News from category ‘Other’

There have been a lot of trouble reports from new iPhone 4 owners, especially regarding the signal loss issue. However, there are some other minor factory defects which are less widespread, and it means that in this case you can exchange your phone. Here is a list of what you just might encounter:

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When the iPhone 4 was introduced at the WWDC, Apple especially noted the capabilities of the device, putting emphasis on its camera. The company said that, even though the iPhone 4 had only 5 megapixels, while 8 megapixels was beginning to be the norm for the latest smartphones, the iPhone 4 would have a far superior performance thanks to some special features that go far beyond the simple megapixel count.

Now the iPhone 4 is finally on the market, and so are samples of the new Droid X from Motoralla introduced on Wednesday. This made camera tests possible and this is what Macworld did in their series of tests aimed to compare 4 devices: the iPhone 4, it’s predecessor 3GS, the Droid X, the HTC EVO 4G, Samsung HZ35W and Galaxy, as well as basic Sony and Samsung point-and-shoot cameras. For the video test, the devices were also compared to the Flip Video M2120.

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One of the main iPhone 4’s innovations is FaceTime, a new video calling feature. Unfortunately, at the moment it is only limited to calls from one iPhone 4 to another, and it makes it rather challenging for people to try it out, since not all of them know other iPhone 4 users.

Apple has suggested a solution: a new testing and support hotline at 1-888-FACETIME. Before starting a FaceTime session with a representative from Apple, callers will be asked a couple of questions about their new phone. Then they can get more information about the new feature, ask some questions and test FaceTime.

The hotline currently works from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Central Time.

The problem of signal loss with the iPhone 4 is still on, and users have begun to address the company itself for more information. Is it a hardware or software problem? What is being done to fix it? Steve Jobs is very laconic about it: yes, the problem is there but this is a “non-issue” and you should just avoid holding it that way.

Sounds incredible, but there it is, Apple’s official statement.

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The prices for the iPhone 4, Droid Incredible, Evo 4G and Nexus One are very similar. But in this chart you can see how much you’ll have to spend on each of the devices during a 2-year period.

The results for the iPhone 4 are quite encouraging, especially in the Minimum Plan Total Cost category. However, you should remember that nowadays AT&T is the only carrier that offers tiered data. This means that for $2,000 you can only enjoy 200 MB a month, which doesn’t exactly compare to the unlimited plans of the other 3 devices. With the “unlimited” plan you’ll be able to use 2GB, which is enough in most cases. If it isn’t, be ready to spill out an extra $10 per 1GB each month.

Still, the performances of all the 4 devices are really very close, so you can do some research while waiting for the iPhone 4 to come into the market.

In spite of the problems with ordering and receiving, the iPhone 4 has enjoyed a really successful launch across the world. The first place for the iPhone 4 to go on sale was Japan, with more than 300 people lining up at the main store for Softbank, the mobile carrier for the iPhone 4 in Japan. By early afternoon all the devices in stock had been sold.

The next countries to launch the new device were Germany, France and the UK, with the U.S. East coast following them shortly afterwards. At most of the places the lines were incredibly long – actually the longest for any iPhone release.

One of iPhone 4’s main design features is its front and black made entirely of glass which, according to Apple, is more resistant to scratches than ever. The company is so sure of the durability and strength of the new device’s glass that the only protection feature they are offering is bumpers for the edges, while the front and black are fully exposed.

According to some reviews from the iPhone 4’s new owners, the glass seems to be holding up quite well, and no effects were observed even after dropping the device. However, there are some new photos which prove that the situation is not as sunny as it is claimed to be.

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According to a recent Piper Jaffray's  research, out of 4 billion applications downloaded onto iPads, iPods and iPhones, 81% are free and the cost of the other 19% is averagely $1.49.

These numbers mean that Apple’s profit from apps since the opening of the App Store is $428 million, about 29 cents per application, while the company spent approximately $81 million to distribute the apps themselves.

It sounds like a huge sum of money at first, until you understand that it makes up just 1% of Apple’s total gross profit of $33.7 billion over the same period.

During his visit to Silicon Valley Russian president Dmitry Medvedev visited Apple. Guess who guided the tour? Yes, Steve Jobs!

Steve Jobs showed Dmitry Medvedev Apple products and technologies. And also gifted him a brand new Apple iPhone 4.

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If your iPhone 4 is pre-ordered – congratulations to you! You will be probably getting it very very soon. However, if you didn’t preorder, you’ll have to wait 6 more days, till June 29, to buy your iPhone at AT&T.

It’s no wonder that the date has been delayed, what with the mess the pre-ordering system was in and the fact that all the devices were sold out in less than one day. The pre-order sales of the iPhone 4 began on June 15 and they were 10 times as high as those for the iPhone 3GS last year on its first day. The company reports that they are happy to see the excitement around the new device and they are trying to help as many buyers as quickly as possible. As it was announced last week, the priority is to fulfill the pre-orders first.

AT&T is now in the middle of delivering iPhone 4 to those who preordered it on June 15. Here are some guidelines for the buyers getting iPhone 4 from AT&T:

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Good news for those who thought that FaceTime feature may spend your carrier minutes. Yesterday Apple representative told BusinessInsider that it is not true:

"The voice call ends as soon as the FaceTime call connects. The FaceTime call is over Wi-Fi so does not use carrier minutes."

That really wasn't so obvious because there was a possibility that voice call would keep running in the background in cases if Wi-Fi signal went out or video chat dropped.

The reason why FaceTime feature doesn't work in 3G networks is that it is not decided how exactly such videocalls must be billed - as data toward monthly data caps or in some other way.

On Friday Apple started marking orders for iPhone 4 as "prepared for shipment", but some customers have already received new shipment notifications from the company.

Most of the reports indicate June 24 as a delivery date (as it is seen on the screenshot above), but numerous source reveal there are also some notifications that state a ship by date of June 23.

Apple can request shippers to deliver the items exactly on the launch date, but there were cases when people who ordered an iPad also received it the day or two before the official launch date.

It is also revealed that new iPhones are shipping from Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

According to Mobile Mix Survey, conducted in May by advertising agency Millennial Media, 56% of all developers in the USA write software for Apple’s mobile platform iOS. This is almost as twice as more than Google’s Android developers. 5% goes to Nokia’s Symbian and 4% of devs work on software for RIM’s BlackBerry OS.

But there are more surprising facts unveiled in the survey.

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On June, 4 Apple sent a letter to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) with request to keep new iPhone’s photos and any information about it in secret for forty five days.

Though this is a standard practice for Apple, the situation looks pretty strange as the device’s internals had been already revealed with numerous prototype leaks. But Patently Apple, the company that obtained and published the letter, found the explanation in the document itself:

“Although Apple has begun to market the device publicly, these documents reveal technical and design information that has not yet been publicly disclosed in such marketing and that is protected by Apple as confidential and proprietary secrets”.

AppleInsider created a list of new iPhone’s technical details and features that Apple may want to keep in secret for a while. It includes new features of A4 SoC, details of new frame antenna, new cellular radio support for pentaband UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz) 3G bands, details related to possible support of T-Mobile (AWS UMTS IV band) and Verizon/Sprint (CDMA/EVDO) networks.

A new Apple’s patent application entitled “Digital Radio Tagging Using an RF Tuner Accessory” has been revealed this week. It describes an HD Radio technology that may be later delivered to iPod touch and iPhone and gives its users greater flexibility in interaction with broadcast media. Nowadays HD Radio is a trademarked wireless radio format that allows FM and AM radio stations to simulcast analog and digital audio at the same time on the same channel. Currently it is owned by iBiquity.

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