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LTE iPad Coming to Japan Next Summer, LTE iPhone by Fall
Nikkei Business reports that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has reached a basic agreement with Apple on releasing an LTE-capable (able to connect to long-term evolution 4G high-speed data networks) iPad in the summer of 2012 with an LTE iPhone to follow in the fall.
Earlier this month it was reported that executives with the wireless carrier were said to have visited the U.S. in mid-November to talk with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, but DoCoMo was hesitant to agree to Apple's demands on unit volume and its refusal to allow the carrier to add its own applications to the device.
Nevertheless, NTT DoCoMo has denied the report in a press release, stating there is "no basic agreement" in place with Apple.
Logging Software From Carrier IQ Is Found On Many Mobile Phones
During the last several days, there have been many reports on the findings of revealing that logging software is present on many BlackBerry, Nokia and Android phones. The software called "IQRD" was developed by the company Carrier IQ. The summarized the showing the scope of logging.
Speculation on Apple's Television Set: Range of Sizes, Device Integration, Premium Pricing
Though Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster does not have specific knowledge of Apple's ultimate plans for its television set, he has expressed his ideas about what Apple will do with its rumored product that may be launched in the second half of next year. Among Munster's predictions:
- Full-fledged television set. Apple’s television set will be an all-in-one solution, but most users won’t be able to use cable or satellite channels, because Apple does not offer a full suite of television content offerings. Instead, the Apple’s TV will serve as a user interface that still uses the standard signal from a cable box.
- Range of sizes and twice current pricing. Apple’s television set will be introduced in a range of sizes. Munster suggest that Apple’ TV will have price that will be approximately twice higher than the prevailing market price of similarly-sized televisions.
- Simplicity and Apple's ecosystem. Apple television will integrate with iOS devices and Apple's content ecosystem for video, games, and apps. The TV will have a traditional remote control, but also iPad and iPhone apps for controlling the set's features, as well as Siri voice control to simplify interaction with television sets.
iPhone Dev-Team hacks the iPhone 4S baseband bootrom
MuscleNerd has announced in twitter that the iPhone 4S baseband bootrom has been dumped. This means one more step towards iPhone 4S unlock.
iPhone4S baseband bootrom now dumped
Here's a tiny snippet: http://twitpic.com/7mg5hp ...but we'll be digging into the rest of it too!
Earlier this week, it was announced that a very promising iPhone 4S unlock is in the works.
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Apple stores to participate in World AIDS Day by promoting (RED) products
Apple retail stores are taking part in World AIDS Day today, on December 1. The company is drawing attention to its (RED) products, which raise money to fight AIDS in Africa. ifoAppleStore reports that a "select group of Specialists will be wearing and promoting the (RED) iPod nano" to mark the day set for international AIDS awareness.
Apple sells 8GB and 16GB (RED) iPod nano models for the same price as other models, but a part of money that Apple will receive this day, will be donated to the Global Fund in order to fight AIDS in Africa. The company also offers a (RED) leather iPad Smart Cover, Special Edition (RED) Beats by Dr. Dre Solo HD Headphones, as well as a (RED) iTunes gift card. Managers also have to use the (RED) Smart Covers for iPads during this day.
The idea of this (RED) project belongs to U2 lead singer Bono and Bobby Shriver. Apple has been the largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
"This is serious and significant," Bono wrote. "And Apple's involvement has encouraged other companies to step up."
Apple still No. 1 manufacturer in growing US smartphone market
According to findings released on Tuesday by Nielsen, Apple remained the largest smartphone manufacture in the Unites States in the third quarter. While smartphones sales continue to grow in the U.S., accounting for 56 percent of all cellphone sales in the prior quarter, Apple’s market share has reached 30%. Apple's third quarter performance was followed by HTC with a 20.3% share.
As for mobile platforms, Android and iOS dominate with a 71.1% share, holding 42.8% and 28.3% respectively. About a half of all mobile users in the United States owns a smartphone. During the prior quarter 56% of all handsets purchases were smartphones. The third place still belongs to RIM's BlackBerry platform with 17.8% that was followed by Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, HP's Palm/webOS, Symbian and the fledgling Windows Phone.
App downloads in the third quarter saw that Google and Apple have the largest share. 83% of all downloads were made through Android and iOS devices. But Google has recently expressed dissatisfaction by the situation with app downloads, and hinted at upcoming changes that would bring its online store more in line with Apple's.
Infinity Blade 2 Arrives In The App Store
Chair Entertainment launched a sequel of its Infinity Blade in Apple Stores. The original version became the first iOS game running on the Unreal Engine and also the best-selling iOS game with 1,6 millions downloads just in four days after its release.
Samsung Galaxy Tablet Ban in Australia Lifted, Apple to Appeal
Sydney Morning Herald reports that an Australian court has overturned a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple was able to extend the ban until Friday at 4pm while it prepares for an appeal to the High Court.
The full bench of the Federal Court - Justices John Dowsett, Lindsay Foster and David Yates - today unanimously reversed a Federal Court judge's ruling last month that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 be banned from sale in Australia.
"Samsung will be permitted to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia provided it keeps accounts of all transactions involving that device in Australia," the judges wrote in their judgment.
The original ruling came last month from Justice Annabelle Bennett. Following the initial injunction, Samsung was quick to appeal the decision in hopes of releasing the device in time for the valuable Christmas shopping season. Samsung lawyer Neil Young said in October that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be "dead" if it was delayed past Christmas.
Apple Seeks Ban on Sales of Revised Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany
Galaxy Tab 10.1N (top) vs. Galaxy Tab 10.1 (bottom)
Apple has reportedly filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent sales of the revised Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a design-tweaked variant of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1, in Germany. Samsung launched Galaxy Tab 10.1N last month in attempt to deal with the ban on Galaxy tab 10.1 sales in the country.
Apple has requested a preliminary injunction, and the Duesseldorf regional court has scheduled a hearing on the matter on Dec. 22, a spokesman for the court told Dow Jones Newswires on Tuesday.
The move has no effect on sales and distribution of the product, Samsung said in an emailed statement, while Apple repeated earlier comments that it intends to protect its intellectual property.
Apple clearly believes that slight changes in design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 are not sufficient to overcome the ruling that the Galaxy Tab design is almost similar to the design of the Apple’s iPad, and that is why Apple has decided to claim a new injunction.
Samsung attorney says Australian judge wrong in banning its iPad-like tablet
Samsung's attorney Neil Young claims that Australian judge Annabelle Bennett was wrong in granting Apple a temporary injunction against the Galaxy Tab. He stated at an appeal hearing that she made a series of errors and did not understand key elements of the case. The judge issued the ban on the basis of just two of the patents, but Apple’s claims are based on 13 company’s patent infringements. So the judge decided that they were enough to warrant a temporary sales ban until the full case will be solved. However, Samsung may lose their customers during the holiday sales season at least in Australia.
As far as we know, Apple is also suing Samsung in California and in some other countries. A separate injunction on sales was won by Apple in Germany. Rather curious incident occurred in the US court. A judge, who held Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Apple's iPad in the air, asked Samsung's attorneys to identify which one is made by Samsung. Surprisingly, the attorney preferred to evade a question.
Of course, Apple's attorney Stephen Burley does not agree with Samsung's attorney. He believes that Bennett reviewed the infringement case in a detailed fashion. Moreover, he claims that Apple had good chances to win infringement.
Analysts See iPhone 4S Supply Constraints Throughout Holiday Quarter
Fortune has analyzed two reports and suggests now that Apple may be experiencing some supply constrains on the iPhone 4S throughout this holiday quarter. The company, no doubt, works hard to stock-pile necessary number of the iPhone 4S that will allow Apple to meet customer demand for its newest smartphone, as well as shipping estimates of iPhone carrier partners during this quarter, but Apple may be having some trouble meeting its own production goals for the device that will result in supply constrains.
The first report, from Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar, alerted the company’s clients about the iPhone 4S production constrains, citing that shortages of an unidentified "key component" for the iPhone 4S that is holding back production. Kumar says that Apple has four million iPhone 4S not sold in the prior quarter. Taking into account there numbers, he suggests that Apple may sell 30 million iPhones during this quarter, though the company won’t be able to completely satisfy consumer demand.
The second note comes from Susquehanna Financial's Jeff Fidacaro. He also says that the main problem for Apple in this quarter is "supply constraints". As a result, we see reduction in quarterly iPhone sales of about three million units, moving from 26-28 million units to 23-25 million units.
Next iPhone 5 is real and referenced in iOS 5.1
We have already found two new iPads and the next-generation Apple TV codenames tonight. Now we are are ready to something big. Here is, perhaps, the most important find of all: iPhone 5,1. That's right, the next version of the iPhone is has been found in iOS 5.1 internals.
This codename also tells us that iPhone 5 would be a major update. New 4,x model would represent minor changes. For example, the iPhone 3G went from the original iPhone 1,1 to 1,2 because there were no internal speed and performance enhancements, just 3G and a GPS.
The jump from 4,1 to 5,1 represents major changes, both internal and external. This means the iPhone 5/6 will have a brand-new processor, probably A6. Rumored additions for externals are a 4 inch display and a new aluminum casing. Since Apple just released the iPhone 4S in October 2011, we should not expect iPhone 5 anytime soon. New iPhone will come next October or maybe in the summer. With the 5,1 reference appearing this early, we like to think the latter.
Apple TV 3G reference is found in iOS 5.1
More news on new devices found in iOS 5.1 beta. This time it's Apple TV 3rd generation.
Usually every product has a codename identifier. For example iPhone3,1 is iPhone 4 and AppleTV2,1 is Apple TV 2G. We have seen AppleTV3,1 codename in iOS 5 a while ago. 9to5mac reports that as a product in development moves closer to the release, it is assigned another codename. For example N94 (iPhone 4S) or K48 (original iPad). The 3rd generation Apple TV has reached that stage. New name J33 was found in iOS 5.1, that corresponds to new Apple TV 3,1.
Two new iPads (iPad 2,4 and iPad 3,3) are found in iOS 5.1 firmware
In the just released iOS 5.1 beta, developers have found references to two new iPad devices. They have codenames iPad 2,4 and iPad 3,3.
Just to remind you, iPad 2 has 3 different codenames - iPad 2 Wifi version is iPad 2,1, iPad 2 GSM is iPad 2,2 and iPad 2 CDMA is iPad 2,3. So what could be the new iPad 2,4? There are rumors that this new gadget might be a Sprint version of iPad 2. However 3G Sprint iPad would be the same hardware as the Verizon iPad, so new name might be iPad 2 WiMAX. Other rumors say this is iPad for China's TD-LTE or a dual-mode device like the current iPhone 4S.
NoiseHush NX80: good alternative to the original Apple headphones
We have recently been able to test NoiseHush NX80 headphones from and compare them with Apple headphones.
Just by looking at NoiseHush NX80 headphones one can say they are very well made. In the package you will find headphones with tangle-free red cables, a small pouch and a selection of ear gels (small, medium and large). NoiseHush NX80 headphones have a microphone and a switch button, so users can easily answer calls or switch between the tracks just like when using Apple earphones.
We have found that NoiseHush NX80 3.9 feet cable is more suitable for everyday use, since they indeed tangle less than original Apple Earphones that come with every iPhone and iPod. The red color also looks nice and attractive. The selection of ear gels is very important. They not just make headphones stay in ears, we have also found that the sound quality is much better when appropriate ear gels are used.