• apple,  att,  ios,  iphone,  version

    Apple Sells Out of Pre-Order iPhone 4S Handsets

    October 8, 2011 /

    If you didn’t get a chance to pre-order your iPhone 4S yesterday, you may find yourself having to wait a few extra weeks before you can get your hands on the new iPhone.

    Despite some early glitches that I saw yesterday morning while trying to pre-order my iPhone 4S, the online Apple Store is now showing ship times of 1-2 weeks on all models of iPhone 4S.  AT&T announced that they sold 200,000 units yesterday.

    The new iPhone 4S will be available on AT&T, Verizon, and for the first time, Sprint.  On the hardware side, the iPhone 4S will include the more powerful A5 processor that debuted in the iPad 2 earlier this year, a new redesigned antenna that will allow the phone to automatically switch between modes to improve receptions/transmission with wireless networks, a new 64GB storage option, and a new 5 lens, 8MP digital camera the can shoot up to 1080p HD video.

    The iPhone 4S will also ship with iOS 5, which includes the amazing Siri personal assistant software.  It is the single most exciting features that I’ve seen on a phone in a long time.

    The iPhone 4S will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions that will sell for $199, $299 and $399 price points.  The iPhone 4 will drop down to a single, $99 8GB model.  Amazingly, the iPhone 3GS will continue to be sold on AT&T in an 8GB memory configuration and will be sold for free with a 2-year service agreement.  An unlocked iPhone 4S will go on sale in November.

    The iPhone 4S will go on sale at retail locations on Friday, October 14.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • apple,  att,  iphone,  sprint,  verizon

    Apple iPhone 4S Ordering “Adventure” (Updated)

    October 7, 2011 /

    10/7/11 7:25am: Hope springs eternal!  After arguing with my bank and getting them to agree that my credit card was not expired, I was able to pre-order the iPhone 4S 32GB directly from Sprint’s website.  The estimated arrival date of my new iPhone 4S is Friday, October 14, or Saturday, October 15.

    10/7/11 5:40am: It’s time to throw in the towel!  The connection to Sprint’s systems aren’t working and I keep getting pushed into the $109/month service plan.  I’m going to have to wait for Apple and Sprint to iron out the kinks before I can order my iPhone 4S.  I’ve stayed up all night and all I have to show for it are bags under my eyes.  Grrrrr!

    10/7/11 5:20am: The Apple Store/Sprint link appears to be working again, but I still can’t get a clear step of options for my cellular service plans. So far, my efforts to switch to an iPhone have been fruitless.

    10/7/11 5:00am: Sam was able to reserve an iPhone 4S on AT&T.  I’m crashing when the Apple site goes out to check my account status on Sprint with a really annoying “WS.workflowSessionValidationFailed.webUIBody” error message.

    10/7/11 4:48am: Just checked in with my fellow iPhone enthusiast, Sam, who is now getting the same error message as me.  At almost 5:00am, it’s time to throw in the towel on getting an iPhone for Friday, October 14.

    10/7/11 4:42am: The Apple Store is now throwing up a message that they can no longer process any iPhone orders and that you should try back again later.  Double ugh!

    10/7/11 4:12am: I’ve lost track of how many times the ordering process has crashed on me.  Ugh!

    10/7/11 4:12am: Continuing to have trouble with the Apple Store site.  Poor performance, ordering processes crashes, and unable to select the $79.99 Simply Everything plan.

    10/7/11: 3:45am: The Apple Store is taking forever to update and I’m stuck at the “Processing information” page.

    10/7/11: 3:45am: The Apple Store site is getting hammered!  It is so slow to load data from Sprint.

    10/7/11: 3:43am: The Store is online and I’m attempting to purchase my Sprint iPhone4S.

    I’m not so patiently awaiting the Apple.com Store to go back online for I can order my Apple iPhone 4S for Sprint. I’ll be purchasing the 32GB black edition…eventually.

    10/7/11: 3:29am: Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S were suppose to start at 12:01am PDT/3:01am EDT and the store is still down.

    Apple Store…

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  • apple,  att,  google,  iphone,  jailbreak,  verizon

    End of the Road for Jailbreakers Stealing Cellular Tethering Service

    August 6, 2011 /

    If you have a jailbroken/rooted Apple iPhone of one of the many Google Android and have been using apps to essentially “steal” wireless tethering services between your phone and your notebook or tablet computer, your days of “free” service are almost over.

    AT&T and now Verizon are putting technology in place on their networks that allows them to sniff out people who are tethering devices like laptops, typically over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, to their smartphone’s data plan as a sort of wireless modem to get on the Internet.

    Both AT&T and Verizon required you to subscribe to an additional service before you can tether another device to your phone.

    I may not be a fan of the prices that are charged to tether or setup your smartphone as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, but I like the idea of people stealing bandwidth and driving up the cost of my smartphone data plans even less.

    [Via EngadgetMobile.com, Electronista.com…]

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  • apple,  att,  ipad,  iphone,  touch,  verizon

    Apple Releases iOS 4.3.5 Software Update

    July 27, 2011 /

    Yesterday afternoon, Apple released the iOS 4.3.5 software update for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

    The software update addresses an issue with how security certificates are validated and does not add any new features.

    The software update is for the GSM iPhone 4, the GSM iPhone 3GS, both editions of the iPad, and the 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch.

    The CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon updates to iOS 4.2.10, addressing the same problem.

    The latest software updates are available now via iTunes when you connect your iDevice to sync it.

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  • apple,  att,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  touch,  verizon

    Briefly Noted: iOS 4.3.4 Security Update Relesed

    July 20, 2011 /

    Just in case you may have missed it, last weekend Apple released a security update to iOS brining the mobile operating system to version 4.3.4.

    The latest security update is largely intended to plug a security hole in how an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch handles malicious .pdf files to allow hackers to by pass safeguards in the operating system.  This same security hole was a means to allow people to install applications from Cydia, a third-party application source other than the iTunes App Store.  This process is commonly referred to as “jailbreaking.”

    iOS 4.3.4 was simultaneously released for the iPhone 4 (GSM edition), iPhone 3GS, the iPad 2, the iPad, and third and fourth generation iPod touch devices. iOS 4.2.9 was released specifically for the iPhone 4 (CDMA edition) on Verizon’s network.

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  • att,  blackberry,  rim,  tablet

    BlackBerry Bridge Now Available to AT&T PlayBook Owners

    July 2, 2011 /

    After a long string of bad news, a dramatic decline in stock prices, departures of senior management, and calls from investors and alleged employees to restructure how the CEO and President of the Board roles work, there was finally some good news for BlackBerry fans on AT&T who plan on purchasing a BlackBerry PlayBook.

    Yesterday, AT&T allowed the BlackBerry Bridge software for AT&T branded BlackBerry phones to be released into the BlackBerry App World.

    “BlackBerry Bridge is an app you can download to your smartphone to get access to your email, calendar, contacts, memo pad and tasks—all on the large tablet display. Depending on your wireless service provider you can even browse the web using your existing BlackBerry smartphone’s data plan.”

    That last item, browsing the web using your BlackBerry’s data plan will run you an extra $20/month for the privilege AT&T has announced.

    You can download BlackBerry Bridge from the BlackBerry App World (link).

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  • att,  ios,  ipad

    Wait, what? What?! iPad 2 Can Be Used As a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

    May 29, 2011 /

    My wife booked us on a low key, no tech summer vacation.  What? No Internet access for a week?  Clearly, she is trying to kill me for the insurance money.

    Ok, that was probably was a little bit over the top, but a week without Internet access for me is like serving a prison sentence of life without parole.

    So I started looking at Mi-Fi hot spot access points.  I wanted to buy a cheap one and then slap enough data service on it to last me the week.  While I was looking at the AT&T offerings, I came across a note that suggests that the iPad 2, just like the AT&T iPhone 4, can be used as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

    “AT&T offers several convenient billing options, none of which require a long-term contract.  Customers can choose between AT&T’s prepaid billing options, which are charged to a credit card account, or recently announced postpaid plans that can be added to customers’ existing monthly wireless statements.

    Customers may choose from the following options.

    Monthly statements:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment will be billed $14.99 for another 250MB on the $14.99 plan or $10 per 1 GB of overage on the 2 GB plan.

    Credit card billing:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment may choose to purchase another 250 MB on the $14.99 plan or purchase an additional 2 GB for $25 on the 2 GB plan.

    Both options are month-to-month and do not require a long-term commitment.

    The Personal Hotspot feature being introduced with iOS 4.3 is also available to customers who choose the $25 plan plus a $20 tethering option that provides an extra 2 GB of data.”

    So it looks like you can use an iPad 2 as a Mi-Fi hot spot if you have the $25/month 2GB data plan and then pay an additional $20 for another 2GB data block for a total combined monthly data limit of 4GB.

    Unlike a Mi-Fi puck, I know I ‘d be using the iPad 2 all the time and I like the idea of being able to go month-to-month with the iPad 2 service plan and still be able to add the Wi-Fi hot spot connection when I need to.

    You can read the full AT&T Wireless press release on the AT&T website.

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  • att,  hp,  veer,  web os

    HP Veer Now Available

    May 16, 2011 /

    HP’s new tiny webOS smartphone, the Veer, is now available from AT&T here in the United States.

    For anyone who wants a smartphone that packs the features they crave without the extra size they don’t, HP has introduced the powerfully small HP Veer smartphone running HP webOS.

    Veer is one of the products HP announced today to introduce a unique experience for customers around connected mobility. It’s one of the building blocks in HP’s vision to seamlessly connect all your worlds through the power of HP webOS.
    Veer is the smallest webOS phone to date – the size of a credit card and no thicker than a deck of cards – yet it offers the higher-end features of a smartphone, such as easy messaging and access to apps, social networks and the web, including support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 beta in the browser for access to rich, Flash-based web content.

    It has a full slide-out keyboard, vivid touchscreen and access to thousands of webOS apps in a surprisingly small, modern package that fits easily into a pocket or purse. It’s everything a smartphone should be, but in a smarter size.

    “While much of the industry is trending toward larger and larger devices, we believe there’s also a whole lot of room for thinking small,” said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. “Veer bridges the gap for a new generation of smartphone users, proving they really can have it all without sacrificing the size they want.”

    Less is more

    At just 54.5 mm x 84.0 mm x 15.1 mm and only 103 grams, Veer touts an 800-MHz processor; a vivid 2.57-inch glass display; full slide-out keyboard; 8 gigabytes (GB) of internal user storage; a high-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta; Wi-Fi; integrated GPS; robust messaging support; and multimedia options, including music, photos, video recording and playback, and a 5-megapixel camera.

    Veer also includes HP Synergy, which is exclusive to webOS devices. Synergy brings together information from multiple sources across the web automatically, so the information you need is all in one place.

    4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. Requires 4G device and compatible data plan. Learn more at att.com/network.

    Availability

    The black HP Veer smartphone is available today from AT&T Wireless for $99.99 with the purchase of a qualifying 2-year service agreement which includes a minimum $15/month data plan.  You can also purchase the black HP Veer contract free for $449.99.

    For more details, visit the HP website.

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