Jun 17

iPhone 4 Has More RAM Than iPad

Posted in: Apple, memory, Phones, Today's Chili

The iPhone 4 is an even bigger upgrade than you thought.

When Steve Jobs introduces new iPhones, he skips talking about memory capacity and processor speeds: The idea is that this is an automatic computer that just works. But you’d think he would’ve at least bragged that the iPhone 4 has significantly more memory than previous iPhones and even the iPad.

Our friend Arnold Kim of MacRumors has verified that the iPhone 4 contains 512 MB of RAM, up from 256 MB in the current iPhone 3GS and the iPad. It turns out that Apple mentioned this during a session with developers at last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The session (#147) is downloadable for free for registered Apple developers.

512 MB of RAM would explain why the new iMovie app only works on the iPhone 4. It would also suggest that multitasking (coming with iOS 4) and general usability will be much smoother on an iPhone 4 compared to Apple’s other mobile offerings.

So let’s run down the list: a memory increase, the higher-resolution (960-by-640-pixel) display, a slimmer profile, a front-facing video camera, a 5-megapixel camera and 802.11N Wi-Fi. These are all improvements that make buying a current iPhone 3GS, even at its discounted rate, look like a sucker’s deal. No wonder Apple received 600,000 iPhone 4 pre-orders on day one.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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Jun 17

Samsung Android Phone Captivates ATT

Posted in: Android, att, galaxy, Google, Phones, samsung, Today's Chili

AT&T’s is beefing up its Android portfolio with the addition of a new phone. Samsung Captivate, a smartphone with a 4-inch touchscreen and Android 2.1 operating system, will be the latest device to hop on AT&T’s network.

The phone is part of Samsung’s Galaxy S family of devices, and has an OLED screen, 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording capability.

The device also has a feature called Samsung Social hub that integrates the user’s social networking services, messages, email, calendars and contacts, similar to what Motorola does with its MotoBlur user interface.

This will be AT&T’s fifth Android phone and fulfills the promise that the company made at the beginning of the year to have at least five Android devices on its network in 2010. So far, Motorola’s Backflip and an unsubsidized version of Google’s Nexus One are available on AT&T. Earlier this week, AT&T announced the HTC Aria, a mid-range Android smartphone. The wireless carrier has said earlier it also plans to offer Dell’s first smartphone, Aero, this summer.

The Captivate is the first Android smartphone from Samsung on AT&T’s network. The phone has an MP3 player and offers up to 32 GB of storage for music and video.

AT&T hasn’t disclosed pricing or shipping date for the device.

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Photo: Samsung Captivate/AT&T




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Jun 17

iPhone 4 + Glitchy Launch = Huge Demand Anyway

Posted in: Apple, att, Phones, Today's Chili

Apple has taken orders for more than half a million next-gen iPhones despite numerous website errors and two AT&T security glitches exposing customers’ personal data.

Now that’s impressive.

Many customers itching for an iPhone 4 this week reported server failures when they attempted to pre-order the handset. In some instances, customers were even erroneously logged into other people’s accounts through AT&T’s website. Acknowledging the security glitch, AT&T temporarily suspended iPhone 4 preorders to resolve the problem.

The AT&T website error was the second embarrassing security snafu for the telecom company in a week. After the other one, the FBI launched an investigation into a security hole that exposed personal data on more than 100,000 3G iPad owners. Hackers revealed the exploit in an exclusive story reported by Gawker.

Still, despite recurring failures and frustrations, Apple and AT&T received 600,000 pre-orders of the iPhone 4, anyway. For context, Apple needed a month to sell 1 million units of its other flagship product, the iPad.

“It’s clear there’s extremely strong demand for this phone, and it’s hard to even think of another phone that was introduced with so many pre-orders,” said Michael Gartenberg, a partner of Altimeter. “This was from consumers who have never seen or touched the device — people who are willing to buy it essentially sight unseen.”

“That means there’s a tremendous trust in Apple and Apple products that consumers have, which competitors don’t have and need to figure out how to get,” he added.

In addition to the iPhone 4’s new features — a higher-resolution display, a video-conferencing camera and a brandnew glass form factor — it was probably the sensational story behind leaking the iPhone 4 that helped drive its popularity, Gartenberg said.

Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, and despite the handset’s early imperfections, it has snowballed into a phenomenal success that many tech companies are attempting to replicate. Google’s Android platform is Apple’s fiercest competitor: 100,000 Android devices are being activated each day, according to Google.

Yet the determination seen among iPhone fanatics remains unparalleled even by Google.

“Stayed up past midnight to order on Apple.com,” iPhone customer Scott Schwartz said in Wired.com’s forums. “FAIL. Tried to call the sales number. Dropped calls. (Ironic, since I was calling with iPhone/AT&T). Too many calls, got hung up on. FAIL. Tried at 20-minute intervals for hours in the morning at AT&T and Apple. FAIL. FAIL. Heard about Apple Store App. Downloaded it. Used it. Reserved phone in 60 seconds. WIN. I think this deployment deserves a big banner on a carrier that says ‘Mission Accomplished.’”

“After four hours of attempts to use both the Apple and AT&T websites I was unable to pre-order my handsets,” wrote Wired.com reader Ryan Lieber in an e-mail, who said he eventually drove to an AT&T store multiple times to preorder the iPhone 4. “We got back to the store around 6:45. The system goes down right in front of us. We wait for 90 minutes at the counter just to swipe the credit card. But it’s done.”

Apple and AT&T said iPhone 4 pre-orders exceeded their expectations: Pre-order sales were 10 times higher than the first day of pre-orders for the third-generation iPhone.

It’s believable that they couldn’t anticipate such a demand. But let’s not forget that this is the fourth iPhone, and previous iPhone launches were botched by Apple and AT&T as well, with issues such as activation failures and a shoddy pre-order system.

Clearly, none of these headaches can take away from the shiny allure of Apple’s iPhone.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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Jun 17

Half of All Android Phones Now Sport Android 2.1

Posted in: Android, Google, market, os, Phones, Today's Chili

Android 2.1 aka Eclair is eclipsing other flavors of the Google-designed operating system to become the dominant version on Android phones.

50 percent of Android phones now run Android 2.1, compared to about 37 percent a month ago and 27 percent in April. The rest of Android devices are split between almost evenly between Android 1.5, aka Cupcake, and Android 1.6, or Donut.

The data comes from Android Developers, the official Android developers’ community website, and is based on operating system data reported by devices accessing the Android Market during a 2-week period ending June 16.

The rapid rise of the Android 2.1 indicates that the fractured nature of the platform–a major concern among Android developers and users–may no longer be an issue by the end of the year. In the 16 months since the first Android phone hit the market, Google has made four major upgrades to the operating system.

So far, smartphone makers seemed to be unable to keep up with that pace. Android smartphones running different versions of the OS also make it more expensive for developers to create apps since they have to ensure it runs on multiple versions.

But in the last few months, companies such as Motorola and HTC have been steadily updating the operating systems on their older phones. For instance, HTC confirmed Thursday that it will upgrade the Android 1.5-powered HTC Hero to 2.1 by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Google Nexus One, Motorola Droid and HTC Incredible users among others can look forward to the next Android update called Android 2.2 or FroYo. FroYo updates will flow this summer.

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Data: Android Developers




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Jun 17

Apple Sells 600,000 iPhones Despite ‘System Malfunctions,’ Orders Suspended

Posted in: att, iPhone, Phones, Today's Chili

If you were wondering why both Apple and AT&T melted down when taking orders for the iPhone 4 on Tuesday, we have the answer. Apple sold 600,000 of the things. According to Apple’s press release, “It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions.”

It wasn’t helped by AT&T’s new ordering system which, according to an AT&T insider was updated over the weekend with new fraud-prevention measures and then left untested before iPhone ordering opened. AT&T has issued a statement saying that on launch day, pre-order sales were “10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year.” Now AT&T has “temporarily suspended” ordering for the iPhone 4.

You can still buy an iPhone 4 at Apple.com, although it appears you can only place orders for mail delivery. If you request an in-store pickup, the Apple.com ordering system will show you a list of nearby stores, but you cannot actually select one.

The crush of orders shouldn’t have come as a surprise to AT&T and Apple. All the iPhone 3G owners who held off buying the 3GS last year are now ready for an upgrade. The iPhone 4 got a terrific boost of pre-launch hype thanks to the April appearance of an iPhone prototype on gadget blog Gizmodo, which led to widespread mainstream media coverage. And AT&T has decided to let many 3GS owners upgrade early without penalty. You might think that this unholy combination would lead to a surge in demand, and you’d be dead right: On Tuesday there were 13 million visits to AT&T by customers checking their eligibility to upgrade.

What does this mean for you, the customer? Delivery dates have slipped again, this time to July 14th (launch day is June 24 and new orders were already delayed to July 2). And if you have already ordered, you may still be in for disappointment. Reports from Gadget Lab readers say AT&T is e-mailing customers to cancel their iPhone 4 orders, effectively forcing people to re-order and wait an additional three weeks for delivery. [UPDATE: AT&T got in touch. These cancelled orders are, in fact, just cancellations of duplicate orders some customers made when they didn’t receive confirmations of their first orders.]

And this is in the United States. Countries that do not yet even have a launch date should be prepared for a long wait.

Did you have trouble ordering an iPhone 4? Know anything else about AT&T and Apple’s troubles? Let us know in the comments, or send a tip to us at gadgetnews@wired.com.

Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 Pre-Orders [Apple]

AT&T: iPhone 4 Pre-Orders 10 TIMES Higher Than First Day Last Year [Silicon Alley Insider]

AT&T Now CANCELING Confirmed Pre-Orders [ModMyI. Thanks, Andrew!]

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Jun 16

IPhone 4 Already Sold Out Despite Apple Store Meltdown

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, Phones, Today's Chili

Yesterday, Apple and AT&T both experienced complete meltdown as their servers crumpled under the load of iPhone 4 pre-orders. Various surprising effects were experienced by potential customers according to Twitter, including seemingly successful orders failing after completion, AT&T log-ins redirecting to the accounts of other users, and even full-priced, off-contract handsets ending up in shopping carts.

Today, as the dust clears, it appears that Apple managed to sell out of the iPhone 4 despite the almost non-available store. We know this because the delivery date for orders has been pushed back to July 2nd, a week and a day after the launch date of June 24th. The $99 3GS can still be had on time, if you still want that ugly old thing after seeing the new one.

We can only guess that Apple underestimated demand, just like it did with the iPad, which is still scarce in most markets. Those of you outside the first-tier countries, like me over in Spain, can settle in for a long wait.

Select your iPhone, then choose your AT&T rate plan [Apple]




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Jun 16

Nokia’s Squat, Square X5 Takes on MiniDisc

Posted in: Phones, Today's Chili

Nokia’s gorgeous new X5 is clearly not aimed at the iPhone or Android markets. Instead it is designed to fill the square-shaped gap left by Sony’s venerable MiniDisc player. What?

According to Nokia Conversations, the company’s official blog, the stylish, sleek phone is all about the music: “You might be reminded of a MiniDisc player in its visual stylings and the musical connection is definitely correct when it comes to this device’s specialisms” says the mysterious Nokia blogger known only as “Ian”.

The beautiful (enough already, who are we kidding? This thing is the very definition of hideous) X5 has all the usual gubbins stuffed into its bright and boxy case: a QWERTY keyboard, a 5MP camera with LED lamp, an SD card slot to expand beyond the pitiful 200MB on-board storage, and dedicated music keys. But it also has “some inventive new input options”:

Spin the phone and it will shuffle to a random music track. Inventive indeed! Shake the phone and it “reveals the number of unread messages waiting from your friends,” if you still have any after they see your new phone.

The best feature, though, is its regional availability. The €165 ($200) X5 will launch only in Indonesia, which is comfortably far away for everyone except the poor Indonesians.

Hip to be Square: Two Xseries launches at Nokia Connection [Nokia Conversations]




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Jun 15

Overclocked HTC Evo Runs Almost 30 Percent Faster

Posted in: 4G, Android, hack, Hacks, Mods and DIY, HTC, Phones, Sprint, Today's Chili

The HTC Evo’s 1-GHz processor is one of the fastest in smartphones today, but there’s always room for improvement.

An Android developer at the xda-developers forum has overclocked his Evo 4G phone to run at 1.267 GHz, nearly 30 percent faster than the standard issue. The developer Michael Huang, who posted the hack under the nickname ‘coolbho3000′, says he’ll try and push the processor to do even more.

“Right now, it’s a proof of concept,” Huang told Wired.com. “I built a version of the kernel that’s running on the phone to overclock it and found it worked fine.”

The hack is pretty technical but the idea is to let advanced Android users and programmers see the potential of the device.

HTC introduced the Evo earlier this month as the first 4G Android phone. The Evo, available exclusively on Sprint, has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract.

The phone has become the bestselling device on the Sprint network and at Best Buy Mobile.

Overclocking the HTC Evo is not the first such attempt developers have made with an Android device. Earlier, Huang says he has tried to overclock the Google Nexus One, which has the same 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the HTC. But that hack pushed the speed of the processor to only about 1.1 GHz.

The HTC Evo overclocking has resulted in speeds of a little more than 1.2 GHz for most users on the forum who have tried it.

But, a few words of warning for those who might attempt this at home: It isn’t a DIY project for just anyone. The files necessary to overclock the HTC Evo are posted online but you need to know what you are doing with it.

“If you have a rooted phone, you can get an update.zip file to apply to that phone,” explains Huang. “What I have done is packaged the special overclocked kernel into the file.” Huang used an Android app called SetCPU available in the Android Market to adjust the overclock.

Huang says he doesn’t have access to the full source code of the HTC Evo OS, which has limited some functions in the phone.

That means the sensors and camera on the phone do not currently work with the hack.

The overclocking also affects the phone’s battery life — despite Huang’s attempt to tweak the voltage piped to the processor.

“If you put less voltage on the processor, then the phone will use less battery, so my Evo kernel is running at a lower voltage than normal,” he says. “But because the processor is at a higher speed, the battery life is lower than usual.”

Once the overclocked device gets running, it also heats up a fair bit, say commenters on the forum. So, try this one at your own peril.

If you don’t want to go through all that, just enjoy the video of the overclocked HTC Evo.

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Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

[via Android Guys]




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Jun 15

‘Apple Store’ Application: Buy an iPhone with Your iPhone

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, Phones, Software, Today's Chili

A line in the description of Apple’s new “Apple Store” application for the iPhone shows how confident the company is that they have you locked in forever. “The Apple Store app is also the easiest way to buy or reserve your new iPhone — right from your current iPhone.”

Apple Store lets you shop in the online Apple Store, browsing and buying anything available to normal web-based shoppers, it will allow you to make appointments at the Genius Bar, locate bricks-and-mortar Apple Stores and sign up for in-store workshops and of course “[b]uy or reserve a new iPhone with just a few taps.”

The app is free, and pretty much just bundles the web experience into an easy-to-use package. Ironically, it goes against Apple’s own insistence that the iPhone’s Mobile Safari is perfectly good for browsing full web pages. While many other sites serve iPhone-optimized versions of their sites for the small screen, Apple has kept things desktop-sized. This app is a departure.

Apple Store is live in the US store right now, and will presumably be coming to other Apple Store containing countries too.

Apple Store [iTunes]




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Jun 15

IPhone 4 Available for Pre-Order

Posted in: iPhone, Phones, Today's Chili

Along with the brand new Mac Mini, Apple has made another, less surprising change to the Apple Store. You can now pre-order the iPhone 4 for delivery or in-store pick-up on June 24th, Stores will open at 7AM, presumably to let people build up big queues and sleep outside the stores on Thursday night, but still get to work on time the next morning. Curiously, the white iPhone 4 doesn’t appear to be available at launch.

For those of us outside the first-tier countries that get the new hardware on launch day, take comfort in the fact that we can download the iOS 4 update on June 21st (next Monday) and get many of the new features free. Sure, we won’t be able to run iMovie, or get some Face Time with other iPhone 4 owners, nor even experience the magical, revolutionary new rubber technology of iPhone Bumpers, but we will get multitasking, folders, iBooks and, erm, spell-checking. Rejoice.

iPhone 4 pre-order [Apple]

iOS4 [Apple]

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