Kindle Fire Ignites with Value and Function

Price and Flash. Two words that closed the deal with the Amazon Kindle Fire. When the Kindle Fire was announced in September and heard those two infamous words, I immediately preordered this 7 inch multi-touch tablet mobile device powered by a hybrid Amazon and Android OS.



I immediately unboxed the Kindle Fire and plugged in the included AC adapter and charger to give the Fire some juice for my unending browsing. My first test was to go to an Adobe Flash video enabled website using the accelerated Amazon Silk web browser. Success. Flash videos played like a champ. Dual core processing of the Kindle Fire and Amazon Silk's web browser worked fast and nimble. Quite impressed.



The Apple iPad 2 starts at $500. The Amazon Kindle Fire is priced at $200. The price difference is pretty much a no brainer decision. Over half the price of an Apple iPad 2, the Kindle Fire is marketed to a much broader audience. Just like the success of the Apple App Store, Amazon is targeting the software app marketplace with the lure a low cost mobile device. It is working in my opinion. Games, popular apps like Facebook and Google Maps, Amazon Prime movies and the obvious Amazon "e-book" content just scratches the app surface. Of course, Amazon has a little work ahead of them to even compare themselves to the Apple App Store but patience is a virtue.



To Kindle or not to Kindle, that is the question in this crowded tablet market. I almost forgot to mention the micro usb port connectivity. The micro usb port is a data and charging receptacle at the bottom of the Kindle Fire. The only problem is I do not have a micro usb to usb adapter yet. So I cannot personally tell you if a flash drive will be recognized by the Kindle Fire. I am off to CompUSA and Newegg.com.



The countdown is ticking away. My temporary Amazon Prime subscription expires in a month courtesy of new Amazon Kindle Fire owners. The lure of the Kindle Fire experience is overwhelming with value and function in my brief and practical review. Amazon LLC is primed to take on Apple or may I say, the bully of the tablet and app playground with the Kindle Fire.

Apple iPhone 4S Experience and Video Test

Where did everybody go? The Apple iPhone 4S launch day did not have the crowds, lines and chaos like last year. My early morning trip discovered a vast empty wasteland at the AT&T store. I walked in and was immediately helped by a salesperson to my long awaited Apple iPhone 4S. No line, no wait and no chaos.



The record one million Apple iPhone 4S online preorders may have sucked all the potential Apple mobs from retail stores including the local Apple Store. My failed online preorder at the Apple website forced my iPhone 4S purchase at AT&T. My pleasant AT&T store experience was in stark contrast to last year's 3 hour and 45 minute wait at the Apple Store for the previous iPhone 4 release.



What is all the buzz about? The new Apple iPhone 4S with the new iOS 5 operating system has over 200 new features. The new iPhone 4S has the new dual core A5 processor like the iPad 2. For photographers, the new iPhone 4S sports a 8 megapixel camera with a f/2.4 lens. On top of that, the dual core A5 chip with iOS 5 enables an amazing camera one half second recycle rate. I know it is not 10 fps but for all those Facebook photographers, it is a welcome new feature. For HD DSLR purists, the new iPhone 4S features 1080p video with built in image stabilization.



There are more Apple employees than customers on launch day. Apple prepared this year for the onslaught of questions of all the new iPhone 4S features like the virtual assistant "Siri". I even looked around the corner of the Apple Store for a waiting hidden crowd but I just saw vast emptiness. The Apple store went through the early morning crowd of at least 100 people very quickly. Kudos!



Now for the good stuff. I manage to capture some quick images and video clips with the new Apple iPhone 4S today. I wanted to try the new f/2.4 lens and the 8 megapixel resolution for still pictures. Completely handheld for all the shots, I wanted to test the new built in "image stabilization" feature for 1080p video as well.



The Apple iPhone 4S 8 megapixel camera verdict on image quality is quite amazing to say the least. The color, sharpness and resolution are all there in my test shots. I was expecting soft, excessive color fringing on highlights and not so great phone pictures. The Apple iPhone 4S still images are equal to or better than budget point and shoot digital cameras. You will be impressed.



As for my Apple iPhone 4S video verdict, I give a thumbs up on 1080p video quality but a disappointing thumbs down on the new "image stabilization" feature. I was expecting stabilization like in my Canon ELPH 300 HS point and shoot but all I got was a very minimal stabilizing effect on my Apple iPhone 4S video capture. I already ordered a $20 Apple iPhone 4S tripod mount to solve this problem.



Despite the lack of considerable in camera stabilization for video, the 1080p video quality is breathtaking. The 1080p video above was shot completely handheld with the Apple iPhone 4S at 30fps and edited with Apple iMovie'09. I used Quicktime to compress a 600mb h264 video file for Youtube. I apologize for the shakiness but as soon as my iPhone 4S tripod mount comes in, I will shoot a better video.



You can view more pictures and videos for yourself in my Apple iPhone 4S Experience and Video Test Gallery. You can be the judge whether the new Apple iPhone 4S is worth your coin. The 1080p video and 8 megapixel images got me sold.



Stay updated with the latest gear like the new Apple iPhone 4S by becoming a Fan on my Facebook Fan Page and following me on Twitter!

Newly Announced Apple iPhone 4S

Apple CEO, Tim Cook announced the much anticipated Apple iPhone 4S today from Cupertino, California. To everybody's surprise, the successor to the iPhone 4 was not called iPhone 5. Just like previous generations of the iPhone, the "S" designation for "speed" is just tacked on the end of the fourth generation label. All the fanfare and hoopla preceding the iPhone event makes the new iPhone 4S name very anti climactic.



As you noticed, the pictures above are from the last Apple iPhone 4 release. I used the pictures because the new iPhone 4S has the same exact body. Same glass front and back with the same button placement. The good news is your iPhone 4 case will fit the new iPhone 4S. Hooray!



Now for the nitty gritty. The new iPhone 4S has the new dual core A5 processor like the iPad 2. For photographers, the new iPhone 4S sports a 8 megapixel camera with a f/2.4 lens. On top of that, the dual core A5 chip with iOS 5 enables an amazing camera one half second recycle rate. I know it is not 10 fps but for all those Facebook photographers, it is a welcome new feature. For HD DSLR purists, the new iPhone 4S features 1080p video with built in image stabilization. Wow! The new optics combined with the new noise reduction feature should give an astounding HD video and not so grainy high resolution pictures.



Convinced yet? You will have to preorder on October 7th, 2011 and wait in line for your iPhone 4S at your local Apple store on October 14th, 2011. All the high res pics and HD video will not overload your iPhone because there is finally a 64gb model to soak up all that goodness. So, the 64gb iPhone 4S is $399, the 32gb iPhone 4S is $299 and the 16gb iPhone 4S is $199. The best news is the previous iPhone 4 8gb is now $99 and the very old iPhone 3GS 8gb is now free with new contract. What a bargain!



I will probably be waiting in line with the rest of the world on October 14th for the new "World" iPhone 4S. The new Apple iPhone 4S has both GSM and CDMA built in, so it can reach all wireless carriers like AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs may have gotten his ultimate wish for every man, woman and child to have an iPhone in their hand. My children certainly agree!



Here is my Apple iPhone 4 unboxing Youtube video from a year ago. Your new Apple iPhone 4S will look exactly the same.

You can also check out my Apple iPhone 4 Unboxing Gallery.

Stay updated on this Apple iPhone 4S product release, become a Fan on my Facebook Fan Page and follow me on Twitter!

iPhone 4 Experience !

4 hours later I finally made it to the final stretch of inside the store to get the long awaited and anticipated Apple iPhone 4. There is way too many to list but the major features I was looking for are the HD 720p video, 5mp camera and the amazing Facetime feature.



My wife was taking the last round of iPhone 3GS photos before its deactivation and posting them on Facebook. My son and daughter were also drooling over the iPhone 4 as well.



The one thing I did bring with me for this 4 hour adventure was my Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. I snapped some shots and recorded some video of the iPhone 4 unboxing. With a quick edit with iMovie'09, I created a 1080p video of my iPhone 4 experience.



You can view photos and videos in my iPhone 4 Experience Gallery.