Categories
Interviews

Macworld 2011 and Paul Kent, VP of Macworld


As we began the countdown until Macworld 2011, we were lucky enough to interview Paul Kent, the current VP of Macworld. If you’re not familiar with Macworld, Macworld is a four day celebration that entertains and educates Apple aficionados. Macworld showcases cool software, hardware and accessories to go with your favorite Apple devices. Though Apple left the signature event in San Francisco, Macworld 2011 has still increased the amount of attendees. Kent said there should be about an increase of 25% of last year – awesome.When I say I can’t wait for Macworld, I really mean it. I found out last year that Macworld Expo has an enormous amount of Mac enthusiast like myself and The Real Mac Genius.com team. The people that when watching a keynote, they start saying, “Steve, you did it again. I liked the last thing but really you out did yourself (again).” The people that are enthusiasts of Apple and the “Mac lifestyle”, and who love to see what’s next. However, if you did not know, Macworld Expo is not the latest and greatest from Apple, but from all the great companies that have one main goal, make the Mac better for the user.

From Apps to Add-ons, many vendors are there to show you what they’ve got. The two main vendors I am looking forward to seeing are Code Weavers, and TUAW. Code Weavers had an application to bring all your games and applications from the PC – oh Windows to your Mac. TUAW is one of our favorite sites at TRMG.

Another thing we are excited to see is the Mobile App Showcase. Macworld offers the unique opportunity to meet with developers of applications that you use in your daily life. Macworld offers the Mobile App Showcase. The Mobile App Showcase truly allows you to meet the developer who created the app you love on your iPhone or iPad. Last year was when Macworld first implemented the showcase, but this year the showcase is about twice as big as last year, and will most likely be just as packed as last year, with lots of developers showing off apps that are in the App Store and a few showing awesome new apps that may not have even hit the App Store yet.

If your looking for something to do during January 26-29, come by the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Macworld is the place to converse with other Apple fans like yourself. And, if you happen to see The Real Mac Genius.com roaming the Expo floor, stop by and say “Hi.” We hope to see y’all there!

Categories
News

16% of AT&T users willing to jump to Verizon. Good or Bad idea?

Finally, all the talk about Verizon getting the iPhone4 has come. The date is not set but it is true that it is coming to Verizon. Reports have said that it is coming out this month. Verizon will be thankful that the iPhone4 is finally coming to them. This means that Verizon will get many new customers because so many AT&T customers have complained about the call quality and such. Reports say that 16% of AT&T customers wouldn’t mind switching over to Verizon. The main reason is that Verizon has better 3G coverage, less dropped calls, and price. AT&T makes new customers pay for a certain amount of data. Instead of giving unlimited data, you have to pay a certain amount for a certain amount of data. Verizon still gives unlimited data but maybe AT&T will change that just to get customers back. Verizon has better 3G coverage even though AT&T has faster 3G. Also Verizon has less dropped calls, 2%, compare to AT&T’s 6% of dropped calls. AT&T is slowly improving on their dropped calls rate but it isn’t even close to Verizon’s. AT&T users have continually complained about the poor reception and dropped calls. Is it really AT&T’s fault because many reports have also said that the iPhone itself has poor signal and quality? Maybe you should think first about switching over.

I am currently with AT&T and I can’t say anything bad about it. I haven’t had that many dropped calls compared to many other people out there. There is a reason to why certain people get dropped calls more than others. It depends on where you are including the amount of people your around. Certainly when you’re in a large business meeting and everybody is on their phone, you will get a dropped call. Verizon has said that their network has enough power to hold all the new iPhone users. If more users switch over to Verizon, maybe AT&T will have less dropped calls because less people will be using less 3G. Look for Verizon to have more dropped calls. Anything can happen this late in the game and the challenge has definitely been thrown down. I personally do not think that it’s worth it to switch over to Verizon. It’s too much of a hassle and AT&T has proven itself to fix the problems that customers complain about. I say wait until more reports come out about Verizon’s iPhone and then make your decision.

Categories
News Uncategorized

10 billion App Downloads Countdown, here we go!

10 billion apps, WOW. That is one of the words that can describe this feat that Apple accomplished and it will be here shortly. 10 billion apps is such an amazing feat that Apple is going to give $10,000.00 in iTunes gift card to the 10 billionth app downloader. All you need to do is have any iPod that is able to download apps, find an app for you, download it and hope that you are the 10 billionth winner. It is all luck but hey, I wouldn’t mind having an extra $10,000.00 at my disposable. The accomplishments that Apple has created are incredible. From the first app ever downloaded until now, Apple has dominated this industry. Apps are commonly found on many devices now, but Apple is certainly the one that has created this booming industry. 10 billion apps downloaded are just unthinkable now. We all think that it must have been ages ago that the 1 billion app was ever downloaded. That happened on April 23, 2009, only two years ago. That really isn’t to long compare too many other accomplishments. With many new apps that come out every day, it isn’t a huge surprise that more apps are being downloaded faster then ever. Since the billionth app was downloaded, apps are being downloaded so much faster now. It only took six more months for the 2 billionth app to be downloaded. That is four times as faster than it took for the 1 billionth to be downloaded.

Many more people are buying iPods which means that many more consumers will be downloading apps. This also means that there have to be a lot of great minds out there. It takes a lot of work to create an app and a lot more of luck for the app to be successful. With the strict rules and regulations that Apple has on app designers, I’m surprised there are so many designers. I am extremely glad that there are though, I love playing a new app every day. From the textfree designers to the cut the rope designers, there is an app for everybody. My favorite app is The Weather Channel app. It gives me instant access to hourly weather reports, 10 day weather, and I love the severe weather. It lets me know what to be careful of especially storms. If this is my favorite app, what’s your favorite app?

Categories
News

The Verizon iPhone

The Verizon iPhone

The Verizon iPhone

The Verizon iPhone. We’ve all heard rumors of it. We’ve all fantasized about having it. And now it’s finally here.

The rumors of the Verizon iPhone have been in circulation for as long as I can remember, but now all of the dreams of Verizon customers stuck with Android phones have come true. Sure, it’s great that it runs on Verizon, but how is it different than the AT&T version? Well, there’s a few added features that might make Verizon customer’s mouth’s water. First off, the antenna of the Verizon iPhone is in a different configuration than the AT&T version. Apple claims that this was just because CDMA phones need different antenna configurations, but it also conveniently solves the problem created by “The Grip of Death“. The new antenna design results in the volume and mute buttons being moved slightly up, making iPhone cases for the AT&T version incompatible with the Verizon iPhone. The phone, which runs iOS 4.2.5, also comes with a “personal hotspot” feature, which allows your phone to become a mobile hotspot for up to 5 devices at a time. This feature has been available to iPhone users who jailbroke their iPhone and downloaded MyWi, but now is available without the large price (19.99 through Cydia) or the risks of jailbreaking your device. This feature may not become available to AT&T customers, as the company has made statements in the past saying they will not allow Wi-Fi tethering. The Verizon iPhone will not run on Verizon’s newly unveiled 4G LTE network for now, so we will have to wait for the iPhone 5 for an iPhone that runs on a 4G network.

The Verizon iPhone can be pre-ordered by current Verizon companies February 3rd, and becomes available February 10th. It will cost $200 for the 16GB model on a 2 year contract, and $300 for the 32GB.

Categories
Reviews

Big games coming to small devices, technology is great!

Look at that game on Xbox! What amazing graphics and detail it has. Look at that game on the iTouch, is that even a head? These big game designers have been a hit on the Xbox, PS3, or Wii, but how about the iPods? Need for Speed has been one of the hottest racing games in the App. Store. I have Need for Speed Shift and let me just say, it is quite stunning. I love playing the game because it is very exciting and suspenseful. For quite some times, I thought that these five dollar games weren’t worth it. I thought what the upside can be to these five dollar games compared to the .99 cent ones. The first ever high end game I ever bought was Home Run 3D, I have never looked back on the game. The 3D affect on the game lets me know why I paid a little bit more to get this game. The graphics were literally stunning and you get more out of your money, usually you would read the reviews before you buy a five dollar game compared to a .99 cent game. I know for a fact that the .99 cent games are really addicting, but you don’t get the full advantage of the game. Sure it comes with levels here and there, but with a three to five dollar game, you get so much more. Take Street Fighter 4, what an incredible game. It comes with many characters and you get the ability to play head to head with your friend. Street Fighter is surely one of those games that you have to have the money willing to spend it on, but once you do, man will it blow you away. I got addicted to that game the minute I bought. The only reason I have to stop playing is to do homework and once I’m done, right back to the game.

I’m not necessarily saying don’t buy the .99 cent games, I’m just saying, you get so much more out of the five dollar games. Sure many will say the graphics aren’t as good as the Xbox or PS3, but take a look at the difference in size and resolution. Many players with an Xbox will be playing with an HDMI cable with an HD T.V. Let alone you are also playing with a game that takes up about 9 GB of your memory compared to 100-300 MB. What can you really expect between the graphics of the two devices? One is handheld and the other is made for large T.V. screens. They also take a longer time to load and once you load it, your amusement is already gone. I believe that the designers of these games have done a really good job in promoting and making the game the best they can. It is not easy to bring such a big profile game from the T.V. screen to a handheld device. You have to be precise in order to get the dimensions correct and I applaud the developers for making my boring days fun. I can’t wait to be able to buy another new game from a high profile game designer.

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