Resource said iPhone battery issue not a hardware problem

According to research carried out for my by an iPhone app developer, the battery issue that some iPhone 4 and 4S owners are experiencing is not, as some have suggested, related to the hardware.

The developer, who at this point wishes to remain anonymous, approached me late last week to discuss the issues he was experiencing with one of his two iPhone 4S handset. The problem he was seeing was pretty much along the lines of what others are reporting - rapid drop in battery when the handset is doing little or nothing.

Nothing new there, but what I thought was interesting was that he had two handset, one that was displaying the battery problem that some people are screaming about, and another that wasn’t. He admitted that the two handsets were very different in their configuration and had different apps installed. One was a test bed for apps he develops, the other was his day-to-day use handset. It was his day-to-day handset that was displaying the battery problems.

Both handsets were bought at the same time (direct from Apple for delivery on launch day), both are connected to the same network (AT&T) and both handsets are now running iOS 5.0.1. This to me was strong evidence to suggest that the problem affecting iPhone handsets was not a hardware issue. However, so that we could totally rule out this being a hardware problem the developer took things a step further. He factory reset both handsets and then recovered then from a backup. However, rather than reloading them with their original backup, he swapped them over. He reloading his day-to-day handset with the backup from his development handset, and loaded the development handset with the backup from his regular day-to-day handset.

Would the battery problem stay with a specific handset or swap over with the software?

The problem jumped handsets. Now the handset that was his development test bed (but loaded with the apps and settings from his day-to-day handset) is displaying the battery drain problem. The other handset (the one that was displaying the problem), is showing excellent battery life.

The problem, it seems, is down to software. What exactly (whether it’s an app or set of apps, or a setting somewhere), we’re still not sure. However, I am now convinced that this problem ISN’T a hardware issue and will eventually be fixed by a software update.


Source: zdnet.com

Apple's iPhone 4S breaks pre order booking record

Sprint Nextel (S.N), which is selling the iPhone for the first time, said it sold all of its $200 iPhone 4S and is not taking back orders. Sprint still is selling more expensive versions of the phone with higher memory.

Rival AT&T (T.N) said on its website on Monday afternoon that customers ordering the same iPhone at that point would not receive their phones for another 21 to 28 days. Verizon's website said it will ship the phones by October 20.

Orders for the latest iPhone, the last product the company introduced before the death of its co-founder Steve Jobs, surpassed 1 million in the first 24 hours, beating Apple's previous one-day record of 600,000 sales for the iPhone 4, according to Apple.

The news pushed the company's shares up 5 percent to close at $388.81 on the Nasdaq stock market.

The new phone, which will appear on store shelves this Friday, disappointed some fans when Apple introduced it last week, but it is proving to be a bigger draw because more telephone companies are carrying it and it will appear in more countries, analysts said.

Another big factor may be Jobs. Massive outpourings of grief and sympathy over his death last Wednesday at the age of 56, along with testaments to his genius and status as a visionary business leader in the media and by Apple products users online may have spurred sales,

"Many potential Apple customers, who have been on the fences before, will probably now want to (buy) it," said Steven Osinski, marketing professor at San Diego State University. "It's no different than when John Lennon was assassinated, sales of Beatles records shot up for a little while."

The initial scepticism from fans on the iPhone 4S was overridden by their desire to honour Jobs, said Barbara Sullivan, Managing Partner of Sullivan, a branding and marketing agency.

"The preorders may also be part of respect for what Jobs has done," she said. "It's almost like putting flowers by his headquarters."

Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a memo to staff on Monday that a celebration of Jobs' life will be held on October 19.

The employee event will be held at an outdoor amphitheatre at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, Cook said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

"Like many of you, I have experienced the saddest days of my lifetime and shed many tears during the past week," Cook said in the email memo. "And I've found comfort in both telling and listening to stories about Steve."

BIGGER ROLL-OUT

The iPhone 4S, which many Apple watchers saw as a minor follow-up to its previous model and featuring only incremental hardware upgrades, is going on sale in seven countries. The previous version was introduced in five.

Stores in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK will start selling the device on Friday. It will be available in 22 countries by the end of October, Apple said.

"It had everything people wanted. The market was disappointed, but the customers looked past the headline to see the content of the device itself," said Hudson Square analyst Daniel Ernst.

The 4S is on the Sprint network, AT&T Inc (T.N) and Verizon Wireless -- three carriers for the first time in United States. In Japan, Apple added KDDI Corp (9433.T) as a distributor.

"Part of what's going to make this roll-out so much bigger is that the availability of the product is going to be much better," said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of YCMNET Advisors, which owns Apple shares. "You are going to see sales records set at a faster pace than people really would expect."

Analyst Colin Gillis said Apple still has a long way to go to meet Wall Street's sales expectations.

"It's not the first million. We know there's a large loyal base of users. They need to sell more than 20 million of these in this quarter to hit estimates," said Gillis. "Apple needs to break records to hit expectations."

AT&T, which had exclusive U.S. rights to sell the iPhone for more than three years, took more than 200,000 orders for the 4S in the first 12 hours after it went on sale.

Source: Reuters

Quick look on upcoming iPhone 5 features probably in October

The October release date looks probable as the California-based Apple said its iOS 5, the latest version of its operating system, will be released in the fall. Fall officially begins in the last week of September -- and for the iPhone 5 to have the iOS 5 pre-installed in it, the launch should be in October.

There is an array of possible iPhone 5 features that have been revealed through several sources, image leaks and estimates by analysts and industry experts.

Here's a detailed look at the rumored hot features of iPhone 5:

World Phone with a SIM-less Design:

iPhone 5 is rumored to feature a new SIM-less design with two to three internal antennas for CDMA and GSM compatibility, making it a World Phone. Another rumor suggested is that the iPhone 5 will feature a SIM card slot for other countries except the U.S, allowing users to insert any SIM card when traveling abroad.

Curved Glass Display:

Apple may unveil iPhone 5 with a slightly bigger screen size ranging from 3.7 to 4-inch to counter Android rivals. Rumors of a curved glass display on iPhone 5 have been doing the rounds ever since DigiTimes reported in May that Apple had placed an order for glass cutting machines which are capable of making curved glass covers.

Design:

Apple products are known for their beautiful design. iPhone 5 is expected to adopt a teardrop design that is supposed to be slimmer and lighter than past iPhone models.

The new smartphone, which may have an edge-to-edge display, would come with an aluminum plate casing rather than the current glass backing. Rumors suggest a more uniform design across all of Apple's mobile devices as aluminum may be the consistent material used in the upcoming iPad 3 and iPod lineups as well.

Meanwhile, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw said the form factor of iPhone 5 could be a slightly smaller version of the iPad 2.

Powerful A5 Chip:

Apple may fit an A5 chip in iPhone 5 with a clocking speed in the range of 1.2 or 1.5 GHz with 1GB RAM. A5 is the same chip that powers iPad 2. Processors of several Android smartphones are powered by a minimum of 1 GHz processors.

Fire-proof iPhone:

Another rumor is that the next iPhone will be a fire-proof phone. Apple has filed a patent application for an advanced halogen-free flame retardant material which could be used in future Apple products. Patently Apple, an Apple Inc. centric blog, has reported that the new material will be integrated into the manufacturing of Apple products such as keyboards, mice, iPods, the iPad, cabling and more.

Wireless Charging:

A revolutionary way of charging mobile devices may see the iPhone 5 gain mass appeal. The inductive wireless charging technology for the iPhone could juice up its battery without the use of cables or plugs. By utilizing a charging dock, the iPhone can charge its battery as well as share, sync or back up data at the same time.

Home Button:

One rumor that gets repeatedly mentioned is that Steve Jobs didn't want any physical buttons on the iPhone from the start. However, reported prototypes suggest that the iPhone 5 may have a rectangular button compared to the circular one found in the iPhone 4.

Camera:

Apple has made improvements in the camera department of the iPhone 4 by fitting a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash. For the iPhone 5, the technology giant may fit an 8MP camera with lens supplied by either Sony or Omnivision.

The iPhone 5 will also reportedly have panoramic photo capabilities and 1080p Full HD videos. An iOS code section revealed recently that the next iPhone will let users take panoramic photos with the photo app.

Strong Gaming Capabilities:

The iPhone 5 is rumored to have stronger gaming capabilities, supported by multi-core A5 processor and Imagination Technologies' PowerVR Series6 mobile graphics processing architecture. Apple could be one of the companies that will get Imagination Technologies' PowerVR Series6 mobile graphics processing architecture.

4G:

AT&T documents, leaked by the hacking group LulzSec, suggest that the Apple iPhone 5 will offer 4G and will be LTE network compatible. LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is the latest standard in the mobile network technology and is a project of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Most mobile carriers in the world have plans to convert their networks into LTE, or 4G as it is often called. The current generation of mobile telecommunication networks is known as 3G or third generation.

However, the consensus from analysts and tech experts seems to be that the iPhone 5 will not have 4G support. Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., stated that Apple will not release a 4G LTE capability in the iPhone 5 this year because Qualcomm's LTE chipsets, which Apple would have used, were not reaching the yields that Apple expects for its iPhone 5.

Meanwhile, 4G capability of the iPhone 5 will be a crucial factor in the building of the fourth generation network infrastructure in the US.

NFC Payment:

Mobile-payment services using Near Field Communication (NFC) will be a hot segment in the future. There have been reports since early this year that Apple is testing an iPhone that incorporates NFC technology. Users can simply pay for goods by waving their iPhone in front of a contactless payment scanner.

It is also said that Apple had disclosed in some of its meetings that it won't feature NFC on the next iPhone. The Independent said that Apple will sacrifice NFC in its next iPhone due to lack of industry standards about the technology.

But analysts at Jefferies expect Apple to come out with another iPhone, likely to be named the iPhone 5S, in 2012, which will have an NFC payment feature.

If Apple equips the next iPhone with NFC, which is considered to be the next wave that revolutionizes mobile and contactless payment technology, it will instantly come on top of the competition.

Battery Life:

A smartphone's battery life is crucial to juice its advanced features and Apple has always scored over competitors in this area by improving battery life with each release of the iPhone. For instance, the iPhone 4 has 40 percent more talk time than the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 4 offers 14 hours of talk time on 2G and up to 7 hours on 3G with a standby time of up to 300 hours. So, going by the past, we should see a better battery life on the iPhone 5 too.

iOS 5:

An operating system is the most significant factor considered in the purchase of a smartphone. Apple's iOS is the leading smartphone operating system competing with Google's Android.

The iPhone 5 is expected to run on the latest iOS 5, which comes with 200 new features including improved notifications system, news stand and iMessage. It will also feature new applications, such as the Reminders app and Newsstand, an application resembling Folders, and iBooks.

iCloud:

Apple's iPhone 5 is expected to feature the new iCloud service in operating iTunes for wireless remote access of music from all computers and mobile devices.

iCloud will also store photos, apps, calendars and documents without storing them onto the phone's memory storage. Apple also placed itself in top position of the cloud war by inking deals with top music label companies to license songs for the iCloud service.

There are also rumors that Apple is stepping into the movie scene by attempting to license deals for films with movie studios.

App Store:

Last but not the least, Apple has built a strong ecosystem around its products that makes a consumer loyal to Apple products. For instance, Apple's App Store has more than 425,000 apps that would make the iPhone 5 even better.

Source: ibtimes