News tagged ‘смартфон’

Apple's customer service call centers - AppleCare has reported AppleInsider that the company expects that a large influx  of iOS-related support calls beginning Monday, October 10th, suggesting that Apple may release the iOS 5 on this date.

For instance, one person familiar with the matter said his local AppleCare call center has been told to expect an eightfold increase in customer calls on that day, and that staff are being advised ahead of time for the increased traffic.

The person could not say with any certainty what will be released on that Monday, but noted that the increase in call volume is related to iOS. This led them to speculate that Apple could release iOS 5 and iCloud on Oct. 10.

Apple always releases its major iOS updates a couple of days ahead of the new hardware release. For example, the iPhone OS 3.0 was released on June 17th, 2009 while the iPhone 3GS was released on June 19th, 2009; last year iOS 4.0 was released on June 21st following the iPhone 4 release on June 24th. So, we may expect release of new iPhone 5 after October 10th. Moreover, there are lots of rumors suggesting that Apple is planning to announce its next-gen iPhone in mid-October.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple plans to send the golden master version of iOS 5 to its iPhone and iPod touch assembling partners during the period of September 23rd through 30th. So the new hardware could be launched around mid-October. That means that the assemblers will have time to install software on already produced new iPhones. But the analyst claims that design of the iPhone 5 would not be changed and Apple planes to ship 30 million units through the end of the year alongside production of an additional 5 million units of the existing iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS models

While many have been holding out for a significantly redesigned iPhone 5 offering a thinner, tapered profile as shown in third-party cases supposedly based on leaked design documents, essentially no evidence for such a model has surfaced in the form of parts leaks or other details. While some have suggested that the N94 is a decoy/scrapped/backup model and that Apple is keeping the redesigned model under tighter wraps, Kuo is not seeing signs of such a model anywhere in Apple's supply chain.

According to data from market research firm NPD (via BusinessInsider), Apple’s Mac sales in U.S. are up 22% year-on-year for two month of the third quarter of this year, leading the company to a new record for quarterly sales of Macs. Gene Munster, analyst from research firm Piper Jaffray, attributed so high sales to launch of new Mac mini and MacBook Air line in July, which is expected to account for 10 to 20 percent of total sales of Macs over the third quarter.

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Bloomberg confirms information previously reported by The Wall Street Journal that Sprint will indeed begin offering the iPhone 5 next month with unlimited data plans for the device. Sprint reportedly will launch the iPhone 5 in mid-October.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) will offer Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone next month with unlimited data service plans to distinguish itself from rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, plans to begin selling the device in mid-October under a deal with Apple for the next model, the iPhone 5, said the people, who wouldn’t be identified because the plans aren’t public. Becoming the country’s only operator to offer the device with unlimited data service for a flat fee may help Sprint draw customers from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which already carry the phone, they said.

According to DigiTimes, production of iPhone 5 is in full swing with 150,000 manufactured units per day. However, this rate is not quite sufficient for Apple, as it plans to release the iPhone for the holiday season.

"Lens maker Largan Precision, touch panel maker TPK Holding, reinforced glass supplier G-Tech Optoelectronics and battery vendors Simplo and Dynapack are all operating at full swing currently, the sources indicated".

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According to Reuters, this morning Apple sued Samsung in Japan and requested the court to block sales of Samsung tablets and phones in the country:

"Apple has filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court seeking the suspension of sales of Galaxy S and its sequel S II smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 7 in Japan, according to sources close to the matter. The first hearing was held on Wednesday, the source said".

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We already reported that in the second quarter of 2011 Apple had passed Nokia as the world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by shipments. But Nokia still excelled Apple in sales to end user. Digitimes Research now projects that Apple will be a top smartphone vendor of 2011 with nearly 19% of the market at 86.4 million units.

Apple is expected to overtake Nokia as the top ranking vendor in terms of shipment volume in 2011, while Huawei Technologies will enjoy robust growth in shipments enabling the China-based company to close its gap with Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

Apple's smartphone shipments are projected to top 86.4 million units in 2011, up 82% from 47.5 million units in 2010. In contrast, Nokia's smartphone shipments in 2011 will decline to 74.4 million units from over 100 million in 2010, said Luke Lin, analyst for Digitimes Research.

Apple’s sales in China are up sixfold and reached $3.8 billion in second quarter revenues. Chinese market remains largely untapped and Apple could increase iPhone sales there by reaching agreements with additional Chinese carriers. However until now Apple hasn’t succeeded in reaching the agreement with the largest wireless operator China Mobile, and the sole Apple’s carrier in this country remains China Unicom. Moreover, according to DigiTimes, Apple’s iconic smartphone will compete with devices from both carriers:

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A new report claims that Apple has made a deal with Largan Precision and Genius Electronic Optical to build and supply 8-megapixel camera lenses for the company's forthcoming next-generation handset.

“The two companies are reported to continue supplying lenses for Apple’s newest iPhone 5 with an 8-megapixel camera. With relatively higher production yield, Largan, commanding nearly 20% of the global market, will reportedly garner a big order from Apple.”

Both companies were previously responsible for production of 5-megapixel lens modules for the current-generation iPhone 4. Today’s report claims the two companies will compete and work together as they continue to share Apple has one of their largest customers for the upcoming next-gen iPhone. Last year both companies covered 27.5 percent of global market share and it could move even higher as iPhone sales continue to grow. It’s not surprising that Apple continues to source parts from multiple suppliers. This is a move that is common for the company in an attempt to create competition amongst suppliers, drive down prices, and increase production quality while reducing risk.

Today Deutsche Telekom has begun offering first-served reservations for the iPhone 5 whenever it debuts. The company confirmed that the program is now in effect.

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) will allow customers to reserve the next generation of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone as of today in anticipation of supply bottlenecks for the device, spokesman Alexander von Schmettow said by phone. The operator will hand out coupons to people who expressly request the successor model to the iPhone 4, without providing the name or release details of the device, he said.

Apple typically keeps its carrier partners in the dark about its release plans until it is ready to make a public release. So Deutsche Telecom seems to work on the ground of rumors rather than official information. Hints have been multiplying since last week that Apple could be close to unveiling a fifth-generation iPhone. Apple store employees have received their iOS 5 and iCloud training materia and internal Best Buy documents have pointed to a Sprint iPhone 5 launch in the first week of October.

We’ve heard that Apple has begun iOS 5 and iCloud training with retail store employees through a new section of the company’s recently released internal RetailMe application. Such fact might be an indication of a forthcoming release of the iPhone 5 as Apple typically introduces major iOS updates in the days surrounding new iPhone launches. Apple Store employees have begun receiving detailed information on Apple’s upcoming iCloud service and iOS 5. Apple originally said iCloud would be launching alongside iOS 5.  This iOS 5 and iCloud training news helps support rumors about  late September iPhone 5 pre-orders and an early October launch.

First evidences anticipating radical redesign of the iPhone 4 appeared in April. The co-called iPhone 4S/iPhone 5 was expected to adopt new larger form factor. Late in July a design document for the iPhone 5 was surfaced. According to this document, we assumed that the iPhone 5 design should have had dimensions of 4.33" x 2.36", suggesting a shorter but only slightly wider design. In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are 4.5" x 2.31". Soon after appearing of that document, different third-party case manufacturers began producing cases for the rumored iPhone 5.

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Google and Apple, two main parties on the smartphone market, are continuously fighting for consumers especially those who have not yet decided which OS they want to have in their next smartphone. According to Nielsen survey in July 2011, these ‘undecideds’ will be the customers which manufacturers will be hoping to win over. It is interesting that late adopters are least sure among likely smartphone upgraders about their next phone platform.

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Research firm NPD has recently announced results of its Mobile Phone Track report for the second quarter of 2011. Android is still leading the U.S. smartphone with 52% of the market; Apple's iPhone has 29% while BlackBerry devices only 11% of the market. But the 14-month-old iPhone 4 is continuing to lead the market in sales, and the 8 GB 26-month-old iPhone 3GS takes the second place, perhaps, because its that price now dropped to $49.

Here are the top five best-selling phones during Q2, via NPD’s Mobile Phone Track service:

1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. HTC Inspire 4G
5. Samsung INTENSITYII