Cirago was on hand at CES 2012 to display some of their latest products to improve your digital lifestyle.

First we have the Cirago Bluetooth iPad 2 Keyboard Case that works as both a protective case and a full QWERTY keyboard with proper shortcut keys for iOS.

Also for your iPad is the NuView Dock Charger that lets you use the iPad in landscape without holding it but you can also use it in portrait mode and will charge at the same time.

Also for your iPhone, iPad or iPod is a charging cable that will also charge micro USB devices. Its double the size of the original cable at 6 feet.

Finally there is the USB 3.0 Dual HDD Cloning Dock station that lets you transfer files from your PC via USB and also lets you clone one drive to another within the dock with just 1 button.

The iPhone 4s is the latest devices in the iPhone series. It’s not the iPhone 5 that people were expecting as Apple is following the same path that they did with the iPhone 3G to 3GS with this being a minor upgrade from the iPhone 4. The question is that is there enough of an upgrade here for you to consider the iPhone 4S?

Hardware & Design

Externally there isn’t much change here from the iPhone 4. The screen is still a 3.5 inch retina display with a 960 x 640 resolution and remains one of the sharpest and vibrant displays to look at from all angles. Above the screen is the same VGA front facing camera and below is your only button on the front the home button. The sides are still made of metal and contain your volume buttons, power button, lock switch, 3.5 mm headphone jack and sim card slot. One of the major changes is on the back with the camera upgraded to 8 megapixel with LED flash and can record HD video at 1080p. It’s a welcomed improvement  and image quality is good. There is HDR support and image stabilization but there is no way to turn on or off the stabilization feature it’s just on by default when the camera needs it.  You can check out the same video and pictures at the bottom of this review.

There are also new internal changes with the Apple A5 dual-core processor which is the same one from the iPad 2. The 4S includes both GSM and CDMA radios so one device will work on both network making it a world phone however CDMA will only work if you activate the phone with a CDMA carrier like Verizon or Sprint. Also with the GSM radio it support HSPA+ 14.4 Mbps for high-speed downloads on AT&T.  It’s the same solid design with some cool hardware improvements inside.
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Software & Usability

The 4S come shipped with iOS 5 the latest version of the mobile operating system. iOS 5 comes with a number of improvements and upgrades. In this review we will focus on some of the major ones.  Siri is one of the major additions which recognizes natural language voice commands to act as a personal assistant.  You can as Siri a basic question and it will answer you back directly , search a database to pull up the answer or Google search your question and open up the web browser. The software also can take commands such as reminders, alarms, calendar appointments, send text messages and e-mails. For the most part these features work but you’ll still want to speak as clearly as possible to get the best results.

The notification center is also a new feature which let’s be honest here it’s inspired by android but regardless of that it’s a welcomed improvement over the original notification which were plain terrible. Swiping at the top of the screen will bring the drop down with your notifications. At the top is a weather widget and below each notification is set by groups based on the app such as mail, text, stock quotes, Facebook and tweets (With the new twitter integration into the OS). You can check each individually or close out an entire notification group.  These notifications can also be viewed on the lock screen and be directly accessed from the locks screen when you unlock the phone.

iOS 5 takes advantage of Apple’s new iCloud services for iTunes music, e-mail, contacts, calendar, reminders, bookmarks, notes, photo stream, documents & data, Find My iPhone and full backups of your iPhone. Each Apple ID gets 5 GB of free storage.

The OS runs and operates as smooth as the earlier versions have before. Battery life for me at the time of this review was fine and with heavy usage I was able to get through the date on a single charge. Moderate to light users should be able to stretch that out to about 1.5 days. I do know there are some reports out there of poor battery life which could be true from some users but I didn’t experience this in my review. Call quality is also solid with clear audio on both sides of the call.

Overall

Yes the 4s is a solid improvement over the previous iPhone and is the best available. If you’re currently using a iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS user its time for you to upgrade and this is the upgrade for you. if you are using an iPhone 4 there is no real reason for you to upgrade. You can get iOS 5 and the upgraded camera is only worth it if you seriously take a lot of photos with the iPhone and want a better camera.  Apple has certainly caught up to the competition here with the 4s but they have left room open for competitors to raise the bar higher.

Box is giving 50 GB of free online cloud storage for iOS users. All you need to do is download the app on your iOS device such as a iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad and sign up through the app  or sign in if you already have an account and your all set to go with your free 50 GB of storage. Eventually Box will bum up the upload size from 25 MB per file to 100 MB and have airplay support. It’s a great deal that is going on for 50 days starting today so grab it now.

Source: Box

The new iPhone 4S has been officially announced and will come with close to the same design as the last iPhone but will include faster internal parts with the A5 dual core processor for 2x the speed and 7x more powerful graphics in gaming. The phone will also come with HSDPA speeds which is “4G for AT&T and T-Mobile.  The new phone is also a world phone that will be compatible with AT&T and Verizon so it can be used on both GSM and CDMA networks.

The have also updated the camera to a 8 megapixel rear facing camera wit ha wide f-stop of f2.4 to really let light in for better image quality.It will be able to record 1080p video. No improvements to the front facing camera.

The iPhone 4s will be available for pre-order this Friday and will be released on October 14th. It will be available for AT&T, Verizon and now Sprint the pricing ill go as follows:

• 16 GB $199
• 32 GB $299
• 64 GB $399

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Press Release:

Apple Launches iPhone 4S, iOS 5 & iCloud

iPhone 4S Features Dual-Core A5 Chip, All New Camera, Full 1080p HD Video Recording & Introduces Siri

CUPERTINO, California—October 4, 2011—Apple® today announced iPhone® 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features; and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.
“iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together.”
iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption and iMessage™, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users. iOS 5 will also be available as a free software update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS customers allowing them to experience these amazing new features.*
iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mom when I get home” it can find “Mom” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking.
iCloud is a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes® in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.
iPhone 4S includes an all new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels so you can take amazing high quality photos with more detail than ever. iPhone 4S includes a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture and an advanced hybrid IR filter that produce sharper, brighter and more accurate images. The Apple-designed image signal processor in the A5 dual-core chip is built for performance, and coupled with the features built into iOS 5, makes the camera one of the fastest on any phone. With iPhone 4S, the Camera app launches much faster and the shot to shot capability is twice as fast, so you’ll never miss another shot.
New features in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can also use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. Optional grid lines help line up your shot and a simple tap locks focus and exposure on one subject; and the new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organize your photos into albums right on your device to share them on the go. New iOS 5 features include built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so you can instantly share your photos via Twitter directly from the Photos app and send photos via iMessage to individuals or groups. And with iCloud’s innovative new Photo Stream service, a photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV®.
iPhone 4S can also now record video in full 1080p HD resolution and with the new video image stabilization feature, you can take richer, smoother videos. Other iPhone 4S video camera improvements include increased sensitivity, sharpness and an increased ability to capture video in low light conditions. With the new iMessage service in iOS 5, you can now instantly share videos with family and friends.
iPhone 4S has the same beautifully thin glass and stainless steel design that millions of customers around the world love, while being completely redesigned on the inside. Apple’s dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining incredible battery life—now up to 8 hours of 3G talk time.
Improving on the innovative stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive. iPhone 4S now supports twice the download speed with HSDPA of up to 14.4 Mbps and iPhone 4S is a world phone, so both CDMA and GSM customers can now roam internationally on GSM networks.**
Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.*** iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4S will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on Friday, October 14 and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4S beginning Friday, October 7. iPhone 4 will also be available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS will be available for free with a two year contract. Siri will be available in beta on iPhone 4S in English (localized for US, UK and Australia), French and German. iOS 5 software will be available on October 12 as a free software update via iTunes 10.5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch customers.
iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
*Some features may not be available on all products.
**Carrier roaming policies apply. HSDPA availability and network speeds are dependent on carrier networks.
***Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Looks like the Apple store in Japan jumped the gun and released images of the new iPhone 4s. The phone doesn’t look too different that from iPhone 4  and no word if it will include LTE or anything like that but it looks to be running iOS 5. No word on which carrier yet will carry it but I’m sure that will come out during the event. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow we finally get to see what the next iPhone will be from Apple. All the rumors and speculations for well over a year will finally be put to rest.  Before we get to our predictions we want to let you know that we will be doing coverage of the even via our twitter account @bwonedotcom  and will upload a summary video from everything that comes out of the iPhone press event on your YouTube Channel.
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Now for the predictions. We’ve hear all sorts of rumors from an iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s, only one phone is coming, two phones are coming and so on. I believe that there will be an iPhone 4s which will be more of a spec jump to catch up to some of the high-end android phones out there. It will come with a dual core processor, 8 megapixel camera, 1080p video recording and a display that 4 inches or a bit bigger. There could be a possibility of upgraded storage to 64 GB but I wouldn’t count too much on that one. It should also be a bit thinner and lighter than the earlier iPhone 4. I think this upgrade will be similar to the upgrade of the iPad to the iPad 2.

I also think there will be a 2nd iPhone announced but we already know what that iPhone is. The iPhone 4 will become the mid tier offering. With its current specs it competes with the mid range android devices out today. It should be dropped down to a $99 entry price.

Also when looking at the press event photo Apple sent out you see some basic info just giving you’re a fancy way of telling you the date, time and location of the press event but then there is a number 1 next to the phone icon which makes me believe that they will be adding one more carrier which will be Sprint. Another bold prediction is that with the map icon they could be introducing their own map program and leaving good or adding turn-by-turn voice directions but those are just guesses with no real rumors behind them.

As for the iPhone 5, I believe that will be saved for 2012 which is when all the major carries will be switching to LTE and making their big 4G push. It would make seen then to  introduce a whole new design, LTE, huge spec boost in processor and in cameras especially with the recent news of Samsung developing 16 Megapixel camera sensors for phones.

I could be totally wrong here in my predictions but I also could be right on the money with them. What I want to know is what you guys think so post your comments below.

Apple has officially announced a press event coming on October 4th. So finally we have a date on when we will see the next iPhone. We don’t know if it’s going to be called the iPhone 5, iPhone 4s or maybe two new iPhone devices but we’ll find out finally on October 4th. Some solid info that we know if is that it should come with an upgraded 8 megapixel camera and iOS 5. Stay tuned for the big news when it hits start at 10:00 am PST 1pm EST. We’ll have a live blog link up before the event starts.

Brandon gives us a tour of the Scosche myTrek Wireless Pulse Monitor.  The armband connected via Bluetooth to your iPhone or iPod Touch with the free app download and will wirelessly monitor  your pulse rate while working out. The app manager your work out based on the training type that you choose and also tracks your distance, calories burned and keeps a history for you to go back for reference. The device will also give you an audio prompt to increase your workout intensity to meet the workout goal that you set.  You can also import your playlist and control  your music from your armband.  The armband has a lithium-ion battery that will last up to 5 hours and will charge via USB. The system will retail for $129.99 and the app is a free.

At WWDC in San Francisco Apple has debut their music close based service iTunes in the Cloud. The service isn’t a streaming service  like Amazon and Google offer. This service will all you to download any purchased music to all of your iOS device for free up to 10 different devices. If you want more than that you can sign up for iTunes Match which scan your library and will match any content that Apple already has and place it in your cloud and will upload anything else that doesn’t match. The service will go for $24.99 per year regardless of how many songs you upload.  The match service will cut your upload time down nearly half if you have a lot songs that iTunes already has in their library and anything that don’t match will be the only things you upload. This will be very interesting to compare against Amazon and Google in the cloud music wars. The service is available now in beta.

Source: Apple iCloud

Apple has release iOS 4.3.3 which addresses issues with the location tracking flie that was previously not locked down. With this update it will reduce the size of the cache, will not back it up and if your not using Location Services it will delete the file entirely.  It was expected after big press was made about this issue that apple would release an update to handle it.  Its good for all iOS device except the iPhone 4 (CDMA) model or the Verizon version. If your are on AT&T this update is for you.  Just plug your iOS device into iTunes and check for updates if it doesn’t prompt you automatically.

iOS 4.3.3 Software Update

This update contains changes to the iOS crowd-sourced location database cache including:

- Reduces the size of the cache 
- No longer backs the cache up to iTunes
- Deletes the cache entirely when Location Services is turned off

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 4 (GSM model)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)