Verizon to End Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans When Customers Move to 4G LTE Smartphones

When Verizon started offering Apple's iPhone on its network in early 2011, it offered customers unlimited data plans. But in less than 6 months, it followed AT&T's footsteps to kill the unlimited data plans and moved to tiered data plans.

It however allowed customers to grandfather their unlimited data plans when they wanted to upgrade to the new iPhone on a fresh two-year contract.

That's going to come to an end soon, as Fierce Wireless reports that Verizon is planning to end the grandfathered unlimited data plans when they want to switch to 4G LTE, leaving them with no option but to switch to their shared data plans.

As these 3G unlimited data plan customers migrate to 4G LTE, they will have to purchase the company's data-share plan (which Verizon plans to launch in mid-summer) and move off the $30 per month unlimited data plan. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said.

Apple's next generation iPhone coming later this year, is widely speculated to support 4G LTE networks, so this will be applicable to iPhone customers.

Sprint has said that it will continue to offer unlimited data plans even if the next iPhone supports 4G LTE, which is one of Sprint's differentiator. AT&T is yet to make any statement regarding this issue. But we won't be surprised if AT&T also decides to end the grandfathered unlimited data plans based on AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's comment few weeks back. In the on-stage interview at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, Stephenson said that his only regret was to offer unlimited data plans to iPhone users when it was launched.

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Apple to Include Baidu Search in iOS in China

Chinese website Sina Tech via Tech in Asia reports that according to their "knowledgeable sources", Apple is planning to include Baidu as one of the search engines in iOS.

This doesn't come as a major surprise as Baidu is the no. 1 search engine in China, controlling over 80% of the market share.

According to Sina Tech, Baidu will be included as one of the search engines to mobile Safari via an iOS software update next month. It's not clear whether Apple plans to replace Google with Baidu as the default search engine for users in China or it is simply adding Baidu to list of search engines users can choose from.

If it is the former than it would be a major blow to Google as it will shrink its market share in China even further. As you may know, Google had taken the extreme step of redirecting China search features to Google Hong Kong  as it did not have the same laws of censorship of political content as the Mainland.

While it is seen as a move by Apple to reduce its dependence on Google, it must be noted that Google pays Apple quite a significant fee to be the default search engine on iOS devices.

It would be a good move to make Baidu the default search engine from users point of view as based on Baidu's marketshare it is quite clear than Chinese users prefer it over Google.

But you never know, Apple could be using Baidu as the "pawn" in its growing rivalry with Google.

[Sina Tech via Tech in Asia]

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Apple Has Already Started Testing iOS 6.0

While we wait eagerly for Apple to release iOS 5.1, we have just received news that Apple has already started testing iOS 6.0 - Apple's next generation mobile operating system (not very surprising).

Ars Technica reports that they've observed iPads running iOS 6.0 originating from Apple's headquarters visiting their website, based on the browser user agents in their server logs.

we began looking at iPad user agents coming from Apple's corporate IP block in Cupertino and discovered that Apple appears to be surfing the Web using iPads running what looks like iOS 6.0. The whole listing shows iPads running iOS 5, iOS 5.0.1 (the current public release), iOS 5.1 (the upcoming release currently available to developers), and iOS 6. The iPads that appear to be running iOS 6 are also using a slightly newer build of WebKit—the older OSes all show WebKit 534.46, while the ones claiming to be iOS 6 show WebKit build 535.8

.

Last year, Apple gave a preview of iOS 5 and also released the beta version of the iOS 5 to developers during the 2011 WWDC in June and released it to the public in October.  So we expect Apple to follow a similar schedule this year as well.

However, Ars Technica speculates that Apple could give us a preview of iOS 6.0 at the iPad 3 media event. We won't bet on it as we expect Apple to preview iOS 5.1 at next week's media event.

Apple's next generation iPad - iPad 3 that will be unveiled at the media event on March 7th is expected to come pre-installed with iOS 5.1 and Apple is also expected to release iOS 5.1 to the public on or around March 9th.

Ars Technica has also observed device with a screen resolution of 2048x1536 visiting their website, which is the same resolution rumored for iPad 3's Retina Display.

What's on your iOS 6.0 wish list?

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AT&T Planning to Allow App Developers to Pay For Your iPhone Data Usage

The Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T is working on a new service that will allow developers of mobile apps and content providers to pay for users data usage charges to the wireless carrier.

John Donovan - AT&T's network and technology head provided the details of the service to WSJ  at the Mobile Congress 2012 that kicked off today. He compared the service to the toll-free calling for mobile broadband.

Last week, a study revealed that messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook (Messenger) may have cost carriers $13.9 billion in lost SMS revenues in 2011. So it is not surprising to see carriers like AT&T trying to figure out new ways to generate revenue from the data traffic to augment the loss in revenue from the traditional sources of income.

Wall Street Journal reports:

"A feature that we're hoping to have out sometime next year is the equivalent of 800 numbers that would say, if you take this app, this app will come without any network usage," Mr. Donovan said on the sidelines of a mobile-industry conference here. 

It's far from clear how willing technology companies would be to pay wireless carriers for data use. Mr. Donovan said there was interest from companies who could use the feature to drum up new business from customers wary of using data-heavy services like mobile video. 

Donovan believes that content publishers could use the service as an incentive to customers to download a movie without eating into their monthly data limits. He compared it to free shipping offered by online retailers. In this case, the customer would pay the regular price for the movie, while the cost of the data usage for downloading the movie will be paid by the app developer or content publisher to the carrier.

It is not clear if AT&T has Apple's backing and how it will be implemented in iOS.

While AT&T it sounds good from a customer point of view as the cost of the data usage for downloading the movie will be paid by the content publisher, we've a creepy feeling that the cost will be ultimately passed on to the customer and it would be like paying a tax for downloading content. It also sounds terrible from developers point of view as it will be become even more expensive to develop and support an app, which will hurt us as customers as it could stifle innovation.

Do you think AT&T's new service will be good for customers?

[via WSJ]

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Apple to Release iOS 5.1 On or Around March 9th?

Yesterday, folks at BlogdoiPhone had claimed that they had got their hands on a pre-GM version of iOS 5.1.

They revealed that the lock screen will get a fixed camera button next to the slide to unlock button in iOS 5.1 and the tappable button will be replaced by a slider button. So swiping up on the camera icon will give you instant access to the Camera app to take photos, instead of tapping on the Camera icon.

They also reported that iOS 5.1 will add support for Japanese language to Siri.

BGR now claims that they've also managed to get their hands on iOS 5.1 GM and have confirmed the two changes. They've also published couple of screenshot as prove that Siri will support Japanese in iOS 5.1.

They also claim that iOS 5.1 will be released to the public on or around March 9th. Last week, folks at YourDailyMac reported that various iPhone carriers have recently published new carrier profiles, which indicated that Apple may launch iOS 5.1 on March 9th.

Apple has seeded developers with three beta versions of iOS 5.1 (beta 1, beta 2, beta 3) so far, with the last one seeded on January 9th. Apple is widely speculated to release iOS 5.1 along with iPad 3 that is expected to be unveiled on March 7th, so it is possible that Apple will release iOS 5.1 on or around March 9th.

[source BGR]

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Analyst: Apple Will Launch Redesigned iPhone 5 in 2012

Apple Insider reports that in a note to investors Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said that Apple will launch make significant changes to its products in 2012 as it did not launch any redesigned products in 2011.

He expects Apple to launch a redesigned iPhone 5 in mid 2012, which according to him help Apple outperform in 2013. He has offered two scenarios for Apple products in 2012:  a "base case" and a "bull case."

In the base case scenario, he expects Apple to sell 142 million iPhones, which would result in 18% increase in revenues, while in the bull case scenario, he expects Apple to sell 162 million iPhones in 2013, which would result in 35% increase in revenues.

Munster expects Apple to launch one third generation iPad model to replace iPad 2. However, he believes that Apple could beat his estimates if it expands the iPad product line with both lower and higher price points.

Apple Insider speculates:

Rumors and speculation of an expanded iPad lineup are not new, though Apple has yet to adjust its strategy. Last month, another analyst predicted that Apple will sell a third-generation iPad with a high-resolution Retina Display alongside a faster "iPad 2S" with the same screen resolution as the current iPad 2, but with a faster processor and Siri integration. He also predicted that Apple will continue to sell the iPad 2 at a lower price, much like the company already does with the iPhone 3GS.

In the base case scenario, he expects Apple to sell 66 million iPads, which would result in 20% increase in revenues, while in the bull case scenario, he expects Apple to sell 77.5 million iPads in 2013, which would result in 30% increase in revenues.

Apple was widely expected to launch a redesigned iPhone 5 this year, but it launched iPhone 4S, which looks like iPhone 4 but comes with features such as Siri, faster dual-core A5 processor and vastly improved 8-megapixel camera, which had disappointed many people who were eagerly waiting for a redesigned iPhone with a larger screen.

Let's hope that Munster is right and Apple blows us away with a redesigned iPhone and iPad next year.

[via Apple Insider]

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Apple Jobs Postings Hint at Possible Siri API For Third Party Apps And More

Yesterday, Siri UI Manager - Dan Keen at Apple tweeted that there were two job openings in the Siri team. One was for a Sr. iOS Software Engineer, the second one was for a iOS Software Engineer and according to AppleInsider there are also three more positions open for "Language Technologies Engineers".

The job postings reveal that Apple is looking for engineers to work on Siri's user interface, new languages and more interesting an API.

Here's the job description for Sr. iOS Software Engineer from the first job listing:

We are looking for an engineer to join the team that implements the UI for Siri. You will primarily be responsible for implementing the conversation view and its many different actions. This includes defining a system that enables a dialog to appear intuitive, a task that involves many subtle UI behaviors in a dynamic, complex system. You will have several clients of your code, so the ability to formulate and support a clear API is needed.

Here's the job description for iOS Software Engineer from the second job listing:

We are looking for an engineer to join the team that implements the UI for Siri. You will primarily be responsible for implementing the content that appears within the conversational view. This is a broad-ranging task - we take every application that Siri interacts with, distill it down to fundamentals, and implement that application's UI in a theme fitting with Siri. Consider it an entire miniature OS within the OS, and you get a good idea of the scope!

The first job description seems to suggest that Apple is indeed developing an API for Siri, which will allow third party developers to access it. It remains to be seen if Apple will open up the API for everyone or be selective in which apps can use the Siri API. Siri currently works with third parties such as Wikipedia, Yelp and Wolfram Alpha. Keen has tweeted that one shouldn't read into it as Siri also interacts with built-in apps, suggesting the job listing may not be referring to third-party apps as we're speculating.

The fact that Apple is hiring "Language Technologies Engineers" is not surprising as Apple has already announced plans to add support for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish to Siri in 2012. Siri currently can understand and speak the following languages:

• English (United States, United Kingdom, Australia)
• French (France)
• German (Germany)

We can't wait to see what Siri will be able to do next. What's on your wish list?

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Apple Reportedly Testing GPU Drivers for Higher-Resolution iPhone Screens

iPhone 4S and iPhone 4's Retina display is high resolution, but a report by a German tech blog claims that Apple is working on even higher resolution displays, and is testing GPU drivers for dual-core and quad-core processors to handle things.

At 960x640, Apple's Retina display has been one of the highest resolution screens available for smartphones until only recently, when the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound both came out with 1280x720 screens. And, while Apple's still has a higher pixel density, it looks like the bar is still moving up. That being the case, it's no surprise that Apple's working on higher resolution screens, especially since the iPad 3 will likely include a Retina display itself.

German blog Macerkopf.de claims from two sources that Apple's been looking into new GPU drivers: 4 drivers for the current resolution of 960x640, 2 for 1280x720, and 1 for 1440x800. They're testing one set for a dual-core processor, and one set for a quad-core processor. We don't know when they will be released, however, nor for which devices. We also don't know whether the next-generation A6 processor will be dual- or quad-core yet.

One key thing to note here is that when Apple introduced the Retina display, it was double the size of the previous iPhone screens. This made it easy to up-scale apps. With the two resolutions Apple's allegedly testing,  developers will have to update their apps to ensure that the content fits the new size as automatic scaling would not be an option.

Previous accounts have claimed that Apple did not introduce a larger screen on the iPhone 4 because it would lower pixel density. But, if next generation iPhone rumors are true, then we would see a larger display. If the pixel density was to be kept the same, then the resolution would increase along with the display size without sacrificing quality. This is speculation, but it does fit in with some of the rumors we've heard so far. Things would then come down to the processor, since it would have to handle the higher resolution, and we can see that Apple's already working on that front.

MacRumors has pointed out that the blog doesn't usually publish rumors. One of their recent rumors, about iOS 5.0.2 coming in late November, hasn't been accurate, so we'll have to take this with a grain of salt.

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Rumor: Apple May Launch 4G LTE iPad Next Summer; 4G LTE iPhone By Fall

Nikkei Business reports that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo will start offering the next generation iPhone and iPad.

According to Nikkei Business, the Japanese carrier has reached an agreement with Apple to launch an LTE iPad next summer and LTE iPhone next fall.

NTT DoCoMo is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan and holds more than 50 percent of the cellular market.

BGR reports (via Nikkei Business):

Japanese news organization Nikkei Business on Wednesday stated that an iPad 3 with LTE is currently slated to launch on NTT DoCoMo some time during the summer next year, and an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 will launch later in the fall. Apple CEO Tim Cook is said to have met with NTT DoCoMo president Kiyoyuki Tsujimura and VP Takashi Yamada earlier this month to work out the details of the arrangement, and the companies have reportedly reached agreeable terms. 

Apple and NTT DoCoMo have been in discussions before, but according to rumors, the Japanese Carrier wasn't too happy about Apple's demand on unit volume and its refusal to allow carriers to install their apps on the iOS device.

Back in April, Will Strauss, President of wireless chip tracker Forward Concepts noted that Apple was looking for a solution where chips support 4G and 3G on a single chip so that the 4G LTE iPhone is as thin or thinner than iPhone 4 and it doesn’t consume too much battery life.

Qualcomm has recently introduced the next generation LTE chipset - Gobi 4000 that could be used in the 4G LTE iPhone and possibly 4G LTE iPad.

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iOS 5.0.2 Not Coming This Week?

If you're eagerly waiting for Apple to release iOS 5.0.2 to fix the remaining bugs affecting battery life then you may have to wait.

The news comes from German site Macerkopf that had claimed last week that Apple will release iOS 5.0.2 no later than this week.

According to the German site, iOS 5.0.2 has been delayed due to memory leak issues, which will need further tested testing.

Apple had released iOS 5.0.1 to address the battery life issues reported by users after upgrading to iOS 5, but that didn't to address the issue for all the users.

It also remains to be seen if iOS 5.0.2 will also address the other issues reported by iPhone 4S users such as the audio bugs and SIM card issues.

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