what i’d like to see in the iphone5 (and probably won’t)

Posted in All Mac, inspiration, iphone, online services, Technology, user experience, whatever on 08/17/2011 11:26 am by Nir Pengas

Good chance of getting:

- 4G LTE: 100Mbit up, 50Mbit down (peak). this will be huge for everyone. streaming made easy, uploading live videos and pretty much change the rules of the game when it comes to utilizing the phone. the big question is – can the carrier(s) handle the demand?

- HD front and 8MP rear camera with a dual flash system. HD facetime – thank you very much. better photos at low light condition? yes please. no doubt apple will introduce major improvements to the camera, both hardare and software. by now the iphone is the most popular camera on flickr and it’s growing fast. we want to be able to take better photos easily, at different conditions and share them quickly. as the pixel count rises so the demand for bandwidth (see 4G LTE) and a quick turn around for large file sharing. we can ex (cpect something unique with this feature’s new offering. the inherit problem is the small chip for the camera and it’s ability to shoot in lower light conditions.

- wider screen: has been rumored for a while with some fake prototypes etc. can’t wrap my head around a wider screen unless it’s up to full HD, which will be, no doubt, incredible (i’ll rate this as 1% chance of happening). if i’ll have to guess it will be retina 2.0 with a slightly higher pixel density and a more crisp display than the current 960 x 640 at 326 ppi.

- better battery life: with iCloud and push across the board, there is no doubt apple is pouring tremendous effort behind making their devices stay up and running longer. expect something unexpected.

- built in noise cancelation mic: a la jawbone, it’s time for the iphone to become a better phone. and please let’s take care of the proximity sensor issue. please.

- NFC with eWallet OR BLE (4.0) + APIs: this will be very exciting to have. finally. eWallet patents are around for a while and android is a head of the curb. if we look east to japan we see clearly how mobile is used and credit cards are gone. yes – gone. the phone will be THE payment system in the very near future. it’s the credit companies that should be on their toes with this one. it is really all a matter of timing no? can’t enter too soon and definitely not too late.

there has been much discussion over Bluetooth Low Energy, otherwise known as BLE, which is the 4th version of bluetooth, now available in the just released macbook airs. what the new standard means is low energy consumption and wider range (50m) which means awesome apps and peripheral devices are heading our way. this is an interesting strategic call by apple, do they go with NFC and RFID or do they bet on BLE? based on the this recent move of incorporating BLE chips within the new line of macbook air… well… let’s see what happens :)

Little chance of getting:
- solar charging: apple has been working on this for a while now. heck, there is a prototype out in the wild that is solar enabled (link). this is a game changer and the reason why there’s little chance of getting this one is because it’s probably required to perform much more tests and phase out gradually. maybe a device which combines both battery and solar charging a la hybrid first.

- haptic display + APIs: probably the advancement i would like to experience the most. haptic displays will revolutionize the way we interact with smart devices and their touch screen as they provide feedback to our touch sensory system. imagine that each button you click on a touch screen feels real. this is huge for UX across the board and opens the doors for some unique applications. android has immersion – a great company to follow with a great mix of products, worth mentioning are their medical related haptic devices. check it out here.

- new map application: apple has made significant moves to become a player and tighten their vertical integration. this app should be nothing but fantastic and introduce features never seen before on smart devices. one option could be an augmented reality turn by turn navigation, integrated with location meta data and the users social graph.

 

ipod 3g is near? (don’t blow this opportunity ATT)

Posted in Technology on 07/23/2011 02:54 pm by Nir Pengas

the new iOS5, turns out, has a toggle for 3g/wifi for the ipod touch.

can it be? are the carrier(s) finally caving in to their monopoly and stronghold over users?
will our phone bill be replaced by a data bill and no longer experience a blocking incoming call, which terminates the app you currently using?

i sure hope so. i wrote about this move a year ago. it could just be that this is the time for us to lower our costs. as long as the device is as strong as the iphone (A6?) and, most importantly, the carrier pick up their game with delivering solid connectivity, faster download/upload – we can expect this device to be revolutionary. as it should.

with the price point of $30 a month i am 100% switching to a 3g enabled ipod touch. i currently pay $75 a month where i have the least minutes ATT allows (400) and the good old unlimited data plan. the ipod touch will slice my bill down by more than 50%. over a year’s worth of bills its around $400. not bad at all.

if ATT will not take matters to heart, someone else will. and customers are not as loyal as one may think, especially if the savings are that significant.

the real caveat again – is the quality of the connection. the carrier to figure that one out is golden. and they all will because this is where we are heading – smart devices with a permanent connection. no minutes no bullshit.

 

iOS 5 is around the corner (updated)

Posted in All Mac, ipad, iphone, online services, Technology, user experience, whatever on 06/05/2011 10:57 am by Nir Pengas

iOS 5 image

update: this post was written thursday of last week. it is now semi confirmed the developer of mobileNotifier is hired by apple and that iCloud will be presented by jobs tomorrow.

one major revamp is the bare minimum as there are areas lacking where either android or cydia leaves the current OS lagging. and no doubt we will get what we are expecting.. just a gut feeling… here is my short list of enhancements that i’d like to see:

1. improved notification system: bar non that most important and required change to iOS. face it, the current notification system sucks big time. in the past, the real incentive to jailbreak your phone was mywi, my3g and going even further back, multitasking and naturally the most important feature – sim freeing your phone (Screw you apple and ATT for violating FCC regulations). now-a-days, mobileNotifier is THE reason why my phone is jailbroken. aggregate all notifications into a single window utilizing the empty space created when you double click the home page. apple – pls take note, this guy has done a great job.

2. dynamic home icons: ala windows8. yes you heard right. big chunky icons that actually display content and not just a static image. one good example is available on cydia and is called ‘weather icon’. it changes the degrees on the weather icon to display the current temperature. it also allows the temperature to be displayed on the status bar. really useful stuff. apple, please expose an API to do so.

3. OTA updates: not likely but definitely nice to have… over the air updates makes lots of sense. please – no more plugging in to itunes and backing it all up. this ties up to the next item that is most definitely making an appearance on monday:

4. iCloud content sync: this will probably make a big eco. iCloud can and will take cloud services to the next level. apple doing what they do tiered up, may see music sync and later down the road app sync.. so iCloud will probably allow you to purchase music from iTunes and stream it directly from your cloud storage. no need (or an option) to download and sync stuff. fantastic. one viable option is to open a US front against spotify, the EU-stream-the-song-you-want kind of service in the US. imagine a yearly/monthly plan ($20-$50/year) where you can listen to what you want… that’s a nice one.

WHAT’S MISSING? iphone5 with 4G, NFC and iWallet, A5, double down on RAM, larger display and IR.

 

useful xcode debugging methodologies

Posted in All Mac, ipad, iphone, Technology, user experience on 05/18/2011 10:10 am by Nir Pengas

developing for the iponhe is not a simple thing. cocoa is designed with specific patterns in mind, a dominant model-view-controller, performance oriented with specific ways of going about things. xcode is your best friend, believe it or not. the apple documentation is there for you as well, and many hours were spent to create coherent manuals that will assist us in doing a great job. and doing a great job is a must, because mobile devices are not as browsers. memory foot print is really important. if you over due it, your app will be removed by the OS and UX breaks. bad karma indeed.

dealing with memory leaks and zombies is an important issue, and below i will provide a couple of useful tips to setting up xcode in such a way, and arranging your code, so you have more control and understanding of what’s going on under the hood.

first up, i assume you are familiar with:

- reading a call stack
- play around with the expression window
- use the memory browser when needed

if you are not, you probably should read up on those and play around with them. very useful tools to get the gist of what is going on with your app.

tip #1:
- always archive your dSYM (short for debug symbols) along with the app you send for your QA guys (the “testers”). this is really useful, as once they email you back crash logs (which they will), the data in the log will actually make sense, i.e. the symbols are mapped correctly and you will see actual method names rather than HEX addresses.

tip #2:
use the symbolicatecrash script and pass it the .crash file and .dSYM file. this will allow you to mesh the two together and review what had happened. from the command line, execute ‘find /Developer/ -iname symbolicatecrash’. grab the path and add it to your ~/.profile (if you are a bash kind of a guy). add this line: “PATH=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DTDeviceKit.framework/ \
Versions/A/Resources/:$PATH” and don’t forget to “source ~/.profile” before you try and access the script.

tip #3:
enable malloc_error_break so xcode will halt when you double release an object or release a stomped memory. this directive for the debugger is actually a breakpoint. think about it, what we are asking xocde to do, is break on a memory allocation error as if it were a breakpoint (rather than crashing). this is very useful as the program will halt on the line of code that tried to perform the illegal action. add this to your project from the breakpoint view. easy as pie.

tip #4:
party with the zombies. edit your schema (xcode4 people can you hear me?) and add NSZombieEnabled = YES to the “environment variables” list. what happes here is fun. xcode will not release your objects when their reference count is zero, but will keep them for safekeep within the framework of the app. if any of the pseudo released objects is being sent a method, xcode will halt your application, load the debugger and point you to the line of code that tried to access what is suppose to be a zombie. how cool is that? caution! this method is a heavy memory foot print so take it under consideration when you enable them zombies to roam your lands.

on my next post i will show you a nifty header file that allows for fast turning on and off of debug calls from within your app.

good luck!

 

top picks for 2010 from the appStore

Posted in All Mac, home tech, inspiration, iphone, music, photography, Technology, user experience, VoIP on 12/28/2010 02:02 am by Nir Pengas

2010 has been an incredible year for the mobile space, and as crazy as things may appear, this is only the beginning. with the advent move of the smart TVs and slated devices, we are bound to see more innovation for both corporates and consumers alike.


here is my short list of top apps for the iphone first, at random order:

VOIP:
skype: veteran at it’s field. skype is affecting the bottom line by saving money. $3/month for unlimited calls in the US, the ability to work over 3g and soon facetime is where the industry will be, no matter how much carriers want to extort the end users. bar none, skype is keeping us all connected. with PBX integration and a future IPO this company will continue to dominate and lead the way in it’s field.

SOCIAL:
facebook: this facebook app is a fantastic example of how apps can pack zest with style. this is the top used app because it’s well done. nothing much to say, we are all on it and loving it.

foursquare: i am a big fan of the NY based company. real time, location based (and soon NFC), 4squre has started something great that is echoing throughout. mayorships, badges and a solid business plan. i hope for more goodness from these guys.

PHOTOGRAPHY:
fotomecha: probably my favorite camera app (for still photos) in the appStore, because it allows me to be creative and capture moments i.e. more than one moment, and create a flow in time.

itimelapse: for video capable iphones, this app allows timelaps video creation with some nifty features for creative control. you need to be patient and stable, or maybe you need the glif.

MUSIC:
FiRe: top recorder which integrates well with soundcloud. i use it often to record music,conversations etc. these guys are fantastic with performance and know the audio frameworks well. money well spent.

SPL meter: i use this app to know when the sound around me is affecting my hearing. hearing gone bad cannot be regained. those tiny hairs in the hearing tube will not grow back. sounds particular and you may call me old fashioned, but no concert/club in the world is worth loosing our hearing for.

READING:
goodreads: bar none, the top app to sync your pdf files for offline reading. i also sync movies to it and this is the reason i get more done. 30m on the subway is a great time to launch this app (both iphone and ipad). with the ability to sync documents from dropbox, google docs and others, this app packs a punch of useful features.

HOME:
airphones: great little app that turns the iphone into a wireless headset over wifi. you will need to install a server on your mac or windows machine.

mobile mouse: while you have airphones streaming audio from your mac mini, which is hooked up to a 50″ plasma, you will need to launch a browser and go on veetle.com. this app is the best i’ve seen and worth every penny. again, you will need a server running on your machine.

 
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