As expected, people were lined up way ahead of time and literally camped out overnight to ensure that they would become the proud owners of the “new” iPad the day of its release. Edmontonian John Winslow was no exception, arriving just after noon yesterday at the Apple Store at Southgate Centre.

Winslow arrived armed with 2 extra large Tim Horton’s coffees, his iPhone 4S, iPad 2, MacBook Pro and a lawn chair. The Apple Store staff, seeing his determination, had quickly acknowledged him, ensuring he was comfortable.

He was determined to make sure he didn’t go home empty handed, which happened once and almost twice.

He stood in line at West Edmonton Mall for the launch of the original iPad in 2010, but they were sold out by the time his turn had arrived.

Last March in 2011, as we covered here Canoe Tech Blog, Winslow a self-proclaimed geek decked out in his iPad 2 Vigil 2011 T-shirt along with his young friend Harley, the geek-in-training, almost experienced déjà vu. Originally planning on camping out at West Ed, at 3PM the day before, they soon discovered that they would not be able to stay overnight due to construction in the mall, so they bolted over to Southgate Centre and were 2^nd in line for the 5PM release.

He was not going to let this happen again this year, so he was willing to wait it out. He said there were about 20 people were there by midnight with the bulk starting to arrive around 5 AM. There were somewhere between 200-300 people just prior to the 8:00 early opening.

Winslow already owns an iPad 2, but the new iPad is what he wants.

Talking About the Resolution

“For two reasons,” he says. “The Retina display for his old eyes and a way better resolution on the camera… it’s now more like that on the iPhone.”

He joked about also wanting one because it said “New” – pointing to the sign at the entrance to the Apple Store, “but it doesn’t!”

He was also hoping that he would have been able to get his iPad on Wednesday, as he celebrated is 48^th birthday, but was happy nonetheless

With his huge presence on Twitter as @SirThinks he has a number of followers standing in line to get his used iPad 2, but it’s already been spoken for.

Worth the Wait

After a long 20-hour wait Winslow was warmly welcomed into the store with a handshake and a plethora of loud and excited Apple Store staff. Just minutes later he emerged with his new 64GB iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G.

He’ll be busy playing with it, but only after he goes home and gets a few ZZZZZZs.  However, as I write this story, I can still see him on-line tweeting about his new iPad and thanking those who braved the mall with him.

This article was origionally published at canoetech .

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has left us at the very young age of 56 years old. The genius and mastermind behind the second most profitable business of all time, one spot behind Exxon (the world’s largest oil company) has left a massive legacy behind him. Steve Jobs started Apple Computers with long-time friend and college classmate Steve Wozniak.

Although their relationship is noted as not also as have been smooth, Wozniak said that it was essentially the way Steve Jobs was right from the beginning. Jobs wouldn’t let anything get in the way of what he was trying to achieve and pushed for others to aim for that high of a level of perfectness. This attitude revolutionized the world with the release of the first iPod that shocked people across the world.

Not only did the concept of holding thousands of songs in the palm of your hand seem shocking, but with it beings something as aesthetically pleasing as the iPod changed the game forever. This was the first time we witnessed, but definitely not the last, the Apple effect. People were queuing up for block and blocks and the creation of the highly criticized and laughed at Apple Store helped Apple achieve an incredible image.

No one had ever imagined Apple being successful with such a strange undertaking like the operation of a retail store as the overhead costs alone scared most companies back into the warehouse. However for Steve Jobs and Apple, a perfectly designed product, with an aesthetic perfectness, combined with, arguably, one of the best marketing campaigns of all time was a recipe for success.

Steve Jobs and Apple repeated this combination for success again with future generations of the iPod, then with the first commercially successful touch-screen smartphone, the iPhone. They also literally created their own industry to dominate in with the creation of the iPad.

Steve Jobs will be deeply missed by myself and our staff as he was the definite captain of the ship we try and control the reigns of every single day. We vow by Apple’s superior products and feel as though a part of him lives on in every single product he’s made and Apple will create in the future.

RIP Steve Jobs

This article was origionally published at iphone5rumours.com .

October 5^th, 2011 will truly go down as a sad day in history. It’s a day when the world lost an incredible human being, a creative mind and an inspiration to the world. We lost a person whose creations and actions have not only revolutionized an industry, but also impacted the lives of many people around the world along the way, including me.

Meeting Steve Jobs

I had the great fortune of meeting Steve Jobs in February 1986 at a joint conference of ACE/YEO (Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs & Young Entrepreneurs Organization) in Universal City, California (L.A.), where they were honouring the top 100 entrepreneurs of the year, for 1985.

The theme of the conference was “Catching Your Second Wind, ” and of course, Steve Jobs was the top honouree. He even wore a tie that day.

Steve gave an inspiring, motivational and impactful speech centering on Entrepreneurship. And while I don’t recall the entire speech, one quote has stuck with me ever since.

“Use your mind, but follow your heart,” Steve said.

Steve was quite popular with the crowd, especially the ladies. But it was the brochure from our newly minted Young Executives Club from the University of Alberta in Edmonton that earned me a few minutes to chat with Steve.  In particular, he was interested in the fonts we were using. Typography is something that was always near and dear to him.

Steve Changed Lives

That day, Steve made quite an impression on me and it changed my life forever. As a visionary, he inspired me to “Think Different,” ahead of its time and take that next step sooner rather than later. I returned  home, bought a MacPlus, a dot matrix Imagewriter II and an external 800k floppy drive that April, graduated and started my own business that August. I’ve just recently celebrated 25 years as an entrepreneur.  Thanks Steve!

Working on the conference’s theme, Steve certainly helped Apple catch its second wind.  In the late 90’s things looked gloomy for Apple, but his return to the company he founded and the introduction of the colourful diskless bondi-blue iMac was the turning point and the start of great things to come – the iPod, the iPhone, iPad and more.

CANOE

Coincidentally, I recall, I wrote an article on the iMac and Apple’s resurgence, which appeared in the Edmonton Sun and if my memory serves me correctly, was also one of my first contributions to CANOE. Now we’re going way back!

As a writer, I’ve also followed Apple ever since and continued to be inspired. I joined Toastmasters in 2002 to improve my public speaking skills, but it was in fact seeing Steve present his keynote, at the opening of MacWorld Expo 2006, as Steve does with great charisma & flair that further inspired me.  I was challenged and encouraged to take my words on entrepreneurship, gadgets  and of course Apple, from the written page out to being in front of audiences.

One More Thing….

24 years later, I had an opportunity to say Thank You! It was at the Apple Fall Event 2010.  Everyone wanted Steve’s attention, but he was also well protected by his entourage. I approached, got as close as I could and blurted, “Steve, I met you at a conference almost 25 years ago and I just wanted to say thank you,” and briefly uttered why.

“Which conference was that?” He asked, and was briskly brushed away. However, he did turn, grinned, nodded slightly in acknowledgement and his lips motioned what I thought were the words, “I’m glad.”

Insanely Great

Those words, that grin, that look will forever be an emblazoned image in my mind.

Steve, you were a visionary and I was happy to have met you. Thank you for helping me “Think Different.”

I’m only one person. I can only imagine the stories of the millions of others you have touched in the short time you have been on this earth.

Steve, on behalf of the world, thanks for your inspiration, motivation, leadership and dedication to mankind.

You did what you said you wanted to do, “put a ding in the universe,” and you did, and then some!

The world is a better place because of you, Steve Jobs!

We’ll miss you. Rest in Peace.

This article was origionally published at canoetech .

There is little that can be said that hasn’t already been said more eloquently by those who were closest to him.

Steve Jobs changed the way people interact with computers. He changed what people expect of software, hardware, and how the two can become one. He changed music. He invented the modern smartphone. He challenged the very way we perceive the world around us.

Really, he changed the world.

Within sight of where I type this, on my home computer, there are at least a dozen pieces of technology that he and his company invented. I write on an iMac. The touch technology on the mouse I’m using was first developed for the iPhone. My wife’s iPad is on the coffee table. A Mac Mini is playing music through our television. My iPod Touch is charging and iTunes is updating music, photos and videos on it. A Macbook is sitting idly on the couch.

What Steve Jobs created was more than a technology company. He invented a way of interacting with technology that transcended geek culture and became second nature before we even had to learn it. To do that, more than anything, he understood people.

It was his deep and unflinching humanity, his understanding of how people live their lives and what they want, which drove his often-cited obsession with perfection. He ignored the tech bloggers. He ignored those who wanted to pack more technology into devices for the sake of boosting specs. He ignored what everyone else knew to be true and forged his own path, focusing all his energy entirely on customers he didn’t even have yet. He saw the future, and knew with astounding clarity where we were going.

Steve Jobs understood people. He loved his job. He affected the lives of millions of and changed countless industries forever.

“Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple,” are the closing words on Apple’s website this evening.

I didn’t know him. I never met him. But I know that he was a good man, a caring man, a passionate man, and that the world is better for him having lived.

This article was origionally published at canoetech .

Is the iPhone 5 still in sight?

So as we all now know, Apple held their famous product-release conference and to the disappointment of many of us, there was no iPhone 5 released.

Don’t get us wrong, the iPhone 4S looks like a pretty incredible phone: it has a dual-core processor that will make doing virtually anything on the iPhone much faster, a 8MP camera for much better photos and a handful of other internal upgrades.

But that exactly seems to be the issue for many people who have been patiently waiting for over a year now for Apple’s next iPhone.

The iPhone 5 rumors mostly pointed at two iPhones being released by Apple during the conference and since Apple stated that the conference would only run for approximately 1.5 hours, most people realized that there would be no iPhone 5 about half-way through.

iPhone 5 May Arrive Much Sooner Than Most Anticipate

So, when will this wild iPhone 5 finally show itself to the public? Well, it actually might be much sooner than you think. Apple, for the first time, released the iPhone 4S to the public in their own building instead of at a massive conference center of some sort.

Apple must clearly know that the iPhone 4S wouldn’t be the biggest deal to most people hoping for a completely revolutionized iPhone 5 and could be waiting for a later date to release it.

Some people say that the iPhone 5 will be released as soon as next week, with other pointing at it being nearer to the Holiday Shopping season.

Whatever it is, we still feel that the iPhone 5 will be arriving much sooner than we expect it to be.

Also, if you’ve been looking to access our Facebook group recently and couldn’t, it’s because Facebook has taken it to themselves to remove the page for some reason without any notification. They claim that the page will return, however, so stay tuned.

This article was origionally published at iphone5rumours.com .

Apple has a tradition of typically having a music event each Fall and while we thought it might be a miss this year as all eyes and ears seemed to be focusing on the pending iPhone announcement, there was in fact news on the iPod front.There were no substantial redesigns, but there were some enhancements, colour changes and price adjustments that are well worth noting.

iPod nano

The iPod nano now features larger icons, which makes it much easier to navigate though its multi-touch display.  We often see many people wearing their nano on their wrist as a digital watch and to that end, Apple has added 16 new digital clock faces so you can wear a new “nano” watch every day of the week. Some of those new faces range from your tried and true traditional analog design to Disney inspired watch faces that include Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

For the athletic types out there, the new nano now allows you to track your runs and walks without the need for sensors that you have to keep in your shoe. And for guys like me who struggle to keep fit, the nano provides voice feedback  (or at least tries) to keep you motivated – in 7 different languages, to boot.

The iPod nano is available, now. It comes in 7 colours: silver, graphite, blue, green, orange, pink and red, with a new lower price in Canada of $129 for 8GB and  $149 for 16GB.

iPod touch

The iPod touch, which was available only in black, now also comes in white. It will also run Apple iOS 5 when it’s released on October 12^th and will be able to take advantage of some of the new features in iOS 5 like iMessage (over Wi-Fi) and Notifications. It will also work with Apple’s cloud services, called iCloud, which can automatically store your content and wirelessly push it and sync it with all your other devices.

(For more details on Apple iOS 5, check out – Apple iOS 5 jam-packed with new features, previously posted here at Canoe Tech Blog)

The good news for consumers is that it’s shipping now and the entry-level iPod touch has broken below the $200 barrier.  Prices are as follows: 8Gb $199, 32GB $299 and 64GB $399.

iPod shuffle & classic

The iPod shuffle, which was $59, has dropped to $49.  And the 160GB iPod classic, which uses a high-capacity traditional hard drive mechanism rather than flash memory used in all the other iPods, which I thought would be added to the Apple museum, seems to have a continued lease on life.

Since the iPod was rolled out 10 years ago, Apple has sold over 320 million units.

This article was origionally published at canoetech .

When Apple announced its fall event, they said, “Let’s talk iPhone.” Many of us anticipated the announcement of the iPhone 5, but it was over 50 minutes into the presentation before any discussion of a new iPhone of any sort was muttered. But when the dust settled, a new iPhone emerged–the iPhone 4S.

More than a new iPhone 4

Speculation had a possible 4S as a watered down model for the prepaid market. Not so, it’s more! If anything, it’s a souped-up iPhone 4. The new iPhone 4S is based on the same form factor as a current model. It features a dual-core Apple A5 chip making it up to 2 times faster than the previous model. The graphics chip is also dual core yielding up to 7 times faster performance than its predecessor as witnessed by a demonstration of the upcoming Infinity Blade II, available December 1^st.

The iPhone 4S also incorporates changes to the iPhone’s built-in antenna system, improving call quality & reliability using a new system to switch intelligently between the transmitting and receiving antennas.

Even with higher performance processor and graphics, battery life is now rated at a respectable 8 hours of 3G talk time, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing or 10 hours of video.

Another smart move was making the new iPhone, a “World” phone, meaning that one model is equipped with both CDMA and GSM capabilities, so the same phone can run on multiple network types, in various countries, subject to carrier approval.

Enhanced 8-megapixel camera

One of its most visible new features is the incorporation of an 8-megapixel sensor (3264 x 2448) camera, offering 60% more pixels than before. Now this isn’t just the same old camera with a larger sensor, it’s been totally redesigned.

It’s equipped with an f/2.4 5-element lens assembly, offering a 30% sharper pick-up. It also features a backside illuminated CMOS sensor, allowing 73% more light to hit it, which has a significant impact, especially in low light conditions. They’ve also  added a hybrid IR filter for greater accuracy & uniformity of colours as well as a new signal image processor, offering a 26% better white balance and capturing images 33% faster than before.  The iPhone 4S can whip off its first picture in 1.1 seconds and only 0.5 seconds for the 2^nd.

The new camera is face detection enabled, so it can recognize people in your photos.

There’s no doubt that Apple is certainly going after the point and shoot market as well as bringing competition to the cameras found in higher end Android-based smartphones.

There’s more.  Video has also been enhanced with the 4S offering 1080p HD video recording, noise reduction and image stabilization.

iPhone 4S has also added Airplay Mirroring, a featured found on the iPad, so you can enjoy your videos and games on a larger screen, with the option of doing so wired or wirelessly.

Siri – Your Intelligent Assistant

The iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, a new feature, currently in BETA, as “your intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.”  It understands context, so you can give it commands in natural language and can either comply, reply or both.

If you ask it if it will rain in Toronto today or “do I need an umbrella for the weekend?”  that you are looking for a weather forecast in your location.   You can tell it to wake you up at 7AM. It will say “ok “and set your alarm for that time. You can even ask it to look up something in Wikipedia.

Siri also does dictation, taking a page from Dragon, allowing you for example, to compose text messages hands-free.

Siri is available in English (US, UK & Aussie localised), French and German.

Shipping Simultaneously in U.S. & Canada

The iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order on October 7^th and will ship on October 14^th. Interestingly enough, it will ship in Canada, US as well as France, Germany, Australia, UK and Japan on the same day. Now that’s a first!

It will be available in black or white and will run on Apple iOS 5, which by the way will be available as a free download for all current iOS devices, October 12^th.

Two-year contract pricing for the iPhone 4S in the US will be 16GB $199, 32GB $299 and 64GB $399.  The iPhone 4 will drop to $99 and the iPhone 3GS will be free with contract.

No Canadian pricing is available yet. However, Apple Canada’s website shows the iPhone 4S, unlocked, I presume, “from $649CDN.”

Bottom Line

My knee jerk reaction at first was that I was a little disappointed that there was no iPhone 5, but after seeing the iPhone 4S, now, not so much so. While it’s not totally redesigned, it is significantly enhanced.  First, it’s much faster, and faster is always good. It’s a world phone offering flexibility on various networks. The new camera, might just be a reason to leave your point and shoot at home and Siri could make open the doors for some huge 3^rd party development opportunities as more people embrace smartphones and as distracted driving laws become more prominent.

So should you get one? If you don’t have an iPhone, yes! If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, then probably. If you have an iPhone 4, but are still on contract, you might need to weigh the value of the enhancements – speed, enhanced camera and Siri & versus the payout on your old one.  And for world travelers, the iPhone 4S may be your answer!

This article was origionally published at canoetech .

Hulu Coming On Your iPhone 5 Soon?

According to a recent report by Bloomgberg, Apple is currently involved in considering the highly acclaimed online video player Hulu.Hulu, which is currently only available in the United States, is a popular online video player that offers the viewing of top shows for free.

The company was initially under a lot of fire from industry leaders for getting into the streaming of prime-time television shows, but has grown to be a quite essential part of the industry over time.

This goes in accordance with recent rumors and reports suggesting that Apple is already in the process of developing a TV platform called Apple TV which Hulu would be perfect for as well.

Report: Apple Looking To Acquire Hulu

Apple’s recent financial records show that the company has a whopping $76 billion in the bank and we guess the company realized that it may be time to treat itself to a couple luxuries that would also grow the company to even larger extents; especially if the reports around Apple TV are true.

A couple months ago, Apple was rumored to be looking into the acquisition of Netflix, but those reports have been, for the most part, debunked ever since.

Hulu has apparently been up for private sale for quite a few months now and companies interested in its acquisition now include Google.

This acquisition would be a massive addition to Apple’s already fully-loaded stock of tech-products and would flow perfectly with all of their media-centric abilities. Imagine being able to watch the latest episode of Glee or The Office from your Macbook, iPad or iPhone virtually on demand .

There hasn’t been too much iPhone 5 news for the past couple days, but we thought that this is still interesting enough to post.

Incoming search terms:

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This article was origionally published at iphone5rumours.com .

iPhone 5 Conceptualization

According to a tech-analyst from the Wall Street journal, Apple is expected to announce two new iPhones to the public. The tentative date is currently set at October 4th, but that day is just what many analysts are predicting. Many other analysts are pointing at a mid-October launch of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, but what’s increasingly certain is that they will release two models of the iPhone.

Apple is, apparently, going to sell the iPhone 4S smartphone for cheaper than $150 with a wireless subsidy which means that they’ll probably sell it for roughly 300-350 at the Apple Store with no strings or contracts attached.

The analyst from the Wall Street Journal, Chris Whitmore, believes that the cheaper iPhone 4S is Apple’s attempt to break into the low to mind ranged smartphone market that Android phones have been dominating for quite some time.

Many people are also already discussing the iPhone 6 and what Apple has prepared for that, but most opinions are purely speculative at this point.

The mid-range smartphone market has much higher sales than the premium-smartphone market, so many shareholders are speculating a jump in their revenue and thus holding on to their Apple stocks as well.

The iPhone 5 on the other hand is expected to be completely redesigned despite what many analysts stated would be an iPhone with modest upgrades that would mainly be internal as well.

This article was origionally published at iphone5rumours.com .

Gizmodo recently got their hands on an iPhone 4S that was created in Foxconn’s factory in Brazil. We’re wondering whether or not the iPhone 5 will be also produced in Brazil or whether it will be made in the usual group of Asian countries that have produced the iPhone 5 in the past.

Let us know what you think!

iPhone 4S…now where will the iPhone 5 be made?

This article was origionally published at iphone5rumours.com .