Hands-on

iPad mini unboxing and hardware hands-on

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Nov 2, 2012 a 4:34 pm

The iPad mini is here and we've got your perfunctory unboxing and hardware hands-on. It's everything you know and love about the iPad only concentrated into a smaller, 7.9-inch shell... and without a Retina display. How does that look in the real-world? Watch!

iPhone 5 unboxing and hardware hands-on

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Sep 21, 2012 a 6:31 pm

No unboxed iPhone 5 exits. Or is it, if an iPhone 5 is released and no body unboxes, does it really make a dent in the universe? Whatever. New iPhone. Gadget porn. Deal with wit it.

If you want to see absolutely everything included in the new iPhone 5 box, including the old AC adapter, new Lightning cable, old SIM-card tool for the new nan-SIM tray, a short how-to guide and some interesting EarBuds -- and of course the sleek, sexy Vader-black, aluminum and glass iPhone 5 itself, hit the video above and enjoy!

Hands on with the glowing Apple logo mod for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

By Georgia, Friday, Jan 20, 2012 a 2:19 pm

Oh, you know I had to do a hands-on and give the iMore Nation a quick look at the glowing Apple logo mod for iPhone and iPhone 4. Despite Ally's warnings, the moment I saw this luminescent bit of K.O.Gadget awesome go up for sale I knew I had to have it. My own. My precious!

I'll be doing the mod this weekend, and hopefully electrocuting neither myself nor my precious iPhone in the process, and will have the full video up for you soon. In the meantime, whether you want one of your very own, are still on the fence, or will have nothing to do with such brazen acts of folly, check out the unboxing for the pure, geeky thrill of it!

iPhone 4S 8MP camera hands on

By Leanna Lofte, Sunday, Oct 16, 2011 a 3:40 pm

One of the new features of the iPhone 4S is an 8 megapixel camera equipped with a fast f/2.4 lens. Without question, this was the feature I was most excited about, and I almost immediately started snapping pics.

For sample photos and a summary of my thoughts, follow along after the break! (All photos are original; none have been edited in any way beyond being resized to fit the page.)

Siri on iPhone 4S video hands-on reviews

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011 a 3:06 pm

Stuff.tv got their hands on an iPhone 4S at the Apple media event in the UK last week, and now applemastertouch got an early hands on as well, and both put Siri through its paces. Highlight:

Q: I love you. R: I hope you don't say that to other mobile phones.

Nice. Check out the videos below.

Source: iPhoneTicker.de, x2

Hands on: Google's new Pool Party photo sharing app for iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jul 1, 2011 a 10:46 pm

Pool Party is a photo sharing from the brains behind the recently-aquired Slide. Like Google+, it's an invite-only beta right now, and like Google+, and Picasa, it allows you to quickly and easily share pictures with people you know who are also members. Why Google feels they need to be positively Microsoft-ian about the sheer number of overlapping image sharing services they offer right now, I don't know, but here's how they bill this one:

Instant photo fun

Pool Party is a simple, free photo sharing app. Create group albums and see your friends' photos as they happen in real-time.

Pool Party is invite-only at the moment, so you'll be asked to enter your email address after installing the app. If you haven't already been invited to Pool Party by a friend, you can visit our website at poolpartyapp.com to request an invitation.

I've been testing Pool Party for iPhone with Phil Nickinson from Android Central, who's putting the Android version through its paces and... it's got a lot of promise. The UI is dark, with big, bold white text. (Though they insist on color-coding your friends' names, which is ends up feeling very Christmas tree.) They also stick to tried and true UI metaphors (even, smartly, borrowing the now almost standard "pull to refresh" pioneered by Loren Brichter in Tweetie/Twitter for iPhone).

Organization is done in Pools, and one you add a a Pool you can add people to it. For those who thrive on such things, push notifications are included to keep you up to date on every little interaction imaginable (I turned them off, like I turned off Google+'s email notifications). There are also a couple prominent places to provide feedback, so it's clear the developers and designers want to make this a good experience.

This being Google, there's also a web interface for when you're away from your iPhone (or Android device).

Whether or not this ultimately takes any users away from established image sharing services like Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, or Google own services, new and old, like Picasa and Google+ remains to be seen. It's great to see Google trying things and fantastic to see them working on improving their user experience. Ultimately, however, it will be nice to see them coalesce into a single, coherent, consistent service.

Screenshots after the break. If want more on the background story, MG Siegler from TechCrunch broke it yesterday (link below).

[TechCrunch]

iPad 2 Hands On

By Dieter Bohn, Friday, Mar 11, 2011 a 7:35 pm

The iPad 2 is here! You've run down the specs - including the 2x as fast A5 processor, the lighter 1.33lb weight, and the crazy-thin .34 inch "thickness." You've considered whether it's worth it for iPad 2 owners to upgrade. You've taken a look at what's new in iOS 4.3. Heck, you've even read up on how to transfer your data from your original iPad to the iPad 2. What's left to do? Check out TiPb breathlessly unpacking and examining the real deal.

If you waited in line today and picked one up - congrats! If you are wondering what we think of Apple's latest, here's the short version: it's a thinner, lighter, faster iPad with a couple of cameras. That may sound anti-climactic - but after using the iPad 2 for just a very short while we're starting to suspect that it's anti-climactic in the same way that "the iPad is just a big iPhone" was anti-climactic in 2010. In other words: it's an experience that can't quite be quantified but gets under your skin in the same way the original iPad did. There's "nothing new" here to most people, but the execution of all the little details adds up to something pretty special.

As far as the hardware is concerned, we're impressed. Looking at the spec differences between the iPad 1 and the iPad 2, you might be tempted to say that there's not much improvement here. But .5" vs .34" only tells part of the story. The full story is that the tapered back of the iPad 2 makes it feel thinner than any device this size has a right to be. It's kind of amazing. Unfortunately, we can't quite say the same for the weight - while the iPad 2 is lighter, it's still not something you're going to happily hold at arm's length unsupported for any appreciable length of time.

A full photo gallery is after the break and video is coming right quick - keep it locked to TiPb as we unpack our thoughts and impressions of the iPad 2 this weekend and, heck, for the months to come.

Apple iPad vs. BlackBerry PlayBook hands on - CES 2011

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jan 5, 2011 a 11:26 pm

Our good friend CrackBerry Kevin got to go hands-on and do a full BlackBerry Playbook review today -- including a one-on-one with Apple's iPad -- and I got dragged along as camera guy.

The PlayBook looked very good. Much more responsive and fluid than the Galaxy Tabs I've tried (that will likely change come Honeycomb on the Droid Pad) and while it wasn't finished hardware or software yet, it certainly looks like it's living up to RIM's ambitions. Developer support/platform momentum, future form factors (RIM has one of every phone type, could there be bigger tablets, keyboard sliders, who knows?), how it will play beyond the BlackBerry base, and what the tablet market will look like when iPad 2 hits are all questions that remain to be answered. But for today, kudos to RIM for a slick, smooth UI and really nice looking hardware.

Kevin's iPad vs. Playbook video after the break. Check out CrackBerry.com for the full Blackberry PlayBook review including RIM's walkthrough video, Kevin's impressions, and a ton more photos. Then race back here and tell us what you think, is the BlackBerry PlayBook going to make a dent in Apple's iPad 2 plans?

iPhone 4 features: Hands-on with 5 megapixel, front-facing, and 720p video camera

By Leanna Lofte, Thursday, Jun 24, 2010 a 7:03 pm

The iPhone 4 was officially launched today and after picking mine up, I was eager to test out the new cameras. The rear camera is 5 megapixels and features 5x digital zoom and 16:9, 720p HD video recording. It also has a built-in LED flash that can be used for photos or video. The front-facing camera is VGA quality and can be used for both 1.4 megapixel stills and 360p video as well.

So how do the iPhone 4 cameras perform? Find out after the break!

iPad Hands-on Round Up -- Who's touched where and what they think!

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010 a 5:18 pm

TiPb hasn't had a chance to get any hands-on time with the no-longer mythical Apple iPad, announced today, but that doesn't mean we can't live vicariously through the awesome power of the interwebs. What does TiPb think? If you call the iPad a big iPod touch, you're right. If you think that's a bad thing, you're ~~nuts~~ fully justified, but we see it as a huge positive, if only a first step. Removing the constraints imposed by a small screen? Yeah, the iPhone OS is just getting started. Apple is legitimately excited about this, and that means iPhone OS, and iPhones are going to benefit. Love. Up.