iPhone 6: what you want to see

The new screen is a lovely thing, but its extra height isn't ideal for smaller hands

It seems that for many people, the iPhone 5 is a disappointment - so what's missing? We asked for your suggestions and scoured the online reviews, and the results are below: it's your ultimate iPhone 6 wish list.

iPhone 6: design

Many of you weren't sold on the iPhone 5's design. For some of you the taller screen was odd - it "looks strange at best," said nebulaoperator - and for others it simply wasn't big enough.

Lions87a reckons even 4.5 inches would be too little: "popular phones like the Galaxy S2 and S3 have shown that people are pretty happy nowadays to accept bigger than what the iPhone 5 is currently offering."

Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, influential tech journalist Andy Ihnatko suggests that taller isn't necessarily better. "The benefit of bigger screens is almost entirely in their increased width, not their length," he writes. "A wider keyboard is easier to type on. Books, web pages, and emails will have wider margins and they'll be more comfortable to read."

John Gruber of Daring Fireball agrees that bigger isn't always better, but he's not a fan of wider, either: while he says that "navigating the full screen while holding the iPhone in one hand is worse," rivals' wider screens mean it "really is far more difficult to do anything on them one-handed, including typing."

iPhone 6: processor

No surprises here: we had plenty of people telling us that rival firms' processors have more cores. However, as Lions87a pointed out, "If the iPhone 5 or Nokia 920 can run their OS without any lag or delay, and delivers a flawless experience, and the Galaxy S3 does the same with a quad-core, then the number of cores, and the speed of the cores is irrelevant. The argument turns into 'which operating system is best?'"

Did someone say operating system?

iPhone 6: operating system

iOS has been around for a while, and for many it's getting stale. "I don't think anyone can deny that the

UI needs a refresh when you see widgets and live tiles on competitors' phones," says Vincennes, while Tubemonkey2000 says that "the current [UI] is so tired and old it makes it seem really basic, sort of like a kids' toy."

Our own Gareth Beavis agrees, arguing that "there are so many tweaks Apple could make to its OS to turn it into more of a powerhouse – icons that update with information, or extending the widgets in the notification bar beyond weather and stocks... Apple is taking things very slowly on this front."

iPhone 6: price

iPhones have never been cheap, but in a world of credible - and cheaper - competition they look pricier than ever. Or maybe it's because the iPhone's price has gone up. Saltire is "surprised no-one has mentioned the price increase for the 16GB model", while Gareth Beavis says that "we simply cannot see how a 16GB model can cost £529 / $199, but to double the memory will cost an extra £70/ $100 with no other changes to the design."

There's no doubt that you pay more for the materials, fit and finish of an iPhone than you do for, say, a plasticky Android handset, and not everyone thinks that's worth it.

"£529 for a phone that is no better than my six month old Android shows the arrogance of Apple," Alastairmack says, while Beavis points out that when you consider contracts, "it's far and away the most expensive in the shop, and most of the time you don't even get unlimited data."

iPhone 6: features

NFC has, possibly unfairly, been dubbed "Not For Commerce" (or more saltily, "No Effing Customers"), but for many it's the most obvious omission from the iPhone 5 - "not because of the technology itself," says Fmartins, "but to really give the critical mass contactless payments need. Plus, I would love to use the phone as my Oyster card."

For Fmartins, that would be good for everyone: while s/he isn't an iPhone fan, "it would have been nice seeing Apple push the envelope again so that I could benefit on [a] Lumia down the line." Gareth Beavis agrees. "It's not quite there yet in terms of market penetration for payments, but the world's largest network of accessories could definitely have made use of it for making ever cooler docks and cases," he says.

Other suggestions included more LTE bands, which we're sure we'll get next year when other UK 4G networks launch; expandable storage - not something we imagine Apple doing when it can flog you iTunes Match and/or get you to pay a small fortune for the 32GB model over the 16GB - and brighter, more saturated screens, although given the improvements to the iPhone 5's screen that one's largely a personal preference. Oh, and of course you'd like Apple to fix Maps too.

Maps has the potential to be a superb and very useful app, but it needs some work

iPhone 6: reception

No, not antennas - they seem fine this time - but the critical reception. As Lusky79 says, even without cock-ups such as Maps, any new iPhone is going to be disappointing: "Even if Apple had all the suggestions [here], it would still seem mediocre because the revolution was the original iPhone and the other, similar, smartphones that followed." As Nenslo put it: "What the iPhone really needs is Steve Jobs."

Anything else?

Hit the comments to add your wishes for the next iPhone.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-6-what-you-want-to-see-1099865

Read More

AT&T to launch trial run of text-to-911 service

Ideal for many emergency situations where a call isn't an option, AT&T is testing the text-to-911 service prior to a major network launch.

Detailed within a press release earlier today, AT&T and representatives within the state of Tennessee are joining forces to start testing emergency 911 texting before a nationwide launch of the useful feature. In order to enable the new text-to-911 service, all 911 text messages from AT&T customers will be routed through Tennessee’s Emergency Service IP Network (ESInet) and send to emergency call centers around the state. As the new feature undergoes significant testing, AT&T and the state will get a better understanding of how useful the text-to-911 service is for the public in addition to measuring how efficient call center operators will be at handling the flow and distribution of emergency messages. AT&T hopes to develop a set of rules and standards that will help guide emergency call centers within other states. 

This new service will be particularly helpful for anyone that’s physically lost the ability to vocalize their emergency with a traditional voice call through 911 emergency services. In addition, the hearing impaired community will be able to communicate problems vastly quicker with a text message through the text-to-911 service.

Another scenario where a text-to-911 service would be vital would be a home invasion. A young child hiding within the home could easily text the emergency to 911 in order to avoid making any noise by speaking during a typical voice call. In addition, a text-to-911 service could be particularly helpful for customers that get poor voice reception in a remote area and have significant problems with dropped calls.

During August 2011, the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to push forward on the text-to-911 service and include the ability to send photos and videos to call center operators. A year prior to that, the FCC has started the initial planning on the project, namely because of the tragic shootings on the Virginia Tech campus. Apparently students were sending text messages to 911 during the shootings, but call centers weren’t equipped to receive the messages.

When asked about the trial run of the text-to-911 service, AT&T Business Solutions VP of Public Safety Solutions Mel Coker stated “AT&T is committed to working with standard bodies, national, state, and local public safety organizations to determine how best to integrate SMS text messages and other advanced communications into future 9-1-1 systems and wireless networks. This trial will be vital in evaluating Text to 9-1-1 solutions with the goal of providing reliable, universal access for our customers.”

Announced during May 2012, Verizon is also working toward providing a text-to-911 service to customers. Verizon customers will simply need a wireless phone capable of sending messages in addition to the wireless service plan that supports text messaging. Based off prior plans, Verizon representatives will launch the new feature within several major metropolitan areas during the first half of 2013 prior to launching the feature across the entire nation. A future planned addition to the text-to-911 service is the ability to automatically include a link to the user’s location. However, the phone would have to utilize a built-in GPS chip in order to relay that specific information to emergency services. 

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/att-launch-trial-run-of-text-to-911-service/

Read More