a little hope, laughter and love

As any of my friends would tell you, I am an avid Apple fan. I’m obsessed, some would say. Whatever you call it, I’m what’s called a Fanboy. I get my hands on everything Apple as soon as I can and I’m even part of the Apple Developer Program to test the new operating systems and report my findings to the designers and developers at Apple. I don’t get paid a cent to do it…as a matter of fact I have to pay to be a part of the programs, but I do it because I love it.
Most of my friends and family would come to me first with questions about their iDevices. I’m referring to iPods, iPhones, iPads, iMacs all as iDevices to kind of get everyone on the same page. The biggest question I’m getting lately is “When is the iPhone 5 coming out?” Well I’m happy to report that everyone in the know seems to believe it will be announced on September 12th at a special Apple event and will be available for ordering that same week. This is pretty remarkable given it has usually been a month between announce date and availability date so Apple has clearly been ramping up for their release this time. A lot of parts that people are saying are parts of the new iPhone have been showing up around the web. Some of the most important differences seem to point to a change in the position of the headphone plug and a change in the dock configuration. What this means is that the cord you’ve been using to charge your iDevice is probably going to change. Most of the pictures seem to all point to a smaller dock cord being nearly cut in half as you can see from this rendering below:

The biggest rumor seems to be that the screen is going to be bigger…which I’m so hoping for. Check out some of these renderings that the web are saying will happen. Keep in mind these are ALL rumors until the actual device comes out. Apple is notorious for letting rumor mills run wild and then releasing its own thing, sometimes to the anger of said rumor mill.

The most popular prediction seems to point to a skinnier phone with a longer, more ergonomic feel.  This rendering looks pretty real already but remember it’s a mockup .  Nobody knows what the actual phone will look like until it comes out.

This mockup is pretty impressive but I think highly unlikely. I can’t imagine Apple making this version that thin especially with the whole dock connecter thing going on. But…it sure is pretty!

I will say the ONLY thing that is mostly certain is the date of September 12th as an announcement date. This is not confirmed as of yet as Apple hasn’t officially released anything about this. However, the conference center that they would announce this is blocked for that date with a mysterious conference that is not named. Hmmmm….makes you wonder huh? So that’s my rumor roundup for the moment. I’ve heard a lot more technical stuff about the new iPhone, however, I kept this article really simple for everyone that is really more interested in the new look of the iPhone 5. In the long run, it won’t matter. I’ll have one and I’ll make sure everyone else knows the best things about it! Thanks for reading!

UPDATE

A new report claims that Verizon has issued an all-staff vacation blackout from September 21st till September 30th so that all Verizon retail staff will be working to cover the launch.
TechCrunch received a tip from an employee at Verizon who informed them of the blackout on September 21st, which was the already rumored launch date of the new iPhone. The announcement for the next iPhone is expected to happen on September 12th.  Verizon wireless is one of the major carriers for the iPhone, so it makes sense that Apple would tell them in advance when iPhone 5 will launch so they can ensure that all of their retail staff will be on hand to support the demand.

SECOND UPDATE
Details may be up for debate, but Apple is definitely up to something in the iPad space. A new report today reveals that Apple has instructed authorized resellers to triple display space for the iPad on the store floor. The alleged deadline for this new requirement? September 12th.
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/#qTfoxzl85XMovoei.99

Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier and I am so delighted!  Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.

To start watching Hulu Plus shows instantly, find “Hulu Plus” on the Apple TV home screen. If you are a Hulu Plus subscriber, simply enter your username and password to start streaming last night’s episode of Modern Family from the biggest screen in the house.

If you do not have a Hulu Plus account, you can easily sign-up two ways:

1. Go to www.huluplus.com/appletv and register online.  Launch Hulu Plus on your Apple TV, log in with your new credentials and start streaming.

2.  Create a Hulu Plus account directly through Apple TV by using your existing iTunes account and following the sign up instructions on the screen.  If you sign up for Hulu Plus through Apple TV, you will be emailed instructions on how to complete your registration so you can use Hulu Plus on all other supported devices.  After your free 1-week trial ends, your iTunes Account will be charged $7.99 per month as a recurring transaction.

Learn more about setting up Hulu Plus on your Apple TV by watching their Getting Started video.

For those of you who are new to the service, Hulu Plus is the only online premium video subscription that streams current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners, including top broadcast networks ABC, NBC, FOX, The CW and Univision. Hulu Plus subscribers can watch on any enabled devices for $7.99/month with limited advertising. For many popular shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers every episode of the current season. Hulu Plus subscribers also have access to back seasons and full runs of some of TV’s greatest shows, including many that were not available online before, in HD whenever possible.

Happy watching!  I know I’m already exploring all the cool new stuff with my free week!  I may just stay a while!

Source: Hulu.com

What’s your Home Screen have on it?  Since most people consider their Home Screen to be the most valuable real estate on their device, your Home Screen can say a lot about you and what’s important to you.

Mine has a lot of social stuff like Twitter, FourSquare, Facebook and of course my Google+.  I also use MyFitnessPal and really love the new Podcasts App from Apple now that they’ve updated it and it’s not so sluggish.  If you don’t know about Podcasts you should try them.  They are wonderful little broadcasts (usually audio) that are recorded by individuals or groups about a ton of topics.  I have some business podcasts and fitness ones that I listen to for motivation.  I’ll do a post on which ones I subscribe to in the future!

I have Spotify because I use it every single day (love that app).  I can listen to all my songs on iTunes and on all my iDevices no matter where I am.  This is great when I’m running or at the office.  I can stream the music so I don’t have to take up a lot of memory on my devices.  Love!

And, of course, I have the full suite of Facebook Apps to manage my pages and upload the photos quicker.  The Messenger app kind of feels like overload to me and I don’t really use it that often, but I keep it handy.  Usually I’ll get messages through the Facebook app itself.

I also use AppAdvice every day.  They are probably the most comprehensive, up to date, blog I know of about apps.  And their guides for Apps are amazing and so thorough.  I can highly recommend them!!

So that’s it!  What’s on your iPhone or iPad?  How do you organize your Home Screen?  Which apps make the cut?

Of course you know by now that I am an absolute fanboy of the highest magnitude. When I first heard about the new iPad I was really excited. I wasn’t sure why I was excited other than the usual reasons. But something seemed really amazing about this particular iPad. I remember when the iPhone 3 switched to iPhone 4 with the Retina Display. My eyes were completely shocked! It was so hard to look at the iPhone 3 after that…it looked crappy! I couldn’t imagine that my eye had not caught the lack of detail that I now saw on my new iPhone. This experience was the exact same thing when I opened the box to my new iPad. Looking at the comparisons of the iPad 2 and the new iPad it really is hard to tell from looking at the screen. It’s like watching a preview for an iMax movie on a standard definition television screen! You can’t explain it. You just have to see it.

I could feel another difference immediately was the weight. It isn’t much heavier. But I’m amazed at how much a difference this makes in my hand. The weight, of course, is to make room for the new battery that is required for the new iPad and you can feel it. You can also feel the heat from the battery when it is processing all the data for the retina screen. It’s not terribly annoying, but you do feel it. I guess its a trade off for a beautiful screen shot! If you didn’t have an iPad 2 it probably won’t be noticeable. But you will certainly love the lighter feeling and thinness if you are moving from a first generation iPad.

The new camera is pretty amazing as well. It’s a similar camera to the iPhone 4S, which I take ALL my pictures with. It’s such an amazing camera that I just can’t imagine using anything else, short of moving to an actual professional camera. I love the Apps I can use to edit the photos and really love the Photo Stream capabilities that the iCloud makes possible. I can now take a picture on my iPhone and immediately edit it on my iPad, which has a lot more apps to choose from and is easier to see the details.

I can’t tell you to run out and get a new iPad just yet. The problem with upgrades in technology moving and changing so quickly is that we’ve come to expect massive leaps. This isn’t a massive leap, and probably not a required leap. But I will tell you that looking at the screen and feeling the power behind the processor and the LTE connection speed…which is WAY faster than my home internet connection…makes it a compelling reason to update. I’m one of the early adopters, meaning I love the cutting edge stuff that isn’t all worked out and perfect. I love the exploration of new products. And, lets be honest, no technology upgrade in the last three years is done and completed they are all moving forward in ways we’ve never imagined. If you have an iPad 1, I’d say go upgrade immediately. You will NOT regret it at all. If you have an iPad 2, I’d say you could wait for the next version of the iPad, but you don’t have to. It is here now. The future of tablets IS this new iPad and lucky for your eyeballs, it’s here to stay.

If you have questions or comments, let me know! This is a very brief review of the new iPad. I’ll post more articles as I get more experience with it. For those of you who’ve gotten your new iPad today…welcome to the future in your hands!