iPhone 5 News & Updates

[Gssran]

Good updates Bapun bro.

 

[Raviteja]

Swiss rail claims Apple copied its iconic clocks in iOS 6

Switzerland's national rail company is accusing Apple Inc. of stealing the iconic look of its station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system used by iPhone and iPad mobile devices.
Both designs have a round clock face with black indicators except for the second hand which is red.

An SBB spokesman says the rail company is "proud" the tech giant chose to copy the 68-year-old design.

But Reto Kormann told The Associated Press on Friday that Apple hadn't asked for permission before doing so.

Kormann says SBB will seek an amicable agreement and compensation from Apple.

An Apple representative in Germany declined to comment immediately on SBB's claim.

Apple itself has launched several patent, design and trademark claims against rival companies in the past.


Swiss rail claims Apple copied its iconic clocks in iOS 6 | NDTV Gadgets

 

[Bapun]

Apple iPhone 5 ships, 9 countries get it today​

The Apple iPhone 5 is finally hitting the shelves. Sales begin in 9 countries today, which is the biggest number for an iPhone debut so far, with 22 more lined up to join the fun on September 28.

The lucky markets to get the iPhone 5 today are the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Pre-orders made in these countries will also be delivered starting today.
Aussie Todd, who's working for Mobilephonefinder.com.au was the first man to purchase the Apple iPhone 5, having camped in front of the Apple’s flagship Sydney store since Tuesday. Here's a video from early this morning of him entering the store .

Having recorded 2 million pre-orders within the first 24 hours of its launch, the Apple iPhone 5 is expected to ship over 10 million units by the end of the month. And considering the level of interest it is enjoying, we'd be surprised if it fails to meet that target.
On a less serious note, we got yet another spoof video of the iPhone 5. If you are in a mood for a few laughs at Apple's expense, check it out here:

Apple iPhone 5 ships, 9 countries get it today - GSMArena.com news

 

[Bapun]

 

[Bapun]

iPhone 5: Is Apple missing Steve Jobs?​

NEW YORK: If Steve Jobs were still alive, would the new map application on the iPhone 5 be such an unmitigated disaster? Interesting question, isn't it?

As Apple's chief executive, Jobs was a perfectionist. He had no tolerance for corner-cutting or mediocre products. The last time Apple released a truly substandard product - MobileMe, in 2008 - Jobs gathered the team into an auditorium, berated them mercilessly and then got rid of the team leader in front of everybody, according to Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs. The three devices that made Apple the most valuable company in America - the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad - were all genuine innovations that forced every other technology company to play catch-up.

No doubt, the iPhone 5, which went on sale on Friday, will be another hit. Apple's halo remains powerful. But there is nothing about it that is especially innovative. Plus, of course, it has that nasty glitch. In rolling out a new operating system for the iPhone 5, Apple replaced Google's map application - the mapping gold standard - with its own, vastly inferior, application, which has infuriated its customers. With maps now such a critical feature of smartphones, it seems to be an inexplicable mistake.

And maybe that's all it is - a mistake, soon to be fixed. But it is just as likely to turn out to be the canary in the coal mine. Though Apple will remain a highly profitable company for years to come, I would be surprised if it ever gives us another product as transformative as the iPhone or the iPad.

Part of the reason is obvious: Jobs isn't there anymore. It is rare that a company is so completely an extension of one man's brain as Apple was an extension of Jobs. While he was alive, that was a strength; now it's a weakness. Apple's current executive team is no doubt trying to maintain the same demanding, innovative culture, but it's just not the same without the man himself looking over everybody's shoulder. If the map glitch tells us anything, it is that.

But there is also a less obvious - yet possibly more important - reason that Apple's best days may soon be behind it. When Jobs returned to the company in 1997, after 12 years in exile, Apple was in deep trouble. It could afford to take big risks and, indeed, to search for a new business model, because it had nothing to lose.

Fifteen years later, Apple has a hugely profitable business model to defend - and a lot to lose. Companies change when that happens. "The business model becomes a gilded cage, and management won't do anything to challenge it, while doing everything they can to protect it," says Larry Keeley, an innovation strategist at Doblin, a consulting firm.

It happens in every industry, but it is especially easy to see in technology because things move so quickly. It was less than 15 years ago that Microsoft appeared to be invincible. But once its Windows operating system and Office applications became giant moneymakers, Microsoft's entire strategy became geared toward protecting its two cash cows. It ruthlessly used its Windows platform to promote its own products at the expense of rivals. (The Microsoft antitrust trial took dead aim at that behavior.) Although Microsoft still makes billions, its new products are mainly "me-too" versions of innovations made by other companies.

Now it is Apple's turn to be king of the hill - and, not surprisingly, it has begun to behave in a very similar fashion. You can see it in the patent litigation against Samsung, a costly and counterproductive exercise that has nothing to do with innovation and everything to do with protecting its turf.

And you can see it in the decision to replace Google's map application. Once an ally, Google is now a rival, and the thought of allowing Google to promote its maps on Apple's platform had become anathema. More to the point, Apple wants to force its customers to use its own products, even when they are not as good as those from rivals. Once companies start acting that way, they become vulnerable to newer, nimbler competitors that are trying to create something new, instead of milking the old. Just ask BlackBerry, which once reigned supreme in the smartphone market but is now roadkill for Apple and Samsung.

Even before Jobs died, Apple was becoming a company whose main goal was to defend its business model. Yes, he would never have allowed his minions to ship such an embarrassing application. But despite his genius, it is unlikely he could have kept Apple from eventually lapsing into the ordinary. It is the nature of capitalism that big companies become defensive, while newer rivals emerge with better, smarter ideas.

"Oh my god," read one Twitter message I saw. "Apple Maps is the worst ever. It is like using MapQuest on a BlackBerry."

Via TOI

 

[Bapun]

Apple iPhone 5 aluminum shell plagued by chipping issues​

It seems to have become a routine now. Every year Apple releases a new iPhone and while most of the customers are delighted a subset of buyers pull the short end of the stick. With the iPhone 4, it was the antennagate issue, with the iPhone 4S it was the battery life problem and now some iPhone 5 buyers are noticing dents on their prized possession.

Yes, many owners, particularly of the Black & Slate colored model, are reporting dents and scratches along the chamfered edges of their new iPhone right out of the box. We haven't seen many reports from owners of the White & Silver model, but that just might be because the color isn't particularly popular.
Now, anodized aluminum is known to pick up scuff marks easily. Because the color is painted on top, even a minor scuff can make it come off, revealing a shiny silver spot below. Also, aluminum is a soft metal, so it dents very easily, especially along thin edges. You'll find scuffs and dents on practically every anodized aluminum object that has been used for a while.
Which is why it wasn't a shock to us when we saw the iPhone picking up dents along the edges in this drop test. However, it is surprising when the device comes with scuff marks out of the box and points to poor quality checks at Apple's end.
Of course, Apple will readily replace any such device for you. But if you're importing this device to a different country (and we know many do), you will need to be careful and hold on till the issue gets sorted.
Update: Apparently, white units have the same issues as the black ones. We are really hoping Apple makes an official statement soon enough and explain the cause.

 

[Bapun]

Chinese firms to make SIMs for iPhone 5​

Beijing - Mobile phone companies in China plan to make smaller SIM cards for use in Apple iPhone 5, a media report said Saturday.

The new Apple phone was launched worldwide Friday, and is not yet available in China.

China Mobile and China Unicom said they can provide nano-SIM cards for customers who bought the phone overseas, the Shanghai Daily reported.

The iPhone 5 was expected to go on sale officially in the country by December.



Read more

 

[Bapun]

250 iPhone 5 units stolen from London store on day of sale...

 

[Bapun]

Apple’s feud with Google is felt on iPhone​

SAN FRANCISCO: Once the best of friends, Google and Apple have become foes, battling in courtrooms and in the consumer marketplace. Last week, the hostilities took a new turn when they spilled right onto smartphone screens.

In the latest version of Apple's iPhone software, which became available Wednesday, Apple removed two mainstays, both made by Google - Maps and YouTube.

The disappearing apps show just how far-reaching the companies' rivalry has become, as well as the importance of mobile users to their businesses.

"It's the two big kids kicking sand in the sandbox," said Colin Gillis, an analyst who covers Google and Apple for BGC Partners. "They're now competing against each other with phones, with maps, with content, with search. They're going head-to-head."

Maps are particularly crucial on mobile devices, where location-based services and ads have emerged as the pathway to making money. Google and Apple are not the only warriors in the fight. Amazon.com, Nokia, Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo are competing, too.

"If you own a mobile ecology, as Google does, the other mobile ecology owners are not going to allow you to own tons of data in their world," said Scott Rafer, chief executive of Lumatic, which makes city map apps. "And so neither Apple nor Amazon were going to let Google know where every one of their users was at every time."

Being kicked off the iPhone has potentially significant consequences for Google, whose Maps service earns more than half its traffic from mobile devices, and almost half of that mobile traffic has been from iPhone users. Apple's move strikes at the heart of Google's core business, search, because about 40 percent of mobile searches are for local places or things.

"Local is a huge thing for Google in terms of advertising dollars, and search is very tied to that," said Barry Schwartz, an editor at Search Engine Land, an industry blog. "Knowing where you are, when you search for coffee, it can bring up local coffee shops and ads that are much more relevant for the user."

Consumers are innocent bystanders of the brawl. IPhone users now have an extra step to download the YouTube app from the App Store and, so far, Google has given no indication that it will offer a maps app. Apple's maps, meanwhile, are littered with flaws, some laughable, like a bridge that appears to collapse crossing the Tacoma Narrows Strait of Puget Sound.

Some analysts say, however, that Apple's maps will quickly improve, and that the long-term result of heightened competition will be better maps all around.

"Apple Maps are apparently not ready for prime time, and that's a loss," said Peter Krasilovsky, the program director for marketplaces at BIA/Kelsey, a local media research firm. "But a long-term loss? No. With all the incredible technology being developed by everybody, consumers are the winner."

The war between Google and Apple escalated abruptly before breaking out on the iPhone screen. At the height of their friendship, their chief executives together unveiled the first iPhone, packed with Google services like maps, search and YouTube. But since Google introduced its own mobile operating system, Android, the companies have battled over everything mobile, from patents to ads and apps.

The brawl has played out most publicly in the courtroom, where Apple and phone manufacturers that use Google's Android software have sued one another. Most recently, on Friday and Saturday, Apple and Samsung each filed papers to amend or overturn a jury verdict that awarded Apple $1 billion in a patent trial with Samsung. Apple wants more money and Samsung wants a new trial. The companies will return to court Dec. 6 to discuss their demands.

Though Apple's rejection of YouTube is part of its effort to cut ties with its former friend, it is different from the battle over maps because Apple has no competing video service. Google has introduced a new YouTube app in the App Store, which has become the No. 1 free app.

But with maps, Google, which has long been the dominant digital mapmaker, now must adjust to a new rival, along with the loss of valuable iPhone users.

Even though Android phones far outnumber iPhones - 60 per cent of smartphones run Android, versus 34 percent for iPhones, according to Canalys, a research firm - iPhone users account for almost half of mobile traffic to Google Maps.

In July, according to comScore Mobile Metrix, 12.6 million iPhone users visited Maps each day, versus 7.6 million on Android phones. And iPhone users spent an hour and a half using Maps during the month, while Android users spent just an hour.

Those users are a valuable source for Google, because it relies on their data to determine things like which businesses or landmarks are most important and whether maps have errors.

Google also risks losing the allegiance of app developers who build apps that tie in to maps.

"Overnight, Apple has really taken out a significant chunk of Google's market, and it's much harder for Google to say to developers, 'We're the only game in town, come play with us," said Tony Costa, a senior analyst who studies mobile phones at Forrester. "It will affect the Google ecosystem, putting it back in the same game of their apps lagging behind Apple, and that's not a good position for them to be in."

Still, Google is no doubt feeling a bit of schadenfreude as Apple is loudly criticized for the errors in its maps.

Apple Maps users have been tallying its blunders. A Tumblr devoted to the topic included a missing lake in Hyderabad, India, misplaced restaurants in Cambridge, Mass., and the placement of Berlin in Antarctica.

Apple responded Thursday with a statement that its map service was a work in progress and would improve as more people used it.

Google, meanwhile, has been reminding people of its seven years of experience in mapping.


Google and Apple have become foes, battling in courtrooms, hostilities took a new turn when they spilled right onto smartphone screens.
But the company would not say whether it was building an iPhone app for users to download. Its only public statement on the matter has been vague: "Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system."

Google could decide not to build an app, as a gamble that iPhone users depend on its maps so much that they might switch to Android.

If it does build an app, Apple would have to approve it. Its guidelines for developers are ambiguous, but exclude apps that "appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product."

Rejecting Google's app would most likely set off a brouhaha similar to that over the Google Voice app, which Apple rejected in 2009, prompting an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, and a year later was approved.

More likely, analysts say, Google is waiting for the right time to swoop in and save the day by offering its own iPhone app. One benefit of making its own app: It could add features and sell ads, which it could not do on the old app because Apple controlled it. The situation with the YouTube app was the same.

In the meantime, Google is encouraging people to use maps on the iPhone's browser, where it shows instructions to install it on their home screen.

Source

 

[Bapun]

Apple iPhone 5 main camera is made by Sony​

The Apple iPhone 5 is here and it packs a great slightly but noticeably improved 8-megapixel camera, but up until now we knew little about what company actually manufactured the shooter. Now, ChipWorks reveals that the 8-megapixel primary sensor on the iPhone 5 is actually manufactured by Sony.

A very closeup photo shows the Sony branding, and you shouldn’t be too surprised as Sony has both the tradition and most recently the aggressiveness to deliver the camera on what’s expected to become the best selling smartphone so far.

Earlier, Sony chief executive Howard Stringer revealed that his company is supplying Apple with camera technology and now it’s perfectly clear what he meant.

Interestingly, Sony only supplies Apple with the rear camera. The front-facing shooter that you mostly use for video conferencing and funny self-portraits is manufactured by Sony’s rival OmniVision.

source: ChipWorks

iPhone 5 camera teardown