Great news to all you rogues, villains, and malefactors that enjoying jailbreaking iPhones and using apps that aren’t approved by Apple — you’re all legit now! According to the Associated Press:
Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally break electronic locks on their devices in order to download software applications that haven’t been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but was it ever illegal to jailbreak your iPhone and use unapproved apps? Are there prisons full of people that used QuickPWN and Redsn0w just so that they could get Google Voice on their iPhone 3GS handsets? The wording seems funny to me. In related news, the government rules also cover the following:
Allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.
Allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.
Allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.
Allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.
Seriously, are any of you iPhone felons? Am I going to serve time for aiding and abetting?
Originally delayed until the end of July, the white iPhone 4 has been delayed again — this time until the ultra-specific date of “later this year”. In a statement that’s pretty much the same as the last one, Apple addressed the white iPhone delay:
White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.
Like an idiot, I want the white one even more now. It’s rare…and precious…my precioussssss!!! I’m sure the delay is a manufacturing deal, but that hasn’t stopped some people from speculating that the white iPhone 4 will arrive later this year — on another carrier. You think there’s any chance of that happening? When do you think the white iPhone 4 will finally arrive?
In the 597th rumor of 2010 regarding the iPhone 4 hitting a new carrier, Cult of Mac claims that there’s an 80-percent chance that Apple’s magical smartphone will hit T-Mobile. Here’s the deal:
T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.
Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.
As I mentioned last month, one analyst believes this will be the easiest transition for Apple since AT&T and T-Mobile are both GSM carriers. Going to a CDMA carrier like Sprint or Verizon would require a redesign to accommodate a different type of radio. That said, I would be exponentially more interested in a T-Mobile iPhone 4 if it had a radio that took full advantage of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which offers wicked fast speeds that rival Sprint’s 4G WiMax network. An HSPA+ iPhone 4 would completely rule!
What do you think of the latest iPhone 4 to “carrier X” rumor? Will it happen this year? Or is that just wishful thinking?
Apple announced its Q3 2010 results…and it was ridiculous. The company posted all sorts of record sales, but also hinted that there were still new products to come in 2010. Before we play the guessing game, let’s take a look at the numbers via Wired:
3.47 million Macs (A record)
8.4 million iPhones (1.7 million were iPhone 4’s, which went on sale only six days before the quarter ended)
9.41 million iPods (The Touch model was up 48 percent year-over-year,)
3.27 million iPads (Went on sale three days into the quarter)
Simply ridiculous. Here’s the curious part: during the earnings call CEO Steve Jobs said, “We have amazing new products still to come this year.” What do you think he was talking about? An iPod refresh is expected in early autumn, but do you think anything else “big” is on the way? A MacBook Air refresh perhaps? Maybe the iPhone 4 going to another carrier? You think an entirely new product is on the way? Let’s speculate!
Last Friday’s Apple iPhone 4 antenna press conference was amazing. Steve Jobs put on a masterful performance to quell the rage generated by tech bloggers over the company’s flagship device. I learned so much from watching the presser. Here are five nuggets of knowledge I extracted from Apple’s event.
1) Apple Loves You — I lost count of how many times Steve Jobs said that Apple loves its customers and loves making its customers happy. For a few seconds, I stopped seeing Jobs on stage and saw WWE Brother Love instead. It was mushy and gushy, but like so many love affairs it was also conditional. Apple loves its customers so much that it will give them free cases…but only until September 30th.
2) The iPhone Antenna Issues are Overblown — I agree with Jobs’ point that this issue is overblown. That’s just the nature of Internet reporting these days. The major tech blogs have been posting multiple stories on the iPhone 4’s antenna woes every day for the last few weeks. Out of the three-million consumers that have purchased the iPhone 4, the reception issues only affect a small percentage.
3) The iPhone Antenna Issue is More Serious Than Apple Will Admit — Jobs was simply brilliant at spinning the issue and some of you have already bought it. The Apple Care number of 0.55 percent is absolutely meaningless. That’s the percentage of iPhone customers that have complained, not the percentage that experienced reception issues. Some people never call to complain about any issue. A lot of Apple users followed the issue closely and knew that calling Apple Care wouldn’t solve anything.
Jobs also made the “one additional dropped call out of 100” seem small, when in reality it’s a significant number. According to one expert, the typical phone drops 1.5 calls per 100. If the iPhone 4 drops one additional call per 100 than the 3GS, that’s a sizable increase in terms of percentage.
Illustrating the “death grip” on other phones was another clever trick. Apple didn’t say where the test was being held or show an iPhone 4 for comparison. Furthermore, you don’t even need the full “death grip” to interrupt signal on the iPhone 4. Several videos have shown that a strategic poke will muck with the signal…which means Hulk Hogan’s finger poke of doom works on the iPhone 4 and Kevin Nash.
4) Apple Tests iPhones with Cerebro — I was blown away by the pictures of Apple’s antenna design and test labs. Covering tech and gaming for more than a decade, I’ve seen some really impressive labs, but Apple’s blew them all away. It’s totally Cerebro from the X-Men comics and movies. Just awesome.
5) It Doesn’t Matter What You Think! — Steve Jobs should have borrowed one of The Rock’s catchphrases and screamed, “It doesn’t matter what you think!!!” at the press. Ultimately, it doesn’t what any of us think of the issue. Apple is going to sell millions of iPhone 4 units no matter how big or small you think the antenna problem is. At best, the antenna debacle is just an annoying bump on the road. The iPhone 4 is a fantastic product with one pretty big flaw that most consumer will ignore.
Anyway, that’s what I learned. What did you pick up from the “antennagate” press conference?
Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed in shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Drew Brees killing at the ESPYs, Mark Ruffalo possibly replacing Ed Norton as the Hulk, or Wladimir Klitschko getting the shaft from HBO, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed on shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.
Most tech writers have guessed that Apple will address the issue once and for all at Friday’s presser, but what exactly will the company do? A recall would incredibly damaging and expensive. Giving Apple Store credit for a free bumper would cost a helluva lot less, but still an admission of guilt. Perhaps the reception problem will be addressed and followed up with a big announcement that will help people overlook the situation. Before I get to your predictions, I want to leave you with the hilarious words of Fake Steve Jobs:
We will never, ever, ever do a recall. No way. The stain of a few gripers we can deal with. The stain of a recall is something that takes years — years — to overcome. In our business it would be fatal. We would never recover.
So, no. We’ll keep shipping the f***ed-up phones, and we’ll continue to insist that they are the best phones in the world with the best antenna that has ever been invented for any mobile device. We’ll keep running syrupy ads showing deaf mutes waving at each other over FaceTime.
That last line killed me. I had to share it with you.
Anyway, what do you think Apple will do this Friday? Do you think its reputation will take a long-term hit? How about its stock price? Predict away (please)!
At Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, COO Kevin Turner took a jab at Apple’s iPhone 4. With the controversy surrounding the phone’s reception issues, Turner compared it to one of Microsoft’s recent debacles:
It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that.
On one hand, the comparison makes a certain amount of sense. Vista’s problems were overblown by the press and were never as bad as people made them out to be. While consumers have accepted that the iPhone 4 reception problem is a real issue, it’s mostly a problem for people that live in areas that are covered poorly by AT&T (San Francisco, for example). The majority of iPhone 4 users seem happy with their service.
On the other hand, comparing an operating system to a piece of hardware is usually dumb. What do you think?
Of course David Letterman is taking jabs at the iPhone 4. That’s how you know the phenomenon is mainstream. Ha! The top two answers are just excellent. Check out the video and let me know what you think (please)!
Yesterday I decided not to write about Consumer Reports rescinding its recommendation on the iPhone 4 due to its reception issues. The story has been played out. Most tech enthusiasts have already made up their minds about the issue — they either believe it’s a problem or they don’t. What I did find interesting is that Apple has allegedly been killing of discussions about Consumer Reports’ findings in its forums. According to TUAW:
If you were looking for a message thread on Apple’s support forums pointing to Consumer Reports’ article ‘not recommending’ the iPhone 4, it’s not there any more. Apple’s support forum moderators deleted the thread. Bing cached it.
If it happened once, maybe you’d say it was a glitch. But what if it happened twice? Three times? Four times, five, six?
The approach is unusual. I’m surprised that Apple didn’t have a bunch of rapid responses at the ready. Deleting forum threads make it look like it’s trying to sweep the issue under the rug or ignore its existence.
Watching Apple deal with this issue is simply fascinating. First it was “you’re holding it wrong” then it was a “software issue” about the bars improperly reporting signal. Any guesses on what the next response will be?
Aside from mobile-phone functionality, one of the biggest differentiators between the iPhone and iPod Touch is the former’s camera. It looks like that will no longer be an issue with the next generation of iPod Touch devices. According to MacRumors the iPod Touch will have a front-facing camera for FaceTime and possibly a proper camera for picture taking.
For a lot of people, it would be much cheaper to get a pay-as-you-go phone and an iPod Touch. If the next generation iPod Touch features dual cameras, it makes the proposition even more intriguing. Sure, you have to carry two devices but you’ll be paying much less for mobile service and you’ll be able to take advantage of the iPhone’s capabilities without being tied to a shoddy network like AT&T.
I’m thinking that RPadholic bsukenyanis highly interested in an iPod Touch with dual cameras. Anyone else?
