Dear Philippines: Do Not Buy an iPhone 4S (Yet)!

Source: technobuffalo.com

As you may have heard and seen now, the iPhone 5 has been released in the US and 30 more countries, with 22 of them just released today. This means that the 2 previous generations of the iPhone has their prices cut off, with the 4S now costs $99 and the 4 is now FREE (based on US prices, on a 2-year contract with a wireless carrier).

It also means that the price of the 4S that the local telcos are pretty inconsistent with the ones in the US. There are even tech-savvy Filipinos who realize this and either shell out tons of cash to get the latest right away or wait for it to arrive here.

It has come to my attention that the telcos are still pushing to sell the 4S at the same price as it was before the iPhone 5 came out and there are people who actually buy it. Sure there are promos to lower that price but not everyone can avail such.

From a fellow Filipino, I advise you to NOT get the 4S until the telcos announce the iPhone 5. If you feel that there isn't much difference, you can just get the 4S at a cheaper price (depends if the telco will still offer it). I sincerely don't want anyone to regret their purchase.

What's on My Homescreen?: Most Used Apps

I decided to start off how I use my iPhone by showing you guys what my homescreen looks like, which is right up there. Before I made this post, I used to have more folders but then I realized how tiring it is to make a few more taps just to get to my favorite apps. What I did is to put it back the way I wanted it to be, with minor changes. This will be spread throughout several posts that I will be doing this week before school arrives to haunt me again. YAY. (sarcasm) After which, I will be reading several of my favorite sites for Apple's main event in June which is the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC for short). 


Without further ado, let's start with my most used apps.


The "Spotlight" Bar: Music, Phone, Messages, and App Store


I specifically put these in the bar for good reasons: it's an iPhone so of course it has a Phone, I receive text messages from time to time, I listen to music a lot, and I frequently check on updates for apps I own. Simple enough.


The Facebook Folder

I know, I know. You're wondering why I download these Facebook apps. It's either because my connections are very much alive within Facebook or I simply download them to test their sturdiness as apps. Of all of them though, my favorite is still Facebook Messenger. Although, their Camera app is already showing promise despite the fact they bought Instagram. Still, Facebook's main app is SUPER SLOW. Loading it makes me wait like FOREVER. They better improve it because the transition to mobile feels like inevitable to me.


Twitter - I never would have gotten more addicted to Twitter if it weren't for iOS, since I started my Twitter addiction through my iPod touch.

Apple Apps: Safari, Reminders, Camera, Photos, Videos and Calculator


Honestly, I use these more than the rest of the apps after this. Safari for web browsing, Reminders keeps me updated with things-to-do (helps me a lot), Camera, Photos, and Videos for pictures and video, and Calculator for easy computations with some stuff.


Instagram - I used this before, but it seemed kinda boring. Then, the news that Android's gonna get it blew my mind. So I decided to try this again last April. I use it regularly since then. Good thing I have used it before exclusivity was lost. Whew! (No offense, Android people. I enjoy your company now!)

Flashlight - Because you never know when brownout strikes at home. 'Nuff said.


Homescreen Websites: The Verge and TechnoBuffalo


These sites have been my first source for tech news whenever I get home from OJT. This is where I find out whether the Galaxy S III actually sucks or if the new iPhone really gets a 4" screen. There are more sites I go to for more tech, but these are the first.


Flipboard - I used to read articles by using the Reader functionality in Safari, then I watched an episode of App Judgment of Revision3 and found Flipboard, a way to read articles like a newspaper. There are dedicated sections for News, Technology, even for the social networking sites I'm on, if connected to the app.

Pocket - I was reading in Flipboard for some time now, when I saw a random article about Read It Later being reworked from the ground up. It is now known as Pocket, an app that saves things that you want to read or watch later on your iPhone. This actually saves time in my part because I want to read things without any disturbance of ads and all. It's good that this exists. ^^


BatteryDoctor - I sometimes worry that the battery drains too much, so I downloaded this app and so far it has given me an accurate summary of the battery's performance.


Speedtest - This is my main speed tester to see how fast Globe's signal can be. It's effective at most cases. I will rant about Globe's speed in a separate video.


That's it for the most used apps for my iPhone. Stay tuned as I swipe the screen for more of "What's on My Homescreen?"