Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information

With WWDC 2011 in full swing, many who were hoping for an iPhone 5 were disappointed. That said, many pundits had long said that Apple would skip a summer launch and instead leave the launch for its September music event which was traditionally used to launch new iPod’s and Apple TV but thanks to the cannibalizing of iPod sales thanks to the iPhone Apple is expected to use the event to launch not only new iPod’s but a new iPhone as well.

That said, there have been many rumors concerning the phones design. At one time it was said that Steve Jobs was playing with three different prototypes, one that included a 4-inch screen and another with a QWERTY keyboard. So needless to say, everyone is wondering how much different will it look from the current iPhone 4. With Samsung, currently Apple’s main competitor experiencing record sales of its Galaxy S device, ibetimes.com is claiming that the Cupertino based company could be taking design cues from Sammy’s hottest new device.

If this tumor is true, it would be ironic seeing that Apple has just finished dragging Samsung into a legal battle claiming the South Korean company not only copied design cues from them but infringed on their patents. Samsung responded with a humorous request asking the court to require Apple to allow it to see the final design of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 so it would be able to stay clear of possibly copying the devices design. It should be noted that many of Apple’s iPad and iPhone parts are manufactured by Samsung.

What is clear is that if Apple is to successfully compete against Samsung, they will need to come forward with a redesigned product. Granted Apple has the media on its side and there is no doubt that whatever Apple dubs as the iPhone 5 or 4.5 will sell millions of units. But for it to live up to the hype that is being created Apple will need to include some well needed features such as support for NFC, a slimmer design, bigger screen, better camera as well as a dual-core processor.

Many industry pundits and analysts have rumored that the iPhone will indeed include a larger screen, albeit one not as big as the Samsung Galaxy S II and a slimmer design along with the same processor currently running the iPad 2.

But one thing is clear, with Apple filing lawsuits against Samsung, it is clear that Samsung has hit a nerve with the company, and whatever device the company releases next as the next iPhone, it will be aimed squarely at Samsung’s galaxy S II.

Source: Online Social Media

Despite all the fuss and hoopla surrounding Apple’s iPhone 4 antenna, it seems that the market demand for the newly released smart phone has not gone down. It has been almost a month since the official launch of the handset and until today, people are still inquiring with retailers and networks as to when the device will once again be available.

Virtual mobile network operator 3 UK has announced that they will be offering the iPhone 4 this coming Friday, July 30. Many are expected to line up for the device and the operator is already taking scheduled appointments with interested clients. Those who intend to take up the offer or switch to the iPhone 4 would want to contact 3 UK as soon as possible.

The Apple iPhone 4 has been at the center of a big media buzz as complaints about the device’s antenna issues has soared to a point that Apple’s constant denials could not distract users any longer. The folks at Cupertino originally released a short open letter to all iPhone 4 owners before the public pressure forced Steve Jobs to finally concede and provide an active solution.

However, Jobs’ emergency conference did not have the effect that Apple intended. While owners appreciated the gesture of receiving free bumper cases for the handset, the fact that it took Apple over three weeks to find the problem and offer such a basic solution did not sit well with many fans of the brand.

What made matters worse was the mention of other smart phones in Apple’s presentation, which promptly led to other companies making official statements countering what Steve Jobs said.

3 Mobile has not made any mention of the aforementioned antenna issue affecting the handset, but it is believed that new iPhone 4 owners will still need to use the special iTunes app to acquire the free bumper case.

There is just no way to escape advertisements these days. We all know that Apple is implementing the new iOS 4’s iAds feature (expect to see more of this once the whole antenna debacle has toned down a notch), but aside from the more obvious advertising features, there is one other factor that tends to influence consumer’s decisions: social networking.

We all know how effective word of mouth advertising can be. While the average person does not need to listen to the recommendations of his or her friends, a few words from a choice individual among peers who a person truly admires or respects is more than enough of an endorsement to give a purchase a reason.

Now imagine that scenario on with the element of social networking on your mobile phone. Receiving a quick message or Tweet from close friends saying how nice it is to visit a certain establishment or to purchase a certain product will be a very strong influential factor for many people.

This is not just a one sided influence either. As effective as social networking can be, it is the accessibility that smart phone technology (as well as WiFi and 3G network access) gives that makes this a very potent element for marketing. And of course, the social network gives the messages more potency than standard mass forwarded content on mobile phones. After all, receiving spam messages on a mobile phone is never good, but reading about updates directly from friends is considered enjoyable.

Research firm Gartner has been gathering data on how people’s social networking habits tend to influence and affect their purchasing decisions. This influence is a crucial factor that has to be considered by marketers if they want to successfully advertise a product in this day and age. The study covered about 4000 consumers across various territories in the world during the last quarter of 2009.

The black version of the iPhone 4 has kept Apple and their affiliated manufacturers on their feet producing enough to keep up with consumer demand. That being said, there are still those who patiently wait for the white version of the device. At first, people thought it would be released at the same time as the black iPhone 4, seeing a tech journalist sport the device on a review. Unfortunately, it was simply a press unit and was not yet mass produced for consumers.

The delay was attributed to the difficulty in producing white iPhone 4 devices versus the black one. Apple gave a tentative date for those eager to get their hands on the fairer handset which was at the end of July. Unfortunately, the Cupertino based company was not able to meet the deadline and the white devices will still not be appearing in shelves any time soon.

This is truly sad news for those that have put off their Apple iPhone purchase hoping for the alternative color. Those who are in a hurry to get the popular smart phone will still be able to purchase the black variant without any problems. According to Apple’s official statement, the production problems are restricted to the white model.

“White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected”

The “challenge” in manufacturing has apparently spared the black iPhone 4. On the other hand, nobody knows just when the white variant will be released. Perhaps after all the bad press, Apple is busy rearranging the device’s internal parts to make way for a better positioned antenna. Hopefully, when the much anticipated unit gets released, the improvements will not be purely cosmetic.

While the public is busy discussing the validity (or rather, invalidity) of Steve Jobs’ claims during the Apple emergency conference, there is something that many people are simply unable to ignore -the statement that the refunds and free case offers would only last until the end of September.

To be more exact, it was specified by Steve Jobs that current users can either refund their case or obtain a new free case until September 30, which alludes to the possibility that at that point, something new will happen.

The logic here is that the “free case” and “refunds” are special offers that Apple is giving out due to the antenna issue. For as long as the antenna issues persists, then Apple is obligated to provide users with a solution (as ineffective as it may be. And yes, Apple is obligated as they have sold a faulty product to users). To state that the offer will only be good until a specific date means that Apple has something up their sleeve.

The initial assessment is that a second batch of iPhone 4 handsets would be ready. These second versions would not be suffering from the same antenna issues. At that point, Apple might even be able to offer a special exchange program for current owners (though that is quite unlikely).

One other rumor that is quite persistent is that October might see the launch of the iPhone 5. This is one rumor that we definitely have to back away from as it is not just unlikely, but is not Apple’s style at all. It is more believable that this could be more than just an iPhone 4 (iPhone 4s perhaps?), but never a full jump to a completely new version that would be labeled as the fifth in the series.

After all, completely replacing the device with an all new model would be the same as Apple admitting their mistake –which is something that the folks at Cupertino can never do outright.

According to Steve Jobs, the antenna issue is “a challenge for the whole industry”.

Mobile phone users and many mobile phone makers beg to disagree; after all, this is the first time that a device would actually drop calls if its antenna was held. Even in the early days of 2G/GSM devices, Nokia manufactured plenty of mobile phones with visible antennas that literally jutted out of the phone body. Phones like the old Nokia 5110 would still work properly even if the antenna was being touched by the hand.

And in the many years since then, various phone makers have made countless numbers of mobile devices that have not only made the antenna smaller and non-obtrusive, but also equally, if not more efficient.

Companies like RIM, whose BlackBerry Bold 9700 was named directly by Apple as a device affected by antenna issues. What Jobs might have failed to realize that even if the Bold or any other handset loses a bar of signal from touch, none of these phones would drop a call like the iPhone 4 would.

Jobs also failed to realize that RIM would also speak out.

To sum it up nicely, here is a quick excerpt from RIM’s official statement, “Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.”

Nokia has also stated they their company emphasizes a lot on testing their products –including the antenna performance, to ensure the usability of their mobile handsets.

The two companies are not the only phone makers to have made their voices heard. Samsung and Motorola have also spoken out as well. Of the three companies that Apple has directly mentioned in the presentation, only HTC (manufacturers of the HTC Wildfire and Desire, among others) has yet to make a comment (and many believe that it will not be long before that).

It was not due to lack of testing that the faulty antenna design for the iPhone 4 actually made it to the production. In fact, it was an issue that was already brought up earlier on by one of Apple’s senior engineers and an expert on antenna technology, Ruben Caballero. The information was leaked by a source from within Apple who refused to be named.

With that little trivia known, the only thing we can really ask now is “why Apple, why?”

The iPhone 4 is a major handset. No matter how one looks at it, it has been designed to be the next in line to the throne that was once occupied by the iPhone 3GS. So it makes no sense that Apple would ignore such serious warnings. However, the fact of the matter is that the iPhone 4’s antenna is indeed faulty; the folks at Cupertino could not afford to let such a major flaw be part of the final product.

This is also a major issue internally; after all, experts like Ruben are good at what they do. For their assessment to be ignored and the final product to still have the major flaw they pointed out is an insult to their skills and expertise.

To have this news break out at such as time is also a major blow to the company –as it further undermines their capacity to handle problems with handsets –if they failed to prevent it in the first place, how could people trust them to fix it at all?

In the meanwhile, it is only a few hours before the Apple conference starts and we will finally be able to know what Microsoft has been planning recently. It may have been strange, but at least the emergency conference seems to be focused on dealing with the antenna issue.

Tracking down criminals can be a tough job, and if there is one thing that the Apple iPhone can do, it is by providing the law with a digital trail of crumbs that will lead the police right to the suspects.

The iPhone is prone to security issues and that is what Police operatives are taking advantage of in order to help track down criminals. A recent report has shown that thanks to all the small issues that Apple failed to figure out with the iPhone, there are plenty of ways that the iPhone has become the perfect tracker for wanted felons.

First off, text messages; apparently the Apple’s QWERTY keyboard typing feature has a major flaw. The problem lies with the automated dictionary that is intended to help people type message faster. While the feature does its job well, it also has an unannounced effect of being able to key-log messages that are being typed in. Keyloggers are the perfect way to get a quick bead on what new activities users are up to.

Of course, all that information is worthless unless the police are able to get their hands on the smart phone in the first place. And this is where geo tagged images become really important. The data on uploaded photos often contain geotagging information that users forget to remove –this one little tidbit of information alone is all that detective need to find their man.

Once they find the criminal, there is more that the Apple iPhone can give aside from just a recent history of text messages -the phone also stores a vast amount of image data of map screenshots. These images are generated each time the map app is turned off. In doing so, the phone automatically makes a quick snap shot of the device’s last known location. This creates a very useful log that can be used for evidence.

And this is the official explanation from Apple as to why people are having dropped calls when using the iPhone 4.

Now, there is no reason to doubt that such as problem exists in the first place. Apparently the code that Apple uses to calculate the signal strength for the handset has been off since a patch was released for the older iPhone. The changes still remain to this day –an effect that seems to have had gotten no reactions from users of the iPhone in the past couple of years.

However, it seems that iPhone 4 users are not so lucky. Despite the simple nature of the signal meter bug, it seems that plenty of people are being lured away to locations with low signal strength. Fooled with the possibility that the reception in the area is actually two to three bars better than what is actually available; users will make calls that cannot establish a proper connection in the area and have their calls dropped.

The bug is both vile and sinister in its nature –and something that does not explain why holding the handset on that small piece of plastic on the side will kill the reception. Well, technically, we all know that holding a handset in a certain way changes its performance. The same is to be said about devices from other manufacturers. But the iPhone 4 is the only one designed in such a way that it actually loses signal strength when held in the left hand in a normal grip.

Despite the fact that Apple is fixing the signal meter to show less bars (which, as they reported, should be the case), it does not really solve the issue. With many new iPhone owners disappointed with the performance of Apple’s newest smart phone, the folks at Cupertino better come up with a better solution.

According to recent news, Disney has acquired the successful iPhone app developer Tapulous, in what seems to be the opening move into Disney’s foray into app development for the Apple iPhone platform.

Of course, Disney Interactive Media’s focus will be exclusive on the Apple smart phone, not only is the iPhone considered to be one of the most iconic devices ever released (which matches Disney’s reputation), but Steve Jobs is also the single, largest shareholder in Disney.

Steve Wadsworth, the current President of Disney Interactive Media has confirmed that the company is indeed going to delve into app development. The Mobile industry is growing and it would be a big mistake for Disney not to join in on the fun. And Disney is no stranger to the game development business. While many games have been released based on Disney’s products, they too have been working heavily on the development side.

Disney had previously teamed up with Squaresoft/Square Enix to bring Kingdom Hearts series to life –the license for which would be later bought by Disney. The company has also begun making its own games as well; their latest work, Epic Mickey is slated to be released for the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

The decision to acquire Tapulous is a pretty wise choice by Disney. While the amount that it took still remains undisclosed, we can imagine a pretty hefty sum. Tapulous is well known for its Tap Tap Revenge game (as well as several other titles in the series) and their apps are among the most downloaded apps in the paid category. The most recent updates from Tapulous is that the company is working on a social networking game.

Bart Decrem, co-founder of Tapulous, is excited about the acquisition. Given Disney’s position in the media industry and the resources they can offer, Tapulous gains to earn so much more.