Quadriplegic Man Robbed Of iPhone in New York City

When a heartless thief stole an iPhone from William Washington, he wasn't just robbing him of a smart phone.
He robbed this quadriplegic man of his only physical connection to the world around him.
Washington, who suffers from cerebral palsy, cannot walk, talk or use his hands, according to NBC News. His only mode of communication comes from a special pointer he uses to type a message that is then spoken by voice technology on the iPhone.
He could only watch on Nov. 8 as the phone was taken off the tray of his wheelchair at his New York City apartment. He was unable to call 911 so he drafted an email to the NYPD, the Daily Mail reports.
Using a clunky computer to type in his responses, he told NBC that he was "scarred" by the incident.
"You shouldn't steal from a disabled person who relies on a special device to reach out to the world," Washington said.
Cops looked at surveillance footage and this week arrested an 18-year-old who lives in the building, CNET reports. The Staten Island Advance identified the man as Nakiem Sanders.
Sanders reportedly didn't have the iPhone anymore after his arrest, but Washington's friends pooled money to get him a new one.

T-Mobile Will Finally Carry IPhone, IPad And Other Apple Products, Starting In 2013

T-Mobile customers, the wait is over: Your cell phone carrier is finally getting the iPhone.

The fourth-largest mobile carrier in America is partnering with Apple after going over half a decade without America's most popular smartphone, the company announced Thursday morning.

 In its financial statement for the fourth quarter of 2012, T-Mo parent company Deutsche Telekom revealed that T-Mobile USA "has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together in 2013," meaning that the largest carrier in the United States that didn't offer the iPhone has now filled its most glaring product hole.

(A brief caveat: You'll notice that T-Mobile doesn't actually identify which Apple products they'll be carrying. Most are assuming, however, that this announcement means an iPhone and iPad are indeed coming to T-Mobile. We've reached out to both Apple and T-Mobile for confirmation).

UPDATE: T-Mobile is still playing coy about which Apple devices it will carry. "Additional details will be made available at a later date," a T-Mobile spokesperson said in an email in response to a question about whether the iPhone was one of the devices coming to the network.

T-Mobile customers had watched for years as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and smaller regional carriers like Bluegrass Cellular, Appalachian Wireless and Alaski GCI all reached deals with Apple to carry the iPhone. Executives had repeatedly explained, as recently as November 2012, that Apple's asking price was just too high for the company to justify.

FInancial terms of the deal were not immediately revealed. In 2011 Sprint spent over $15 billion to carry iPhones in its stores in an expensive move that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse defended as essential to compete with Verizon and AT&T.

T-Mobile, meanwhile, had been plagued by widespread subscriber loss as customers fled to other providers that did offer the iPhone; recently, T-Mobile had been attempting to lure iPhone users away from carriers like AT&T, advertising its network and cheap data plans as ideal for those who already owned iPhones or those who bought unlocked iPhones online or through Apple.

The carrier with the pink logo won't have to rely on that gimmick for much longer, as it appears likely that T-Mobile retail stores will soon be stocked with iPhones for the first time since the phone's introduction in 2007. The company's next challenge may be to build out its 4G LTE network in time for its iPhone launch date. The network is expected to launch in 2013.

T-Mobile CEO Rene Obermann first announced the surprising news during a call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday morning, and the official statement confirming the agreement followed soon after, according to Engadget (which like the Huffington Post is owned by AOL).

We still don't know specifically when in 2013 the company will begin carrying the iPhone, but it appears that T-Mobile customers hoping for an iPhone in their lifetimes have finally gotten their wish.

Credit : Huffington Post

Tech : How to Use the Panorama Camera to Take Amazing Panoramic Pictures with iPhone

The Panorama camera is one of the better features of iOS 6, it makes taking incredible high-quality panoramic pictures ridiculously easy without adding any additional apps to your iPhone. The feature is currently limited to iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 users, and if you haven’t used it yet here’s what you’ll want to do:

Using the Panoramic Camera on iPhone

• Open Camera (from the lock screen is the fastest way)
• Tap “Options” at the top, then tap “Panorama” from the menu
• Tap the camera button to start taking a picture, then move slowly while keeping iPhone stable as the panoramic image is drawn
• Finish by reaching the end of the panoramic guide line or by tapping the camera button again

There is virtually no wait time while the final picture is rendered as a result of how Apple basically “paints” the picture live as the panorama is taken.

Tips for the Best Panorama Photo Results

• Hold steady and aim to center along the provided line
• Move slowly horizontally to allow for lighting adjustments as image pans
• Tap an area of neutral lighting for the initial exposure, avoid exposure lock in dramatically varied lighting situations
• If you do end up with artifacts and/or regions of black pixels, use Crop directly on iPhone to clean them up instantly

Once Panorama is active, moving slowly and holding steady to “paint” your panoramic photo gives the best results. If you move too quickly the camera won’t have time to adjust properly to lighting changes, and artifacts can appear on the final image either in the form of black pixels for areas that are missed or out of the guide line, or in the form of chunky transitions. You can see an example of the chunky transition artifacting that can occur from a quick motion at the far right corner of this otherwise very nice sample panorama image from an iPhone 5.

Panoramic pictures are stored in the Camera Roll as usual, and you can email or send them through messages as you’d expect. If you want the highest quality version of a panoramic image, you’ll need to connect the iPhone to a computer and transfer the photos by USB, otherwise it will be automatically compressed and reduced in file size and resolution down to somewhere between 5000×1000 and 8000×2000 to save data usage and make it reasonable to open on iOS devices and in email. The original panoramic photos are gigantic, coming in around a whopping 20,000 x 4000 pixels, so be prepared for iPhone storage space to disappear rapidly if you take a lot of these.

Finally, if you have an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or you want to take panoramics with an iPod touch or iPad, an excellent third party app called Dermandar is available for $2 on the App Store.

Credit : OSX Daily

Tech : Never lose your keys again with the Hone Bluetooth keychain for iPhone and iPad

The Hone us keychain accessory for iPhone and iPad, now on Kickstarter, that aims to eliminate the problem of losing car, house or any other type of keys. Everyone has experienced the panic -- you're running late, searching for your keys, can’t find them anywhere, time is ticking away... Well, instead of checking and re-checking the same places, over and over again, desperately hoping you somehow missed your keys the first ten times around, the Hone offers a better, more technological solution.
A small Bluetooth device for your keychain, the Hone connects to your iPhone 4S or new iPad via the latest Bluetooth 4.0 low energy protocols. When you lose your keys you just simply fire up the companion app and it will trigger an audible alarm and flashing lights. Even better, it has a built in proximity sensor so if you can’t see you keys, walking around and getting nearer to them will change the way the Hone alerts you too.
The Hone runs for up to six months on one replaceable battery and has a range of up to 150 feet. The makers of Hone will also make the device hackable in the future by releasing the devices UDID and Bluetooth profile. This means that you could hack it and use it for a different solution if you wanted a low energy Bluetooth device for something else.
If you want to get on board with this project, you can be an early adopter with a pledge of $40. The Hone still has 22 days left to run but has already reached its fundng target of $46,000.



Credit : iMore

Apple gives Google Maps the boot, adds free turn-by-turn navigation to iPhone

The big news in the tech world right now is the World Wide Developer's Conference which Apple just concluded. That's where the House that Jobs Built unveiled its latest operating systems for both computers and mobile devices, its latest laptop computer design and more. But what does this all have to do with cars, you ask? Plenty.

First off, Apple used the high-profile press conference extravaganza to announce the integration of its Siri voice service into cars, starting with nine automakers (among them the massive General Motors group) that will be putting a dedicated button on their steering wheels to allow drivers to activate the service on their iPhones and iPads without taking their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road. But that's not all that's of relevance to motorists from WWDC 2012.

Apple has also announced the launch of its own Maps application, replacing the Google Maps utility it had begrudgingly integrated into its devices until now. Resulting from Apple's acquisition of several erstwhile independent digital cartography operations, Maps aims to improve on the popular Google service with such features as spoken turn-by-turn directions with real-time ETA, smooth-scrolling 3D imaging, aerial flyover views of city centers and important landmarks, Siri integration and real-time traffic information.

The latter is reportedly crowdsourced anonymously from other users, leaving us with some questions regarding privacy issues. But we'll leave that to the guys with the tin-foil hats while we blissfully revel in Big Brother's latest offering to the masses. Follow the links below to see what Apple has in store in greater detail. 

 

Credit : Apple, Engadget, Autoblog

Tech : Walmart to cut price of AT&T iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

Walmart is set to cut the price of the iPhone 4 to $114 on contract and the 8 GB iPhone 4 to $34 according to these price cards and their internal pricing console. These are $54 and $74 price drops respectively, but it doesn’t seem like many (if any) Walmarts have pulled the trigger on the new pricetags just yet.
While the price cut isn’t a huge deal in and of itself, it does suggest that a new iPhone is right around the corner. We’re expecting the iPhone 5 to drop in the fall, but if Walmart is already trying to clear out old iPhone stock, maybe we’ll see the next iOS smartphone sooner than later.
It’s a little curious that it seems like these price cuts are just for the AT&T version; maybe Verizon and Sprint models will be included with this slash goes into effect, but it’s tricky to say at this point. Anyone want to take bets about a new iPhone being announced at WWDC, or are we just going to see iOS 6?


UPDATE: Aaaaand it turned out to be a pricing error. Carry on, as you were.

DJ Tech : How To Record Your DJ Set On An iPhone

Picture this: It’s your big break, and you’re about to step up into the DJ booth with your dream set, ready to rock the place. Then you realise that the venue’s promised set recording facilities haven’t materialised!
Sadly it looks the stunning two-hour beatmatched, harmonically tuned masterpiece that you’ve been preparing for weeks and planning to record is only going to live on in the minds of your audience…

“Hang on, I’ll just use the record function on my DJ software!” you might think. Well, I for one don’t trust my laptop to record and work flawlessly when DJing. And there are other situations where this might not cut it, too: maybe you’re DJing a mix of digital and analogue, or you have live percussion, or you want to capture crowd noise, or MCing…
Luckily, it turns out that your iPhone can rescue you… but you’ll need to have pre-planned it.

What hardware you’ll need

The iPhone can already record, straight from the built-in microphone. But that’s hardly going to be good enough for recording a DJ set. We want a line output from the mixer directly into our iDevice. For this we’ll need an additional interface of some kind. Be warned though your choice of interface will vary depending on the version of your iDevice! With the arrival of the first iPad in 2010, Apple phased out stereo analog input (via the 30pin connector). This means that you can only achieve a stereo digital input on iPhone 4, iPad or 4th Generation iPod Touch by using a USB audio interface with a built in analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
30-pin connnector devices
These plug in to the bottom of your iPhone, and offer the best stereo quality – but are harder to get going with software that is different to that provided with them or designed to use them.
The best choice would be the Blue Microphones Mikey Digital microphone. The Mikey is great for field recording but also has a stereo line input via a 3.5mm input jack.

It can be set up with automatic or manual gain control so you can ensure your mixer output doesn’t clip at louder volumes. Retailing at $99, another benefit of this device is that it is compatible with most recording apps on iOS.
(This is actually the third generation of the Mikey product line, for recent devices; there is an older version for earlier devices including iPod Nano and iPod Classic. A compatibility chart helps you decide on which is more appropriate for your device.)
Alternatively, if you don’t ever think you’re going to want a microphone, you could look at GuitarJack. While this feeds into its own control panel that is built in to some specialist guitar apps, there’s also a “hack” that lets you use it with most third-party apps. (You set everything up in its control panel, quit, open the third-party app and all settings should be retained.)
By the way, another device we found – Line6′s MobileIn – looked good too, but nobody seemed to be able to get to work with any app other than the company’s own guitar modelling software – making it no good for recording DJ sets, unfortunately.

Recording direct with an adaptor lead
The second method is to buy an adaptor lead that attenuates the stereo line-in signal from your DJ mixer and feeds it through the 1/8″ headphone/microphone adaptor on the top of your iPhone or iPod Touch.

This lead works with a whole load of other smartphones too…

While you may not get the same quality (we haven’t tried it, but we have found the lead that does it; KV Connection sells it), it may be plenty good enough.
Update: Using the headphone jack would only give you a mono audio input. The socket has four conductors, left and right stereo output, one ground and one for mono mic input.
A bonus here is that judging by the compatibility chart on KV’s website, this lead works with a whole load of other smartphones too. And of course, as you’re just feeding into the iPhone/iPod Touch’s built-in external microphone input (didn’t you know the headphones output was also a mic input? You do now…), there’s no problem getting it to work with any recording software.

Software for the job

Your next job is deciding what to actually do your recording on.
If you’re underwhelmed by the iPhone’s built-in Voice Memo app, you could half-way house it with one any of the many iPhone sample recording apps, one of our favourite being FiRe 2.
Alternatively, you could go the whole hog with a specialist music app (such as Apple’s own GarageBand). If you had also opted for a Mikey interface, you could then record crowd and DJ set, for mixdown later, as we suggested above.
And that’s it! You’re all set up to capture your sets, potentially with crowd noises and all, to keep forever.

Conclusion

The aim of this piece was to investigate whether it’s feasible to whip your iPhone out and record your DJ set, straight from the mixer.
Whether you choose to use a simple audio adaptor or go with a proper line-in solution, it turns out that it is; however, once you’ve invested in one of these solutions (you’re looking at anything from US$30 for the lead up to closer to US$170 for GuitarJack), you may have been better off going for a cheap dedicated hardware recorder.
Then at least if your phone rings while you are DJing, you can at least try and take the call…

Credit : Digital DJ Tips

Tech : Apple Rides iPhone Frenzy

Quarterly Profit Nearly Doubles as Tech Giant Taps China, New Markets

Apple Inc.'s AAPL +10.10% quarterly profit nearly doubled as iPhones and iPads continued to fly off shelves, putting to rest recent worries that the company can't maintain its momentum.
Shares gained more than 7%, or $40.55, to $600.83 in after-hours trading Tuesday—after falling in 10 of the past 11 regular trading sessions amid concerns about a potential iPhone slowdown. Instead, iPhone shipments jumped 88% in the quarter, as Apple continued to penetrate new markets like China.

Sales of Apple iPhones and iPads in greater China are skyrocketing, with five times as many iPhones sold in the latest quarter as a year earlier. How far will China take Apple? The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to Dow Jones' Yun-Hee Kim.

Apple is the most valuable company, but it isn't the best gauge of the health of the global economy. Overall corporate earnings results have been strong but uneven: General Electric Co. said last week that its operating earnings were up; International Business Machines Corp. IBM +1.48% reported a higher profit, but a drop in sales of computer hardware raised questions about technology spending by businesses and governments.

Apple's success comes as it rides the proliferation of smartphones that are reshaping the technology landscape. But unlike some other players, Apple is also driving the changes with products it is able to convince consumers and businesses to buy despite a sluggish economy. In particular, Apple's gains have come at the expense of one-time giants such as Research In Motion Ltd. RIMM +1.96%
The quarter's results also suggest that Apple is on its way to doing what the 36-year-old company has yet to do: build a product that has strong and steady demand world-wide. Its Macs and to some degree iPods haven't taken off around the world the way that its iPhone is proving it can.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Tim Cook has taken steps to deal with Apple's growing scale. In March, he said he would put Apple's cash pile, long a subject of consternation among shareholders, to use via a dividend and stock buyback. Apple said it would issue the dividend in the quarter beginning in July and begin a $10 billion share-repurchase program the following quarter.

Track the performances of 150 companies as they report and compare their results with analysts' estimates. Sort by date and industry.

Still, analysts said Apple's stock could go on a bumpy ride in coming months, particularly as competitors like Nokia Corp. NOK +4.94% and Samsung Electronics Co. rush to market with devices during a window when Apple isn't expected to push a new phone.
Analysts predict Apple will launch its next iPhone in the fall, about a year after the 4S model. Expectations for Apple's stock are still lofty, with some analysts having 12-month price targets approaching $1,000 a share.
Over the quarter, the nearly five-year-old iPhone remained Apple's key driver. Apple said it sold 35.1 million of the smartphones, up from 18.65 million units a year ago. The device and related products and services formed 57.9% of Apple's sales, up from 52.7% last quarter. The company said its latest iPhone is now available in more than 100 countries and at 230 wireless carriers, up from 90 countries and 186 carriers as of March last year.
On a conference call, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said iPhone sales in greater China were five times the level of the year-ago quarter.

The results were an encouraging sign of how the hit device would fare outside the U.S., particularly in less affluent countries where smartphone growth is increasingly shifting.
"Smartphone growth domestically is slowing because we have reached a saturation point," said Peter Misek, a managing director at Jefferies & Co. He said Apple should be well-positioned in other markets given the strength of luxury brands in countries like China.
The Cupertino, Calif., company posted a 94% profit jump to $11.6 billion and a 58.9% revenue increase to $39.2 billion for the first three months of the year from a year earlier. While the numbers showed a slight deceleration from growth rates the quarter before, the results were well above analyst estimates of $9.52 billion in profits on revenue of $36.8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Apple continues to prove it can fight off intensifying competition in the smartphone and tablet computer markets. Pictured, a Toronto store.

Sales of the iPad over the quarter were lower than some analysts had forecast, but up more than 150% from a year ago to 11.8 million units. Apple introduced a new iPad model during the quarter.
Mr. Oppenheimer said Apple is "selling the new iPad as fast as we can make them." Demand, he said, is "staggering."
Apple also sold four million Macs during the quarter, up 7% from a year ago. Meanwhile, iPod sales continued to decline, with 7.7 million units sold in the quarter, down 15% from a year ago.
During the call, Mr. Cook gave his strongest public hint yet that he'd be willing to settle the sprawling legal battles started by his predecessor Steve Jobs. "I've always hated litigation and I continue to hate it," he said. Apple and Samsung recently agreed to enter settlement talks in a California patent case.
Mr. Cook also brushed off some competitors' approaches. When asked about whether Apple's tablets and laptops might converge—a model Microsoft is pushing with Windows 8—he said: "You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user."
Apple's guidance for the current quarter ending in late June—revenue of about $34 billion and earnings per share of $8.68—was lower than analysts expected, as it usually is. Mr. Oppenheimer said the numbers reflect how the company was able to fulfill demand for the latest devices more quickly, minimizing the spillover of sales into the next quarter.
Apple's cash hoard grew to $110.2 billion as of March 31, up from $97.6 billion at the end of December. Its closely watched gross margin, rose to 47.4% from 41.4% a year earlier.

Credit : WSJ.COM

iPhone and iPad theft in New York up 44% since last year

Recent data from the New York Police Department shows that the theft of iPhones and iPads has increased by 44% since last year. From the beginning of the year to April 15, 1,196 iOS devices have been stolen, while 831 were swiped during the same period in 2011. These stats are surfacing shortly after a 26 year-old chef named Hwang Yang was shot and killed in the Bronx for his iPhone. His wallet was left alone, however. The NYPD advises against flashing your iPhone or iPad while on the subway, which is common sense for the vast majority of us, but a good thing to remember for those long trips when you’re bored.
U.S. carriers have recently announced that they’re working on forming a shared database of IMEI serial numbers of stolen mobile phones, which should allow them to remotely lock devices that have been blacklisted. While determined thieves are likely to find a work-around, the process will at least act as a deterrent to less-informed criminals.
I would be curious to see if this rise in iPhone and iPad theft is consistent across the U.S., and how it differs internationally. At the very least, let this be a reminder to have Find my iPhone installed and running – it has been known to save the day before.
Source: New York Daily News

DJ Tech : Future DJ For iPhone & iPod Touch

Future DJ has parallel waveforms which will be familiar to anyone who's used DJ software on PC or Mac.

DJing on your iDevice as we’re finding out isn’t all about Algoriddim’s djay, great though it is – there are many other programs vying for your attention.
The Future DJ app has been in the app store for almost a year now and curiously seems to get little notice; so today I’m setting out to find out if it’s a hidden gem.

The development team (Xylio) are behind the Future Decks audio / video mixing software which is available for both PC and Mac. FutureDecks is pretty fully featured, so with this prior experience in the DJ software market my expectations for an iOS app from the same company start off quite high.

The user interface

The interface is fairly straightforward, and all of your time will be spent on the main screen (since there really is only one screen!).

The app is displayed horizontally with the tracks stacked (Left deck “A” at the top, Right deck “B” at the bottom) and the waveforms scrolling from right to left.

The Future DJ main screen. Here's where you'll spend practically all of your time in the program.

The deck controls are colour coded with the left deck in red and the right deck in blue. The colour-coded pitch sliders are on the edges of the screen and show a rough volume level underneath in the same colour.
The in-app help feature (via the “?” button on the left) is quite handy on first use and the configuration page can be accessed with the wrench/spanner button on the other side.

Configuration

There are quite a few key configuration settings to note, some more useful than others:

• Analyze on load – Set this to ON otherwise there is no beatgrid or BPM displayed and therefore the sync button will not make any sense! The caveat here is that once the BPM has been detected there’s no way of correcting it. I’m sure it’s not even looking at the BPM data which I’d stored against the track in iTunes. Most of my drum & bass tracks were coming back with a bpm around 115!
• Play on load – This is a strange setting to auto play the track once it’s been loaded. I’ve got this set to “Off”. I can’t think of a circumstance where I’d want a track to play straight away without cueing it first
• Audio split mode – A useful setting if you’re using any form of audio splitting to cue up the next track. There’s no PFL level setting and it does the cueing automatically based on where the cross-fader currently is
• Waveform scratch mode – While I certainly wouldn’t use such an app for scratching, I’ve got it set to “On” which allows me to manually scroll through the waveform (with audio) when setting a cue point
• Auto mix duration – The time taken for the auto-movement of the crossfader from one side to the other. This might be useful if you want to move onto the next track while playing with effects or something else
• Beatmatching when auto-mixing – Very much dependent on how well you’ve aligned the two tracks and if their BPMs are correct
• Use cue as cue-play – A common setting on several apps and down to personal preference
• Enable MotionPlaying – This is the odd one. I really cannot think of a use for this feature apart from a very brief moment of amusement. If you have this set, you can place your iPhone/iPod Touch on a physical turntable and scratch the track loaded by moving the turntable!

Music access

Access to your music library is via the “eject” button for each deck on the left.
Ease of use and quick access to tracks in your music library should be paramount for developers of any DJ app, however with Future DJ we are using the generic music library plugin which shows you the tracks as if you were using the standard “Music” app on your device.

When you’re in a live environment and need to get to a track fast this approach is slow and feels clumsy.

For me, the generic view of the library is fine when I’m at home browsing through tracks without time as a constraint. However, when you’re in a live environment and need to get to a track fast this approach is slow and feels clumsy. Sadly this is the quickest, easiest way for a developer to say they’ve given you access to the music library which means it’s the most used approach throughout iOS DJ apps (with a few rare, but welcome exceptions).
Unfortunately with Future DJ there’s no alphanumeric index so if you want to load up two tracks by Zero 7 then you have to either use Search (which is slow with a lot of tracks) or scroll down the entire artist list (again, time consuming). At the very least, the developers should be looking to add a keyed index on the right hand side to quickly take you to “Z” or at least thereabouts.
The other problem with the generic library screen is that it does not include BPM or comments data, so you have no idea what speed the tracks are and what key they’re in. Other similar apps have got this covered nicely and some even allow sorting on this data.

Track detail and control

Once a track has been loaded you get the waveform with beatgrid shown as well as the basic track information (artist, title, BPM and duration left). I’m not sure what the heart icon represents though.
The title bar of the track also acts like a track search bar, so you can press any point along the thin bar and the track will go immediately to that point.

It would be good to see a “double-tap” feature on the pitch to snap it back to zero, and pitch bend functionality as well.

The pitch controls are OK (just). Any fine tuning is out of the question on a small screen and you don’t get any indication of how much you have altered the pitch (eg +/- 10%) – unless you’re very good at quick maths and deduce it from the changes in BPM. It would be good to see a “double-tap” feature on the pitch to snap it back to zero, and pitch bend functionality as well.
The crossfader again is OK, you can punch in (and quickly out) a track by tapping anywhere along the crossfader. The “Mix” buttons either side are for the ‘Auto-Mix’ function which smoothly moves the crossfader from one side to the other. It would be good to see an adjustable fader curve (as on other apps).
You only get one cue point per track (which is stored and recalled next time the track is loaded).

Cue, FX & loop

These are all grouped together and when displayed they cover the current track’s waveform display.
The EQ is limited to low and high, with a gain control alongside. There are four self-explanatory effects buttons: brake (this slows the track to a stop, like hitting the stop button on a turntable); flanger; skip (this skips to the next beatgrid); and echo.

Using Loops, EQ and FX in Future DJ.

Unfortunately, there’s no way of tweaking these effects so you’re left with static settings. I found hitting brake and echo at the same time brought a nice flourish to stopping a track and when used while fading between two tracks it was quite effective.
The loop functionality is basic but can be effective if your BPM is correct and the beatgrid is aligned perfectly. It’s as simple as pressing “Loop In” to start the loop, and the same button to mark the end loop point.
When you first press the “Loop In” button the Cue/FX/Loop section becomes slightly transparent so you can see the waveform. This all felt OK, but sadly lacking in terms of quality and quantity when you look at what other competing apps are offering in all these three areas. There’s no way of storing loop points or looping based on a set of bar lengths, so it is very much “on-the-fly”.

Conclusion

For a company that has developed DJ software before, the app does fall short of what you would expect. However, the app has been developed with a small interface in mind and there are plans for an iPad version – there are no details of how this will differ though and how it will stand out against established competition on a larger device.
The app just about delivers what is promised, however it is unlikely that many people would choose to use it in a live environment when other more feature-rich apps are available.

Rides : Mercedes-Benz integrates iPhone, Siri into all-new A-Class

The paradigm has shifted. Normally an automaker's range-topper gets the latest and greatest technology, but with the introduction of the all-new A-Class, Mercedes-Benz is flipping that order on its head.

At next month's Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes will show off the next A-Class and with it, its updated COMAND infotainment system. The user interface has undergone a complete overhaul, ditching the black and beige color scheme for a sharp, modern, three-dimensional design and a range of new features and functions, nearly all of which are centered on the iPhone 4S.

The new Digital DriveStyle app allows drivers to stream AUPEO! radio (Europe's equivalent to Pandora), connect with Facebook and Twitter to read out status updates, find your car in a crowded parking lot and get real-time traffic data and point-of-interest searches through a new Garmin navigation system. All of which is available with the entry-level "Audio 20" setup.

More intriguingly, Mercedes is the first automaker to support and integrate Apple's Siri voice-recognition technology, allowing users to make appointments, send text messages and emails, get weather status and access all their songs through voice commands.

While all these features will be limited to the Euro-only A-Class at first, Mercedes says that the iPhone-integrated COMAND Online suite of services will be coming to the B-, C- and E-Class models this fall. 

 

Press Release

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class is "always on": Mercedes-Benz puts the iPhone® on wheels

Stuttgart. Mercedes-Benz is making smartphones mobile and ensuring that such electronic assistants will in future be fully linked into the car's infotainment system.

First off the blocks is the Apple® iPhone®, which Mercedes-Benz has now integrated comprehensively into the user experience concept of the new A-Class, as the first automotive manufacturer in the world to take this step. Thanks to a new "Digital DriveStyle App", developed in-house, together with the "Drive Kit Plus for the Apple® iPhone®", drivers can now access all the key content of their Apple® iPhone® through the in-vehicle display and enjoy safe and convenient operation of the device via the Controller on the center armrest. The attractive 'look' is ensured by the revolutionary user interface design. In a further world premiere, Mercedes-Benz will enable access to the voice-based intelligent companion Siri™ in the vehicle. This allows natural speech input, without the need for specific commands, to send messages, select music tracks and check the weather forecast or stock prices, as well as to make appointments. All the iPhone® integration functions can be used even with the entry-level Audio 20 system.

This seamless integration of the Apple® iPhone® into the vehicle, in conjunction with the new revolutionary user interface design, means that Mercedes-Benz is now able to offer the Facebook generation its natural home on four wheels, in the form of the new A-Class. Along with Facebook, Twitter and so on, the "Digital DriveStyle App" developed by Daimler offers further services and content to suit the digital lifestyle and will be available to download free of charge from the Apple® iTunes® store. Its highlights include:

Personalised internet radio by AUPEO! Personal Radio, which offers radio stations that compile an individual program for listeners and recommend similar music by genre or artists based on personal taste.

The advanced navigation software from Garmin, with internet-based real-time traffic information, online POI searches and 3D map display, all of which work even in combination with the entry-level multimedia system Audio 20

A socially interactive experience involving "sharing", "posting" and the integration of music and other content from social networks including text-to-speech.

An intuitive 'Car Finder' which automatically stores the vehicle's location. Pedestrian navigation makes it completely easy to find your way back to the car.

Access to the voice-based intelligent companion Siri™.

New here is also the contextual and location-based display of menu content under the headings "Social", "Media" and "Places". The basic logic behind this was presented by Daimler for the first time in January of this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Appearing under the heading "Social", for example, are the various friends and latest news from the social networks.

The user interface design is unique and revolutionary. Transparent symbols are illuminated in red to create three-dimensionally arranged navigation levels. Within the three-dimensional illustration provided by this menu structure, the user can move intuitively between the various functions in fluid, animated transitions. The user interface concept was designed and implemented by designers and engineers in the Mercedes-Benz research and development center in Palo Alto, California/USA. Enlarging the display of content on the screen to an appropriate format for use in a vehicle and allowing it to be controlled through the ergonomically positioned Controller on the center armrest makes operating the system both safe and easy.

The iPhone® is connected through an interface developed by Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH. This allows content to be fed directly from the graphics output of the device to the display of the vehicle. At the same time, the iPhone® is both powered and charged automatically while it is being used.

Full iPhone® integration is not only possible in conjunction with the COMAND Online multimedia system. All functions, including navigation, can also be used even with the entry-level Audio 20 system. Mercedes-Benz is thus making it possible for the A-Class's younger target group in particular to continue their digital lifestyle seamlessly inside the vehicle. Both the "Digital DriveStyle App" and the "Drive Kit Plus for the Apple® iPhone®" will be making their debut in the new A-Class, which will be celebrating its world premiere at this year's Geneva Motor Show, and are also planned to be available from autumn 2012 for the B-, C- and E-Class.

Always at your service: the voice-based intelligent companion Siri™
As the first automotive manufacturer to do so, Mercedes-Benz will be introducing Siri™ in a vehicle with easy access to it from the "Digital DriveStyle App". While conventional voice recognition software demands the use of specific spoken commands, Siri™ understands natural speech patterns and will even ask questions in return should more information be needed in order to complete a given task.

Siri™ is a function of the latest iPhone® generation, 4S, and acts as a personal assistant. Given verbal instructions, for example, it will access the personal calendar to make or decline requests for appointments or meetings. SMS text messages can be dictated or read out, and emails sent. Siri™ can also be used as a convenient way of accessing the complete range of music stored on an iPhone® or to request the latest weather forecast.
Always up-to-date: COMAND Online with Cloud technology and

Mercedes-Benz App Shop
Safe and convenient access to the internet on the move is already available in a whole series of Mercedes-Benz models: the fully integrated multimedia system COMAND Online was introduced in 2011. As well as innovative applications such as Google Local Search including Google Street View and Panoramio, Mercedes-Benz is the only manufacturer to offer the option of sending individually preconfigured routes from Google Maps on a PC to the vehicle. The internet connection that is required for the functions in COMAND Online is established via a mobile telephone Bluetooth link and a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). Mercedes-Benz is firmly convinced that the future lies with cloud computing. The software used in the COMAND Online applications is not stored in the vehicle, but runs off the Daimler Vehicle Backend. The advantage of this is that applications can be continually updated in the cloud, and new applications released to Mercedes-Benz customers, without the need to visit a workshop.

In this sense on March 31st, 2012 a new Mercedes-Benz App to access News will be available to COMAND Online customers. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz Apps for COMAND Online will be offered soon in the new Mercedes-Benz App Shop. The first two Mercedes-Benz Apps to become available in the App Shop will be the Parking Finder and Morningstar Finance, that offers access to stock prices.

It is planned to introduce a dozen or so new applications each year. To this end, Daimler has set up App Development Groups in both Palo Alto, California/USA, and Bangalore, India.

Cell Phones : Verizon sells two million iPhones in the September quarter

Carrier Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of U.S. telecommunications firm Verizon Communications and UK multinational mobile network operator Vodafone, today announced financial results for the September quarter. Big Red sold two million iPhone units which represents a 300,000 units decline compared to the June quarter. Verizon was also behind rival AT&T which yesterday reported activating 2.7 million iPhones in the quarter out of a total of 4.8 million total devices.
In a separate statement, rival AT&T said it activated a million units of the new iPhone 4S on its network as of Tuesday, while Verizon made no mention of iPhone 4S in its quarterly filing. iPhone 4S went on sale in the United States, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Canada and Japan on Friday, October 14. The phone will roll out to 22 new countries later this month, with regional online Apple Stores in those countries accepting reservations beginning today.

Press Release

Verizon Generates Strong Wireless Results, Increased Cash Flow, and FiOS and Strategic Services Growth in 3Q

3Q 2011 HIGHLIGHTS
Consolidated
· 49 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS), compared with 23 cents per share in 3Q 2010.
· 56 cents per share in adjusted EPS (non-GAAP), which excludes 7 cents per share in non-operational items, compared with 55 cents in adjusted EPS in 3Q 2010.
Wireless
· $15.0 billion in service revenues in 3Q 2011, up 6.1 percent year over year; data revenues of $6.1 billion, up 20.5 percent, representing 40.6 percent of service revenues; total revenues of $17.7 billion, up 9.1 percent.
· 2.4 percent growth in retail postpaid ARPU over 3Q 2010; retail postpaid data ARPU up 15.7 percent; retail service ARPU also up 2.4 percent.
· 29.0 percent operating income margin; record-high 47.8 percent Segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP), up 60 basis points year over year.
Wireline
· 138,000 FiOS Internet and 131,000 FiOS TV net additions, with increased sales penetration for both products; 4.0 million customers now subscribe to FiOS TV.
· 8.8 percent year-over-year increase in consumer ARPU; FiOS consumer retail revenues represent nearly 60 percent of total consumer revenues.
· 15.6 percent increase in strategic services revenues, representing nearly 50 percent of global enterprise revenues.
NEW YORK – With another strong showing by Verizon Wireless, and continued growth in FiOS and strategic business services, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today reported third-quarter 2011 financial and operational results that keep the company on track to achieve its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
Verizon reported 49 cents in EPS in the quarter, compared with 23 cents per share in third-quarter 2010.
Adjusted third-quarter 2011 earnings (non-GAAP) of 56 cents per share exclude 7 cents per share for a non-operational charge relating to a remeasurement, based on an actuarial valuation of pension plans. No adjustments were made for the previously announced $250 million (5 cents per share) negative impact in the quarter due to storm-related repair costs and a two-week strike affecting the Wireline segment. Comparable adjusted third-quarter 2010 earnings were 55 cents per share, excluding the impact of non-operational charges, the largest of which was related to pension and benefits remeasurements.
Well-Positioned for 4Q and 2012
“Verizon emerges from the third quarter in a strong position to accelerate growth,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon president and chief executive officer. “We faced significant challenges in recent months, yet delivered results that keep us on track to meet our 2011 earnings and revenue guidance, with great momentum expected entering 2012. We continue to grow revenues from strategic products and to increase free cash flow through improved operating performance and disciplined capital spending.”
McAdam added, “Verizon Wireless delivered impressive results across the board in the third quarter, and we are geared up for an even better fourth quarter, with new smartphones, tablets and data devices coming to market. In FiOS, we expect to capitalize on pent-up demand and deliver stronger growth in the fourth quarter. In enterprise, the integration of Terremark and recent acquisition of CloudSwitch have significantly improved our competitive positioning.”
Verizon has targeted 2011 adjusted EPS growth of 5 percent to 8 percent from an adjusted base of $2.08 in EPS in 2010, and 2011 revenue growth of 4 percent to 8 percent on a comparable basis with 2010.
Consolidated Revenue and Cash Flow Growth
In third-quarter 2011, Verizon’s total operating revenues were $27.9 billion on a consolidated basis, an increase of 5.4 percent compared with third-quarter 2010. Total operating expenses were $23.3 billion, an increase of 0.7 percent.
Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the quarter totaled $8.8 billion, up 19.2 percent year over year.
Cash flow from operating activities totaled $21.5 billion in the first nine months of 2011, and capital expenditures totaled $12.5 billion — on track to meet the company’s full-year guidance of $16.5 billion. From the $9.0 billion in free cash flow (non-GAAP, cash flow from operations less capex) over the first nine months, Verizon has paid $4.1 billion in dividends to shareholders, and in September the Verizon Board of Directors approved a dividend increase for the fifth consecutive year.
Verizon Wireless Delivers Strong Results
In third-quarter 2011, Verizon Wireless again delivered strong growth in revenues, retail customers and other connections, driven by increased smartphone penetration and increased retail postpaid ARPU (average monthly service revenue per user).
Wireless Financial Highlights
· Service revenues in third-quarter 2011 totaled $15.0 billion, up 6.1 percent year over year. Data revenues were $6.1 billion, up more than $1.0 billion or 20.5 percent year over year, and represent 40.6 percent of all service revenues. Total revenues were $17.7 billion, up 9.1 percent year over year.
· Retail postpaid ARPU grew 2.4 percent over third-quarter 2010, to $54.89. Retail postpaid data ARPU increased to $22.22, up 15.7 percent year over year. Retail service ARPU also grew 2.4 percent, to $53.21.
· Wireless operating income margin was 29.0 percent. Verizon Wireless generated $7.2 billion of EBITDA in third-quarter 2011, an increase of 7.5 percent year over year. Segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 47.8 percent, up 60 basis points over third-quarter 2010 and up 240 basis points over second-quarter 2011. This was the highest Segment EBITDA margin on service revenues Verizon Wireless has ever reported.
Wireless Operational Highlights
· Verizon Wireless added 1.3 million total connections in third-quarter 2011, including 882,000 retail postpaid customers, and 367,000 wholesale and other connections. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.
· At the end of the third quarter, the company had 107.7 million total connections, an increase of 6.5 percent year over year, consisting of 90.7 million retail customers and 17.0 million wholesale and other connections.
· At the end of the third quarter, smartphones accounted for 39 percent of the Verizon Wireless retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 36 percent at the end of second-quarter 2011.
· Retail postpaid churn was 0.94 percent in third-quarter 2011, an improvement of 13 basis points year over year. Total retail churn was 1.26 percent, an improvement of 17 basis points year over year.
· Verizon Wireless continued to roll out its 4G LTE mobile broadband network, the largest 4G LTE network in the United States, during the quarter. As of yesterday (Oct. 20), Verizon Wireless 4G LTE service was available in 165 markets covering a population of more than 186 million, across the country. With additional markets planned before year-end, the company’s 4G LTE network build-out is ahead of schedule and has already exceeded the company’s 2011 target of covering a population of 185 million.
· The company introduced five new 4G LTE devices: the DROID BIONIC by Motorola, Pantech Breakout, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr netbook and HP Pavilion dm 1-3010nr notebook. On Oct. 14, the Apple iPhone 4S became available on the Verizon Wireless 3G network. On Oct. 18, the company announced that the DROID RAZR by Motorola, a 4G LTE device, will be available in November.
· Verizon Wireless opened its LTE Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass., in July and its Application Innovation Center in San Francisco in August.
· The company continued to invest in and enhance its 3G network, the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network.
· Verizon Wireless ranked highest in customer care among the major national wireless phone service providers in the J.D. Power and Associates “2011 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study.” Verizon Wireless was also named a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011 by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.com.
FiOS, Strategic Services Transform Wireline Revenue Mix
Revenues and customers continued to increase for FiOS fiber-optic services, and sales of strategic services to business customers remained strong — countering the adverse impacts to Verizon’s Wireline segment in third-quarter 2011. FiOS and strategic services continued to become a larger percentage of the wireline revenue mix.
Wireline Financial Highlights
· Third-quarter 2011 operating revenues were $10.1 billion, a decline of 1.3 percent compared with third-quarter 2010. Consumer revenues grew 1.1 percent compared with third-quarter 2010.
· Consumer ARPU for wireline services was $94.20 in third-quarter 2011, up 8.8 percent compared with third-quarter 2010. ARPU for FiOS customers continues to be more than $146. Revenues for Verizon’s FiOS services to consumer retail customers generated nearly 60 percent of consumer wireline revenues in third-quarter 2011, compared with approximately 50 percent in third-quarter 2010.
· Global enterprise revenues totaled $3.9 billion in the quarter, up 2.1 percent compared with third-quarter 2010. Sales of strategic services — including Terremark cloud services, security and IT solutions, and strategic networking — increased 15.6 percent compared with third-quarter 2010 and now represent nearly 50 percent of global enterprise revenues. Terremark achieved record new sales bookings in third-quarter 2011. International revenue, which makes up approximately 15 percent of global enterprise, grew 9.8 percent year over year.
· Segment EBITDA (non-GAAP) was $2.2 billion in the quarter, including the $250 million impact from the storms and strike. This compares with $2.3 billion in third-quarter 2010. As a result, segment EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 21.4 percent in third-quarter 2011, compared with 22.7 percent in third-quarter 2010.
Wireline Operational Highlights
· Verizon added 138,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 131,000 net new FiOS TV connections in third-quarter 2011. Verizon had a total of 4.6 million FiOS Internet and 4.0 million FiOS TV connections at the end of the quarter. With the clearing of FiOS installation backlogs caused by the storms and strike, Verizon expects to add at least 200,000 FiOS Internet and 200,000 FiOS TV customers in fourth-quarter 2011.
· FiOS penetration (subscribers as a percentage of potential subscribers) continued to increase. FiOS Internet penetration was 35 percent at the end of third-quarter 2011, compared with 31 percent at the end of third-quarter 2010. In the same periods, FiOS TV penetration was 31 percent, compared with 27 percent, respectively.
· Broadband connections totaled 8.6 million at the end of third-quarter 2011, a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase. FiOS Internet connections more than offset a decrease in DSL-based HSI connections, resulting in a net increase of 20,000 broadband connections from second-quarter 2011. Total voice connections, which measures FiOS Digital Voice connections in addition to traditional switched access lines, declined 7.6 percent to 24.5 million — the smallest year-over-year decline since fourth-quarter 2006.
· During the quarter Verizon continued to aggressively execute its global cloud strategy, expanding its portfolio of secure IT solutions and acquiring CloudSwitch, which will enable Verizon to boost industry adoption by simplifying the move to the enterprise cloud. Multinational companies including ARINC adopted Verizon enterprise cloud services during the quarter. In addition, enterprise customers including RWE of Germany, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Plunkett & Cooney Inc. and Smile Brands Inc. completed new agreements for a wide range of strategic advanced communications and information technology solutions.
· Verizon also continued to broaden the scope and capabilities of its global network infrastructure. The company completed the integration of Terremark data centers in Florida and Virginia with Verizon’s Global IP network; activated its first 100 gigabit-per-second network route in the United States; expanded its 100G capabilities in Europe; and completed deployment of advanced network equipment on its global network in Singapore and Sydney.

Tech : Georgia Tech spies on nearby keyboards with iPhone 4 accelerometer, creates spiPhone

 

Ever plopped your cellular down next to your laptop? According Georgia Tech researchers, that common scenario could let hackers record almost every sentence you type, all thanks to your smartphone's accelerometer. They've achieved the feat with an impressive 80 percent accuracy using an iPhone 4, and are dubbing the program they've developed, spiPhone. (Although the group initially had fledgling trials with an iPhone 3GS, they discovered the 4's gyroscope aided in data reading.) If the software gets installed onto a mobile device it can use the accelerometer to sense vibrations within three-inches, in degrees of "near or far and left or right," allowing it to statistically guess the words being written -- so long as they have three or more letters. It does this by recording pairs of keystrokes, putting them against dictionaries with nearly 58,000 words to come up with the most likely results.

The group has also done the same with the phone's mics (which they say samples data at a whopping 44,000 times per second vs. the accelerometer's 100), but note that it's a less likely option given the usual need for some form of user permission. Furthermore, they explained that the accelerometer data rate is already mighty slow, and if phone makers reduced it a bit more, spiPhone would have a hard time doin' its thing. The good news? Considering the strict circumstances needed, these researchers think there's a slim chance that this kind of malware could go into action easily. Looks like our iPhone and MacBook can still be close friends...

Cell Phones : Sprint explains iPhone 4S unlocking policy

  Following yesterday's PR debacle, the final word from Sprint appears to be as follows:

"Sprint's policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future."

So, if we're reading that correctly, the iPhone you purchase and activate will be unlocked. Then, a SIM lock will be "pushed" to your device. But, if you've been a good, policy-abiding customer, your iPhone can then be unlocked manually by Sprint. Who knows what'll happen if you buy your phone and flee to a non-extradition country before Sprint comes knocking at the door, shackles in hand. Will you be left to live in peace with your newly-acquired international Micro SIM? Will you need to plead your case before a tribunal of mobile carrier overlords? Only time will tell, we suppose, or perhaps further clarification from Sprint.

 

Press Release

Sprint's policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future.

Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world. When traveling internationally, there is a setting that must be turned on within the device to connect to GSM. The phone will work with a SIM that is provided within the device out of the box. International voice and data charges are on a pay-as-you-go basis and vary based on the country where the customer is using their phone; a list of rates is available at www.sprint.com/international.

Sprint offers two international voice plans that customers can subscribe to for discounted voice rates:

* The Canada Roaming add-on is $2.99 per month and all calls placed from Canada are only 20 cents per minute. Without this add-on, calls from Canada are 59 cents per minute.

* The Sprint Worldwide Voice add-on is $4.99 per month and offers discounted rates in countries around the world. For example, calls from Italy are $1.69 per minute with this add-on or $1.99 per minute without the add-on; calls from Peru are $2.29 per minute with the add-on or $2.49 per minute without it.

Sprint does supply notifications of data roaming charges to protect customers from high costs. Notifications are sent to the customer's preferred method, either text or email, and are sent once the device exceeds approximately $50, $250, $500 and $1,000. To protect the customer from additional charges, the device's international data roaming capability will be suspended after the customer exceeds approximately $1,000 of international data charges in a billing cycle.

Cell Phones : Sprint to offer three levels of iPhone service, 'yellow' AppleCare+ repairs will cost $49

Thinking about buying an iPhone 4S from Sprint? Depending on how clumsy you tend to be with mobile devices, you might want to consider adding the $99 AppleCare+ option at purchase, since those Total Equipment Protection plans are definitely out. A Sprint employee wrote in to detail us on upcoming service procedures, which include grouping a damaged device within three categories -- green, yellow and red -- after diagnosis. As you might imagine, green repairs are the easiest to deal with, and include 'minor damage' (i.e. cracked screens are out). These repairs will be handled for free within the first year for all customers, and within two years for those who purchased AppleCare+. Next up, the yellow category covers damage that doesn't fall within green, but is still repairable. Non subscribers will pay $199, while those with AppleCare+ will pay $49. Klutzes beware: you're limited to two yellow repairs, regardless of whether or not the device is in warranty. Finally, the red category is reserved for iPhones that provide little function beyond holding down a stack of papers or propping open your door. You'll need to pay the full replacement cost for red-labeled phones. None of these repairs will be handled in store -- iPhones will be shipped to Apple, though you're welcome to start the process at Sprint. Our recommendation: reach out to Apple directly, since your iPhone is probably headed there either way. And if you want AppleCare, don't forget to buy it at launch.

Cell Phones : Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours

Last year's iPhone 4 launch brought more than 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours. This year, that number nearly doubled, topping one million within one day of the device's pre-order availability through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Those that haven't pre-ordered the iPhone 4S can line up at Apple stores beginning at 8 a.m. on October 14th, or you can try your luck at pre-ordering now, though you may need to wait an extra week or two to get your hands on Apple's new iOS smartphone.

 

Press Release

iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One Million in First 24 Hours

CUPERTINO, California-October 10, 2011-Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple's dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.

"We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do."

iPhone 4S will be available at all 245 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, October 14. Every customer who buys an iPhone 4S at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 4S by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store™ and more, so they'll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.

iPhone 4S includes iOS 5, the world's most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features, and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.* iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple's retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and select Best Buy, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract.

iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

*Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.