We got our hands on the Waterfield design accessories for the iPhone 4. The two things we have in our test labs is the Suede Jacket and a Smart Case for the iPhone 4. While the smart case is a little bulky the Suede Jacket is pretty compact. Both cases provide good enough protection and also have a extra pocket to house some accessories. This thing also houses the 3GS and cleans the screen (glass) whenever you insert / remove the iPhone in it. Pretty cool, here is the video: [continue reading…]
Apple perhaps is not the only tech company that gets sued every now and then but it sure does makes a lot of news. The latest Class Action lawsuit filed against the Cupertino based co is for over heating iPads. While I never faced this issue of heating with my iPad, it seems that this lawsuit narrows down on over heating quickly in direct sunlight!
Now thats not new! We have seen iPhones shut down in sunlight due to overheating. As it seems the iPhone OS / iOS has a protective [continue reading…]
Great news for all the jailbreakers and unlockers out there, Everything you did so far to install cydia and ultrasn0w/blacks0w/yellowsn0w on your iPhone were legal,
Here is the proof:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) won three critical exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anticircumvention provisions today, carving out new legal protections for consumers who modify their cell phones and artists who remix videos — people who, until now, could have been sued for their non-infringing or fair use activities.
The first of EFF’s three successful requests clarifies the legality of cell phone “jailbreaking” — software modifications that liberate iPhones and other handsets to run applications from sources other than those approved by the phone maker. [continue reading…]
Today, Apple posted some number about iPhone 4 launch, which I have awaited since the launch date. According to the statement issued by Apple today, it sold 1.7 Million in just the first 3 days. That’s a huge amount of sales given the initial hiccups that prevailed while pre-ordering and reserving in the US during the first 24 hours. In fact, it is almost two fold the record breaking iPhone 3GS sales of about 1 Million+ and much much higher compared to the first gen iPhone, which sold only around 2ook – 3ook during the same time slot. The sales figures of its competitors like the latest HTC Evo 4G, latest entry in Android and iPhone’s ‘biggest competition’ (literally!) simply stink in comparison to the Jesus phone. With this, iPhone still holds the record of fastest selling phone, which once belonged to the good old Moto Razr V3.
A big reason that contributes to the sale is the affordable price of the new iPhone, which [continue reading…]
Seems like the success of the iPad has already got its public enemy no 1. Apparently Nokia (who is already in a complex patent lawsuit against Apple since last year) has filed another suit against the Cupertino based co. The iPad 3G and also the iPhone are covered in this suit and Nokia is complaining of 5 patents being infringed this time.
The patents in question relate to technologies for enhanced speech and data transmission, using positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices. These patented innovations are important to Nokia’s success as they allow improved product performance and design.
Going back in history we know that Nokia has sued Apple only to get a counter lawsuit from Apple in return. How will Apple reply this time around? The patent battles in the smartphone / handheld industry is getting uglier by the day. Apple, Microsoft, Google and HTC are the names which have already come in picture (Google is yet to be directly involved in a suit, but with the HTC – Microsoft deal - Redmond did take a shot at Android). While excessive competition is good for the consumers, such patent battles can hamper innovation if not settled properly!
The Apple lawsuit against HTC is quite an example of the increasing patent disputes between smartphone makers. With rapid growth and innovation in the space, the patent bank of any company becomes very crucial. When Apple sued HTC, its relatively weak patent portfolio became the talk of the town. It now seems that HTC is safeguarding itself against anymore lawsuits with this deal with Microsoft which covers Android phones aswell. Apparently Microsoft has claimed that Android infringes on its patents and HTC deal would bring them royalties. Microsoft also said that they are in talks with other manufacturers however no word on a deal with Google or lawsuit yet.
It is believed that Apple has been in a similar mode to threaten smartphone makers working on Android platform. The lawsuit with HTC and Nokia certainly clears their intentions. I am sure that we have just hit the tip of the iceberg in the smartphone patents case. Expecting lot more to unfold in the months to come! [continue reading…]
by Ankur on April 2, 2010
in All, News
We have had analyst predictions already predicting that Android would overtake the apple iPhone in smartphone sales by 2012. The. Calculations aren’t any rocket science. Google has a whole battalion of manufacturers making stuff on the android platform and its no brainer that the only smartphone OS capable of matching up with the iPhone platform is Android (not counting webOS as its exclusive to Palm). At some point, android with the sheer force of multiple manufacturers across the globe would certainly overtake the iPhone. The only question is when would that happen?
Given the fact that Android is now on its way to maturity [continue reading…]
iPhone is undoubtedly a revolutionary phone and Steve Jobs claimed in 2007 launch that its patented. Given the number of Patents these corporations file on a daily basis, it isn’t a surprise that Apple is suing HTC for 20 iPhone related patents. What will follow in the coming months is certainly a long drawn messy court battle where HTC will battle it out with Apple. Incidentally Apple and Nokia are already fighting fiercely in the US courts and ITC for patent disputes. If we go by this trend, almost all cellphone players like RIM, Motorola, Palm would get involved someway of the other soon.
Believe Apple suing HTC addresses the question of why Android held off on implementing multitouch gestures. But why sue HTC and not Palm? – rossrubin
via OnlyGizmos
Apple is no new to patent disputes and crazy lawsuits and here is one of the first lawsuits concerning Cupertino’s latest release – the iPad. A Chinese firm Shenzhen Great Long Brother Industrial Co. is suing Apple for the iPad design, which they claim is patented by them back in May 2009. According to the co they had presented their P88 tablet six months back at IFA (International Electronics Fair in Berlin). While Shenzhen Great Long Brother Industrial Co admits that it is virtually impossible for them to sue Apple in US with this patent, they are keeping their eyes open for a China launch of the iPad to go ahead with their lawsuit.
Apple has already locked horns with Fujitsu over the trademark of the iPad name. Apparently Fujitsu launched the iPad multimedia handheld way back in 2002.
via
RIM Blackberry is the only smartphone that the Apple iPhone is yet to beat in the US. Powered with numerous models appealing to business users the Blackberry Curve and Pearl series were the only devices that surpassed the 3GS and 3G in Q2 2009 sales. However it seems that the year ending might change that with the difference between the two narrowing down day by day.
Blackberry had a fantastic quarter ending November with 10.1 millions units selling compares tio 7.4 million iPhones sold. Currently the Apple gizmo is expected to cross the 10 million mark in quarter ending December 2009. Given the pace at which iPhone is growing, coupled with the failure of Blackberry’s touch handsets Storm and Storm 2 to compete with the iPhone, Q1 2010 might well be a game changer.
In a bid to compete better with the Apple iPhone, RIM had launched its app platform to help Blackberry users get some quality apps from a official channel. While we did see some interesting apps, the 100000 strong iTunes app store is a challenge to crack. Things will certain become much more interesting in 2010 with a Verizon tie-up for iPhone being rumored along with the multitasking + 5MP camera on the iPhone 4G.
Update: Adding more fuel to iPhone vs Blackberry, there are rumors that Apple has sold 11 million iPhone’s in 2009 last quarter.
Calling Apple stock a “must-own technology bellwether,” Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Brian Marshall issued a research note to clients on Monday defending his well-above-consensus iPhone quarterly shipment estimates of 11.3 million units for the three-month period ending December. [Apple Insider]
As the Apple iPhone platform gains popularity with its advanced OS and web friendly applications / interface; an old issue with modern computers comes to light: SECURITY. Spyware and Malware have been great issues for the PC industry to tackle (while Mac has been lucky so far?) and we have all reasons to believe that this would be a challenge for the mobile industry aswell.
One reason why I personally ain’t a great fan [continue reading…]
by Ankur on September 25, 2009
in All, News
Apple and Eminem are on the wrong side of a court battle again. With Eminem’s music publisher Eight Mile Style claiming that Aftermath Records had no rights to allow sales of their songs on the Apple iTunes (i.e. down loadable format). Interestingly Mile Style has received royalties for the tracks in question but that doesn’t stop them from suing Apple. For Apple: With great popularity comes great risks 
With billions in sales, the million $ claim isn’t new for Apple (the amount being claimed here is $2.5 million). Being used to be sued for crazy things, this one is still a more simpler distribution rights case for Apple to handle. 93 tracks in question, hope they settle this out of court soon. The rapper himself is not on the witness list and might not be a party to this dispute directly.
Update: The matter was settled out of court in a few days. No details revealed.
The SMS hack that probably gave sleepless nights to millions of iPhone users is finally patched. Within hours of Charlie Miller disclosing the hack at Black Hat conference, Apple has pushed out the iPhone Firmware upgrade V3.01. A full 280MB download and you are protected.
Of course we expect all jailbreaking and unlocking of your iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS / 3G s to be lost here running the iPhone v3.01 can be done with the same old versions of redsn0w and ultrasn0w. Hope the dev team has something coming soon.
Update: Apparently its not just a silent patch by Apple. They have something to say:
We appreciate the information provided to us about SMS vulnerabilities which affect several mobile phone platforms. This morning, less than 24 hours after a demonstration of this exploit, we’ve issued a free software update that eliminates the vulnerability from the iPhone. Contrary to what’s been reported, no one has been able to take control of the iPhone to gain access to personal information using this exploit. [Engadget]
by Ankur on July 5, 2009
in All
Initially as I heard about iPhone 3G S heating issues, I dismissed it as rumors (or isolated incidents) that we hear of every time Apple has a new launch (remember the iPhone 3G body cracks?). Some silly claim to fame tactics… Adding to my doubt was Macworlds article on the Temperature warning screen on the iPhone 3G / 3GS. However, as late as it may be, I stumbled upon this image of a white iPhone 3GS turning pink [continue reading…]
As expected AT&T is preparing for the data hungry iPhone 3.0 with a HSPA update to its network. This includes new 2100 cell sites with with 20 new areas, 3G speed upto 7.2Mbps (High Speed Packet Access), more bandwidth for high usage areas etc.
AT&T also plans to begin LTE trials by 2010 and bring it main stream by 2011. Well this might help them retain the iPhone that Verizon is eyeing 
. But this announcement from AT&T just before WWDC 09 goes in line with our iPhone 3.0 expectations.
Apple hopes to make iPhone a heavy Internet device. It already holds the maximum mobile internet usage title, but video editing and upload from your iPhone can consume crazy bandwidth. AT&T surely needed an update to their 3G network, the iPhone 3G had put its network to test and as a result Apple+AT&T even faced lawsuits for poor 3G reception. iPhone 3.0 will push the network requirements higher than our expectations IMO and just firmware tweaks wont help AT&T.
[continue reading…]
A sick iPhone / iPod Touch app that allowed you to shake to kill a crying baby has been removed by Apple. Apple issued an apology for approving the app.
The $0.99 app was probably fun for the developer but ended up hurting sentiments of millions (me included). Apple has been weird with its Appstore approval process, many developers have in the past, protested over silly approval process to get listed on the iTunes App Store.
Video below shows the Baby Shaker app:
[continue reading…]
by Ankur on March 15, 2009
in News
Mother of a 15yr old is has sued Apple for damages resulting from an 16GB iPod touch catching fire. The kid had a bad outing at school with the iPod leaving him with 2nd degree burns on his legs - “the Apple iTouch had burned through Plaintiff A.V.’s pants pocket and melted through his nylon/spandex underwear, burning his leg.”
While under what charges Apple is being sued, or what amount is being demanded is not something that interests me. I am worried about an iPOD TOUCH EXPLODING / CATCHING FIRE.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to point out the OTHER possibilities in this case, but we would keep a watch on this story to get you the latest.
The plaintiff suffered second-degree burns as a result of the explosion, according to the complaint, and is seeking in excess of $225,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. An Apple representative said the company does not comment on pending litigation. [Source]
by Ankur on February 15, 2009
in News
Before Apple could flex its muscles and sue its competitors for infringing its multi-touch patents; two Scotlant based comapanies Picsel Technologies and Picsel Research have sued Apple over its screen technology. Picsel holds patent for some technology that ‘accelerates the process of updating the display on a device’. According to them browsing the web, zooming and panning images and docs wont be as fluid / smooth as it is on the iPhone without the use of their technology.
Surprisingly the claim comes almost two years after we first heard of the iPhone. Certainly raises doubts in my mind as to why Picsel didn’t realise this earlier? However Picsel has an impressive list of clients like Motorola, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Palm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Sharp; and their technology is said to be running on more than 250 million units worldwide.
Via MacWorld
by Ankur on November 20, 2008
in News
by Ankur on September 5, 2008
in News
After getting a Clean chit on the Apple iPhone 3G hardware, Apple and AT&T are now facing a second lawsuit this time in San Diego. iPhone 3G user William Gillis claims that the AT&T network cannot handle the millions of iPhone 3G connections sold by them. Thus leading to poor service.
Apple has been blamed for misrepresenting the speeds of the iPhone 3G!
[continue reading…]
by Ankur on August 27, 2008
in News
Doubts over Apple iPhone’s hardware were raised after many users faced issues with 3G reception (a problem acknowledged by Apple). However a independent wireless testing firm Bluetest has given a clean chit to the hardware performance of Apple iPhone 3G, comparing it to Sony Ericsson P1i and Nokia N73.
“At 3G frequencies the Apple device operated on a par with the Sony Ericsson and Nokia gadgets for both sending and receiving signals to and from a simulated base station.” [Telecoms]
These reports hopefully will help Apple in the Lawsuit filed against it for poor 3G reception! However just for the records, both N73 and SE P1 performed marginally better (in acceptable limits) than than the iPhone 3G, probably the iPhone covers up with better software…
by Ankur on August 21, 2008
in News
Apple is not new to Lawsuits, and here is another one to the ever increasing list. This time they have been sued for the poor 3G reception of the iPhone 3G.
An Alabama woman has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the iPhone 3G’s network is slower than advertised. Cnet
The 3G reception issue was recently acknowledged by Apple Ceo Steve Jobs, who admitted that it was a software glitch and is affecting 2% iPhone 3G customers. A software update scheduled for release in September would fix the issue.
by Ankur on August 18, 2008
in News
Macrumors has published a response received from Steve Jobs (or Apple) ref the iPhone 3G reception issues. According to multiple reports on the web it was speculated that the 3G reception issues might be Harware related. But as per the response received by macrumors it is a software issue that is affecting 2% of iPhone users and a update shall be issued shortly.
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