Protecting my iPhone 6 Plus

Posted by Wesley on
Soft back-side protection film for iPhone 6 Plus

As I mentioned previously, I had the protective film and case ordered to go with my iPhone 6 Plus. I'll be talking about them here. I like to have some protection that doesn't get in the way of the aesthetics.

The screen (front side) and back side protection films came as a part of the "Smart Combo" kit from a company called Gilrajavy. It costs about US$17 shipped, and consists of two screen protectors and two soft back-side protectors. The kit also includes a practice film to give you an idea of how the screen protector would be applied.

Clear oleophobic screen protection film for iPhone 6 Plus

Two different types of screen protectors are included in the kit - one "Liphobia" oleophobic film and one "Cloverfield" anti-glare film. I decided to try on the Liphobia version of the screen protector this time around since I like transparency more than the need to reduce glare.
Continue reading "Protecting my iPhone 6 Plus"

iPhone 6 Plus - Unboxing & First Look

Posted by Wesley on
My iPhone 6 Plus is ready

As my iPhone 6 Plus came home safely, the screen & backside protector set and the belt case, both of which I ordered online earlier, had arrived as well. It meant that I would be able to protect and carry the device from day one. And thus, I proceeded to get the box opened.


And this is the unboxing video I took. The honour of actually opening the box went to my daughter Celine. She's getting good with handling tools nowadays. Other than the fact that the iPhone itself was really big, everything else was quite similar. I suppose you don't need to change what works well.
Continue reading "iPhone 6 Plus - Unboxing & First Look"

One of the first iPhone 6 Plus in Korea

Posted by Wesley on
The box of iPhone 6 series is lacking images

This display model is identically coloured to the iPhone 6 Plus I got

This is it. I picked up my pre-ordered iPhone 6 Plus from just across the Korean Strait and brought it back before the launch day (September 19) is over. This is one of the first iPhone 6 Plus to make it to Korea. I will be doing a review shortly.
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Korean-Chinese Lunar Calendar Difference

Posted by Wesley on
In the light of the upcoming Chinese lunar calendar support in iOS 8, I've cross-compared the Korean and Chinese lunar calendar data to see where exactly the two calendars differ. The chart below shows the result.

The difference mostly happens one lunar month at a time, during which the Korean lunar calendar trails the Chinese by one day. 2012 had a special case where the lunar month became different, as the Korean one had a leap third month while the Chinese one had a leap fourth month.

The chart covers all dates between 1901 and 2050 by the Gregorian (regular Western) calendar.

If you want to add this information to your calendar, use the following URL:
Lunar Calendar Difference ICS file

Download the ICS file and open up in your calendar app. If you're using Google Calendar, right-click and copy the URL first. Then on the "Other calendars" menu on the left side of the Google Calendar, click the drop-down button on the right and select "Add by URL". You can paste the URL there to add the calendar.

Gregorian Korean Leap Chinese Leap Gregorian Korean Leap Chinese Leap
1914-06-23 1914-05-30 X
 1914-05-01 O 1973-01-04 ~ 1973-02-02 1972-11-30 ~ 1972-12-29 X 1972-12-01 ~ 1972-12-30 X
1914-06-24 ~ 1914-07-22 1914-05-01 ~ 1914-05-29 O 1914-05-02 ~ 1914-05-30 O 1973-12-24 ~ 1974-01-22 1973-11-30 ~ 1973-12-29 X 1973-12-01 ~ 1973-12-30 X
1914-11-17 ~ 1914-12-16 1914-09-30 ~ 1914-10-29 X 1914-10-01 ~ 1914-10-30 X 1976-11-21 ~ 1976-12-20 1976-09-30 ~ 1976-10-29 X 1976-10-01 ~ 1976-10-30 X
1916-02-03 ~ 1916-03-03 1915-12-30 ~ 1916-01-29 X 1916-01-01 ~ 1916-01-30 X 1978-04-07 ~ 1978-05-06 1978-02-30 ~ 1978-03-29 X 1978-03-01 ~ 1978-03-30 X
1918-12-03 ~ 1919-01-01 1918-10-30 ~ 1918-11-29 X 1918-11-01 ~ 1918-11-30 X 1982-11-15 ~ 1982-12-14 1982-09-30 ~ 1982-10-29 X 1982-10-01 ~ 1982-10-30 X
1919-08-25 1919-07-30 X 1919-07-01 O 1987-05-27 ~ 1987-06-25 1987-04-30 ~ 1987-05-29 X 1987-05-01 ~ 1987-05-30 X
1919-08-26 ~ 1919-09-23 1919-07-01 ~ 1919-07-29 O 1919-07-02 ~ 1919-07-30 O 1989-10-29 ~ 1989-11-27 1989-09-30 ~ 1989-10-29 X 1989-10-01 ~ 1989-10-30 X
1919-11-22 ~ 1919-12-21 1919-09-30 ~ 1919-10-29 X 1919-10-01 ~ 1919-10-30 X 1990-10-18 ~ 1990-11-16 1990-08-30 ~ 1990-09-29 X 1990-09-01 ~ 1990-09-30 X
1920-11-10 ~ 1920-12-09 1920-09-30 ~ 1920-10-29 X 1920-10-01 ~ 1920-10-30 X 1995-07-27 ~ 1995-08-25 1995-06-30 ~ 1995-07-29 X 1995-07-01 ~ 1995-07-30 X
1923-11-08 ~ 1923-12-07 1923-09-30 ~ 1923-10-29 X 1923-10-01 ~ 1923-10-30 X 1995-11-22 ~ 1995-12-21 1995-09-30 ~ 1995-10-29 X 1995-10-01 ~ 1995-10-30 X
1924-03-05 ~ 1924-04-03 1924-01-30 ~ 1924-02-29 X 1924-02-01 ~ 1924-02-30 X 1997-02-07 ~ 1997-03-08 1996-12-30 ~ 1997-01-29 X 1997-01-01 ~ 1997-01-30 X
1925-05-22 1925-04-30 X 1925-04-01 O 1999-01-17 ~ 1999-02-15 1998-11-30 ~ 1998-12-29 X 1998-12-01 ~ 1998-12-30 X
1925-05-23 ~ 1925-06-20 1925-04-01 ~ 1925-04-29 O 1925-04-02 ~ 1925-04-30 O 2001-04-23 ~ 2001-05-22 2001-03-30 ~ 2001-04-29 X 2001-04-01 ~ 2001-04-30 X
1927-10-25 ~ 1927-11-23 1927-09-30 ~ 1927-10-29 X 1927-10-01 ~ 1927-10-30 X 2005-12-01 ~ 2005-12-30 2005-10-30 ~ 2005-11-29 X 2005-11-01 ~ 2005-11-30 X
1928-10-13 ~ 1928-11-11 1928-08-30 ~ 1928-09-29 X 1928-09-01 ~ 1928-09-30 X 2012-04-21 ~ 2012-05-20 2012-03-01 ~ 2012-03-30 O 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-30 X
1931-05-17 ~ 1931-06-15 1931-03-30 ~ 1931-04-29 X 1931-04-01 ~ 1931-04-30 X 2012-05-21 ~ 2012-06-18 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-29 X 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-29 O
1934-10-08 ~ 1934-11-06 1934-08-30 ~ 1934-09-29 X 1934-09-01 ~ 1934-09-30 X 2012-06-19 ~ 2012-07-18 2012-04-30 ~ 2012-05-29 X 2012-05-01 ~ 2012-05-30 X
1936-07-18 ~ 1936-08-16 1936-05-30 ~ 1936-06-29 X 1936-06-01 ~ 1936-06-30 X 2012-08-17 ~ 2012-09-15 2012-06-30 ~ 2012-07-29 X 2012-07-01 ~ 2012-07-30 X
1942-09-10 ~ 1942-10-09 1942-07-30 ~ 1942-08-29 X 1942-08-01 ~ 1942-08-30 X 2013-06-08 ~ 2013-07-07 2013-04-30 ~ 2013-05-29 X 2013-05-01 ~ 2013-05-30 X
1942-11-08 ~ 1942-12-07 1942-09-30 ~ 1942-10-29 X 1942-10-01 ~ 1942-10-30 X 2019-11-26 ~ 2019-12-25 2019-10-30 ~ 2019-11-29 X 2019-11-01 ~ 2019-11-30 X
1943-11-27 ~ 1943-12-26 1943-10-30 ~ 1943-11-29 X 1943-11-01 ~ 1943-11-30 X 2020-02-23 ~ 2020-03-23 2020-01-30 ~ 2020-02-29 X 2020-02-01 ~ 2020-02-30 X
1944-01-25 ~ 1944-02-23 1943-12-30 ~ 1944-01-29 X 1944-01-01 ~ 1944-01-30 X 2023-05-19 ~ 2023-06-17 2023-03-30 ~ 2023-04-29 X 2023-04-01 ~ 2023-04-30 X
1949-03-29 ~ 1949-04-27 1949-02-30 ~ 1949-03-29 X 1949-03-01 ~ 1949-03-30 X 2026-10-10 ~ 2026-11-08 2026-08-30 ~ 2026-09-29 X 2026-09-01 ~ 2026-09-30 X
1950-03-18 ~ 1950-04-16 1950-01-30 ~ 1950-02-29 X 1950-02-01 ~ 1950-02-30 X 2027-02-06 ~ 2027-03-07 2026-12-30 ~ 2027-01-29 X 2027-01-01 ~ 2027-01-30 X
1950-06-15 ~ 1950-07-14 1950-04-30 ~ 1950-05-29 X 1950-05-01 ~ 1950-05-30 X 2028-01-26 ~ 2028-02-24 2027-12-30 ~ 2028-01-29 X 2028-01-01 ~ 2028-01-30 X
1952-08-20 ~ 1952-09-18 1952-06-30 ~ 1952-07-29 X 1952-07-01 ~ 1952-07-30 X 2029-07-11 ~ 2029-08-09 2029-05-30 ~ 2029-06-29 X 2029-06-01 ~ 2029-06-30 X
1954-02-03 ~ 1954-03-04 1953-12-30 ~ 1954-01-29 X 1954-01-01 ~ 1954-01-30 X 2031-02-21 ~ 2031-03-22 2031-01-30 ~ 2031-02-29 X 2031-02-01 ~ 2031-02-30 X
1955-02-22 ~ 1955-03-23 1955-01-30 ~ 1955-02-29 X 1955-02-01 ~ 1955-02-30 X 2035-01-09 ~ 2035-02-07 2034-11-30 ~ 2034-12-29 X 2034-12-01 ~ 2034-12-30 X
1958-02-18 ~ 1958-03-19 1957-12-30 ~ 1958-01-29 X 1958-01-01 ~ 1958-01-30 X 2036-12-17 ~ 2037-01-15 2036-10-30 ~ 2036-11-29 X 2036-11-01 ~ 2036-11-30 X
1966-01-21 ~ 1966-02-19 1965-12-30 ~ 1966-01-29 X 1966-01-01 ~ 1966-01-30 X 2040-09-06 ~ 2040-10-05 2040-07-30 ~ 2040-08-29 X 2040-08-01 ~ 2040-08-30 X
1968-04-27 ~ 1968-05-26 1968-03-30 ~ 1968-04-29 X 1968-04-01 ~ 1968-04-30 X 2041-03-02 ~ 2041-03-31 2041-01-30 ~ 2041-02-29 X 2041-02-01 ~ 2041-02-30 X
1970-07-03 ~ 1970-08-01 1970-05-30 ~ 1970-06-29 X 1970-06-01 ~ 1970-06-30 X 2046-06-04 ~ 2046-07-03 2046-04-30 ~ 2046-05-29 X 2046-05-01 ~ 2046-05-30 X
2050-02-21 ~ 2050-03-22 2050-01-30 ~ 2050-02-29 X 2050-02-01 ~ 2050-02-30 X

Calendar data compared were from:
Korean: Korea Astronomy & Space Information
Chinese: Hong Kong Observatory
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iOS 8's (Chinese) Lunar Calendar Support

Posted by Wesley on
 
Lunar Calendar comes to iOS

As noted by Apple on the iOS8 announcement, using lunar calendar on the device will become easier. I'm sure a lot of the Koreans have been waiting for this. Until now, there hadn't been a system-wide support, so a user would have had to use an app that could display and manage this calendar on its own. This hassle should go away when the new iOS version arrives.

Sadly for the Koreans, this lunar calendar is being called "Chinese Calendar" on the system. Of course, if the user knows how to read basic Chinese glyphs, it isn't much of a practical issue. The dates mostly match, and the names of the year based on the sexagenary cycle are identical as well.

But the reason why this can't simply be generalized as "lunar calendar" is because it's based on measurements at Beijing, not Seoul. Because of the differences in latitude and longitude between the two capital cities, the phase measurements of the Moon slightly differ. In fact, the dates were off by a day for about five four months in 2012. Even with these downsides, Koreans end up benefitting from Apple's eager push into the Chinese market.

To use the lunar calendar, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Calendars and select "Chinese" from the Alternate Calendars. After that, the lunar date will show in Chinese on the Notification Center below the regular date.

Meanwhile, if someone in your contacts keeps the birthday in lunar date, you can select "add birthday" to designate one. After that, the Calendar app will show that person's "Chinese Birthday" on the lunar birthday. I expect that this will be of much use to many Koreans.
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