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Don't Buy the iPhone 4S. Unless ..

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So, Apple announced the iPhone 4S today.  The gory details are up on Apple's website. It's the same physical size, but its faster and has a few more features.  Most notably, it has an improved voice notification system called Siri that promises to interpret voice commands into emails, texts, reminders, etc.  If it works well, it could very well be the future of computing input. Pre orders start on October 7th, with the release on October 14th.

Ok, now that all that is out of the way, I wouldn't recommend the upgrade if you already own an iPhone 4.  However, if you're willing to part with your iPhone 4, there's a great option available: Gazelle.com.

Gazelle is an online retailer that accepts trade-ins for devices.  It has a strong emphasis on electronics and gadgets, and the prices are decent.  They offer PayPal, Amazon Gift card, or a physical check.  For my Black 16GB iPhone 4 in mint condition (not flawless), I received an offer of $191 - basically enough to cover the $200 price of the 16GB iPhone 4S.  Best of all, my offer is locked in for 30 days, so I don't have to trade it in until after I receive the iPhone 4S on October 14th.

Because I'm getting it basically for free, I'm looking forward to the iPhone 4S. I'll definitely do a video review on the site.

 

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New Tech: Windows 8 vs iPad 2

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I've been fascinated with the Windows 8 Developer build, especially the quick boot time.  One of the key benefits of the ever-more-powerful smartphone and tablet market is that they are easy to boot up and get into.  Desktops have never had this luxury, especially with traditional hard drives. As I showed in the video on my last post, the Windows 8 boot time is impressive. Are we finally at a point where a desktop OS can boot up comparably with a tablet? 

In today's video, I put Windows 8 on a desktop to the test against an iPad 2.  I start them both at the same time and see which one gets to the password screen the fastest. I use the password screen because both start pretty much instantaneously after a password is entered.

 

Windows 8 boot time - 28 seconds

iPad 2 boot time - 35 seconds

 

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Old School Tech: Historypin

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Historypin is a great website that uses Google Maps to show how places have been viewed at different times throughout history. An iPhone app allows you to see historical pictures from around you.  One of the coolest features is that you can overlay any older pictures with the newer Google Streetview pictures  of a given area.

 http://www.historypin.com/