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If you haven’t updated to iOS 5 by now, let’s face it: you never will. It’s cool. We get it. Some of us are still using Netscape, too. For the rest of the iOS universe, though, iOS 5 has almost certainly been installed, and now that you’ve had a few weeks to tinker with it, we’re interested in seeing what quirks are being found. We’ve received a number of reports surrounding call connection issues (on both Verizon Wireless and AT&T), “invalid SIM” warnings, a bug that shows an inbox as being full (when it clearly isn’t) and iCloud refusing to load email altogether. Oh, and then there’s that pesky Siri pincode bypass — tsk, tsk! Toss your vote in below, and converse amongst yourselves in comments. Sharing is caring!

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Poll: What’s broken (or working) for you in iOS 5? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony PS Vita First Edition Bundle up for pre-order, lets North American buyers snag it one week early originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Overdrive 4G hotspot is just one device affected by the new Sprint data-capping policies. Photo: Dylan Tweney/Wired.com

In more bad news for bandwidth hogs, Sprint — the last bastion of unlimited data plans among U.S. carriers — will soon retire its unlimited 4G data plans for all non-smartphone devices.

Effective this November, Sprint customers will have to pay for 3G and 4G data use combined, a departure from the company’s previous policy of allowing unlimited 4G data while asking customers to pay only for 3G. Even worse, existing unlimited 4G hotspot data customers won’t be grandfathered in. That’s right: Now everyone has to pay up.

With the rise of 4G networks and devices in the U.S. over the past two years, carriers have grown stingier with data plan offerings. AT&T was the first to kill its unlimited data plan in 2010, paving the way for Verizon to follow suit in 2011. T-Mobile boasts an “unlimited” plan, though the company throttles download speeds after users pass the 2GB mark.

Sprints new plans will cost $45 for 3GB, $60 for 5GB, and $90 for 10GB of 3G/4G data. Every megabyte used after your limit will cost a nickel.

Fortunately, the policy strictly applies to non-smartphone devices like hotspots and tablets; Sprint remains the sole major U.S. carrier to offer an unlimited data plan for its smartphone customers.

Nonetheless, Sprint’s latest move may be an omen of things to come, especially as the company begins to carry the iPhone 4S on its network for the first time. AT&T killed unlimited data after gaining a notorious reputation for terrible iPhone coverage, and Verizon put down its unlimited plan only months after it started carrying Apple’s handset. Could Sprint be setting consumers up for the same thing?

A Sprint spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment from Wired.com. We’ll have to wait and see how Sprint’s network handles the influx of new customers.

There’s good news and bad news in AT&T’s third quarter report. The carrier’s profit dropped to $3.6 billion for the quarter — that’s down from $12.32 billion from this time last year. That drop could be due in part to the loss of iPhone exclusivity (a matter recently compounded with the addition of Sprint as a carrier for the 4S) and the fact that the company pulled in profits from the sale of assets in 2010. AT&T activated 2.7 million iPhones during Q3, a marked drop over previous quarters. (Though, admittedly, last Q3 saw the launch of the iPhone 4 — this Q3 saw people waiting for an iPhone 5.). On the up side of things, the sale of Android devices has more than doubled, year over year. AT&T added 2.1 million wireless subscribers, passing 100 million, which the carrier seems quite pleased with, as evidenced by the exceedingly chipper video below.

Update: AT&T dropped us a line to point out that the gains from a one-time tax settlement also significantly contributed to the company’s 2010 profit and by extension the drop in profits year-over-year. According to an AT&T spokesperson, “If you take those one-time items out of the mix, profit was actually up 13-percent year-over-year. In addition, wireless margins were up significantly, which means wireless profits increased.”

Update 2: AT&T also announced this morning that it had activated one million units of the iPhone 4S as of Tuesday. Press release is included underneath the video below.

Continue reading AT&T’s profits are down, but the carrier is still smiling

AT&T’s profits are down, but the carrier is still smiling originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple will be expanding its iPhone 4S availability to another U.S. carrier in the next few weeks. No, it’s not T-Mobile, but rather C Spire Wireless, a small, regional carrier that’s popular in Mississippi and pockets of the Southeast. It’s hard to resist that Southern charm.

C Spire, which runs a CDMA-based network like Verizon and Sprint, will begin selling the iPhone 4S “in the coming weeks.” C Spire hasn’t released many details about the announcement, but Jim Richmond, director of corporate communications, said that interested consumers can sign up on the C Spire website to find out more information as it becomes available.

The C Spire announcement comes as a surprise to most Apple enthusiasts, as C Spire isn’t as well known as other national carriers, such as T-Mobile, or even Cricket Wireless. But maybe all the surprise stems from a likelihood that most Apple watchers are concentrated in large, metropolitan markets.

“C Spire offers Apple access to a region typically neglected by the larger carriers and provides the potential for additional growth away from the urban centers Apple already dominates,” John Feland, CEO of analytics firm Argus Insights, says.

Another reason so few people have heard of C Spire Wireless: The company used to be known as Cellular South. The privately held regional carrier primarily has store locations in Mississippi, along with a few locations in neighboring regions of Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.

The iPhone 4S originally launched on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint on Friday, Oct. 14. The handset promises to be a big money maker for carrier partners, and has already sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend alone. In the past, the iPhone was exclusive to AT&T, and then Verizon began supporting the iPhone 4 in January of this year.

Given lowered price points for the iPhone 3GS and 4, it’s clear that Apple is trying to branch out and make its smartphone accessible to more customers. The majority of cellphone owners aren’t yet smartphone owners, whether due to tight personal budgets, network coverage issues, or because they feel they don’t need smartphone features. But partnering with a carrier in an under-served area where smartphones don’t yet rule the roost could provide Apple with a large number of potential new adopters.

Indeed, the location of C Spire’s customer base offers a number of benefits for Apple that may not be immediately obvious. First, Southerners are typically regarded late technology adopters, says Feland (and as a Texas native who spent several years in Tennessee and Mississippi, I can attest to this as well). This means C Spire has strong potential in converting “feature phone” users to iPhone users. What’s more, thanks to an improved broadband infrastructure and the exploding popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, technology-averse Southern customers might now be more easily swayed to purchase an iPhone, confident that (a) they’ll actually have reliable network service, and (b) they’ll have something really fun to do with their new devices.

But what of T-Mobile? Well, it’s a large national carrier, but already has a presence in the same places as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Because of this, “there are marginal additional unit sales available” for Apple to leverage, says Feland. And, of course, adding a heavyweight like T-Mobile to the mix could anger Apple’s existing iPhone partners. Working with C Spire, the nation’s 8th largest carrier, meanwhile, shouldn’t give anyone much of a scare.

“C Spire’s strong regional presence offers Apple more bang for their buck as they continue to push off an iPhone in every hand and an iPad in every home,” says Feland. “The Southern market is ripe for Apple’s picking.”

Whether C Spire will sell the iPhone 3GS or 4 isn’t yet known. Nor are the carrier’s pricing plans. However, C Spire could potentially offer unlimited data, as the company has an “80/40 plan” that offers unlimited minutes, data and messaging for $80 per month for the first line on a plan, and a mere $40 for additional lines. Currently, Sprint is the only carrier that offers an unlimited data plan for iPhone 4S owners.

Updated 3:38 P.M. with information from C Spire.