Camera Test (Low-Light And Natural Light): iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S III [IMAGES]

Whether you’re an Android fan or iOS lover (or somewhere in between – I’ve heard it’s possible to like both), there’s no denying the iPhone 5 from Apple and Samsung Galaxy S III are the two biggest smartphones right now. Both have sold in multiple millions, and although they’ve been compared in many key areas in benchmark tests, drop tests, and various other one-on-one scenarios, the performance of the new iPhone’s camera has yet to be properly scrutinized, at least not versus its fiercest competitor.
We already know the Lumia 920 will be bringing the best video and image capturing capabilities to the smartphone market when it releases later this year, that’s a given. So before we compare the two titans, it’s important to note that we’re merely mulling over the two "best" smartphones, rather than the two most capable smartphone cameras.

The iPhone 5 snapper offers a new sapphire lens, and although it is – as with its Samsung-made rival – an 8-megapixel camera, it’s supposed to perform better in low-lighting conditions. In the darker environment, without any flash, the solid shooter of the iPhone 4 / 4S certainly didn’t reach the heights, but it’s an issue Apple claims to have improved on with the iPhone 5.
We took the liberty of snapping some images from the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III in natural light and low light, without flash, and as you’ll see in a moment, there is actually very little to separate between the two. Starting off with low light, the iPhone 5 is noticeably brighter than the S III, but it does appear as though Samsung’s camera offers a little more detail. The hair of the small toy animal looks as one, and although the S III isn’t streets ahead, I would have to say it’s marginally better for those times when light is at a premium.

Galaxy S III – low light (no flash)

iPhone 5 – low light (no flash)

In the natural light, both cameras really shine. Although it looks – from these images at least – as though the iPhone 5 is slightly sharper – there’s very little between them, and for your day to day point-and-shoot needs, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with either.

Galaxy S III – natural light

iPhone 5 – natural light

Here are a couple of images more taken using the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S III under well lighting conditions. As you can see, the details are quite evident in both the photos, but the iPhone 5′s camera has somewhat better contrast output:

iPhone 5 – natural light

Galaxy S III – natural light

As stated earlier, Nokia’s 8.7-megapixel PureView camera will make both look significantly inferior, but until Windows Phone offers anything like the app choice of iOS and Android, it will struggle to be categorized alongside the Big Two.

Glitch keeps iCloud storage at 25GB until 2050

Instead of a downgrade to 5GB of storage, Apple has pushed users' renewal dates 38 years in the future.

An apparent glitch in the iCloud account system has resulted in some accounts showing extended storage space with renewal dates years in the future.
iCloud's use of online storage as a syncing medium lowers the overall requirement for online storage, so Apple has reduced the base level to 5GB. However, Apple offered existing MobileMe customers a temporary extra 20GB of storage to accommodate user data during the transition to the new service. Apple originally offered this extra storage for a month, but increased this timeframe to September 30 and has been notifying users of this upcoming change.

Instead of downgrading to 5GB, iCloud claims users' accounts will downgrade in 2050.

(Credit: Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET )

On September 30, Apple did make a change to users' iCloud accounts; however, to users' surprise, instead of a lowered storage level, their iCloud accounts kept the same 25GB of space and furthermore showed the expiration for the storage had been pushed back to 2050. In checking my iCloud account, sure enough the renewal date had changed from being an annual occurrence to 38 years in the future.
Unfortunately this change is just a glitch in the system, likely from an operator error, and will soon be corrected by Apple. Therefore, if you see your iCloud account show you this surprise benefit, do not be surprised if it disappears in the near future.

Apple Releases Carrier Update for Verizon iPhone 5 to Reduce Inadvertent Cellular Data Usage

Apple has issued a Carrier Update for Verizon iPhone 5 devices this evening to eliminate an issue where Verizon Cellular Data would be used while the iPhone 5 is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

This carrier settings update resolves an issue in which, under certain circumstances, iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Follow these instructions to install the update.

1. Tap Settings > General > About.
2. Wait for the following alert to appear: (top right)
3. Tap OK to install the update.
4. Hold the Sleep/Wake button down until you see "slide to power off".
5. Slide to power off.
6. After the device powers off, hold the Sleep/Wake button to turn your phone back on.

Note: To finish the installation of the update, your iPhone 5 must be turned off and then on again. After your iPhone restarts, tap Settings > General > About, then scroll down to Carrier and verify that "Verizon 13.1" is displayed.

The update has to be performed somewhat manually but is delivered over-the-air, per the instructions above. Apple describes the update as an "important new carrier update" but doesn't provide many details on how/when these circumstances might arise.

HexaTasker Displays More Icons In Your Jailbroken Device’s App Switcher

Traditionally, the app switcher on an iOS device displays four icons at once. This limit is set by default within iOS and can’t be changed through the Settings app. While this limit isn’t the biggest inconvenience, there’s a new Cydia tweak that will expand your app switcher’s capacity.

HexaTasker will add six icons to your app switcher. It’s a pretty simple tweak with no settings to configure, and it looks quite nice. The icons overlay each other to create more space, but it doesn’t look too cluttered. You can also open or close apps just as you would with the traditional four icon layout.

The only downside is, if you only have two apps displayed in the app switcher, they’ll still be somewhat stacked on top of one another at the edges. It would have been nice to see the tweak eventually expand to its icon layout when the space is needed, but it’s not a huge issue.

HexaTasker is available for free via the BigBoss repository and is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Check our our video walk through below if you’d like to see the tweak in action.

Emblem: OS X-Inspired Notifications For Your Jailbroken iPad

A new jailbreak tweak to hit the Cydia Store is Emblem, which can apply OS X-style notifications to a jailbroken iPad.

After downloading and installing the tweak, incoming notifications will “pop-up” on the top-right of the iPad’s screen, just like how OS X notifications appear on a Mac. Touching such a notification launches the respective application (i.e., the Messages app for iMessage notifications), and swiping the notification dismisses it.

If more than one notification appears at the same time, Emblem will first display the notifications separately, and will then combine them to create one cluster of notifications. Swiping through this notification cluster will display each individual message, which is a nice touch.

All in all, Emblem is an impressive jailbreak tweak. If the iPad notification system doesn’t cut it for you, consider downloading and installing this replacement system from the Cydia Store (via the BigBoss repository). Currently, Emblem is available for $1.99.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook apologizes for Apple’s Map app

Apple has been hit hard by the critics and users regarding the Maps app in iOS 6. Apple removed the Google-powered iOS Maps application and replaced it with their own in-house app that’s powered by Tom Tom. The biggest drawbacks of Maps are the inaccurate mapping data, lack of public transit routes, and missing street and addresses that caused controversy since it was released.

News organizations have compared the problems with Maps to the previous iPhone 4 “antennagate” problem that happened days after Apple launched their iPhone 4 2010. The matter has gained so much criticism from bloggers and customers of iOS devices that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook published an open letter on the Apple website to publicly apologize “for the frustration this new Maps in iOS 6 has caused our customers.”

Tim Cooks promises that Apple’s Maps will get better over time as his company focus on its service and obtains more accurate map data. Mr. Cook’s own comments seems to confirm earlier reports from TechCrunch that claimed that Apple is on a hiring spree to lure away Google Maps engineers to work for Apple that will help them improve their own map application.

The full letter from Tim Cook is included below:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Run Google Maps Web App In Full-Screen With Original Icon On iPhone 5 / iOS 6

Although you can bookmark Google Maps on your iOS 6-running device’s home screen, but the experience is somewhat hampered since the web app opens up in Mobile Safari. We have come across a way on how to run the web app in full-screen mode along with the old iOS Google Maps icon for an even better, immersive Google Maps experience on iOS 6.
If there is one thing we do know; it is that a lot of people simply don’t like change, and even though the mobile Google Maps experience is extremely powerful, it does come with its fair share of drawbacks. The first one is that it doesn’t offer a full-screen experience, thanks to the tinted Safari toolbar that sits at the bottom of the browser. In addition to that, it places a rather ugly web app icon on the home screen instead of the well-known and loved Google Maps iOS icon that has been present since 2007. Both of these issues can be overcome through the installation of a simple profile that has been created by Ben Guilds.

Step 1: Open up Mobile Safari on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Navigate to the website of the profile creator by clicking here.

Step 2: The blog post gives a small amount of information about the process and provides links to the relevant profiles depending on what device you are using. Select your device accordingly. Clicking on these links on the device will force a prompt to install an unsigned mobileconfig file.
Step 3: Select Install at the top right hand corner of the display before selecting the Done option when the profile has been installed. If the installation requests for a password to be entered then supply the device’s password.

Step 4: After pressing the Done button, head on over to the device’s home screen and look for the Maps app/bookmark. The extremely familiar looking Google Maps icon will be on the screen. When invoked, the Google Maps web app will run in full-screen as a replacement for Apple’s native Maps app.

It may not be a perfect mapping solution, but for those who prefer the familiarity of using Google Maps, this full-screen web solution is definitely a powerful alternative.

Apple no longer calls iOS6 Maps ‘the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever’

As noted by iDaily.de, Apple has not only begun recommending competing mapping services but it removed some superlatives from the Maps page.

All of which may just make this app the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.

Changed to:

All in a beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease.

iOS 6 tip: Wake up to any song in your library

Instead of starting your day to the sound of an annoying tone, set your iPhone's alarm to wake you with a song.

With iOS 6, you can roll out of bed to a mellow reggae beat or leap out of bed to thrash metal -- your choice.

If you use your iPhone as your alarm, you likely have grown tired of starting your day to the same marimba tone. You may not have noticed yet that after installing iOS 6 you can set the alarm to play a song instead of a tone.

(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET )
Open the Clock app and choose Alarm. When you add a new alarm or edit an existing alarm, tap Sound. Here, you'll see a new Songs section. Tap "Pick a song" and you'll see a list of the songs in your music library. Choose a song and that's what you'll hear to start your day or end your nap.

(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET )
If you use iTunes Match and have it set to display both locally stored songs and those in iCloud (Settings > Music > Show All Music), you can choose a song from iCloud as your alarm. Be careful, however, with choosing a song from the cloud -- if you lose Internet connectivity while sleeping, your alarm will be silent. I tested this by selecting a song that I hadn't downloaded to my iPhone, set the alarm, and turned on Airplane mode. When the alarm went off, it was silent. A best practice here would be to download a song to your phone before using it as your alarm.

This new feature is available on the updated Clock app for the iPhone and the new Clock app for the iPad.

For more on Apple's new mobile operating system, check out our complete guide to iOS 6.

The bottom line: The transition to Apple Maps is rough, but new features and a ton of tiny tweaks make iOS 6 a must-have update. Read Full Review

Don't Miss

Join the conversation! Add your comment
It's about time. No pun intended...

Correct me if i'm wrong because I've never had an iPhone, but how is this different what most other OS do?

It is not an exclusive feature, or meant to be one. CNET just wanted to share a tip...

It's not. iPhone never had this feature, so CNet was just sharing it so iPhone users can know this feature is now available.

when Nokia invented its first Symbian phone they have same future in it.Apple you need to think more and stop adding stupid future like map.let expert do their work don't try to be over smart.

dont forget that during the song that plays, the phone vibrates the entire time which is really stupid. i need vibrate turned on for both silent and ringtones when i get calls, emails, txts and other notifications but for an alarm there should be an optin to not vibrate if its playing music. 4 minutes of vibrating to a song is very annoying and probably bad for the phone too to be vibrating continuously for that long

does anybody know if there is a way to remove the song if you change your mind and don't want to use it as an alarm? Or do the songs stay in the alarm function for good?

this feature doesn't work for me? i tried different songs and nothing plays when the alarm goes off (luckily my husband turned his on as well so I wasn't late for work!). Any idea why this might happen? using the iphone 5 so assume its not the phone!

Facebook Messenger 2.0 Delivers New Design, iPhone 5 Support And More

Launched a little over a year ago, Facebook Messenger is a standalone app that serves as an extension of the main Facebook iOS client.

As its name indicates, Facebook Messenger is focused on the popular social network’s messaging service. It lets you send messages with one of your Facebook friends or a certain group thereof.

In addition, it lets you include your location, share your photos, and see who’s seen your messages.

Version 2.0 of Facebook Messenger introduces a few noteworthy features.

Frequent users of the app are likely to notice the app’s new design for conversations. Basically, the app now makes use of chat bubbles for individual messages in conversations, akin to those in the Messages app.

Apple: AAPL stock going down?

According to OSX Apple Fans report APPL stock going down last few days.

There are lots of short-term explanations for why Apple’s stock is going down:
• The broader market is falling.
• It broke its 50-day moving average.
• It had to fill the gap.
• It’s just profit-taking; people have made a ton of money.
• The jobs numbers were terrible, but not bad enough for QE3.
• The law of large numbers will kick in.
• The company provided a conservative outlook for the June quarter.
• Apple has some tough comparisons ahead.
• Sell in May and go away.
• Europe is in turmoil. Sarkozy lost and the pro-bailout Greeks got tossed.

Apple files patent application for 'intelligent automated assistant'

Engadget caught wind of the fact that Apple has filed a patent for an "intelligent automated assistant," which sounds like the nice lady (or man) in your iPhone (or, as of iOS 6, iPad 3) called Siri. The application talks at length about a digital assistant controlled using speech (it's Siri), which takes a user's speech input (again, it's Siri) and then fulfills the speaker's request using digitized speech. In other words, a patent for Siri.

Unfortunately, because the patent is so general, there isn't a whole lot of nuts-and-bolts talk about how Siri actually works -- at least none that we didn't know already. But there is some reference to the term "anchor phrases," which are words and phrases that Siri looks for in your speech to actually figure out what you're saying. The patent also talks about providing alternate words to the user in case something can't be understood, and the use of databases (like, say, Wolfram Alpha) for figuring out which information is needed by the user.

Apple's all covered, then, should it ever face the question of Siri's origin in court. This patent, plus any others that it may have picked up when Siri was acquired, should be more than enough to defend its case.

Apple iPad dominates tablet-based web browsing with 98% share, report says

A study released on Thursday claims the iPad accounts for nearly of all web traffic originating from tablets, and 54.5 percent of all traffic from mobile devices, to sites running the touch-centric Onswipe platform.
In its first-ever study, Onswipe, a digital publishing tool developer that helps websites create "touch friendly" web experiences without building a standalone app, found that Apple's tablet represented 98.1 percent of 29.5 million unique impressions over 1200 sites from Sept. 13 to Sept. 20.

Source: Onswipe

Apple's massive share was followed by Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Motorola's Xoom, which managed 1.53 percent and 0.21 percent of tablet-based traffic, respectively. Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire came in fourth with 0.11 percent.

"The iPad is clearly a browsing device," Onswipe CEO Jason Baptiste told AppleInsider, explaining that his company can track device and engagement data via the aptly-named Onswipe platform.

Digging deeper into the results, iPad users spent 56.9 percent more time per web surfing session than iPhone owners, possibly hinting that the tablet's larger screen is better suited for browsing.

Also of note is the iPad's 54.5 percent share of total mobile web traffic, more than doubling the iPhone's share of 19.05 percent despite having comparatively fewer units in operation.

Interestingly, the Kindle Fire has seen a bump in web content engagement, as users spend 79 percent more time per page visit compared to iPad users. Amazon's small form factor device also generates 138 percent more page views per visit relative to Apple's tablet. The results offer a look at what could be the future of tablet computing as an onslaught of 7-inch products hit the market, possibly signaling a push toward smaller, more portable devices.

As for operating system share, Apple's iOS owns 75.12 percent of total mobile content consumption across Onswipe's monitored network, followed by Android with 22.3 percent and all others with 2.5 percent.

Baptiste made note of a brief follow-up study conducted on Wednesday which found iOS 6 accounted for 40.8 percent of all iOS traffic for visitors to Onswipe partner sites. Of the 250,000 unique iOS users studied, 56.76 percent of iPhone users upgraded to iOS 6, compared to 37.75 percent of iPad owners.

J

Publishing firm Future made $8 million in one year from Apple's Newsstand

Future, a magazine publisher based in the UK, is planning on building out its existing digital distribution model, which has already garnered the company about $8 million over the past year.

It appears that Future's success in the digital realm is in great part thanks to Apple's iTunes Newsstand, the iOS app that allows users to purchase, organize and store digital publications all in one place.

According to PaidContent, Future, one of the first companies to adopt the service when it launched with iOS 5 in 2011, announced the rise in profits on Thursday at an interim trading update.

“Sales of digital editions on Apple devices have passed £5 million ($8 million) in the period since the Apple Newsstand was launched in October 2011,” Future reported.

Among the magazines published by the firm are PC Gamer, popular tech serial T3 and Apple-centric MacLife, the hard copy versions of which have been in print for years. Before Newsstand's release, Future's digital presence was limited to web portals TechRadar, BikeRadar and GamesRadar.

“In March, we were at over 12 million (free) container app downloads, had five million people signed up for marketing messages, which is a lot, and way past half a million sales,” said Future CEO Mark Wood.

In order to leverage Newsstand, Future built FutureFolio, a specialized software suite which aids in the design of interactive magazines, which the company is now trying to license to competitors.

Future is not the first company to see significant gains after using Newsstand. Less than one month after the service launched, Condé Nast reported a 268 percent surge in subscriptions while Popular Science + saw similar growth.

Phone 5 Costs Roughly $0.41 Per Year to Charge

Energy efficiency company Opower today released a study calculating the annual energy cost for charging the iPhone 5 at just $0.41. While any user's actual cost would vary based on use and electricity rates in their areas, Opower's estimate assumes a full charge once per day at a U.S. average of 11.8 cents per kWh.

But while an individual iPhone 5 uses a minuscule amount of energy, the massive popularity of Apple's devices results in significant energy demand in aggregate.

Even if we consider just the 170 million iPhone 5’s that are projected to be sold globally in the next year, their aggregate electricity requirements are nothing to sneeze at. The collective annual electricity consumption of the iPhone 5’s sold within 12 months will be equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 54,000 US households (roughly equivalent to the size of Cedar Rapids – the second largest city in Iowa). That’s just for one smartphone model over one year.

Still, the study notes that smartphones use significantly less energy than other entertainment devices, and a shift from more traditional entertainment sources to smartphones can result in an overall benefit to energy consumption.


The explosion in smartphone usage is of course just one part of a surge in consumer electronics, which now represent approximately 13% of U.S. household energy usage. That growth, which comes even as the efficiency of appliances and other devices has significantly improved, has been driven by a massive increase in the kinds and numbers of devices being used in homes, from televisions to gaming systems to computers.

Tip: How To Fix Apple iOS 6 Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Connectivity Issues on iPhone or iPad

Usually when you upgrade the software on your devices, you expect them to work better. Unfortunately for some iPhone 4S and iPad users, they’ve been experiencing issues with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity after downloading iOS 6.

Apple Insider’s Mikey Campbell was tipped off to this when he came across a 91-page thread on Apple’s Support Communities webpage.

Forum members report that after upgrading to iOS 6, both the legacy iPhone 4S and new iPad are experiencing disabled Wi-Fi connectivity that leaves the option to connect “grayed out.” The issue appears to be affecting Bluetooth capabilities as well, with some users claiming their units are unable to pair or even recognize other devices, and show the spinning “search wheel” indefinitely.

Users have reportedly contacted Apple and say the company is aware of the problems. If you are experiencing the same issues, you can try one of the following:

Reset Network Setting and change the HTTP Proxy to “Auto”
Do a hard reset and reinstall of iOS6
Downgrade to iOS 5.1
Take it to your Apple Store Genius Bar (If it’s demonstrating the problems for them to see, you can potentially exchange the problem device for a new one)
Personally, I HAVE noticed issue with connectivity when trying to connect my iPhone 4S to the Bluetooth in my car. I managed to momentarily fix it by manually going into my phone settings and re-calibrating it that way. But, I’ve had to do it every time which is pretty annoying.

Source: Apple Insider
Image Credit: Today’s iPhone

Apple & Google Maps Parted Ways Over Features, Voice, Control

Apple's decision to drop Google Maps in iOS 6 has been met with derision and criticism from many quarters, but a report from AllThingsD claimed that the decision was made because the two companies couldn't agree on certain features, including voice-control directions in iOS. The issue of who controlled what was also a source of rancor between the two companies.

Exploring that more deeply, AllThingsD's sources paint a picture where the goals and priorities of both Apple and Google were directly in conflict.

1.) Apple powered its old iOS Maps app with Google data. Apple controlled the front end, including the branding, while Google controlled the data.

2.) Apple wanted to add voice-controlled turn-by-turn directions to its Maps app, but it needed Google's OK and data to do so. Google had spent years building up the databases that made this possible, and the company was keen on keeping voice-controlled turn-by-turn directions as a flagship feature of Android.

An unnamed source said, “There were a number of issues inflaming negotiations, but voice navigation was the biggest. Ultimately, it was a deal-breaker.”

3.) Much of that mapping data—perhaps most of that data—had been added by iOS users. iOS users represent a much larger percentage of Google's mobile mapping services than Apple's market share.

4.) As John Paczkowski wrote, "[Apple] was now in a position where an arch-rival was calling the shots on functionality important to the iOS maps feature set."

5.) Google wanted branding inside of the Apple Maps app, which Apple declined. Google also wanted more say on which features were offered in the Maps app, which was also declined. Google wanted to add in Google Latitude specifically. Guess what? Apple declined to allow it.

With this backdrop, it's easy to understand that the two companies were effectively at an impasse. Apple wanted things Google wasn't willing to offer, while Google wanted things that Apple wasn't willing to offer. The two companies are bitter rivals in the smartphone market, and with mobile mapping such an important aspect of the smartphone experience, it was only a matter of when, not if, Apple and Google would find themselves at loggerheads.

As long as Google refused to allow voice-controlled turn-by-turn directions, iOS would be at a competitive disadvantage to Android, even though iOS customers were doing the heavy lifting in building up Google's mapping data.

As long as Apple refused to allow Google a say in what features got added to iOS Maps, it wasn't getting everything out of those iOS users that it could. iOS participation in Google Latitude, for example, would be a major boost in the popularity of that Google service. The value of branding inside iOS Maps is also enormous, if hard to quantify.

In the end, there is simply too much value in mobile mapping user data for Apple to allow another company final say in what it can do, or for Google to allow its arch-rival total access to what it has spent so much to build.

The two companies had to go their own way on maps, and what's left to argue about is the timing. Many believe Apple Maps isn't ready for prime time, and it's possible that Apple should have taken the remaining year of its contract with Google to continue to build up its infrastructure before dumping Google Maps from its platform.

The reality, however, is that over time, this will be less of an issue for us, the end-user. Google and Apple going head-to-head over maps will end up giving us a better feature set and a better experience. This will be especially true if Google builds a standalone Google Maps app for iOS and Apple allows it on the App Store.

iPhone 5 battery journal and torture testing

I think the best tests of a battery are real-world ones. Rob Pegoraro tested his iPhone 5 in everyday life and found that it matches up great with competitors. My favorite quote:

"Each figure beats any Android phone I've tested on an LTE signal, although some 3G models have done better."

In other words, the iPhone 5 is a great LTE phone in particular. Pegoraro found he didn't have to charge his phone until into the night, although he's yet to fully test it at a mobile-heavy event like SXSW or CES. I find that when the phone has to strain for signal it drains the battery faster, so we'll have to see how that goes.

Still, the iPhone 5 battery, in such a small space, is a wonder to behold.

iOS Users Are Slightly Less Satisfied With iOS 6

Apple has been criticized pretty heavily with iOS 6. While the limitations of iOS 6′s Maps is the only major complaint, other small issues such as Wi-Fi bugs have popped up, ticking some people off. Surprisingly, however, it seems as if users aren’t too unhappy with iOS 6 when compared to iOS 5. According to TechCrunch, On Device, a research firm, polled 16,000 iPhone users and found that users were only very slightly less satisfied with iOS 6 over iOS 5. However, this still comes as a surprise as iOS has never experienced a user satisfaction drop before.

On Drive’s CEO, Alistair Hill, said the following on the issue:

We have always seen an increase in device satisfaction as consumer upgrade their mobile operating system from one version to another

Above we’ve embedded a chart that shows the difference in user satisfaction between iOS 4, iOS 5 and iOS 6. While the chart doesn’t show much information, it gets the point across. For the most part, the .10 point drop from iOS 5 to 6 happened because of Apple’s less than stellar Maps app.

Source: TechCrunch, TUAW
Image Credit: TUAW

iPhone 5 Battery Life May Be Impacted Greatly by Cellular Signal Strength

Deep in its lengthy review of the iPhone 5, iLounge has performed an analysis on the battery life of the iPhone 5. The site tested the device under a number of conditions, including both cellular and Wi-Fi web browsing, voice calls, FaceTime calls, video recording, and video and audio playback.


The phone performed fairly well but iLounge found battery life struggled when transferring cellular data or making voice calls, which they speculated was due to a weak signal:

if you’re using your iPhone 5 in places a with a very strong (4- to 5-bar) LTE or 3G signal, your cellular battery life may approach that number, but if not, the cellular antenna will struggle to maintain a signal, and fall well short. Because LTE and 3G/4G towers are in a state of build-out flux right now, our tests suggest that many LTE users won’t come close to Apple’s promised numbers.

iLounge has the detailed results on its battery testing in its iPhone 5 review, but unsurprisingly, mileage will vary greatly depending on a number of factors including health of the battery, signal strength, screen brightness, and other considerations.

Apple Sourcing Carbon Fiber Components for Upcoming Product?

Macotakara reports that it has received information from a source indicating that representatives of Apple and Foxconn have been working to source unknown parts from a company with expertise in carbon fiber materials.

According to my source, some engineer of Apple and Foxconn Technology came on Japanese company, which has carbon production in mid-March, and they requested to develop some sample.

I don't have information which is ordered by Apple, source told the number of parts is too large to be called "sample".

Rumors of Apple's interest in carbon fiber, which offers high strength at low weight, have been circulating for a number of years but have yet to come to fruition. Nearly four years ago there were rumors of a carbon fiber MacBook Air, and Apple patent applications have indicated that the company is at least exploring what could be done with such materials.


MacBook Pro covered by "carbon fiber" stickers
More recently, a pair of reports had indicated that the iPad 2 might gain a carbon fiber body. Those claims did not come to pass, although both reports had indicated that the information was rather sketchy in nature as Apple may simply have been testing the technology during the company's product development cycle.

With the hiring of Kevin Kenney last year as a senior composites engineer, speculation regarding Apple's plans for carbon fiber has continued to surface. Kenney had previously served as president and CEO of carbon fiber bicycle frame pioneer Kestrel Bicycles.

Is Apple’s Desire To Have The Thinnest MacBook Costing You More?

How thin is too thin? A question that used to be relegated to the fashion industry is now seeping into the tech sector as Apple is reportedly sourcing thinner components for the 2013 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

According to Digitmes, Apple plans on accomplishing this by reducing the thickness of the light guide plates for the illuminating keyboards from 0.4mm to 0.25mm. We’re talking splitting hairs here. So, would it really even be noticeable by users?

Kyle Wiens runs iFixit, a company that does high-res teardowns of new products and DIY repair guides. He previously blogged about his experience tearing down a MacBook Pro with Retina Display and points out that because of measures Apple took to reduce its size, it is the LEAST repairable laptop they have ever taken apart. The display is fused to the glass, the RAM is soldered to the logic board and the battery is glued to the case. Translation: No quick fixes by third parties. Customers must mail in their laptops to Apple directly for a $200 replacement.

Wiens also makes an interesting argument:

We have consistently voted for hardware that’s thinner rather than upgradeable. But we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Our purchasing decisions are telling Apple that we’re happy to buy computers and watch them die on schedule. When we choose a short-lived laptop over a more robust model that’s a quarter of an inch thicker, what does that say about our values?

Unless you’re hardcore technology geek, you wouldn’t necessarily know that these are the measures Apple takes to make your laptop thinner. All we see is this sparkly, shinny new device that’s even better and cooler than the one before and for some reason, we LOVE when the new element is “omg it’s thinner!” Maybe it’s just the way the world is wired and now it’s seeping into our gadgets.

Apple had over a year left on Google Maps contract, Google scrambling to build iOS app

Apple's decision to ship its own mapping system in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 was made over a year before the company's agreement to use Google Maps expired, according to two independent sources familiar with the matter. The decision, made sometime before Apple's WWDC event in June, sent Google scrambling to develop an iOS Google Maps app — an app which both sources say is still incomplete and currently not scheduled to ship for several months.

Apple decided to end the deal and ship the new maps

As rumors and leaks of Apple's decision to announce the new iOS 6 maps at WWDC in June filtered out, Google decided to respond with a display of strength — the search giant hastily announced its own mapping event just days before Apple's event. Dubbed "the next dimension of Google Maps," the event was designed to showcase new technologies like low-level aerial 3D photography and Street View backpacks — a chest-thumping exercise meant to highlight Google's significant head start in collecting mapping information, but which offered very little in the way of consumer-facing features.

For its part, Apple apparently felt that the older Google Maps-powered Maps in iOS were falling behind Android — particularly since they didn't have access to turn-by-turn navigation, which Google has shipped on Android phones for several years. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Google also wanted more prominent branding and the ability to add features like Latitude, and executives at the search giant were unhappy with Apple's renewal terms. But the existing deal between the two companies was still valid and didn't have any additional requirements, according to our sources — Apple decided to simply end it and ship the new maps with turn-by-turn.

"What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind?"

The reports were validated earlier today by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who was quoted by Reuters saying "what were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It's their call." Schmidt also said that Google had "not done anything yet" with an iOS Google Maps app, and that Apple would ultimately have to decide whether to approve any such app anyway. "It's their choice," he told Bloomberg. Google Maps VP Brian McClendon has also repeatedly said he's committed to offering Google Maps on all platforms, indicating that an iOS app will eventually appear.

Interestingly, Apple either didn't know or didn't expect that consumers would find its new maps to be deficient — when iOS software VP Scott Forstall introduced the new mapping system in June, he called it "beautiful" and "gorgeous" and stressed that "we're doing all the cartography ourselves." The company was forced to adopt a different tone last week as complaints about the maps spread, saying the "new map service is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it." The company also promised "continuously improving" maps, and said that "the more people use it, the better it will get." Indeed, some of the more egregious errors spotted by users are already getting fixed, although New York's bridges are still distorted in Flyover and the Statue of Liberty remains missing.

"This new map service is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it."

Ultimately, maps are just one more front in an increasingly high stakes war between rival ecosystems as PCs give way to mobile devices. Apple and Google both plainly understand that phones and tablets are most powerful when used in conjunction with sophisticated cloud-based services, and both seem determined to own and integrate the entire experience — ownership that will lead to dominance in the next era of computing. A few customers getting lost along the way seems to be acceptable collateral damage.

Apple loses bid for music app icon trademark

Apple's efforts to trademark an icon for its iOS music player in the U.S. have been denied due to design from a company that no longer exists.

As part of a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board last week, the group found Apple's icon a bit too similar to one issued to iLike in 2008, upholding an initial finding from a trademark examiner.
iLike, of course, no longer exists. The company was gobbled up by MySpace in late 2009 and was eventually absorbed into the company's own music product.
"In comparing the marks within the above-noted legal parameters, the marks at issue are similar because they comprise a double musical note in an orange rectangle," the decision, picked up by GigaOm today, reads.
The group adds that the similarities "outweigh any specific differences" when the two icons are put side-by-side:

Apple's icon (left) next to iLike's (right).

(Credit: USPTO)

Apple applied for the trademarked icon in April 2010, right around the time it began using it as the music player icon on the iPod Touch. The company would later bring it over to the iPhone and iPad as part of iOS 5.
The decision can be appealed by Apple, which spent a considerable part of last month arguing the merits of its own icon designs and the very minute similarities and details with icons created by Samsung for use in its smartphones and tablets. That spat dealt with the look and feel of the devices in conjunction with various other patent and antitrust claims.

Facebook releases SDK 3.1 for iOS with iOS 6 integration

We have been following Facebook’s improvements to its SDK for iOS in recent months. In July, Facebook released a beta featuring iOS 6 Facebook integration and a new Dev Center for iOS developers. It has maintained that beta alongside version 3.0 of its SDK up until today with the official release of Facebook SDK 3.1 for iOS. Facebook officially announced the release of the SDK, which features new tools for mobile app developers interested in taking advantage of Facebook’s native integration with iOS 6 in their apps, on its Developer Blog earlier today.
Developers can download Facebook SDK 3.1 for iOS here.
Facebook’s Eddie O’Neil walked through some of the new features of the SDK, including: Native Facebook Login, native Facebook share sheets, and ready-to-use UI controls:

Native, ready-to-use UI controls: The SDK includes several pre-built user interface controls:

-Friend Picker to help apps easily pick friends. Example: use a friend picker to choose friends to tag in an Open Graph action.
-Places Picker so apps can easily integrate with Facebook places. Example: use this picker to let users include a place with their posts.
-Profile Picture control so your app can easily show the profile picture of a user, their friends, places, or other kinds of Facebook objects.
-Login controls for easily building Login and Logout experiences.

Facebook Login support across iOS versions: Lets your app work seamlessly on all iOS versions 4.0+ and integrates easily with the native login support in iOS 6.

Easy session management: Introduces the FBSession API that manages, stores, and refreshes user tokens. You can also override default behaviors to build advanced features. It uses the modern Objective-C “block” metaphor to notify your app of login, logout and other session state changes, and it instantly integrates with iOS 6.

Improved API support: Minimizes the code you need to call Facebook Graph, FQL, and other APIs. It natively supports batched API requests to significantly improve performance for API calls, which translate into faster, better user experiences.

The SDK also includes a beta of Facebook’s Ad analytics tool allowing app developers to get statistics related to how effective their ads are:

Ad analytics (Beta): Lets you record analytics to give you information about the effectiveness of your ads and understand how people use your app. Learn more about the mobile ads product.

Apple Reportedly Had Over a Year Left on Maps Contract with Google

Amid widespread complaints over Apple's new iOS 6 Maps app, which replaced the Google-powered application that had shipped on iOS devices since the iPhone debuted in 2007, some observers have wondered how much of the shift was due to Apple's desire to reduce its reliance upon on Google and how much might be due to other factors.


In particular, there has been some speculation that demands by Google could also have played a role in Apple's decision, with the suggestion being that Apple may have been forced to roll out its own mapping solution a bit sooner than it had planned for if its contract with Google had been running out.

The Verge now reports that such speculation is unfounded, with Apple and Google having had over a year left on their contract for Google's Maps app. Consequently, Apple could presumably have continued using Google's app in iOS 6 as it worked to improve its own mapping product for a launch with iOS 7 next year.

For its part, Apple apparently felt that the older Google Maps-powered Maps in iOS were falling behind Android — particularly since they didn't have access to turn-by-turn navigation, which Google has shipped on Android phones for several years. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Google also wanted more prominent branding and the ability to add features like Latitude, and executives at the search giant were unhappy with Apple's renewal terms. But the existing deal between the two companies was still valid and didn't have any additional requirements, according to our sources — Apple decided to simply end it and ship the new maps with turn-by-turn.

Apple's decision apparently caught Google off-guard, as Google is reportedly still several months away from having a standalone maps app ready for submission to the App Store.

Missing directions: Will Apple's old maps app live on forever?

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET, PhotoToaster)

For those who haven't yet upgraded to Apple's iOS 6, or who can't upgrade because they're using an older device, there's an air of uncertainty about just how long they'll get to be able to use one of its most useful features.
That feature is maps, something that used to be powered by Google in iOS versions 1 to 5, but which now uses data from Apple in iOS 6.
Love it or hate it, Apple Maps are here to stay. But can you say the same about the old version?
Neither company is willing to say. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the terms or expiration of the deal between it and Google. Google did not respond to a request for comment.
Still, there's reason for users to believe that Google will continue serving the iOS 5 version of maps for the foreseeable future.

Related stories

• 5 Million iPhone 5s sold
• Apple delivers iOS 6
• Why Google will build a new version of Maps for iOS
• iOS 6 map mess was no big surprise to Apple

"I would be surprised if they have the contractual right to stop," said Scott Rafer, CEO of mapping company Lumatic.
Lumatic is the maker of City Maps, a provider of free transit directions inside the new Apple Maps app. It licenses data from Nokia and OpenStreetMap.
"Normally the ways those contracts are written are, hey, this covers support of new versions of the software through X date," Rafer said, adding that he had not seen the Apple-Google contract.
Assuming that's the case here, iOS 5 users should be able to rest easy about the mapping functionality on their older devices.
Perhaps backing that up is the fact that Google says it will keep supporting the old version of YouTube, another piece of Google software removed in iOS 6. The company confirmed to CNET that it would continue serving videos inside the app indefinitely. Meanwhile, it has built its own standalone app for iOS 6 users, which is available on the App Store.
At its annual developers conference in June, Apple touted its new maps app as one of the major features of iOS 6 -- and a big step up from Google's offering. But now that they have it in hand, many consumers beg to differ. While impressive in places, critics have found the application less accurate and complete compared with Google's offering.
Still, Apple has published data showing that users are upgrading to its latest software at a very speedy clip. According to metrics released by the company yesterday, 100 million of Apple's 400 million iOS users have upgraded to iOS 6. The software, which was released as a free update last Wednesday, can be installed on the iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, along with the second- and third-generation iPads, and fourth-generation iPod Touch. That keeps those with older devices -- a number Apple does not share -- on older versions of the software.
One prospect that remains for those who have upgraded is Google delivering its own Maps app. So far the company has kept an almost Apple-like veil of secrecy around the project, saying only that its objective was to make the software "available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system."

DisplayMate Rates iPhone 5 Screen as "Best Smartphone Display" They've Seen

DisplayMate posts an extensive analysis of the new iPhone 5 screen and also provides detailed comparisons against the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S III.

They conclude that the iPhone 5 represents the best Smartphone screen they've tested.

Based on our extensive Lab measurements the iPhone 5 has a true state-of-the-art accurate display – it’s not perfect and there is plenty of room for improvements (and competitors) but it is the best Smartphone display we have seen to date based on extensive Lab measurements and viewing tests.

In particular, they note that the iPhone 5 has much lower screen reflections, a much higher image contrast and screen readability in high ambient lighting and notably improved color accuracy and picture quality.

Here is their Overall Assessments chart comparing the iPhone 4, iPhone 5, and Samsung Galaxy SIII. They conclude the iPhone 5 significantly outperforms the other two units:


The remainder of their charts detail differences in Reflections, Brightness and Contrast, Color and Intensities, Viewing Angles, Power Consumption and Battery Impact.

Google Has Not Yet Submitted a Google Maps App to Apple [Update]

Reuters reports (via TheNextWeb) that Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has denied claims that the company has already submitted a Google Maps application to Apple's App Store.

Google Inc. has not submitted a new Google Maps application to Apple Inc after the iPhone maker dropped the use of it in launching its newest device, the head of the world's top search engine provider said on Tuesday.

The rumor emerged last week shortly after Apple launched iOS 6. In iOS 6, Apple replaced the Google-based Maps on iOS devices with the company's own solution. Apple's Maps have since drawn criticism for areas of poor coverage.

Schmidt told reporters, "We have not done anything yet" and stated that they've been talking to Apple for a long time and talk to them every day.

Update (Sept 25, 1:34am PT): Bloomberg has a slightly different interpretation of Schmidt's comments. Schmidt said that it was up to Apple to approve the app, though they claim that Schmidt declined to say if Google Maps had been submitted.

“We haven’t done anything yet with Google Maps,” Schmidt told reporters in Tokyo today. Apple would “have to approve it. It’s their choice,” Schmidt said, declining to say if the Mountain View, California-based company submitted an application to Apple for sale through its App Store.

Check Your New iPhone 5 For Scratches

I’m getting a number of reports from early adopters who have received new iPhone 5 handsets that the handsets are not as durable as some would like them to be, and appear to scratch easily.

To make matters worse, some claim that their handset was scratched straight out of the box, with the damage having occurred at the assembly plant before the iPhone 5 was put into the box. The damage was underneath the protective film that Apple applies to its devices and couldn’t have been caused in transit.

Scratches and scuffs appear to range from tiny ones of the edge of the handset, to massive Freddy Kruger style scratches on the back. Either way this is not good for customers, and unacceptable for a device that costs as much money as Apple’s flagship handset does.

Another problem that some are complaining of is that the new iPhone scratches too easily. While their handsets were OK coming out of the box, they soon picked up significant damage on the back and sides from light usage. Again, for a device as pricey as the iPhone 5, this is intolerable.

The black model seems more prone to damage, but I’ve heard reports of similar problems with the white model. Perhaps the damage is easier to see on the black version.

This is not the first time that Apple has released a product that appeared to scratch easily. Back in early 2009 the company settled a $22.5 million lawsuit over scratch problems related to the iPod nano.

So, what do you do if you have a scratched iPhone 5? Well, the good news is that you have a couple of options. First, in the U.S., Apple give iPhone customers 30 days to return they handset if they are unhappy with it. If you want a refund, this may be the best option for you. If you want a replacement instead of a refund then I suggest you take a trip over to your nearest Apple and show one of the Apple Genii the problem. If they have a replacements, chances are good that you will walk out with a new iPhone 5 — although there’s still a chance that this one too will have the robustness of sliced cheese.

The problem with buying a product fresh off the production line is that you’re going to encounter these sorts of problems a lot more than if you’d waited a few months. Maybe the easily-scratched iPhones have more been finished properly, or maybe there’s a problem with Apple’s process. Either way, chances are the problems will be fixed soon and you will get an iPhone that meets your expectation.

Kindle Fire HD vs. iPad

How does the new Kindle Fire HD compare with the best tablet on the block?

The Kindle Fire HD includes simple text, a feature that allows it to display articles from magazines in more of a Kindle book format.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) The iPad and Kindle Fire HD are two different tablets intended for slightly different market segments. The iPad is a "does everything" tablet, while the Fire HD remains focused on media consumption.
However, most people shopping for a tablet don't have the funds to afford both (not that I'm at all encouraging anyone purchase both) and will therefore have to choose. The following is an attempt to make that choice a bit easier. With the iPad being the "everything" tablet in this comparison, I'll focus on comparing the two in categories both tablets are capable of, while also pointing out the strengths of each.
Video streaming
The Kindle Fire HD has three main video-streaming options: Netflix, Hulu Plus, and of course, if you're a Prime member, Amazon Instant Video. The iPad also has access to those same streaming services, so I tested both tablets using Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. When you take into account the vision behind each tablet, it's not too surprising which provides the better video-streaming experience.
I began by streaming the same episode of "Breaking Bad" through Amazon Instant Video on each tablet over CNET's internal Wi-Fi network. I then walked around the building, eventually leaving the building with both tablets, while the episode continued to play. Both tablets played without a hiccup during this time; however, only the Fire HD displayed and maintained an HD signal. The iPad's signal was strong, but decidedly SD.
After leaving the building and traveling about 20 feet from CNET's front door, the iPad lost the streaming signal, giving me only the spinning circle of death. The Fire HD continued to play in HD for another half block or so (about 100 feet) before it too stopped playing the show.

Both tablets have access to the Amazon Instant Video service. I'm about to stream an episode of "Louie." The excitement is overwhelming.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

With Netflix streaming, I saw something very similar. This time, with an episode of "The Walking Dead" and when within five feet of our test router, the iPad delivered a quality, but sub-HD version of the episode, while Fire continued to push out a better-looking HD image. After walking farther away and eventually leaving the building, the iPad stopped streaming at about the same place as before (about 20 feet from CNET's front door) and while the Fire HD didn't get as far with Netflix as it did with Amazon Instant Video, it did make it another 50 feet or so before it lost the signal. Also the Fire HD was more consistent with its quality, rarely dropping to a low-quality mode -- something the iPad did frequently as I moved around.
I also tested the range of each tablet's Wi-Fi antenna by walking a block away from the CNET building and then walking closer and closer until I could connect to our internal network. Each tablet connected at about the same distance from the building (50 to 60 feet away). So my theory, at least in the case of streaming, is that it's not necessarily the range of the Fire HD that leads it to success here, but how quickly its MIMO-powered antenna allows it to buffer video. The Fire HD seems optimized for this. Which makes sense, given Amazon's vision for the device as primarily a media consumption device.
While the iPad proves a worthy competitor in the streaming-video challenge, the Fire HD currently has no equal in this department. If streaming video is at the top of your priority list, the Kindle Fire HD is the tablet for you.
However, 4G versions of the iPad (starting at $629) will obviously allow you to stream much farther, since the 7-inch Fire HD has no cellular component. A 4G LTE 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will launch on November 20 starting at $499.
Web browsing
Safari, especially with iOS 6, is the best best browser on the iPad. By default, the Fire HD uses Amazon's Silk browser.

Streaming through Amazon's video app, the iPad video never achieved an HD resolution. The Fire HD, on the other hand, was all HD, all the time.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

From a speed perspective, Amazon's browser comes up short. Silk on the Fire HD is sometimes even slower than on the original Fire, and usually a couple of seconds behind the iPad when loading the same page.

Safari also has a more streamlined design: bookmarks and history are easily accesible and reading list can be a very useful feature.
On the contrary, Silk feels clunkier and accessing bookmarks and history takes a few more steps than I'd like. However, Silk's full screen mode uses more of the Fire HD's 7-inch screen as it spreads pages to its edges -- a neat little extra.
Silk's reading mode converts web pages into Kindle book format, with the same font and pages color options you'd expect to see when reading a Kindle book. This mode works perfectly on some pages, but even on pages where the mode was available, it pages didn't always format as they should and most of the article could be missing. Reading mode is a neat idea, but needs to be compatible with more pages before it can be truly useful. The iPad has a very similar mode that seems to be compatible with more sites, but offers no color or font customizations.
Music
You can use Amazon's Cloud Player on both tablets, and the iPad obviously has access to iTunes as well. Amazon Cloud Player allows users to stream music from their cloud library without having to actually download songs to their devices. Both tablets have access to streaming-music services like Pandora and Spotify as well.
But what about sound quality? As forcefully as the iPad's single speaker belted out sound, the tablet is ultimately outshone by the Fire HD, which delivered smooth, loud sound with appropriately equalized bass and treble. I don't recommend listening to music through most tablet speakers, but with the Fire HD I make a very clear exception. You've never heard tablet speakers as good as these.
Books and magazines
Both the Fire HD and iPad have access to thousands of books through Amazon's bookstore, while the iPad also has iBooks. If you're a Prime member and own a Fire HD, you also get to borrow one book per month from Amazon's lending library with unlimited return time. iPad users don't have access to this, whether they're Prime members or not.
It's what the Fire HD does with books that really sets it apart, however. X-ray for books, available only on the Fire HD, allows you to get more information about characters, terms, and historical figures mentioned in a Kindle book. It also highlights exactly where (via page number and a graph) in the book those details are mentioned and allows you to jump right to the appropriate page.

X-ray for books is one of the cool Kindle Fire exclusive features not available on the iPad.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Immersion reading lets you read along with your audiobook. In addition, Whispersync for voice allows you to stop reading at any spot in the Kindle version of a book and then continue later at that exact spot in your audiobook and vice versa, even if it's on another device.

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The iPad can't match most of these features; however, the Audible app for iOS 6 does support Whispersync.
The Fire HD's Newsstand app has a cool-looking new page-turning animation and the option to tap on an article and read it in simple text. Magazines on the iPad tend to have fairly slick-looking, more customized interfaces, with embedded video; however, simple text is not supported on the iPad.
Magazines on the iPad usually have huge catalogs of back issues. The Kindle Fire HD was just recently released and since each magazine issue on the Fire HD must be configured specifically, there are currently very few back issues available.
While many of the same content is available on each tablet, Amazon's lending library, X-ray for books, and Whispersync take the Kindle Fire HD over the top. Simple text as well for magazines is great for all you "I only ready it for the articles" people.
Games
The iPad has the most games of any mobile platform and definitely the best games of any tablet. The Kindle Fire HD on the other hand has even fewer games than a typical Android tablet like the Nexus 7. Since Amazon heavily curates its store, many gamers must wait for Kindle Fire editions of games to be released before they can play. Of course users can sideload APKs, but that's not something most are comfortable with.

Thanks to its huge catalog and better performance, I'd much rather game on the iPad.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Also, the iPad's GPU is about a billion times (figure not actually confirmed) more powerful than the Fire HD's. At least the 7-inch version of the Fire HD. And many Kindle Fire-edition apps available on the original Fire don't currently work on the Fire HD. That said, compared to the original Fire, the Fire HD loads faster and delivers higher resolution in games. But so far, not higher frame rates.
Other tidbits
As I said before, the iPad is the "does everything" tablet in this comparison. Not only can the tablet be used as an enterprise machine and an actual content creation device, but it also has more apps than any other mobile platform. Also, the best apps really take advantage of its beautiful screen and high resolution.
It's not that the Kindle Fire HD doesn't have apps. It's just that compared with the huge catalog available on the iPad, well, there's really no comparison here. The iPad also sports a higher-quality aluminum build, a high-quality back camera, a larger screen, GPS, and a clean and simple interface with a helpful and convenient hardware home button.
Conclusion
Make no mistake, the iPad is the best tablet you can buy today; however, the Kindle Fire HD is a great alternative if you don't want to spend iPad levels of money or simply want a smaller screen and form factor. So which do you buy? Simply put, you buy the tablet that's best for you. That's difficult to hear if you're looking for strict, clear buying advice, but it's the reality of the situation.
Aside from a few Amazon-specific features, the $500 iPad can do pretty much anything the Fire HD can, and with its incredible apps support, GPS, back camera, and more freeing OS, it easily earns its place as the best tablet. However, there are three areas in which the Kindle Fire HD excels: streaming video, speakers, and -- thanks to its multitude of features and Amazon's lending library -- books. If you're an Amazon Prime member and you don't want to spend too much on a tablet, there isn't a more apt device available right now than the Kindle Fire HD. It's $200, excels as a media consumption device, and is the best tablet for streaming video and reading books.
Things may get tricky soon, however. If rumors are true, we may see a $300, 7.85-inch iPad before year's end and a $300 8.9-inch version of the Kindle Fire HD with a higher-resolution screen and a faster processor, and the option to upgrade to 4G LTE is coming on November 20. But, for now, if you have the money, buy the iPad. If not, the Kindle Fire HD should satisfy all your media consumption needs.

	Kindle Fire HD 7-inch	iPad (2012)
Dimensions	7.6 inches by 5.4 inches by 0.4 inch (HWD)	9.5 inches by 7.31 inches by 0.37 inch (HWD)
Weight	0.86 pounds	1.44 (1.46 for 4G) pounds
OS	Custom Android 4.0	iOS 6
Processor	Dual-core,1.2GHz OMAP 4460	Dual-core, 1GHz Apple A5X
RAM	1GB	1GB
Storage	16GB or 32GB	16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Front camera	Yes, "HD"	Yes, VGA
Rear camera	No	Yes, 5-megapixel
Battery	7-9 hours	13 hours
Charge type	Micro-USB	Apple proprietary
4G	No	Yes
Wi-Fi	802.11 b/g/n (MIMO)	802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Screen size	7 inches, antiglare, laminated (IPS)	9.7 inches (IPS)
HDMI out	Yes	No
Resolution	1,280x800 pixels	2,048x1536 pixels
Book store	Amazon	iBooks, third-party
App store	Amazon	Apple App Store
GPS	No	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes	Yes
microSD	No	No
Microphone	Yes	Yes
Price	$199 (16GB), $249 (32GB)	$499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), $699 (64GB); 4G: $599 (16GB), $699 (32GB), $799 (64GB)