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Verizon now owns 33% of the US iPhone 4 market
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
Since its February debut, the Verizon version of the iPhone 4 has captured about 32 percent of the U.S. market, according to a Thursday report.
Analyzing U.S. iPhone 4 traffic, mobile app analytics firm Localytics found that summer has been kind to Verizon and the iPhone. The carrier's iPhone 4 share remained roughly the same throughout the spring, but saw growth in May and June.
The Verizon iPhone 4 launched on February 10 and in its first week, it captured 20 percent of the market, Localytics said. That increased to 22.4 percent in March, 24.9 percent in April, 25.9 percent in May, 28.7 percent in June, and 32.3 percent in July, the firm said in a blog post. Verizon does not offer earlier versions of the iPhone.
Click to continue reading Verizon now owns 33% of the US iPhone 4 market
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WSJ: iPhone 5 will be thinner, lighter with 8 megapixel camera
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Design, Handhelds, Rumors,
We know, the wait for the iPhone 5 is killing some of you, but at least we are getting regular info about the upcoming device from legitimate sources. The latest is The Wall Street Journal, which reports that Apple will indeed be introducing a new design with the next model of the iPhone. There's been some debate as to whether the iPhone 5 will keep the iPhone 4 design, but as the WSJ reports, the phone will be thinner and lighter, which definitely means there will be some changes to not only the internal design, but the external design as well. So, what's with all the supposed iPhone 5 prototypes that look just like the iPhone 4 then? Well, as you might recall, last year the iPhone 4 leaked months before it was introduced, and it was disguised in a case that made it look like an iPhone 3GS. In order to avoid that, Apple could simply be placing the smaller internal iPhone 5 parts in the larger iPhone 4 casing. Stranger things have happened, and this would be one way to keep the new design as hidden as possible during testing.
The WSJ also reports that the new phone will be introduced this fall, which is what we've been hearing for a while now. Expect Apple to show it off alongside a high definition iPad HD at their annual September event.
Read More 
| WSJ
43% of people use their phone as their main camera
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Smartphones,
Last week Flickr announced that the iPhone 4 leapfrogged the Nikon D90 to become the most popular camera used by members of the photo hosting site. So we asked readers: is your cell phone your primary camera?
566 people weighed in to answer the question, and the results were pretty close. A quarter (142 people) said their phone's camera is their primary camera because they don't see the need to carry around an additional device. 24 percent of respondents (136 people) said their phone isn't their primary camera because they like using a regular camera. About a fifth (117 people) said they use both a standalone camera and a camera phone. The good quality of their phone's camera is the reason 18 percent of readers (100 people) reported that their phone is their primary camera while a lousy camera is the reason 13 percent (71 people) said they don't use their phone as their primary camera.
Click to continue reading 43% of people use their phone as their main camera
Apple makes jailbreaking and downgrading tougher in iOS 5
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Apple has reportedly changed a part of iOS 5 to make it impossible for iPhone users to downgrade their phone's firmware, even if they'd rather run an earlier version.
The iPhone Dev Team, a well-known group of iPhone hackers, first discovered the change in an unlocked developer's version of iOS 5, which is expected to be released this fall.
Normally, to restore your iPhone to an earlier version, you'd save "SHSH blobs" (which are like digital signatures to authenticate software) at a specific timestamp and use a third-party app to restore your firmware back to that time. The SHSH blobs are static and can be used as often as you like.
But the team found that in iOS 5, Apple has prevented people from being able to save these blobs for a specific timestamp. Instead, Apple will re-assign your phone a new SHSH blob each time your reboot your device in jailbreak mode, making saved blobs irrelevant since Apple can just reject ones that were saved.
Click to continue reading Apple makes jailbreaking and downgrading tougher in iOS 5
Will Apple replace Google Maps in iOS 5?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Google, Rumors,
Apple could be ditching Google Maps in favor of its own navigation software in iOS 5.
MacRumors uncovered a new section in the legal disclaimers section of iOS 5 called "Map Data" that references several different third-party mapping and naviation companies such as CoreLogic, Getchee, Localeze, and TomTom, among others.
It wouldn't be much of a shock if Apple ditched Google Maps and launched its own mapping service. In recent years, Apple has snapped up a couple of mapping companies, Placebase and Poly9. Apple has also been hiring engineers with mapping and navigation experience to join the iOS team. On top of that, when Apple responded to the outpouring of media scrutiny about iPhone location tracking in April, the company revealed it was creating its own traffic database.
Click to continue reading Will Apple replace Google Maps in iOS 5?
Apple secures iPhone patent that could be huge blow to rivals
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial,
Apple has been awarded its long sought-after patent on the iPhone. Intellectual property experts say it's so broad and far-reaching that the iPhone maker may be able to bully other smart phone manufacturers out of the U.S. market entirely.
Some three-and-a-half years after filing for a patent on the iPhone, Apple on Tuesday was awarded U.S. patent number 7,966,578 for "[a] computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, [that] comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display."
That's just the beginning of the abstract for Apple's iPhone patent, which the company filed back in December 2007. It gets quite a bit more technical in its full form, but there's one thing patent experts consulted by PCMag agree on—Apple has been awarded an incredibly broad patent that could prove to be hugely problematic for other makers of capacitive touch-screen smartphones.
Apple's patent essentially gives it ownership of the capacitive multitouch interface the company pioneered with its iPhone, said one source who has been involved in intellectual property litigation on similar matters. That's likely to produce a new round of lawsuits over the now-ubiquitous multitouch interfaces used in smartphones made by the likes of HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Research in Motion, Nokia, and others that run operating systems similar in nature to Apple's iOS, like Google's Android, said the source, who asked not to be named.
Click to continue reading Apple secures iPhone patent that could be huge blow to rivals
Here’s what happens when you use up your iCloud storage
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Internet, Storage,
When Apple introduced iCloud at WWDC 2011, the big news was that the service would be free. Of course, Steve Jobs did make sure to mention that the 5 GB of storage included with iCloud would be more than enough "for most users," and we believe him. However, there are others out there (like us) who fall outside of that category. For example, I am only currently able to have iCloud back up just my iPhone 4. When I try to also add my iPad 2 to the backup, it errors out, telling me that I don't have enough space available, and that I need to buy ore storage space. Of course, since iCloud is still in beta, I'm unable to do that. Another iCloud user has come very close to hitting his 5 GB quota, and received the email above from Apple. Surprisingly to us, it says that once he reaches 5 GB stored, he won't even be able to receive any new email messages. Sounds like people are gonna have to really keep an eye on how much storage they are using, especially if they have more than one iOS device backing up to the cloud.
Read More | MacRumors
Six reasons why Apple is selling unlocked iPhones in the US
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Handhelds,
Yesterday we told you that Apple started selling unlocked iPhone 4s here in the U.S. We do have to admit that the move leaves us scratching our heads a bit. The iPhone 4 is a year-old device at this point. That leaves the question: why?
The GSM iPhone 4 only works well on AT&T. Sure, you can run it on 2G EDGE with T-Mobile, but that's a lousy user experience, and Apple is all about providing smooth user experiences. I just can't accept that T-Mobile users want the iPhone so desperately that they're willing to give up 3G for it, although I may be wrong about that, too.
Boy Genius Report's Jon Geller is right when he says that Apple sells unlocked iPhones in 85 other countries. But those countries all have more than one GSM iPhone-compatible 3G carrier. Canada has three. Dave Zatz points out this morning that for Americans, the "unlocked" iPhone will cost $450 more over two years than the locked model, because AT&T doesn't give any discounts for bringing your own phone. That's "an extra $450 mostly for the privilege of feeling more liberated and fancy free," he concludes.
Click to continue reading Six reasons why Apple is selling unlocked iPhones in the US
Apple now selling unlocked iPhone 4 starting at $649
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,
Apple is finally selling unlocked GSM iPhone 4 models in the US, although you'll have to pony up a pretty penny to get it. You can get an unlocked black or white iPhone 4 directly from Apple for $649 for the 16 GB model, and $749 for the 32 GB model, making these the most expensive iOS devices in the Apple portfolio, save for the 64 GB iPad. Why would you want an unlocked iPhone 4 in the US? Well, if you frequently travel abroad, this would allow you to easily swap SIM cards to take advantage of local calling rates. You can also use the unlocked model with T-Mobile without risking the loss of your jailbroken unlock due to a software update, however, the iPhone 4 won't take advantage of T-Mobile's 3G speeds, so you'd be stuck with EDGE. At this point, with the iPhone 5 set for a September release, we aren't really sure who'd wanna rush out and pick up an unlocked iPhone 4 at these prices. That said, here's hoping that the next iPhone launches with an unlocked option right off the bat.
Read More | Unlocked iPhone 4
Jailbreak iOS 5 with Redsn0w 0.9.8b1
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Mods / Hacks, Software,
For anyone who decided to give up their jailbroken version of iOS in order to upgrade to the iOS 5 beta, you're about to get the best of both worlds again. Using Redsn0w 0.9.8b1 on the Mac, you can perform a tethered jailbreak that let's you bring Cydia and all the jailbreak apps into the iOS 5 fold. Of course, being a tethered solution, this means you'll need to plug in your device if you need it to be rebooted, which means we're personally gonna wait until the untethered option is available.
Read More | Dev Team
