Platehead.com

Apple receives $1 billion from Google for default search

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:27:13 +0000

The iPhone maker gets big bucks for making Google its default search engine on its products.
The stunting growth of the iPad using the Safari browser is a magnet for Google.

hates to lose out on those search results especially when many are starting to ask why not Bing as a search engine .

Google pays Apple $1 billion to be search default

It seemed like an impressive win for Mozilla when the new three-year, $900 million deal with Google was announced. The Foundation derives the bulk of its funding from that search deal and in return Google gets billions of search hits. But that deal may pale in comparison to what Google pays Apple.

According to one analyst, they could be coughing up as much as $1 billion to be the default search engine in Safari on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac systems. There’s plenty of number-crunching that went on to arrive at this figure, but there’s many reasons to believe it’s at least in the ballpark. No phone has been more sought-after than the iPhone since its debut, and the same is true of tablets and the iPad.

Business Insider brings a little hyperbole into the equation, saying that if the iPad continues to grow that it’ll surpass PCs in 5 years — at which point an Apple switch to another search provider could be devastating for Google. They base this speculation on the recent news that iPhoto has dropped Google Maps as a location provider, which some feel is an indication that Apple no longer needs Google at all.

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For sure if they did not make it the default it would not belly up google in any way. Google has too much torque for that

iPhone 5 to Use Gorilla Glass 2

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:09:29 +0000

iPhone 5 and Gorilla Glass

iPhone 5 to Use Gorilla Glass 2. “Smart Case” for iPad 3?

Apple’s new iPad 3 is only one day away from being announced to the public and new details about what to expect tomorrow are still being leaked. On Monday, iLounge editor, Jeremy Horowitz published a report on two Apple products that he believes that Apple will change or retain. Horowitz reported that Apple is working on a new iPad 3 “Smart Case” and new “glass back” iPhone 5.

The report claims that Apple is experimenting with “Glass and ceramic rear shells” for a future iPhone, probably iPhone 5. Although rumors of a aluminum back iPhone 5 have been floating around on the web, sources of the publication indicated that Apple is planning to use Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2, unveiled at CES 2012. The Gorilla Glass 2 will allow the iPhone 5 to be thinner and stronger than previous models and may even arrive without the addition of the 30 pin dock connector.

The report also pointed at the possibility of a larger screen display. Recently, Apple identified Corning as a supplier of screens for previous generations of iPhone, saying that “Corning employees in Kentucky and New York…create the majority of the glass for iPhone.”

iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S all glass design has been a huge success for Apple. Stronger glass could address issues of the device being very fragile. It will be interesting to see if Apple introduces yet another glass based design or goes with aluminum for the fifth-gen iPhone.

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iPhone GPS Blunder leads Police to wrong house

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:28:15 +0000

GPS can at times be misleading as it shows or does not show what really is there.

Police break into wrong house after iPhone mistake

Police smashed down the door to the wrong property – after a stolen iPhone’s GPS software mistakenly directed them to an innocent man’s house.
The victim of the burglary had his iPhone stolen, but had software on his iPad that used satellite technology to trace his stolen phone.

It pinpointed the phone to the house in Sherwood. Nottingham. But when officers broke in they found no trace of it or the burglar.

Landlord Robert Kerr, who says he has been left with a bill of nearly £500 for a new door, said: “How accurate are these trackers? I’m unsure whether they can pinpoint a phone to a specific house.”

Yesterday a leading expert in tracking technology agreed. He said that while the stolen phone app was impressive it could not locate a phone to a single address in a built up area.

Mr Kerr said: “The victim of the burglary has almost made me a victim by saying the phone was in my house when it was not.”
Mr Kerr, who is renovating the property but lives nearby, said: “I feel utterly disgusted with the police. I don’t feel they did enough research before they broke in.

“I understand that they thought the stolen phone was in the property and so I understand why they broke in.

“But what I don’t understand or accept is the refusal to pay for the damage done – especially since nothing was found in the house.”

He has written to police to complain about the incident, but received a letter from a force solicitor saying he will not be receiving compensation.

The letter said: “The iPad showed the location of the iPhone inside your property in Rufford Road. “Officers reasonably believed the offender was hiding inside the property with the stolen iPhone.”

Mr Kerr has now written to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Police say they are not liable for the cost of the door because they “reasonably believed” an offender to be in the house.

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More AT&T throttling case

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:07:53 +0000

Wow this baby is heating up this is our 3rd story on Att throttling

- AT&T is appealing
- $850 awarded against AT&T for throttling
Judge Russell Nadel said it wasn’t fair for
AT&T to throttle Spaccarelli’s iPhone after
he paid for an unlimited data plan,

- Users not too happy
- other are getting in on the act too Verizon
and T-Mobile has a form of throttling too
- Nightmarish for ATT is appeal is lost.

Macworld:

AT&T to appeal ruling in throttling case

AT&T is appealing a California judge’s ruling against the telecommunications giant over its practice of slowing the Internet speed of mobile phone customers with unlimited plans—a practice known as throttling that is gaining wider use in an industry looking to cut costs.

The company’s move following Friday’s ruling should come as no surprise: Half of its smartphone users—about 17 million customers—are on so-called unlimited plans. It could find itself in a legal nightmare if other customers win similar cases.

AT&T isn’t alone in throttling data usage. Verizon has a form of throttling called “data optimization” that went into effect last fall. Data optimization differs from throttling, the company explains, because it’s based on network traffic. So if you’re a top tier user and you’re near a congested data node, you may experience a slowdown, but if you’re not near a congested node, your data speed could be normal.

T-Mobile also is getting into the game. It sent a legal notice this weekend to customers who are on unlimited data plans explaining that starting in April, they will no longer have unlimited data when in an area that piggybacks on another provider’s network. Instead, the notice says, those customers will be limited to a certain amount of usage and will be cut off the Internet until their next billing cycle when they go over. Once they travel back into a T-Mobile service area, they will be able to get back on the Internet, but throttling will occur after a certain amount of usage. The company is allowing customers who complain to avoid early termination fees if they want to cancel their service before the changes take place.

Customers aren’t happy.

When AT&T started throttling data on Matt Spaccarelli’s smartphone, the California man didn’t grouse about it. He took the telecom carrier to court—and won.

Spaccarelli, 39, won an $850 award against AT&T Friday in a decision handed down in a Los Angeles area court.

In making the award, Judge Russell Nadel said it wasn’t fair for AT&T to throttle Spaccarelli’s iPhone after he paid for an unlimited data plan, according to The Associated Press.

Full Story

So what is really behind all this is there a problem with data hogs ? We can understand the action is that always be true but its more than that , it is a grab or rather a push into something that the consumer does not really want.
read on:

Although AT&T says data throttling is necessary to keep data hogs in line, a recent study by Validas, a company that provides advice to consumers on wireless service plans, maintained that throttling is being used to push customers into tiered plans—where customers pay incremental amounts for the data they use—rather than for regulating data gluttons.

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Verizon iphone 5 Rumors

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:44:42 +0000

Our thoughts (from reading other new sources) is that Verizon would be the only choice for the release of the iPhone 5 to began with ,seeing how it has one of the strongest 4G networks with the coverage available in most places in the USA.

- Perhaps a Sept/Oct release Date ?!??
- LTE (Long Term Evolution) to the iPhone 5.
Verizon Wireless is one of the few networks in the
US that is heavily demanding manufacturers to adopt LTE

iPhone 5 Launch Rumour: Will the Smartphone Release in September-October Timeframe?

Contrary to fan expectations, the elusive iPhone 5 release date is shrouded in mystery and there is every chance the 12-month upgrade cycle will be broken. There is also speculation that the delay in its release could signal Apple’s long-term plans for iPhone launches. There are, on the other hand, also rumours the next iPhone is expected in September or October; if the latter is indeed true, then the company’s tradition regarding launch cycles will certainly be upheld.

Further speculations suggest Apple has been ordering parts secretly from an insider representative of a supplier, which hints at Apple’s plans to release the elusive iPhone sometime in September.

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Another source, speaking to iMore last week, said the company was targeting an October launch for an LTE-enabled iPhone 5, besides a March 7 release for the iPad 3. It should be noted that Apple has yet to officially confirm the iPad 3 event; the date was one given Jim Dalrymple at The Loop.

In another development, chip-maker Qualcomm recently released its fifth-generation Gobi chips. Subsequently, information was leaked that suggested the new technology would work in future iPads and iPhones. As the Gobi v5 is a universal chip for every network, the future iPhone is expected to come with 4G LTE option. Verizon is expected to be the first to launch iPhone 5 with 4G LTE, as it has a strong 4G network coverage across the U.S.

Furthermore, expect the next generation iPhone to boast Near Field Communications (NFC) technology rivaling Android smartphones which already flaunt this feature. This new functionality could enable users to make cashless transactions through mobile payment methods.

However, it should also be noted that the iOS is plagued with malware and security issues. So, how safe will the NFC transactions be on such a vulnerable system?

We hope the iOS 6 could be the answer to all security and battery performance hassles that

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The Verizon iPhone 5 will you upgrade from your iphone 4 or will you look at other smartphones?

Nokia Reveals 2 new Smartphones at Barcelona

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:16:42 +0000

Nokia sends out 2 smartphones in hopes of breathing some life back into finances

The Skinny:

- Runs on Windows Platform and has a high-resolution 41 mega pixel camera

- Reasonably priced

Will this be too little too late for Nokia ?

washingtonpost.com

Nokia unveils cheap, new smartphone and high-resolution camera handset at Barcelona trade show

BARCELONA, Spain — Struggling cell phone maker Nokia Corp. has unveiled two new handsets that it hopes will revive its fortunes at the start of the world’s largest mobile phone trade show on Monday.

Chief executive Stephen Elop told reporters at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that the new phones — a low-price €189 ($254) smartphone that runs on Windows software and a handset with a high-resolution 41 megapixel camera — demonstrates “the actions necessary to improve the fortunes of Nokia.”

“With great products for consumers, I think the rest will fall into place,” Elop said.

Analysts said the new smartphone could attract users because of its low price but investors sent Nokia shares down more than 5 percent to €4.10 ($5.50) in afternoon trading in Helsinki, erasing a big boost it gained on Friday in anticipation of new announcements at the trade show.

Nokia has lost its once-dominant position in the global cell phone market, with handsets running on Google’s Android software and iPhones enjoying booming popularity.

The Finnish company is attempting a comeback with smartphones using Microsoft’s Windows software in what Elop has called a “war of ecosystems.”

“We will accelerate our global reach with new mobile devices and services,” Elop said.

Malik Saadi, an analyst at the London-based Informa Telecoms & Media, said the introduction of Nokia’s new Lumia 610 smartphone means the company is “now one step closer to bringing its (Windows Phone 7) to the entry level smartphone segment” and “clearly shows strong dedication” by Nokia to its Windows strategy and smartphones for the non-U.S market.

Nokia launched its new Windows Phone 7 in October, eight months after Elop announced a partnership with Microsoft Corp., in a major strategy shift for the firm. Nokia said it would gradually replace the old Symbian platform used in its smartphones with the Windows operating system.

Full Story Here

The Coolness of The Samsung Galaxy Note

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:16:02 +0000

The New Samsung Galaxy Note is a large phone but still fits in your pocket.I like the bigger screen as the older you get the dimmer the eyes get and it is easy to read.

Samsung Galaxy Note is part phone, part tablet

The Note ($299 from AT&T with a two-year commitment) sports a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.

Compared with the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen, the Note could be called a small tablet.
In fact, it’s the first phone I can remember since my beloved Handspring Treo that comes with a stylus.
But it’s more than a tablet — it’s also a 4G LTE smartphone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Everyone I showed it to did two things — they put it in their pocket and they held it up to their face.
Almost everyone said it was too big to be carried around in a front pocket, and they felt funny holding up such a large device to their ear to make a call.

Fair criticisms.

I’m a pretty big guy, and I carried the Note around for a few days in my front jeans pocket, but it didn’t feel any bigger than my iPhone to me.
I have to admit I thought it was rather large for making phone calls. I liken it to holding up a paperback book to your ear.
But the size would not dissuade me from buying a phone as big as the Note.
So, it felt a little funny — how did the Note perform?

Flawlessly.

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I love my iPhone and am waiting for the iphone 5 to come out buy the Samsung Galaxy Note is making me think twice. As the commercial on TV says its more than just texting and calling. Its like having a tablet along for the ride.

iPhone ,The Costs to Make

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:53:30 +0000

Apple makes a killing on iPhones. Their cost is apx $30 per unit… Hummm thats a big profit margin.
iPhone workers get $1.78 an hour ?

CNET
iPhone manufacturing costs revealed?
An unprecedented peek behind the curtain of Foxconn’s factories in China may have revealed new hints to how much it actually costs to make each iPhone.

ABC’s “Nightline” was recently given access to the factory floor, and the resulting reporting has provided some new insights into exactly how iPhones are built, a part of the gadget’s gestation process that’s typically been a very closely guarded trade secret.

Horace Dediu, blogger, analyst, and former business development manager for Nokia, tried to parse some of the clues and came to some interesting conclusions.

Dediu took two key revelations from the “Nightline” report–that each iPhone takes 24 hours to be built, including 6 to 8 hours of software and component “burn-in” and testing, and that workers on the line make $1.78 an hour.

He then ran that information through some calculations to come up with a new cost range for the labor it takes to make each iPhone, and found the following.

Those costs are likely to range between $12.5 and $30 per unit.

Labor costs are still a small part of the overall cost structure at between 2 percent and 5 percent of sales price.

The high level (141 steps) of human interaction in the process could be automated. However, the fact that it isn’t implies that the cost of automation would be higher and the flexibility of the automated process would be lower.

Full Story Here

No T-Mobile Iphone 4S leads to Deactivation Contacts

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:30:19 +0000

The quick scoop of the iPhone T-Mobile is:

CEO Philipp Humm said that the company will invest to grow the business and bolster its network, and also noted that “not carrying the iPhone led to a significant increase in contract deactivations in the fourth quarter of 2011.”

Not carry the iphone lead subscribers jump ship to the iPhone 4S available from other mobile providers.Apples iPhone is wanted by Tmobile customers but Tmobile cannot provide

zdnet.com

T-Mobile: iPhone 4S launch killed us as contract customers fled

T-Mobile just couldn’t compete with the barrage of iPhone 4S devices coming from rivals AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

The company said that it ended the fourth quarter with 33.2 million customers, down from 33.7 million at the end of the third quarter.

In addition, T-Mobile saw net customer losses of 526,000 in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, T-Mobile added 126,000 net customers.

The problem? T-Mobile doesn’t have the iPhone 4S. The company said in a statement:

The sequential and year-on-year increase in customer losses is a result of intense competitive pressure from the launch of the iPhone 4S by three nationwide competitors in the fourth quarter of 2011. In addition, higher connected device deactivations contributed significantly to the net customer loss in the fourth quarter of 2011, including a nearly 265,000 deactivation related to one customer with a yearly service revenue impact of less than $1 million.

What’s unclear is T-Mobile’s path forward. CEO Philipp Humm said that the company will invest to grow the business and bolster its network. Humm also noted that “not carrying the iPhone led to a significant increase in contract deactivations in the fourth quarter of 2011.”

Full Story

The Tmobile iphone is available in UK.Unlocked iphones are currently being used on T-Mobile in the USA

T-Mobile iPhone Deals

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:41:05 +0000

The T-mobile iPhone 4 is available on a several UK networks.

Top T-Mobile Deals For The iPhone 4

Despite the release of a newer iPhone version, the apple iPhone 4 continues to sell well. The iPhone 4 is available on a number of tariffs from various UK networks, with some of the more notable deals offered by T-Mobile. In this article I will look at few of their most popular tariffs, and what you get for your money.

The cheapest iPhone 4 deal currently offered by T-Mobile costs £21 per month and has a duration of 24 months which is now the standard in the UK for most networks. Unlike a lot of other deals, the handset is not actually included for free, but requires a small initial charge of £19.99 when you take out the contract. The monthly allowances of this package are modest but offer great value for money for such a high tech phone. Included in the price is 50 minutes of free calls to any UK networks at any time of day. If this allowance is exceeded in a given month then normal call charges will apply. 250 free text messages are also included, which is approximately 8 per day. Finally, 750 MB of data allowance is included. This is far more than the average person will use in a month, so this should suit the needs of most users. Also, Wi-Fi browsing is free of charge and has no limits, offering a great alternative to using the 3G coverage that T-Mobile provides. If you mainly use your phone for text messaging and internet usage, this is an ideal package which offers great value for money. If you use the phone call function regularly though, then you may be interested in another T-Mobile package.

Source Here

The T Mobile iphone version is not avalable in the USA, You need to go the unlock route to use T-Mobile for your iPhone.

AT&T Throttling Still?

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:28:14 +0000

We reported just a few weeks ago about AT&T throttlimg unlimited date plans,well not much has changed except the complaints pilling up

dslreports.com
Is AT&T Easing Off Throttling?
Throttled Users Claim Slightly Faster Speeds
… AT&T’s waging a quiet war on those “unlimited” data users it had agreed to grandfather when it eliminated unlimited data back in 2010. One, those that legally jailbreak and use unofficial tethering options are automatically being moved to metered service as punishment for refusing to pay AT&T a fee for doing nothing. Two, users on “unlimited” plans say they are being throttled after 2 GB so that they’ll voluntarily make the shift to AT&T’s metered plans (3GB is now offered for the same price).

Complaints about the AT&T practice recently reached a fevered pitch in the mainstream media, with thousands of news outlets picking up on the story. The news may have resulted in AT&T adjusting their practice a little. User en103 See Profile directs our attention to the fact that several users over at Howard Forums claim their “throttled state” is slightly less throttled, with users now seeing speeds of between 240 to 300 kbps, up from
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Next Chip iPad and iPhone 3G 4G compatabile

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:16:00 +0000

The AT&T iPhone 4 had a modem that allowed it to connect to 3G with the mgf being Infineon
Then the Verizon version of the iPhone 4 chip by Qualcomm
The Verizon iPhone 4 supports both GSM/UMTS and CDMA/EV-DO networks but did not have a sims card

Hey some common sense here please Apple!

dailyfinance.com
This Chip Will Be in the Next iPhone and iPad
Back to the future

Now that we’re all up to speed, Qualcomm has just released the fifth generation of its Gobi platform, which broadens its connectivity support to 4G technologies, along with backwards compatibility with good old 3G. These chips, the MDM9615 and MDM9215, will basically be able to handle any network you throw at it.

We’re talking about GSM, CDMA, and both new flavors of 4G LTE. Frequency-Division Duplex, or FDD, LTE is used by most LTE networks, including the ones that Ma Bell and Big Red are in the process of building out domestically. Meanwhile, China has been developing its own variant, Time-Division Duplex, or TDD.

You might also note that China Mobile’s (NYS: CHL) 4G network will be of the TDD LTE variety and that the carrier has reportedly received a “positive answer” from Apple on compatibility. China Mobile is the largest mobile carrier not just in China, but in the world. It’s also the last remaining major carrier to get the iPhone, after rivals China Unicom and China Telecom have already been invited to the iPhone party.

The imminent iPad 3 is allegedly set to have 4G LTE, with multiple outlets backing this rumor, and production may have started as early as October. That may seem like this fifth-generation Gobi may be too late to make it into the iPad 3, but Apple is known to lock down supply as soon as possible, so I wouldn’t too surprised if Qualcomm and Apple have been working behind closed doors before these chips were released to the broader market.

In fairness, I’m the first to admit that I’ve been wrong with iDevice component predictions before, but I think the case for these Qualcomm chips is a lock for the next iPhone, and maybe even the iPad 3. Even if the iPad 3 doesn’t sport these specific chips, it would almost certainly use another member of Qualcomm’s Gobi lineup.

Full Story here