One of the best things about the iPhone 4 was the inclusion of the spectacular 5 mega-pixel camera that clicks way better pictures than the older versions of the device.

The camera is better than any other 5 mega-pixel snapper we’ve seen and even gives higher pixel cameras a run for their money.

iPhone 4 Camera Review

The camera of iPhone 4 delivers spellbinding pictures rich in contrast and color. Apple’s strategy is to not make the pictures realistic but to make them pop and to make full use of the retina display. And that is what they achieve here with the colors being larger than life and sharp, crisp contrasts that make the pictures come alive.

The phone’s incredible screen only notches up the effect further. It performs very well in all lightning conditions and the included LED flash is quite good too. It makes the low light photography that much easier. The secret to the device picking up that many colors and light is the inclusion of a very fast and wide lens. The front facing camera for Facetime video calls isn’t great but it does its job.

The camera shoots HD video at 720p and it manages it brilliantly. The phone’s 30fps frame rate is smooth and ensures that the videos being shot are stable and consistent. If you’re carrying this baby around there won’t be a need for a separate camcorder and to some extent even your point n shoot. The iPhone 4 manages to take care of all basic photography needs.

Even though the camera is so good by itself Apple added yet another nifty feature to it, the ability to take High Dynamic Range pictures which wasn’t a part of the earlier devices, at least not in the model itself.

An HDR photo is much closer to what you see with your own eye than any other photograph can even aim to get. The device does is that it takes three different photos at three different exposures and then merges them together. What this does is that it creates a much more exposed picture where the darker and the brighter portions of the subject are exposed equally. So no more choosing between muted bright or shadowy figures. But this works well only if there is enough dynamic range in the photo in the first place.

Dynamic range is the range between the darkest and the lightest parts of the image. So HDR only makes a difference when the dynamic range is high or else it just tones down the phone’s natural color reproduction in images. However the HDR feature also preserves the original picture minus the HDR – so you can pick whichever you find better and discard the other.

The Apple iPhone 4 is an awesome phone by itself and the camera on this device just makes it more better. So keep your fingers crossed that this baby hits Indian shores soon.

You can read the original blog post here My iPhone 4 Camera Review.

When you talk of smartphones the first name that springs to your mind is that of the iPhone and with good reason too. Let’s face it, for all the praise that solid Android OS deserves, Apple’s iPhone is unique and incomparable in more ways than one. And you may be happy to know that new reports have surfaced about the next installment of this amazing device. The iPhone 5 may not be too far away, if these reports are true!

The most important thing that the iPhone5 will do is put the reception issues of the iPhone 4 to bed, once and for all. After all the ‘antennagate’ has been one of the worst tech glitches/ PR disasters in the history of Apple. Hopefully when the new iPhone comes around you will find a product that is free of any glitches or bugs.

While that is a necessary rectification, there are going to be some other changes which will absolutely revolutionize the way you use smartphones. Apple is supposedly developing a system through which your iPhone may serve as a mode of payment at retail stores and other places. And this will not involve any additional phone attachments!

This technology is called ‘near field communication’ or NFC, which is already in use in some mobiles of Japanese make which can be used in subways and vending machines in lieu of cash or credit card. And Apple’s effort to incorporate this technology in the next iPhone is evident from the fact that they have hired Benjamin Vigier, the best in the business when it comes to mobile payment systems.

He is a Product Manager at present and is working closely with other mobile engineers who specialize in NFC and other similar tech.

According to some other sources, Apple will incorporate the NFC technology by using hardware from the market leaders in NFC technology, NXP Semiconductor. Apple has supposedly already developed an NFC-enabled iPhone prototype and running mobile payment tests to arrive at a sustainable design.

The same NFC tech will also be used in the Apple TV and Macbooks, which will expedite inter-device data transfer.

Though these innovations sound really exciting, don’t expect to see the iPhone 5 before 2011. After all the brickbats Apple received for technical and design issues on the iPhone 4, lot more intensive tests will be done this time around. But even if the next iPhone arrives early in 2011, there is great reason to be thrilled!

You can read the original blog post here What to Expect from the Coming soon iPhone 5 SmartPhone.

Even with the strict guidelines put up by Apple for approving the apps in the App store, this news piece should definitely raise eyebrows. Because an app to download torrent files right from your iPhone, iPod touch was approved this week and is available for download in the appstore.

The app: IS Drive, formerly known as Jacktorrents in the cydia universe, offers users of imageshack’s torrent service to easily manage and download torrent files. However, as IS drive is an officially approved Bittorrent app in the app store- you’ve to shell out $4.99 to get this on your iPod touch and iPhone device.

Download IS Drive App For iPhone and iPod touch

You can download ISdrive app from the official App store (iTunes link). Note that this app doesn’t work for 3.x firmware and is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch iOS 4.0 firmware or later only. Also, after looking into the early reviews I assume the app is glitchy and might not work with iPhone 3GS.

Another noteworthy app I’d recommend, which is free, is dTunes. Although available only for Jailbroken iPod touch and iPhone, dTunes allows you to enter the torrent website url — download the files — and manage them easily.

For those who are not willing to jailbreak your Apple device, IS drive is the app for you!

You can read the original blog post here IS Drive App: Approved Bittorrent App For iPhone and iPod Touch | Works only with iOS 4.

I love my iPhone. And some part of the credit goes to Cydia, for the innumerable number of useful applications it has to offer. That being said, I like winterboard themes a lot. Among the many skins that I have used and/or come across: these are the best winterboard themes that I am in love with..

Before that, remember: It’s a fact that using custom themes drains your battery faster than normal use; but, sometimes it pays off too, right? The person standing (or sitting? Whatever..) next to you might as well be amazed with the dashing themes on your iPhone/ iPod touch. It’s not a new version of the device, but just another iPhone/ iPod touch, with a smashing theme.

So, here goes a list of themes, that you should check out for your iPhone and iPod touch — and yeah, these are winterboard themes, meaning your device must be jailbroken.

These winterboard themes are free to download and most of them (or all) works on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS (3G), iPod touch 3G and any apple device that is jailbroken. Learn more about installing Winterboard themes.

Best Winterboard Themes For iPhone/ iPod Touch

To install and download any of these winterboard themes on your iPod touch or iPhone- just search for them in Cydia and confirm the installation. Lets delve into my list of top winterboard themes:

HTC Sense UI Winterboard Theme

Well, every person who has seen or has played with an HTC loves its interface, no doubt about it. The Sense UI is one of the marvelous achievements of HTC, period. So, if you would like to get a similar look of your iPhone’s interface, then this is the theme. The functionality of the Sense UI does not come with it, just the looks of course.

Installing this theme does require some time, but the effort pays off at the end. I’ll come up with a detailed tutorial on this, perhaps by the end of this month.

Glasklart Winterboard Theme

Well, I have never used glasklart before, but when I used it now, for this roundup, then and there, I understood that I have been missing a lot of things. Ever had that problem, where you wanted a theme style, but still would like to showcase the wallpapers? Well, its possible with this amazing Winterboard theme.

The best thing with the glasklart theme is that, it is customizable in itself. It is basically a transparent theme and you can easily use it with any wall paper to get a unique style out of it and is true to the name which means – “Like a Glass”. Definitely one of the best winterboard themes around. Do check it out on cydia.

Nexus One Winterboard Theme

Are there any nexus one users out here? Well, yes, this is one of the top rated themes everywhere, and I simply love its elegance. Nexus One has fascinated me and eventually my attempt to try an Android OS led me to buy HTC HD2. I have tried to get the Nexus One look on my HTC HD2, but it doesn’t fit perfectly, and also I cannot give away with the Sense UI of the HTC.

So, I took my madness over Android one step further- picked up a jailbroken Apple iPhone 3G and the rest you know. Take my word: this nexus one theme is superb, just pure awesomeness. You’ll love it for sure.

The AndroidLock app, also from Cydia, when used with this theme, gives you the Nexus One Lock effect, which is even more fantastic.

iPhone OS 4.0 Winterboard Theme

Well, this, in particular is for iPhone users with 3.x versions. Those who love the 4.0 version, can feel the look and have the taste of iPhone OS 4.0 interface now with the use of this theme.

The complete feature availability is not possible with this theme as you might have guessed already, but you can set the new theme background, also have wallpapers for lock screen and home screen unlike the previous version. Also, the dock deserves special mention, especially since; it is one thing a lot of people have loved with this theme. This is a Kill For theme; no doubt about that.

Lucid Winterboard Theme

Clean and sleek will be an apt description. The one thing that I love about this theme is its simplicity.

There could not be a simpler, but at the same time, most sophisticated theme ever like this. Using this theme, your iPhone/ iPod touch really gets glories.

Other Winterboard themes worth mentioning: Vivid (screenshot) and Buff2 (screenshot). Any captivating winterboard themes that you’ve tried lately? Let me know..

You can read the original blog post here Best Winterboard themes For iPhone/ iPod Touch [Free].

After months of diligent research and coding, Japanese developer: Ashikase has finally released the FolderEnhancer app. This app, as the name indicates, assists you in organizing the iOS folders.

The price: $1.99, is definitely worth every penny- as Folder Enhancer for iOS let’s you create folders, then sub-folders, icon pages etc. But here’s a heads up incase if you’re buying the FolderEnhancer app at Cydia.

FolderEnhancer app is not compatible with iOS 4.1. It goes without saying that you’ll need a jailbroken iPhone and iPod touch, but no support for the 4.1 is slightly brothering and restricts you from buying the app.

Folder Enhancer App Demo

You can read the original blog post here FolderEnhancer App: Not Compatible with iOS 4.1 [For Jailbroken iPhone, iPod Touch].

There is an application for the Mac called WriteRoom. I’ve used this app occasionally, more to try it out than actually write something meaningful in it. Basically, the idea behind an app like this is to provide a distraction-free writing environment so that one can focus entirely on the text, and not worry about time-wasting (and space-wasting) things like toolbars.

But while WriteRoom isn’t part of my writing toolkit, it’s still a great app; writers must choose the software that suits them best.

And recently, the developers of WriteRoom have announced the release to the App Store of PlainText — Dropbox text editing for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. It’s an enhancement to having to use the very Spartan Notes.app (the default note-taking app on iOS).

PlainText has a very simple feature set, following the philosophy of its Mac brethren in distraction-free writing. There are three significant features to know of:

• Paper-like, distraction-free writing space that allows you to focus on the text you’re writing.
• Folders: organise your notes in a systematic way with folders. This is a feature that Apple’s Notes.app lacks…
• DropBox syncing means your notes are always accessible.

The DropBox syncing is particularly interesting, as it will tie-in well with the upcoming release of popular writing app Scrivener. With v2 of Scrivener, users will be able to sync documents from the app with certain iOS apps that support, for instance, Dropbox.

So is PlainText a Notes.app killer? Well, its features do seem to trump the native app’s. For people wanting a robust, efficient writing environment, this app is certainly worth a try.

According to the developers, Hog Bay Software, PlainText is an “infrastructure” app; basically, it’s providing the code base for better implementations of WriteRoom and TaskPaper (another app by the developer) for iOS devices.

Note taking apps like PlainText are proving that the iPad is a viable option for students attending lectures. Instead of lugging a laptop computer to class, an easier and economical route would be to take notes on the iPad — a slim, stylish and Zen-like computing device. At the same time, students are provided with a distraction-free environment in which to take notes that can easily be transferred to a computer at the end of the day for revision.

PlainText is available at the AppStore. Visit the official page here. (iTunes link)

You can read the original blog post here PlainText Released for iOS: A Killer Note-taking App?.

This is getting really geeky. Remember the touch-screen technology video that was posted couple of days ago? That was pretty cool. Similar concept has been designed by the folks at HandyFlash and as an icing on the cake, they’ve named the concept: iPhone 5.

This iPhone 5 design concept is.. well, sexy. Mind blowing! Imagine: fiddling with an iPhone 5 that is as thin as a credit card, has a powerful performance with 4G support that lets you download at 100mbs. And a battery that drains in a week or two.

By the way, the title: ‘Revolution is coming’ would be more appropriate for iPhone 5, if at all this thing gets real! I’ll stop here and let your imagination do the talking now.

Via intomobile and Handyflash.

You can read the original blog post here New iPhone 5 Concept is Mind Blowing!.

After lots of speculation the good news has finally arrived- both for Netflix lovers as well as owners of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Yes, you guessed it right, the Netflix app service is now available on both these devices! Watching streaming movies and your favorite TV shows on the go has just become a whole lot easier.

The fact that iPad supported Netflix right from the time the device was launched gave rise to discontentment as well as hope that other Apple devices would soon have the service too. And now you can download the Netflix app on your iPhone or iPod Touch and it works fine on both 3G plus Wi-Fi, despite AT&T’s reluctance to let some streaming apps work on 3G (Slingbox is a good example of that).

Apps such as Netflix should be good business for AT&T because its unlimited data plans have fewer takers these days.

Getting back to the Netflix app, the iPhone version supports fast-forward and rewind functions and also provides top-notch video quality. Usual features of Netflix, such as resuming where you stop a movie are available too. Moreover, if you start watching a movie on Netflix on your PC and pause it, you can resume watching it on your iPhone and iPod touch!

And even better news is that all versions of iOS from 3.1.3 upwards are supported and so, it’s not necessary for you to have the latest iOS 4.0.2 on your Apple device. Installation is quick, but make sure to reboot your device to make the app work smoothly.

The only drawback as far as the iPhone Netflix app is concerned is that you cannot manage your streaming queue, except for deleting items. Moreover, you have no access whatsoever to your disc queue.

But other than that this app should be a lot of fun for you, if you are a Netflix fan. Even if you are not, maybe now you have the chance to try one of the best streaming apps out there. And your iPhone and iTouch definitely becomes more entertaining with this!

Download Netflix from iTunes Store by clicking here!

You can read the original blog post here Download Netflix For iPhone and iPod Touch From iTunes Store.

The lack of a native Gmail app on the iPhone has been a major source of irritation for most users. If it was not for the mobile version of Gmail supported by Safari, many users would have simply flipped! The good news is that Gmail is being heavily revamped for the iPhone.

The current mobile Gmail is pretty good but clearly the people at Google want to give you better. If you load it up today, you may notice that the look and feel has changed, with a dark blue tinge and rounded buttons being the first to catch your eye. More importantly the position of buttons has been changed and keys have even been deleted! 

The header bar has now got just a ‘Menu’ and a large ‘Compose’ button along the unread messages counter. The ‘Search’ as well as the ‘Reload’ buttons are now not there anymore.

Probably the ‘reload’ button has been done away with because the new Gmail will be auto-loading and so you will not need to refresh the page for new emails which may have come in. This feature will come in really handy, because all web versions of Gmail refresh automatically between intervals and bring up new emails efficiently.

Another change you may notice is the presence of a new bar under the main menu bar, which houses the ‘archive’, ‘more’ and ‘delete’ options. Right now these options are only available when you select a particular mail.

Just remember that these changes are still being tested and so you yet may or may not be able to catch them together when you start up Gmail. But if these changes are affected soon, it will be great for users. In tandem with the recently announced Push Notification version of the Google mobile app, this should make using Gmail on the iPhone really easy.

Gmail has officially neither accepted nor denied that these changes are being tested and will soon be made available to users. The company maintains that it is ‘always experimenting’ in order to deliver upgrades and new products to users. But, given that Gmail has been redone for the iPad, can changes for the iPhone be far behind?

You can read the original blog post here Google’s New Gmail for the iPhone.

Contrary to rumors that had surfaced online very recently, the Apple iPhone 4 is still available without the two-year service contract. The rumors stated that AT&T and Apple had mutually decided not to offer iPhone 4 without contract. Everything from the possible advent of the iPhone on Verizon to AT&T’s urge to make more money out of the iPhone 4 was blamed for this.

But these rumors should end here because both AT&T and Apple continue to offer the iPhone 4 without a two year contract and basic handset pricing. The only thing is that this deal is only available offline. If you buy the iPhone 4 in person from an AT&T Wireless store or from an Apple store, you can get the iPhone4 without the contract.

However if you choose to have the phone shipped to your doorstep after an online purchase, you will need to accept the two-year contract with AT&T. The company (AT&T) has also clarified that this has always been the policy on the iPhone 4 and they are not sure from where these rumors surfaced.

So, why did people suddenly get an idea that Apple and AT&T have made such a ludicrous policy change? Probably it is the change in the iPhone FAQ page which prompted these ideas where it is written quite clearly that you cannot buy an iPhone without a contract.

But Apple is only referring its policy for the online store and has further clarified that these words have been there always and have not been changed in any way recently.

Pricing? If you buy an iPhone 4 without contract you pay $599 upfront for the 16GB version and $699 for the 32GB version. On the other hand if you opt for the AT&T contract, you can get the 16GB version for $199 and the 32GB version for $299. Of course you also have to pay as you use during the two year contract period.

There is a point of view that this AT&T contract is expensive, but then you don’t have much choice right now. Hopefully the speculation that the Verizon iPhone will be available in early 2011 comes true and you have a second option!

You can read the original blog post here You Can Still Buy iPhone 4 Without Contract At AT&T Wireless Store.