide my curiosity about the iOS nemesis for so long, but I can deny it no longer and I am finally out of the closet!

As with The New iPad, I have only had the Asus manufactured Google Nexus 7 for a few days, but I have sat and devoured it in the same way my Son George does with a new Lego Wii game.


Initially it was a little alien, and I didn't see too much point to the customisable home screens. However, as I have become accustomed to the device I have started to appreciate why Android has become so popular.

I still don't really get the point of widgets, but give me time - its enough of a miracle that I have come this far.


The Nexus 7 is a really nice size. Again, I previously sang from the Apple hymn sheet and was skeptical about the idea of a 7 inch tablet but it's really nice to use and easy to hold in one hand.

The Google Play Store has a lot of Apps, Movies and Books to choose from. Many common apps such as Twitter and Facebook do lack that little bit of polish that you will find on iOS apps, but they are still pretty good and easy to use nonetheless.

However, I was really impressed when I downloaded The Amazing Spiderman game for George as it is absolutely excellent. In fact, I have not really seen the device since.  I think the size and ease of use is going to make this a very good gadget for kids! George seems to really enjoy using it and finds it easier to hold than the larger iPad!

The battery life is impressive considering my over use of the device as I have got to grips with it. In addition to this the display is very good and the Nexus 7 is a very responsive and pleasant to use device in general.

Another attractive selling point is the price. You can pick up the 8GB version for £159.00 and the 16GB for £199.00. I have the 16GB and I would recommend spending that little bit extra for double the capacity.

So in conclusion, I think I will end up using this mostly for multimedia purposes such as watching movies and playing games, whilst the iPad will remain my first choice in terms of productivity.

The Google Nexus 7 is definitely a little winner for me though, and I think its inevitable success will result in Apple responding with their own iPad mini very soon.

So there you have it.

Take care!

Peter

The New iPad

So having had The New iPad for a couple of days, I thought I would share with you my first impressions of the device.  Here it is next to the white iPad 2 which now belongs to my wife Louise.

In truth, there is not a great deal to distinguish it from the iPad 2 physically.  The New iPad is very marginally thicker, but when you line them up side by side this is barely noticeable as you can see;

What you do immediately notice is the weight however.  The new one feels quite a bit heavier to hold and this is the only minor disappointment I could express with the device if I were to be picky!  It really isn't a problem though.

The significant difference between the two however is most certainly the display.  The New iPad has a retina display consisting of a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution.  The A5x processor remains dual-core for CPU functions, but provides quad-core graphics, and you can really tell the difference.

I must admit I was skeptical when I watched the Apple keynote a few months ago as to how much better it could possibly be, but you really have to see this thing to believe how good it is.  I am not really a games person, but I immediately tried a few games including FIFA 12, and Angry Birds and it is just simply amazing.

In addition to this, the iSight camera has been improved and is now 5 megapixels, and HD video recording in full 1080p is also now available.  There is voice dictation as well, and when iOS 6 is introduced in the latter part of this year there will be many more new features available including Siri!

So all in all, I am very impressed.  I did a clean install/setup of the device as opposed to a restore from backup.  I always prefer this where possible with new devices, and I find there really is no need to do a restore thanks to App Store purchase history and iTunes in the cloud.  As someone once famously said, "it just works".

So I am going to give The New iPad a 9 out of 10 - purely because it's a shame that it's a little heavier than the iPad 2, it should have had Siri from the start, and if the iPhone 4S can have an 8 megapixel camera, then why can't this?  I'm just nitpicking now though.

Take care.

Peter

Turning 40!

Saturday was my 40th Birthday and I have to say I had the most tremendous day. What could be more perfect than a party with my closest family and friends, and some amazing gadgets as presents?

I was lucky enough to receive "The New iPad", and also my very first Android device ever - an Asus Google Nexus 7. Needless to say I am jolly well chuffed with these latest additions to my gadget collection and Louise is now the proud full owner of an iPad 2!

I even had an iPad cake. What could be more perfect?


Anyway, reviews of my amazing presents will doubtless follow, but for now I am way too excited to write them.

Thanks to everyone who made it an incredible day, especially my amazing and lovely wife Louise!!

Take care!

Peter

Lego is taking over the world (and my house)!

Have you noticed how there is a lego version of almost everything these days? Those crafty little brick makers have their fingers in so many pies that they must be nearly as rich as Apple by now!

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the vast array of games console movie tie-ins that are now available. It all started in our house when we got the Star Wars Lego Saga Wii console game for our 5 year old Son George.

To say that he devoured this game would be an understatement. He immersed himself in it and was not happy until he had completed all the levels and collected all the characters. He is truly amazing at it too. When I have a go I can't do half the things that he seems to do so instinctively.

So it's no surprise that more such games followed and we now have Star Wars - The Clone Wars, Harry Potter, Batman (1 & 2), Indiana Jones, and most recently Pirates of the Caribbean!

Now I am not typically a "games person", but I have to admit that I am very very impressed with what Lego have done across multiple genres. Their attention to detail is amazing, and some of my favourite characters and set pieces from movies look absolutely tremendous having been "brickified"!

The games are available across multiple platforms including Wii and Xbox, and Harry Potter is even available as an iPhone/iPad version which is absolutely amazing and very reasonably priced in the App Store.

So hats off to Lego. They really know their stuff and I think these games will be a familiar feature in our house for some time to come yet. Indeed, I noticed an advert for Lord of the Rings Lego toys on TV the other day - so no doubt a game will be on the way as well.

Long Live Lego!

Share and Enjoy!
Peter