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Memorial Service for Steve Jobs Brings Tributes from Family and Friends
Oct 17, 8:51PM
Memorial services for Steve Jobs continued over the weekend, with one arranged for family and friends at Stanford University's Memorial Church drawing a number of high-profile personalities to celebrate Jobs' life. According to The Wall Street Journal, the service included remarks from a number of Jobs' family members, as well as close friend and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Apple design guru Jony Ive.
Steve Jobs's widow Laurene Powell Jobs, sister Mona Simpson and three of his children spoke at the memorial service held for the Apple co-founder on Sunday, according to two people who attended.The report notes that music for the service was provided by cellist Yo Yo Ma, folk singer Joan Baez, and U2 singer Bono, who read lyrics from an iPad.
...
Both people who attended described the service as incredibly moving and a fitting tribute to Mr. Jobs, who was known as a tech visionary, demanding boss and a fanatic for design. One person mentioned that many speakers cracked jokes about Mr. Jobs, who died on Oct. 5 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Jobs' private funeral was held two days after his death earlier this month and an event for Apple employees will be held this Wednesday. That event will reportedly also include a temporary closure of Apple's retail stores to allow employees to view a live webcast of the service.
iPhone 4S Sales Now Reservation-Only at Apple Retail Stores in U.S. and Canada
Oct 17, 6:22PM
Apple has updated its "how to buy" page for the iPhone 4S to note that Apple retail stores in the United States and Canada are now selling the device on a reservation-only basis. Customers will need to visit Apple's site after 9:00 PM each evening to reserve a phone for the following day.
iPhone 4S is available in store by reservation only. Reserve yours after 9:00 p.m. tonight for pickup tomorrow. When you come in, you'll choose a carrier and plan, and we'll get your iPhone up and running before you leave the store.MacRumors spoke to a representative at one Apple retail store who noted that that location continues to sell the iPhone 4S to walk-in customers but that supplies are "evaporating". But as supplies tighten Apple seems to be pushing customers toward the reservation channel in order to minimize lines and disappointed customers.
It seems unlikely that Apple retail stores would refuse to sell unreserved iPhone 4S stocks to walk-in customers, so the company may simply be taking reservations and then distributing any remaining stock each day on a walk-in basis.
Apple is placing some restrictions on iPhone 4S walk-in sales in other countries as well, noting that it will take reservations for both on-contract and SIM-free iPhone 4S models after 9:00 PM, but only on-contract phones will be offered on a walk-in basis in those countries. Limiting walk-in sales of SIM-free handsets is likely designed to discourage mass sales into the grey market, such as in China where the devices are selling for as much as $2000.
Some AT&T Users Seeing Much Improved 3G Speeds with iPhone 4S
Oct 17, 5:55PM
One of the new features of the iPhone 4S has been the faster HSDPA (14.4Mbps) data support for GSM networks. This theoretically allows the iPhone 4S to see much faster download speeds when on the right mobile carrier.
In the U.S., AT&T; is the only network that could take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the new iPhone 4S communications chip, though there had been some debate about how much of an improvement users might see on AT&T;'s network. AT&T; is purposefully vague about how fast their network can run, and the rollout for the faster speeds remains limited.
Two previous iPhone 4 users have emailed us with speed results that show significant improvements with their new iPhone 4S. The first reader located in New Jersey (image right) was able to obtain 7.71 Mbps down. He reports previous speeds on his iPhone for in the 1-2 Mbps range. Another reader in Iowa (image left) shows speeds up to 5.45 Mbps. He had only previously seen as high as 4 Mbps on his iPhone 4.
The improvements may only be seen in very specific geographic areas depending on AT&T;'s network support. Others have seen no significant change in their network speeds after upgrading from the 4 to 4S.
AT&T; has even been calling this faster HSDPA support "4G", though there is some debate on the correctness of that term. Still, AT&T;'s present network is capable of much faster speeds than both Sprint's and Verizon's.
Adobe Reader Reads Password and LiveCycle-Locked PDF's on iOS [iOS Blog]
Oct 17, 5:39PM
Adobe has released a PDF reader for iOS that is compatible with password locked PDF's and supports files secured by the company's Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management, a DRM scheme that is Adobe offers to enterprise clients. Our sister site AppShopper has more on Adobe Reader: Adobe is a little late to the game with an app for the digital document standard it created in the early 90′s since dedicated PDF-viewing apps, like GoodReader, ReaddleDocs and others, have been available in the App Store for some time. However, it appears to be the only PDF-viewer currently in the App Store that supports files secured by Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management, a DRM protection scheme that's part of a suite of enterprise-level products and services offered by the software company.Adobe has a number of apps available on the App Store, including Photoshop companion apps Eazel, Nav, and Lava on the iPad, and Photoshop Elements 9 Editor on the Mac App Store.
Adobe Reader is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct link]
What Happens When 2 Siris Talk to One Another [Fake] [iOS Blog]
Oct 17, 4:59PM
Well, it had to be done. Two Siris talking to each other.
But even at this early stage of Siri's development, all it takes is for someone to leave 2 Siris lying around and accidentally activate them and press their buttons at the right time in order to let them speak to each other.. and the consequences can be dire.The outcome could get someone fired. The actual back and forth starts about 23 seconds into the video.
Update: Based on the antenna bands these are not 4S units. So, seems like it may have been staged/fake?
Instapaper 4.0 Update Has Simplified Interface and Lots More [iOS Blog]
Oct 17, 4:36PM
Marco Arment has released a major update to his popular reading app Instapaper, bumping it to version 4.0. Instapaper allows users to save articles for later offline reading and strips away the advertising and formatting to present article text in a clean and easily viewed format.
Instapaper is a $4.99 universal app. Arment has extensive notes about the update on his site, but here are a few new features:
The iPad browsing interface has been completely redesigned to feel more at home in the iPad environment. Instead of just being a blown-up full-screen list, it's now a more touch-friendly grid, with all navigation available in any orientation:
The iPhone reading screens also no longer show the top status bar by default (but there's an option to put it back). This gives a larger, less distracting reading area without sacrificing easy access to the toolbar or annoying customers with finicky full-screen tap modes.
Get the full change list from Marco's blog. Instapaper is a $4.99 universal app for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Apple to Stick with Samsung for A6 Chip Production After All?
Oct 17, 3:57PM
Last month, word surfaced that Apple had signed on with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for production of the next-generation A6 and A7 chips destined for future iOS devices. Samsung has been Apple's manufacturing partner for the A4 and A5 chips, but several reports have been claiming that Apple has been trying to shift to TSMC in part because of strained relations between Apple and Samsung over intellectual property issues. The Korea Times now reports that Apple will indeed primarily be sticking with Samsung for A6 production.
"Apple has been in talks with Samsung over shipment of its A6 quad-core mobile processor (AP) chips to be used in the next iPhone. It appears that Apple clearly has concluded that Samsung remains a critical business partner," an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea said on condition of anonymity.The apparent shift back to Samsung for the A6 is said to be tied to TSMC having issues with its production process, with Apple understandably requiring a stable component supplier as it looks toward its next-generation iOS devices.
He said that Samsung has been increasing the output of the Apple-designed A6 chips in its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.
"The manufacturing process at TSMC hasn't been stabilized. Considering Apple's previous patterns of adopting qualified technologies, Apple isn't taking risks. Samsung offers better pricing and capacity commitment for the A6 mobile APs," said an official from a different Apple supplier.The report also touches on the next-generation iPhone even as the iPhone 4S is only just hitting the market, reviving claims of a larger-screened "iPhone 5" design with a 4-inch display carrying the same resolution as the current iPhone.
iPhone 4S Battery Life Worse for 3G Data and Media as Compared to iPhone 4
Oct 17, 2:06PM
iLounge publishes their review of the iPhone 4S and provides one of the more extensive battery comparison testing we've seen for the new model. There's been some ongoing debate in our forums about how the iPhone 4S's battery compares to the iPhone 4. In Apple's official specifications, the company claims the iPhone 4S has an improved talk time but worse standby time as compared to the iPhone 4. iLounge put the two devices to the test.
For tests with 3G Data, Audio Playback, Video Playback, and Video Recording, iLounge found that the iPhone 4S came in under the iPhone 4's battery life times. For Wi-Fi and FaceTime testing they found it to be similiar to the iPhone 4, and on Cellular Calls, they found the iPhone 4S slightly better.
For a detailed and complete list of data see iLounge's review. This graph compiles some of the data (AT&T; only):
One interesting finding with 3G data was that while their Verizon 4S unit ran for the same time as the AT&T; model (~ 5 hours and 54 minutes), they found the Sprint model to lag at 5 hours and 23 minutes. Comparisons across mobile providers may not be completely fair due to differences in signal strength which could impact battery life.
In voice calls, they found the AT&T; iPhone 4 and AT&T; iPhone 4S to have comparable times of around 7 hours and 6-16 minutes. The Verizon 4S model, however, showed a surprising 8 hours and 27 minutes, while the Sprint 4S again lagged at 6 hours and 27 minutes. iLounge notes that the Verizon model may have shown 4 bars more often than the other two.
Both media playback and recording has taken a hit on the iPhone 4S as compared to the iPhone 4. For video recording, of course, it should be noted that the iPhone 4S is recording much higher resolution video than the iPhone 4.
Ultimately, their conclusion on iPhone 4S battery life is based on what your exact usage model is:
If you spend much of your day near a Wi-Fi network and only rely upon the iPhone 4S for web browsing and phone calling, you won't notice a major difference—unless you're thinking of switching to Sprint, in which case we'd be a little concerned. Similarly, if you use 3G data, plan to record or play videos, or want to listen to hours of audio during the day, you can expect greater battery drain from the iPhone 4S.As we mentioned, there may be some confounding data due to regional signal strengths, but given the other complaints about Sprint's data speeds, it still seems to be the worst choice amongst the iPhone carriers. iLounge's full review covers many other areas and is worth a read.
Now, we should note that some users seem to have been experiencing dramatically decreased battery life on their iPhone 4S. One solution to that is said to be the calibration of the battery, in which case you drain your entire battery once and then charge to full. Some have found their battery gauge to be inaccurate until this is performed. Apple includes other tips on their site about improving your battery life on the iPhone.
iPhone 4S Sales Top 4 Million as 25 Million Users Move to iOS 5
Oct 17, 1:01PM
Apple today announced that opening weekend sales of the iPhone 4S topped four million units, easily surpassing the 1.7 million iPhone 4 units sold during that device's debut weekend last year.
"iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever."Apple also announced that more than 25 million users have downloaded iOS 5, which was released last Wednesday for pre-iPhone 4S devices. In addition, over 20 million users have created iCloud accounts.
The iPhone 4S debuted in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on Friday, and the device is set to launch in an additional 22 countries on October 28th. Apple expects the iPhone 4S to be available in over 70 countries by the end of the year.
Impressive Steve Jobs Tribute Made Out of 4001 Post-it Notes [Mac Blog]
Oct 17, 6:06AM
We've all seen the make-shift Steve Jobs memorials found at Apple Retail stores around the world, but one group has taking it to the next level at the Munich, Germany Apple Store.
iOS News reports on the mural that was reportedly created with 4001 Post-it notes. The video shows a timelapse of its creation:
Here's a photo of (we believe) the team who made it:
Head on shot:
This Facebook page has more photos.
Samsung Also Seeking to Ban iPhone 4S Sales in Japan and Australia
Oct 17, 5:19AM
Samsung is further stepping up its legal actions against Apple's latest iPhone in a new series of legal filings on Monday. The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung has filed for preliminary injunctions in both the Tokyo District Court and in the New South Wales Registry, Australia to halt sales of the Phone 4S in those countries.
"We are now counter-attacking Apple again," said James Chung, a spokesman at Samsung Electronics.Samsung has already filed similar requests in France and Italy late last week. The action could also threaten sales of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 in Japan.
The legal battle is ranging all over the world. However, the WSJ notes that last week Samsung had lost a request for ban of Apple products in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Apple has successfully won an injunction preventing the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Apple has also seen some preliminary success against Samsung in the U.S. for the ongoing legal dispute.
Extensive List of Siri's Dictation Commands for iPhone 4S [iOS Blog]
Oct 16, 9:27PM
Many of the voice commands for Dragon Dictation also work in Siri's Dictation service on the iPhone 4S. The new speech-to-text service allows users to press a microphone on the keyboard in any application and then utilize Siri's speech recognition to enter text.
Jim Rhoades of Crush Apps has made an extensive list of commands that Siri's dictation service understands:
"new line" - move to the next lineSee Rhoades' post on the Crush Apps blog for the full list of Siri dictation commands.
"all caps" - make the next word all uppercase
"all caps on/off" - turn caps lock on or off
"smiley" or "smiley face" or "smile face" - :-)
"frowny" or "frowny face" or "frown face" - :-(
"Off Contract" AT&T iPhone 4Ss Already Come Unlocked
Oct 16, 2:47AM
For those awaiting an unlocked iPhone 4S, it seems that Apple is already selling them at retail stores as simply "Off Contract" devices. "Off Contract" devices are sold at full retail price and don't lock you into a contract with AT&T.; The prices for these models are $649, $749 and $849 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB iPhone 4S models.
The finding was noted by 9to5Mac and had also been discussed in the MacRumors forums where multiple users noticed that iTunes informed them of the "Congratulations your iPhone has been unlocked" message from iTunes:
I really have no idea. Part of me thinks it was some kind of glitch. The only thing I can think of is that a paid full price and didn't extend my contract. I ordered through Apple too. I wish there was a way I could confirm it, but I don't have any T Mobile or foreign sims laying around lol - BFW122083
The same thing appeared on mine when I did a restore... I am wondering if it came like this from the factory because I paid the full $849.99 for a 64 GB because my AT&T; contract was not eligible for an upgrade...- mjcxpThe common thread was that they were purchased as off contract devices. Developer @stroughtonsmith has since verified this by purchasing one himself.
Meanwhile, it seems Sprint iPhone 4Ss are also come GSM unlocked according to @gruber who was able to successfully use a Canadian SIM card in his Sprint iPhone 4S. However, Sprint has promised to lock them at a later date.
So, It's the Next iPhone That Will Be a Complete Redesign...
Oct 15, 9:42PM
Only a day after the iPhone 4S launch and rumors of the next Apple iPhone have already started. CNet reports that it's actually Apple's next iPhone that will get a major redesign. Of course, we've heard that before.
Mockup based on previous rumors
CNet cites two sources for the news. First is a research note from analyst Ashok Kumar at Rodman & Renshaw. Kumar claims that Steve Jobs was intimately involved with the next iPhone from concept to final design. Kumar recites features that have been circulating previously, including a slimmer profile and larger screen size.
CNet, however, also has their own source who seems to have very similar information:
Another source, who I spoke with this week and who claims to have knowledge of the redesign, said the iPhone 5 is a "complete redesign. This is a very large project that Steve dedicated all of his time to. He was not that involved in the 4S because his time was limited."Most have already expected that the next iPhone will be a case redesign. With the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple seems to have established a pattern for their releases. A new design (iPhone 3G, 4), and then one with internal improvements (3GS, 4S).
Apple Caused iPhone 4S Activation Issues? [iOS Blog]
Oct 15, 9:26PM
Tales of activation problems on all three U.S. carriers were widespread yesterday. An InformationWeek article claimed that the problem was not with the carriers, but instead was on Apple's end -- specifically with iTunes activation: It was suggested to me by someone with knowledge of the situation that Apple's servers are most likely to blame for the problems. An employee at one of the three major carriers who asked not to be named told me in an email, "Yes, my IT people aren't happy. The activation issue is out of the Apple stores ... on all carriers."An article on iSource.com claims Apple had a "system issue" around 11:30AM Pacific time that affected activation of all iPhones.
Regardless of the difficulties, it seems iPhone 4S launch day was a success for Sprint, AT&T; and Apple -- though Verizon oddly didn't announce any launch-day sales figures -- with most customers getting their activation issues worked out, eventually.
Sprint iPhone Users Complaining of Slow 3G Data Speeds
Oct 15, 9:24PM
Some Sprint customers are reporting slow data speeds now that the iPhone has finally launched on the country's number three network.
There is a lengthy thread on Sprint's discussion boards, with iPhone 4S owners reporting extremely slow data speeds on launch day. Some report having difficulty using Siri over 3G because Sprint's data network was being so unreliable. One user said his Samsung Epic Touch with 4G turned off returned 3-times faster speeds than his iPhone 4S in the same location. Another Sprint user claims that his new iPhone and his Evo 3D are both slow.
A thread in the MacRumors forums shows that while some users are having poor data speeds on Sprint, others are having no problems, so it could be a signal strength or location issue rather than a widespread network problem. Gizmodo's unscientific speedtest survey is showing dramatically slower speeds for Sprint than either Verizon or AT&T.; Sprint is the only U.S. iPhone carrier that offers unlimited data to new customers.
It's unclear if this is just launch-week jitters, a more widespread problem with Sprint's network, or something in between -- as more and more Sprint iPhones arrive in the wild, we should get a clearer picture of Sprint's ability to handle lots of new data-hungry iPhone customers.
How Apple Approached Developing Siri's Personality
Oct 15, 5:23PM
Many readers are now enjoying some of the quirkier responses coming from Siri, Apple's intelligent assistant built into the iPhone 4S. The Wall Street Journal spoke with one of the co-founders of the original Siri and how they approached instilling Siri with personality:
"There were many conversations within the team about whether it should be gender neutral" or "should have an 'attitude,' " said Mr. Winarsky, who didn't go to Apple, and still works at SRI. The result, before the software was bought by Apple, was "occasionally a light attitude," he said.According to a different person who actually worked at Apple on the Siri project, Apple focused on keeping Siri's personality "friendly and humble -- but also with an edge". According to their source, they were thinking "How would we want a person to respond?" while developing the software.
The Siri group is said to be one of the largest software teams at Apple and the crafted responses are to try to forge an emotional tie to customers. MacRumors forum readers are posting their favorite responses in this discussion thread.
Siri launched as an exclusive feature for the iPhone 4S and allows users to speak questions and requests directly to their iPhone.
iPhone 4S Launch Sends Apple Stock to Its Highest Close Ever
Oct 14, 10:33PM
Apple's stock price closed at its highest price ever today, closing at $422.00 as Sprint and AT&T; announced record iPhone Sales. It wasn't an all-time high price for the stock, however. That was reached during intraday trading three weeks ago on September 20, at $422.86.
Apple's fourth quarter earnings will be announced next Tuesday, October 18th at 4:30PM.
iPhone 4S Launch to Double AT&T's Record for Activations in One Day
Oct 14, 9:59PM
Following Sprint's announcement of record sales, AT&T; also announced a very busy sales day. AT&T; didn't break out sales totals for the iPhone, but reports it is seeing record activations. As of 4:30 pm ET today, AT&T; had already activated a record number of iPhones on our network – and is on-track to double our previous record for activations on a single day. These record volumes may produce slower activations for some customers, though our systems continue to run at record levels.AT&T; was Apple's launch partner in 2007, and the exclusive partner until Apple launched the Verizon iPhone earlier this year.
AT&T; hit this record despite their activation servers having difficulties handling the unprecedented demand. iPhone 4S owners reportedly had difficulties with activations on multiple carriers, and not just AT&T.;
iPhone 4S Launch Breaks Sprint's One Day Sales Record
Oct 14, 9:32PM
The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S broke the "device family" one-day sales record today, according to the company. The milestone was breached by 1pm Eastern. Sprint didn't break out sales totals for the iPhone, but Sprint's product chief said today was the company's "best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history." Sprint attributes the strong sales to their "truly unlimited" data plan.
Sprint is the only U.S. carrier to offer unlimited data to new customers. Earlier today Moody's downgraded Sprint's credit rating "citing impacts on the wireless carrier's liquidity and leverage from its decision to invest in its own fourth-generation network assets and the expected phase-out of its failed partnership with Clearwire Corp." according to the WSJ.
This is first time that Sprint has carried the iPhone line. The iPhone was originally an AT&T; exclusive in the U.S. and only expanded to Verizon in early 2011. Sprint is now one of three mobile carriers to offer the iPhone in the U.S.
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