Apple has started issuing $30 refunds to iPhone 4 customers who bought a Bumper, report members of MacRumors’ forums.
For customers who bought a Bumper with a credit card, the refunds are automatic; no need to do anything. One forum member reports:
Just got off the phone with Apple to ask if I could get Bumper purchase refunded and he informed me that Apple has begun crediting back credit cards today and will be doing them in batches throughout the week.
Nice parody of an expensive Apple accessory (which makes a flaw into a feature) from designer Aaron Draczynski, aka @papermodelplane.
T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.
Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.
The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.
T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which carries the iPhone in Germany, was able to influence, the source said. T-Mobile USA is the fourth-largest U.S. carrier with 33.7 million customers.
Apple has just been named co-dependent (along with nearly three dozen other companies) in a patent infringement lawsuit yesterday relating to spam filtering technology.
“Email as we know it would essentially stop working if it weren’t for InNova’s invention,” said InNova’s lawyer “More than 80 percent of email is spam, which is why companies use InNova’s invention rather than forcing employees to wade through billions of useless emails. Unfortunately, the defendants appear to be profiting from this invention without any consideration for InNova’s legal patent rights.”
And what is this amazing invention Apple stole from InNova? InNova came up with the idea of using a contextual database to identify emails a user wants from unsolicited ones according to conditions like whether or not a “From” address had been emailed before.
Spam filtering’s an amazing invention, no doubt, but it takes more to invent something than being the first to register they had the idea with the government. This is a totally scurrilous case, filed by parent troll InNova Patent Licensing in the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, well-known as a friendly court for pursing patent infringement cases. The list of defendants include Google, Dell, HP, IBM, Yahoo… as well as the likes of JC Penney, Snapple and Dr. Pepper. Really. Dr. Pepper!
Let’s hope Apple destroys these bozos.
We haven’t seen a new iLife release since January 2009, so common sense says that the software suite is probably about due for an update early next year.
So should you take this Amazon.fr iLife 2010 for Dummies as confirmation of a forthcoming update?
It’s hard to say: one the one hand, the book is set for release on September 23rd, so unless Apple announces iLife 2010 at their September iPod conference, we’re not going to see it this year.
On the other hand, iLife 2008 was released in August, so it’s not completely unprecedented for Apple to just drop an update into the middle of the year like this without a lot of fanfare.
Personally, I’m hoping for the latter: at the very least, I’d welcome an update to iPhoto.
[via TUAW]
Apple’s massive data center in North Carolina will come online early next year, Apple execs said during an analyst conference call on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s on-schedule,” said Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer. “We expect it completed by the end of the calendar year.”
The $1 billion center is as big as the world’s biggest data facilities, and has been the subject of much speculation since construction started in August 2009. Occupying 500,000 square feet, the data center is about five times the size of Apple’s data center in Newark, California.
Two months ago, Apple passed Microsoft as the most-valuable tech company. Soon, it may pass its rival in terms of revenues. Microsoft makes about $61.5 billion a year: Apple is on track to make $60 billion.
Question is: As Apple gets bigger and bigger, is it in danger of becoming the new Microsoft? Did you prefer the old, underdog Apple?
[polldaddy poll=3499016]
The iPhone 4 is Apple’s fastest-selling device to date and there’s no sign whatsoever that the antenna issue is impacting sales or returns, Apple executives said.
“The demand for iPhone 4 is stunning,” said Apple COO Tim Cook during a conference call with Wall St. analysts. “Let me be very clear on this: We are selling every unit we are making.”
Cook said the antenna issue has had no impact on sales.
“My phone is ringing off the hook with people who want more supply,” he said.
He also said there is not a significant number of returns of the iPhone 4. In fact, there are fewer returns than iPhone 3GS.
“The ones for this specific (antenna) issue are extremely small,” Cook said.
Giving iPhone 4 customers free cases will cost Apple about $175 million, Apple executives said during a conference call with Wall St. analysts.
Apple reported another blockbuster quarter thanks to record sales of iPhones and Macs, making the most money ever in company history: $15.7 billion.
Even more unbelievable, Apple is projecting $18 billion in revenue next quarter—and the company is known for lowballing estimates.
Apple is likely to equal Microsoft in annual revenues this year, and may even pass it’s long-time rival. Apple is on track to make more than $60 billion in revenue this year, which is almost equal to Microsoft’s $61.5 billion. Apple already surpassed Microsoft two months ago as the world’s most highly-valued tech company.
Apple sold boatloads of Macs and iPhones. The iPad is also a big hit: Apple has shifted 3.27 million iPads since launch. The only downside was iPod sales.
Here are the key numbers:
In addition, Steve Jobs hinted at even more new products this year:
“It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple’s history with iPhone 4,” Steve Jobs said in a statement. “iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year.”
Here’s the full press release:
After Apple changed its privacy policy to collect geo-data from customers, lawmakers called on Apple to explain exactly how and when it collects that information.
The answer? If you have an iPhone running OS 3.2 or iOS 4, Apple collects location information from you every 12 hours.
The GPS on Apple mobile devices collect data, encrypts it, then sends it back to Apple every 12 hours using wi-fi. The GPS data comes with a random ID number the phone generates once every 24 hours. Individual users cannot be identified. Apple also reminds lawmakers in the letter that customers can always turn off all location-based services. You can read the full 13-page response, here (pdf.)
What It Is: The Bubble Slider case is a distinctive hard shell from Hard Candy Cases that’s saved my iPhone 4 on several occasions now.
Why It’s Cool: When I show people my iPhone 4, they often spend as much time admiring the Bubble Slider case as the device itself.
Image via AppAdvice
The new issue of Wired, featuring a futuristic Will Ferrell on the cover, includes an absolutely devastating take on the long, troubled partnership of Apple and AT&T by Fred Vogelstein. Things really couldn’t be worse. Just picture Steve Jobs at his most furious, then make him work on a near-daily basis with a company that can’t pull off basic stuff (even if some of it might be Apple’s fault). Then imagine that they ask him to wear a suit to meetings.
Apple and AT&T have bickered about how the iPhone was to be displayed in AT&T’s stores: Apple insisted the phone be presented on its own display stand, away from other models. They have even fought about wardrobe: When an AT&T representative suggested to one of Jobs’ deputies that the Apple CEO wear a suit to meet with AT&T’s board of directors, he was told, “We’re Apple. We don’t wear suits. We don’t even own suits.”
Ouch! Other revelations include the fact that Apple has long thought about leaping to Verizon (duh), and that Scott Forstall even led a team down to Qualcomm to discuss creating a CDMA iPhone as early as 2007 because AT&T demanded that Apple make YouTube WiFi-only, use low-resolution video, or limit clips to one minute. Basically, Apple has spent every day of the last three years wishing that it had a company as ambitious as itself running its network, while also being keenly aware of what a bad business proposition that would be.
In all honesty, the story is one of the best I’ve read for really considering the business complexities of the emerging connected lifestyle. The carriers all want people to use the most popular devices, but the devicemakers want more bandwidth at a lower price than any carrier is ready for. The death of the unlimited data plan might well clear the hurdles that have made AT&T act so awful when it comes to allowing new iPhone features beyond the initial set, but it’s early days yet.
This much is clear: the dreadful 3G infrastructure in the U.S. is in no way equipped to handle the rise of the App Phone, and it will be a painful several years before 4G makes up for it. But it’s always this way: computers that were powerful enough for the web were out a long time before broadband was available in the home, and now cable modem speeds are plenty fast for most users, and chokepoints have evaporated. Let’s just hope we’re only a few years away from a similar breakthrough in mobile.
Via Fast Company
PR expert Matt Seeger said Apple did issue a recall last Friday by providing iPhone 4 customers with free Bumper cases.
“From my perspective, this was a classic case of a recall,” said Seeger, who is chair of the Department of Communication at Wayne State University in Detroit. “They said, ‘Bring the product in, we’ll retrofit it.’ It’s not what most people think of as a recall, which is a safety issue. But this was a recall.”
The FCC has approved Apple’s Magic Trackpad, which means the device could be announced as early as this week.
A device known by the model number A1339 and described as a “Bluetooth Device” has just shown up in the FCC’s database. Given how quickly Apple has in the past announced devices that have just approved by the FCC, the Magic Trackpad could be officially launched within days.
The device would act as a big touch-sensitive trackpad for desktop computers, such as an iMac. It looks as though the device supports handwriting recognition, as well as the swipes and gestures found on the Magic Mouse and MacBook Pro trackpads.
Here are some more leaked photos of a prototype:
Apple has removed the Chatroulette-like app, iChatr, from the App Store because of flashers.
Apple pulled the app this weekend after eight days because users were inappropriately exposing themselves to strangers while using the app.
Don’t miss this: it’s a scream.
That hilarious animated Taiwanese news segment on Steve Jobs and the iPhone 4 we posted earlier now has English subtitles, thanks to reader Michael Chang.
It shows Jobs defeating Bill Gates in a lightsaber battle and donning a Darth Vader mask; cops breaking down the door of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s apartment; and Jobs cutting of the fingers of customers who complain about iPhone reception issues. “Just get rid of those fingers,” Jobs tells the customer. “Then there’s no problems.”
Yesterday, Nokia made it clear they wanted nothing to do with Apple’s all-smartphones-suck-at-making-calls spiel made during a press conference on Friday (a breakdown of Apple’s test can be found on the company’s website, here). Blackberry maker Research In Motion followed with much stronger words, saying that “Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.”
Then just this morning, HTC appear to have made their position clear, telling the folks at Pocketlint HTC has only received complaints about the Droid Eris — which was one of the hapless phones demonstrated to have antenna issues by Jobs on Friday — from “approximately .016 percent of customers,” far below Apple’s claim of .55 percent of customers complaining about the iPhone 4.
While the comparison may or may not be all that significant, what’s certain is that Apple seems to have its competitors snarling at it. Expect the shouting match to get louder tomorrow.
[via Pocketlint, Gizmodo]
This is a guest column by Dan Burcaw, founder and CEO of Double Encore, which develops apps for iPhone (and now iPad). Dan is extremely passionate about why developers should work on iPhone apps instead of Android. Here he explains why Android developers don’t make money, and why Android apps will always be secondary to iPhone/iPad apps.
A few years ago, apps were novelties – a cute idea. Now there are over 250,000 of those cute ideas in the App Store alone – and the Android Market is catching up quickly.
Apps are like the Wild Wild West – and from a developer’s perspective, there’s definitely a shoot-out coming. Google vs. Apple. iPhone and iPad vs. Android. Who should you code for, and why? For that matter, as a consumer, which phone and apps should you choose?
On one hand, you’ve got Apple with the newly released iPad and iPhone – a well-established if tightly controlled platform. On the other, there’s the Shiny New Android platform, with its open-ended promise of apps and plenty of freedom – freedom of handset, freedom of carriers. It sounds like a developer’s paradise … which is in fact how Google markets it. But I predict that a year from now, developers and consumers alike are going to find the Android platform really disappointing.
Want the lowdown on Apple’s defense of the iPhone 4 antenna? Apple’s just posted the breakdown on their official site, comparing iPhone 4 death grips against those of other major smartphones.
It’ll be interesting to see third-party tests on these reported smartphone death grips. For the iPhone 3GS, at least, Apple’s claims of attenuation seem more profound than reported actuality in most of the cases I’ve seen.
Apple has posted video of this morning’s press conference about the iPhone 4’s antenna. You can watch it here. However, it does not include the juicy Q&A session, where Jobs rips the tech press for creating Antennagate.
This is Apple’s $100 million state-of-the-art antenna test lab. It has 17 different antenna characterization chambers (or anechoic chambers) for measuring antenna performance.
Our anechoic chambers are connected to sophisticated equipment that simulates cellular base stations, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth devices — even GPS satellites. These chambers measure performance in free space, in the presence of materials simulating human tissue (“phantom” heads and hands, for example), and in use by human subjects. Over a one- to two-year development cycle, Apple engineers spend thousands of hours performing antenna and wireless testing in the lab.
Apple has also published several new pages on its website explaining smartphone antennas, including pages showing off the company’s antenna design and test lab. There’s a video of the lab here.
And here’s some more pictures:
Steve Jobs’ press conference this morning tried to address two problems: reception and perception.
He failed on both counts.
Jonathan Mann — the “Song a Day” dude — is at it again.
Steve Jobs probably won’t show this video at the press conference today. But he should.
As spotted by Apple Insider, Apple’s latest patent application to be unearthed describes a dock wit a “rotationally symmetric” port that allows you to sync and charge your iPhone or iPad in any orientation that you may choose.
The most interesting part about this application is that it isn’t a plug-in device: in other words, an iPhone or iPad could sync and charge just by resting against the surface of the dock.
Much as I would kill to see the end of the USB iPod Dock Connector Cable for inductive syncing and charging technology, It’s strange to see Apple trying to patent this: the Palm Pre‘s Touchstone Charger has done this same thing for two years, and HP presumably now owns the patent on it. If I had to guess, the difference here is that Apple’s patent covers both syncing and charging, while the Palm Touchstone can only do the latter.
How will Apple’s device sync information wirelessly, though? My guess is not through induction, but rather through WiFi… a capability of future iDevices confirmed just last month by Steve Jobs himself.
