Apple That

I love buying things online. Not only is it possible to find almost anything you need and have it shipped directly to your house without having to talk to anybody, wait in line, drive to the store and possibly have the misfortune of having your desired purchase sold out, but you can do it without wearing any pants! The only problem is that you typically don’t get the satisfaction of having it arrive immediately as you would if you had bought it in a store.

However, that isn’t the case if you want to buy a new iPhone. According to the company’s website, after partnering with shipping LTL Canada, if you purchase an iPhone online from Apple, you can receive free next-day shipping! The deal is valid for the iPhone 5, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S but restricts customers to two phones per order.

Apple already offers free standard shipping on orders that exceed $50, though next-day shipping normally incurs an additional cost depending on the size of your particular order. What makes this deal even sweeter is that individuals who decide to purchase the iPhone 4 may be able to get the phone and have it shipped for free as the phone is already free to users who sign a new two-year contract.

The only thing wrong with this picture is that there is no specific information on the site that indicates when this promotion will end, which means you should probably take advantage of the deal as soon as you are able. Apple has, in the past, offered free next-day shipping along with free expedited shipping, though those offers were around December in order to boost holiday sales numbers.

This might be a way for Apple to try and clear some inventory space as rumors of a cheaper iPhone 5 (possibly the iPhone 5S) continue to circulate. Recent reports on that front state that Apple will be releasing sometime towards the end of June, though Apple has naturally said nothing about such plans.

Foxconn, Apple’s controversial manufacturer of almost all things with the prefix “i” isn’t producing as many iPhones as Apple wants, nor are they producing them fast enough according to the company’s chairman. Foxconn is arguably the biggest supplier of parts and construction for Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc…

According to Foxconn Chief Terry Gou in a recent interview with Reuters, “It’s not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand.” In addition to that, Gou was unable to say which iPhones are actually difficult to produce as Apple is still currently selling three different models: the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.

Despite not revealing the product, it is presumed that Gou was referring to the latest iPhone 5. An unidentified Foxconn official told The Wall Street Journal last month that producing the iPhone 5 is “very complicated”, causing supply issues. The official went on to say that the smartphone is “the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled.”

Apple’s iPhone 5 is thinner and taller than its predecessors and also comes with a few improvements over the 4S, including 4G LTE support and a new, smaller Lightning port. That means that Foxconn’s workers are putting a lot of components into an increasingly smaller shell.

Apple is definitely displeased. The iPhone 5 is scheduled to ship in three to four weeks for people who order it now with customers who are actually going to the store to buy one facing similar wait times. Apple is all about getting its technology into as many hands as possible as fast as possible, so set backs like this are almost inexcusable, especially with other smartphones on the market, like the Galaxy S III, being highly favorable replacements to the iPhone.

Source: CNET – Foxconn chief: We can’t keep up with iPhone demand

It’s finally happened. Apple has finally been knocked off the number one spot, at least as far as smartphones are concerned. According to recent reports, Samsung saw shipments of smartphones skyrocket over this same time last year, allowing the company to surpass Apple in worldwide mobile phone shipments. At the same time, Nokia saw its share drop significantly.

Samsung’s share in the global mobile phone market increased from 12.2% in the first quarter of 2011 to an astounding 30.6% in the first quarter of 2012. But just because it lost the number one spot doesn’t mean that Apple didn’t increase as well. The Cupertino company saw its share increase from an 18.1%  share (2011) to a 24.1% share (2012).

The entire market saw an increase too as overall global smartphone shipments increased 41% annually to total 145 million units in the first quarter of 2012. Apple and Samsung combined to account for over half of that number. According to Executive Director at Strategy Analytics Neil Mawston, “Samsung and Apple are outcompeting most of their major rivals and the smartphone market is at risk of becoming a two-horse race.”

Samsung’s growth is stemming from the company’s very successful Galaxy devices, as well as some other products. “Samsung’s global smartphone shipments rose 253% annually…as demand surged for its popular Galaxy models such as the Note, S2 and Y,” Strategy Analytics noted. Unfortunately, all this good news for Samsung and Apple means bad news for Nokia, who saw its shares drop heavily from 23.5% in the first quarter of 2011 to 8.2% in the first quarter of 2012.

Tom Kang, Director of Strategy Analytics, stated, “This is Nokia’s lowest market share level in the smartphone category since 2002. Nokia’s new Microsoft Lumia portfolio has recently gotten off to an encouraging start in the critical United States market, but shipments there are not yet large enough to offset the firm’s tumbling Symbian volumes in the rest of the world.”

The good news here for Apple is that they manage to remain near the top despite only having two smartphones, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, on the market. Samsung, on the other hand, has a lot of different options for customers to choose from, which means that there is a greater chance for people to find a phone that fits them the best. I feel like as soon as the iPhone 5 drops, Apple will be right back on top.

Source: CNET – Samsung tops Apple in global mobile phone shipments

 

ChangeWave recently released some new data that revealed that 56% of the people that were polled that plan on buying a smartphone in the next 3 months have decided that they will choose to go with Apple’s newest handheld, the iPhone 4S. This is a 2% increase from the 54% who planned to buy an iPhone 4S in the poll that ChangeWave conducted back in December.

Apple has gained some substantial ground in the last three months while the company’s main rival, Samsung, remained at a constant 13% of consumers who said that they would pick a smartphone from Samsung. Motorola, on the other hand, saw a 1% decrease which drops them to 6%. Third place goes to HTC, which also stayed stagnant at 3% while BlackBerry managed to to increase 3% in the March survey.

The iPhone 4S saw an increase in demand in March when the device was the second-highest share ever tracked by ChangeWave. Consumer demand for the iPhone only saw higher numbers in a poll conducted back in September, just before the device was actually officially announced.

ChangeWave also released a survey back in December that found that the early purchasers of the iPhone 4S were generally happy with their purchase of the device. A total of 96% indicated that they were satsified. The iPhone 4 saw higher numbers with 93% indicating that they were satisfied after they received their device.

Apple’s most successful smartphone to ever launch was the iPhone 4S, which allowed Apple to have a record quarter in the holiday season of 2011. During that three month season, Apple sold an astounding 37 million iPhones with the high-end iPhone 4S  being the absolute most popular device.

What say you? Do you have an iPhone 4S? If you do, are you happy with it? Do you plan on buying an iPhone 4S in the next three months or are you holding out for the eventual release of the iPhone 5? I know one thing, if I decide to upgrade to an Apple smartphone, I will be waiting for the iPhone 5. There’s nothing worse than getting a brand new phone only to have the next installment coming out two months later.

Source: Apple Insider – Demand for Apple’s iPhone 4S continues to grow 6 months after launch

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If there is one thing that the internet loves to talk about it’s tech rumors, specifically ones involving Apple and its slew of mobile devices. And while the next few weeks will have the internet swimming in rumors about the iPad 3, iPhone 5, iPod 37 and everything else Apple, I think it is ok to talk about some potential changes designated for next year.

iLounge is spewing some information from what they call their “most reliable source”, who claims to have the inside dish on all the upcoming revisions Apple is planning. While there is nothing mind-blowing here, it might be enough to make you start saving up for that new piece of Apple tech.

First up is the MacBook Pro redesign. Some say it is coming in March, which is debatable, though the flatter design similar to the Air is most likely a certainty. The question on everyone’s mind, however, is the details, primarily on the device’s storage, processor, ports and optical drive.

Another report is that the next generation iPad (presumably the iPad 3) will be a bit thicker than the previous one, in order to allow for extra lighting necessitated by the high-res screen that is also supposed to be coming. Many people are drooling over the idea of an HD screen and the increased thickness is only said to be about 0.7mm, which still makes it thinner than the original device.

In terms of size, it is also reported that the iPhone will get an increase in size to a 4″ screen, which will in turn make the entire device 8mm longer. In addition to that, it is rumored that the device will hit next summer. Steve Jobs was always passionate that 3.5″ (iPhone) and 9.7″ (iPad) were always the ideal sizes for the devices, though the company may be acknowledging changes in the market if these rumors end up being true.

There is also a report of the next iPhone coming in a metal case, presumably aluminum. The original iPhone was a wonder to behold, both visually, technically and physically and many people think that Apple should bring back that design. Plus, Apple is probably tired of answering calls about shattered iPhones about now.

These rumors will be determined true or false in the coming months, no doubt about it, even though reveals of these devices are not even going to happen for a while. Regardless, there are many more rumors out there than these so if you are looking for a way to spend your Thanksgiving weekend, you could always compare and contrast different rumors, given you have a couple hundred hours to spare.

Source: Tech Crunch – Apple Rumors: The MacBook Pro Shrinks, iPad And iPhone Grow

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The big news for the past couple of weeks has, without a doubt, been the deal made between Apple and Verizon which saw the very first iPhone on a carrier other than AT&T. Apple’s one-of-a-kind smartphone has been on AT&T exclusively since the original iPhone debuted in 2007. A mere four years later we now have the iPhone 4 and the first iPhone to be released on a carrier other than AT&T.

People have been eagerly awaiting the physical release of the iPhone 4 at Verizon stores across the country and it appears that they may be getting them sooner than expected. According to insider reports, Apple has begun shipping their first online orders for the smartphone an entire week earlier than initially expected.

Orders that were placed on February 9th were slated to be delivered on or before February 18th. However, shipping notices are now being sent out, specifying a “deliver by” date of February 16th. According to reports, Apple supposedly stockpiled an initial production of two million CDMA iPhone 4 units in December and January, reserving an unknown proportion of the initial phones to give to its existing customers as pre-orders on February 3rd. The initial batch of phones was sold out on the first day.

Apple began accepting web orders on the 9th of February offering either reserved in-store pickup or free delivery for those patient enough to wait a week or two for their new phone to ship and arrive. The initial orders estimated a five day shipping delay after the initial ship date.

This appears to be a more efficient ordering process that is capable of handling the demand for this new iPhone 4 and the new carrier. It prevented the long lines that plagued the initial iPhone 4 release for AT&T last summer.

Source: Apple Insider – Apple begins shipping Verizon iPhone 4 web orders one week early

It’s happened. The one thing everybody has been waiting for and the one thing AT&T has been dreading, the iPhone 4 is now available on, in my opinion, the best network available, Verizon. There were a lot of naysayers out there that kept touting their babble about how the iPhone would never see release on any other carrier than AT&T, but all their crap has been put to rest and thank God for that!

After talking up his new LTE network, Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon, confirmed a CDMA (non-LTE) version of the iPhone 4 will be coming to Verizon Wireless next month. These talks began way back in 2008 (nothing like three years of anticipation to really boost sales right?) and the actual phone has been in testing for a year which means Verizon and Apple were determined to get this one right.

Pre-orders for existing Verizon customers will start on February 3rd for your standard $200 for the 16GB model and $300 for the 32GB model, both on a new 2-year agreement. Everybody else will have the ability to get one February 10th. In case you were wondering, the Verizon iPhone 4 is Verizon 3G (EV-DO) only, no 4G data or GSM roaming. This isn’t a world phone or an AT&T + Verizon phone, it is simply a Verizon phone.

Aside from the Verizon connectivity, the phone is virtually exactly the same as the AT&T version although Verizon’s CDMA network does not support simultaneous voice and data as does the GSM version. It does, however, have the new antenna design that was being thrown around last week but only because CDMA requires a different configuration of antenna. This also equates to a slight bump where the volume and mute buttons are which means Apple may need to design a new case. When it comes to software, there is a big innovation via five user WiFi hotspot functionality. This is standard on all Android phones whereas Apple has limited the iPhone to only being able to tether directly to one computer.

Millions of dreams have come true with this agreement between Apple and Verizon. I, for one, am extremely pleased as, being an avid Verizon customer myself, I will no longer have to listen to the iPhone lackies touting about how AT&T, which was recently rated as the worst carrier in the country, is “so much better” because they have the iPhone. Well, you AT&T pawns, all I can say is now Verizon is better than you in EVERY way possible.

Source: Engadget

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If you had to compare the new iPod touch to any of Apple’s other products then it would most definitely be like the iPhone 4. In fact, it is almost exactly like an iPhone 4 without the phone part. The new iPod Touch is even thinner than the original, has a Retina display, Apple A4 processor, gyroscope and a digital camera on both the front and back for FaceTime.

The new iPod Touch has a huge list of features including these main ones:
– It has the iPhone’s Retina Display,  3.5-inch, IPS-based with a razor-sharp 326ppi resolution.
– Ability to record 720p HD video and take pics with the back camera.
– Ability to FaceTime with other iPod Touch devices and iPhone 4 devices using the front camera.
– Runs at the same speed as the iPhone 4 using the same Apple A4 chip.
– Incorporates the same 3-axis gyroscope of the iPhone 4 making motion tracking more precise.
– Will have iOS 4.1 built-in.
– Will have built-in speaker and microphone.

Now obviously there are some major differences in this new generation iPod Touch in comparison to the previous generation. The most notable, and most welcomed and demanded, change is definitely the two cameras. However,  the back camera can record H.264 video at 720 lines of resolution (720p) and 30 frames per second which isn’t quite as much as the iPhone 4. The front camera is identical to the iPhone 4’s capturing 30fps for videoconferencing.

One change that kind of flew under the radar is the built-in microphone. The new iPhone is there for FaceTime, but it will have a lot of other uses as well like Skype. This new feature could quite possibly turn the iPod Touch into an iPhone replacement for those of you who do not feel the need to be in constant voice contact. This is especially useful for the younger generation who spends a majority of their time texting rather than talking.

Apple has also boasted that they have increased the amount of playback time to 40 hours af audio and 7 hours of video while making the overall package smaller. The exact dimensions come in at 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.28 inches. This is significantly smaller than the previous iPod Touch’s 0.33 inches of thickness. This new generation also weighs less than the previous generation coming in at 3.56 ounces as opposed to the previous generation’s 8 ounces.

It seems that almost everything about the new iPod Touch’s features are quite a bit better than the original. The dual cameras are a huge plus as well as the quick A4 processor which is a must-have addition for gamers. In addition to the new dimensions, the iPod Touch 4th generation seems like a very good upgrade for most users, as long as it lives up to a real world test. There is, however, one disappointment amongst iPod users which is the low resolution back camera. In order to get a good camera sensor you will have to pay the iPhone 4 premium price.

All in all if you are in the market for an iPod upgrade or are just looking to purchase your first iPod, then the new generation iPod Touch is a perfect choice. You can get yours when they go on sale soon.

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