Is 4G by EE another example of Rip-Off Britain?
With the announcement that EE will be launching its new 4G LTE network in 11 cities across the UK (not an impressive rollout, I agree), the thing that concerns me is, what will it cost?
4G is a highspeed internet connection that, supposedly, puts 3G to shame and even outstrips wifi connections. If you’re used to connecting to the internet whilst on the move, downloading and viewing videostreams, then the appeal of 4G is plain. Who wouldn’t want faster internet? I certainly would. But what’s the cost? I do want an easier life but I’m not about to pay a premium for it.
I called up my service provider to ask about pricing and, although no price plans have been released at the time of writing, one thing was clear – it was going to cost more than what I’m currently paying each month. And that really annoys me. At the moment, I’m paying a hefty monthly tariff as it is and I would expect to be moved onto 4G, at no extra charge. Eventually 3G networks will disappear and 4G will remain – it would be a bad thing for consumers if we ended up paying more for what is essentially a network upgrade. Broadband has been steadily upgraded over the past few years, at no extra cost to the consumer, so why should mobile internet be any different?
This is just another way for businesses to get as much as they can out of the consumer. Personally, I won’t be moving to 4G unless I get a good deal.
New iPad mini: Apple’s lack of innovation
So Apple has finally announced what has been on the rumour mills for the past few months – the iPad mini
It actually doesn’t look too bad and has a decent screen size – much more usable than the Google Nexus 7, the Samsung Galaxy Tab or Blackberry Playbook. And I’m sure when you have it in your hands, like all Apple products, it will feel like a solid piece of kit, well made and oozing quality.
However, the excitement pretty much ends there. There’s no retina HD display, no new features – we’ve seen it all before with the original iPad. Sure, it’s a handy new size and I think a welcome one, considering the bigger 9″ iPad is quite heavy in your hands. But there’s really nothing else to it. I’m considerably underwhelmed by Apple’s attention to the manufacturing – the ‘beautiful aluminium/glass enclosure’, ‘it’s incredibly thin’ blah, blah, blah. Honestly, Apple needs to realise that we are not all nerdy nor anoraks. Sure, it’s been put together really well but that’s not the USP that users are looking for – it’s not all about looks – we get that! Lets move on! We want the iPad to do things that no other tablet can do. We want new hardware features – or has Apple run out of innovation?
Personally, I feel that the effects of Steve Jobs’ are slowly fading off the company. It hasn’t launched a single innovative product since Jobs passed away – it’s all been about a higher resolution screen or slight modifications in design. There’s nothing new coming to us from Apple – nothing creative, nothing that makes our daily lives more easier, nothing that really changes the way we do things. Come on, Apple! Where’s that spark we all admired you for?
Apple needs to return to its creative roots and start to jump ahead, rather than releasing versions of the iPad that just keeps it ahead of the competition – and the competition ARE catching up; it won’t be long before Apple loses out to the momentum of other manufacturers and is relegated to a niche market, as delivered by Microsoft many years ago with the PC. The current seniors of Apple – Tim Cook and Phil Schiller – are, to be blunt, just not inspiring. I don’t feel excited by their ‘amazing’ announcements – mere empty words. I just don’t feel like I’m intrigued to see a presentation by Cook or Schiller – they don’t have the imagination that Jobs had and this is starting to show in their products. The launch of a new ‘thinner’ iMac is just testament to that. Apple has suffered over 75% drop in sales for the iMac, compared with the same quarter last year – a sign of Apple’s slow demise?
I sign off, unthrilled, uninspired and underwhelmed.
Apple slips with the iPhone 5, as it runs out of ideas
Having had my new iPhone 5 (upgrading from an iPhone 4), I’ve had a chance to explore its features and get a feel for the latest version of the iconic handset. And I’m quite disappointed.
The iPhone 5 has a lovely look (I’ve opted for the black) and still has a feel of quality and robustness. I like the fact that it’s all black and it’s actually quite light but still feels solid. It’s a good looking phone and, in my opinion, still more classier than the other smartphones on the market (including Samsung).
I’ve heard about the problems with scratching on the new metal back, so I put my phone into a new leather cover straight away. Hopefully that will avoid the phone being disfigured from the back.
The quality of the screen is sharper than the iPhone 4 I had but I suspect, no big difference for those who own a 4S. Certainly the audio is much louder and puts the 4S to shame.
Reception was fine – I got no inkling of antenna-gate, so I guess that’s now dead and buried. Battery life seems similar to the 4S. The new lightning USB lead does make you feel like it’s flimsy and doesn’t connect to your phone securely enough, even though it’s tight and snug. In terms of processor speed, I feel that the new phone is only slightly faster than its predecessor – I don’t think there’s anything noticeable enough to make me think ‘wow!’.
An 8MP camera is great to have in your pocket and a welcome upgrade for the phone. I loved the panorama mode (although there are other apps that were on the market, offering this).
Siri is still as problematic as it ever was – I just don’t see this catching on in its current form. It needs a serious upgrade in features and responses before this becomes something I can’t do without. I actually like the Maps App – it IS better than Google Maps but it does have the inaccuracies we’ve all heard about. I typed in one post code the other day to find that the navigation tried to take me 5 miles further away (good job, I knew where I was going and was only testing the Maps feature). But it is more elegant in its design and looks. Smooth scrolling and lovely graphics make this app one to watch as it gets revised. What is annoying is to have the directions pop up at the top of the screen, obscuring my view of where I’m meant to be going – surprised I’ve not heard anyone else complain about this.
So why is it that I’m disappointed?
Well, quite frankly, its the size. It’s only from having the iPhone 5 that I’ve realised just how good a job Apple did when it brought out the original iPhone and all its successive models up to the 4S. With my 5, I’m constantly struggling to reach all across the screen when I’m just using one hand. When I’m driving and have the iPhone propped up , the extra length causes the phone to regularly fall to one side. I never had these problems with the iPhone 4, or the 3GS before that. The iPhones I’ve had in the past were genuinely easy to use in every sense of the word. I never realised that the phone was designed to be in easy reach of my thumb when clicking here and there. Moving to a 4″ screen just doesn’t work. I have to jiggle with my iPhone 5 to select those options furthest away from the palm of my hand.
And I just don’t see what extra I’m getting from the longer screen. It’s not that big a difference over the 3.5″ screen of the previous editions. I don’t see that much extra when viewing videos. And what IS annoying is that so many apps just haven’t been upgraded to fill up the screen – many apps that I’m using are still working off the 3.5 inch size, so what’s the point of a larger screen.
Apple is slipping
So, as a follower of Apple for over two decades and as someone who is fond of the products and owns a few of them, Apple is slipping. There is nothing really groundbreaking with the iPhone 5. Sure, it’s thinner but, like many people, I’m not buying a phone because of its advances in manufacturing. If thin was king, then the MacBook Air would be the dominant laptop around. Having a longer screen it new for the iPhone but unnecessary and not new for the smartphone market. It seems that Apple is chasing sales that it may have lost from Samsung bringing out bigger phones – Apple shouldn’t be following Samsung’s lead but rather creating its own lead, as its pedigree demonstrates. I held off buying the iPhone 4S because I didn’t see enough of a jump from the iPhone 4 – the iPhone 5 is just another small step and not the big leap forward that many were expecting from Apple.
Is Apple running out of ideas and drive, now that Jobs is no longer with them? It seems that this may be the case because in the past year, we’ve certainly seen no major advance in smartphones.
Apple, you’re slipping.
All this technology 