Erfon Elijah - page 24

Surely by now you’ve heard, the iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon. Now, I’m not planning on leaving AT&T, but I was still very happy to hear that bit of news. Why? Because sending millions of iPhone users to Verizon may be the only way to get the AT&T network working better.

AT&T has had over 3 years to fix their network problems, but for whatever reason, they’re still having major issues. If fact in seems things have gotten so bad, anytime a lot of iPhone users gather in one place, the network starts to buckle (were you able to use 3G at CES for anything this year?).

But now, my hope is renewed. Instead of one over-burdened network dropping carrying all the iPhone data, we have two. The iPhone will now have access to twice the towers, twice the switches, twice the trucks—twice the everything that makes the data flow. Users will now have a choice to test the Verizon waters, and I hope they go in masses.

Here’s what I’m thinking: if enough users (millions?) head to Verizon, maybe the reduction in traffic will ease the strain on AT&T’s network. Maybe then, those of us who stay behind will be able to use our iPhones the way Steve Jobs probably always imagined—with nary a dropped call or lost byte. Hey, it could happen.

So tell your friends. Tell them all the great things you’ve ever heard about Verizon. Make a few things up if you have to. And make a lot of eye contact, it’ll make you more believable. It’ll all be worth it. If enough people defect to Verizon, AT&T could become the always-ready always-reliable network we’ve been waiting for.

Literally. In what was one of the greatest and most entertaining spectacles at CES, Taser had consumers lining up to get shocked—and I got it all on camera.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 – I wasn’t planning on ending up at the Case Logic booth, but as I was walking by, something rare happened—a product caught my eye.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — Android tablets have a ways to go — that seems to be the emerging consensus here at CES.

I couldn’t help but notice all the floor chatter going on while people were playing with any one of the dozens of new Android tablets here on display at CES. As I listened, the crowd consensus became clear to me—not only are all the new Android tabs not as good as the iPad, they’re not even close.

Why? Well that’s what I started wondering. I wanted to hear unfiltered reviews on what potential users were thinking. So after hearing the 100th person murmur something like, “this doesn’t work nearly as good as the iPad,” I starting getting nosy and asking them why.

CoM got invited to the PepCom Digital Experience special press event Wednesday evening, so I took the opportunity to spend some time with Motorola’s new “iPad killer.” Video and photos after the jump.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2011 — I guess a strange product collaboration with Yao Ming was somewhat entertaining to hear about (don’t you want Yao Ming headphones??), but my ears didn’t really perk up until Monster brought out their Tron inspired iPhone dock and headphones.

Let’s face it, fanboys and girls love getting Apple related gifts for the holidays. But if you are lucky enough to have an Apple nerd in your family, you have by now realized that most Apple inspired gifts are usually boring or total crap. Fear not, though, friends, I present to thee 10 gifts that are guaranteed to make your Apple obsessed loved one squeal in glee.

Most Apple gifts out there have been made in this decade. But for the diehard Apple fan, vintage gifts are sure to please. This genuine Apple projector pen hides a special power—an Apple logo projector! I’m not quite sure what if any utility this might have, but I think we can all agree it’s a surefire way to impress the ladies.

AT&T announced today that, on June 7th, unlimited mobile data plans for new users are going bye-bye in favor of two new “limited” data plans. It also provided new details on its U.S. iPhone tethering plan.

Two new data plans

AT&T currently offers an unlimited data plan for both the iPad and iPhone for $30 a month. A 250MB plan is available for the iPad for $15 a month. Both these plans are being nixed in favor of two new plans that will be available for both devices:

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lryUwra0PKw

Bummed you missed the iPad launch day festivities? Didn’t want to get up at such an indecent hour to witness the pandemonium? Well take heart Apple brothers and sisters! I woke up much too bright and way too early so I could bring you all fun the launch day had to offer. Why, you’ll feel like you didn’t miss a thing as you weave with me through the HUGE iPad line, talking iPad and giving out some sweet shwag!

I do believe Seattle had one of the largest and most ruckus iPad lines in the world. But hey, you be the judge.

Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words, but why settle for a measly thousand words when you can cram 10,000 into one panoramic mega-photo!? Well take heart shutter bugs, Autostitch Panorama is here to give you the verbose images you so desire.

Autostitch is super simple to use. It works like this. Using your favorite camera app, take a bunch of pictures of whatever you want in your mega-photo. As you snap away, try to have each photo you take overlap about 1/3 of any other photo you take (so AutoStitch knows how the images fit together). When you’re content you’ve captured everything, import all those photos into AutoStitch, hit one button, and boom! baby, Autostitch births a giant panoramic image just for you!

“But surely the images don’t look that good,” you say in half murmur. Not so! Since picture quality was my primary concern, I decided to put this little app through some tests, creating panoramic mega-photos of all sorts of different sceneries.

It’s Hanukkah come early! Well, not really, but Canon’s fresh new instant rebate sale may have you itching to light up that menorah!

Most likely a response to Nikon’s recently announced instant rebate sale, Canon’s sale is actually pretty impressive. They’ve definitely got Nikon beat in the sheer variety of lenses that qualify for the instant rebate, and they are even including two flashes in the lineup.

So if you’ve been itching for some new Canon gear, now has just become an excellent time to start scratching. You have until April 3rd to cash in on any of the rebate options below.

If you’ve been coveting a shiny new Nikon DSLR and have daydreams of upgrading, now is a great time to tickle your fancy—Nikon’s instant rebate savings sale has begun.

Until March 27th, you can save a bunch of money any one of Nikon’s four most popular lenses when you buy it along with any Nikon DSLR body. The amount of the rebate will depend on which lense you buy:

• Buy the 70-200mm with any SLR and get a $400.00 instant rebate
• Buy the 24-70mm with any SLR and get a $300 instant rebate
• Buy the 24-120mm with any SLR and get a $200.00 instant rebate
• Buy the 18-200mm VRII with any SLR and get a $250.00 instant rebate

I’m always on the lookout for photography tools that are easy-to-use and help me turn good photos into great ones.

Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro 3 ($199.95), a plug-in for Aperture, Lightroom and Photoshop, does just that, which is probably why I find myself utilizing it pretty much any time I do a photo shoot.

With two sharpening modes, RAW and Output, NSP3 is built to handle all your photo sharpening needs. If you’d like to handle all your image sharpening from start to finish with NSP3, you can turn off your camera’s sharpening features and use NSP3’s RAW mode. Or, if you’re like me and your camera generally does a good job at handling sharpening tasks, NSP3’s Output mode works wonderfully to enhance photos that have already been pre-sharpened by a camera.

With limited space on the home screen of my iPhone, only the best apps get any real estate. Well, Apple’s Camera app has had its spot officially usurped by Camera Genius ($1.99). And for good reason.

Published by CodeGoo, Camera Genius is full of extra camera features that leave you wondering, why didn’t Apple think of these? Notable favorites include digital zoom, six different line guides, a timed shutter, and most useful, a feature dubbed “Big Button” that turns your entire screen into a shutter button―super useful when you’re trying to take a self portrait with your friends or significant other. Other cool features include a burst mode, sound activated shutter, and anti-shake.

If you’re an Apple fanboy (or girl) and your tee shirt repertoire doesn’t include as many Apple inspired tees as it should—you’re in luck—Coty over at cotygonzales.com has come to your rescue. With much sweat and toil, he’s put together a huge list of 101 T-Shirts for Apple Fanboys and the Mac Faithful that is sure to help you get you get back on the right track.

Fanboy protocol calls for 5-6 different Apple shirts to be worn publicly per week—better stock up.

‘Tis the season to get and give presents, and with prices through the floor, many will have gotten new digital cameras this year. If you’re one of the lucky ones who received a nice shiny new SLR camera, here are 10 tips that will help you become the next Ansel Adams.