First look: MetaWatch smart watch pushes iPhone alerts to your wrist

The new Bluetooth-enabled MetaWatch will forever change how you use your iPhone, though in its current form the advanced wrist watch is not yet ready for the mass market.

The idea of a "smart watch" is not new, but the concept has seen a resurgence in recent years as gadgets have continued to become impossibly small. There's been a particular interest in watches that use low-power displays and receive information from a connected smartphone via Bluetooth.

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Virgin Mobile USA to Offer iPhone With Prepaid Plans Starting at $30 on June 29

Virgin Mobile Sprint's pay-to-go brand has just confirmed that it will be offering Apple's iPhone with prepaid plans from June 29th.

Virgin Mobile would be the second carrier in the US to offer iPhone with prepaid plans after Cricket Wireless.

Virgin Mobile has announced that it will be offer Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with prepaid plans that will start at $30, which comes with unlimited SMS and data, as compared to the $55 unlimited plan offered by Cricket Wireless.

Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk unlimited data and messaging plans for iPhone start at $35 per month for access to Sprint's Nationwide Network, and customers can receive a $5 per-month plan discount when they register for automatic monthly payments with a credit card, debit card or PayPal account, making iPhone available for as low as $30 per month. Customers can also use their iPhone as a mobile hotspot through Virgin Mobile for an additional $15 per month.

You can check out the pricing for iPhone on Virgin Mobile USA below:

As you can see, Virgin Mobile is not offering any subsidy for the iPhone, whereas Cricket Wireless offers a $150 subsidy. But prepaid plans starting at $30 could be attractive for customers who are not looking for unlimited voice minutes. They will be able to recover the additional cost for the iPhone within 6 months. Virgin Mobile will also be throttling speeds after 2.5GB of monthly data usage. It is also offering the mobile hotspot feature for an additional $15 per month.

It is not clear if Virgin Mobile will be taking pre-orders for the iPhone, but they have said that customers will be able to buy the iPhone on their website, RadioShack, Best Buy and select local retailers.

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Cricket Wireless to Offer Apple’s iPhone With Prepaid Plan On June 22nd

Cricket Wireless has just announced that it will start offering Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on its network from June 22nd.

Cricket Wireless will be the first carrier in the US to sell Apple's iPhone with prepaid plans. 

However, the no-contract plans means that customers will have to pay a higher upfront cost for Apple's iPhone. The 16GB iPhone 4S will cost $499 and 8GB iPhone 4 will cost $399 with $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan. Cricket Wireless will throttle the speed after 2.3GB of data usage per month.

Here's an excerpt from Cricket's press release:

Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc., announced today that it will be the first pre-paid carrier in the US to offer iPhone to its customers. Beginning on Friday, June 22, Cricket will offer iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan. [..]

 [..] "Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan," said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer, Leap Wireless International, Inc. "Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan."

The prepaid plan is available only to customers who have bought the iPhone from Cricket. Interested customers can provide their contact details on Cricket's website.

Apple continues to expand the availability of the iPhone. Last month, six regional carriers started offering Apple's iPhone, followed by three more regional carriers earlier in the month.

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Sn0wbreeze 2.9.4 With iOS 5.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak Support Released

iH8sn0w has also released Sn0wbreeze v2.9.4, which includes suport for iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Sn0wbreeze makes use of pod2G's iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak, which was released earlier today.

Sn0wbreeze allows users to create custom iOS 5.1.1 firmware file that is pre-jailbroken, which can then be used to upgrade their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to iOS 5.1.1. In case of iPhone, Sn0wbreeze also preserves the baseband from getting upgraded so that it can be unlocked using Ultrasn0w (though Ultrasn0w is not yet compatible with iOS 5.1.1).

Here's what's new in Sn0wbreeze v2.9.4:

• Added the 5.1.1/9B206 untether that was released with today's absinthe update.
• Added 5.0/9B206f (Apple TV 2) support.
• Minor UI changes (thanks @icj_!).
• Bug Fixes.

Sn0wbreeze 2.9.4 supports the following iOS devices running on iOS 5.1.1:

• iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
• iPad 1
• iPod Touch 3G, iPod Touch 4G
• Apple TV 2

iH8sn0w has explained why Sn0wbreeze doesn't support iPhone 4S, iPad 2, which are powered by A5 chip and iPad 3 (the new iPad), which is powered by the A5X chip:

A5(X) Support?: As stated many times in the past, sn0wbreeze cannot be updated to work on A5(X) devices until a low level exploit in DFU or iBoot is found and made public. Therefore, A5(X) users will have to rely on using the lovely absinthe.

A5(X) Baseband Preservation/Hacktivation? For those running A5(X) devices and need to preserve your baseband, there is nothing you can do at the moment. For those wanting to hacktivate, the only advice I can give is to buy the carrier's SIM (the one its locked to obviously) on ebay. The SIM does not have to be active with the carrier to activate the phone.

Sn0wbreeze also doesn't support the revised iOS 5.1.1 software update that was released by Apple earlier today, so GSM iPhone 4 users should download the older iOS 5.1.1 from here.

In our opinion, Absinthe is the easiest way to jailbreak your iOS device if you're after only jailbreaking, but iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users who depend on unlocking should use Sn0wbreeze or Redsn0w (whenever Dev team releases it with iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak support) as it preserves the baseband.

You can download the latest version Sn0wbreeze, which is available only for Windows users using this link.

If you need help with Absinthe 2.0.x, then check out our step-by-step guide to jailbreak your iOS device using Absinthe 2.0.1:

• How to jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS
• How to jailbreak iPad 3 (new iPad), iPad 2, iPad 1 (original iPad)
• How to jailbreak iPod touch 4G and iPod touch 3G

[via iH8sn0w's blog]

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Three More Regional Carriers to Offer Apple’s iPhone on May 18th

Three more regional carriers in the US will be offering Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on May 18th.

They join six other regional carriers including nTelos Wireless, Alaska Communications, Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky), GCI Wireless (Alaska), CellCom (Wisconsin) and Matanuska Telephone Association (Alaska) who started offering Apple's iPhone last month on their network.

MacRumors reports that Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky), Golden State Cellular (California), Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas) will also be offering Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 from next Friday, May 18th.

The three regional carriers will be offering Apple's iPhone for a $50 discount to attract customers from the major carriers, so iPhone 4S will be available starting at $149.99 for the 16GB model, $249.99 for the 32GB model, $349.99 for the 64GB model and iPhone 4 for just $49.99 with a 2-year contract.

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iPhone 4S Available For $114 And iPhone 4 For $34 at Some Walmart Stores [Updated]

Cult of Mac reports that Walmart has slashed the price of 16GB iPhone 4S and 8GB iPhone 4 models.

Walmart is offering the 16GB iPhone 4S for $114, which is a discount of $74 from Walmart's regular price of $188.

Walmart is also offering the 8GB iPhone 4 for $34, which is a discount of $54 from Walmart's regular price of $88. The offer is available only with a tw0-year contract through AT&T.

But the discounts don't seem to be available across all Walmart stores. Cult of Mac reports that the store in Edmond, Oklahoma and The Verge reports that the store in Austin, Texas are currently offering Apple's iPhone at lower prices. But Walmart's website still lists the price of iPhone 4S as $188, with a note that "store pricing may vary".

It is not clear if Walmart and AT&T have teamed up for the promotion and how long it will last. Walmart had  dropped the price of iPhone 4 last year to $147 from $197 in summer, few months before the launch of iPhone 4S. With the launch of the next generation iPhone expected only in fall and Apple still selling iPhones like hot cakes, the timing of the price drop is quite intriguing.

If you're planning to buy an iPhone then it may be a good time to buy one, assuming you can find a Walmart store that is offering these discounts. If you do then don't forget to let us know in the comments.

Update:

It was too good to be true, 9to5Mac reports:

Walmart just responded to 9to5Mac’s inquiry and said the retail chain “experienced a pricing error in limited stores” yesterday. The company spokesperson said the issue has been addressed and normal prices are now in effect: 16GB iPhone 4S for $188, iPhone 4 for $88, and iPhone 3GS for $0.97.

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How Many iPhones And iPads Did Apple Sell Last Quarter?

Apple's expected to reveal iPhone and iPad sales figures for the past quarter this Tuesday at their quarterly earnings call. If you remember, Apple posted record iPhone sales of 37 million units for the quarter ending December, thanks to the momentum created by the launch of iPhone 4S in October.

The iPhone 4S has continued to expand its availability in the US, as well as other important markets like China and Apple's on track to introduce the new iPad to 9 new countries this Friday in addition to the 12 countries in which received the last week. Although these new countries won't contribute as much to the numbers Apple reports in the earnings call (the figures are from January to March), it shows that Apple is pushing its manufacturing line to churn out iPads and iPhones as fast as possible in order to meet demand.

Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt spoke to various analysts and compiled estimates from all of them for both, the iPhone and the iPad

Would Apple surpass the record figure of 37 million iPhones sold? 13 out of the 48 analysts seem to think so. Most of the estimates are in the 30 to 40 million bracket. For the same quarter last year, the sales stood at 18.6 million units.

The iPad estimates for the same period range from 9 million to 15.5 million, as compared to last quarter's figure of 15.43 million iPad sales. If you're wondering why is the estimate low considering that the new iPad comes with a number of upgrades, remember that the device went on sale on the 16th of March, meaning that it only got a sales window of two weeks in the 3 month period.

Apple's quarterly earnings call is scheduled for the 24th of this month, and we'll be bringing to you all the key announcements from there, right here. Stay tuned.

For all the estimates, head over to this link for the iPhone and this for the iPad.

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Has AT&T Unlocked Your Off-Contract iPhone Yet? [Updated]

It's April 8th, and according to AT&T's statement issued a couple of days back, the carrier plans to unlock users with off-contract AT&T iPhones starting today.

AT&T lists the following requirements in order for you to be eligible for an unlock:

• Your account must be in good standing.
• You should have completed the 24 months contract period, or paid an early termination fee, or upgraded under one of AT&T's upgrade policies.

According to some readers that have commented on the announcement post, the awareness about this policy change isn't high enough among AT&T's customer service reps, so expect a few clueless responses from the other end of the line when you call AT&T for an unlock.

A few comments from readers:

lynda writes: I called AT&T this morning, just after they opened the customer support lines. First customer service rep said that absolutely no-way could they unlock an iPhone, then cut me off. Second customer service rep said the same, but then did a little more research and acknowledged that they now can unlock iPhones that satisfy the requirements. However, despite the rep being able to see that my phone qualifies, they do not have access to unlock codes.

Happy writes: Called AT&T earlier today told them I have three iPhones and that I do not have an AT&T account with them and asked if I would be able to get them unlocked on the 8th and she said as long as they were free of contracts and charges they would be unlocked free of charge:}:}:}:} About time.

One reader whose unlock request did get accepted by AT&T writes in the comments section:

I just called ATT a while ago and requested to unlock my iPhone 4S which I paid the full retail price for. The guy I spoke to asked for my name, email, phone and IMEI. Put the request in and gave me a request confirmation. He confirms I will get details of how to unlock my iPhone a week from the day I called which is today. So fingers crossed.

You can note your device's IMEI number by navigating to Settings -> General -> About, or by connecting your iPhone to iTunes and checking it from there. (You have to click on the Phone number field twice to see the IMEI number.) Alternatively, you could get this number from the SIM tray.

After AT&T processes your request, which seems to be a week from the time they accept your unlock request, you'd be given instructions to complete your unlock.

You can call AT&T on 1-800-CALL-ATT (1-800-225-5288) or contact them via the online chat feature here and hope that the customer service rep on the phone has been briefed about AT&T's policy change on iPhone unlocks.

Update 1:

A forum member on iMore claims he has managed to get his AT&T iPhone unlocked:

Today, 4/8/12, I called AT&T to unlock my contract free 3GS. Took 30 minutes on T’s end to get the unlock code, and only 5 minutes to perform a backup and restore via iTunes. Interestingly enough, the phone number shows as NA in the iTunes screen. Same IMEI and ICCID if you click on the same spot.

Update 2:

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

While most readers who are eligible for the unlock are being told to wait for a week to get their unlock instructions, some readers have managed to get their iPhone unlocked. We're not sure what's the criteria.

Since it has been less than 24-months since the launch of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the only way you will be able to get your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S unlocked would be if you pay the early termination fee.

Update 3:

Please note that you can also request for the unlock using the online chat feature on AT&T's website. Use this link to use the chat feature.

Update 4:

Ideally, you should not be required to restore your iPhone, connecting your iPhone to iTunes once your IMEI has been added to the whitelist should be sufficient (Check out Update 8 for more details). So restore your iPhone only if connecting to iTunes after you get a confirmation from AT&T does not work.

Update 5:

If you've purchased a used AT&T iPhone, then it looks like AT&T is looking at the original owner's history and checking if he or she has completed the terms of his contract, to verify if the used iPhone is eligible for the unlock. Hat tip to chpwn!

Update 6:

According to chpwn, the maximum number of iPhones that AT&T will unlock per account is apparently 5.

Update 7:

If you're eligible for the unlock, then you should receive the following email from AT&T, which provides the instructions to complete the unlock (via MacRumors). As we've mentioned earlier, you should not be required to restore your iPhone, connecting your iPhone to iTunes once your IMEI has been added to the whitelist should be sufficient (Check out Update 8 for more details). So restore your iPhone only if connecting to iTunes does not work after you get the confirmation email from AT&T.

Update 8:

Check out our step-by-step guide on how to unlock your off-contract AT&T iPhone without losing the jailbreak.

Update 9:

Users without an off-contract AT&T iPhone can check out this method to unlock iPhone using SAM.

Don't forget to let us know what response you get from AT&T in the comments below.

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iPhone Spontaneously Combusts In Moscow

While the entire blogosphere argues over how "hot" the iPad exactly is, the folks at Planet iPhone bring us news about a spontaneous combustion of an iPhone 4 in Moscow, at an Apple service center.

A customer brought the iPhone to the service center after he noticed that his device won't turn on. The service rep tried to hard reset the phone, while the device was connected to an original charger. After several failed attempts, the iPhone began to emit smoke and the back panel became red hot.

After letting the iPhone cool down a bit, the service rep dismantled the device and saw damaged components like the battery, front camera and the screen. But despite going through such high temperatures, the iPhone's motherboard survived the ordeal and worked perfectly fine when it was used in another iPhone.

After replacing defective parts, the service rep handed over a working iPhone back to the customer.

This is the fourth incident we've seen of an iPhone 4 fire related mishap. However, considering how many units of an iPhone 4 have been sold, we think this is an isolated incident and not a widespread issue to be concerned about.

[Planet iPhone via CNET]

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More Regional Carriers to Offer Apple’s iPhone on April 20th

Earlier today, we reported that nTelos - a U.S. Regional carrier was going to start offering Apple's iPhone from April 20th.

It looks like, nTelos was not the only regional carrier to get Apple's iPhone.

MacRumors reports that Alaska Communications, Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky), GCI Wireless (Alaska), CellCom (Wisconsin) will also be offering Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 from April 20th and there could be more.

Here are some more details of the carriers that will be offering Apple's iPhone:

nTelos operates a CDMA network in Virginia, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Ohio, 

Kentucky, and North Carolina and has just over 400,000 subscribers.

Alaska Communications operates a CDMA network with approximately 120,000 customers.

Appalachian Wireless is a small CDMA carrier based in eastern Kentucky with approximately 100,000 customers.

GCI Wireless operates a GSM network based in Alaska with approximately 140,000 customers.

CellCom (USA) is a small CDMA carrier based in Wisconsin. We couldn't find their subscriber numbers.

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U.S. Regional Carrier nTelos Wireless to Offer Apple’s iPhone With $50 Discounts On April 20th

Apple now has one more carrier partner in the U.S for the iPhone. Unfortunately, it's not T-Mobile USA nor is it large regional carriers such as MetroPCS or Cricket.

The regional U.S. carrier is nTelos Wireless who has just announced that it will be offering Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S from April 20th.

"As a wireless service provider well-known for delivering the best value in wireless, we're pleased to offer the amazing new iPhone 4S to our customers," said Jim Hyde, president and CEO for nTelos Wireless. "iPhone 4S offers an abundance of new features, and with our industry-leading, nationwide smartphone plans, customers can now enjoy the nation’s best networks for less."     

nTelos is offering Apple's iPhone for a $50 discount to attract customers, so iPhone 4S will be available starting at $149.99 for the 16GB model, $249.99 for the 32GB model, $349.99 for the 64GB model and iPhone 4 for just $49.99 with a 2-year contract.

nTelos has also mentioned that it plans to start throttling at 5GB.

They've also published the following comparison chart:

nTelos operates a CDMA network in Virginia, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina and has just over 400,000 subscribers. As Kevin Fitchard of GigaOM points out nTelnos CDMA network operates on the exact same frequency configurations as Verizon Wireless’s and Sprint’s networks, which is the reason it has managed to get Apple's iPhone (and it is not offering the GSM only iPhone 3GS). Larger carriers like T-Mobile USA haven't managed to get Apple's iPhone due to its unique band technology, which they hope will be supported in next generation iPhone chipset.

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Here’s How Easy it is to Crack Your iPhone’s Passcode [Video]

When Apple launched iPhone 4, users reported reception issues when they held the iPhone in a particular way.

The issue which was dubbed Antennagate received so much negative publicity that Apple had to call a special press conference to talk about it and forced them to give away iPhone 4 bumpers or third-party iPhone cases to all iPhone 4 customers.

Apple didn't do a good job of handling the Angtennagate controversy, they first said it didn't exist and that users should avoid gripping it in lower corner or use a case, then said that it was due to a software issue, which was quite bizarre, then they admitted it existed but was a industry wide issue and ended up giving a free iPhone 4 bumper case to all users and then stopped the program after a few months saying it didn't exist anymore.

This led a to number of class action lawsuit from iPhone 4 users. Last month, we reported that Apple had reached a settlement in the class-action lawsuit and had agreed to give all original iPhone 4 users in the U.S. an iPhone 4 Bumper, which are available for $29 or $15 in cash.

At that time, the site www.iPhone4Settlement.com where original iPhone 4 users could claim the settlement was not live, but Engadget has just reported that the site is live now and if you don't want the iPhone 4 Bumper case then you can claim the $15 settlement.

The site reads:

The purpose of this website is to inform qualified individuals who are or were the original owner of an iPhone 4 of this class action settlement.

To be eligible for the cash payment, you must have: (a) experienced antenna or reception issues; (b) been unable to return your iPhone 4 without incurring any costs; (c) been unwilling to use a case or free bumper for your iPhone 4; and (d) completed certain troubleshooting steps or are unable to complete the troubleshooting steps because you no longer own your iPhone.

The settlement will provide a $15 cash payment if you are a United States resident who are or were the original owner of an iPhone 4, and who experienced antenna or reception issues, and satisfy other requirements explained on this website.

Since July 2010, Apple has offered a free bumper to iPhone 4 owners who have experienced antenna or reception issues. Class Members can continue to request a free bumper as described at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4389.

Though one can debate if the amount that Apple is paying is enough or not, the settlement seems to be fair as all original iPhone 4 owners now have the right to claim it. Unfortunately, the settlement is only limited to original iPhone 4 users in the US.

Do you plan to get the bumper or claim the $15 cash payment?

[iPhone4settlement.com via Engadget]

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Will Apple Be Forced to Launch Cheaper iPhone In Markets Without Carrier Subsidies?

The Wall Street Journal has published an interesting article which details the iPhone's weak performance in countries where carriers don't subsidize the sales of handsets.

Although Apple sold a record 37 million iPhones last quarter, most of these sales were in markets like the U.S. and U.K., where carriers offer a subsidy on the device.

In European countries like Greece and Portugal, which are in the middle of an economic crisis, an unsubsidized $680 iPhone 4 (yes, the older iPhone 4) is a distant purchase for most. Not surprisingly, the iPhone accounted for less than a tenth of the smartphones sold in these countries. Even the "free" iPhone 3GS sells for a steep $535 in Greece, sans contract of course.

This is where cheaper Android based smartphones swoop-in, and increase Google's smartphone market share:

Android phones that cost less than $200 without a contract are widely available in Europe, helping Google undercut the much more expensive iPhone. In Portugal, at wireless carrier Vodafone Group PLC, the cheapest Apple phone—an eight-gigabyte version of the older-model iPhone 4—sells for $680, according to the carrier's website. Phones running Android can be had for as little as $106, and even Samsung Electronics Co.'s high-end Galaxy S II is cheaper than the cheapest iPhone.

In fact, even Nokia is targeting the low-cost smartphone market, with an entry level Lumia phone that would sell for $250.

The report also quotes Spanish carrier Telefonica's CEO, who says that they're having second thoughts about the carrier subsidy model:

"We can't keep subsidies at these levels. When you buy a TV or any other consumer good, you pay for it. It is healthier that users pay for their devices and operators invest in networks and services."

Apple's strategy to sell phones has been designed with the post paid, contract based model in mind, which is why the iPhone doesn't hold much market share in pre paid markets.

The company definitely needs to rethink their strategy for unsibsidised markets, unless it wants to do a repeat of the disastrous pricing seen when the iPhone 4S launched in India. (The cheapest iPhone 4S sells for $900 in India through carriers.)

And although subsidies won't go anywhere in markets like the U.S. anytime soon, SAI's Henry Blodget raises a valid point:

Of greater potential concern for Apple is what could be a trend toward carriers reducing or eliminating subsidies.

[...]

Apple's profit margins on the iPhone are nothing short of remarkable, especially relative to the profit margins of its competitors.

One reason the company is able to sustain those margins, however, is the carrier subsidy model, which makes consumers much less sensitive to handset price.

If the subsidy model begins to break down, Apple could be forced to cut prices, thus eating into its margins.

Eventually Apple will have to venture into these markets, unless it wants the iPhone's growth to stagnate, which means either new iPhones would have to be introduced at cheaper price points, or existing ones would have their profit margins reduced.

Apple seems to tackling this issue one market at a time right now, with China being on the top of the list.

[via WSJ]

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iPhone Bug Allows FaceTime Calls Even With Passcode Lock

A bug in iOS 5.0.1 can let a rogue person, in possession of your passcode protected iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S with voice dialing deactivated, make FaceTime calls and view certain fields of your contacts from the lock screen.

The hack, which was discovered by Canadian tech writer Ade Barkah, exploits the Emergency Dialer accessible via the lockscreen to accomplish this task.

You could reproduce this bug on your passcode protected iPhone with voice dialing disabled following these steps:

• "Slide to unlock" on the lockscreen, and instead of entering the passcode, hit the "Emergency Call" button to get the emergency dialer.
• Now long press the home button to bring up Voice Control and try to FaceTime with any of your contacts.
• The call goes through, and you'll be able to FaceTime with a person from your locked phone.

Even if a person in your contact list doesn't have FaceTime set up, you can see the contact's image on the screen.

Although the same process could be replicated for voice calling a person, the voice call doesn't actually go through, but it could be used to reveal other information as explained below.

The loophole could be used to see certain details of a contact by a hit and trial method. For instance, you have two entries for a contact named "Bob," and you tell Voice Control to "Call Bob," it would present the full names of both Bobs. Similarly if a contact has two phone numbers, with one of the phone numbers filed under a custom field, Voice Control would present both these fields (not the number), which could potentially leak private information.

This isn't a very serious flaw, though. For starters the phone would need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network. If it is, the person in possession of your phone would need to have some knowledge of your address book. And since the problem is only with Voice Control and not Siri, majority of iPhone 4S users won't be affected. (Only when Siri is disabled, does Voice Control show up.)

It is a bug nonetheless, and Apple would most likely fix this in the upcoming iOS 5.1 update.

Ade has, in the past, discovered similar bugs which make information that should ideally be private, accessible via the lock screen.

Does this sound like a security threat to you?

[Peekay via CNET]

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User Claims Siri is Working on His iPod Touch And iPhone 4 After Restoring From iPhone 4S Backup

Cult of Mac reports that a user has claimed that Siri was installed on his iPod touch and iPhone 4 when he restored it from an iPhone 4S backup.

It would be quite bizarre if this turns out to be true, as hackers have been working hard to bring Siri to non-iPhone 4S devices ever since iPhone 4S was launched and have only recently managed to bring Siri to non-iPhone 4S devices but still only for someone who is technically inclined.

Cult of Mac reports:

“AppleGordon” recently purchased a brand new white iPod touch and claims that instead of setting it up as a new device, he attempted to restore it from a backup of his iPhone 4S in iTunes. Once the process was complete, Gordon claims that Siri had been installed on his iPod.

The feature does not work because it cannot connect to Apple’s servers, and Gordon reports that it’s very buggy, causing the iPod to crash several times during the day. But the entire Siri interface is there, and Gordon claims that the Dictation feature works flawlessly.

It’s not just his iPod touch that has Siri either. Gordon says that he also attempted the same thing with his Verizon iPhone 4 and managed to install Siri successfully on that, too.

You can checkout the video of Siri running on iPod touch below:

Cult of Mac goes on to add that they're quite skeptical about the users claim:

While the video and the screenshots prove that Siri is installed on Gordon’s device, we’re skeptical that it was installed simply using an iPhone 4S backup. Gordon’s device is jailbroken, and although he takes us through the Settings menu to show that third-party Siri tweaks or hacks have not been installed, we still feel that there’s a little more to this than Gordon reports.

What do you think? Real, fake or really fake?

[via Cult of Mac]

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Apple Closes The Gap Between iOS And Android With iPhone 4S Launch

A new report by NPD covering smartphone sales in the U.S. in October and November 2011 has found that the iPhone 4S has helped Apple close the gap between iOS and Android.

The report by NPD which analyzed sales from the end of 2011 found that while iPhone sales dropped towards Q3 of 2011, sales shot up during October and November. The original drop from 29% to 26% market share was largely due to the fact that the iPhone 4S was not released in June as previous models were, but was pushed back. Through October and November, Apple's market share (based on sales) went up from 26% to a whopping 43%.

Meanwhile, Android's market share fell from 60% down to 47%. However, since this jump was due to the release of iPhone 4S, it's likely that the market share will drop once again. It will be interesting to see if Apple has managed to keep it this way or even take the lead in December 2011.

Another noteworthy point in the report was the list of the top 10 smartphone models:

 As you can see, Apple is in the top 3 spots: the iPhone 4S is predictably first, followed by the $99 iPhone 4, and the iPhone 3GS. This last model is available for free with a 2-year contract on AT&T, which may be the reason that despite being in its third year of sales, it's more popular than the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and the Galaxy S II. And, even though Android seems to be slipping from the top position, TechCrunch notes that RIM and Microsoft have market shares so low that they aren't even really in the race.

[source TechCrunch]

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Apple’s iPhone Was Unveiled Five Years Ago, Today

"This is a day, I've been looking forward to for two and a half years. Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything."

That was Steve Jobs' build-up to his Macworld keynote, where he would go on to introduce the iPhone.

The most iconic part of the keynote, at least according to us, was his prelude to the phone Apple was going to reveal:

"Today we're introducing three revolutionary products. The first one, is a wide screen iPod with touch controls. The second, is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third, is a breakthrough internet communications device."

"An iPod, a phone and an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone .... Are you getting it?"

"These are not three separate devices. This is one device, and we are calling it iPhone. Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone."

Jobs continued, talking about how flawed, and difficult to use, smartphones were back then. The slide from his keynote that described this, went on to become a representation of the pre "modern smartphone" era, where phones came with small screens and hardware keyboards.

Since then, the iPhone has, no hyperbole intended, revolutionized the way modern mobile devices look and function.

The iPhone introductory keynote is considered not just Jobs' best performance, but also, one of the best product launches ever. You could literally see people in the audience stand up and pump their fists.

Of course, with Steve's great presentation skills, Apple also had an amazing product. So amazing, in fact, that RIM, in a meeting a day after the launch, thought that Apple was lying and that it wasn't possible to run such a device without an "insanely power hungry processor."

Palm had interesting things to say as well:

"We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in."

This was Palm's then CEO Ed Colligan, talking to the NYT in 2006, before the iPhone was unveiled, and when the hype about the Apple-phone was at its peak. (Fascinating commentary on this by John Gruber over at Daring Fireball.)

So what is the scenario five years after the launch of the iPhone?

RIM is in trouble. Palm, on the verge of bankruptcy, sold to HP, which subsequently dumped Palm's main product WebOS in the open-source territory. Microsoft, once a leader in the smartphone space, had to start from scratch with Windows Phone. Nokia abandoned its in-house Symbian OS in favor of Windows Phone.

The leaders in the smartphone space right now, Google and Apple, weren't even in this business five years ago.

Clearly a lot has changed.

Interesting tidbit: During the keynote, when Steve Jobs made the first public phone call with an iPhone to Jonny Ive, he was using the Motorola Razr (as was Phil Schiller).

And with that we'll leave you to watch the introduction of Apple's iPhone on this day, 5 years back:

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Best Buy Deal Alert: Buy iPhone 4 32GB And Get One Free Today & Tomorrow

It looks like Best Buy didn't clear its stock of 32GB iPhone 4 last weekend as the buy one 32 GB iPhone 4 and get one free offer is back.

Best Buy is giving away a free 32 GB iPhone 4 if you buy one today or tomorrow.

The offer is available only in store with a 2-year contract. Best Buy stores are open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm today and from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm tomorrow.

The promo reads:

Buy the Apple iPhone 4 32GB and get one FREE. Choose from Verizon or AT&T. In-store only. Stores open Friday, 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. 2-year activation required on each phone.

When Apple had launched iPhone 4S in October, it discontinued the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4 and launched an 8GB iPhone 4.

It is a decent deal as you end up getting a 32GB iPhone 4 at the same price of a 8GB iPhone 4, if you can find someone who also wants to buy an iPhone 4.

[Source GigaOM]

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Best Buy Deal: Buy iPhone 4 32GB And Get One Free Today

TiPb is reporting that Best Buy has a special offer for those who want an iPhone 4 today.

Buy one 32GB iPhone 4 and get one free.

The offer is available only in store with a 2-year contract. Best Buy stores are open from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm today.

The promo reads:

Buy the Apple® iPhone® 4 32GB and get one FREE. Choose from Verizon or AT&T. In store only. Stores open today 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 2-year activation required on each phone.¹

When Apple had launched iPhone 4S in October, it discontinued the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4 and launched an 8GB iPhone 4 so we don't expect the stores to have too many units.

 [via TiPb]

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iPhone 4 “Spontaneously Caught fire” While Charging

Just when we thought that the incidents of an iPhone exploding in Brazil and self combusting on an Australian airline were isolated incidents, we have another iPhone user, this time a firefighter in the Pennsylvanian town of East Brandywine reporting that his iPhone 4 "spontaneously caught fire" while charging.

MacRumors points to the following report on East Brandywine Fire Company's website:

While charging the phone using the Apple provided computer connection, the phone spontaneously caught fire.

After the phone fell to the floor igniting the carpet, the phone was thrown out a nearby window.

Despite the phone being relatively small it produced a large volume of smoke and a noxious smell.

MacRumors reports that the department has sent the damaged iPhone to Apple headquarters in California to investigate the

These are not the only incidents where users have reported that their iPhone has caught fire. Back in July 2010, a report claimed that an iPhone 4 apparently caught fire and burnt the users hand.

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