Initial thoughts on the iPhone 5, by our Head of Technical Services, Mark Reynolds.
The time of year has come round again, when Apple make a bid for another chunk of our hard earned wage packet. Will the latest offering that is a little bit slimmer, longer and faster tempt us to upgrade? I’m sure that a lot of us probably will, but will it be for the new features or just because it is the latest and greatest offering from Apple? Personally, my iPhone 4 is feeling a little bit tired; the home button on it is losing responsiveness and I wouldn’t mind a new one to, but really, it is just another phone.
All-new Lightning Connector
You may also be wandering how the latest iPhone will work with your existing iPod docks within your home entertainment system. Well you could buy and adaptor and carrying on using the iPod dock, but who wants their phone tied to a dock? Why not replace these docks with an Airplay receiver? Crestron have gone a step further and released Airplay for their Sonnex multi room audio distribution matrix and amplifier solution.
What? no NFC?
You might ask why does that matter? For the smart home it does, a lot can be done with NFC (Near Field Communication) to bring new features to a home, such as; triggering personal settings for lighting, temperature and home entertainment systems. It is in easy way of limiting access for children and guests to specific satellite receivers for example. Also, the systems from the likes of Crestron with their new AirConnect platform and AMX Modero touch panels, they can be easily programmed to allow the homeowner to adjust settings for each NFC device.
How does it work? Small tags are hidden in touch panels or behind in wall keypads and the user just needs to wave their personal tag over it. Now the thing to consider is, what device do people always carry with them? It is in general their phone. When I come home in the evening, out come my keys, wallet and small change as soon as I walk through the door, but my phone stays with me until I go to bed. So why didn’t Apple include it in their latest version of the iPhone? They feel that their Passbook app will be the answer for what the majority of people need, because seemingly they have only been looking at NFC as a means of contactless payment to remove the need for carrying cash around.
Why not talk to Olive about how we can assist updating your system to work with the new iPhone or about how we can integrate NFC into your smart home.