iPhone: Developer’s sales suggest Verizon iPhone selling to existing iOS users

Posted by admin in Monday, February 21st 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: App Store, AT&T, iPad, iphone, iphone 4, iPod touch, iTunes link, Verizon iPhone, Verizon iPhone 4   edit

One prominent App Store developer has found the launch of the Verizon iPhone earlier this month had no discernible effect on software sales, while other events like launches and the holidays caused “huge spikes,” suggesting new customers already owned an iPhone or iPod touch.
Marco Arment of the popular Instapaper application (iTunes link) for iPhone and iPad, noted this week that rankings for his software are usually relatively steady, but sales can vary — particularly when an iPhone-related event occurs. Based on this, he assumes that sales of Instapaper could indicate overall App Store trends.
“The results are fairly obvious: I see huge spikes whenever there’s a new iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad released, whenever they become available in a major new country, or whenever there’s a major reason for people to buy a lot of them (like the holidays),” Arment wrote.
Since the Verizon iPhone 4 launched on Feb. 10, Arment’s application has seen no major change in sales. He noted that his ranks on the App Store have been nearly constant, as have overall sales.
Based on his assumption that sales of his application could indicate overall iPhone trends, Arment offers three potential theories on launch sales of the Verizon iPhone 4. First, he says it’s possible that very few Verizon iPhones have been sold, a suggestion he calls unlikely. Second, he said it’s possible that Verizon iPhone owners aren’t buying many applications, which he also considers unlikely.
Finally, Arment suggested that most Verizon iPhones have been sold to existing iPhone or iPod touch users. In this scenario, customers getting the Verizon iPhone could already own most or all of the App Store software they would be interested in buying.

Sales of Instapaper have not seen a boost from the Verizon iPhone launch.

The developer said he believes most buyers of the Verizon iPhone 4 are casual users, with “different priorities” than Apple enthusiasts. He believes they are more patient for upgrades, which could result in demand for the handset being spread over a long period of time.
“I think that, while the Verizon iPhone’s sales are going to be strong overall, it’s going to be at a far more gradual rate than people like me had initially assumed,” he wrote.
Though Apple and Verizon have not made an announcement on initial iPhone 4 sales, one rumor last week suggested the two companies were disappointed with initial uptake. However, a Verizon spokesperson contradicted that report, and said the company was pleased with initial sales.
Analysts on Wall Street said they expected sales of the new Verizon iPhone to sell about a million in the first week. The launch is expected to have been smaller than ones at rival carrier AT&T because the iPhone 4 first launched last June, and was essentially the same phone that debuted on Verizon’s network this month.

iPhone:Top 10 iPhone News You Might Have Missed This Week

Posted by admin in Monday, February 21st 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: AT&T, Cydia, iphone, iphone 5, Verizon   edit

This is a summary of the most popular articles published on iDB this past week. Please make sure to spread our iPhone wisdom by sharing our posts on Twitter and Facebook.

• Sn0wBreeze jailbreak for iPhone 4.2.1
• How to update Cydia in the background
• How to improve the iPhone AutoCorrect
• An iPhone 5 with a slideout keyboard?
• Data speed: Verizon vs AT&T
• How to fix iBooks after jailbreaking
• Verizon iPhone unlocked
• Enable unicode symbols with Vmoji
• iPhone Nano caught on TV
• Bring your iPhone 2G/3G to 4.2 with WhiteD00r
• Please Apple, don’t make a cheap iPhone

iPhone: Dear Apple, Please Don’t Make a Cheap iPhone

Posted by admin in Monday, February 21st 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: Apple, Apple TV 2, iPad, iphone, iPhone nano, MacBook Air, smartphone   edit

Last week a rumor started spreading around the interwebs saying that Apple was to unveil an iPhone Nano. That wasn’t a new rumor as we had already heard that before but the fact that the news came from the WSJ gave it street credentials.
Then the rumor was debunked by the NY Times who claimed that Apple wasn’t looking into making an iPhone Nano, but was looking into making a cheaper iPhone. When I first read about that, I thought I was in my worst nightmare: a world of cheap Apple products…
Historically, and for good reasons, Apple has been perceived as a company that makes expensive products. A basic Mac will set you back $1,000 while a basic PC will only cost you $500. I can’t count how many times I heard “I’m not rich enough to buy a Mac”. Heck, I even said that myself when I was broke.
Apple never was after market shares. They didn’t want to sell zillions of their products. Apple was all about margins and profitability. They’d rather sell a computer for $1,500 and make $600 from it than sell 10 computers at $800 and only make $60 from each one of them.
When the first iPhone came out, it sold for $600. While it wasn’t unheard of to see a smartphone selling for that price, it was unheard of to see such a priced smartphone selling this many units so rapidly. I don’t have hard data on this, but I believe this was a time where Apple was the most profitable.
When the iPad came out last year, the entry model sold for $499. While not cheap per say, it is very inexpensive compared to what it should be priced at. Look at other tablets around. None of them come at a similar or lower price, offering nothing close to what the iPad can provide. Apple priced it so low so it would flood the market and get a gigantic lead on anything Android. It succeeded.
Late last year came the Apple TV 2. A smaller and much cheaper model than its predecessor. Selling at $99, you could tell this was just $99. I remember opening the cheap box and finding a cheap product in there. You could tell Apple hadn’t spent much on packaging. The most shocking thing to me still is how the battery compartment cover of the remote is too small and kinda floats around. The Apple TV 2 wasn’t inexpensive. It was cheap!
But hey, you get what you pay for, right?
The latest noticeable price cut on Apple’s product line is of course the MacBook Air, which used to sell at $1,800 and now starts at only $999. Steve Jobs who once called netbooks “cheap laptops” had just started selling his very own cheap laptop. The reviews came in. As usual, the Macheads welcomed the new MacBook Air as new messiah, while the rest of the tech land gave it good but not amazing reviews.
Over the past 2-3 years, Apple has constantly tried to bring the prices down and it seems their strategy now is to not go for the margins, but to go after market shares. They want to seriously compete with Microsoft, RIM, Nokia, and of course Google. The only way to do that is to lower prices.
But don’t get fooled: when prices go down, quality goes down!
Just like everybody else, I like nice things. I don’t define myself according to what I own, but I like driving a nice car, having nice clothes on my back, and… I like having a kickass phone! But what happens when this phone becomes so cheap that everybody can afford it? Well, everybody buys it, and the once extraordinary phone becomes ordinary, lacking special distinction.
Ordinary is boring, and while ordinary sells, it doesn’t make money. It just creates cash flow.
As a recovering PC user who was slowly introduced to Apple’s world over the past 4 years, I have come to really appreciate, respect and love their products, but most importantly the company behind the products. I don’t wear a fanboy blindfold and while other Mac bloggers praise the company, I often criticize Apple and try to decrypt what, why, and how they do things.
If I had to make an analogy to the car industry, I’d say Apple is like the Audi of car makers. Beautiful, elegant, powerful, simple, clean, but not cheap. That’s what you get right now when you buy an Apple product. You get a beautiful, elegant, powerful, simple, clean product for which you paid a hefty price.
I’m worried that if Apple enters a pricing war with other tech giants, it won’t be able to keep its shine. It will lose all of its appeal. They will not sell products everybody dreams of owning, but they will sell products that everybody can easily get access too.
I have a Masters in Advertising, and wrote a thesis titled “the importance to be a brand”. So yes, I do have a thing for brands. I find them fascinating, and Apple more than any other brand. I just don’t want to see Apple becoming the next Nokia, going from being a glowy company to becoming another soulless corporation.
I want to own an iPhone that makes me feel like I’m driving the Audi S5. I want a phone that makes me feel like I’m part of something. A phone that makes me feel different. A $100 iPhone will not do any of that.

Apple Planning to Improve Battery Life By Increasing Cell Density

Posted by admin in Tuesday, February 22nd 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: Apple, Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells, iphone 4, iPhone 4′s battery, iPhones   edit

With newer, more powerful dual and quad-core processors being introduced, these processors require more and more energy to operate. Apple realizes this and is looking into possible resolutions for better battery life while maintaining the same slim and sleek profile the iPhone 4 currently has.
Cupertino has filed a new patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled “Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells,” which does just that…
The patent filing explains how a battery’s grvimetric and volumetric energy density would be improved using a “multi-step-constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging technique”. CC-CV involves charging at a higher initial constant current until the battery is almost charged, then charging at a constant voltage until the charge current drops and the battery is fully charged. While the density of the power capacity would be increased, the size of the battery, as well as its maximum charging time and minimum life cycle, would remain the same.
Basically, in English, this means that Apple is working on a new way to squeeze more power into lithium batteries without increasing the battery size, or affecting the charging time.
Although I have no problem with the current iPhone 4 battery life (which usually lasts me through the day on a full charge), I wouldn’t mind some extra juice to carry on to the next day. Not to mention, this would also allow Apple to include more features in future iPhones’ as the current iPhone 4′s battery takes up a chunk of space. Maybe a fingerprint reader?
What do you think?

iPhone: WhiteD00r Brings iOS 4.2 To iPhone 2G/3G And iPod Touch 1G/2G

Posted by admin in Tuesday, February 22nd 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: Apple, iDevice, iOS 3.1.3, iOS 4.0, iOS 4.2.1, iOS4, iphone, iPhone 2G, iphone 3g, iPod Touch 1G, OS 3.1.3, WhiteD00r   edit

As many of you know, with the release of iOS 4.0 Apple discontinued support for the iPhone 2G as well as the iPod Touch 1G. This left iPhone 2G and iPod Touch 1G stuck on iOS 3.1.3 for life. Furthermore, while Apple did end up upgrading the iPhone 3G (which has the same amount of RAM/processor as the iPhone 2G), 3G owners experienced a great deal of problems after updating to 4.0. The OS was incredibly slow and was barely usable.
After various reports and angry iPhone 3G users, Apple began to look into the issue and stated the issues would be resolved in iOS 4.2.1. When iOS 4.2.1 came around, performance had been improved on the iPhone 3G, but it was still quite slow. Most users decided to downgrade/remain on iOS 3.1.3.
Enter WhiteD00r (no pun intended). The WhiteD00r project had been released in July of 2010 to provide a stable port of iOS4 while basing it off the 3.1.3 firmware. Basically, you were running a modded version of OS 3.1.3 that looked and performed exactly like iOS4. The folks behind the WhiteD00r project have recently updated the custom firmware file adding in many performance tweaks. They’ve done some really nice work!
Check out this comparison video they’ve uploaded comparing an iPhone 3G running the latest version of WhiteD00r vs stock iOS 4.2.1:
To find out more about the WhiteD00r project, including instructions on how to install it, check out their site here.
If you’re running WhiteD00r on your iDevice, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!

iPhone: Geohot Asks For Support In Fighting Sony Lawsuit

Posted by admin in Tuesday, February 22nd 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: BlackSn0w, Geohot, iphone, jailbreak, limera1n, Operation Boycott Sony, Sony’s Playstation 3   edit

George Hotz, or “Geohot,” is a pioneer in the jailbreak community. He has been the mastermind behind many jailbreak projects, including LimeRa1n and BlackSn0w.
Geohot recently hacked Sony’s Playstation 3 and essentially created the ability to “jailbreak” Sony’s popular console. Even though it is legal to jailbreak the iPhone, it isn’t legal to do the same to a Sony product. Sony took action and filed a lawsuit against Geohot on the basis that what he did “encourages piracy” on their platform.
Needless to say, Geohot is pissed. He is calling on the community and the media to help him in his legal fight against Sony…
About a month ago, Geohot appeared on G4′s “Attack of Show” to talk about his issue with Sony. Besides his rap video, he’s been pretty quiet since then.
Now he is calling for financial and moral support in his legal battle with Sony,

“Media, I need your help. This is the first time I have ever asked. Please, if you support this cause, help me out and spread the word. I want, by the time this goes to trial, to have Sony facing some of the hardest hitting lawyers in the business. Together, we can help fix the system.”

Geohot is asking for financial donations through PayPal to help fund his legal fees in the upcoming trial.
This is what he had to say about Sony,

“Sony is lame, and is suing me for hacking MY OWN PS3. Help me own them in court
Sony are bullies
Sony doesn’t care if what you did was legal, if they don’t like it, they sue. Sony tried to sue a guy for getting his AIBO to do non Sony approved tricks, making it apparent that they don’t really care about piracy, they care about control. In (Sony v Bleem), Bleem was the winner on all counts, but the high cost of a legal defense shut them down. Fortunately, that suit helped set precedent on the legality of emulators. I would hate to lose this case due to resource starvation, and with the support of the masses, I won’t. Lets turn the bully back on itself. This case has the ability to set a huge precedent for consoles and all closed systems to come. The other two should be begging Sony to back off.
Sony sued the wrong guy
I am an advocate against mass piracy, do not distribute anyone’s copyrighted work but my own, do not take crap lying down, and am even pro DRM in a sense. For example, I believe Apple has every right to lock down their iPhone in the factory as much as they want, but once it’s paid for and mine, I have the right to unlock it, smash it, jailbreak it, look at it, and hack on it. Fortunately, the courts agree with me on this point.
My PS3 goal has been to provide users a legitimate path to homebrew, which by the standards of all previous cases (or, in reverse), is 100% legal. Sony does not even try to allege piracy or copyright infringement in this case, they allege I did things like play “super mario world, an unauthorized game” on MY PS3. And access MY PS3 in an unauthorized way. Who are they to authorize what I do with my taxed and paid for property?
fail0verflow’s goal was even nobler than mine. They wanted to give you back a feature Sony illegally stole, Linux on your PS3. It’s shameful on Sony’s part that they are being sued at all. If you have a problem with pirates, sue them, don’t sue people who point out your shortcomings.”

Geohot also wants to make sure that you understand the reason he is asking for help,

“Why should I care about your personal legal troubles?
You shouldn’t. For example, if I was taken to court for sex crimes in Sweden, I would never ask for donations. But this case isn’t about me. Clearly I am not being sued because of something I have that Sony wants, I am being sued in order to send a message that Sony is not to be messed with. But if I (and all codefendants likewise) actually win this, we have the power to send a much stronger message back. That consumers have rights, and we aren’t afraid to stand up for them.”

You can continue reading what Geohot has to say about this issue, and make donations, on his website.
Geohot is also asking people to join him in “Operation Boycott Sony.” He posted this image on his blog, “Geohot Got Sued,”

We at iDB fully support Geohot’s cause with this Sony battle. We hope he comes comes out victorious in the court room, and that he can continue with his amazing exploits on both the iPhone and other platforms.
If you can’t make a financial contribution for Geohot’s legal fees, make sure to at least spread the word.
What do you think about Geohot’s problem? Do you believe that Sony is wrong in responding the way that they did? Let us know if you plan on participating in “Operation Boycott Sony.”

iPhone: ‘MyVolume’ Allows You to Fine Tune Your iPhone’s Volume Controls

Posted by admin in Tuesday, February 22nd 2011   under: iphone news    Tags: Apple, Cydia, iphone, iPhone’s sound, jailbreak, jailbroken iPhones, MyVolume   edit

If you’re serious about customizing your iPhone’s sound, there’s likely no better candidate to meet your needs than MyVolume.
This is a jailbreak tweak for serious customizers only; casuals need not apply.
That’s because MyVolume allows you to modify nearly every function of your iPhone’s volume controls, almost to a fanatic level…

It’s funny because you don’t really realize how tight Apple’s controls are, until a tweak like this comes around and opens a whole new realm of possibilities.
MyVolume allows you to add haptic feedback to your volume adjustments, toggle the heads up display on and off, and silent annoying apps altogether, regardless of your volume settings.
The developer has even ventured as far as to allow you to make incremental adjustments on the amount of volume applied when depressing the + or – volume keys.

Even with all of that, I think I’ve touched on about fifty percent of the tweak’s capabilities.
If you’re looking for something that’s going to bring a lot of varied functions to the table, MyVolume isn’t going to be your cup of tea.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a tweak that sticks to one thing, and does an incredibly good job of doing said thing, you’d be hard pressed to find another that compares.
MyVolume is available for jailbroken iPhones, and can be purchased on Cydia for $1.99.
What are your thoughts?

Được đăng bởi gfgfgfgf vào lúc 08:41 0 nhận xét

Rumors, Rumors: iPhone 5 To Get Four-Inch Display? A “nano” Sibling? Slide-Out Keyboard? “Cloud” OS?

If you’ve been following iPhone 5 rumors for as long as we have, then you know that the screen size of the iPhone 5 has been one of the most debated and prognosticated features, dating back to last August when the iPhone 5 News Blog began to report on iPhone users’ desire for a larger screen. It seems that reliable rumors about a larger iPhone 5 screen are beginning to crystalize.
Digitimes’ Yenting Chen, Rebecca Kuo, and Yvonne Yu report that, according to upstream component suppliers, Apple will increase the screen size of the iPhone 5 to four inches for its fifth-generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market.
The Digitimes reporters cite component suppliers saying production lines for Apple’s next generation iPhone 5 have begun testing, and Apple wants to expand the iPhone’s screen size to four inches to support the tablet PC market as a more pocketable alternative to its next-smallest igadget, the a 9.7-inch iPad, and note that smartphones currently running Google’s Android platform such as Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S and Google’s Nexus S, with Acer planning to launch a 4.8-inch smartphone. Other examples include HTC’s Evo 4G 4.3 inch and Incredible S 4 incher, Motorola’s Atrix at 4 inches and Droid X at 4.3 inches, and the Palm Pre3 is close at 3.58 inches.
So, with Apple joining the four inch and larger market, the 4- to 5.5-inch screen size category is shaping up to become the major battleground for smartphones that could alter industry dynamics for production of small to medium-size LCD panels.
Consistent With Other Rumors
Sounding a note of caution, blogger “Applebitch” acknowledges that Digitimes has made some accurate Apple product predictions in the past, but thinks their prognostication of a 4-inch iPhone screen is not entirely convincing. However, for argument’s sake, Applebitch speculates that there are two areas where a four inch display could potentially serve useful purpose — both the top and the bottom of the iPhone, and observes that the iPhone 5 could retain the same physical size but still have a larger screen vertically, which is consistent with other rumors published regarding removal of the home button on iOS devices. What implementation of the latter could mean in practical terms is discussed at some length in the blog, which you can read here.
Same Screen Resolution, Only Unobstructed?
Over at The Register, Rik Myslewski riffs on a whole round of new or refreshed iPhone 5 rumors running off in different directions at once, such as the larger screen, a smaller phone, a slide-out keyboard, and cloud-only operation la Google’s still-gestating Chrome OS. Myslewski muses that If DigiTimes’s sources are correct about a 4 inch iPhone 5, that would simply bring it in line with many of the more-popular competing smartphones available now as well as other recently announced but not-yet-shipping handsets, but notes that in order to maintain the same 960-by-640 pixel resolution in a 4-inch display, the pixel-per-inch count would have to drop to 288 ppi, which seems unlikely after all the hoopla that Apple generated around the release of the iPhone 4′s retina display. However, as noted by Applebitch, the extra room could be dedicated to getting controls off the main screen while retaining the present screen resolution, only unobstructed.
What About An iPhone 5 “nano”?
As for the iPhone 5 “nano” rumors, speculated to relate to a phone one-half to two-thirds the size of the current iPhone 4, Myslewski thinks they have some plausibility, since not everyone needs or wants a full-featured, full-sized, expensive, computer-in-your-pocket smartphone.
Slide-Out Keyboard iPhone 5 Rumors Likely “Vapor”
Then there’s the Chinese-language website tw.apple.pro that claims an iPhone 5 with a slide-out keyboard is in the works, which Myslewski thinks highly unlikely, and this writer agrees. While Apple has taken a lot of stick from analog keyboard fans for not having a real keyboard in the iPhone (and for that matter the iPad either), including from me, Myslewski maintains that virtual keyboards are here to stay and neither he nor I anticipate Apple backtracking on that point. One needs to be careful what they wish for in a context like this. Adding a slide-out keyboard would either have to mandate a bigger iPhone or compromise on other internal content and features to make room, neither of which I think would appeal to a majority of iPhone fans. I suggest the slide-out keyboard iPhone is a chimera, and if Apple ever did go with such a feature, we would probably see it on the iPad (don’t hold your breath) first.
iPhone 5 nano And “Cloud Computing”
Myslewski thinks the most intriguing iPhone rumor is from Cult of Mac’s Leander Kahney, who suggests that the rumored iPhone 5 nano would have no memory for onboard storage of media, but only enough memory to buffer media streamed from “the cloud” with all of it’s content streamed from Apple’s MobileMe servers, amounting to a phone with essentially a mostly cloud-based version of the iOS. I’ve been sucked somewhat into the Cloud for email, but think Cloud computing is being way oversold, at least at the current stage of Internet ubiquity development. For example, with a Cloud-based iPhone with minimal internal storage capacity, where would you store pictures even temporarily, especially when out of Internet range (which includes a lot more of the planet than many urban dwellers acclimatized to Internet almost everywhere might imagine)?
As Myslewski observes, one solution to that would be to have a cameraless iPhone nano, but I expect such a machine’s appeal would be limited to say the least. Kahney concedes that no onboard memory would mean that photos and video would have to be streamed UP to the cloud, presumably in real-time, and the phone would need to constantly have stream a bunch of other data in real-time as well. iPhoning in the Cloud would also limit the variety of apps you could run to whatever selection Apple posted for online access, but I agree with him that a smaller iPhone alternative in some configuration can’t be ruled out.
As usual, Apple is keeping its silence on unreleased products, so all of this is speculative.
[iphone5newsblog]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Apple’s next generation iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPhone, iOS devices, iPad, iphone 4, iPhone 5 rumors, iPhone 5 screen

« Will the iPhone 5 Be Available With 64 GB Storage Capacity?

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Apple May Unveil iPhone 5 And Announce iOS 5 Release Date On June 5th?

Folks at AppleBitch have spotted that the Moscone center has been booked for a Corporate Meeting between June 5th and 9th.
Since the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is typically a 5-day event, which Apple holds at the Moscone center, it is being widely speculated that this year’s WWDC will be held between June 5th and 9th.
This means that Apple may unveil the next generation iPhone -iPhone 5 and also announce the release date of iOS 5 at a Keynote address on June 5th.

At last year’s event , Apple had unveiled iPhone 4, renamed iPhone OS as iOS and announced the release date of iOS 4, which included features such as multitasking, folders, retina display, enhancements to mail, camera and photo apps, much deeper enterprise integration and 100 new features.
We’ really hope to see Steve Jobs who is currently on medical leave, to take center stage at the event with the likes of Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, and Scott Forstall to tell us about their latest creations.
It will be interesting to see if iPhone 5 will be support both CDMA and GSM networks, which seems to be a possibility based on yesterday’s Verizon iPhone 4 teardown, which revealed that it comes with a Qualcomm “Gobi” MDM6600 wireless chip, which supports both GSM and CDMA.
We can’t wait to find out the new features and improvements in the fifth generation iPhone 5 and iOS 5. What’s on your wish list? Let us know in the comments section below.
[via AppleBitch]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: CDMA, fifth generation iPhone 5, GSM, iOS 4, iOS 5, iphone 4, iphone 5, Verizon iPhone 4

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Use of RFID in Apple’s iPhone 5 expected to have a ‘unique’ twist

Apple is expected to include near-field communications technology like radio-frequency identification (RFID) in its next-generation iPhone, but with a different approach to the feature than has been seen in RFID-powered Android phones, according to a new report.
Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities issued a note to investors on Thursday from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. He noted that there has been a rising interest in near-field communications (NFC) at this year’s show.
White said that his sources have indicated to him that the next iPhone will include NFC technology. However, Apple’s approach will reportedly have “a twist that will make it unique versus his peers.” White did not give any indication as to what the “twist” could be.
He did note that earlier this week, it was revealed that the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S II will feature NFC technology, while he said Google has pushed RFID as technology that “has the opportunity to revolutionize electronic commerce and payments.” But the rumor would suggest that Apple is looking to offer more than an e-wallet for payment processing at retail stores.
Last November, one rumor claimed that Apple could use NFC technology in both its future iPhones and Macs to allow RFID-enabled “remote computing.” It was said the rumored technology would allow users to securely turn a nearby Mac into their own personal computer, complete with custom settings, personal passwords, and even desktop backgrounds.
Apple has also filed patents related to NFC technology, including one discovered last July which would allow users to obtain information about a range of products wirelessly and instantly. Examples of potential uses for the service, called “Products+,” included obtaining information about a product to receiving promotions and coupons.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone maker has also hired experts on near-field communications, and was even rumored to be testing iPhone models with RFID chips as recently as August.
Also in his note issued on Thursday, White noted that Softbank has issued all 20,000 of its employees both an iPhone and iPad from Apple. He said the news is “a sign of things to come across enterprises,” predicting further corporate adoption of Apple’s iOS devices.
[apple insider]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Analyst Brian White, Apple's iOS devices, iPad, iphone, next generation iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Ticonderoga Securities

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iPhone 5 : Apple Working On iPhone 5 Prototype With Slide-Out Keyboard?

Folks at Apple.pro report that Apple is working on three prototypes for the next generation iPhone.
Apple.pro claims that one of the iPhone 5 prototype includes a slide-out keyword.
Taiwanese site Apple.pro which has a strong track record when it comes to Apple related news, reports:

There are three iPhone5 prototypeone is a sliding cover which
Is the introduction of the keyboard after the side cover

Apple.pro claims that the other prototype is an upgraded version of iPhone 4, with upgraded battery and an 8-megapixel camera compared to iPhone 4’s 5-megapixel camera and with no major physical change just like the transition from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS.
If you are a long time iPhone user who is used to its on-screen virtual keyboard, might find the need of a physical keyboard unnecessary. However, some folks insist that its one of deal breakers. It will be interesting to see if Apple decides to finally launch an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard to cater to such users.
Do you really miss a physical keyboard while using the iPhone? Do you think Apple will launch an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard? Please share your views in the comments section below.
[Apple.pro via AppleInsider, Thanks Luis for the tip!]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Apple, iphone, iphone 3g, iphone 3gs, iphone 4, iPhone 5 prototype, iPhone user, next generation iPhone

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iPhone 5 To Come With 4-Inch Screen?

Whenever we have asked you, our readers what was on your wish list for iPhone 5 – Apple’s fifth generation iPhone that is expected to be released this summer, some of you have told us that you want an iPhone 5 with 4-inch screen.
If you’re one of them then we have some good news for you. Taiwanese publication DigiTimes claims that iPhone 5 will come with a 4-inch screen.
DigiTimes reports:

The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple’s next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.

We believe that the 3.5-inch screen of the iPhone is perfect but Apple is seeing growing competition from Android phones such as Samsung Galaxy S that have 4-inch screen and is seen as a unique selling point. So it is possible that Apple may be considering releasing an iPhone with a 4-inch screen. However, it will be a pain for developers to develop apps for different screen sizes, they already have to deal with an iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. We’re also hearing that Apple is working on a smaller and cheaper iPhone, which may come with edge to edge screen. DigiTimes also has a patchy track record when it comes to Apple related rumors.
Folks at 9 to 5 Mac have also created a mockup of iPhone with a 4-inch screen to show how it may look.

Do you want iPhone 5 with a 4-inch screen or are you happy with the 3.5-inch screen? Please share your views in the comments section below.
[via DigiTimes, 9to5Mac]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Apple’s fifth generation iPhone, iPad, iphone 5, iPhone 5 with 4-inch screen, iPod touch

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iPhone 5 Rumor Round-Up: Bigger Screen, Better Camera, Physical Keyboard? »

iPhone 5 Rumor Round-Up: Bigger Screen, Better Camera, Physical Keyboard?

The word on the street tonight is that Apple is toying with the idea of a much larger screen for the iPhone 5.
Other iPhone 5 rumors include a slide-out keyboard and a more competitive camera.
These rumors may have been spawned by glimpses of as-yet unfinished prototypes which may never come to market; they could be complete fiction. Or they could also represent part of the future of Apple’s iconic phone.
The bulk of this iPhone 5-related gossip comes from a Taiwanese blog with a high rate of accuracy on previous Apple leaks. The screen-size rumor comes from DigiTimes.
The interesting thing about all these rumors is that each one suggests Apple is more concerned than ever about competing with Android devices, many of which feature huge screens, massive cameras and physical keyboards already.
For example, many top-of-the-line Android models feature 8-megapixel cameras in contrast to the iPhone 4‘s 5-megapixel model. A couple devices in non-U.S. markets even top that spec; the Altek Leo features a 14-megapixel camera. Without question, the trend is toward more megapixels with every passing month.
And some of these Android devices feature screens as large as 4.3 inches. Android devices with screens in the 4-inches-and-over category often sport kickstands and are lauded for their multimedia capabilities — or derided for being slightly impractical and unwieldy, depending on the user’s perspective.
Now, the iPhone 5 is rumored to have a camera between 8 megapixels (competitive with current Android phones) and 12 megapixels (blowing most current Android models out of the water and likely keeping pace with future Androids, too). With a better camera and a larger screen, it might sport the specs to intrigue those whose loyalties lie with the best hardware over the brand name.
The physical keyboard rumor, however, is a horse of a different color. A handful of Android and RIM devices have been holding sway over the business and content-creating crowd with their über-efficient text entry. But the enterprise isn’t a market Apple has typically courted in the past; to do so now, we suspect they’d have to have a virtual keyboard option alongside a physical keyboard option — an extremely atypical move for the company.
Which of these rumors — if any — do you think are true? Vote in the poll, and give us your full opinion in the comments.
[mashable]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Apple, iPhone 4‘s 5-megapixel model, iphone 5, iPhone 5 rumors, iPhone 5-related

iPhone 5, iPad 2 Could Be Steve Jobs’ Swan Song For Apple

With reports that the cancer-stricken Apple CEO may be in the last weeks of his life, the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 could be the last devices that have his personal touch on them.
For Apple fans worldwide, we could be facing an end of an era.
Among others, the Daily Mail is reporting that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resumed chemotherapy treatments as a result of a cancer relapse, and analysts are prognosticating that he could only have six weeks to live. The report goes on to say that Mr. Jobs has lost a great deal of weight, and that his current physical condition indicates that, “He definitely appears to be in the terminal stages of his life from these photos. I would be surprised if he weighed more than 130lb.”
In spite of his degrading health, it has been reported that Steve Jobs continues to push forward with his work, putting in full days at the Apple campus, purportedly in an effort to put finishing touches on the iPhone 5 and iPad 2.
The iPhone 5 and iPad 2 — Last Testaments To Steve Jobs’ Legacy?
Whatever the evidence may suggest, calculating peoples’ death is just about as unreliable as predicting the weather. For as much as we may have Steve Jobs pegged for the grave in 2011, his remarkable will to live and access to perhaps the most advanced healthcare treatments could prolong his life well beyond even ours — we could be pushing up daisies long before Steve. However, should 2011 end up to be Mr. Jobs’ final year, the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 will be the last major devices he will have a hand in designing — a detail that is anything but insignificant.
How could this affect the iPhone 5 and iPad 2?
[iphone5newsblog]

Posted in iPhone 5, ipad Tags: Apple, Apple CEO, iPad 2, iphone 5, iPhone 5 and iPad 2

iPhone 5 May Unlock and Start Your Car – and More

NFC is the new big thing in mobile. No, I’m not referring to the National Football Conference of the NFL here in the States, but rather Near-field Communication. Much like RFID – another acronym for Radio Frequency Identification – NFC will allow devices to pass information to a near-by reader.
Google already employs this in its mobile operating system Android, as does Nokia in a handful of its handsets (see image). The most commonly used technology used for NFC is in fact that other lesser-known acronym, RFID. Found in key fobs for “Pay Pass” as well as Google phones to your passport, RFID has become the standard hardware for NFC. While many have become concerned with RFIDs security vulnerabilities, manufacturers have taken to it like crack due to its affordability and its it-just-works aspect. While reports have already floated around between job offers at Apple and rumors of NFC devices being tested in the field by the iCompany, what Apple will choose is not clear.
One thing is clear, however: NFC is the next big thing.
With its heavy use in social media from services such as Google’s Lattitude, FaceBook’s Places, to foursquare and Gowalla, all which basically are employing NFC, we have seen just how popular this technology is already in its infancy.
A start-up based in Southern California wants to be the first to take shopping to the fullest with your iPhone and other devices to pay for things like groceries, shoes, coffee, and lumber. MobilePayUSA is currently working with major merchants and financial institutions in making payment with your phone a reality. MobilePayUSA is an immediate, simple, low-cost and viable alternative to NFC sidelining security concerns and costly equipment for the merchant. I spoke to founder and CEO Randy Smith about his company’s visions and use of NFC last fall, and he hopes to eliminate plastic (credit cards) and paper (receipts) with MobilePayUSA. Smith told me that the idea is that no one really forgets their phone anymore, but wallets still seem to sometimes not find their way into peoples’ pockets. With MobilePayUSA on your phone, you won’t have to worry about having your wallet, credit card, check book, or cash. As an added bonus, Smith said that reward cards we all love to lose will be built into the application and instantly give you discounts at the register and track your points for you with every purchase. Smith hopes to have a public beta available soon.

MobilePayUSA may beat Apple to the punch with its NFC application, but Apple doesn’t seem to want to just go after the eWallet feature. No, like anything Apple, it wants to be the only one doing what it’s doing. It wants to go far beyond “There’s an app for that.” Think car security. Think home security. Think computer security. Think whereever you need a key – or password – and you’ll begin to understand just how huge NFC can really be.
Take a look at the tech landscape and you’ll find GM’s onStar app for nearly every 2011 model in iTunes. Unlock and lock doors with a push of a button. Start your vehicle with a push of a button. Lock and unlock your front door with one of the many wireless dead bolt locks available today. Turn on or off your home lights. All from your iPhone. But the trick is, you need to actively do something with your device.
Apple will remove that from the equation and, much like how keyless entry works on a Mercedes with its fob, you could simply walk up to your front door and open it…as long as your iPhone is on your person. Or go into the garage and open your car door and simply push the Start button to power up the engine. (I can say power up now since hybrid and electric vehicles are more common. )
This is would make the iPhone 5 the reason to ignore Droids and Windows 7 phones and all the others.
It’s not hard to see this technology coming to vehicles soon, either. Remember, Apple and Volkswagen openly admitted a few years ago that it was working closely on iPod integration and rumors even had an iCar in development before the global economical crash. It would be easy to bring auto-locks and authorize vehicle operations with an iPhone 5 to the masses with VWs bread-and-butter Jetta and Golfs. Since VW owns Audi, Porsche, and Bentley, upscale customers would be able to brag to their friends how their phone can start the car. Heck, how cool would it be to sit in a Lambo and just drive off without every grabbing for a key?
I could see GM jumping on board as well due to its onStar app already being in use. It wouldn’t take much for GM to integrate NFC with onStar. Between GM and VW, you would have 2/3 of the most sold vehicles in the world NFC ready for the iPhone 5.
Boy, wouldn’t that make Steve Jobs smile?
Sven Rafferty is a writer for the iPhone 5 News Blog and the Editor In Chief of SvenOnTech.com, a leading technology news source and blog.
[iphone5newsblog]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: Apple, FaceBook’s Places, google, Google’s Lattitude, iphone, iphone 5, iPod, iTunes, MobilePayUSA, Pay Pass, unlock

iPhone 5 late too? (September)

Hot on the heels of the report that the iPad 2 might be late, another report from FBR Captial Markets’ Craig Berger today says that iPhone 5 might not hit the market until September (!).

Berger writes, “For the iPhone 5, we continue to hear that a July launch is unlikely, with various casing suppliers and touch suppliers still ramping up, with some chip vendors not having yet received firm iPhone 5 orders, and with other sockets like the image sensor (most likely going to Omnivision exclusively, but with some potential for Sony to split that socket) still in flux. Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple’s traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone.”

Steve stays home for a month and all hell breaks loose or Analysts trying to push AAPL down?  We’re hoping that these analysts are off the mark.
At least we have some MacBook Pros to look forward to this week.
[9 to 5 mac]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: FBR Captial Markets’ Craig Berger, iPad 2, iphone, iphone 5

iPhone 5: The iPhone 5 Rumor Roundup

Rumors regarding the next iteration of the iPhone have been flying left and right. If you’ve been following the rumor mill, you know that there’s a lot of potential innovations to be implemented into Apple’s next iPhone.
Will Apple release several different iPhone models at once? Will the next iPhone be considerably smaller than its predecessors? Will Apple release the iPhone 5 on all carriers with a universal baseband?
These, among others, are all questions being asked about the next iPhone. Let’s examine the rumors and try and make sense of it all…

What’s Expected

What we do know, based on Apple’s product cycle, is that a new iPhone announcement should happen this summer. About a month ago, Digitimes released some interesting information regarding Apple’s supply chains. Digitimes reported that Apple was ramping up for iPhone 5 production, which would place Apple’s projected announcement date right around the normal time of the WWDC conference in June (possibly on June 5th).

Apple is planning on increasing the battery life of its next iPhone. A patent has surfaced revealing that Apple is planning on improving the iPhone’s battery life by increasing battery cell density. Every new iteration of the iPhone has had better battery life than the last, so this improvement is almost a given for the iPhone 5.

The next iPhone will most likely have Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC is a relatively new breakthrough in mobile payment, and reports from the likes of Bloomberg claim that Apple will implement NFC into the iPhone 5.
NFC would primarily be used to let the iPhone interface with and make payments for physical products and ads through RFID technology. If you’ve ever used a mobile device to scan a bar code or a QR code, you should have a good grasp of how NFC works.
AppleInsider reports that Apple plans to implement NFC in a new and interesting way,

“White said that his sources have indicated to him that the next iPhone will include NFC technology. However, Apple’s approach will reportedly have “a twist that will make it unique versus his peers.” White did not give any indication as to what the “twist” could be.”

Apple will reportedly make its cloud-based service, MobileMe, free with the release of the next iPhone. MobileMe has always been overpriced and lacking in key functionality when compared to other free web services like Google.
Rumors say that Apple is bringing significant updates to MobileMe. Along with the remarkably reduced price tag, speculation says that MobileMe will become a much more integrated part of the iOS experience in the near future. A streaming iTunes media service could also work in tandem with an updated MobileMe. If the next iPhone is indeed mostly cloud-based, these MobileMe rumors make sense.

A Possibility

Apple could release a smaller iPhone dubbed the “iPhone Nano.” This miniature iPhone would probably be sold unsubsidized (no $200 hardware fee) and depend on internet streaming for content.
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that the iPhone Nano will posses an “edge-to-edge” screen and have voice navigation. A cheaper iPhone Nano could have the potential to increase Apple’s smartphone revenue by over 250% and saturate the market with cheap iPhones on different carriers.
It is worth noting that there have been conflicting reports about the iPhone Nano. The New York Times claims that the iPhone Nano will not be any smaller than the iPhone 4, but that it will be cheaper. The NY Times also corroborated the report that Apple will make MobileMe free.
We shall see what happens.

The next iPhone could have a larger 4 inch display. Digitimes has claimed that Apple will increase the iPhone’s display size to compete with current Android handsets that all boast 4 inch screens.
While Apple has never really been one to feel the pressure of competition, a slightly larger screen on the next iPhone wouldn’t be a stretch. This idea also compliments the rumor that the next iPhone will not have a home button. (Don’t worry, we’ll get there.)

An iPhone with a slideout keyboard? Hey, it could happen.
While the idea of an iPhone with a slideout keyboard does seem unlike Apple, it’s entirely possibly that the (or “a”) next iPhone could have a slideout keyboard. A Taiwanese site called tw.Apple.pro claims that Apple will implement a slideout keyboard in the iPhone 5. We’ll see if this rumor ever comes true.

The next iPhone could have no home button. Boy Genius claims that Apple will replace the home button’s functionality with new multitouch gestures.
A home buttonless iPhone would definitely be a drastic design change. It’s unknown as to how this would effect the jailbreak process (it’s kind of hard to put an iPhone in DFU mode without a home button), but I guess we’ll find out this summer.

The iPhone 5 could have a universal baseband and sport a dual core CPU. Apparently, the Verizon iPhone actually has a universal Qualcomm chip, but Apple has it disabled. It makes sense that Apple would introduce an iPhone 5 “world phone” with the ability to run on any carrier.
A dual core CPU also makes sense for the internals of the next iPhone. Apple always improves performance with each new iteration, and the ARM Cortex A9 processor seems like the next logical step for the iPhone 5.

Far Fetched

An interesting patent suggests that Apple may eventually plan on using its Magsafe connector for power and data transfers on iOS devices. Apple’s MacBooks use Magsafe for power, but Apple wants to have Magsafe replace its USB connector for iPods and iOS devices.
If Apple can successfully achieve power and data through Magsafe, it’s assumable that Magsafe will become the standard connector for all Apple mobile devices in the future. We probably won’t see Magsafe on the iPhone this year, but I’m sure Apple has it on the distant horizon.

LTE has been a question on the iPhone since the technology’s introduction in the mobile space. Apple is definitely working on implementing LTE into the iPhone, but not for the near future. In fact, Apple only recently posted the job listing for an LTE specialist.
While we won’t be seeing LTE in the iPhone 5, Apple will most likely introduce LTE in the generation after this year’s cycle. Apple has never been a company that quickly adopts new technologies, and LTE is no exception to that rule.

Conclusion

We could possibly see three different iPhone models released this summer, or Apple could stick with its track record and release one device. Most likely the iPhone 5 will have improved performance and battery life, NFC technology, and some sort of display size change. MobileMe will be apart of the next iPhone announcement, and the biggest design change could be the lack of a home button.
Hopefully this article helped you sort through all of the speculation on the iPhone 5.
Now that you’re familiar with the rumors- What do you expect out of Apple’s next iPhone? What would you like to see? A larger screen? Better camera? I’d just like to be able to buy one in white.
[iphonedownloadblog]

Posted in iPhone 5 Tags: An iPhone with a slideout keyboard, Apple is planning on increasing the battery life of its next iPhone, Apple’s next iPhone, Apple’s smartphone, google, iOS devices, iOS experience, iphone, iphone 5, iPhone 5 production, iPhone models, iPhone nano, iPhone’s battery, iPhone’s display, jailbreak, LTE, MobileMe, next iPhone, Qualcomm chip, The next iPhone could have a larger 4 inch display