Roughly four days ago I received my new iPhone 4 via a simple plain brown cardboard box from FedEx. I knew it was arriving because I had been watching the tracking number just about every day since I pre-ordered the new iPhone 4 on June 15, 2010. Once I had the new device in hand I had to wait to activate because I use my home iMac as my main iTunes connection for my iPhone. I only had to wait about 6 hours and 53 minutes from the time I got the new iPhone 4 until I got home, but who’s counting anyway .

I already was familiar with iOS4 as I downloaded the Gold Master from the iPhone Developers Connection. Tara and I have access to some cool pre-release items from Apple via our developers agreement. In case you did not know, we developed an app called Gamble Track, check it out if you are interested in tracking your gambling. I was not familiar with the hardware for obvious reasons and that is where I was really surprised. Most of this review will be hardware-based but I will also touch on certain iOS4 elements that are very useful and welcoming.

The Hardware

Size, shape, and feel

The size of the new iPhone is about the same as the 3Gs version. Actual dimensions can be found at Apple’s website but the overall length and width is about the same. The iPhone 4 is a bit thinner and you can definitely feel the square edges when holding the phone. I did like the rounded shape and feeling of the 3Gs so holding the new iPhone 4 will take some time to get used to the square edges. It appears to feel like the weight has not changed much but I do feel like I am holding a very expensive piece of crystal glass and I am even more paranoid of dropping this thing that I was with the 3Gs.

Screen Display, Speed, and Responsiveness

All I can say is wow! The screen is amazingly beautiful and it is by far the best looking screen I have seen on any device (computer, monitor, HDTV, etc). Yes, better than an HDTV image. Fonts are very smooth and easy to read even when they are very small. I am looking forward to Apple integrating this new “Retina” display into their MacBook and iMac lines. Imagine this display at 30″?! Speed, this thing has speed. I am always amazed at how technology grows at an alarming pace. The processor in this iPhone 4 is probably faster than some Netbook computers, and I have to remind myself that this thing is a phone. Obviously we know that the iPhone is more than a phone, but many do use it to make calls and text other people. I have noticed that many of my apps open quicker and respond faster. For example, checkins on Foursquare are faster. In theory they should not as the location is still being downloaded from the cloud, but it just goes faster and I like it!

The Camera

Finally a 5MP camera for the iPhone. I am not sure why it was not a 8MP or 10MP, but I am sure there is some reason for it. Perhaps it has something to do with the 720p HD video recording capabilities. I posted some samples below of pictures and video taken straight from the iPhone. I uploaded these to Flickr at full quality so you can click on the images to the image on Flickr. Once on Flickr, you can view the original size by clicking on the picture and selecting “View All Sizes”.

Here is a sample of the new 5X digital zoom

Here is a sample of “tap to focus”, the first image is focused on the foreground, the second image is focused on the background.

Here is a picture of my shed.

Here is a sample video. Make sure you watch it in 720p HD, click play and then select 720p because sometimes YouTube defaults to 320p at first.

Buttons, Speakers, Mic, Antenna, Etc.

So far I really cannot tell any difference between this iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3Gs. The buttons are in the same spot, volume is decent, mic is good, and so far I have not had any reception issues that many people are complaining about.

iOS4

FaceTime

Video chat with other iPhone 4 users. Wow. So far this service has its issues. I have tried this with only 2 other people and each time we got booted off due to network issues or something. In order to use FaceTime, each person needs to be using an iPhone 4 and have a WIFI connection. I bet AT&T will allow FaceTime to happen over the 3G network soon enough, but for now this little feature seems very promising.

Folders

What I like about folders is that every app I have can now be organized in a way that I prefer. Before I tried to have a page of apps for all of my apps that were similar in nature but you were limited to the number of pages on previous OS versions. Now I have 2 screens. The main screen has all of the apps I use almost every day (Calendar, Contacts, Photos, Camera, App Store, Maps, Settings, Navigon, Clock, FourSquare, Facebook, and Twitter). On the second screen I have folders named according to category or purpose. For example I have a folder called “Vegas” which has all of my apps I use while in Vegas. I have another folder called “Food and Bev” which is filled with apps like Velvet Vine, Wine Ratings, Wine Notes, Chipotle, and Starbucks), plus many more folders to keep my app-life organized. I really like folders, I think it will help all iPhone users better organize their app-llife.

MultiTasking

Another cool feature that comes in handy is multitasking. I now can listen to Pandora while checking email and sending a text. Not all apps are ready for multitasking like Navigon and Facebook (and many others) but once they are, it will be nice to hop between apps and not have to worry about quitting and restarting each time. I have noticed that some apps will hang and cause some issues so an easy way to quit them is to tap and hold down on the app for a few seconds while in the multitasking feature and then choose the “-” button to kill the app.

I am sure there are many other features I am missing but I have only had the phone in my hands for about 4 days. So far I am not unhappy I purchased this device at all even though many of the new features in iOS4 are available on the 3Gs. I always need to have the latest technology in my hands, and this new iPhone 4 is certainly no exception.

I look forward to the iPhone 5 from Apple someday soon (probably in June of 2012…)

I am posting this using the Wordpress iPad app while on a flight to Fort Meyers Florida! I am using gogo in flight Internet and the connection is pretty darn good. I really do not have much else to say except this is awesome!

How do you manage thousands of images and how do you share them with the world? More importantly how do you share them with family in an easy-to-use way? Now throw in Geotagging and you have a whole new set of problems!  Oh, I forgot to mention, I want these photos easily downloaded and synced with Facebook.

I have the following accounts online for photo galleries: Mobile Me, Flickr, and Kodak.  I only have a Kodak because of our Kodak Digital Photo Frame. Mobile Me is cool, but rarely has support for embedding in Wordpress and also lacks the ability to map photos based on geodata and cannot talk with Facebook.  Flickr has an amazing amount of features and maps my photos.

What I really like is the current theme we have for our website, it is The Seven Five theme.  It is very easy to use and clean.  One feature is the Flickr integration, but I was not happy with that layout so much but it does have good Twitter and RSS feeds built-in.  So I started looking for new themes that had better Flickr integration or perhaps Flickr embedding.  All I could find were sites that demonstrated a Flickr plugin that did not do 100% of what I needed.  Most importantly I was trying to find a way to get my Flickr map on my site so people could see our pictures based on the GPS coordinates from our awesome new Sony Cybershot HX5V Camera.  I also wanted the ability to have my uploaded photos also update Facebook so my friends and family could see the new pictures added.  Embedding all of this on one single site just became nearly impossible.

So, I finally decided to just link out the Flickr content and utilize the Flickr site instead.  It is way more robust and with my PRO account I can upload high quality images and allow people to download them if they choose, one nice feature of Mobile Me.

Click on the links above and checkout what I am talking about.

We have been DVC members for almost 4 years now.  We bought at Saratoga Springs and 2 years ago we added on at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  The first year we made 1 trip to WDW, and since then we have managed to fit in about 2-3 trips to WDW a year.  All but 1 have been meticulously planned out well in advance by yours truly.  Last minute trips are not supposed to be  the norm with DVC.

Last week my husband and I were trying to think of someplace to go for a short Summer vacation this year with the kids.  I know,  I know, you’re saying “You’re just thinking of this now?  You should’ve started planning for this months ago!”  Well, the truth is, we did start thinking about this months ago, but all the options we kept coming up with met luke-warm responses.  We  live in the Twin Cities, so to drive anywhere cool is at least a full day’s drive each way, and neither of us is looking forward to that with a 6 year-old and a 3.5 year-old.  Maybe in a few years.

Eric’s mom lives near Ft. Myers, FL, so we thought maybe we can fly down to visit her for a few days at the end of June and maybe head to WDW for a couple days too?  I called DVC member services and was able to get a room for the 2 nights we were looking at.  Very cool!  Two months out, and I was able to get rooms!  I love my DVC!  Then we started pricing out airfare and rental cars, and reality set in.  I don’t think we can pull this off.  We’re looking at spending close to $2000 for less than a week!  Not to mention we’d be in Florida in late June.  We’re used to visiting in the Winter, so not sure how excited I am about being ridiculously hot all day long, and the lines at the parks at WDW?  Ugh, maybe this isn’t such a great idea.

Then on Thursday this week, I was reading @KidaniKatie’s blog on The DVC Life about to car rental or not to car rental and one of the comments mentioned that flying in and driving out in the Spring could save a lot of money because of the car rental companies’ desire to move cars out of Florida for the Summer.  I went back to my Alamo deals email I had recently received and read the blurb about the $10/day rentals out of Florida.  Awesome!  Only catch is, you have to pick up the car before May 31st.  Crap, we’re not going until June.

Wheels are turning…  ”What if we go the end of May instead?”  Sure, our oldest will miss a couple days of school, but he’s in kindergarten, how bad will it really be (that’s another blog post)?  So, I price it out, and we can fly into Ft. Myer’s (and visit Grandma) for $100 per person, and we can rent a minivan for $15/day!  Plus, with my DVC membership, I can save an additional 10% off the rental! Holy crap, we could fly in and drive home for like $500 total!  There’s still that long drive home, though.  Do we really want to spend 26 hours and 2 days of our vacation in the car?  Sure, it’s better than driving both ways, but still.  Then, while talking on the phone with Eric, we start to think, “Hey, it doesn’t say we have to drive the car to MN, we just need to drive it out of FL.”  Wheels are turning again…  Atlanta isn’t really that far of a drive from Orlando, and it’s a Delta hub (as is MSP – where we live)!  Back to Kayak, and we found we can fly into Ft. Myer’s and out of Atlanta for $204 per person!  Pretty much a done deal, right?

Not so fast.  First we need to make sure Eric’s mom is ok with us coming down the end of May instead of the end of June.  Eric makes a phone call, and a few minutes later, it’s a go on that front.  Next step is to call DVC member services and see if we can get a room.

I make the call…  My head is down, and I’m not really hopeful.  We are 30 days out after all.  There’s no way they’re going to have room for us.  I get through to a cast member right away.  So far, so good.  I give them my dates, and the person on the other end asks “Where would you like to stay?”  I say “Why don’t we start with what’s available instead, because that will probably make my decision for me.”  Smile on my face, chuckle in my voice.  ”I’m sure my options are pretty limited at this point.”  She chuckles too, then a pause.  Success!  She has the room we want for the dates we want at either Old Key West or Saratoga Springs!  Of course those are the only 2 resorts available (other DVC members will appreciate this), but hey, I don’t really care.  Both are very nice places to stay, and yay, suddenly we’re going to Disney World in less than a month!  Have I mentioned that I love my DVC?  So, I booked the room at Saratoga Springs, because the kids have never stayed there, and they are going to LOVE the pool there (especially at the end of May).

So now, in a matter of hours, I went from being not so sure about a Summer vacation to Florida to ecstatic about an almost Summer vacation to Florida for about half the price we were originally looking at spending.  Thank you @KidaniKatie and The DVC Life for asking the question about car rentals at Disney World this week!

Now my only concern is how the heck are we going to handle all the crowds in the parks?  We’ve never needed them before, but TouringPlans.com, here I come.

Monday I was at the Mall of America with my youngest son, who is 3.5 years old.  Living in the Twin Cities, the MOA is a frequent stop for us.  We went on a few rides, then picked up lunch and headed home.  Of course, like clockwork, as soon as we got in the car, my son announces he has to go to the bathroom.  Ok, get back out of the car, let’s head back in to use the restroom.  As we’re approaching the restrooms (thankfully they are right inside the doors), I notice a man entering the family restroom.  Ok, that option is out.  Let’s head into the Women’s restroom.  My son stops immediately.  “No, I want to go in the boys’ bathroom” he says.  I have no problem letting my 6 year old son go into the Mens’ room by himself.  I just stand outside and wait for him.  He has no problem doing his business by himself, but my 3.5 year old?

I usually try really hard not to be a helicopter parent.  I love reading the Free Range Kids blog, and one of the mantras that is always running through my head since becoming a mom has always been “pick your battles”.  So, I agreed to let my 3.5 year old go in the bathroom by himself.  I knew he has trouble getting his pants unfastened, so I did that for him before he went in.  I was a little nervous, but less than 2 minutes later, he came walking out with a big smile on his face, and his pants down around his ankles.  Luckily, he had a long shirt on, so nothing was exposed.  I laughed a little, pulled his pants up for him, and we headed home.

After many months of coding and testing, we are on the home stretch to finish version 2.0 and upload to the iTunes App Store.

Here are some screenshots and info about the new features for version 2.0

Location Screen

This screen now has full editing of each entry type

Track Screen

You can now see a complete overview of your location within the track screen.  Each entry in track is editable and you can merge entries as well.

Settings Screen

Trip info is also editable.  You can now email your history within the app using your email account using the familiar iPhone email application.

About Screen

This is a new screen and it features different ways to reach us and get more info about Gamble Track.  From within this screen you can send an email to support.  You can also visit our website, our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed.  You can also review release notes for all versions starting with version 2.0

Embedded Help

All pages now have a small “i” icon in the upper right corner.  When you tap this icon a help screen appears for each page with more detailed info about that page.

In just a few short days we will be submitting version 1.1 to the Apple Store.  Make sure you check out www.gambletrackapp.com for all of the details.  Please stay tuned!

2009 has been a very good year.
What the heck have we been doing?
I bet you are all waiting to find out, so here it is!

Winter 2008-2009

The year started with Tara and I taking a quick trip out to Las Vegas to see Donald and attend the annual CES Convention.  We always try to get the heck out of MN in January and this January was no exception!  With record cold weather (30 days below freezing), it was very easy to get away and enjoy the warmer weather in Las Vegas. Sean was enjoying his last year of Pre-school at Salem Hills Elementary, and he really liked his teacher Miss Rachel, but now he really likes his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Paulson. In late February we headed out to Disney World to celebrate Sean’s birthday where he had a blast running around Magic Kingdom with his “Birthday Crown” (see image at the bottom of the page). Sean had a blast! A birthday at Disney World, if only Nick could have had the same thing… (see the “Fall 2009″ section below..).

Spring 2009

Finally, some warmer weather!  For my birthday, Tara and I, along with some friends headed out to, you guessed it, Las Vegas! We had a great time as usual. Sean and Nick stayed home and enjoyed playing outside and spending some quality time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the lake. Sean started his first year of Tee-Ball and really enjoyed hitting the ball and running the bases. He also enjoyed hanging in the outfield playing with the sand! Another sport that Sean and Nick really enjoy playing is Golf! Both of them love to ride along and spend the day with Dad as he attempts to get better at the ever frustrating game of golf. As the weather got warmer, Sean and Nick became inseparable. Nick really looks up to his brother and is doing a great job with talking, singing, and pretty much repeating everything Sean does.

Summer 2009

Finally Summer was here and the kids were enjoying the extra long days and fun in the sun! The days were full of playing in the backyard with the blow-up pools. For our 11 Year Anniversary, Tara and I went to……ahem……Vegas. This time with even more friends!  Wow, we go there a lot! Summer was the time that Nick came in to his own and started being even more independent. He is really growing up fast! Potty training began this Summer, and Nick is doing a fantastic job!  For the 4th of July, we all watched the fireworks from Grandpa’s boat on the lake. It seemed like the past Summer was full of fun, swimming, playing in the yard, swimming, enjoying the weather, and swimming!  In July, Tara and I headed out to Sonoma, CA and met up with our friends Eric and Amanda Zemke. We had some amazing opportunities to taste great wine and enjoy the Wine Country. We think that will be a regular trip as our passion for wine has grown into somewhat of an obsession. While we were away in California, Sean and Nick helped Grandpa with a few birdhouse projects around the house, and Nick, our little daredevil, went tubing for the first time! Sean and Nick love going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house especially in the Summer time! In August we took a family trip to Wisconsin Dells, our very first “Road Trip” in the minivan. I think we might stick with flying from now on. We had a great time in the Dells but that place is soooo crowded.  Of course there is no better way to round out the Summer than with a trip to the MN State Fair. Every year Sean and Nick enjoy the fair more and more, but who doesn’t like the fair?

Fall 2009

Sean’s first day of Kindergarten! I cannot believe he is already off to school beginning the never ending journey of education and learning.  It is amazing how much progress he has made in just the past few months. He constantly talks about school and loves his teacher, Mrs. Paulson. Tara finished developing her first iPhone app and we launched it in the iTunes App Store in October. If you are in to gambling and are looking for a way to track your patterns and play, checkout our app: Gamble Track. So I guess all of those trips to Vegas might pay off? October was a great month as we celebrated two birthdays! We decided since Sean had such a fun birthday at Disney World that we would do the same for Nick!  We headed to Disney World with Grandma Mary and Grandma Bechik along with the Anaya family and spent the week enjoying everything that Disney World has to offer. Nick got the royal treatment with his very own Disney Birthday Button, and he basked in the glory of being the center of attention. The kids got the special treatment at the Pirates League and dressed up in full Pirate attire. We then headed off to trick or treat at the Magic Kingdom!

This year has been amazing. We are so happy that we are doing well and that our kids are healthy and enjoying life. We hope that you and your family are happy and healthy. We wish you well during this holiday season!

Eric, Tara, Sean(5), and Nick(3) Neumann

Some pics from this year (you can see them all by clicking on “Gallery” at the top of the site)

Tara has been working on an app to keep track of her video poker gambling while in Vegas.  After some discussion we decided to enhance the app so it can be used by more people than just Tara.  Tara made some tweaks, we tested, and then submitted it to the iTunes App Store.  Sure enough, it is now available for purchase!

More info is available at http://www.gambletrackapp.com

You can also follow Gamble Track on Twitter: @gambletrackapp

The kids love to play games on our iPhones.  Even with a nice protective case, if our iPhone were to drop and crack or become unusable, we would be looking at about $500 to replace the iPhone.  While it is pretty cool that our kids are so interested in games and playing with our phones, we cannot afford to replace an iPhone at that price.

We had an old iPod Touch from about 2-3 years ago laying around that we were using as a development iPod for our upcoming app (Gamble Track, coming soon! http://www.gambletrackapp.com).  Now that SDK 3.1 is out, we can use our iPhones for testing and so we gave that old iPod Touch to the kids to play their games.

That did not last too long as each one was fighting over who gets to play with the iPod Touch and the result was always the one that did not get the iPod Touch would come over to one of us and beg to use our iPhone.  We broke down and decided to purchase a new iPod Touch for Sean (age 5) and load all of his favorite games and his favorite movies on the device.  So far he loves his iPod and now that Nick (age 2) gets to use the older iPod Touch, there is no fighting and much peace in the household these days.

However, I have noticed that our kids are becoming a little less loud, boisterous, and all around less crazy since they have become enthralled by these little devices.  We are making sure they do not spend too much time on the iPod Touch and maintain a healthy balance of play time outside with play time inside.  We have also loaded the iPod’s with educational apps, fun kid-friendly games, and plenty of Disney movies.

The question is, is an iPod Touch too much for a 2-year old and a 5-year old?  My answer, no.  I think that they are developing some pretty interesting cognizant skills as well as the ability to problem solve with minimal frustration.  Some say games at a young age are bad, others say they help with “hand-eye coordination”, I just think that they are fun and hopefully will expand your knowledge and make life a little more interesting.  Maybe they will have a “leg-up” in school when it comes time for computer lab?

Now we just have to teach them that these devices are expensive and cannot be thrown around, flushed into the toilet, dropped in the bath-tub, or used as a weapon!