Forget custom ringtones, custom vibrations is the new in thing
Another new feature that we are hearing about in iOS 5 is custom vibrations. This is basically an accessibility feature, but can be deployed in many useful ways. Once you enable custom vibrations from Settings -> General -> Accessibility, you can create a custom vibrations for each contact in your contact list. This way, your phone will vibrate in different patterns when different people call. And creating a vibration patter is as easy as tapping on the screen in the rhythm you want your iPhone to vibrate. In addition to this, you can also set the LED flash on the iPhone 4 to flash when someone calls you.
I am sure people will find more creative uses for this feature. Discussion of those is probably not in the scope of this blog, if you know what I mean 
.
Anyways, here are some screenshots (Don’t know why they are from two different carriers):
FaceTime to work over 3G in iOS 5?
It looks like FaceTime might go 3G with iOS 5. Reports are coming in that Apple might leave it up to the carriers to allow FaceTime calls over their 3G networks. This is awesome news. Given how Skype has been down ever since Microsoft bought it to fuck it up, FaceTime might emerge as the new video calling standard on the move. 9to5mac has received the following screenshot which might point to FaceTime being available over 3G in iOS 5:
iOS 5: iPhone 3GS vs. iPhone 4
Wondering how your iPhone 3GS will perform with iOS 5 compared to iPhone 4? You should totally check out this video:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oi9BG6wDwg&feature=player_embedded
Looks like iPhone 3GS is a pretty powerful device after all and definitely not obsolete for the next year or two!
[via iPhoneIndia]
Airtel announces its iPhone 4 plans
Following Aircel’s iPhone 4 plans announcement yesterday, Airtel has today revealed its iPhone 4 plans for Indian consumers. All their plans as also based on the reverse subsidy model in which you pay the full price of the iPhone 4 to the carrier and then they pay you back a certain amount per month in form of rental discount for the next 2 years.
Airtel’s iPhone 4 post paid plans start from INR 600 and go till INR 2000. Airtel is offering flat 50% discount on the monthly rental of these plans. So your monthly rental will range between INR 300 and INR 1000. Plans include free local airtel to airtel minutes, local SMSs & 3G data (wherever available). Note that no free STD and ISD calls are bundled with the plans. Needless to say, the discount is only on the monthly rental, so you will have to pay in full for any calls above the free usage that you make.
Airtel has put up a nice microsite for consumers to easily select the plan of their choice. The site also displays your total savings over the reverse subsidy period of 2 years. Pre paid plans are also available.
iPhone 4 price announced in India
At last it is finally here. The iPhone 4 will be launched factory unlocked in India on May 27 at a price tag of INR 35k for 16GB and INR 41k for 32GB. However, there is a fine deal in there for heavy users. Apparently, Aircel and Airtel have introduced reverse subsidy model in which consumers can get 50% to 100% of their money back over a period of 2 years in form of discount on their monthly bills. This is exactly the kind of model that can succeed with Indian consumers.
While Airtel’s iPhone 4 page still says coming soon, Aircel has published reverse subsidy plans on their website (although with very bad HTML table coding – some columns are totally out of place!) detailing how the consumers will get their money back. Monthly rental ranges from INR 399 to INR 800 in which you get lots of local minutes and local + national SMSs.
I am not sure if everyone will be opting in for the reverse subsidy, although, I am sure that it will be successful in India and will pave the way for many other premium phones to be available within reach of much more consumers.
Nonetheless, this is good news for everyone waiting for the phone in India. Now instead of looking here and there for people coming in from abroad, you can go in and buy the phone yourself as the unsubsidized price is same as in other countries. In my opinion and experience of using the phone for the past 1 year, it is totally worth the price.
Pre order iPhone 4 in India for INR 34200
Looks like HomeShop18 has started taking pre orders for Apple iPhone 4 in India. They have put a price tag of INR 34200 for the 16 GB & INR 40200 for the 32 GB model. Both the models are available in black & white color. They are also charging INR 40 as shipping charges. The phone will be shipped to your address in 20 days. Thats probably in time with the planned Airtel & Aircel launch.
Although the price is comparable to international prices, it might be worth waiting a few days to see what price Airtel & Aircel launch the phone at.
[via iPhoneIndiaBlog]
White iPhone 4 arrives tomorrow April 28 2011
Apple has confirmed in a press release that the white iPhone 4 will be available starting tomorrow. This is great news for people (if any) who have been waiting for the white version of the device. Apple has delayed the white iPhone 4 twice in the past year and rumors were floating around since the last few days that it will be launched pretty soon.
Use iTunes Home Sharing to play music from your computer on your iOS 4.3 device
A little know feature that iOS 4.3 brought with it was the ability to play media on your computer’s iTunes library on your iOS device. This is different from the popular remote feature which lets you control iTunes within your home share & the ability to transfer files between computers via iTunes within the home share.
This iTunes home sharing feature lets you play media from any iTunes library within your home share on your iOS device. Once you enable this feature, the shared iTunes’ media library is available in the iPod app on your iOS device and you can play whatever you want as long as you are in the WiFi network’s range. So, if you have an iPhone dock, and majority of your music is on your computer, you no longer need to transfer it to the iPhone. You can directly play it off of the iTunes library on your computer if you have it in the iTunes home share.
How Green Is the iPhone Anyway
So the big question is, how green are the gadgets that you use/used? When we’re talking about green/eco-friendly, what we’re looking for is
- How high the emissions are during production and gadget usage.
- What material the product is made of (are those eco-friendly?) And how minimal paper/plastic the gadget package comes with.
- Is your gadget energy efficient or Do you have to charge twice a day?
Doodle Jump is More Fun Now with Multiplayer mode
If you have an iOS device and haven’t played Doodle jump yet, you might as well give your device away to an even dumber friend. Yes, we love Doodle Jump more than anything.
