Although we won’t know exactly how many iPhone 4s were sold on the first day they hit shelves until Apple releases the official figures, one analyst pegged first-day demand at 1.5 million handsets. That is 1.5 times as many handsets the Cupertino, Calif. firm sold during the first three days in 2008 and 2009.
Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner understands these first-day prognostications are somewhat futile. Such announcements have “become something of a national sport, a bit like guessing whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow,” he admitted to investors Friday. Still, that doesn’t keep analysts — or the press – from playing along.
Having problems with your iPhone 4 reception when you touch the bottom of your device? According to antenna expert Spencer Webb, don’t blame Apple… blame the FCC.
Just about every cell phone in current production has the antenna located at the bottom. This insures that the radiating portion of the antenna is furthest from the head. Apple was not the first to locate the antenna on the bottom, and certainly won’t be the last. The problem is that humans have their hands below their ears, so the most natural position for the hand is covering the antenna. This can’t be a good design decision, can it? How can we be stuck with this conundrum? It’s the FCC’s fault.
You see, when the FCC tests are run, the head is required to be in the vicinity of the phone. But the hand is not!
Basically, because phones have gravitated away from clamshell or extendable antenna designs, and because the FCC has rigid guidelines on how much radiation a cellphone is allowed to pump directly into your skull, Apple had to put the antenna at the bottom of the phone… right where most people will grab onto it.
When Apple rejected WiFi Sync from the App Store, speculation was that their reasons had a lot to do with future Cupertino’s own plans to allow iDevices to sync with Macs wirelessly.
The latest Jobs’ email lends some credence to that theory. Rick Proctor wrote Jobs and asked, “Do you think you will ever allow syncing iPhone to Mac over wifi?”
Jobs’ terse but cheery response: “Yep, someday.”
Excellent news. I’m sick of syncing my iPhone through wires like some sort of caveman. If we get wireless syncing, though, is it too much to ask for inductive charging as well?
We are being told of a problem using your iCal application after upgrading to iOS 4.0: you travel back in time. Seems users are reporting that old events reappear as new in the iPhone 4.0 version of iCal.
“And it seems to be able to loop, reminding you of the same event numerous times (I’ve seen as many as 4 reminders for one event. In the past.)” one blogger wrote. Another problem: syncing. One user who emailed Cult of Mac said he was unable to sync his MacBook iCal items with his iPhone 4.
Others report problems retrieving items from their Google Calendar.
“After new iPhone 4.0 update, my iPhone calendar will not pull in all of my calendars created in google calendar. The only thing pulling in is my main (primary) email account calendar–but all of the other ones are missing.” A user identified as a Google employee suggested using a gmail account to gather email.
The apparent iCal troubles aren’t the only complaints being aired following Apple’s release of the iPhone 4. Talk arose about a yellow screen and dropped calls due to “wrong” hand placement. That last report, which pointed to the iPhone’s antenna, prompted Apple CEO Steve Jobs to speak out. “Avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases,” Jobs suggested.
You’re probably sick of reading about the iPhone 4, so here it is in a nutshell: It’s slick as sh*t and I recommend without hesitation that you buy it.
No yellow spots
Holding it the “wrong way” drops bars, but it doesn’t matter much to performance.
It doesn’t scratch that easily, no matter what you’ve read.
We’ve been able to replicate the iPhone 4 radio reception ‘Death Grip’ with older iPhones, and speed tests show that network performance is perhaps more complex than the number of bars in the upper left corner.
Buzz in the blogosphere as hordes of consumers began using their shiny new iPhone 4s on Thursday was all about whether Apple might have a problem on its hands with the device’s antenna. With some uncertainty as to how widespread the problem might be and as to whether it could be something hardware or software related, it does appear possible to hold the iPhone 4 in such a way as to cause it to lose reception and drop calls in progress.
A Macrumors reader reportedly emailed Steve Jobs about the issue, asking “What’s going to be done about the signal dropping issue. Is it software or hardware?” — to which Jobs initially replied in his classic, koan-like manner, “Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way.”
In a more considered followup response that some are considering an “official statement” from Apple on the matter, Jobs called the problem “a fact of life for every wireless phone,” and advised users to “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases. ”
No matter how this plays out in the coming days and weeks one thing certain is that, be it truly a hardware problem or merely a software issue — it’s not going to make AT&T any new friends in the U.S.
I just confirmed that the iPhone 4 loses reception when the antenna band is touched. Plus, it’s enough to make the iPhone drop calls. This is a serious problem, and I can’t believe Apple let this slip through.
My new iPhone 4 drops from full reception (four-to-five bars) to just one bar in a matter of a few seconds when my fingers and thumb are touching the antenna band. See the video above. But when I take my fingers off the sides and hold the iPhone by its glass back, the number of bars quickly climbs to five again. The problem was first reported by Gizmodo, and seems to widespread, if not universal.
It’s enough to make the iPhone drop calls. I just tested it by calling my office phone. Holding the iPhone in my left hand, reception plummeted and the call dropped.
Today is iPhone 4 day and like the rest of you I got up early today. I’d say way to early since it was 4:00 am and I was surprised to find out that my alarm clock on my iPhone could be set to such an early hour. The engineers at Apple HQ in Cupertino could not have done a better job on that alarm, but for once I was wishing they’d screwed it up since I think it should be a crime for an alarm clock to ring before 5:00 am.
We start off the deals with “RedLaser,” a barcode scanning application for the iPhone. We also check out a flexible bluetooth keyboard for the iPad and a replacement dock for your iPhone 3G. Along the way, we check out a number of applications for your iPhone and iPad.
As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
Author Farhad Manjoo does a fabulous job of “capturing something that feels like magic” behind Apple and the company’s success by delving into its relationships with current partners such as San Francisco design firm Eight, Inc., by speaking with former employees and others who have watched the company for years, and coming away with 10 essential lessons for any company wanting to become the Apple of its industry.
Of course it’s well known the secret to Apple’s success — notwithstanding Steve Jobs’ personal direction — is nothing more than “discipline, focus, long-term thinking and a willingness to flout the rules that govern everybody else’s business.” And yet, as Manjoo discovers, it’s also much more.
There’s a great series of photographs showing everyday, normal people dressed in the Steve Jobs “uniform” of jeans, running shoes and long-sleeve black mock turtleneck, from which one comes away amazed that only Jobs himself doesn’t look like a total dweeb wearing it. There’s a fabulous graphic by Jeremy Caplan, the iCensus (possibly available only in the print article), depicting who matters (and who doesn’t) in Apple Nation.
And in the end we learn how clues to the future are already built in to Apple’s most current products, and why “we’ll only be able to spot them in retrospect.”
Remember the days when Apple was considered a company with its majority of sales within the United States? Well, that was before the iPhone burst onto the scene. In 2010, international sales will account for 80 percent of iPhones purchased, an analyst told clients Wednesday.
Internationally, Apple has six times as many iPhone owners than in the U.S., according to Gleacher & Company (formerly Broadpoint AmTech) analyst Brian Marshall. Combined, Apple’s 150 international carrier partners have 460.7 million subscribers. AT&T, which has the exclusive U.S. iPhone market, offers just 65.1 million postpaid subscribers.
Just a quick note from my commute: the line at the flagship Apple Store in San Francisco’s Union Square is stunningly huge, spanning the enter length and width of the block, and then wrapping around the corner for who knows how far long.
This is subjective, but this line is dwarfing what I saw for the iPhone 3G launch, which was by far the biggest previously. If Apple has supply, they’re going to sell two million phones this weekend alone…
Although the iPhone 4 has stolen some of the spotlight, demand for the iPad remains strong, suggesting Apple will have trouble into November building enough units, one analyst said Thursday. Apple is building 7.5-9 million iPods for the September quarter.
“Our checks in the supply chain indicate Apple iPad demand continues to outstrip supply,” Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh told investors Thursday morning. This indicates “solid preorder/order trends on the iPad given build visibility now extending into November,” he adds.
Stormtroopers Unboxing the iPhone 4 (Photo: clone77)
Now here’s a classic set of unboxing photos! Over at Clone77’s 365 days project the newest iWonder gets the Imperial delivery and setup treatment from an industrious bunch of mini Stormtroopers. Love the coordinated effort, and use of the lightsaber for cutting the plastic!
Clone77 appears to be on a yearlong project to expose his troopers to the wider world, very entertaining. The iPhone 4 arrived on Day 133.
Thanks to the always-enjoyable iPhoneSavior for the tip.
If you’re about to buy a new iPhone 4, you should consider selling or trading in your old one.
If you want to sell your old iPhone on eBay or Craigslist, take a look at our guide — How to Sell your iPhone Online — which tells you how to wipe the data and good strategies for getting the best price.
Selling your iPhone online will get you the best price, but will likely involve a degree of hassle, of course. Probably the easiest, hassle-free way to get rid of your iPhone is trading it in with Gazelle, an electronics recycling service.
You can even trade in your iPhone from your iPhone. Here’s how:
What happens when you strap a $1700 digital SLR camera doing full HD video to a $2k remote controlled helicopter? You get amazing freaking video.
Another example of what you can do with a few grand worth of equipment that would cost tens of thousands of dollars to do with a real helicopter (not to mention, would also be super dangerous)
If you’re eager to ensconce your iPhone or iPod Touch in the shell of a far inferior (but nostalgically remembered) medium of analogue music delivery, the iPhone Cassette Tape case looks like a great buy. Not only does it look pretty sweet, but once your iPod or iPhone is inside, all you need to do is flip the cassette shell around to make it functional as a stand.
Unfortunately, they are only available to purchase in bulk right now, but some geek-oriented web outlet is sure to start selling them individually as soon as their own orders are in.
Cupertino’s been having some problems lately when it comes to yellowing on their more ambitious displays, and it looks like the iPhone 4 is no exception: numerous owners are reporting that their iPhone 4 Retina Display have come with visible yellow bands and spots.
Gizmodo’s up to 27 cases of yellowing and counting, which certainly seems like a huge number given the fact that the iPhone 4 isn’t even officially on sale yet. And a reader poll on Engadget has the number of yellow iPhone 4 retina displays at over eight thousand, or a little over 38% of those with iPhone 4s polled.
Anyone out there with an iPhone 4 noticed the same issue? If this is true, between the antenna issues and the screen yellowing, this might be the most problem prone hardware Apple has released in a long time.
Just a few hours before the iPhone 4 officially goes on sale, Apple has dropped iMovie for iPhone onto the App Store.
The $4.99 app will allow users who own an iPhone 4 (and presumably future video-capable iPads and iPod Touches) to edit and share videos directly from their handset, adding everything from transitions, background music and titles to your clips before shooting them off to YouTube, MobileMe or to a friend via e-mail.
There’s nothing out there when it comes to mobile video editing like iMovie for iPhone, so if you plan on stitching together some movies on the go, this is your best and only real choice. Just one caveat: while you can export your videos to your computer at 720p, any emails you upload to YouTube, MobileMe or send out by e-mail will be downgraded to 568×320… almost definitely to help accommodate 3G network providers.
I’m an iPhone 3G owner, and am pleased that my “nearly obsolete” two year old iDevice qualifies for the iOS4 upgrade. I understand (and am satisfied with) the trade-offs Apple made to minimize the performance hit on this model, but as others have reported I’ve noticed a distinct slowdown in my iPhone since upgrading. Apps take longer to load, Mail messages open slower, the whole system just feels more sluggish.
A comment posted to MacInTouch suggests that a double Hard Reset of the phone may help minimize this problem, and indeed this has noticeably seemed to help with mine.
A couple of weeks ago, we posted a link to a stress test the guys over at iFixYourI performed on the iPhone 4, showing that while it was fairly bend proof, it easily shattered when dropped.
The problem with their test was that since the iPhone 4 hadn’t been released yet, they had simply conducted their test with an empty iPhone 4 case and display, which prompted our commenters to raise some excellent points that a hollow iPhone 4 was more likely to be easily broken than one with all the electronics innards tightly packed inside.
Here’s the follow through. iFixYouri have done another drop test on a real iPhone 4. Frankly, I’m surprised how well the real iPhone 4 holds up to dropping it from waist height onto concrete: three successive drops breaks the phone, while the fourth shatters it, but I’d actually consider that pretty good for an unprotected handset made largely out of glass, wouldn’t you?
Following the steps of their comic book competitors Marvel, DC Comics has just released their own iOSself-branded comic reading app for iOS, built for them by Comixology.
Like the Marvel app, comics cost between $0.99 and $2.99 an issue, and there are some free comics available… although the selection of those is quite paltry compared to Marvel’s offerings, although no doubt this will change. The best freebie right now is probably a black-and-white comic by Neil Gaiman and Simon Bisley that portrays the Joker and Batman as actors working on a television series.
Otherwise, if you’ve used Comixology or the Marvel app, you’ll be pretty familiar with how the DC Comics app works. It really only trades in Spider-Man for Superman.
According to LOOPRumors, Apple intend to host a special event in the next sixty days to reveal a refreshed, touchscreen iMac, and will come preinstalled with both OS X and iOS. A hybdrid iMac/iDevice, as it were.
Needless to say, it’s a lie, and you have to be pretty gullible to believe it. While it looks likely that Apple will try to merge OS X and iOS over time, it’s not going to happen in the next “sixty days.”
