Sep

22

adapter2-sm.jpgApple has ordered a recall of its ultracompact USB power adapters.
The adapters, originally packaged with the Iphone 3G, apparently contain flimsy metal prongs that are susceptible to snapping.
According to Apple, the broken prongs could “remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock”.
The flawed adapters were reportedly sold in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico and South America. Club Cupertino recommended that customers in the affected countries stop using their adapters “immediately” and exchange them for new ones. The company also confirmed reports of “detached” prongs but emphasised that they had caused no known injuries.

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Apple Support article

Jan

31

2215285685_17d7427547.jpgI was filling my car up with gas in the sharp cold gusting winds we’ve had here in Kansas lately. I had on a light jacket and as I was getting out of the car to go around and begin pumping, I figured I’d put on my heavy winter coat. I took my phone out of my lightweight jacket and set it on the trunk of my car and switched to my heavier coat. I went inside to prepay for gas, forgetting all about my phone. When I came back out, I pumped my gas, walked around the front of my car, got back in and drove off.

I was traveling down the interstate when this happened. The gas station I stopped at was a little rest area in the middle of the turnpike. So as I left, I merged back onto the highway, accelerated hard, turned up the stereo, and got moving. About 5 minutes later, I reached for my phone, but couldn’t feel it. Then it hit me. I’d forgotten to grab it off the back of my car when I was filling up at the gas station. A feeling of panic and anger washed over me instantly and I started screaming and yelling in my empty car. Because I was driving on a toll-road, there was no way to turn around and just go back. I had to drive another 15 miles to the next exit, pay my toll, get back on the highway, and race the 20 miles back to the rest stop.

I pulled back up to the pump I filled up at but there was no sign of my phone. I remembered a lady filling up next to me in a silver BMW - but she was long gone. My first move was to go inside and ask if she or anyone else had turned it in. No such luck. I scoured the parking lot and on-ramp I used to get back on the highway - no sign of the phone anywhere. After about 30 minutes of searching, I finally gave up. It was 11pm and it was 19 degrees outside. I was exhausted, cold, angry, frustrated, and just decided I’d have to start using the Treo 750 I had as a backup.

As I slowly merged back onto the highway, I kept my eyes open for the remote possibility that the phone had stayed on my car for a longer distance than what I’d searched on foot. Still, no luck. I got up to speed, giving up for good, and about that time (1/4 mile from the gas station) I saw a glimmering light from the lane next to me. As I sped past the object, I knew it was my phone - still alive and working! I slammed on the brakes and pulled over, waiting for the passing cars and trucks to go by so I could run across 2 lanes of 75mph traffic to retrieve my poor phone. As the last pair of headlights approached, the semi got over to the far outside lane because he saw me standing on the side of the road. I knew this was trouble. As I watched helplessly from the shoulder, the semi plowed my phone at full speed, throwing it to the ditch on the other side of the highway. At this point, I figured I’d retrieve it just for the purpose of seeing the crushed iPhone in disarray, mangled and crunched lifeless in the grass.

Much to my surprise, as I approached, I heard the familiar sound of my ringtone — the iPhone was alive and ringing! As I picked it up and cradled it gently in my hands, I saw the screen displaying my caller ID — the screen still worked! I slid my finger gently over the answer slide and paused as I held the tattered and torn device to my ear — my heart must have skipped a beat when I heard my mom’s voice at the other end of the phone — the phone still worked!

I ran back to my car and sat on the side of the road for about 15 minutes inspecting it, testing it, and looking it over — how in the hell had it survived being trounced by an 18-wheeler at 70mph?!?

One day later as I’m writing this, I don’t have an answer to that question. It makes and receives calls, sends and receives text messages, browses the internet, plays music from the iPod feature, connects to my wi-fi network, syncs with my computer, and charges the battery. The camera even takes perfect pictures still!

I’ve spoken with Apple’s customer relations department - they’re interested in using it in an iPhone commercial; I mean come on, this is the ultimate crash and durability test out there! I’ve banged this phone up many times since I bought it the day they were released last June. I’ve dropped it down a flight of concrete stairs, slid it across a parking lot, dropped it on cement, and even partially submerged it in water and this little phone just keeps truckin!

There are a few bad spots on the display now, but the screen is still responsive to touch in those bad areas! The glass covering the screen doesn’t have a mark on it - I have no idea how. The phone would have first had to topple off the back of my car and based on where I found it, I’d have been going well over 60mph when it fell off — that alone would kill most phones. But then being ran over by a semi — I don’t know what to say! I know that approximately 1 hour went by between the time I knew I lost it and the time I recovered it — who knows what else happened to it during that time. When the semi ran over it, the phone was sitting dead in the middle of one of the lanes — it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine it getting hit more than the one time I witnessed!

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Jan

16

Hello!?

January 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment

MacworldiPhoneWorld Expo in San Francisco is well underway.

This year’s exo is definitely the place to see and experience the latest in iPhone software, hardware, cases, solutions and more. And of course with the Aplle iPhone SDK on the way, many companies are demoing the upcoming slew of goodness.

We will be posting more and some specifics later on, so stay tuned!

iBug Out!!

:-{>

Sep

21

from 4.29.07

ballmer_tongue.jpgQ: People get passionate when Apple comes out with something new — the iPhone; of course, the iPod. Is that something that you’d want them to feel about Microsoft?

A: It’s sort of a funny question. Would I trade 96% of the market for 4% of the market? (Laughter.) I want to have products that appeal to everybody.

Now we’ll get a chance to go through this again in phones and music players. There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.

In the case of music, Apple got out early. They were the first to really recognize that you couldn’t just think about the device and all the pieces separately. Bravo. Credit that to Steve (Jobs) and Apple. They did a nice job.

But it’s not like we’re at the end of the line of innovation that’s going to come in the way people listen to music, watch videos, etc. I’ll bet our ads will be less edgy. But my 85-year-old uncle probably will never own an iPod, and I hope we’ll get him to own a Zune.

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Jul

7

appleandjuice.jpgiPhone Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program Frequently Asked Questions

What is the iPhone Battery Replacement Program?
If your iPhone requires service only because the battery’s ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, Apple will repair your iPhone for a service fee of $79, plus $6.95 shipping. Be sure to follow these instructions for optimizing battery life and troubleshooting battery charging issues before submitting your iPhone for battery replacement.

How much does it cost to participate in the program?
The program costs $79, plus $6.95 shipping. The program cost is $85.95 per unit.
All fees are in US dollars and are subject to local tax. Service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse. Please review Apple’s Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

Will the data on my iPhone be preserved?
No, the repair process will clear all data from your iPhone. It is important to sync your iPhone with iTunes to back up your contacts, photos, email account settings, text messages, and more. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information while servicing your iPhone and does not offer any data transfer service. Please do not send any accessories with your iPhone.

How long will service take?
The repair process normally takes three business days. See the iPhone Service FAQ for information about getting an AppleCare Service Phone for you to use with all of your data while your iPhone is being repaired.

Jul

5

acip.jpgRumors were floating around earlier this week about AppleCare for iPhone. Now, reader Kender points out the official information from Apple:

* AppleCare for iPhone will be available “…in July”
* Your hardware coverage will be extended for up to 2 years
* Customers will be provided with a loaner iPhone if theirs is out for repairs (after a $29US “rental fee”)

They also list the specifics of the rental unit (you can transfer your data to it and an 8GB phone will get you an 8GB loaner) and exactly what type of things will void your warranty. The only thing missing is the cost of the program, though $60US has been suggested.

Jul

2

Jul

1

1st-night Sales: Tens — Perhaps Hundreds — of Thousands of iPhones

If the reports that Apple (AAPL) had 3 million iPhones stockpiled for opening night are anywhere close to the mark, there should be plenty left over for next week.

Apple and AT&T (T) are not releasing sales figures, but piecing together eye-witness accounts from stores around the country and doing some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations, it’s clear that Apple sold tens of thousands of iPhones — and perhaps as many as 200,000 — the first night, not millions.

There are several reports of AT&T stores selling out their consignment of iPhones — 60 in one Wall Street store, 40 in another, 20 in a smaller store.

According to Apple’s iPhone availability website (here) there are iPhones in stock today at all 164 Apple Stores, including the big ones in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Roughly 300 people lined up to buy phones at each of the largest stores (we counted 335 when the doors finally opened at the Stockton Street outlet in San Francisco) and more buyers streamed in before the doors closed at midnight.

If you generously assume that 500 iPhones were sold at each of Apple’s 164 retail outlets (including the tiny mall stores), and that all AT&T stores sold out an average of 50 phones, that’s

500 * 164 = 82,000
50 * 1,800 = 90,000
TOTAL = 172,000

Not bad for one night’s work. Because that doesn’t include online sales, it’s roughly in line with earlier analysts’ estimates that Apple could sell 400,000 iPhones in the first few days.

Apple has not commented on the estimates. Steve Jobs has said he hopes to capture 1% of the worldwide cellphone market by 2008, which comes out to roughly 10 million iPhones over the next 18 months.

UPDATE: An AAPL watcher whose opinion I trust thinks this estimate for AT&T sales may be 25% to 35% too low. He believes the smaller AT&T stores had 60 to 70 phones and the larger ones 100 or more.

He also points out that many, if not most, customers at Apple stores bought two iPhones. If we assume that half did, the numbers come out somewhat differently:

500 * 164 * 1.5 = 123,000
50 * 1,800 = 90,000
TOTAL = 213,000

In which case the headline should have read:

Apple Sells Hundreds of Thousands of iPhones the First Night

Source

Jun

21

att-logo-new.pngFor consumers eager to get their hands on an Apple iPhone, here’s the good news: It will be available in all 1,800 AT&T phone stores at 6 p.m. sharp on June 29.
The bad news? “We fully expect one or more of our stores to run out of stock on the first or second day — my guess is the first day,” says Larry Carter, senior vice president of sales for AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. distributor.

To get “iReady” for the big day, Carter says AT&T added 2,000 extra sales people to stores. Half will be there just to help handle the expected early crush of buyers. The other half, he says, will stay long-term to help with extra customers the iPhone is expected to draw to AT&T’s stores.

Crowd control on launch day is a concern. In some markets — Carter declined to name them — AT&T is working with local law enforcement on crowd-control plans. It also has alerted landlords at shopping malls and other phone store locations to make sure nobody is caught off guard.

Not all stores are equal

Carter would not say which stores will have the biggest iPhone stockpiles, but allowed that iPod users are a “natural market” for the smart phone. As such, he says, stores in areas with big numbers of iPod users — such as New York City, Chicago and much of California — will be well stocked.

Does that mean that those stores will have more iPhones than stores in, say, Richmond, Va., or Florida? “Yes,” he says. “It’s just common sense.”

If your local store sells out, Carter says sales people will take mail orders, and devices will be shipped in 3 to 5 days, inventory permitting. “Ultimately, we will meet every customer’s desire to have one,” Carter says.

To discourage sCalpers, AT&T plans to limit how many phones each customer can buy. Carter declined to cite the number, saying only that AT&T would try to prevent “hoarding and reselling.”

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Jun

18

email_image_20070612.jpgApple® today announced that iPhone™ will deliver significantly longer battery life when it ships on June 29 than was originally estimated when iPhone was unveiled in January. iPhone will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback.* In addition, iPhone will feature up to 250 hours—more than 10 days—of standby time. Apple also announced that the entire top surface of iPhone, including its stunning 3.5-inch display, has been upgraded from plastic to optical-quality glass to achieve a superior level of scratch resistance and optical clarity.

“With 8 hours of talk time, and 24 hours of audio playback, iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other ‘Smartphone’ and even longer than most MP3 players,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also upgraded iPhone’s entire top surface from plastic to optical-quality glass for superior scratch resistance and clarity. There has never been a phone like iPhone, and we can’t wait to get this truly magical product into the hands of customers starting just 11 days from today.”

iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a revolutionary multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers. iPhone combines three products into one small and lightweight handheld device—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and the Internet in your pocket with best-ever applications on a mobile phone for email, web browsing and maps. iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

iphonechart.jpg

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