Mexican mobile provider, Telcel, announces that the iPhone 4 is now available for purchase for our (US) neighbors of the South. Apple stores and Sansborns shops are the retailers that will carry the device.
Both the 16 and 32 GB have been released and are powered by a 3.5G HDSPA internet connection. 3 different plans have been released by Telcel for those wishing to own a piece of smartphone history...
It hasn't been long since we speculated that releasing the iPhone 4 so soon to the iPhone 3GS might not be the best business move for Chinese provider China Unicom. According to The Inquirer we were right on the money with our predictions and that China Unicom has reported an astounding 54% profit drop for the 2nd quarter.
It's appropriate to be clear about how Unicom ended up carrying Apple's iPhone in the first place. China Mobile is the top dog in chinese cell service with over 500 million customers. Consequently they weren't about to acquiesce to Steve Jobs and his stern business model, so they told Apple to take their iPhone and have a nice life...
Thank Buddha it's Friday! With the weekend approaching it's also that special day of the week where yours truly vents about a recent story that rubbed me the wrong way. This weeks session is dedicated to a story we reported on regarding Apple's new patent that would enable them to remotely wipe your iPhone. You may be rolling your eyes but hear me out because I think a lot of you will be even more irritated by the spin I apply here...
Those of you who purchased an iPhone 4 and are using it on an unofficial carrier were not able to activate FaceTime. There is now a fix for this. It's called MiTime and from what I read, it's working well.
MiTime is an app/service for activating FaceTime on phones that are operating on unofficial carriers. It should work worldwide and will use two text messages to activate. You must be able to receive an international SMS message to get activated (see here if you can receive international SMS).
iLounge reveals a bit of discerning information that took a mysterious amount of time to surface. It turns out that the iPhone 4 shares the same limitations as the iPad and the Apple TV in regards to being unable to transfer rented movies back to your iTunes library.
The ability to move rentals had never been a problem before when renting on previous iPhone models. An excerpt from the iPhone iOS 4 User Guide briefly mentions the limitation on page 99, and it reads as such:
Do you remember last year when Mobile Mechatronics released a physical keyboard that attached to the iPhone 3G and 3GS called the iTwinge? It turns out that it was a big enough hit for another company to put the click button feel to the iPhone 4.
A designer by the name of Altamash Jiwani has created a prototype that is a bit more complex than the previous accessories. The design resembles the Apple Bumper with the keyboard on rails that make the home button clearable with a slide. It would disable the functionality of the keyboard by way of its dock connect-ability. Not stopping there, the bottom would serve as a female dock port which would allow syncing without removing the keyboard.
This is odd. Like nearly every phone available, when the iPhone 4 was released you had the option of purchasing the device without any commitment to upgrade your AT&T contract. 9 to 5 Mac shows us a section from Apple's FAQ's that has them saying you the device requires a 2-year wireless contract. Take a look at what it says.
Originally the contract free iPhone 4's were sold for $599-$699 without the AT&T subsidy. Apparently AT&T is saying that nothing on their end has changed, which has left some (including myself) wondering if this is because of the recent jailbreaking allowance granted by the U.S. Senate.
Have any of you recently bought a contract free iPhone 4? Or is this Apple's passive aggressive nature coming out in hopes to kill off buyers who jailbreak/unlock an iPhone and resell it for higher profits?
Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar tells GigaOm that waiting for an iPhone 4 will become noticeably easier by the end of September. If the production of devices finally gets on par with their demand, Kumar says the iPhone 4 should sell 14 million units in the 3rd quarter and 15 million in the 4th. What's unbelievable is that those predictions are actually feasible and not ridiculous.
Without a "big" delay in supply Kumar believes that Apple can lynch off the flow of supply enough to stay well ahead of their expectations. I would say he's right given the record numbers thus far.
It's worth mentioning that the mentioned analyst cites that LG is pumping out more 9.7 displays for the iPad's production as well. His predictions are that the popular handheld should be able to achieve 5 to 6 million units this quarter. Not bad for being a big iPod Touch.
What has your experience been lately? Have any of you tried waltzing into an Apple (or other retailer) and been able to walk out with an iPhone 4? Let us know how your luck has been in obtaining the new iDevice in the comment section.
It was just over a week ago that it was announced that China would be getting a Wi-Fi capable iPhone 3GS to sell to its masses. Apparently things are moving fast because Apple Insider reports that the world's largest market is set to receive the new iPhone 4 "in the beginning part of September". It doesn't stop there as it's reported that the enormous country will also be getting its version of the iPad.
China Unicom will be unveiling the two products on separate dates following the removal of a ban of Wi-Fi devices. On the surface, it would seem like poor strategy to release the new iPhone so soon after its predecessor, however Apple has keened in on the buying power of the Chinese population. Two stores currently reside there while 25 new stores are planned for the country in which the phone is assembled in.
Is this smart business from Apple? Does the market potential call for both devices at once, or will the competition within itself cause less than expected revenue? Give us your two pennies in the comment section.
I don't like to make a habit out of promoting (or writing) about accessories I haven't used, simply because you don't usually know until you have it in hand. However the Just Mobile Xtand for the iPhone looks seriously legit. This aluminum holder takes your trusted device, and morphs it into a little looking iMac. Just another reason I might hold off on buying an iPad. Sorry Apple.
The 3 piece unit is said to be easily assembled and incredibly sturdy, and houses a rubber "hand" so to be speak, where the iPhone actually rests. Sick of looking up peoples nostrils on your FaceTime calls? No problem, this solution will fix that in no time. A must have ability is covered in allowing either portrait or landscape mode. Watching movies or reading iBooks on an iPhone just became ten times better.
All iPhone models seem to be supported, with a current 20% discount bringing the total to just $33. iPod Touch, iPad, and even MacBook look-a-likes are also available. So no more worries of holding your phone the wrong way. Just plop it into this beauty, and let the Xtand do the gripping for you. This just might be sitting on my desk I'm a short time. What do you guys think?
It has been more than 7 weeks since Apple released its iPhone 4 in the United States, so you should be able to walk-in to most of its retailers and purchase one, right? Not according to Mac Life, who reports that Apple Insider sent an analyst to various stores to collect the data. He found that of the 30 stores he strolled into, just 16 had any stock.
For the math wizards reading this, you have deciphered that to be just over having a 50% chance as a "walk-in". While the flip of a coin type odds may seem harsh, all stores made it apparent that each of them are still receiving daily shipments, in hopes to meet some of the demand that still exists. The optimistic man will note that before July 10th, 0/20 stores had stock iPhone 4's for sale.
When the iPhone 3GS was released last year, most countries reported curtailing the demand by late September, early October. Gene Munster, who conducted the walk around, stated "We had expected near full in-store availability in the U.S. by now", in reference to the shortage of iPhone 4's. Why he thought this I'm not sure, since as of this week it was still 3 weeks backorder on Apple's website.
More now than ever it shows how little effect "Antennagate" actually had on the selling of the iPhone 4. It's been the fastest selling Apple product ever. Munster was quoted in saying he believes that the units will have sold 11 million worldwide in September. That's a lot of bumpers!
This antenna issue will never die, will it? Just when you thought it was fading away, the news get revived, especially due to the firing of Apple's chief of iPhone hardware.
A WSJ article revealed today that Steve Jobs knew about the iPhone 4 antenna weaknesses over a year ago.
It was Mr. Jobs, rather than Mr. Papermaster, who decided to move forward with the development of the phone even though the company was aware of the risks of the antenna design as much as a year ago, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why in hell would Steve Jobs force a product out if he isn't sure of its performances? Apple clearly prioritized physical design over performances. Why?