Strong sales of older iPhones hurting Apple’s astronomic profit margins

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 3, 2012

Apple might need to rethink its decision to roll-out older iPhones at cheaper prices at the same time it introduces its latest version.

Compared to previous roll-outs, the iPhone 5 accounted for a smaller percentage of overall iPhone sales, according to one market observer.

The iPhone 5 comprised just 68 percent of overall iPhone sales, compared to as much as 90 percent for the iPhone 4S when it was released in October of last year. And as a result of more lower-priced iPhones selling, Apple could face a smaller profit margin – and nervous Wall Street investors… Read More

 

This case turns your iPhone into a Swiss Army knife, literally

By Cody Lee on Nov 22, 2012

Smartphones are often referred to as Swiss Army knives. They’re digital cameras, and movie players. And with their vast app selections, there’s little else they can’t do — much like the popular pocketable multi-tool.

But the new TaskOne case takes the term a little more literally. With its built-in 2.5″ drop point blade, bottle opener, wire cutters and host of other tools, it actually does turn your iPhone into a Swiss Army knife… Read More

 

AT&T reportedly extending FaceTime over Cellular to all customers

By Cody Lee on Nov 21, 2012

AT&T rustled some feathers back in August when it announced that it would only allow its subscribers on its new Shared data plans to utilize the FaceTime over Cellular feature in iOS 6.

Then earlier this month, the carrier said that it would be opening up the feature to legacy data plans. And as it turns out, it looks like this might actually include unlimited plans as well… Read More

 

Algoriddim launches Vjay for iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2012

Algoriddim launched Vjay for the iPad back in June. The videoscratching program impressed us with Retina graphics, support for external hardware such as Griffin’s DJ cable or Numark’s iDJ Live controller, wireless AirPlay streaming and on-the-fly mixes that really take advantage of the iPad’s GPU.

If you liked the iPad version, you’ll be delighted to know that Vjay is now available on your iPhone and iPod touch as well. The software is remarkably snappy and powerful. By the way, Algoriddim’s even more stunning app for DJs is temporarily free on the iPhone (it normally costs ten bucks) so make sure to download it if you haven’t already.

I’d bet my shirt that just a few years back you’d never thought a cell phone in your pocket would double as your video mixing machine, letting you mix and scratch your iTunes music videos or compose your own mash ups by combining songs and video from your library in glorious 1080p, at thirty frames per second… Read More

 

Protect yourself and your iPhone with this unique case

By Cody Lee on Nov 11, 2012

Multi-purpose iPhone cases are a dime a dozen these days. Some of them house an external battery, others have built-in credit card holders; we’ve even seen a case that doubles as a bottle opener.

But we don’t remember ever seeing a case with a built-in pepper spray compartment — until now. Meet the Spraytect iPhone case, the iPhone case that can protect both you and your beloved handset… Read More

 

Samsung’s Galaxy S III was the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q3

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 8, 2012

Following a massive retail and advertising push, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III handset overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S as the world’s best-selling smartphone in the third quarter of this year, according to a Strategy Analytics survey. The Samsung phone sold an estimated 1.8 million units more than the iPhone 4S. Samsung’s lead will be short-lived as Strategy Analytics estimates that the iPhone 5 will become the world’s #1 smartphone in Q4.

Analysts previously estimated that the S III outsold the iPhone 4S, but only in the United States. Samsung stopped reporting device sales last year for competitive reasons and we also don’t know how many of the 18 million S III channel shipments ended up in customers hands. Still, that’s a nice accomplishment for Samsung, which earlier in the week confirmed beating its self-imposed goal of shipping 30 million S III units before year’s end… Read More

 

The HiLO Lens: an angled camera lens for your iPhone

By Cody Lee on Nov 6, 2012

A friend of mine asked me the other day what I thought about add-on camera lenses for the iPhone. I told him the Olloclip was pretty popular, but I hadn’t ever owned any myself so I probably wasn’t the best person to ask.

You see, I’ve never really seen the point to these clip-on lenses. They just never seem to improve picture quality enough to justify the cost and hassle. But this new HiLO Lens might actually be worth taking a look at… Read More

 

The ZOpro: a thin iPhone case with built-in charging cable

By Cody Lee on Oct 30, 2012

We all know the scenario. You’re away from home, with no charger, and your iPhone just alerted you that its battery is now down to a measly 10%. What do you do?

Well, if you had the new ZOpro case on your iPhone, you could use its integrated charger to breath life back into your handset. But wait, what’s a ZOpro case? Read More

 

FaceTime preview window now reflects aspect ratio of the caller’s device

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 21, 2012

In addition to the big ones in iOS 6 and a host of lesser-known but otherwise welcome enhancements, every now and then a small tweak surfaces, capturing our imagination and delighting us with simplicity. More often than not, these little nuggets clearly prove Apple remains as obsessed with agonizing over every little aspect of its products as it’s ever been. For example, the FaceTime preview window where a live video stream of the person you’re calling is displayed now indicates their device’s aspect ratio… Read More

 

The iExpander puts your iPhone on steroids

By Cody Lee on Oct 13, 2012

Do you ever wish your iPhone had better battery life, or expandable storage? How about a brighter flash, so it could take better pictures in low-light situations? Well let me introduce you to the iExpander.

The iExpander is a case for your iPhone that, believe or not, does all of these things. It has a built-in battery, a micro SD card slot, and an enhanced flash. Like the title says, it’s like steroids for your iPhone… Read More

 

Lockitron lets you lock and unlock your door with your iPhone

By Cody Lee on Oct 4, 2012

Shortly after introducing the App Store in 2008, Apple started running an ad campaign with the tag line “there’s an app for that.” It produced a series of TV commercials that highlighted iPhone apps that made otherwise arduous tasks, like counting calories and apartment hunting, a lot easier.

But in 2012, apps are doing a lot more than diet tracking and crawling rental property listings. Now they’re parking cars, making coffee, and thanks to Apigy’s new Lockitron deadbolt cover, they’re locking and unlocking doors… Read More

 

Jonathan Mann wishes Siri a happy birthday

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 26, 2012

Musician and songwriter Jonathan Mann made a name for himself by writing a song a day and sharing it on YouTube. He’s been doing it for over a thousand days straight, every single day. The song-a-day man scored big with fans of Apple when he posted the amusing Antennasong on the eve of Apple’s hastily organized presser two years ago to deal with the aftermath of the iPhone 4 antenna debacle.

Steve Jobs even played that song to kick off the presser. And now, John’s back with a new song celebrating Siri’s first birthday, though nine days early. More clips right after the break… Read More

 

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S Screen – Stock Apps Comparison

By Jeff Benjamin on Sep 25, 2012

If you’ve yet to lay eyes on an iPhone 5, or compare the iPhone 5 to stock apps running on lesser iPhone hardware, then this video is for you.

Inside, we take a look at the majority of the stock iPhone apps, and compare them side-by-side running on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S hardware. Besides the obvious added spacing, most of the differences are fairly subtle.

One thing you will notice, however, is that keyboard keys are slightly larger, and there’s more room on screen to see content like messages, and message composition panes. Simply put, once you get used to the iPhone 5′s roomier screen, anything less seems claustrophobic. Read More

 

iPhone 4S vs iPhone 5 video quality

By Cody Lee on Sep 21, 2012

It’s been a big day so far, but we’re not finished yet. Continuing on with our iPhone 5 coverage, we’ve come across a new clip that compares the video quality of the new handset with its predecessor.

Now, since the 5 uses the same 8MP camera sensor as the 4S, you’d think that video quality would be the same. But just as we discovered with still photos, there is a noticeable difference between the two… Read More

 

The iPhone 5 camera’s low-light ability is pretty amazing

By Jeff Benjamin on Sep 21, 2012

At first glance, it may appear that your photos look the same when taken with either the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S. It may even lead you to believe that there is no difference at all between the two cameras.

But try taking a photo in a low-light situation, and one thing becomes readily apparent; the iPhone 5 is far superior when it comes to snapping photos in low-light. Take a look inside, as we compare the iPhone 4S with the iPhone 5′s low-light photo taking capabilities… Read More

 

T-Mobile’s iPhone-friendly 42 Mbps HSPA+ coming to Las Vegas on Monday

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 21, 2012

T-Mobile USA, the nation’s fourth-largest carrier and the sole major U.S. telco without Apple’s iPhone, announced at the GigaOm Mobilize conference that it will be rolling out its iPhone-compatible HSPA+ network in Las Vegas on Monday, September 24, 2012.

The carrier’s HSPA+ network runs in the much more common 1900MHz spectrum, allowing unlocked iPhone owners to finally access the fastest 3G network in the country, T-Mobile’s dual-carrier HSPA+… Read More

 

iPhone 5 boot test vs iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

By Jeff Benjamin on Sep 21, 2012

We know the iPhone 5 is about two times faster than its predecessor, but how does it stack up toe the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S in a side-by-side-by-side bootup speed test?

Point and laugh at me as I struggle to turn all three devices on at the same time, and be surprised with how fast the iPhone 4S still is. The iPhone 4 is much slower, but the 4S is still no slouch, don’t you agree?

 

iPhone 4S hacked using Safari exploit in Pwn2Own contest

By Cody Lee on Sep 19, 2012

Users of Apple’s iPhone and other iOS devices enjoy a fairly high level of security. In the past five years, the platform has only seen a handful of malware scares, and MIT says it recently crossed a “significant” threshold in security.

But all of that security couldn’t stop the iPhone 4S from getting hacked today at the Pwn2Own contest in Amsterdam. A group of Dutch security researchers gained remote access to the handset in seconds with a Safari exploit… Read More

 

Toast’s wooden skins add life to your iPhone [review and giveaway]

By Jim Gresham on Sep 18, 2012

Over my time blogging, I have only spotted a few wood or faux wood skins for iDevices, but have never had the opportunity to review one. Thanks to my new friends at Toast, I have been using their real bamboo iPhone skin for a little over a week and my completely custom skin is getting even better everyday I use it. With the iDownloadBlog logo darkly emblazoned on the pale wooden backdrop, my iPhone skin is the talk of the town… Read More

 

Could the new iPod touch be the latest threat to point-and-shoot cameras?

By Ed Sutherland on Sep 17, 2012


First the iPhone turned the concept of mobile phones on its head, offering consumers apps as well as a dialtone. Soon, handsets became the go-to devices for taking snapshots. Now the iPod touch — a master at upending the market for music — is set to become your favorite point-and-shoot camera.

The new iPod Touch gains a 5-megapixel camera that also includes high-def images and Panoramic views. Now experts say the Touch has all the makings of a rival of the grab-and-go digital point-and-shoot camera. “I think this new Touch will appeal to many people both young and old, who are looking for a point and shoot camera that does more than just take photos,” writes Glyn Evans at the iPhoneography blog. Read More

 
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