1. Megapixels Still Count

In the old days of the digital camera most people thought bigger the megapixel count on the camera the better. But this was not completely true as now thanks to the Internet based awareness everyone knows that higher megapixel count not always translates to the best image quality. However it doesn’t mean that we should be contend with camera which has low megapixel count! You need that higher pixel count if you want to print out the capture snapshots for example. Or if you are going to view them on a very high resolution screen or HDTV. That’s why we can witness a much improved camera on the iPhone 4S with an 8 megapixel count as compared to the 5 MP on the previous gen.

2. All New Optics

A much touted feature of the iPhone 4S camera is the all new much improved optics. As Apple puts it – its all about the light that enters so the new larger f/2.4 aperture lets the more light to come in to capture the brighter and better photos which look more natural. Also the custom lens that is employed in the iPhone 4S assembly uses five precision elements to shape incoming light, which makes the entire image sharper. In brief, the new optics in iPhone 4S are one of the best yet in a smartphone.

3. Zero Shutter Lag

New A5 processor integrated in the iPhone 4S includes a very fast image signal processor. It allows all in all the camera to be very responsive and with almost zero shutter lag essentially allowing the action to be captured as it happens.

4. Advanced Image Processing Algorithms

An other great benefit of the new A5 chip to be used for image signal processing is that the camera can use advanced algorithms in iOS 5 for even more color accuracy, better white balance, and greater dynamic range. Ultimately this makes the images to look much natural and sharper.

5. Face Detection and Image Stabilization

New camera in the iPhone 4S will allow you the use of face detection feature that is typically found in point&shoot cameras but now you can access on your new iPhone 4S! It focuses on the most prominent face in the frame and balances exposure across up to 10 faces automatically.

Sample Image Gallery

A Review of 5 Killer iPhone 4S Camera Features That You Should Know!

In case, you have a jailbroken iDevice then a far better option will be to use one of the many great Cydia applications that we reviewed in the past to backup the iPhone data to your computer, Dropbox, FTP etc. Here, we will detail the 5 best Cydia apps you can use to back the iPhone data such as iTunes Apps, Cydia Apps, app settings etc. to a safe place. Both free and paid apps are included so you can choose the most appropriate application according to your needs, required set of features and of course the budget.

So, here we go…

1. iBye

This Cydia app will allow to do the backup of App Store App Data, Cydia Apps, Messages, Notes, Mail, Calendar, Photos, Address Book, Safari, Syslog, and Call History. So, as you can see pretty much everything is included. And one of the strengths of the program is that you can selectively perform the backup of each of these items that you want to backup. iBye supports backup not only to the FTP but can also use you Dropbox account to do the backup. You can also do a local backup of the data but that is not recommended.

2. xBackup

xBackup is an other option to back the Cydia applications, settings, sources etc., so that you can restore at a later time if needed. xBackup is available for only $1.50 from Cydia (BigBoss repo). Application itself is very straight forward to use there is a backup button to backup the current Cydia data. Next time you sync with the iTunes, this data will also be copied to the computer. After you restore your device, just sync with the iTunes so to copy back the back the backup data and install the xBackup application from Cydia again and hit the restore and there you go…

3. PkgBackup

In case you have spare money at hand like $8 then you have a much better, flexible and more sophisticated option in the form of a Cydia application called PkgBackup that allows to do a complete backup of jailbroken iPhone applications on Addressbook or your Dropbox. After you make a backup, in case something goes wrong you can always go back and restore the device to exact same copy as it was before by the restoration method. Application provides a number of options to choose what to backup and what not.

4. Data Deposit

Data Deposit allows to backup the current iOS saved application and games data to your Dropbox account. Best of all you can not only restore it on the same iDevice afterwards, but also on any other iDevice you might own using Dropbox! So, you will never loose any important saved data in your applications or games again if you are using this Cydia application!

5. AptBackup

Actually, this application stores a list of all the jailbreak applications in a text file on your iOS system and makes sure that this file is saved as well when you make a backup through the iTunes. This way this text file will also be restored when you restore the iOS device. This text file then tells the AptBackup on which applications to download. Only catch is that this will NOT restore the settings for the applications.

As you can see there are a lot of choices to backup the iPhone data and some the best Cydia apps for this purpose we have covered here. So, you can select the best application according to you needs from this list.

We hope that you enjoyed this article. You might want to have a look at the Cydia section on our website to get a quick look at the cool Cydia Apps and tweaks that we have covered in the past.

5 Best Cydia Apps to Backup Your iPhone (iOS) Data and Applications, Games Settings [Jailbreak Required]

In the past we had a detailed article about the new and exciting features in iOS 5. One of the major new features that we mentioned was the new Notification Centre that houses all the messages/notifications such as calls, sms etc. that you can check at any later time. As many have already noticed, Notification Centre also shows all new widgets developed by Apple specifically for the iOS 5 namely weather and stock widgets. Soon after the release of the iOS 5 beta, we were expecting that jailbreak community will move ahead and bring us the new customized 3rd party widgets to break away from the Apple exclusive widgets. And they didn’t disappoint! We have already a handful and surprisingly very useful 3rd party widgets available for the iOS 5 Notification System and almost all of them are available for free! In this article, we will have an ultimate rundown of the best iOS 5 notification center widgets currently available. Enjoy!

Please note that since these iOS 5 notification center widgets are by nature in fact Cydia tweaks, and hence requires that you have an iOS 5 powered iPhone (or some other iOS device) and already  jailbroken.

- Jailbreak iOS 5 On iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad & iPod Touch Using Redsn0w 0.9.8 [Guide]

- Jailbreak iOS 5 in Windows On iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad & iPod Touch Using Redsn0w 0.9.8b1

- Jailbreak iOS 5 & Preserve Baseband For iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad 1 Using Sn0wbreeze 2.8 – [Windows]

1. UISettings – First 3rd Party Widget For iOS 5 Notification Centre

UISettings integrates some really useful buttons for commonly used actions right into the new Notification Centre of iOS 5! The actions integrated through the UISettings for now include the very common functions such as Airplane mode, Respring, Brightness control, Wi-Fi on/off etc. You might notice that it has some similarity to the already available and well known SBSettings tweak that also allows to control all these functions, and provides much more customization. But the beauty of the UISettings is in the way it nicely integrates in the iOS 5 notification center.

2. RSSWidget – RSS News Widget

As its name implies it allows you to easily access the latest RSS news from your favorite RSS subscribed websites right from the iOS 5 Notification Centre. No need to launch a dedicated app just to have a quick glance at the latest tech news of your interest for example. It seems that RSSWidget can get the latest RSS updates in real-time.

3. WeeTwitter – Twitter Timeline

WeeTwitter puts the entire Twitter timeline including the mentions, retweets, replies and saved searches in to the Notification Center.

4. WidgetTask – Multitasking Bar

WidgetTask is actually made by the same guy who brought us the UISettings. And no wonder this tweak is equally as useful as that one. Because what WidgetTask does is it puts your multitasking bar that you access using the double-tap Home button right in to the Notification Centre! So, no need to double-tap that hard to press Home button again after installing this tweak!

5. WeeFacebook – A Facebook Widget

As its name implies is a mobile Facebook accessible right from with in the iOS 5 Notification Centre! It should be good complimentary widget to the WeeTwitter you know. It has been developed by a developer named Manuel Gebele.

6. WeeTranslate – Google Translate Widget

It puts the Google translate at your finger tips (ah I mean in the new iOS 5 notification center!). It has been developed by an Italian developer named Simone (@sh1m3on).

Here are some of the features of the WeeTranslate:

– Translates to 5-languages ​​(English, Italian, Spanish, German, French)
– Uses the world’s most-famous translation engine (Google Translate)
– Free, fast, convenient, low-bandwidth data

7. QuickComposer- Quickly Compose Tweets, SMS, Email

Using this application you can quickly compose a new email, sms, note, tweet or a reminder without problem. It is being developed by the iHaz3  – a popular iOS developer.

8. OmniStat – Powerful UISettings Replacement 

Actually, OmniStat is a fairly powerful widget that includes a number of features rolled in to a single widget. For the starters, in includes a number of useful toggles (buttons) to turn on/off the common functions such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flight mode etc. in the top row (rememberUISettings?). Then it has a number if useful stats screens that are selectable by swiping left and right. They cover things like the free and used memory released stats (in a pie chart view) as well as the currently running processes list – all from the connivance of the iOS 5 Notification Centre. Best of all OmniStat is available for free of charge as many other iOS 5 Notification Center widgets.

9. SpringPrefs – Shows System Stats

SpringPrefs  is yet another jailbreak tweak for the new iOS 5 Notification Tray. This is one puts the useful system stats such as free RAM, IP address, Up time, firmware ID etc. in the Notification Tray of iOS 5. As the previously mentioned UISettings, WeeTwitter Widget and then WidgetTask widgets this one also seems pretty useful because it allows to have a quick glance at the important system stats instead of launching any individual app to do so.

10. MusicCenter – A Widget to Show Now Playing Music

MusicCenter will place the Now Playing info for you music lovers right in there where it belongs – Notification Tray in iOS 5. This will show the album art as well as the rating of the song (in terms of stars), playback time etc. (as shown below). This one has been developed by the @WrightsCS.

11. BBSettings – A Great Alternate to SBSettings 

BBSettings is developed by the Manuel Gebele – the same guy who developed the WeeFacebook. After installing the widget first thing you will notice is the distinct resemblance to the popular SBSettings app and UISettings another popular widget for the iOS 5 notification Center. Basically it combines the best ideas from both theses applications and puts all the useful features in single widget for the user to have a quick access.

Ultimate Compilation of Best iOS 5 Notification Centre Widgets [Cydia Tweaks]

Tab+
Mutilconmover
Infiniboard
Infinidock
SBSettings
Alphacon
Android Delete
Graviboard
Grid Lock
Animate Battery
Winterboard
Flipover
List Launcher
Cy Delete
Folder Enhancer
Pull to Refresh Safari
RetinaPad
Barrel
Camera Wallpaper
icon renamer
double tap to open
Pagenames
iSwipe
Stayopened
iTypeappleicon
retina app icons
page pusher
Bytafont
AndroidLock XT
Insomnia

As you can see some of them are very popular already like Infiniboard, Infinidock, SBSettings, Folder Enhancer while there are also some other hidden gems which are not very well known but nevertheless very useful like Cy Delete, iSwipe. Have a look at the video for rundown of this list of top Cydia tweaks of 2011!

[Source]

A List of Best 30 Cydia Apps/Tweaks of 2011 [Video]

There are few things I should clarify, as you will notice this list is a bit more biased towards the action or FPS genre. Also, I am ONLY considering the games for which the developers had running gameplay demos (no rendered cut-scenes, teasers etc.!). 

Enough talking let’s move over to see what’s in store!

10. Tomb Raider (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

9. Batman: Arkham City (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

8. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PlayStation 3)

7. Mass Effect 3 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

6. OverStrike (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

5. BioShock Infinite (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

4. Far Cry 3 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

3. Battlefield 3 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

1. RAGE (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

That’s all folks for now. If you want to share the games that you are most excited about coming out this year or next, then let us know in the comments!

[All video trailers courtesy of GameTrailers]

My Picks For THE 10 Best Games of E3 2011

Mozilla has done a nice job compiling a list of Firefox extensions that are THE biggest contributors to the Firefox startup slowdown. Interestingly some well known extensions are also included in this list such as Firebug, FlashGot and Video DownloadHelper. Have a look for yourself:

Head to the Mozilla website for the complete top 50 list.

Also, don’t forget this ‘Hackiest’ Hack ever to speedup Firefox that we reported earlier!

[Source]

Firefox is Starting Slow ? – Top 10 Add-ons That are Slowing it Down!

It’s really funny, in particular I liked the bits on the 2nd and 7th place. Have a look for yourself:

So, what do you think about these? I don’t think most of these will be even possible (if possible at all) for an iPhone 6 or 7 for that matter!

Thanks to MacTrast!

9 Reasons That You Should NOT Buy an iPhone 5 (Really!) – [Infographic]

Top 20 Great SNES Songs to Bring Back Your Nostalgic Memories [Video]

But users at GamrConnect have come up with a very interesting list of fifty greatest games of all times which is made by the community. In order to participate, each member had to make their own list of top 50 games, which is a daunting task and ensured that only committed people participated.

Read more to find out which game came out at the top !!
 

50     Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater   
49     Castlevania: Symphony of the Night   
48     Valkyria Chronicles   
45     GoldenEye 007   
45     Pokemon Red/Blue   
45     Super Smash Bros. Melee   
44     Heavy Rain   
43     Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars   
42     Super Smash Bros. Brawl   
41     Final Fantasy XII   
40     Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots   
39     LittleBigPlanet   
38     Ico   
37     Final Fantasy VIII   
36     Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas   
35     Red Dead Redemption   
34     New Super Mario Bros. Wii   
33     The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion   
31     Grand Theft Auto: Vice City   
31     Super Mario Bros.   
30     Portal   
29     Final Fantasy IX   
28     Pokemon Gold/Silver   
27     Final Fantasy XIII   
25     Mass Effect   
25     Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune   
24     Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic   
22     God of War III   
22     Resident Evil 4   
21     Final Fantasy VII   
20     Bioshock   
19     Okami   
18     Final Fantasy X   
16     The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask   
16     Mass Effect 2   
15     The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker   
14     Super Mario World   
13     Super Mario Bros. 3   
12     Final Fantasy IV  
11     Metroid Prime   
10     Super Mario Galaxy 2   
9     The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past   
8     Shadow of the Colossus   
7     The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess   
6     Uncharted 2: Among Thieves   
5     Super Mario Galaxy   
4     Super Mario 64   
3     Final Fantasy VI   
2     Chrono Trigger   
1     The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This list is probably a little too heavy on Nintendo games and RPG’s but nevertheless it is made by avid gamers which makes it somewhat more reliable than just a computer generated list based on numbers. After all, being the greatest game has a lot to do with the experience and the  impact it leaves on us.

Anyways, you can read the full original thread here: Source

50 Greatest Games Of All Time Revealed !!

Here is sample of the some key figures:

Gadget of the Year

Apple iPad

Most Anticipated Gadget

Motorola Xoom

Smartphone of the Year

Apple iPhone 4

Laptop of the Year

Apple MacBook Air

E-reader of the Year

Amazon Kindle 3

Display of the Year

Apple Retina display

Game Console of the Year

Xbox 360S

Head over to the Engadget to get the complete scoop.

Engadget Announces the 2010 Readers Choice Award Winners!