Month: September 2012

T-Mobile launches the ambitious Bring Your Own iPhone campaign

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Ahead of the iPhone 5 launch this Wednesday, T-Mobile, the nation's fourth-largest carrier and the only major U.S. carrier without the iPhone, today kicked off its new initiative meant to lure existing iPhone owners and unlockers to its stores, where they can get support on running their iPhones on T-Mobile's iPhone-friendly HSPA+ network.

Additionally, the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco committed to developing iOS versions of its popular mobile apps like T-Mobile myAccount, T-Mobile Visual Voicemail and T-Mobile TV. If only they landed the next iPhone...

Three out of every four U.S. adults have a smartphone now

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 10, 2012

Research firm Nielsen is out with a new survey this morning that focuses on the U.S. smartphone buyer. According to the findings, three out of every four U.S. consumers (75 percent) age 25-34 now have a smartphone in their pocket, an increase over 59 percent measured in July of last year.

And if you believe comScore, one out of every three who own a smartphone have an iPhone. The fastest-growing segment are teenagers between 13 and 17 years old who file as the nation's quickest smartphone adopters.

In July of 2012, 58 percent of polled teens said they had a smartphone, compared to roughly a third, or 36 percent, of teens saying they owned a smartphone just a year ago...

The genius behind Shit Apple Fanboys Say

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Apple commands cult-like following and rivals like Samsung and Motorola (Verizon, too, in its pre-iPhone days) were quick to isolate Apple's core base as both its biggest advantage and a major PR vulnerability. If you believe a series of anti-Apple ads by Samsung, people who stand in the line for a new iPhone are weirdos collectively known as iSheep.

These ads play to the widely accepted notion that die-hard Apple lovers are fanatics. Just ask Mac consultant and FileMaker Pro developer Scott Rose, the brains behind a pair of clips conveniently titled "Shit Apple fanboys say" (here and here).

The funny videos that rationalize on Apple’s behalf blew up in no time and became a trending topic on social media sites, racking up nearly a million views on YouTube in just a couple days, here's how he went about doing them...

Apple’s chief counsel is ‘field marshal’ in Android battle

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

If Apple's "thermonuclear war" on Android had a leader, it would be Noreen Krall, chief litigator for the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker. Indeed, Bloomberg's profile of Krall describes her as Apple's legal "field marshall."

"Krall has become a familiar sight in courtrooms around the world as Apple’s chief litigation counsel," Bloomberg writes. Even before Apple won a $1.05 billion patent-infringement decision (now being appealed) against Samsung, Krall thanked junior members of the legal team for all the hard work...

Sprint names a hundred cities getting 4G LTE in “coming months”

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 10, 2012

Sprint two weeks ago added four more United States cities to its 4G LTE network deployment efforts and today the company announced that it will deploy the speedy network technology across a hundred major cities in "coming months", including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Sprint is late to the LTE party, having commenced the high-speed network deployment on July 15. Contrast this to AT&T and Verizon, the nation's leading carriers, that began upgrading their towers to 4G LTE last summer and are expected to wrap up commercial deployment of their nationwide 4G LTE by the end of 2012 or in early 2013...

Stretched icons in Apple’s Yerba Buena banners could hint at taller iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ September 9, 2012

Apple started prepping for its highly-anticipated iPhone event last week, hanging colorful banners outside of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

The company's venue decorations are typically more interesting than they are insightful. But this time, they may contain clues to its upcoming announcement...

The iDownloadBlog top 10 news stories of the week

Sébastien Page ∙ September 9, 2012

A new week is coming, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on what happened last week. If you think you may have missed a few of the top stories from last week, don't sweat it, we've got you covered.

We've gathered the top 10+ most popular stories from iDB last week for you to check out. As always, make sure that you're friends with us on Facebook, Google+, and that you are following us on Twitter...

Delta and American Airlines also working on Passbook support

Cody Lee ∙ September 8, 2012

After months of waiting, we should finally get to see Passbook in action this month. Apple unveiled the app, which stores digital gift cards, event tickets and boarding passes, during its WWDC event.

As cool as the idea of Passbook is, it will only be successful if it can garner support from major businesses. But if the enthusiasm of the airlines is any indication, that won't be a problem...

Photos show Apple’s new dock connector compared to micro USB

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Among the many changes we're expecting to see in the next-generation iPhone, the new dock connector is one of the most interesting. This will be the first time Apple has changed up the handset's port since its inception.

We don't know much about the new connector other than that we think it has 9 pins. And according to these new photos of what is believed to be the sync cable for the new iPhone, it's about the same size as a standard micro USB...

Apple researching new haptic feedback technology

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Just hours before Apple unveiled its third-generation iPad this year, a report came out suggesting that the tablet could feature some sort of new haptic "touch-feedback" display.

Obviously, the story never materialized. But as it turns out, Apple is looking into it. The company has had over 4 patents published this year on haptics, including this one...

The Foundation Dock: an extremely versatile dock for your iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ September 8, 2012

If there was ever a project that embodied the Kickstarter spirt of turning a good idea into a real product, this is it. Meet the Foundation Dock, one of the coolest iPhone docks we've ever seen.

The accessory is made up of two parts: the Dock itself, which is basically a heavy aluminum base, and a flexible USB cable, which will allow you to use your iPhone in virtually any position...

iPhone 5 unlikely to feature Audience’s noise reduction tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

File this one under "odd." A theory started floating around earlier this year regarding why Siri was limited to the iPhone 4S. It had something to do with a noise reduction technology from Audience, called "EarSmart," which allowed the phone to pickup sound from a couple of feet away.

But according to a recent press release from Audience, it doesn't look like the company's EarSmart technology is going to make it into the next iPhone. It says that due to events that occurred over the last few weeks, it feels it's "unlikely" that Apple will use the tech in its new smartphone...