A large proportion of iPhone 4S adopters have been hit by an issue on the new device that randomly mutes their audio when they make a call. Their recipient appears to pickup — or the call goes to voicemail — but they do not hear anything.
If you’re one of these users and you’re hoping for a fix in Apple’s upcoming iOS 5.1 software update, then you may be disappointed. According to developers already testing the release, it does not address this particular issue.
It seems early iPhone 4S adopters the world over have discovered a new issue with Apple’s latest handset. No, it has nothing to do with poor battery life, but rather a complete loss of signal for no apparent reason. To be clear, this isn’t a new “antennagate” — the issue does not occur while holding the device in a certain position — it’s a new problem that causes the device to lose its signal randomly. Users report they can be enjoying a full five-bar signal one minute, then be greeted by that frustrating “No Service” status the next.
Samsung is currently drafting up a crafty plan to get Apple’s new iPhone 4S banned from Australia, and to help its case it is requesting “the source code for the iPhone 4S firmware” and details of the company’s subsidy agreements with carriers Down Under.
Apple’s upcoming ‘iPhone 4S‘ seems to have appeared all over the place over the past few days. Firstly the Cupertino company itself leaked the device within an iTunes beta, then Cincinnati Bell listed it — along with the iPhone 5 — on its website. Vodafone Germany is the latest to claim its share of the free publicity, listing the device on its website with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage.
Pictures taken by a source at Best Buy reveal that the retailer’s inventory database is currently listing an April 27th launch date for the elusive white iPhone 4. The device featured in the pictures is the GSM model – which supports the AT&T network – though it is expected that the CDMA model designed for Verizon will launch on the same day.
One report over the weekend claims that 16GB and 32GB models of the white iPhone 4 have already been shipped to Best Buy stores located throughout the U.S. – with around 10 16GB models on order for each store. Inventory numbers for the 32GB are currently unconfirmed.
With T-Mobile losing its iPhone exclusivity in Germany to O2 and Vodafone, the last European iPhone exclusivity deal is dead. That’s good news for German consumers, who now are not only in a position to avail themselves of the spoils of the carrier wars as different mobile providers scramble to attract customers, but who also now have the option to buy an unlocked iPhone directly from Apple.
One of the last bastions of iPhone exclusivity in Europe has finally tumbled: Vodafone and O2 are now reporting that they will soon be offering the iPhone 4 in Germany, breaking the knuckles of T-Mobile’s long standing stranglehold on the handset.
It was pretty easy to see the writing on the wall in Germany that this was coming: earlier this year, T-Mobile’s “exclusivity” was downgraded from the exclusive right to sell all Apple handsets to the exclusive right to sell the iPhone 4. Pretty much every carrier in Germany has been offering the 3GS ever since.
