Bereninga

Last week, Apple released a refreshed version of its Apple TV product. First, let’s get a quick run-down of some key changes:

• Netflix streaming
• content moved from local storage in the Apple TV to streaming only
• price changes for Apple TV unit to $99, rentals for HD TV shows for 99 cents, HD movies for $4.99

How thrilling are these changes? Unfortunately, not thrilling at all. Even though these are “new” features to Apple TV, they’re not anything new to anyone who already has a pretty good home entertainment system already. Apple is trying really hard to get Apple TV to be something people need, but it misses the mark.

First, Netflix streaming is old news. The XBox 360, Playstation 3, some Blu-ray players, HDTV sets, and other devices already have Netflix streaming built-in. Netflix as a feature is now just extra for the Apple TV since people who have Netflix most likely already stream it from another device other than their computers. Why would people want to have another piece of hardware to wire up in their system? In fact, if people who don’t have a Netflix-only device and are looking to get one, they can get a cheaper one: the Roku.

Content also is streaming only. So what does that say? That means you’ll never truly own the content you buy. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you should be used to this. If not, you will.

The price point is definitely right. At $99, it’s easy to get Apple TV as an impulse buy as opposed to a bigger financial commitment. HD TV rentals for 99 cents seems pretty good too, but $4.99 for HD movies is a little high. Why would a Netflix subscriber want to pay more money for what they can get on Netflix? If you don’t have Netflix, you’d better watch one movie per month or else pay Apple more money for what you can get on Netflix for the same price. Get my drift?

I don’t see what Apple TV brings new to the table. Perhaps one feature is pretty neat: streaming content from your iPhone or iPad to Apple TV through AirPlay. This allows your device to act as a remote so to speak.

Here’s what the dream Apple TV would have but probably won’t have:

• Blu-ray support
• 1080p streaming
• remote control via iPhone/iPad
• Pandora
• iOS support

Are you going to get an Apple TV? I really would like to know why.

You’ve read it right: the iPhone 4 does not upload HD video to YouTube or Facebook. The only possible way to upload HD video is through a computer that has downloaded the HD video from the iPhone 4. Yes, I know, it’s quite disappointing. I felt it first-hand when I tried uploading “HD” video to both of these sites. On YouTube, video is at least uploaded in 320p. On Facebook, the video is compressed so much that the quality pretty much goes to crap. I actually uploaded an HD video to Facebook last night through my Macbook Pro but it still has yet to show up.

Even when I’m on WiFi the videos are left looking pretty sad. I’m actually quite disappointed in Apple for leaving out this major detail, especially in marketing their product. They just happened to leave out that you actually can’t upload an HD video via iPhone 4. Amongst other disappointments, I wonder what other surprises show up. I’ve linked some videos below of video I’ve recorded and uploaded through the iPhone 4. It also peeves me that Facebook labels the video “HD” when it clearly (unintended pun) is not. I can’t even remove the HD label either!

Wow, I can’t even explain how exciting and crazy it’s been in the mobile industry this season! Major players right now are the HTC Evo 4G and the iPhone 4. It’s pretty much like a clash of the titans! I’m assuming that by now there are tons of posts about their specs, so I won’t list them here and I’ll assume that you’ve read about them.

Why is it so exciting? It’s bonkers right now because Apple and HTC are throwing a bunch of lawsuits at each other. Apple and Google are also competing for mobile OS domination. Apple’s equipped with iOS4 and Google has Android. Apple seems to be taking on HTC hardware-wise and Google software-wise, and they seem to be doing a pretty good job.

Right now, Apple’s big player is its new iPhone 4, and HTC’s is the Evo 4G. So are you on the fence? I was. That is, until I saw the Evo 4G at the Sprint store the other day. The size of this phone is just way too big! I could not imagine myself putting this beast in my pocket. Compared to the size of the iPhone 4, the Evo is just not pocket-friendly. Of course, some people might not mind having a brick in their pocket. I have an iPhone 3G and already think that it’s too big for my pocket. This may be considered personal preference, though. Also, I’m Asian, so my pockets may be smaller than yours. I still think that phone size is such a fundamental concept that HTC missed in its Evo 4G, though, so expect me to make fun of you when I see you take out that clunky phone.

You can compare phone dimensions here and see for yourself.

Photo is a screen shot from PhoneArena.com.

If I had to choose one word to describe this game it would definitely be “fun”! Apparently, this game has been out since 2009 but I’ve only heard of it now since it was released on the iPhone last month. I normally am not big on iPhone games, but this one has been in the top 10 paid apps in the App Store for so long that I couldn’t resist just trying it out, especially since it was only 3 bucks.

It was definitely a pleasant surprise. The sound, design, characters and gameplay are all very impressive. The main objective of this game is to defend your house against zombies who want to eat your brain. Your only weapons are special plants that can shoot peas, chomp down zombies and other defense mechanisms. It’s basically a tower-defense type game. My only complaint is that when a lot of things are going on the screen, the iPhone (3G) tends to go down in frame rates. Other than that, it’s so much fun!

Apple today released its Macbook Air today at the Macworld San Francisco 2008 Keynote today. Starting at $1799, you get a 13.3″-display a super-light machine!

Macworld’s banner saying “There’s something in the air”. Now what could that possibly mean? All I can think about is, “Wi-fi is in the air”. Unless Apple is interested in making airplanes, wi-fi is my only guess. The question is: A wireless what?  What’s wireless?

Apple released Tuesday its new Mac Pro. It sports a 8-core processing (two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors standard, two 3.2GHz option), can hold up to 32GB of RAM, four hard drive bays that can hold up to 4TB, and a lot more goodies. Can we say “insane”? This is some serious machine that might be able to launch your rockets into space. It only starts at $2,799. Show that tower to your buddies, and they’ll be instantly jealous.

Let’s celebrate! Apple’s New York City flagship store is opening today! My co-workers and I are pretty excited since we’ve seen photos of it. We plan to leave a little early today to check us out. Time to nerd out!