News tagged ‘iPhone 4S’

Now, instead of selling your used iPhone on services like Gazelle or eBay you can give your used iPhone 4 to Apple and receive up to $200 for it, depending on its condition. Just visit the page of Reuse and Recycling Program on Apple’s site and press the button Get Started.

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UBM TechInsights posted their estimates  on price of the major components of the iPhone 4S. They suggest that the value of the components used to make the Apple iPhone 4S comes to $203 for the 32GB model which will be sold for $299 on a subisidized basis.

The most expensive part is the flash memory which costs $38. The second most expensive component   is Retina display wearing a $31 price tag. That is followed by the dual-core A5 processor, which costs $26. Making the new iteration of the iPhone a World Phone added $6 to the cost of a GSM-only unit, while the updated 8MP camera added only $3 to the price of the components.

iPhone’s rival HTC ThunderBolt was valued at $262 according to TechInsights. It includes such components as a LTE chipset, bigger battery, but lower resolution screen, and slightly slower processor, comparing with the iPhone 4S’.

The recently-announced 8GB Apple iPhone 4 indicated that Apple now offers the phone with small margin. Its component cost is $156 and the company is going to sell it for $99 with a signed 2-year contract.

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Implementing its plans to ban sales of Apple’s new iPhone over infringement of intellectual property, Samsung today has said that it is going to file requests with the courts in Italy and France for preliminary injunction of new smartphones.

“Samsung Electronics will file separate preliminary injunction motions in Paris, France and Milano, Italy on October 5 local time requesting the courts block the sale of Apple’s iPhone 4S in the respective markets”.

Samsung’s requests in Italy and France will refer to patent infringements connected with wireless telecommunications technology for 3G mobile devices. Also Samsung said that it plans to file the same requests in other countries after it reviews the situations.

Today’s statement from Samsung does not refer to the specific patents which iPhone 4S infringes, but it is possible that they are the same patents that already used by Samsung in a Dutch suit seeking the sales ban of iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2.

Apple has claimed that patents cited by Samsung are essential for 3G wireless technologies and should be licensed under FRAND terms. Apple argued that Samsung has not offered it licensing under reasonable terms, and two companies has been unable to arrive at agreement on licensing of those patents.

There is still no information on unlocked iPhone 4S availability in the US. However there are some news from Europe. According to Apple, in France you will be able to buy unlocked iPhone 4S 16GB for 629 EUR (~$836). You can get tax free if you don't live in Europe, so the price would be around 550 EUR (~$732).

Unlocked iPhone 4 16GB will cost 519 EUR ($690), which is ~455 EUR (~$605) after tax free. The cheapest unlocked iPhone 3GS 8GB is just 369 EUR (~$490), which is ~320 EUR (~$426) after tax free.

UPDATE: Unlocked iPhone 4S will be available in November

Apple yesterday announced iPhone 4S  and seems to prepare the name “iPhone 5” for 4G LTE model of the smartphone that may be released next spring. Analyst Will Strauss, president of wireless chip market research firm Forward Concepts, has tried to explain why Apple showed off an iPhone 4S and not the rumored "iPhone 5" on Tuesday.

"They're saving iPhone 5 for the LTE version and that won't be out until next spring. There's no way they could come out with LTE now," he suggested.

Apple may need an LTE baseband chip that, according to Anand Shimpi of AnandTech, will arrive early next year, so first iPhones powered by it likely to arrive in the second quarter of 2012.

"While I don't like participating in the rumor garbage, if I were to guess at the release date of the rumored iPhone 5 I'd say early Q3 2012," he added.

But Apple is not in hurry. The company shows interest in LTE, but not going to implement LTE technology in the next iPhone as soon as possible. Quoting Apple executive Tim Cook, the reason is what that “LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make".

Yesterday during the expected media event Apple announced the new iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the existing iPhone 4 with improved A5 processor, new 8 MP camera with better optics, faster download speed on 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, and more. Media members who attended Apple's iPhone 4S event had the opportunity to spend some time with the new hardware following the presentation, and immediately started posting their first impressions about the iPhone 4S.

Engadget highlights the improved internal specifications of the new iPhone 4S, noting that it is faster than the previous model, with faster navigating between pages and opening the camera application. Engadget was also able to test the new voice assistant, Siri:

The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone — but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests... Siri never faltered, never missed a beat… There’s nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we’re hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update.

Jim Dalrymple at The Loop covers the differences in antenna design:

The current model has three bands — one on each side on the bottom, and one on the top. The iPhone 4S has four bands — two on the top and two on the bottom. The bands are where Apple houses the antennas for the device. The Wi-Fi, wireless and Bluetooth technologies use these areas. It’s not clear at this point if Apple moved any antennas or what they added the extra band.

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Here's a nice quick hands-on video of new iPhone 4S from BBC.

Check out official Apple videos of Siri Assistant, iCloud and new iPhone 4S:

Siri:

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The prices are just like on an image above. iPhone 3GS 8GB is free and iPhone 4 8GB is just $99 - with contract. And yes, according to the Apple Store in the US both iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 are available with Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.

Unlocked iPhone 4 8GB GSM costs $549 in the US.

There is no information yet about unlocked iPhone 4S availability and prices.

Tim Cook just announced much anticipated iPhone 4S. On the outside the iPhone 4S looks exactly like its predecessor iPhone 4, but on the inside it's "all new." Apple has put inside a dual-core A5 CPU, a new dual-core GPU that boosts graphics performance by up to 7x. The display is the same 3.5-inch Retina with VGA front camera.

The back camera got much better. It features 8MP sensor, backside illuminated CMOS sensor for better low-light performance, 5-element lens with a hybrid IR filter and apertures down to f/2.4. The 4S can record 1080p video and has a new image signal processor for image stabilization and facial recognition. The camera is also quite a bit faster than many other smartphone shooters. It needs just 1.1 seconds before being ready to take the first shot and only half a second between successive images.

The antennas on the sides have been rebuilt and iOS will intelligently switch between two different sets on the fly to avoid dropping calls no matter how you hold it. Those antennas are connected to a dual-mode GSM and CDMA radio that will let Apple's handset roam the globe while enjoying either 14.4Mbps HSPA+ or EV-DO Rev. A.

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It's finally happened, today Apple has finally announced new iPhone 4S. Here's our usual comparison table iPhone 4S vs iPhone 4:

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9to5mac has got pricing for the iPhone 4S (N94) that Apple is announcing today. According to their source, the price of the unlocked iPhone 4S 64GB will replace the price of the current iPhone 4 32GB. In addition, the price of the new iPhone 4S 32GB will replace the price of the current iPhone 4 16GB.

It’s highly likely that the prices will be as follows (with contract): iPhone 4S 64GB - $299, 32GB - $199, 16GB will drop down to $99 in the United States. The iPhone 4 8GB (N90A) will most likely cost $49, which will replace the current $49 iPhone 3GS price point. As for iPhone 3GS there are rumors that it will be free with contract.

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Well, rumors around iPhone 5 are getting bigger and bigger. This one is really big in terms of dollars. WSJ reports that Sprint, the third largest wireless operator in the US, committed to buy 30.5 million new iPhones for $20 billion.

BGR has heard that Sprint will actually get the much rumored iPhone 5, that is said to be a 4G LTE device. AT&T and Verizon would launch the iPhone 4S and get the iPhone 5 some time in the first quarter of 2012 as an LTE device. Globally, the iPhone 5 might be available as a 4G HSPA+ device.

According to BGR's source the iPhone 4S will feature the A5 processor, an 8MP camera with 1080p video recording, a Multiband 3G Qualcomm chipset, NFC support, and a metal or premium plastic back casing.

The Sprint exclusive iPhone 5 is said to feature a faster CPU, 4-inch screen, 1 GB of RAM, slightly larger design (though thinner), larger battery, 32GB of storage, Assistant, and possibly a new home button which integrates activating assistant.

There's too much rumors lately.

Some analysts predict that Apple could keep its iPhone 3GS longer than predicted. The company might, probably, offer their handset for free on contract. As far as we know, the two-year old iPhone 3GS still remains the second best-selling smartphone in the United States of America. The first place belongs to the iPhone 4. Such situation only confirms suggestions that cost of a device is the key factor in customers' purchasing decisions.

Yesterday Mike Abramsky, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, issued a new research note where he told us about his expectations for the today’s iPhone event. Many of his predictions are in line with recent rumors we’ve heard -  HSPA+ iPhone 4S or 5 based on an A5 chip – he also believes that Apple keeps offering iPhone 3GS alongside the new smartphone(s).

We expect Apple to reduce the price of the prior iPhone 4 to $99 subsidized ($499 unsubsidized) and the iPhone 3GS to $0 subsidized ($399 unsubsidized, see 11/06/29 note for more detail and rationale); the prior iPhone 4 may be available only with 8GB memory.