Apple iphone 6 VS galaxy

The Apple iPhone 6 steps into phablet territory with the iPhone 6 Plus, a smartphone with a 5.5-inch display. Some suspect this is to appeal to Asian markets and it's certainly a break from iPhones of the past.

When it comes to big-screen phones there is a dominant force: the Samsung Galaxy Note. The Note 4 is the latest and greatest in the line and unlike the iPhone 6 Plus features a built-in stylus - Samsung calls it an S Pen - that opens a variety of additional features and controls.

You asked for it, so we've pitched the latest from Samsung against the latest from Apple in this clash of the titans.
Design and build

Apple is known for quality builds and the iPhone 6 Plus is no different. The body is aluminium, wrapping around the sides to meet the display. The curved edges of the body are met by the curved edge of the display itself, for a seamless high-quality finish. The 6 Plus measures 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1mm and it weighs 179g.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a metal frame, but opts for a soft-touch plastic removable back. It offers increased flexibility, as you can change the battery, or swap the cover for an alternative when you fancy a change. The Note 4 measures 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm and weighs 176g.

The Note 4 is shorter but fractionally wider than the iPhone 6 Plus; the iPhone is thinner overall. However, Samsung packs in a larger 5.7-inch display, making the iPhone 6 Plus look larger than it perhaps should, while the inclusion of a cavity to contain the S Pen is an additional reason for the increased Samsung thickness. 

Despite suggestions of "bendgate" and "gapgate" in respective phones we've had no such issues; we haven't bent our iPhone 6 Plus by using it as a normal phone, and the Note 4 doesn't have a gap that fingernail, business card or sheet of paper could fit down - contrary to various reports.
Display

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4's 5.7-inch display is Super AMOLED and comes with a cracking 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, delivering a 515ppi pixel density. It uses Samsung 2.5D technology to increase the visible pop from its surface.

The iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch LED IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, delivering a 401ppi pixel density.

Both Samsung and Apple make great claims about their displays and it will be some time before we can put them both side-by-side to compare performance, but from what we've seen, both are impressive. However, Samsung packs in more pixels on the Note 4 which means it's better able to render fine details than the iPhone 6 Plus - ideal for Samsung's multi-tasking feature of two apps on one screen.
Power and performance

The Apple iPhone 6 Plus has a new A8 processor with M8 coprocessor for motion. Apple tells us it's faster than previous devices, naturally, but doesn't break down the specifics of the hardware or RAM. It's 64-bit, supporting iOS 8, but little else is officially revealed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4's hardware can vary based on region, but in the UK it comes with a the 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 and 3GB RAM under the hood (some territories offer the Samsung Exynos octa-core (1.9GHz quad and 1.3GHz quad) chipset). Although Snapdragon 805 supports 64-bit, the Android operating system doesn't just yet - so that's something that could see further software improvements in the future.

Is either better? It's a tricky comparison because we're dealing with two entirely different operating systems. With Apple running iOS 8 and the Galaxy Note 4 on Android 4.4 KitKat, how that relates to real-use performance is also very different. From what we've seen in both, neither is a slouch by any means.
Connectivity

The biggest benefit from Samsung's choice of Qualcomm chipset is that it's the first device available in the UK to cater for super-fast 4G LTE-Advanced, with speeds of up to 300Mbit/s theoretically possible. In reality those speeds won't be achieved given existing carriers, but if on-the-go connectivity is crucial for you then Samsung has that side of things wrapped up.

That's not to say Apple's choice of LTE antenna is slow, as it's capable of delivering 4G speeds up to 150Mbit/s.
Camera

The Apple iPhone 6 Plus has an 8-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture on the rear offering optical image stabilisation. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a 16-megapixel sensor, with f/2.4 aperture and optical image stabilisation also features.

More megapixels doesn't necessarily equate to better images once you reach a certain point (or the Xperia Z3 would take all the accolades), as a lot comes down to how the hardware is managed, and how the data captured is handled. Having taken shots using both cameras, we have to say the results from both are great.

However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 offers 4K UHD video capture at 30fps, whereas the iPhone 6 Plus does not. Both devices can capture 1080p video and both offer slow-motion 720p video capture at up to 240fps (an eighth of the speed). Similar experiences here, with the Samsung pulling ahead thanks to 4K capture.

On the front, the Note 4 offers a 3.7-megapixel f/1.9 camera, the iPhone has a 1.2-megapixel f/2.4. Apple specifies that the iPhone 6 Plus offers 720p video from the front camera, whereas the Note 4 offers 1080p.

Overall it's a close call here. We've been fairly blown away by the iPhone 6's low-light capabilities, but with the extra resolution of the Note 4 its daytime snaps and even low-light shots have been suitably impressive too. Can't go wrong with either.
Software

These two devices run on very different software. You'll have your preference, based on many factors, between iOS and Android. The big difference in these devices, however, comes down to Samsung's customisation, as it packs in a lot of multi-tasking functions for big-screen use.

Apple iOS 8 is a different beast to Android and in a nod to the big screen, Apple has introduced a landscape mode for things like the home page and Mail, so that you can take advantage of having a little more space to work on the 5.5-inch display.

However, Samsung has an extensive array of customisations aimed at the multitasker, evolved through the generations of Note devices. For example, you can split the display, minimise an app into a hovering icon, as well as take advantage of some powerful copy and paste functionality, all useful for those working on the move. Not every app can be presented in a split-screen formation, but plenty of the core ones can.
Samsung S Pen

Samsung also ties a lot of functionality into the included S Pen stylus, which is a key differentiator between these two devices.

Some will argue that if a mobile device is right, you should be able to do everything with a finger, however Note owners will disagree: having the S Pen lets you do things you can't elsewhere, such as bringing up the Air Command menu by hovering over the screen and clicking the S Pen's button. A press-and-hold of the button can also assist with quick copy and paste with a greater accuracy and speed than finger-based selection.

You can get a stylus for the iPhone too, but the S Pen comes with a range of software support features, pressure sensitivity (to 2,048 levels), handwriting conversion into text, and a whole lot more. If note-taking is on the agenda, then the Note is probably your best choice (hence the name), claiming a writing experience that's closer to paper and pen.
Battery life

The iPhone 6 Plus has a 2195mAh battery, which is almost twice the capacity of the iPhone 5S. It has great stamina and iOS 8 performs well in keeping battery consumption to a sensible level.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has the more capacious 3220mAh battery. Even with hardcore use it's been getting us through a day, with casual use it will handle two days, and with the various battery saving options it could last for far longer in its texts-and-calls-only mode.

Again it's difficult to realistically put these into any real comparative terms, but from our experience using both handsets it's a similar experience. The Samsung may have the larger battery, but it's also got the larger and more resolute screen to power. But the bottom line is that neither disappoint.
Conclusions

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus sit in the same space by virtue of display size.

Samsung edges out Apple in the display density by quite a margin and also offers a more flexible approach to the battery and storage (there's a microSD slot, which lacks in the Apple device).

Apple's slimmer, aluminium body design, however, might win some over. It's a great metal build, but is perhaps taller than it needs to be compared to the Note 4 when it needn't be. The Samsung is slightly thicker, but not by a huge amount, and that's understandable given the integrated S Pen stylus - a feature that helps separate the two devices from one another.

On the software front, those looking for big-screen support will probably be better served by the Note 4 initially, along with its S Pen and diverse range of features specifically for multitasking.

One area to watch will be how the developer community makes use of the iPhone 6 Plus screen space. We suspect that those who initially choose the iPhone 6 Plus will do so for big-screen movie watching and gaming, but there's no shortage of iPad apps that could step down to iPhone 6 Plus.

The iPhone 6 Plus is available from £619 in its 16GB form, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will cost £629 for the 32GB version. The biggest iPhone 6 Plus storage capacity maxes out at 128GB for £789, while the Note 4's microSD card slot means capacity up to an additional 128GB can be added for a less significant cost

Apple iPhone 6 review: 

The iPhone grows up

The Good A bigger, crisp display, improved LTE and Wi-Fi speeds, better camera autofocus, bumped-up storage capacities to 128GB at the top end, and NFC Apple Pay mobile wallet features on the horizon.

The Bad In early tests, the iPhone 6's battery doesn't fare any better than last year's model. Some Android phones fit an even-larger 5-inch screen into the same size frame. It lacks the optical image stabilization of the bigger, more expensive 6 Plus.

The Bottom Line The iPhone 6 delivers a bigger screen while remaining easy to handle, with plenty of features to satisfy everyone -- and the promise of Apple Pay on the horizon to potentially sweeten the deal even further.

 I'm sitting on my sofa. I pull out my phone to check sports scores. Wait, which phone was it again? I'm starting to lose track. For a second, I think it's the 6 Plus. Wait, it's the 6.

I've been using the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus side by side for a week, and I can tell you this: both of Apple's new iPhones have better, big displays. And both make the iPhone 5S' screen seem small. But I'm having a hard time picking which one I prefer. That's pretty frustrating. At least I know this: the iPhone 6 is a lot like the Plus...minus a few features.

For years, Android phones have shipped with displays in expansive, 5-inch-ish sizes, but Apple has stubbornly insisted on the necessity of a small screen for one-handed operation. The iPhone 5S, while powerful, hit a wall in viewing room: its 4-inch screen was among the smallest on the market, and, frankly, I found it limiting.

 No longer. Now, Apple has created two larger iPhones, one big, the other even bigger: the iPhone 6 sports a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus goes full "phablet" with a 5.5-inch display. Both of the new iPhones boast flatter designs, ship with somewhat faster A8 processors, slightly improved cameras, speedier Wi-Fi and LTE, better voice quality if you're using voice-over-LTE, and more onboard storage.

Both 2014 models also incorporate Apple Pay, the new and potentially revolutionary NFC-powered payment system that turns the phone into a credit card. Apple Pay could be the biggest feature on these new iPhones if it works as advertised; stay tuned for more on that when it launches in the US in October.

Between the two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 feels best in my hand. It's thin, elegant, performs really well, and has many of the features I need. But it lacks extra battery life and optical image stabilization, which I care about. So do you go with the more expensive, larger iPhone 6 Plus? I wish I didn't have to debate between two very similar premium phones.

6, or 6 Plus?

See, here's the problem: Apple has added two phones at once for the first time. And they're both pretty similar. So which one do you pick?

The good news is that the iPhone 6, which feels great to hold, has nearly all the same features as the 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus both have larger screens than previous iPhones. They both have new A8 processors. They both have 16, 64, or 128GB of storage. They both come in three colors: white/silver, white/gold, and space gray, which is black/darker silver.

 The differences between the two aren't that tremendous, but they're important. The 6 has a 4.7-inch, 1,344x750-pixel display. The 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel display, plus optical image stabilization in the camera and the ability to run more apps in horizontal-landscape mode, with split-screen effects like an iPad. It's also significantly bigger, and weighs more -- but it does have a longer battery life.

You're not losing much with the 6. But it's not the absolute top of the line, and maybe that bugs you. If it does, get the 6 Plus.

For potential buyers of both phones, here's how it breaks down:

For owners of older iPhones looking to upgrade, these new iPhones are massive leaps in screen size. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will probably be more than enough, but the 6 Plus may be downright intimidating unless you're looking for a mini-tablet.

For Android owners who once jumped ship from iOS and want to come back, this is the iPhone generation you've been waiting for. It's the best iPhone since the iPhone 5. Back then, 4G LTE and an improved screen and camera made the difference. This time, a larger screen, a fast processor, NFC with Apple Pay (although likely only that), the additional customization features of iOS 8, and bumped-up storage tiers go a long way to close the feature gap with current top Android phones.

For iPhone 5S owners or habitual iPhone upgraders, think of the chief advantages as a bigger screen and the potential of Apple Pay. The improved processor, camera, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi speeds, and possible battery-life gains are steps up, but not massive leaps. In other words, if you don't have a strong desire for the larger screen, you could easily ride your iPhone 5S (running iOS 8) for 12 more months, and wait for the inevitable iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in 2015.

For hard-core Android fans, well, there are Android phones that cost less, have higher-resolution screens, boast better battery life, have removable SD card storage, and even removable batteries. You won't find all of these on an iPhone 6, but this is the most attractive iPhone yet. You can't have everything in Appleland.

Design

My favorite-feeling 4.7-inch phone, the one that proved larger screens could be made in compact sizes, was the 2013 Motorola Moto X. Does the iPhone 6 pull off the same feel? It's close, but different.

The new iPhone design may seem bold and different, or possibly a little like the HTC One M8's curved metal, but it's also still very Apple. In fact, it's kind of like the iPod Touch design, or how the iPads are made. This iPhone is slightly thinner than before, but it feels much thinner; part of that's the increased screen size, and partly it's the curved design. Glass from the front folds ever so slightly around the edges, and the sharp industrial hard edges of the iPhone 5 and 5S are completely gone.

It also feels a little like the original iPhone, which had a curved design, too.

 The new iPhone feels good to hold and beautifully solid; the metal back and glass front are smoothed, and comfortable. But it also has a slight aura of fragility; maybe it's the extra-slim look, or the massive pane of curved glass on the front. I instantly wanted to slip it into a case just to be safe.

Also, the slightly protruding camera lens on the back of the iPhone 6, while similar to the one on the fifth-gen iPod Touch, made me worry about placing the phone down on rough surfaces, regardless of the sapphire lens.

The volume buttons, which were round, raised buttons before, are now elongated like those on the iPod Touch and iPad. The top-right power/sleep button has shifted to the right, like you find on some Android phones. It takes some getting used to, but it's easier to press now that the phone is bigger.

A round Touch ID home button remains at the bottom, and works the same as on last year's iPhone 5S: a simple press unlocks your phone, and it works amazingly well most of the time. This year, iOS 8 and Apple Pay will allow you to do more with Touch ID, making it an even more essential feature. But reaching that home button isn't quite as easy with one hand as it was before.

 If I have one problem with the new design, it's the bezel around the display. It's still big; bigger than most Android phones. It means that an iPhone 6 with its 4.7-inch screen is the same size as some 5-inch screen phones. For instance, the iPhone 6 is about the same height and width as a Nexus 5, which has a larger 5-inch screen, but larger than last year's Moto X, which fits the same 4.7-inch display into a more compact body.

Both the Moto X and Nexus 5 are thicker, but the iPhone 6's thin design also means a larger, flatter body. The iPhone 6 measures 5.4 by 2.6 inches, and 0.3 inch thick (138 by 67 by 69 mm). It weighs 4.5 ounces, or 128 grams.

 Can that bezel be reduced next time, perhaps? Sure, the Touch ID home button needs to fit below the screen, but the extra space on top could have been been shaved down (assuming Jony Ive can live without a symmetrical design).

Yes, the new iPhone 6 is still one-hand friendly, and a whole bunch more so than the iPhone 6 Plus. There's even a sometimes useful but weird software feature called Reachability that pulls the top half of the display down to midscreen with a light double-tap of the Home button, for easy thumb access. It's helpful for one-handed use. I just wish the whole phone was a little less big...or that it could fit a slightly bigger screen in the same chassis.

Display: Improved, but good enough?

The iPhone 6 has an increased 4.7-inch display, a similar screen size as last year's Moto X. It's big for Apple phones, but still on the smaller side for Android phones, which have moved, lately, to the 5-inch territory.

iPhones have always had phenomenal displays, in terms of brightness and color quality both: David Katzmaier here at CNET has tested the last few, and they've been among the tops in smartphones.

We haven't done full display testing on these new iPhones yet -- stay tuned for that -- but the iPhone 6's 4.7-inch IPS display looks vivid, rich, and as good as that on the iPhone 5 or 5S, just bigger. But not that much bigger. The display's 1,344x750-pixel resolution is higher than the iPhone 5/5C/5S' 1,136x640, but it has the same 326ppi pixel density. It's a good step up, and a big help for nearly anything you'd use your phone's screen for.

A grid of six-by-four apps now fits on each page plus the four in the dock below, for 28 total: on the 5's 4-inch display, it's 24. There are more pixels horizontally and vertically, unlike the merely vertical lengthening of the iPhone 5. That also means the aspect ratio's the same, and videos and Web pages scale similarly.

 There aren't any optimized apps that take advantage of the extra pixels, other than Apple's core preinstalled apps, but older apps still scale up and fill the space without black bars. The results are mixed: the Kindle app and Netflix actually looked great, and text and video were crisp.

Many games look great, too, even without updating: Badland, Riptide GP2, Unpossible, and text-based games like Device 6. Some apps, however, have icons, keyboards and buttons that end up looking too large in the magnified display size. App updates will likely take care of this for most situations in the weeks to come, but right now it's not a perfect transition.

 The iPhone 6 Plus has an even more impressive 1,920x1,080 5.5-inch display and 406 pixels per inch, but it's also a much larger phone. For my tastes, I'd go with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. My opinion might change as I slowly accept ever-larger phones. I still think many people will find this 4.7-inch screen to be perfectly good, and perfectly functional while still being portable. But in the world of modern smartphones, the 6's screen resolution is a step below ideal.

It's much better than older iPhones, though. After a week using the iPhone 6, my iPhone 5S screen looks like the one on a first-gen iPhone.
Performance: Faster still

How fast do we need our phones to be? The potential of last year's crazily-fast-on-paper A7 processor still hasn't been fully tapped. The new A8 processor on the iPhone 6 isn't quite the quantum leap the A7 was. It's a 64-bit dual-core processor just like the A7, but Apple claims a 25 percent boost in speed and 50 percent graphics boost over last year's iPhone 5S.

In our tests (see the benchmarks below), we found that the A8, while faster, is a decent bump rather than a giant vault. Depending on which benchmark test you look at, the new processor was either above other phones (SunSpider 1.0.2, Linpack) or more in the middle of the pack (Geekbench 3, 3DMark).

These don't necessarily tell the whole story, but the A8 isn't a leap over the competition; it's more of a step forward year-over-year from the A7, while mobile processors keep getting faster all around. But really, what you want to know is, how do apps feel? The UI and app-launching speed of the new iPhone is zippy as always.

What will really prove how things feel are apps optimized for the new display. Those aren't really here yet in time for this early review, but stay tuned for future impressions with iPhone 6-tweaked games and apps. Also, keep in mind that Apple's new Metal coding tool for gaming could help iOS games perform even better with the A8 than what these initial benchmarks suggest.

	Apple iPhone 6	Apple iPhone 6 Plus	Samsung Galaxy S5	Motorola Moto X (2014)
US base price (with two-year agreement)	$199	$299	$199	$99
UK base price (unlocked)	£539	£619	£350	£420
Australia base price (unlocked)	AU$869	AU$999	AU$900	N/A
Display size/resolution	4.7-inch 1,344x750 IPS (326 ppi)	5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 IPS (401 ppi)	5.1-inch 1,920x1,080 Super AMOLED (432 ppi)	5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 AMOLED (423 ppi)
Processor	1.39GHz Apple A8 (64-bit)	1.38GHz Apple A8 (64-bit)	2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (Krait400)	2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (Krait400)
RAM	1GB	1GB	2GB	2GB
Internal storage	16GB, 64GB or 128GB	16GB, 64GB or 128GB	16GB, 32GB	16GB, 32GB
Expandable storage	No	No	Yes (microSD)	No
Networking	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system	iOS 8	iOS 8	Android 4.4.2	Android 4.4.4
US carriers	AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon	AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon	AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon	AT&T, Verizon

 

 

science casts a giant among earth satillietsllites

మహాభారతం యుద్దంలో చనిపోయిన భీమసేన ( భీముడు ) కుమారుడు ఘటోత్కచుడు హస్తిపంజరం 18 అడుగుల పొడవు ... 
హిందూ పురాణాలూ అంత కల్పితం అనే ముర్కులు ఒక సారి ఈ వీడియో చుడండి " ( coverage by national geography).

Post by శివ ఫోటోగ్రాఫర్ ప్రకృతి.

5 creatures Found below antarcitica

10 Secrets about Banks

Do you think you know enough about the bank you park your money with? Does your bank teller reveal all the profitable options available? Are you aware if there are any loopholes which a bank does not want its customers to know? To work smart on your money matters, you need to probe more into things you did not know about banks.

We bring to you a list of ten things that you must know. Read on for better and safer banking in the future!
Theft and loss protection on your ATM Card

Your bank must tell you about what kind of protection it offers if your ATM card is stolen or lost. It becomes all the more important if you use your card for debit transactions.

You might lose all your money if the card is stolen and not get even half the protection that a credit card customer gets.

Usually, there are better options than just getting an ATM card blocked if you ask for it.

The more you shop, the more they earn

The bank charges you a certain fee every time you shop with your debit card or credit card. Your plastic money is in fact your bank’s wealth too.

Why do you think there are reward points for all you shoppers? The more you swipe, the more is their profit.

It does not always take three days for cheques to clear

Cheque clearance depends on a person’s credibility and the type of cheque issued.

A payroll cheque, for example, is cleared the moment it is deposited. If the customer depositing the check has big bucks in his account, the cheque is likely to be cleared right away.

In case of overdraft, the bank can take your deposited money

Yes! The bank is allowed to compensate itself from your deposited money in the event of your overdrafts (when your account balance is below zero) and other charges. You not only pay the accumulated interest but also lose a part of your deposits to your overdraft loans.

Bank tellers have targets to meet

Bank tellers are like salespersons, who must meet their sales quota for the month. They must get enough number of customers to open accounts in order to meet their performance metrics.

The bottom-line in this case is that, the banks need you as much as you need the bank.

Banks don’t reveal their highest interest-paying accounts

When you sign up with a bank, it is not obliged to tell you about the accounts that pay you the highest interest rate. Therefore, make it a point to inquire about the highest interest-paying options available.

You might end up overdrawn due to bank fees

When signing up with a new bank, make sure to inquire about their fees.

Fees are not the same for all banks. If you do not compare such fees with other banks, you might end up being overdrawn (withdraw money in excess of what the account holds) in 30 days time due to hefty bank fees.

Does your teller brief you on all types of fees?

You pay fees on a lot of banking activities which you may not even be aware of!

Most banks charge fees on ATM service, debit card service, stopped payment, overdrafts, printed feeds, balance enquiry, monthly checking account, cheque writing and wire transfer. Make sure to always check with the bank for such fees.

The overdraft protection fee

The banks charges a fee for every check you overdraft, or debit overdraft. Apart from this fee, you pay an interest on the balance you owe, until you pay it off completely.

In case your credit card is linked to your overdraft account, you may have to pay as much as 18% to 25% interest for your overdrafts.

It is in their interest if you are indebted for a longer term

Banks deliberately encourage you to go for a longer term option for the repayment of your loan. They make you believe that long terms can save you in the event of shortage of funds or unforeseen circumstances. But, it is obvious that the longer you are indebted, the longer they can pocket interest from you. Negotiate wisely on the loan term, after planning your budget carefully.

some of the beautiful banks images

Our brain sorts words as we sleep

Our brain sorts words as we sleep

Vigilance in slumber may explain how meaningful sounds wake a person.

A soundly sleeping brain still monitors and responds to its surroundings, researchers report September 11 in Current Biology. The results, in which a person’s snoozing brain correctly sorts words into categories, represent the latest feat the brain achieves while sleeping (SN: 12/29/12).

Researchers led by Sid Kouider of CNRS, France’s National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, recorded brain signals from awake people as they classified spoken words as either animals or objects. Participants pushed a button with their right hand when they heard an animal name, for instance, and a button with their left hand for objects.

After nodding off, the participants heard a different set of words, and their brains continued sorting the words into their proper categories, EEG recordings revealed. When participants heard “horse,” their brain activity looked as if they were preparing the right hand, not the left, to hit a button.

By describing one way in which the brain stays vigilant during sleep, the results may help explain how meaningful sounds, such as a baby crying or a spoken name, creep unconsciously into the slumbering mind and wake a person more readily than other sounds. 

Apple CEO

Apple CEO Tim Cook.

When you look at the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the first thing you'll notice is how much larger these phones are than any other iPhone Apple has released. While this is a big shift for Apple, Android device manufacturers have been offering big-screen phones for years.
And they're not shy about telling you that.
Following Apple's iPhone 6 announcement on Tuesday, Samsung and HTC have taken to Twitter to remind you that they've been making big-screened phones for quite some time (via 9to5Google).  Samsung resurrected an old quote from late Apple CEO  and co-founder Steve Jobs about his opinion regarding bigger phones.

At Apple's press conference for the iPhone 4 four years ago, Jobs said he believed that no one would be interested in buying a bigger phone.
Big improvements and innovation come with change - even they thought so.
http://t.co/MN89YMdFMn pic.twitter.com/wubl1QhSEJ — Samsung Mobile PH (@SamsungMobilePH) September 9, 2014

HTC also mocked the iPhone 6, given the fact its own One smartphone features a large screen and a premium metal design too. And it launched earlier this year in March.
Bigger screen. Better performance. Elegant design. Welcome to the party #iPhone6.

pic.twitter.com/v45ZXebhbs — HTC (@htc) September 9, 2014

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are Apple's biggest phones to date. The standard model comes with a 4.7-inch screen, while the Plus edition features a phablet-sized 5.5-inch display. These sizes are around the same diagonal length as HTC and Samsung's latest flagship phones. The Galaxy S5, for example, features a 5.1-inch screen while the HTC One M8 comes with a 5-inch display.
The iPhone 6 will go on sale starting Sept. 19, but you can preorder it beginning Sept. 12.

Apple iphone 6 and 6 plus

iphone 6 
bigger than bigger

iPhone 6 isn’t simply bigger — it’s better in every way. Larger, yet dramatically thinner. More powerful, but remarkably power efficient. With a smooth metal surface that seamlessly meets the new Retina HD display. It’s one continuous form where hardware and software function in perfect unison, creating a new generation of iPhone that’s better by any measure.

Learn more about the Retina HD display

iPhone at its largest. And thinnest.

Developing an iPhone with a larger, more advanced display meant pushing the edge of design. From the seamless transition of glass and metal to the streamlined profile, every detail was carefully considered to enhance your experience. So while its display is larger, iPhone 6 feels just right.

Not just a bigger display. A better display.

Learn more about Technology

It’s one thing to make a bigger display. It’s something else entirely to make a bigger Multi‑Touch display with brilliant colours and higher contrast at even wider viewing angles. But that’s exactly what we did with the new Retina HD display.

Learn more about the Retina HD display

1334×
750
iPHONE 6 RESOLUTION
1920×                                                                            

1080
iPHONE 6 PLUS RESOLUTION
Hugely powerful. Enormously efficient.

Learn more about Connectivity

Built on 64-bit desktop-class architecture, the new A8 chip delivers more power, even while driving a larger display. The M8 motion coprocessor efficiently gathers data from advanced sensors and a new barometer. And with increased battery life, iPhone 6 lets you do more, for longer than ever.


64-bit

ARCHITECTURE

A8                                

CHIP

M8
MOTION COPROCESSOR

The camera that changed photos now does the same for video.

More people take more photos with iPhone than with any other camera. And now the iSight camera has a new sensor with Focus Pixels and new video features, like 1080p HD at 60 fps, slo-mo at 240 fps, and time-lapse video mode. So you’ll have more reasons to capture more moments on video too.

Faster wireless. Far and wide.

Learn more about Cameras

iPhone 6 supports fast wireless technologies and connects to networks all over the world. And with advanced Wi‑Fi, you’ll experience incredibly fast wireless speeds.


Security. Right at your fingertip.

The breakthrough Touch ID technology lets you securely access your iPhone with the perfect password: your fingerprint. You can also use it to approve purchases from iTunes and the App Store without having to enter your password.

Learn more about Touch ID

The biggest iOS release ever.

iOS 8 is our most advanced mobile operating system. And with incredible new capabilities and features designed to make the most of a larger display, iOS 8 doesn’t just work seamlessly with iPhone 6. It makes every experience feel bigger and better.

Learn more about iOS 8

Brain

Learning rewires the brain
In the process, some of the brain’s nerve cells change shape or even fire backwards

Musicians, athletes and quiz bowl champions all have one thing in common: training. Learning to play an instrument or a sport requires time and patience. It is all about steadily mastering new skills. The same is true when it comes to learning information — preparing for that quiz bowl, say, or studying for a big test.

As teachers, coaches and parents everywhere like to say: Practice makes perfect.

Doing something over and over again doesn’t just make it easier. It actually changes the brain. That may not come as a surprise. But exactly how that process happens has long been a mystery. Scientists have known that the brain continues to develop through our teenage years. But these experts used to think that those changes stopped once the brain matured.

No more.

Recent data have been showing that the brain continues to change over the course of our lives. Cells grow. They form connections with new cells. Some stop talking to others. And it’s not just nerve cells that shift and change as we learn. Other brain cells also get into the act.

Scientists have begun unlocking these secrets of how we learn, not only in huge blocks of tissue, but even within individual cells.

Rewiring

The brain is not one big blob of tissue. Just six to seven weeks into the development of a human embryo, the brain starts to form into different parts. Later, these areas will each take on different roles. Consider the prefrontal cortex. It’s the region right behind your forehead. That’s where you solve problems. Other parts of the cortex (the outer layer of the brain) help process sights and sounds. Deep in the brain, the hippocampus helps store memories. It also helps you figure out where things are located around you.

Scientists can see what part of the brain is active by using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. At the heart of every fMRI device is a strong magnet. It allows the device to detect changes in blood flow. Now, when a scientist asks a volunteer to perform a particular task — such as playing a game or learning something new — the machine reveals where blood flow within the brain is highest. That boost in blood flow highlights which cells are busy working.



Many brain scientists use fMRI to map brain activity. Others use another type of brain scan, known as positron emission tomography, or PET. Experts have

performed dozens of such studies. Each looked at how specific areas of the brain responded to specific tasks.

Nathan Spreng did something a little different: He decided to study the studies. Spreng is a neuroscientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. A neuroscientist studies the brain and nervous system. Spreng wanted to know how the brain changes — how it morphs a little bit — as we learn.

He teamed up with two other researchers. Together, they analyzed 38 of those earlier studies. Each study had used an fMRI or PET scan to probe which regions of the brain turn on when people learn new tasks.

Areas that allow people to pay attention became most active as someone began a new task. But those attention areas became less active over time. Meanwhile, areas of the brain linked with daydreaming and mind-wandering became more active as people became more familiar with a task.

“At the beginning, you require a lot of focused attention,” Spreng says. Learning to swing a bat requires a great deal of focus when you first try to hit a ball. But the more you practice, Spreng says, the less you have to think about what you’re doing.

Extensive practice can even allow a person to perform a task while thinking about other things — or about nothing at all. A professional pianist, for example, can play a complex piece of music without thinking about which notes to play next. In fact, stopping to think about the task can actually interfere with a flawless performance. This is what musicians, athletes and others often refer to as being “in the zone.”

Cells that fire together, wire together

Spreng’s findings involve the whole brain. However, those changes actually reflect what’s happening at the level of individual cells.

The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells, called neurons. These cells are chatty. They “talk” to each other, mostly using chemical messengers. Incoming signals cause a listening neuron to fire or send signals of its own. A cell fires when an electrical signal travels through it. The signal moves away from what is called the cell body, down through a long structure called an axon. When the signal reaches the end of the axon, it triggers the release of those chemical messengers. The chemicals then leap across a tiny gap. This triggers the next cell to fire. And on it goes.

As we learn something new, cells that send and receive information about the task become more and more efficient. It takes less effort for them to signal the next cell about what’s going on. In a sense, the neurons become wired together.

Spreng detected that wiring. As cells in a brain area related to some task became more efficient, they used less energy to chat. This allowed more neurons in the “daydreaming” region of the brain to rev up their activity.

Neurons can signal to several neighbors at once. For example, one neuron might transmit information about the location of a baseball pitch that’s flying toward you. Meanwhile, other neurons alert your muscles to get ready to swing the bat. When those neurons fire at the same time, connections between them strengthen. That improves your ability to connect with the ball.

Learning while you slumber

The brain doesn’t shut down overnight. In fact, catching some zzz’s can dramatically improve learning. That’s because as we sleep, our brains store memories and new information from the previous day. So a poor night’s sleep can hurt our ability to remember new things. Until recently, however, researchers didn’t know why.

A group of scientists at the University of Heidelberg in Germany provided the first clues. Specific cells in the hippocampus — that region involved in storing memories — fired when mice slept, the scientists found. But the cells didn’t fire normally. Instead, electrical signals spontaneously fired near the middle of an axon, then traveled back in the direction of the cell body. In other words, the cells fired in reverse.

This boosted learning. It did so by making connections between cells stronger. Again, the action sort of wired together the cells. Research by Olena Bukalo and Doug Fields showed how it happens. They are neuroscientists at the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Md.

Working with tissue from rat brains, the scientists electrically stimulated nerve axons. Carefully, they stimulated them just in the middle. The electrical signals then traveled in reverse. That is just what the German scientists had seen.

This reverse signaling made the neuron less sensitive to signals from its neighbors, the experts found. This made it harder for the cell to fire, which gave the neuron a chance to recharge, Bukalo explains. When she then applied electric stimulation near the cell body, the neuron fired. And it did so even more strongly than it had before.

Cells involved in learning new information are most likely to fire in reverse during sleep, Bukalo says. The next day, they will be wired more tightly to each other. Although scientists don’t know for certain, it is likely that repeated cycles of reverse firing create a strong network of neurons. The neurons relay information faster and more efficiently, just as Spreng found in his study. As a result, those networks reflect an improvement in understanding or physical skill.
Working with tissue from rat brains, the scientists electrically stimulated nerve axons. Carefully, they stimulated them just in the middle. The electrical signals then traveled in reverse. That is just what the German scientists had seen.

This reverse signaling made the neuron less sensitive to signals from its neighbors, the experts found. This made it harder for the cell to fire, which gave the neuron a chance to recharge, Bukalo explains. When she then applied electric stimulation near the cell body, the neuron fired. And it did so even more strongly than it had before.

Cells involved in learning new information are most likely to fire in reverse during sleep, Bukalo says. The next day, they will be wired more tightly to each other. Although scientists don’t know for certain, it is likely that repeated cycles of reverse firing create a strong network of neurons. The neurons relay information faster and more efficiently, just as Spreng found in his study. As a result, those networks reflect an improvement in understanding or physical skill.

Firing faster

Neurons are the best-known cells in the brain. But they are far from the only ones. Another type, called glia, actually makes up a whopping 85 percent of brain cells. For a long time, scientists thought that glia simply held neurons together. (Indeed, “glia” take their name from the Greek word for glue.) But recent research by Fields, Bukalo’s colleague at the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, reveals that glial cells also become active during learning.

One type of glial cell wraps around nerve axons. (Note: Not all axons have this wrapping.) These wrapping cells create what’s known as a myelin sheath. Myelin is made of protein and fatty substances. It insulates the axons. Myelin is a bit like the plastic coating that jackets the copper wires in your home. That insulation prevents electrical signals from inappropriately leaking out of one wire (or axon) and into another.

In axons, the myelin sheath has a second role: It actually speeds the electrical signals along. That’s because glial cells force a signal to jump from one spot on the axon to the next. As it hops between glial cells, the signal moves faster. It’s kind of like flying from one spot to the next, instead of taking the train.

Fields has found that when new skills are learned, the amount of myelin insulating an axon increases. This happens as the size of individual glial cells increases. New glial cells also may be added to bare axons. These changes improve the ability of a neuron to signal. And that leads to better learning.

A thicker myelin sheath helps improve all types of brainy tasks. These include reading, creating memories, playing a musical instrument and more. A thicker sheath is also linked with better decision-making.

Nerve cells continue to add myelin well into adulthood, as our brains continue to grow and develop. The prefrontal cortex, for example — that area where decisions are made — gains myelin well into a person’s 20s. This may explain why teens don’t always make the best decisions. They’re not finished sheathing their nerve cells. But there is hope. And getting enough sleep certainly can help. Glial cells, like neurons, seem to change most during certain stages of sleep.

Exactly what causes the glial cells to change remains a mystery. Fields and his colleagues are hard at work to figure that out. It’s exciting, he says, to launch into a whole new field of research.

Slow and steady

These changes in the brain allow for faster, stronger signaling between neurons as the brain gains new skills. But the best way to speed up those signals is to introduce new information to our noggins — slowly.

Many students instead try to memorize lots of information the night before a test. Cramming may get them through the test. But the students won’t remember the information for very long, says Hadley Bergstrom. He is a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Rockville, Md.

It’s important to spread out learning over many days, his work shows. That means learning a little bit at a time. Doing so allows links between neurons to steadily strengthen. It also allows glial cells time to better insulate axons.

Even an “aha!” moment — when something suddenly becomes clear — doesn’t come out of nowhere. Instead, it is the result of a steady accumulation of information. That’s because adding new information opens up memories associated with the task. Once those memory neurons are active, they can form new connections, explains Bergstrom. They also can form stronger connections within an existing network. Over time, your level of understanding increases until you suddenly “get” it.

Like Fields and Bukalo, Bergstrom stresses the importance of sleep in forming the new memories needed to gain knowledge. So the next time you study for a test, start learning new information a few days ahead of time. The night before, give your brain a break and go to bed early. It will allow your brain a chance to cement that new information into its cells. And that should boost your chances of doing well.

Power Words

axon  The long, tail-like extension of a neuron that conducts electrical signals away from the cell.

cell body  The compact section of a neuron (nerve cell) where its nucleus is located.

cortex  The outermost layer of neural tissue of the brain.

fMRI  (short for functional magnetic resonance imaging)  A special type of machine used to study brain activity. It uses a strong magnetic field to monitor blood flow in the brain. Tracking the movement of blood can tell researchers which brain regions are active.

glia  Non-nerve cells, these make up 85 percent of the cells in the brain. Some glial cells wrap around axons. This speeds the rate of neural signaling and helps to prevent confusing “cross-talk” between neighboring nerve cells.

hippocampus  A seahorse-shaped region of the brain. It is thought to be the center of emotion, memory and the involuntary nervous system.

myelin  (as inmyelin sheath)  A layer of fatty cells, called glia, that wraps around nerve-cell axons. The myelin sheath insulates axons, speeding the rate at which signals speed down them. The addition of this sheath is a process known as myelination or myelinating.

neuron (or nerve cell)  Any of the impulse-conducting cells that make up the brain, spinal column and nervous system. These specialized cells transmit information to other neurons in the form of electrical signals.

neuroscience  Science that deals with the structure or function of the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Researchers in this field are known as neuroscientists.

PET  (short for positron emission tomography)  A technology that uses radiation to create three-dimensional images of the inside of the body. The individual receives a radioactive “tracer” chemical in the blood that shows up during the scan. As the tracer moves through the body, it will accumulate in certain organs. This allows researchers and doctors to see create X-ray-like details of those organs.

prefrontal cortex  A region containing some of the brain’s gray matter. Located behind the forehead, it plays a role in making decisions and other complex mental activities, in emotions and in behaviors.