Apple stores to add iPhone activation staff
September 20th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
Apple’s iPhone needs to be activated in store. This has never caused efforts for Austrians – but has become a major problem in the USA, where extremely long queues at Apple stores have become the norm rather than the exception.
TheAppleBlog reports the following:
The plans require changes to the store layout to make space for a dedicated space, a la Genius Bar, but titled “iPhone Activation Zone.” This new zone will be manned by a new category of Apple Store staff, named “iPhone Experts,” sporting unique name badges and t-shirts.
MacRumours says that the service requires customers to have already completed the pre-authorization process online, presumably before coming to the store.
Even though the move will likely help raise customer satisfaction, I am not sure whether it really is needed after all, those who queue up have already decided that they want an iPhone…
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China Unicom to Sell iPhone in China
August 15th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
They’ve been made in China, they’ve been counterfeited in China, and now they can finally be bought in China. Apple and Chinese cell carrier China Unicom have reportedly reached a deal to bring the iPhone to the East.
According to the International Business Times, China Unicom threw down cash on 5 million phones. The carrier plans to sell an 8GB model for 2,400 yuan, which is a about $350, and a 16GB model for 4,800 yuan, which you could probably guess is around $700.
Though the article didn’t mention, I would assume Apple is selling China Unicom the iPhone 3G. Though there’s been some speculation about an 8GB 3GS, there still isn’t one made, and it’s certainly not like Apple to announce one by simply mailing it overseas.
What is clear is that Apple is planning on China becoming a huge market for their flagship device. Another 5 million phones in circulation is more than 10% growth over total figures, and that’s on the low end. It could be as high as 15-18%.
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iPhone Security Exploit Via SMS
July 30th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner, two cybersecurity researchers, have discovered how to completely hijack any iPhone through an SMS. They plan on releasing more details and potential how they do it later today at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.
They claim that they have the power to, using lots of burst of SMSs send to an iPhone, to completely take over the iPhone. They can then use the hijacked iPhone to send more SMSs and take control of more iPhones.
Apple have not yet fixed this rather serious security issue even though Charlie and Collin actually informed them of it over a month ago.
They have said that after Thursday afternoon (today) if you receive an SMS with only 1 single square character, it will crash your iPhone.
We suspect that Apple will fix this exploit in the 3.1 firmware update with is rumored to be released on the 1st or 2nd of September.
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iPhone Sales Figures Across the World
July 30th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
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24k Gold iPhone 3G decorated with Diamonds
July 30th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
The iPhone is an undisputed ruler in the mobile phone industry, extending which Sayn Design doesn’t want to leave a single stone unturned to send all in Apple’s favor. And the consequent product is the Apple iPhone 3G limited Diamond deluxe Gold Edition that comes wrapped in 24k gold, together with an integrated 18k Gold Sayn Design crown, which is decorated with 0.20 carat brilliant cut diamonds.
Touting the German handcrafted tradition, the Apple iPhone 3G limited Diamond deluxe Gold Edition is further enhanced with 53 (50 carat) diamonds. Installed with all the basic features of the iPhone 3G and Sayn Design themes and background pictures, the limited edition luxury phone will come in a limited edition of 500, each of which will come wrapped in an exclusive wooden box.
Description:
Limited Diamond deluxe Edition Gold
iPhone 3G 16GB legally unlocked, no Sim- and Netlock, newest Firmware
you can use this mobile with every carrier in the world, quadband mobile
Refinement:
- Device 24k gilded, protected by nano-technology surface
- Applications made out of 18k gold
- Diamonds in brilliant cut , with 0,65 carat, best quality without inclusions
- Exclusive wooden box out of Root burl walnut veneer
- Background pictures and themes of Sayn Design
- Refinement Hand-Made in Germany
Diamonds in brilliant cut are set in the 18k gold applications. The brilliant cut guarantees you the best shining.
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AT&T Plan with iPhone VS iPod Touch with Mi-Fi device and data plan
July 23rd, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
A few days ago came the rumor from Wired, that the upcoming iPod Touch will have a microphone and camera, making it one step closer to becoming an iPhone. One of the things the article mentioned was the ability to use Verizon’s Mi-Fi service and turn the iPod Touch into a mobile device through the use of Skype or the new Google Voice service.
I thought about maybe doing this as I looked at my AT&T bill and saw how much was being drained every month and wanted to give Mi-Fi a shot. But before doing so, I had to do some research on the costs and if it’ll even be worth the hassle.
Cost of my current AT&T Plan and iPhone:
Monthly iPhone bill after FAN discounts: About $90 with data, text messaging plan and taxes.
Cost of the iPhone 3G: $299 for the 16GB
Cost of the Mi-Fi device, data plan and an iPod Touch:
iPod Touch 16GB: $299
Mi-Fi: $99 from Verizon after online discount. That’s with a 2 two-year data contract. One-year contract from Verizon costs $169.99. The price jumps to $270, if you decide to go with a month-to-month plan.
Data price: $60 a month without text messages or phone service.
Assuming I get a two-year deal like the iPhone plan, I’ll pay a total of $459 for the first month, before any taxes. That includes the cost of the iPod Touch, Mi-Fi device and data plan.
My first month’s cost of the iPhone 3G plan equaled a little over $400 after activation and other charges, including the cost of the phone.
Every month after, it’s $90 or more for the iPhone plan, while the Mi-Fi plan is $60 before taxes.
Now that you have all the numbers set, the iPod Touch with Mi-Fi service still lacks text messaging and calling. You’ll need to make phone calls and text right?
I have the Google Voice service and have been using the VoiceCentral App to send texts and make calls. With the Mi-Fi providing internet service, I can use the Google Voice service for free.
- After a two-year iPhone contract, I would have paid over $2,460 with the cost of the iPhone.
- After a two-year Mi-Fi contract, I would have paid $1,840 after the cost of the iPod Touch and the Mi-Fi device.
- iPhone 3G Battery Life: Lasts over a day with mild game play, phone calls and texting.
- Mi-Fi Battery Life: About 4 hours of active use.
The savings on the device are pretty solid, over $600, and the Mi-Fi does have the added benefits of providing wireless internet for more than one device and with Verizon’s coverage, you can have access in many places you normally won’t with AT&T and Sprint.
After doing some of this research, I was still intrigued with the Mi-Fi device and actually wouldn’t mind going through the hassle to test out the service. Now, if the savings were higher, I probably would have made the switch for at least a year.
I don’t know how many people are willing to go through the hassle of carrying two gadgets and using a 3rd party software to make calls and send text messages, while dealing with battery issues, to save $600 bucks. Would you?
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Apple iPhone 3GS in the Philippines
July 16th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
Barely 18 days before Globe Telecom’s official launch of the iPhone 3GS, our friendly neighbors in Greenhills are already hawking Apple’s third-generation iPhone.
An unlocked 16GB iPhone 3GS goes for P49,000, and a 32GB variant for P75,000. Wow, at least the 16GB 3GS is much less than InfoMax’s 16GB Unlocked iPhone 3G price (P61,500).
A heart-attack-inducing P75,000 price for the 32GB
But I really wonder if anyone would be willing to spend that much to get an iPhone 3GS ahead of everybody else in the Philippines. I mean, you could get a decent laptop for that price right? And don’t get me started with the paying P26,000 more just to get an extra 16GB of memory.
In any case, if I was waiting for the iPhone 3GS , I’d just wait for Globe to officially launch it this July 31. As of yesterday, you can reserve an iPhone 3GS from Apple’s exclusive network partner for the Philippines by any dropping by any Globe Business Center.
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iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2
July 15th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
Unless you have a developer account with Apple, don’t bother plugging your iPhone into iTunes as we promise you’re not going to have access to it.. but developres can now get their grubby paws on beta 2 of iPhone OS 3.1. We’ll let you know if we see anything crazy, like usable Gmail, true background applications, or a notification UI that doesn’t make you want to throw the phone against a very hard surface at high velocity.
iPhone OS 3.1 beta comes with a public API that will allow users to manipulate live video, to connect their iPhone to the development machine via WiFi in order to run Instruments, while the tethering hack has been disabled so you should think twice before you install this update. Other than that Apple announced a lot of bug fixes, security updates, and other enhancements. I guess we will hear more soon, but we will know the full story when the final version of iPhone OS 3.1 is released.
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iPhone 3GS Coming to Malaysia
July 9th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
Sources said that the new iPhone 3G S will be launching in Malaysia by Maxis maybe by end of this month. Can’t wait for it? Register yourself at Maxis website to allow them to update you once iPhone 3G S arrives! We wonder how much will the price of the new Maxis iPhone 3G S be. Less, same or more? Let us know what do you think.
We are actually still not convinced in changing to the new Maxis iPhone 3G S because we found out that we do not use the additional features available and the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade is really good enough! By the way, iPhone OS 3.1 beta is now available for developer community.
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White iPhone 3GS reported to have overheating problems
June 28th, 2009 by iPhoneTechZone
There are a couple of issues that have shown up with the new iPhone 3GS but this one could be potentially serious.
As per an iPhone 3GS user; his shiny white iPhone 3GS overheated while he was using GPS and 3G connection and this overheating resulted in ugly brownish discoloration.
Upon contact, Apple has asked the guy to return the phone for analysis.
Have a look here:
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