Galaxy Note 4 vs iPhone 6+

So let me start out by saying this blog is based on my OPINION of both phones. A little background before I start:

I sold my Galaxy S5 a little earlier than expected and needed a phone. This was about 2-3 weeks after the iPhones had been released so sources were still scarce. One morning I thought I'd try my luck and managed to snag a 64GB iPhone 6+. I thought I'd hold onto it for a couple of weeks see how I like it, take it back and then get the Note 4. It didn't turn out that way...

I found I really liked the iPhone 6+ so I kept it after the 14 day window. A few weeks later the launch day of the Note 4 day arrives. I went and had a play with it in store. I wasn't 100% sure but I ended up purchasing it anyway. Mum was going to take my 6+. After a few days I found the battery was draining fast and I didn't like it at all. I ended up returning it and going back to my 6+.

Fast forward a few weeks..I again had an android itch. I thought I'd try the Note 4 again and give it a better chance. Since then, I have barely touched my iPhone 6+. I am however using both phones. My Note 4 is my daily driver and my iPhone 6+ is my "backup" phone. I am however using them concurrently (e.g., 2 phone numbers).

In terms of charging the phone the Note 4 wins HANDS down. Both phones were approximately at 40% and the Note 4 charged about an hour faster than the iPhone 6+. The rapid charger is VERY handy. However, in terms of battery life, I'd say the iPhone 6+ would win SLIGHTLY. This may be due to some of the apps I am running. I'd say they are on par with each other.

The cameras are on both phones are great. Personally, I think the Note 4 has a better outdoor camera. The shots are brighter with more saturated colours. I do think the iPhone 6+ takes better lowlight and indoor shots.

In terms of "funness" the Note 4 wins HANDS DOWN for me. I love how I can customise every minor detail of the phone. The iPhone 6+ wins points for continuity and that everything syncs nicely between all my Apple devices.

If I had to choose between the 2 phones I think I would go the Note 4. I am an Apple fangirl and its a hard decision but the customisation wins it for me. I also really enjoy the led light feature and the fact I can see my notifications without having to touch the phone. However, both are great phones and you wouldn't go wrong with either choice.

My thoughts on the WWDC 14

On Tuesday morning I woke up early (3am!) to listen to the much anticipated Apple event of the year. Even though there was no mention of hardware updates, there were many features discussed that are really exciting and to look forward to. I am not going to discuss all of them, but highlight some of the ones that are of interest to me.

As anticipated, the new OS X Yosemite was announced. Coming to our macs in the Fall, or Spring in Australia. I love the beautiful flat design, bright colours and the sidebar in which you are able to view notifications and place widgets. A cool feature introduced to mail is the ability to send large documents through maildrop. Up to 5GB to be exact. Apple have also introduced a cloud system similar to dropbox and google drive which will prove handy. I can write a document on my iMac and seamlessly transfer it to my iPad.

Which leads me to the next feature which I am really excited about, continuity between devices. The ability to start writing an email on a computer and finish it on an iPad. Another awesome feature is the ability to answer a call from your iPhone on your computer. I find it annoying if my phone is charging on the other side of the house and usually missing the call. Now I can receive a notification and simply answer the call from my mac. 

The iPhone and iPad platform iOS 8.0 was also announced. Again, some handy features were announced. Previously, we would have to exit an app to answer a message. Not anymore. We are now able to receive notifications and and answer within the app, or swipe the message away for later. Again, there is continuity between devices and the ability to save photos on our icloud to download on the mac later. Another feature that takes my fancy is the new predictive text quicktype which based on previous conversations, will suggest the type of words that we are more likely to use with that particular person.

Although I am not a programmer - I am more than keen to learn Swift. The language looks a little less daunting than Visual Basic. 

I love how the new updates seamlessly bring all devices to work together harmoniously. I am really looking forward to the new OS and iOS!

 

Review of iPhone 4S Saturday, 29 October 2011

Being the Apple geek that I am, I knew instantly once the announcement was made that I was going to purchase an iPhone 4S. I was a little bit disappointed that there was no "5", in particular that there was no major redesign. I was hoping for a larger screen like the Samsung Galaxy S2 and perhaps a flatter design to differentiate itself from the iPhone 4. Anyway, the appeals of a better camera, faster processor and Siri was enough for me.

I originally ended up preordering online probably about minutes after the online store went back up on October 7th. However, after realising on the Thursday that it was highly unlikely that my phone would arrive on the Friday or weekend as it hadn't even prepared for shipment yet, that I was going to have to line up early and queue for it.

Woke up at 3am to check the forums to assess the line situation as I had originally planned to go around 6 but at 5 saw that the line was already at 50, I made the mad dash to start standing in line. I had my kindle and MBA air to keep me entertained whilst in line and even was interviewed for the news (my 2 seconds of fame were on 5:30 that night!). Finally, at 8:30 I had the phone in my hot little hands.

I didn't get a chance to play with the phone until late afternoon as I had plenty of PhD work to keep me busy. Upon inspection of opening the box, the phone looks (and to me feels) exactly the same as the iPhone 4. I initially had trouble getting Siri to work until I realised you have to turn it on in settings before it works. I quite like the idea of Siri but I am so used to manually putting calendar items in, notes etc that I haven't really used her all that much.

Took a few pictures with the camera and could see the difference in picture quality. The menu also seems zippier to surf around in. The iOS 5 operating system is great. I love the new notification system. One of the massive downsides is the battery...(again). I feel that it is shorter than the iPhone 4 and with excessive use would probably get a day out of it. Not excessively worse than the iPhone 4 but I don't think it lasts as long.

Overall I would give the phone 4.4 out of 5. I probably would have given it closer to a 5 if the battery life was longer. For me, battery life is important in a phone as I am out of the house most of the day. The phone itself is great and would recommend.

Review of 13" i5 Macbook Air Friday, 5 August 2011

I sold my old Core 2 Duo Macbook Air as the new model had a few things that really interested me. The first was the backlit keys which I really missed in the previous model, and secondly was the Core i5 processor. I thought about upgrading to the i7 but 1)You had to buy the 256gb model and 2)I really don't need the extra power for the needs I would be using the computer for.

I purchased the base 128 gig 13" Core i5 Macbook Air on Thursday the 4th of August 2011 from Apple in Robina. Upon opening the box I noticed that there was no restore USB stick like with the previous model. Apparently, all the restore needs are in the MBA itself and other restore USBs will not work with it. I am in two minds about this as I like having a restore USB handy if I want to do a clean install. I also noticed the power charger has changed since the previous model. The head which you plug into the power point is now smaller. Everything else appears to be the same.

I turn it on and instantly notice how fast it is to boot up. I also notice that the login screen has now been customised for Lion. Upon doing a few tasks I notice how much faster and zippy things are compared to the previous model. There is also less beach balling even with several tasks running concurrently.

The one thing that is worse than in the previous model is the battery life. Just doing normal everyday tasks, I have gotten about 4 1/2-5 hours of battery life. I used to get a bit more than that out of the previous model. Still, I think its fairly reasonable.

Overall, I would rate the new MBA 4.5/5. I would have given it a full 5 but the battery life stops me giving it a full 5 but it is a GREAT computer and would recommend.