Outline: The Education Apple - episode 21

“The show that discusses Apple technology in the formal Classroom as well as in the classroom of our daily lives”

1. The Cast

• Barrett Mosbacker, Superintendent of Briarwood Christian School, publisher Christian School Journal

• Bill Brazeal, Technical Architect, Technology Specialist and Principal - ezNet Solutions

2. Technology Review

• iPhone 5c and 5s Announcement Review

  • The 5c

    • Speculation to gain market share beyond high end  US, Japan, and parts of Europe

    • Very similar to current iPhone 5 but much different look

    • Pricing - some disappointed that its not priced lower

      • Apple wants customers that add value to their ecosystem and will spend money

      • In the US market the lowest-priced iPhone with a new two year contract is $99

      • In other markets Apple does not set the price of the phone

      • iPhone’s web consumption (data) is the undisputed leader when it comes to driving data usage on carrier networks

      • Apple for the first time included China as a launch day country

    • Interesting Colors and Cases

      • (PRODUCT) RED merchandise - Every day more than 900 babies are born with HIV. A percentage of gross profits from the sale of those products goes to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS programs in Africa. Since its introduction, (PRODUCT) RED has generated more than $190 million — more than $50 million from Apple alone — for the Global Fund

The 5s

• A7 64-bit processor - headroom for the future

  • It runs both 32 bit (virtualized) and 64 bit apps

  • Speed improvements (Apple claims 2x over current A6) - helps with photo, video, security (fingerprint recognition), encryption

  • Whatever Apple is planning with the A7, don't expect to see any real benefits until iOS8, if then. What the iPhone 5s (and any future A7-based iPads) is, is a "get the hardware out there" play

• The M7 coprocessor

  • It collects and keeps all motion data on the device - measures motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass

  • Strong complement to the new A7 processor

  • Helps save battery power by offloading tasks from the A7

  • M7 knows when you’re walking, running, driving, or even sleeping (while not moving - M7 reduces network pinging to spare your battery)

  • It will let an iPhone 5S do everything a Nike Fuelband or Fitbit does, and much, much more

  • No real Privacy concern - M7 is only storing that your iPhone is moving and how vigorously, in which direction, and its orientation - no location info

  • Could be laying the foundation for future mobile computing - iWatch...

• Upgrades to the Camera

  • More people take pictures with the iPhone than any other camera

  • 8 “Quality” megapixels - enlarged from 1.4 to 1.5 microns to present more surface area for photons to strike

  • This will improve color saturation and reduce noise (or grain) levels in images

  • 33% increase in overall light sensitivity

  • The lens has an f2.2 aperture, which is a 1/4 stop improvement over the iPhone 5’s f2.4 aperture - Better low-light abilities

  • Autofocus matrix metering with 15 focus zones. This is a common feature on DLSR cameras - reduces errors in auto-exposure and auto-focus

  • New multi-shot feature, which takes several exposures and then picks the sharpest one (happens automatically)

  • The dual-LED flash - providing light of a more accurate color (The True Tone flash has both an amber and a white LED - balances the foreground ‘faces’ with the background ambient light.

  • The burst mode is a pretty standard 10 frames per second but Apple says you can capture ‘hundreds’ of images in a row without stopping is something worth noting

  • Slo-mo 120 frames per second impressive - shows off light-gathering capability of the new sensor and the sheer brute strength of Apple’s A7 image signal processor

  • Apple says “It just makes more sense to teach iPhone how to take a great picture rather than teach people how to be expert photographers.”

• New Touch ID

  • Apple bought Authentec (small biometrics firm) some reports they were in talks with Samsung to provide them sensors

  • 500 pixels per inch makes it very precise

  • Steel ring around button lets sensor know when to activate to scan

  • Unlock phone and make iTunes purchases

  • Security concern - Fingerprint data is only stored on phone, not iCloud

  • Only on the 5s currently - within next 18 months all iOS devices

  • This technology could make its way into many other Mac hardware products - Apple TV, Apple Remote, Mac power button…

  • Should also find its way to software apps, API to allow 3rd party developers access, tricky but could be done

  • Apple needs to make this an indispensable feature without weakening its security

• Slightly larger battery
  

• iOS7

• Siri coming out of beta

  • References to “Beta” have been dropped from the Siri informational web page

  • With iOS 7, Siri has been given a redesigned user-interface, new functionality, and all-new voices

  • Many of server errors and processing time issues have been cleared up

• With iBeacon, Apple is going to dump on NFC and embrace the internet of things — Tech News and Analysis

  • At WWDC in June, Apple quietly announced iBeacon (only seen on one slide in WWDC keynote)

  • Big deal because it could have major impact on NFC (near field communications)

  • Opens door to indoor maps and in-store marketing

  • Uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) also known as Bluetooth 54.0 and Bluetooth Smart

  • Small physical Beacon placed in the store and transmits microlocation-based notifications and actions (customized coupons and info)

  • Allows bill to be paid with smart phone

  • BLE limitations are it only supports low data rates and cannot stream audio

  • NFC tags system more expensive because one tag is needed for each item (10 cents each) compared to one Beacon ($35 each) for a range (10 to 50 meters in diameter)

  • Most all smart phones have Bluetooth built in not all have NFC

  • Google’s focus NFC vs Apple’s focus Bluetooth

  • Airdrop uses Bluetooth and Wi-fi
    

• iWork for iOS going free gives Microsoft something to think about

  • iWork suite of apps for iOS would be going free with new iOS device purchases

  • Includes mobile productivity apps Pages, Numbers and Keynote, Apple's answer to Microsoft Office

  • Access to mobile Office on iOS costs $99.99 a year

  • MS will have to take this seriously

  • Will this have an impact on MS Office?

     

3. Wrap up and closing remarks...

Don’t forget to follow us on the Internet

Bill: Twitter - @billbrazeal         Web - http://billbrazeal.com

Barrett: Twitter - @BMosbacker

Blog:  Christian School Journal http://christianschooljournal.com/

Thanks for listening in, be sure to tell your friends, watch for our next episode coming in two weeks.  So long for now.