iPhone 5 to get 4-inch screen

The rumors flying around today suggest that the next iPhone will get a 4-inch screen.

DigiTimes is reporting that the fifth-generation iPhone may get a boost in screen space, according to component suppliers in the manufacturing loop. The Taiwanese tech journal, who has had a mixed history with Apple rumors, predicts that Cupertino will make the move in an effort to take on larger-screen Android smartphones that are proliferating in recent months.

Apple releases iPhone 3.0.1 software to fix SMS exploit

Responding to a dangerous security exploit unveiled this week, Apple released an update to its iPhone operating system Friday to patch gaping security hole.

Firmware 3.0.1 is now available for the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS through iTunes. The update is around 300MB. There do not appear to be any other new features or fixes other than the text message exploit patch.

Foxconn reaches compensation deal in employee suicide

Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has agreed to pay US$52,700 plus an additional US$4,400 every year to the family of the engineer who is believed to have committed suicide following the loss of an iPhone prototype.

Movies finally available on German iTunes Store

Germans can at last access movies from their local iTunes Store, Apple has announced. The company has agreed to distribution deals with a variety of major and independent studios, foreign and local, and posted an initial collection of 500 titles for renting or purchase. Some American titles include The Dark Knight and Pineapple Express, while German ones include Die Fälscher and Keinohrhasen.

Purchased movies cost €7.99 for older titles, €9.99 for more recent ones or €13.99 for new releases. Rentals are priced at €2.99 or €3.99, divided simply between library or current status; an extra euro is charged to watch a rental in HD. Only slightly over 100 titles are available to rent in HD.

Retail traffic shows lower iPhone, higher Mac sales

Recent monitoring of 25 hours of foot traffic at Apple Stores may suggest some unexpected figures for Apple’s Q2 2009 results, claims Piper Jaffray. The research firm fanned out to regular and flagship stores across the US, and noted a weighted average of 22 iPhones being sold per day. The figure is said to indicate a 15 percent drop from Q1, and numbers substantially below the November average of 28 and the July and August averages of 95.

While suggesting sales of only 3.7 million iPhones for the quarter, it is thought that Apple may still be able to meet a target of 4.4 million when sales outside of the US are taken into account. The company may have no problems however meeting Mac expectations, as a weighted average of 28 Macs sold per day is said to be well beyond current modeling. The discrepancy is attributed to the March refresh of Mac desktops, and may hint at quarterly sales of 2.2 million rather than the 2.1 million suggested by the Street.

Piper has also begun its first monitoring of iPod sales at Apple Stores, noting that it does not have any figures to compare a weighted average of 44 against. Nevertheless, the firm suggests that the average is consistent with Street predictions of 10 million in iPod sales during Q2. Piper’s price target for Apple stock remains at $180.

source:macnn

$1.29 songs dropping on iTunes charts

The institution of variable song prices on iTunes has directly translated to a decrease in the popularity of the more expensive songs, Billboard finds in a short-term study of the immediate wake of the change. Those songs that were boosted to a $1.29 price typically fell 5.3 places on iTunes’ Top 100 charts on Wednesday and another 2 places on Thursday. In exchange, those songs that kept their 99-cent pricing rose an average of 2.5 spots on Wednesday and 1.7 on Thursday.

In some cases, the changes were enough to push certain songs off the chart altogether. How 69-cent songs have been affected isn’t clear, though these are usually older or less popular titles that are unlikely to chart.

The music charting organization notes that the price increases don’t automatically translate to lost revenue for labels but that it doesn’t necessarily take a steep drop in unit numbers to swing to a loss. A 23.3 percent loss in the number of songs sold is enough to nullify the advantage of a price increase.

A similar study has yet to be conducted on other stores that have also agreed to variable pricing in return for protection-free songs, such as Amazon and Walmart.

With less than a week of sales, the long-term effect of the price cut has yet to be determined. Billboard also warns that other factors can affect the songs’ positions. However, the initial results appear to support views that variable pricing is more likely to deter single-track sales of popular songs.

source:macnn

Apple Launches '1 Billion App Countdown' Promotion

Apple today launched a 1 Billion App Countdown promotion, offering the opportunity for users to enter to win a package of prizes valued at over $13,000.

As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks - a billion. Download an app and you’ll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. Just go to the iTunes Store, browse the App Store, and download your best app yet.

Entries are limited to users 13 years and older from participating countries. Users are limited to 25 entries per day, and the contest closes when the billionth app is downloaded.

Apple offered similar promotions to mark 100 million (2004) and 1 billion (2006) iTunes song downloads.

source:macrumors

Reports: Apple to bulk up iPhone storage

The following article is reprinted from the Today@PC World blog at PCWorld.com.

Apple has ordered large amounts of flash memory to be used in a new iPhone expected in June, according to reports. What makes this report interesting is that Apple is allegedly ordering twice as much flash as it did last year, according to reports from DigiTimes. A large request for flash from Apple backs the rumor of a larger capacity iPhone model, slated for early this summer.

The DigiTimes report continues claiming Apple ordered 100 million 8GB NAND flash chips, mainly from Samsung Electronics. Apple could recombine these chips in the manufacturing process, creating 16GB and 32GB storing capabilities for new iPhone models. One hundred million 8GB chips would be enough for 12.5 million 8GB iPhones or around 3 million 32GB devices.

Speculation around Apple’s massive flash memory order could mean that the long-rumored 32GB iPhone might be on its way and possibly a larger capacity 64GB iPod Touch. In the case of the iPod Touch, 64GB could mean a much higher price, somewhere around $500. A 32GB iPhone is feasible, especially as video-recording capabilities are expected in the new model (requiring more storage).

However, Apple uses this kind of NAND flash chips in other of its products as well, like the iPod nano and shuffle, so at the moment it is not very clear how the Cupertino company will use the 100 million chips. As previously reported, the new iPhone model is expected to feature a better camera (with video recording) and higher storage capacities, besides the 3.0 software improvements announced last month.

Bluetooth 3.0 spec to have Wi-Fi speeds

The Bluetooth SIG today provided early details of the Bluetooth 3.0 spec ahead of a full formal launch. The new format should provide a jump in bandwidth that gives it speed roughly equivalent to common Wi-Fi or several times the 3Mbps speed of Bluetooth 2.0. Transfers will be quick enough to let songs arrive “within seconds,” according to the group. It will also serve as a unique way of establishing one-on-one Wi-Fi connnections: a hand-off mode will use Bluetooth to auto-discover other nearby devices and switch to a direct Wi-Fi link as long as both devices have Wi-Fi as an option.

Equally part of the spec is a new technique known as Enhanced Power Control that prevents a connnection from dropping when a device is suddenly put in an enclosure, such as a bag or a pocket.

More details of Bluetooth 3.0 should be made public on April 21st, when the SIG plans its formal introduction of the technology and identify early supporters of the short-range wireless standard. No plans have circulated outlining when 3.0 will arrive in shipping products and whether any existing Bluetooth devices will be upgradeable.

Notably, Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 will use Bluetooth to establish local network connections similar to what’s contained in the upcoming Bluetooth format, though it’s believed that Apple is using a custom approach and existing Bluetooth 2.1 hardware to achieve the effect.

source:phonescoop

iPhone Skype may be tip of the iceberg for carriers

Though mobile operators say they want more open phone platforms and are moving toward packet-based 4G networks, they are stuck between a future of being “dumb pipes” like DSL or cable operators and a present in which the bulk of their revenue still comes from the sale of voice minutes.

The arrival of Skype for the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms at last week’s CTIA trade show brought the issue to a head. The most popular VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) platform, which claims more than 405 million users, has now made it on to two of the hottest smartphone lines. A free Skype application is available now from Apple’s App Store, and software for two BlackBerry models is set to become available next month in beta testing. Skype lets users make free calls to other Skype customers and inexpensive ones to traditional phones.

The announcements were met with mixed reactions from these carriers in transition. The future 4G technologies LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and WiMax are data networks, where everything is transported as a packet. Technically, that will make any pure 4G carrier with voice service into a VoIP provider. But operators are still trying to figure out how to shift their business models to that environment, as most of their money today comes from voice services that are vulnerable to competition from Skype and others. In 2008, data services still generated only 22 percent of U.S. mobile carrier revenue, according to the CTIA trade association, which sponsored last week’s show.

Click to read more ...