Apple - page 44

Now that he’s back at work full-time, Steve Jobs is focusing his full attention on the Apple tablet, the Wall Street Journal reports. And he’s kickin ass!

“Mr. Jobs’s focus on the tablet has been jarring for some Apple employees, who had grown accustomed to a level of freedom over strategy and products while the CEO was on leave, said a person familiar with the matter. “People have had to readjust” to Mr. Jobs being back, this person said.”

This is excellent news. Nothing is better for Apple products than Jobs throwing a fit over them. It’s such an important part of the cooking process.

Also important is the ritual killing of the project during the development process. Almost every major project at Apple has been killed before it was started over, from the iMac to Apple’s retail stores. Killing a project and starting over is Jobs’s MO. The Journal says Jobs has already killed the tablet twice. The first time because the battery life was too short, and the second time because “there was insufficient memory,” the Journal says. (This last one’s a puzzler. Presumably it refers to solid-state memory (SSD hard drives), which until recently have been pricey. Perhaps earlier prototypes used SSD drives that were too small and crippled the device?)

Though the Journal report uncovers few new details, it does say that Jobs is currently working on the tablet’s advertising and marketing — which suggests the tablet’s launch is imminent. The Journal has no time line though: “The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out.“

Also, it’s stating the obvious, but the Journal notes that Jobs’s focus on the tablet is a clear sign of its importance. Although Apple has released several important pieces of hardware recently, the last product to get Jobs’s full attention was the prototype iPhone back in 2006/2007.

The report doesn’t detail what OS the device will run, which is perhaps the key unanswered question. Nor does it name the price: It’s somewhere between $399 and $999, the Journal helpfully reports.

Jobs is also recovering well from his liver transplant, the Journal says. “People close to Apple said Mr. Jobs is still thin as he recovers from the liver transplant, but his health has improved significantly.”

Good news all round.

We now know that Snow Leopard will be released on Friday for just $29. Even better, that already  low price can drop to $10 if you’ve bought a new Mac since June 9 through the Mac OS X Up-to-Date program. Not sure if you qualify? Head here to find out.

Goggle’s Voice App undermines the one of the iPhone’s core functions — making phone calls, Apple said on Friday in a response to an inquiry by the FCC.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is looking into the rejection of the Google Voice iPhone application from the iTunes App Store. In an unexpected move, Apple has published  its response to the FCC on its website.

Apple says the Google Voice app hasn’t been rejected at all — it’s still under review. Apple is taking its time because Google’s app replaces one of the iPhone’s core functions — making calls — with its own user interface and telephony functions.

“Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it. The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail. Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone.”

In addition, Apple says the Google Voice app doesn’t make use of Visual Voicemail or the built-in Messaging app. And it may violate users’ privacy by uploading contacts to Google’s servers with no assurances the data will be used in “appropriate ways.”

Many had speculated AT&T was behind the app’s rejection, even though the carrier has denied it. Now Apple says AT&T has nothing to do with it.

Apple’s response also throws some light on the murky approval process, which has drawn fire for being secretive and capricious.

* AT&T has no role whatsoever in approving or rejecting apps. The only restriction is no VOIP over the cell network, which is why Skype and similar apps are WiFi only. Weirdly, Apple says it doesn’t know if the Google Voice App has a VOIP element.

* Apple has 40 full-time trained reviewers. Every app is scrutinized by at least two reviewers.

* There’s an executive review board (*cough* Phil Schiller *cough*) to oversee policy and procedure. The review board meets weekly, and deals with apps that present “new or complex issues.” Apple says 95% of applications are approved within 14 days, and the team is working like dogs.

“Apple generally spends most of the review period making sure that the applications function properly, and working with developers to fix quality issues and software bugs in applications. We receive about 8,500 new applications and updates every week, and roughly 20% of them are not approved as originally submitted. In little more than a year, we have reviewed more than 200,000 applications and updates.”

Apple’s full response to the FCC after the jump.

UPDATE: Both AT&T’s response to the FCC and Google’s have been obtained by Engadget. AT&T’s answers are pretty much in line with Apple’s version of events. AT&T “had no role in any decision by Apple to not accept the Google Voice application,” the company says. AT&T says it sometimes “has discussions” with Apple if an app presents the risk of network congestion.

Oddly, Google’s response to the question about its app’s rejection has been redacted. Very odd, when Apple is openly offering its story to the public. Why would the injured party hide its version of events? Smells fishy.

Apple in Europe may unlock your iPhone if you have pay off your carrier contract, one blogger has discovered.

Olly Farshi of TheAppleBlog.com didn’t have to jailbreak or run ultrasn0w to unlock his iPhone.

He simply asked his carrier to unlock his iPhone 3G after paying off a two year contract. The carrier, Finland’s Sonera, submitted the request to Apple and the next time Farshi synced with iTunes, the software had him install an official carrier update.

Then iTunes displayed something rarely seen: an official message saying his iPhone had been officially unlocked. See the screenshot above.

“Regarding Sonera, think of it as a less-repugnant version of AT&T,” Farshi writes. “As the exclusive distributor of the iPhone over in Finland, Sonera has turned out to be a somewhat benevolent carrier.”

He continues: “Going the legit route was a much more painless process than using a proxy SIM or the Dev Team’s unofficial unlock. Also worth noting is that, unlike some of the illicit approaches, this unlock is permanent: I’ll be able to keep updating the iPhone’s OS without losing the ability to use any carrier SIM in the device.”

No word on whether AT&T will do this. Has anyone tried?

BTW: It is possible to buy factory unlocked iPhones for $1,000+.

Via Modmyi.com.

As Microsoft begins hiring for its first retail stores, the giant is showing it’s usual flair for naming. What Apple calls a “Genius,” Microsoft is calling a “Retail Technical Advisor.”

Microsoft is hiring for its first two stores in Scottsdale, AZ and Mission Viejo, CA., which are due to open in September. While Apple is at pains to emphasize that its retail jobs are “More than a retail job,” Microsoft puts the word “retail” in its job titles.

According to the job listings, here’s how Microsoft breaks down other jobs in the store compared to Apple.

Concierge = Retail Customer Service Associate-Full Time

Personal Shopping Specialist = Retail Sales Associate

One to One Trainer = Retail Trainer

And here’s how Microsoft pitches its store to employees, compared to Apple. Where Apple says, “Be the face of Apple,” Microsoft says “You have unique experiences, skills and passions—and we believe you can bring them all to Microsoft for a rich, rewarding career…” in retail. Which is more compelling and less BS?

Microsoft:

You have unique experiences, skills and passions—and we believe you can bring them all to Microsoft for a rich, rewarding career and lifestyle that will surprise you with its breadth and potential. Just imagine the excitement and satisfaction of what you can do, where you can go, and the difference you can make with the resources of Microsoft behind you.

Apple:

Be the face of Apple—help people learn about, shop for, and get the most out of their Apple products. That means we’re not just looking for people with retail experience. Creative pros, technical experts, and business consultants have a place here, too.

Via Techcrunch.

UPDATE: Apple’s US and Canadian stores also briefly said August 28th will be the release date. The stores have now been changed back to “September.”

Though it might lack the wow factor of Leopard or revolutionary features like Tiger brought to bear, Mac OS X Snow Leopard is still going to be completely amazing. Some times tuning up everything under the hood is a lot more important than changing the icons in the Dock.

And, from what we can tell, we’ll all (well, some of us) finally get to enjoy a fully 64-bit OS, advanced multicore support via Grand Central, OpenCL, and the rest very soon. The Apple Store UK yesterday listed an August 28 release date for the little upgrade that could (it’s since changed to “September,” but I think that’s just trying to shove the cat back in the bag), so get ready to spend next weekend benchmarking your machines.

Via MacRumors

Ever since the first computer laser mouse rolled out, it has required a reflective surface – meaning you had limited options for your pointer. Logitech hopes to do away with that barrier, unveiling two laser mice using the company’s so-called “Darkfield Technology.”

The Performance Mouse MX ($99.99) and the Anywhere Mouse MX ($79.99) offer the technology which can use microscopic deformities in otherwise absolutely clear surfaces, such as glass. A video shows the mice tracking on glass and a mirror.

[Via Logitech]

Have you maxed-out your iPod or iPhone storage? We all likely have a good chunk of the 16GB or 80GB storage still free. Why not put that empty room to use by turning it into backup space? That’s the idea behind Storage Appliance Corporation’s Clickfree Transformer for iPhone and iPod, a device that copies data from your computer’s hard drive to your MP3 player or phone.

Today’s deals include Apple’s back to school sale on free iPods when buying a MacBook or iMac, classic iPods starting at $180, $49 8GB iPhone 3Gs and much more.

Details on these bargains and many others can be found at CoM’s Daily Deals page.

If you’ve never published a photo book using iPhoto’s built-in book publishing system, you should. They’re gorgeous. It’s amazing how your digital pictures take on new life when printed on the glossy pages of a bound book.

There’s now the option to print a larger hard-cover book measuring 10 inches by 13 inches, thanks to an iPhoto 8.1 software update. Until now, the largest book option was standard 11 inches by 8.5 inches.

The iPhoto ’09 update also adds new holiday cards and three new travel-oriented book themes.

Be warned: the update weighs 161MB. It is available to iPhoto ’09 users via Software Update.

Apple will to sell a massive 50 million iPhones a year by 2011, Wall Street analyst Toni Sacconaghi says.

In a research note on Wednesday, the Bernstein Research analyst said Apple will achieve this just by holding onto current market share and adding new countries and carriers.

Sacconaghi’s predictions are in line with estimates from a RBC report on Tuesday, which also estimates 50 million iPhones in 2011. Apple has sold 26 million units since the iPhone’s debut in 2007. Sacconaghi estimates Apple will sell 20 million in 2009.

* More smart phones: Smart phones will grow 27% a year in 2010 and 2011, Sacconaghi says.
* More carriers in more countries: Apple could add 11 million units by adding Verizon Wireless in 2011 when the exclusive AT&T runs out. Plus more carriers in existing markets will add 3.5 million in European and 4 million in Asia.
* China: Sacconaghi estimates a deal with China Unicom is worth 2.9 million iPhones in 2011; and maybe 6 million if Apple also adds China Mobile.

The numbers could be even bigger if Apple adds pre-paid iPhones and WiFi-only iPhones, Sacconaghi says. He notes 75% of the global cellphone market is prepaid.

At this point, it’s hard to get excited by every amazing new iPhone app that comes down the pike. Even augmented reality has started to feel boring, and it isn’t even allowed on locked-down iPhones yet.

But man, does Cadence have me excited. Basically, it figures out the average tempo of your iPod library, then creates playlists by different BPM speeds so you can easily browse your music by pace. Watch the video at their site (not embeddable, unfortunately). It’s amazing, and a totally new experience.

And it’s something I’ve been looking for. I’ve never had my whole 25-gig music library on a single handheld device before, and I’ve found it’s hard to take advantage of so many songs and artists. I’ll inevitably stay in my comfort zone if I don’t discover what I’ve been missing — and Genius doesn’t help, it regurgitates the same 20 songs every time I use it.

This has that potential, if it’s smart enough to pick a random song within each tempo. I’m excited to use this, and I hope Apple has the sense to approve it. This is not duplicate functionality.

Apple Corps Ltd and EMI music announced Tuesday the impending release of newly re-mastered versions of every song in The Beatles’ original catalogue. The worldwide CD release is scheduled for September 9, and could be one part of a marketing trifecta that coincides with both the release of “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game and a special keynote event scheduled for the same day by Apple, Inc.

A team of engineers working with state-of-the-art digital recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment labored the past four years at Abbey Road Studios in London to create the first digital re-masters of all twelve original Beatles albums in stereo, as well as the collections “Past Masters Vol. I and II, and all of the band’s recordings that were mixed for mono release.

The two boxed sets will comprise 28 compact discs and feature artwork as originally released in the UK with CD replicas of the original sleeves, and all original inserts and label designs.

Apple, Inc. has invited a number of music industry professionals and press to a keynote event on the same date as the Beatles’ music and video game releases, though there is no official word on what will be on tap from the company behind iTunes and the iPod.

Speculation has centered on the possibility Apple would release its long-awaited Tablet product, though chances of that happening appear to be on the wane. Observers now are looking for updates to the iPod line and possibly for the release of the next iteration of iTunes.

Given recent news that one out of four songs are purchased now on iTunes, it may well be The Beatles and EMI have got a good reason for letting Apple distribute the band’s catalogue.

Hit the jump for the full press release and list of albums/songs included in the release.

Here’s a rumor about Apple’s upcoming tablet that makes a lot of sense: There’s actually two of them: an iPod tablet with a six-inch screen and a bigger tablet that runs full OS X.

And Apple may introduce one or both in September, according to veteran tech analyst Richard Doherty, who spoke to BusinessWeek.

Apple has developed prototypes of two different tablet machines—one that resembles a large-sized iPod and boasts a 6-inch screen, and another that features a larger display. Apple may launch one or both devices as early as September,” Doherty says. “A decision on whether and when Apple takes the tablet plunge lies with Apple CEO Steve Jobs,” Doherty says.

…

One of Apple’s prototype devices is able to run all Mac applications, and allows for video and audio editing and graphic animation, Doherty says. Another, which looks like a larger iPod, lends itself to watching videos, playing games, and reading e-books.

The two devices sound like the best of both worlds. An entertainment-oriented iPod tablet — like an iPod Plus — that runs the iPhone/iPod OS and is great for watching movies around the house; and a bigger Snow Leopard-capable device that can do real work. One for entertainment, another for education, kinda like Gizmodo’s Brian Lam suggested last week.

Doherty also predicts the tablet(s) could start as low as $679. It’ll be a hit because it’s got 65,000 Apps to run on it.

“Apple has a real opportunity to take the magic of the iPhone interface and give that more real estate to do the tasks… It’s an iPhone, but bigger. It’s something that you know, but bigger.” The device may be able to wirelessly access iTunes and Apple’s App Store, which offers more than 65,000 apps such as games, e-books, and calendars.

But what about the inside sources quoted by Jim Dalrymple and others that say the tablet won’t show until 2010? Perhaps the Mac tablet is for next year, and iPod Plus for 2009?

So, you are in college, sharing a dorm room, but don’t want to share your laptop with your roommate? How about a very stylish safe? DormVault is a nine-pound $80 vault which the manufacturers claim provides a “rugged steel” protection for your laptop (up to 17-inches), along with accessories.

The DormVault lets you bolt your laptop inside and once closed can be opened only if you know the lock’s combination. All that’s missing is a television with Cameron Swayze with the vault attached to an outboard motor.

If $80 is too steep, maybe you can simply lock your screensaver or as Wired’s Gadget Lab suggests, buy an inexpensive lock box.

[Via Gadget Lab and Gadget Review]

Apple is leading cellphones into a “new world order,” says one Wall Street analyst, and will clean up as smartphones become a big fat chunk of the overall cellphone market.

RBC analyst Mike Abramsky on Tuesday upped estimates for Apple, RIM, and Palm as smartphone sales take off — and Apple in particular will benefit selling 50 million iPhones.

Abramsky says smartphone penetration will be a whopping 35% of the global cell phone market by 2012 (504 million units). Apple and BlackBerry maker RIM will dominate, but Palm will be along for the ride too (if it survives the short term) because of its pretty good WebOS software.

Abramsky forecasts:

Apple: FY11 estimates $50.3 billion revenue (18% year-on-year growth) on 49.3 million iPhones. Price target upped to $250 from $190.
RIM: FY11 estimates $21.2 billion revenue (32% y/y growth). Price target $150 from $100.
Palm: FY11 estimates $3.2 billion revenue (52% y/y growth). Price target $25 from $18.

Report: Silicon Alley Insider.

UPDATE 3: The iPhone email issue looks like a real bug and not a settings issue after all. CoM reader Paul Taylor ran through the procedure described below, and all the email he ever deleted on his iPhone is still there going all the way back to the iPhone’s purchase in 2007. Says Paul:

I read your post ” Update x2…..” with interest because I was appalled to discover this problem in mid June and reported it to Apple after having no success correcting it (nor did three Apple ‘Geniuses’ one of whom was characterized by his peers as “The iPhone Genius — if he can’t fix it no one can.” He couldn’t).  I sent it off to Walt Mossberg on August 3rd to see what his efforts might produce but have seen nothing to date.

I had performed all the exercises described in your post (after doing thorough searches of all mailboxes on my Mac Pro and my ISP server to be sure the particular emails were NOT there.

BTW – with regard to the ‘Remove’ settings, ALL deleted emails back to the purchase of my original iPhone in 2007 were still there, so the day / week / month settings are immaterial, at least in my case. The problem apparently has always been present, the new search feature merely exposed it.

The only relief (not fix) I have found so far, has been to first make sure unwanted emails have been stripped from all mailboxes, then do a “Restore” on iTunes.  The relief is short lived — the ’emails that wouldn’t die’ are gone, but all email deleted following the restore begins to collect anew.

UPDATE: The iPhone email bug that caused such a fuss yesterday is not a bug but a configuration issue, says knowledgeable CoM reader Dr. Harry K. Zink.

If you properly delete your emails, this does not happen – i.e. remove the email from both SENT and INBOX, after which you need to go into the TRASH folder, and manually select the messages, and select DELETE again. This applies to IMAP, ActiveSync and MobileMe accounts. POP accounts are affected by this, but only because they are configured to retain deleted mail for a period set in ‘settings’ for that account — if you set it to one day, and wait 36 hours, the messages are also gone.

This is a function of the way IMAP and especially POP mail leave mail in the Deleted Items folder, or Trash folder, for the duration specified in the settings — it seems most users never bothered looking in their settings (the default is to keep deleted messages for a month before they auto-delete – you can also set it to a day, or manually delete instantly).

Furthermore, this does *not* apply to ActiveSync accounts, where a deletion is instant and complete (thus corporate kids can stop the sweating and heavy breathing – Apple’s got your back), and neither on MobileMe accounts (you know, Exchange for the Rest of Us). On IMAP accounts, if you manually delete it from the trash, the messages are gone as well. It’s POP accounts which have this issue.

So for the most part this is being blown terribly out of proportion – not by the original guy who discovered this, but by all ruminants and regurgitators, particularly those who are too lazy to properly investigate something like this.

To change the “Remove” settings for POP accounts:
1. Go to Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars
2. Select the account you want to modify
3. Go to >Advanced. Under the “Deleted Messages” heading, you’ll see the “Remove” setting. Choices are: after a day, a week, one month or never.
Screenshots after the jump.

Apple is aware of the iPhone email bug CoM first reported yesterday and will likely issue a fix in iPhone 3.1, the next major update of the iPhone/iPod OS.

“An internal tipster has provided us with proof that Apple is fully aware of this issue and will probably be including a fix in iPhone OS 3.1,” says Gizmodo.

Meanwhile, it appears the bug is limited to POP email accounts, not IMAP accounts. It is probably a Spotlight caching issue. Spotlight on the iPhone/iPod creates local copies of emails, which aren’t deleted when the originals are.

There seems to be several ways to fix the bug. Sometimes, simply waiting works; the message cache is eventually cleared. It’s also possible to erase the cached messages by loading and reloading them several times, according to Richard from 148Apps.

“From my messing around with email, the message actually disappears after viewing it a few times. At first I thought the email disappeared after deleting it a few times but I simply viewed the messages about 3 or 4 times and it disappeared.”

Instructions for configuring your iPhone POP accounts to delete email after jump:

Apple will host a special media event on Wednesday Sept. 9 (09/09/09) and there will be new iPods but no Apple tablet, according to John Paczkowski of All Things Digital.

Citing “sources close to the company,” Paczkowski says the event will be held in San Francisco — probably at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a smaller venue which Apple has used before.

There will be upgrades to the iPod line and iTunes, which may get integration with social networks, but definitely no tablet:

“Our sources insist it will not involve any discussion whatsoever of the tablet that Apple is reportedly developing.”

Another All Things Digital report last week said Apple was was planning a media event for sometime during the week of September 7th, while the conventional wisdom is now that Apple will not introduce a tablet this year.

Apple usually holds its media events on a Tuesday (which gives the press and VIPs a work day for travel), but Monday that week is Labor day.

If the average digital camera has become a bit ho-hum, Samsung Electronics America may refresh your opinion. The company Monday introduced three new cameras, one with Wi-Fi and two with touch LCD screens — one on the front and one in the traditional rear position.

Never use your iPhone for incriminating or embarrassing emails you might not want others to see.

CoM reader Matt Janssen has just found a bug in the iPhone’s 3.x software that allows deleted email to be retrieved.

In other words, the iPhone and iPod Touch’s Mail app doesn’t properly delete email. Erased email messages can be easily retrieved using a simple search with the iPhone’s built-in search tool.

“Obviously this is could be a major security issue if you think you deleted something from your iPod but it’s not really deleted,” says Janssen. “You can still search through messages that are deleted. And this isn’t messages that are just recent. I found some messages that are over three or four months old.”

The bug could reveal embarrassing email sent or received by cheating spouses, or messages that kids don’t want their parents to see. It’s present in the software for both the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Janssen has made a video to demonstrate the bug. In the video, Janssen creates an email in a standard POP account, sends it to himself and then deletes it. The message appears to be gone from his inbox, but he’s able to retrieve it using the iPhone’s Search function. Janssen has to search for the deleted message twice. On first try, the Mail app crashes and sends him back to the Home screen. But on the second try, the message is retrieved and displayed. It even retrieves messages that are deleted from the server.

“Hopefully Apple will fix it in some later releases,” says Janssen.

Link to Jannsen’s YouTube video.

Today’s deals include factory-refurbished (they have 1-year Apple warranties) iPods, Bluetooth Stereo, a $5 iPhone/iPod car mount and plenty more.

For details on these and other Apple bargains, check out the CoM Daily Deals page.

Google’s Eric Schmidt “resigned” from Apple’s board because Chrome and Android were encroaching on Apple’s core business, or so Steve Jobs says.

But what if the opposite were true? What if Apple is encroaching on Google’s core business?

Later this month, Apple is expected to break ground on a massive new data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

In terms of size, Apple’s data center is as big as they come.

“Apple is planning about 500,000 square feet of data center space in a single building,” says Rich Miller, editor of Data Center Knowledge. “That would place it among the largest data centers in the world… This would qualify as a big-ass data center.”

Question is, what will Apple use it for? Apple’s plans are secret, of course, and some have speculated it’s to support Apple’s growing  MobileMe business and online iTunes stores.

But Miller says the size of the data center hints at something else. Companies building centers this big are getting into cloud computing. Running apps in the cloud requires massive infrastructure: Google-size infrastructure.

“The companies that are building the biggest data centers tend to also have the biggest cloud ambitions,” says Miller.

The full interview with Miller after the jump:

Another fake but interesting spyshot of Apple’s tablet has been published by the French blog Nowhereelse.fr.

Says the blog (in translation): “The ball of rumors and other Fakes is clearly open. After photos of a so-called prototype of the new 3G iPod Touch, here is a rather realistic picture of what appears to be the famous MacTablet that we could in this case call iTouch … Anyway I take my hat off to its author if it is a Fake!”

It is fake. The staging with a Nokia cellphone is just too — well, staged. Plus, would Apple put the Home button at the bottom instead of the sides, where it would be easy to hit with a thumb?

Most interesting is that the tablet is shown displaying the “Welcome” message when installing OS X. Other recent tablet fakes have shown the device running the iPhone OS, or a version of. That of course is the big question: what operating system will the tablet run? We like the idea of OS X.

Pretty convincing  pictures and a video of the upcoming iPod Touch with a camera have surfaced. The pictures and video show clearly the camera and microphone first hinted at in dozens of cases for the device.

Posted to a blog by Maxim Radio talk hosts Covino & Rich, the pictures and video show a prototype device with a distinctive red motherboard and a cracked screen. The blog has published several images of the device.

The prototype was a “durability test phone,” the blog’s tipster said, and was likely tossed out. It was purchased from an iPod parts dealer. According to the tipster, who claims to work with Apple:

-to show it’s real. If you look at the board, it states Apple 2009 very clear. The 2nd gen AKA iPod touch out now, has 2008 on it. They haven’t revised the 2008 touch. I will compare them in pic in a sec.

-BTW, these phones NEVER leave Apple and this one left but it was a durability test phone, so that’s why the screen is all gridded off and cracked.

-The side by side picture is the inside of the current gen vs the 3rd gen (one coming out in September).

-I acquired this from a guy that I buy parts phones and iPods from. I believe he’s a recycler in ***********, so what most likely happened is that Apple threw this away and he some how got it and sold it for parts.

iPhone 3GS users are significantly more satisfied with their device than Palm Pre users are with theirs, according to two reports published Friday by industry analysts RBC IQ / ChangeWave.

82% of iPhone 3GS users reported being “very satisfied” with the performance of their device, while just 45% of Pre owners reported as high a degree of satisfaction. 38% of users said the iPhone 3GS exceeded their expectations, whereas only 18% of Pre users were similarly surprised by the awesomness of their purchase.

Other interesting data points unearthed by the August surveys included news that more than 40% of iPhone 3GS buyers upgraded from prior versions of the Apple smartphone. Among first-time iPhone buyers, 18% switched from Motorola, 11% from Nokia, 9% from Research In Motion, 8% from Sanyo and 6% from Palm.

The 3GS may have bright holiday sales prospects as well, with nearly three in five respondents (57%) indicating they are likely to purchase the iPhone 3GS for someone else in the future.

Not surprisingly, AT&T was at the top of the list of things iPhone 3GS users dislike about the phone, with 55% of users citing it as a negative factor; only 8% of Pre owners reported complaints about Sprint, currently the exclusive network for US users.

Released in June to high praise and glowing reviews, the Pre was dubbed the smartphone most likely to challenge iPhone’s domination of the market segment. It would appear the Palm engineers have quite a bit more work to do on that score.

[NationalPost]