T-Mobile announces new trade-in offer ahead of iPhone 5 launch

By Cody Lee on Apr 10, 2013

T-Mobile is sure making a compelling case for folks to join its network with a new iPhone 5 this Friday. The carrier is offering competitive unlimited rate plans, contract-free 5th gen iPhones for $99 down and $20 per month, and it’s just sweetened the deal.

In a press release last night, T-Mobile announced a new trade-in offer for iPhone 5 buyers that could potentially eliminate their down payment and earn them up to a $120 credit, depending on the value of their device. We’ve got the full details after the break… Read More

 

T-Mobile stores gearing up for iPhone launch, Sprint’s Virgin Mobile offers $100 to switchers

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 8, 2013

Although it hasn’t yet begun officially dressing up its nationwide stores ahead of Friday’s iPhone launch, T-Mobile USA is now gearing up for the big day. As part of the preparations for the D-day, the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco last Friday started accepting pre-orders for iPhones. And earlier today, T-Mobile’s retail locations were spotted getting ready with brand-new iPhone-themed uniforms and demo inventory is already en route, but don’t expect these devices to crop up at T-Mobile stores until the night before the launch… Read More

 

Take better low-light panoramic pictures with LLBPano

By Cody Lee on Apr 6, 2013

I’m a big fan of the Panorama capture feature that was added in iOS 6. I’d like to be able to use it while holding my iPhone in landscape mode, but other than that I think Apple did a great job with it.

It doesn’t always work very well in low-light conditions though. And that’s where the jailbreak tweak LLBPano comes in. It enables Low-light mode on the iPhone 5 when taking panoramic photos… Read More

 

T-Mobile’s iPhone carrier update is out with support for LTE and Visual Voicemail [updated]

By Cody Lee on Apr 5, 2013

Following up its iPhone 5 pre-order earlier today, T-Mobile has begun rolling out a carrier update to unlocked iPhone customers on its network. The carrier is preparing to officially launch the popular handset next Friday.

We’d heard last week that the OTA (or over the air) update was going to include Visual Voicemail support and LTE support for compatible devices. But it looks like there’s more to it then that. Keep reading for the full details… Read More

 

T-Mobile iPhone 5 now available for pre-order

By Cody Lee on Apr 5, 2013

Last week, T-Mobile announced that it was finally joining the other top US wireless carriers as an official iPhone partner. It will be offering all current models of the popular smartphone, including the iPhone 4, 4S and 5.

The phones won’t officially become available until next Friday, April 12. But, as expected, T-Mobile started accepting iPhone 5 pre-orders through its website this morning. And you can grab a 16GB model for just $99 down… Read More

 

Major SkyDrive update: revamped UI, full-res photos, iPhone 5 and iPad mini support

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 3, 2013

There’s a good reason why Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage client for iOS has seen its last update in June of last year: revenue sharing. Per Apple’s rules, third-party software is required to share 30 percent of proceeds from in-app sales with Apple.

For example, when you fire up Dropbox’s excellent iOS client and upgrade to a paid storage tier within the app, your iTunes credit card on file gets charged and Apple earns its 30 percent share.

Though Microsoft wanted to introduce that same functionality into the SkyDrive app, it wouldn’t share any revenue with Apple. Neither party would budge and a spokesperson previously said Microsoft was “in contact with Apple regarding the matter.”

The two parties have supposedly reached an amicable solution because Microsoft today announced SkyDrive 3.0, a major new version rocking an overhauled interface, support for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini and a few other features… Read More

 

T-Mobile will update your unlocked iPhone 5 with LTE and Visual Voicemail on April 5

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 2, 2013

This is quite noteworthy. Following a jailbreak hack which purports to make your unlocked AT&T iPhone 5 (model A1428) work on T-Mobile’s LTE by way of loading a custom carrier firmware, a new report claims the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless carrier itself will be sending out a carrier update designed to officially enable T-Mobile’s LTE and Visual Voicemail, among other features, on unlocked GSM devices.

The update is scheduled for delivery beginning April 5, a week ahead of T-Mobile’s official April 12 roll-out of its LTE-ready iPhone 5. The patch is good news for AT&T customers looking to jump ship as they won’t be required to buy a newly tweaked iPhone 5 model from T-Mobile in order to enjoy T-Mobile’s 4G LTE speeds. There’s more to know so go past the fold for full details… Read More

 

AT&T will begin rolling out HD Voice support later this year

By Cody Lee on Apr 1, 2013

Last week, T-Mobile announced that it was finally going to start offering the iPhone. It will be selling all current models, with the iPhone 5 starting at just $99 down, and will support the handset’s HD Voice (or Wideband Audio) feature.

In fact, once it launches the iPhone 5 later this month, T-Mobile will be the only US carrier to support its HD Voice option. But it won’t be that way for long. AT&T announced today that it will be rolling out support for the tech later this year… Read More

 

Jailbreak hack lets you enjoy T-Mobile LTE speeds on your iPhone 5

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 28, 2013

Yesterday, iDB reported that T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 is actually a factory tweaked version of the existing AT&T model A1428 device, with support for T-Mobile’s LTE AWS bandwidths. As a result, existing AT&T customers cannot use their iPhone 5 to take full advantage of T-Mobile’s LTE speeds until after the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco launches its iPhone 5 on April 12, at which point Apple will replace the existing A1428 hardware with this re-tooled version.

But a hack has come along claiming to make AT&T’s A1428 iPhone 5 – jailbroken and unlocked (officially or unofficially) – work on T-Mobile’s LTE on the 1700MHz band. It accomplishes this by using a custom carrier firmware that enables support for T-Mobile’s LTE AWS bandwidths. However, it won’t make your AT&T device compatible with T-Mobile’s speedy 3G DC-HSDPA on the 1700MHz band nor will your Verizon iPhone be fooled into accepting T-Mobile’s LTE bands… Read More

 

The Mist: a minimal and lightweight iPhone case for people who don’t like cases

By Sebastien Page on Mar 23, 2013

If you follow me on Twitter or listen to our podcast, you know I’m not a big fan of cases. There are two main reasons why I’d rather go for a naked iPhone. One, I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to design and aesthetics, and using a case goes against that. Two, and maybe the most important reason, is that I think the white iPhone 5 is such a beautiful device that it should be considered a criminal offense to slap a case around it.

This being said, I quickly changed my mind when I dropped my iPhone a few weeks ago as I was walking through the door. It appeared it had fallen face flat on the tiles. As I picked it up, I was preparing myself for the worst as I was pretty sure the screen was cracked. It was not. As a matter of fact, it just had what most people would consider a tiny dent right on the chamfer, but that was enough to make me reconsider my “no case” policy… Read More

 

Survey: better the screen, bigger the paycheck for in-app game sales

By Ed Sutherland on Mar 21, 2013

We ran across an interesting yardstick when measuring how much mobile consumers will spend on in-app purchases: screen quality. No, we’re not talking about whether your phone’s screen is too covered with smudges and grime to see the “buy” button. Turns out, in-app purchases could be ten times as much, depending on the device screen.

Per one app firm, the connection between screen quality and in-app revenue is most evident with Android handsets, but is totally absent with iPad users… Read More

 

Precise renderings depict just how bulkier Galaxy S4 is versus iPhone 5

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 21, 2013

Though Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 smartphone has just a slightly larger display compared to its predecessor, the 4.8-inch Galaxy S3, its five-inch screen puts in the phablet category, especially compared side-by-side next to Apple’s iPhone 5. Because the device won’t launch before end of April, we’re currently unable to compare their form factors in person.

Enter Martin Hajek, a 3D artist who made a name for himself with painstakingly rendered mockups of Apple’s rumored products. The latest from his kitchen: a fresh batch of precise renderings which give us a good idea how the two devices compare size-wise… Read More

 

Galaxy S4 is pricier to build than iPhone 5

By Ed Sutherland on Mar 20, 2013

Ah, the cost of competition. Samsung’s recently unveiled Galaxy S4 may raise the bar for Apple, but it comes at a price. The new smartphone isn’t expected to launch until April, however we already know how much it cost the South Korean company to build its latest device: $244.

According to IHS Suppli, parts and manufacturing for a 16GB S4 not only cost more than the current Galaxy S3, but also seventeen percent higher than an iPhone 5 with sixteen gigabytes of storage. Seems Samsung is encountering the same financial challenges as Apple when it comes to ensuring your handset remains technologically in step with competitors… Read More

 

XBMC updated with iPhone 5 support and other improvements

By Cody Lee on Mar 19, 2013

Popular open-source media player XBMC has been updated today, bringing the app to version 12.1. The update improves the experience across all of Apple’s platforms, including the Mac, iOS and Apple TV.

For most users, the iOS update will be the most welcomed change, as it brings about support for the iPhone 5′s larger 4-inch display. And Apple TV2 users will be similarly pleased with further support for iOS 6… Read More

 

Galaxy S4 benchmarks almost twice as fast as the iPhone 5

By Cody Lee on Mar 18, 2013

As most of you know already, Samsung unveiled its highly anticipated Galaxy S III successor last week, the S4. The handset will sell head-to-head against the iPhone 5 until Apple releases its next-gen smartphone, which is expected sometimes this summer.

While the jury is still out on which handset provides the best user experience — easy-of-use, reliability, etc — the S4 is certainly looking better on paper. It has a sharper screen, a bigger battery, and according to new benchmarks, a much, much fast processor… Read More

 

Folks not trading-in their iPhones following Samsung’s next big thing announcement

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 18, 2013

Gadget resellers such as Gazelle may have been eagerly awaiting Samsung’s new Galaxy S 4 in the hope that Apple fans will jump ship and trade-in their iPhones. Thus far, this hasn’t been the case. Quite the contrary – the vast majority of post-S4 trade-ins are for other Galaxy smartphones, not iPhones.

Specifically, Gazelle’s CEO said Monday his company has seen a cool 168 percent increase in the number of the Galaxy S III trade-ins compared to the number of Galaxy S II trade-ins, both observed during the same post-launch timeframe for each device… Read More

 

‘TransparentCameraBar’ adds “more” real estate to the stock Camera app

By Jeff Benjamin on Mar 16, 2013

TransparentCameraBar is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to make the UI featured in the stock Camera app transparent. The jailbreak tweak, free on Cydia’s BigBoss repo, is a way to trick yourself into having “more” real estate for the view finder.

I should mention that this is more like a WinterBoard theme, than a tweak that impacts the photo’s end result. If you take a photo either with, or without this tweak, the end result will be the same. It’s simply a visual tweak that zooms in the camera UI to give the appearance of a bigger viewfinder.

Take a look inside for more info… Read More

 

Comparison video: iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S4

By Cody Lee on Mar 15, 2013

You saw this coming. Since the moment Samsung unveiled its new flagship Galaxy S4 handset yesterday, the iPhone 5 comparisons have been flying about nonstop. So a video comparison of the two devices was inevitable.

This clip from the folks over at PhoneArena shows the i5 and S4 side by side, and their many differences, from display quality to build quality. It also showcases some of the the Galaxy S4′s unique new software features… Read More

 

Apple’s Tim Cook loses top CEO ranking to Facebook in Glassdoor survey

By Ed Sutherland on Mar 15, 2013

It’s uncertain what caused it, but the first cracks are appearing in the honeymoon between Apple CEO Tim Cook and company employees.

After being named the top CEO of 2012, Cook slipped to 18th place, behind Google and Amazon. According to employment site Glassdoor, Apple employees gave Cook a 93 percent approval rating, down from 97 percent last year.

By comparison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped 14 points to land in the top spot for 2013 with a 99 percent approval rating from employees of the social networking giant… Read More

 

$149 iPhone 5 now available from Strata Networks

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 15, 2013

As promised last week, Strata Networks, a regional U.S. wireless carrier, finally landed the iPhone 5 today. And, in emulating fellow rural telcos, Strata is offering Apple’s device with a $50 discount compared to the asking prices at Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Specifically, the iPhone 5 is available for $149 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the high-end model with 64 gigabytes of storage. The iPhone 5 is available in all Strata stores in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

They don’t mention web sales, though Strata did update its web site this morning to reflect the devices’ availability. The carrier is also selling the iPhone 4S for $49 and the iPhone 4 for free, with a qualifying contract. Would-be subscribers should be pleased to know that the iPhone 5 is compatible with Strata’s 4G LTE network that the company started deploying ahead of Christmas 2012… Read More

 
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