Hasta La Gadget!

By now you’ve probably seen the latest spectacle to consume the white iPhone 4: it’s thicker than the black model. The image above illustrates the point using a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil. So what, you say, in righteous indignation to a device that shipped ten months late. Well, the size difference creates a potential consumer issue since cases (at least the good ones) are manufactured against the tight tolerances supplied by Apple. We’ve confirmed ourselves, that an Incase slider that fits a black iPhone 4 just fine has to be forced into place on the new white model. Unfortunately, Apple’s own spec page doesn’t highlight the change in thickness (measured at 9.5mm by TiPb). Instead it still shows a 9.3mm depth with a tiny disclaimer stating, “Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.” The result is confusion — will this case fit or won’t it? — which is never a good thing for consumers.

But why is the white iPhone 4 thicker? Phil Schiller mentioned that Apple needed to add extra UV protection among other tweaks, in an attempt to reduce the “unexpected interactions” between the white cover and the internal components. As such, Apple apparently needed to sacrifice some slimness for a better functioning white phone. In the end, we have what looks to be four different size / button configurations that must be considered when purchasing a shrink-wrapped case for your white iPhone 4, black iPhone 4, white Verizon iPhone 4, or black Verizon iPhone 4. Good luck with that.

Additional reporting by Sam Sheffer

[Thanks, Jon]

Filed under: Cellphones

White iPhone 4 thickness creates issue for case makers, owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I knew Easter was late for a reason this year: The Great White iPhone 4 is finally here. Nearly a year after the launch of the original iPhone 4, plagued by delay after delay, tomorrow you can buy the phone that seemed like it might never exist. More »

1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.

The big hubbub that arose last week around location tracking within the iPhone has now received its due response from Apple itself. Firstly, the Cupertino company claims it does not, and has no plans to, track users’ iPhones. What it’s actually doing is “maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location,” which are then used to provide speedier calculation of your position when you want to use the device’s maps or other location-based services. The data collection that was recently brought to the public attention represents, according to Apple, the location of WiFi hotspots and cell towers around you, not your actual iPhone. Still, the fact iPhones have been shown to store as much as a year’s worth of data is considered a bug by Apple, who plans to limit that period to a week in a future software update. The additional issue of data being collected after users turned off Location Services is also a bug, also to be fixed by Apple in that upcoming update. Left unanswered, however, are the questions of when Apple “uncovered” these bugs, as it claims, and why the fix for them is only coming now. Specialists have known about this behavior since at least September of last year. Either way, the software remedy is promised over the next few weeks, while the next major iteration of iOS should encrypt the cache file that’s been the subject of all the scrutiny. You’ll find the full Q&A after the break.

P.S. — One of Apple’s answers seems to disclose an extra bit of new information: “Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.”

Continue reading Apple officially answers questions on location tracking, says it doesn’t do it

Apple officially answers questions on location tracking, says it doesn’t do it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, we all kinda, sorta know that Apple will finally admit it’s springtime tomorrow and let the white iPhone 4 fly the nest. But in order to sell white iPhone 4s, you’ve got to ship them first, and one small Belgian retailer has just received its first batch of the mythical pale device and lined them up for some loving photography. Not only that, but they’re even offering to sell you either the 16GB or 32GB over on their site (which, mind you, we can’t vouch for!), though they can only ship within the Benelux region. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading Apple gets its white iPhone 4 ducks in a row ahead of launch

Apple gets its white iPhone 4 ducks in a row ahead of launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Van Roey (16GB), (32GB)  | Email this | Comments