Blair Schumann

Let’s Talk iPhone

blair — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:12:09 +0000

The day is here! What will we see? iPhone 4S? iPhone 5? BOTH??? We’ll find out in a matter of hours!

Developing…

Apple Event 10/4/2011

blair — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:25:54 +0000

So, the next Apple event is just around the corner, October 4. What are we going to see? Here are my thoughts on what Apple will announce.

Obviously there’s going to be at least 1 new iPhone announced. Now is it going to be an iPhone 4S, or an iPhone 5? I have a strong feeling there are going to be both. Why? Well, RadioShack’s inventory is showing iPhone 5′s for all 3 major carriers. While it’s no where near a definite (they could just be placeholders) it certainly is somewhat of a good sign of things to come. Secondly, Cincinnati Bell’s prepaid service accidentally showed placeholders for the iPhone 4S AND the iPhone 5 on their site over the weekend. The iPhone 4S has also shown up in the newest Beta of iTunes. So, if I had to say, I speculate that Apple will be announcing a cheap iPhone 4S with minor upgrades from the 4, and a new iPhone 5 with a complete design overhaul.

Apple will probably announce the new iPhone(s) on Tuesday and allow preorders either that same day, or a week later. They’ve done it both ways, so it’s a little difficult to predict.

I have a very good feeling that Apple will be announcing the GM for iOS 5. Beta 7 has been out for over a month, and it’s been very stable. I predict a GM release for developers on Tuesday, and general availability within 1-2 weeks.

So what about specs? Well, the new iPhone(s) will more than likely have Apple’s A5 chip, and, for the 5, will probably contain 1gig of RAM, an 8MP camera, and things look like a larger screen, possibly over 4 inches. The 4S would probably contain much of the same as the 4, but probably a little more RAM, and possibly smaller capacity (8GB only).

Network? Well I can say with quite certainty that Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T will be getting the new iPhone(s). Cincinnati Bell looks to be getting it as well, which would be quite the departure from the normal. I am seriously hoping for as many carriers as possible, as that (for Apple) would be a big increase in revenue. For consumers, that’s a plus as well, as there are many more options for service, a definite win-win.

Now some hopeful thinking. I’m really hoping that the new iPhone has LTE. I’m thinking it probably will have HSPA+, but that’s just an extension of 3G, so it’s a simple upgrade. Now I really really hope for this, but have a feeling that it won’t be making an appearance, per Apple’s usual mantra: the original iPhone didn’t have 3G because Apple deemed AT&T’s network to not be worth it at the time, plus it was a huge drain on the battery. Now, I believe that Verizon’s current LTE network is much more expansive than AT&T’s then 3G network, so while it is possible (especially since Verizon is constantly adding LTE in cities every single month & reports have LTE equipment being installed at Apple stores), I don’t think it’s very probable since it still is a little heavy on the battery.

All in all, I’m excited for Tuesday, and will be watching live blogs throughout the entire event. I’ll be tweeting as I see things announced, so keep an eye on my Twitter account! @theshoehorn

Number of Mobile Phones

blair — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:01:48 +0000

I’ve been thinking, and just realized I’ve owned almost 2 dozen cell phones since I first got one at 15 (9 years ago)… Here’s a listing:

USCC Motorola 120t Black
USCC Motorola 120t White
USCC LG VX10
Cingular LG L1400
Cingular Audiovox SMT-5600 (WinMo)
Cingular Motorola WinMo
Cingular Treo 650
Cingular 8525
Sprint LG Fusic
Sprint Treo 650
Sprint Treo 700w
Sprint Mogul
iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4 (GSM) - 2
Nexus One
Blackberry Curve 8900
USCC HTC Desire
iPhone 4 (CDMA) Black
iPhone 4 (CDMA) White

Wow. I can’t believe I’ve had so many phones from almost every carrier out there… AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular, and Verizon…

Crazy!

New iPhone (2011)

blair — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:45:01 +0000

I’m sort of a self proclaimed tech freak. I love all technology, and have to have the newest of everything. I’ve also been called a cell phone slut because of my un-loyalty to any carrier (I’ve been with 4 carriers over the past 5 years, and break contracts constantly). Currently, I’m with Verizon and when the iPhone was launched on Verizon, I moved instantly because AT&T still didn’t have 3G in my city of 50,000. (AT&T has since launched 3G, about 2 weeks ago, August 31.)

I’ve been following and investigating into the successor to the iPhone 4, and I have to say I have theories on why it’s being delayed from its normal early summer launch:

They launched the iPhone 4 on Verizon and didn’t want to tick off those customers by launching a new phone 4 months later.
They FINALLY started selling the white iPhone 4 in May, and didn’t want to tick off anyone who purchased a white iPhone 4 one month ago.
They’ve been trying hard to fix the antenna issue that plagues the iPhone 4, and have been having issues fixing that.
They are planning on creating a new unified iPhone for both CDMA and GSM networks with the same Qualcomm chip that’s in the CDMA iPhone 4, but have encountered issues that pushed it back.
They are planning on including LTE in the new iPhone, and are making sure the battery life isn’t cut drastically by the new technology.

Now, those are just pure speculations on my part, and anything can happen. They could all be correct, one could, or none of them could be right. I have no idea, but have to speculate it’s something big that would push back the ritual launch of a new iPhone in early summer.

Whichever reason, I definitely have some thinking to do, and have a couple scenarios on what route (stay with Verizon or move back to AT&T) to take when the new iPhone is inevitably launched. The only reason I left AT&T for Verizon was the lack of 3G by AT&T in my city. Now that we have it here, I will probably switch back because of the wicked fast speed AT&T has over Verizon. I have pulled down 5meg a second on my work iPhone, and I can barely EVER hit 2meg on my Verizon iPhone. Unless the new iPhone has LTE, I’m heading back to AT&T. EvDO is just too slow for me.

We’ll see when the new iPhone is released, but I have a feeling it will be early October.

We will NEVER forget

blair — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:29:33 +0000

On this day 10 years ago, the absolute worst attack ever perpetrated on American soil was carried out. I was in Social Studies class in my freshman year of high school in Wisconsin; far away from the attack sites. They notified us over the PA system, and after learning the magnitude of the disaster, we moved to the library to watch the events unfold on TV. Students that were emotional were allowed to go home for the day. It is the single worst day in my life.

The weeks heading up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I have been watching documentaries about the attacks. It doesn’t matter what I have been watching, every single show as I watch, I get very distressed, and overwhelmed with emotion. Watching it happen again makes me feel like it is actually unfolding live, and gives me butterflies in my stomach.

I mourn those innocent lives that were lost in this absolutely cowardly attack. Families and friends of those lost are in my prayers, and I hope they will find closure; especially since Osama Bin Laden is now dead.

To the heros, we thank you for your selfless acts of courage. You are the most brave people around, and we all thank God for you.

God Bless the United States of America!!!!!

National Debt – Simple Math

blair — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:26:19 +0000

Seen in an email I received:

The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the trillions of dollars. Few people know how much money that is so we created a breakdown of federal spending in simple terms. Let’s put the 2011 federal budget into perspective:

U.S. income: $2,170,000,000,000
Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000 (about 1 percent of the budget)

It helps to think about these numbers in terms that we can relate to. Let’s remove eight zeros from these numbers and pretend this is the household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700
Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200
Amount of new debt added to the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
Amount cut from the budget: $385

“Rapture”

blair — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:07:49 +0000

I am starting to get irritated with with the people saying the end of the world is today. No. The bible says no such thing. Even if it did, we’d have known a long time ago. Read the bible:

Mark 13:32: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Revelation 3:3: Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

We will never know the time. Period.

iPad 2 Review

blair — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:34:01 +0000

So, I have had my new iPad 2 for about 2 weeks now. I have to say I’m quite impressed by it. It’s much quicker than the original. The dual core A5 has impressive power; I have seen no stuttering on many movements I’ve done. It’s pretty awesome. Very happy they have built-in Verizon 3G (VZW towers over AT&T in my area). And the dual cameras are a nice touch. Although it my not seems like much lighter in weight by reading about it, it definitely feels lighter. Much easier to hold for longer periods of time.

All-in-all, it’s a solid device that is worthy predecessor to the original.

iPad 2

blair — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:54:38 +0000

Yay, new iPad! Exciting to me and other geeks the world over. Faster, much thinner and lighter. In fact, it’s thinner than the iPhone 4! Crazy. I’m definitely getting one next week when it ships and will have a review after I get it.

iPhone – AT&T vs VZW

blair — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:51:55 +0000

I’ve had about a week and a half with my new Verizon iPhone. Needless to say I love it. In terms of the device, there’s really no difference between the two: they’re both an iPhone, with the same abilities. The only difference is that one supports GSM, and the other CDMA.

I can honestly say that between the two, the Verizon network is the clear winner in my area. I actually have 3G, whereas with AT&T, they STILL don’t have 3G here… in my city of 50 thousand.