juillet 2015

5 Things You’ll Hate About the iPhone 5

vendredi 31 juillet 2015

5 Things You’ll Hate About the iPhone 5 is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple no longer sells the iPhone 5 but thanks to numerous retailers and resellers, the iPhone 5 is still an option for those looking to buy an iPhone on a budget. Those who are thinking about buying the iPhone 5 will want to keep these frustrating things in mind before buying it.

In the fall of 2012, Apple took the stage and announced a brand new iPhone called iPhone 5. The device was the first iPhone to feature LTE data speeds, the first iPhone to feature a 4-inch Retina display, and the first to offer the Lightning dock standard. The iPhone 5 also arrived with a redesign and numerous other bells and whistles.

We, like many others, bought the iPhone 5 when it first came out. Back then, it was one of the best phones on the market. That’s no longer the case.

In the years since its release we’ve seen Apple release the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus. The company is also expected to debut two new iPhones in September dubbed iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. We recommend most of those over the iPhone 5 (the exception being the iPhone 5c).

We’ve been using the iPhone 5, extensively we might add, for close to three years now. It’s holding up pretty well for a three year old phone but there are some things that have started to bother us as it gets older. And it’s these things that we want to warn you about.

After three years with the iPhone 5, here are a few things that we’ll think you’ll hate about it.

No Touch ID

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One of the big changes that came with the iPhone 5s was the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that's embedded inside the home button. If you've never used Touch ID on an iPhone then you don't know how useful, and convenient it is.

With Touch ID, all you have to do is push your finger down on the home button and you're in. It eliminates the need for a passcode or a swipe to access the home screen. Think about how many times you access your home screen on a daily basis and you'll understand why this feature is so important.

You can probably see where we're going with this. The iPhone 5's home button doesn't have a fingerprint sensor. You're stuck with Apple's primative ways of opening up the phone. Now that we've used Touch ID for a few years, it's a feature that we simply can't live without. Once you try it, you'll probably be in the same boat.

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5 Things You’ll Hate About the iPhone 5 is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

5 Things You’ll Hate About the iPhone 5

OnePlus 2 Release: What You Need to Know

OnePlus 2 Release: What You Need to Know is a post by Cory Gunther from Gotta Be Mobile.

Earlier this week the relatively new smartphone manufacturer OnePlus launched its second smartphone, the OnePlus 2, and it appears ready to take on the best of the Android competition. The phone looks promising and already has over 1 million buyers who’ve signed up for an invite to purchase it one release day. With the release near, here’s everything buyers need to know.

The company isn’t a household name but they hope to be after the release of this new phone. Aiming to offer most of the same specs and features of high-end devices like the Galaxy S6, yet for nearly half the cost. The 5.5-inch OnePlus 2 will retail for just $329.

Read: OnePlus 2: What We Know So Far

After tons of rumors, small leaks, and teasers by OnePlus themselves, the OnePlus 2 was revealed on July 27th. The smartphone brings top-tier specs and some fancy customization and unique textures on the back, along with much more all for a low price. Today they confirmed some impressive pre-order numbers, and hopefully they’ll have enough inventory to fill buyers needs.

Screen-Shot-2015-07-27-at-10.57.14-AM-720x489

This year the OnePlus 2 has a beautiful 5.5-inch 1080p HD screen, tons of customizable replacement backs to change the look and feel, a 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and laser auto-focus like the G4, a fingerprint scanner similar to the Galaxy S6, a big battery for more than all-day battery life, and more that we’ll get into below.

Using an invite system similar to what the company did last year, buyers will be able to start buying the phone in less than two weeks. However, last year there wasn’t nearly enough stock to go around, and they were out of inventory for months at a time. This year they promised a new and improved invite system, and here’s all the OnePlus 2 details for potential buyers.

OnePlus 2 Release Date

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As we mentioned above the original OnePlus One struggled when it came to a release date, but that won't be the case this year. This new OnePlus 2 will be released on August 11th, along with a much improved invite system, which can be found at the OnePlus.net site. Then buyers can give invites to friends to buy as well.

The company promises a very smooth release date, rather than a 4-5 month wait like last year. It remains to be seen how well the company will handle the release, but they're promising a lot and hopefully can deliver.

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OnePlus 2 Release: What You Need to Know is a post by Cory Gunther from Gotta Be Mobile.

OnePlus 2 Release: What You Need to Know

Amazing Star Wars Battlefront Mode Revealed

Amazing Star Wars Battlefront Mode Revealed is a post by Travis Pope from Gotta Be Mobile.

Ahead of the Star Wars Battlefront release date on November 17th, video game developer Dice and video game publisher Electronic Arts have a surprise new mode to show off. Called Blast, the newly revealed experience for Star Wars Battlefront will act as another amazing reason for gamers to pick up the title when it arrives on store shelves.

Electronic Arts revealed Blast for Star Wars Battlefront this week in a post on the game’s dedicated news blog. As described in that blog post, Blast is the game’s dedicated “Team Deathmatch mode.”

In total, Blast for Star Wars Battlefront breaks twenty players into teams of 10. Each of the two teams takes on the role of either the Rebel Alliance or the Imperial Army. For ten minutes users get to blast each other to death. At the end of that ten minutes the game ends and whichever team has the most kills wins. Blast matches can last less than ten minutes if a single team hits 100 kills before the time expires.

Read: Sneaky New Star Wars Battlefront Leaks Tell All

Announced shortly before the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, Star Wars Battlefront acts as the ultimate shooter sandbox. Players use the Star Wars franchise’s iconic weapons, gear and vehicles to battle each other for supremacy. Users don’t get to do battle in outer space, but dozens of maps from the movie series are included. For example, Hoth and Endor are playable areas in the game.

To be good at Blast players will need to load their character up with the right gear for the particular battle they’re going to face. There seems to be a need to balance some hardcore strategy with all-inclusive good fun. Getting that balance right is very important. Plenty of PS4 and Xbox One owners are going to rush out and pick up Star Wars Battlefront because of its subject. To keep users interested there need to be some more nuanced, detailed oriented mechanics so there’s a reason to come back long after the awe of playing in the Star Wars universe has worn off.

Blast won’t feature any of the series’ recognizable heroes or villains. It also won’t include playable vehicles of any kind.

To keep things interesting, Blast will take players to different locations they may not have had access to in other games. Some Blast battles will take place inside bases others will drop both teams in iconic locations like Tatooine. Star Wars Battlefront attracted a lot of attention for its huge maps. Using the power of current-generation consoles, Dice was able to build huge landscapes that feel ripped right out of the movies and television shows. For large battles these maps do great, but for Blast the video game developer decided it’d be a better idea to keep battles to more confined spaces. “To keep the action dense in this close-quarters mode, the Blast maps are not as vast as in other game modes,” Dice’s Dennis Brannball says.” When the same maps are used, there are lighting differences.

Star Wars Battlefront is expected to be one of this year’s must-have video games, and unfortunately users will need a next-generation console or a robust computer to play it on. Windows PC users will be able to play the game through EA’s own Origin video game service. Star Wars Battlefront is coming to the Xbox One and PS4 too. Its just Xbox 360 and PS3 users getting left out of the festivities.

Star Wars Battlefront is available for pre-order from GameStop now for $60. As a bonus Electronic Arts is gifting those that pre-order early access to its Battle of Jakku downloadable content. A $69.99 version of the game includes other extras.

Amazing Star Wars Battlefront Mode Revealed is a post by Travis Pope from Gotta Be Mobile.

Amazing Star Wars Battlefront Mode Revealed

iPhone 6s vs. iPhone 5s: 5 Things We Learned This Month

iPhone 6s vs. iPhone 5s: 5 Things We Learned This Month is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

If you’ve been looking to buy or replace the iPhone 5s in the near future you’ve probably heard that Apple might have an iPhone 6s up its sleeve for the fall. The iPhone 6s rumor mill was extremely active in the month of July and today we want to tell you iPhone 5 buyers and owners about a few things you should know as we push deeper into the year.

Last year, the iPhone 5s took a backseat to the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Instead of removing the device from shelves, the company simply dropped the price of the device down to $99 on-contract. The iPhone 5s is still a very solid option for those that aren’t looking to spend a lot of cash on a new iPhone.

While some are looking into it as their next phone, others are looking to replace it. The iPhone 5s is almost two years old and that means that lots of people will be coming off their two year contracts looking to upgrade to something new. And this is where the iPhone 6s comes in.

We’ve been hearing tales about Apple’s rumored 2015 iPhone for several months now and in July, iPhone 6s rumors started to firm up ahead of Apple’s unconfirmed but inevitable announcement. So if you own an iPhone 5s and you’re looking to replace it, wait. And if you’ve been thinking about buying the iPhone 5s, wait, if you can.

iPhone 6s rumors in July have outed potential specs and potential iPhone 6s release date details and it looks like we might only have a few weeks to go before Apple unleashes a powerful new iPhone. If you’re looking to buy something new, this should be music to your ears.

Today we want to take a look at what we learned about the iPhone 6s in July. Keep these details in mind as you hunt for your next device.

iPhone 6s Release Window Narrows

If you’re looking to buy or get rid of the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6s release date is an extremely important day. We still don’t have an exact day but July has provided us with a credible iPhone 6s release window that puts the device’s arrival in the month of September.

In July, we saw a number of rumors hint at the start of iPhone 6s production. The next iPhone is apparently being made in factories and Apple’s manufacturing partners are expected to ramp up the speed next month. A iPhone 6s Plus front panel leak adds some weight to those rumors.

This week, T-Mobile enacted a new policy that allows its customers to buy a new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus now and then switch to an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus by the end of the year. This deal lasts until September 8th which means that the iPhone 6s Plus release date probably won’t come before that date.

And with Apple’s fiscal year set to end on September 28th, there’s a very good chance that iOS 9 and the iPhone 6s will arrive sometime between those two dates.

The iPhone release only happens once a year so if you can, you’ll want to hold out for a few more weeks while Apple prepares its next iPhone behind the scenes.

iPhone 6s Specs

Every year, Apple announces a new iPhone. And every year, the new iPhone features some hardware changes that help separate it from its predecessors. So, it should come as no surprise that iPhone 6s rumors point to a powerful phone that should have a lot to offer prospective iPhone 5s buyers and current iPhone 5s users.

The iPhone 6s spec sheet isn’t complete but July gave us a look at a few features that will almost certainly be on board Apple’s next phone. Here is a rundown of the specs that should be on board the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus when they arrive:

4.7-inch Retina Display (iPhone 6s)
5.5-inch Retina Display (iPhone 6s Plus)
Force Touch displays
A9 processor with Qualcomm chip (faster LTE, improved battery)
2GB RAM
12MP rear camera/5MP FaceTime camera
16/32GB, 64GB, 128GB storage
iOS 9

Analysts believe that the company’s Force Touch display, changes to the RAM and processor, and the improvements to the camera will be the three biggest changes on the iPhone 6s. Now, compare them to the features on board the iPhone 5s.

4-inch Retina Display
A7 processor
1GB RAM
8MP rear camera/1.2MP FaceTime camera
16GB/32GB storage
iOS 8.4.1 (iOS 9 upgrade)

As we’ve pointed out, the iPhone 5s is still very capable nearly two years after its release so you’ll need to decide if these performance tweaks (camera, Force Touch, processing power/battery life), design and the larger screens are worth the upgrade or the extra money.

Go Hands-on Now

In July, we learned that Apple’s next iPhone probably won’t be the iPhone 7. Rumors are pointing to some powerful specs but they aren’t pointing to massive design changes. Tweaks? Yes. A redesign? That’s probably not going to happen until next year.

The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus should look a lot like last year’s models. They might not be identical but it’ll probably be close.

This means that you can go into an Apple Store right now and get a feel for the size of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Use the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, compare them to the size of the iPhone 5s, and see which one suits you better. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide that you like the smaller iPhone better.

iPhone 5s iOS9 Update

If you’re struggling with the decision to upgrade, know that Apple is going to take some of the pressure off with the iPhone 5s’ iOS 9 update.

Thanks to Apple’s iOS 9 release, we’ve been able to pinpoint several features that should greatly improve the performance of the iPhone 5s. These features range from battery life enhancements to changes to Siri to security updates.

We often see older devices get left behind after two years of software support. We also tend to see performance deteriorate once a device moves into its third year of existence. Neither will happen with the iPhone 5s.

The iPhone 5s iOS 9 update should arrive around the iPhone 6s release date. Apple typically releases iOS software a few days before the iPhone release.

New Carrier Fees

Carriers are slowly changing the way you’ll buy an iPhone. In July, we saw a number of important details emerge for prospective iPhone 6s and iPhone 5s buyers.

Starting tomorrow, AT&T will reportedly bump the activation fee for two year contracts up to $45. It’s also rumored to have a $15 upgrade fee in store for its AT&T Next plans. These changes, if real, will impact the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s.

Verizon’s also rumored to be abolishing two-year contracts in time for the iPhone 6s release date so that’s something you’ll want to keep in mind as we move closer to the device’s arrival.

7 Exciting iPhone 5s iOS 9 Features

Better Search

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Apple's making some big improvements to Search in iOS 9 and it's going to benefit you iPhone 5s users who are constantly searching for contacts, places or apps.

Search in iOS 8 is good but Search in iOS 9 is great. iOS 9 will allow you to quickly search all of your contacts for vital information, search inside applications for relevant information, search for places nearby, and even search for recent news.

This is going to benefit you if you use your iPhone 5s for pleasure and it's going to benefit you if you use your iPhone 5s for school or your job. The new Search is all about delivering more, and better, results and we think you're really going to love it if you're glued to your iPhone 5s.