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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Apple Makes Nearly Twice as Much on iPhone as Nokia Does on Lumia 900

Nokia's flagship smartphone, the Lumia 900, is almost $200 cheaper than Apple's iPhone 4S. Despite that, Nokia ends up paying more for Lumia's components than Apple does for the iPhone.

The specifics: It costs Nokia $209 to acquire components for the Lumia 900, which is currently sold for a retail price of $450. The $649 16GB iPhone 4S on the other hand uses components which cost Apple just $190.

The figures come via a story published in The Wall Street Journal based on analysis done by research firm iSuppli.

While a difference of $19 in the cost of parts might not seem much at first, but when you consider the scale at which Apple works, it works out to an amount in millions of dollars. Leaving out costs other than component acquisition, Apple's margin works out to double that of Nokia's on each device sold.

One of the reasons behind the price disparity is, of course, Apple's strong relationship with component manufacturers and assemblers in Asia. Apple is known to leverage its unique position in the market, as well as its huge cash pile, to extract the lowest possible prices from its suppliers, a competitive advantage Nokia doesn't enjoy.

In many cases Apple even helps manufacturers financially, helping them set up new factories and secure equipment for the production of new technology. In return, Apple  gets not just the cheapest prices, but also exclusive access to new technologies for several years. Matthew Panzarino over at The Next Web sums it up perfectly:

1. Pay someone to manufacture crazy new technology for you
2. Get new stuff no one has ever seen
3. Get huge discounts on that stuff, even when competitors finally have access
4. Profit

But despite the competitive advantage, Nokia possibly could have worked out a cheaper deal with manufacturers if it weren't for the 4G LTE chip and the larger screen of the Lumia 900. According to the chart embedded below, Nokia pays $21 more than Apple for a single touchscreen and $15 more than Apple for wireless chips used on the device. We're not saying that Nokia's costs for these two components would have been the same as Apple had they been equally spec'ed, but it would surely have been a little less.

Nokia's cash balance is depleting at a faster rate than its incoming revenues, which, considering its low margin devices, is a worrisome sign for its survival. Sadly, the only way Nokia can currently differentiate itself from other smartphone manufacturers in the market is by selling lower priced devices.

See also: Nokia's Lumia smartphones not good enough for European carriers.

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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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Apple Responds to Lawsuits Over Siri

A couple of months ago, Apple was hit with a number of class action lawsuits which claimed that Siri's performance didn't quite match up to what was advertised, accusing the company of false advertising.

Apple has now responded to these lawsuits in a legal filing, defending Siri's performance and calling out the plaintiffs for not being specific enough:

They [the plaintiffs] offer only general descriptions of Apple’s advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple’s website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged—and highly individualized—disappointment with Siri. Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty—which remains in effect. Instead, they seek to take an alleged personal grievance about the purported performance of a popular product and turn it into a nationwide class action under California’s consumer protection statutes. The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims.

The response goes onto note that the plaintiffs' claims are "lack standing" (fit to be dismissed) since they are not residents of California, where the lawsuit was filed.

Apple also brings in Siri's beta status as an added layer of defense:

As a cutting-edge technology still under development, Siri was released (and remains) in “beta.”  

[...]

Although Plaintiffs acknowledge that the Siri “FAQ” page and a footnote on the “iPhone Features” section of Apple’s website disclose Siri’s beta status, they neglect to mention that, both the Siri section on the “iPhone 4S Features” page and the “Siri Features” page to which it links also prominently disclose Siri’s beta status.

While Siri's beta tag might be a genuine enough reason for its far-from-perfect performance, it will be interesting to see if Apple will be able to get away by saying that Siri is a beta feature, especially when the beta tag hasn't stopped Apple from promoting Siri in the iPhone 4S ads (without the "beta" disclaimer).

For Apple's entire response to the lawsuit, head over to this link.

[via WSJ]

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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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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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Apple Hit With Second Class Action Lawsuit Over Siri

Apple has been hit with second class action lawsuit over Siri's poor performance.

Two weeks back Apple was sued by an iPhone 4S customer in New York for 'misleading and deceptive' Siri ads. 

The L. A. Times reports that the class action lawsuit filed in a U.S. Court by David Jones in California. Jones has accused Apple of overselling Siri's capabilities in the iPhone 4S commercials:

"Through its nationwide multimedia marketing campaign, Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature," the suit alleges. "For example, in many of Apple's television commercials, consumers are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even to learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs. In its advertisements, Apple depicts these tasks as easily accomplished "just by asking" Siri."

However, Jones hasn't found that using Siri is that easy, the suit said.

"Apple's deceptive commercials diverge greatly from the actual functionality and operation of the Siri feature as experienced by Plaintiff and fellow consumers," the complaint states.

For Jones, often "Siri would either not understand what Plaintiff asked, or, after a long wait, provided the wrong answer."

Jones is seeking financial "relief and damages" not just for himself, but also for other iPhone 4S owners.

Apple launched Siri - the personal assistant feature as a beta feature, which is currently available exclusively on the iPhone 4S. It can currently understand and speak the following languages: English (United States, United Kingdom, Australia), French (France), German (Germany) and Japanese (which was added in iOS 5.1). It also doesn't support Maps and local search with Yelp outside the U.S. Apple had said that it plans to add support for Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish and bring Maps and local search support in additional countries in 2012

While Siri has received rave reviews and has single handedly helped Apple to sell millions of iPhones, some of  the iPhone 4S users have been quite critical of the feature as they've faced similar issues that Jones has mentioned in his lawsuit.

As we've have noted earlier, it will be interesting to see if Apple will be able to get away by saying that Siri is a beta feature, especially when the beta tag hasn't stopped Apple from promoting Siri in the iPhone 4S ads.

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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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China Telecom to Sell Apple’s iPhone 4S From March 9th; Offers Free iPhone 4S With 3-Year Contracts

After several years of rumors and speculations, China Telecom has announced that it will be offering Apple's iPhone 4S from March 9th.

China Telecom - the countries third largest carrier will start accepting pre-orders for iPhone 4S from March 2nd.

This means that China Telecom will lose its iPhone exclusivity in the country after almost three years.

M.I.C Gadget reports that China Telecom has issued the following statement:

“We are very pleased to provide our customers with the outstanding new iPhone 4S. We believe that our customers will be pleasantly surprised by the iPhone 4S on China Telecom’s high-quality 3G network,” said China Telecom deputy general manager Yang Xiaowei.

And Apple has confirmed the announcement, according to LoopInsight:

“iPhone 4S has been an incredible hit with customers around the world,” Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison, told The Loop. “We’re thrilled to be launching iPhone 4S with China Telecom and can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China.”

According to M.I.C Gadget, China Telecom is offering quite a good deal on the iPhone 4S. It will be offering the 16GB iPhone 4S for free with any 3-year contract or  a 32GB iPhone 4S if customers pays a monthly subscription of $46 for 3G data services, SMS and voice calls. Customers can also get a 64GB iPhone 4S for free with a 3-year contract if they pay a monthly subscription of $62.

Apple has already seen unprecedented demand for the iPhone 4S in China. It remains to be seen what impact China Telecom with over 130 million subscribers will have on iPhone 4S sales.

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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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Apple Forced to Remove All 3G iOS Devices Except iPhone 4S From Online Store in Germany

Apple has been forced to remove all 3G devices except for iPhone 4S from its online store in Germany.

Back in December, Motorola had won a preliminary injunction against Apple, banning the sale of 3G devices in Germany. The removal of the 3G devices is related to the enforcement of that December injunction.

Apple has issued the following statement:

“Apple believes this old pager patent is invalid and we’re appealing the courts decision,” company spokesman Alan Hely said in an e-mailed statement."

They also told PaidContent that:

While some iPad and iPhone models are not available through Apple’s online store in Germany right now, customers should have no problem finding them at one of our retail stores or an authorized reseller. Apple is appealing this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.

The patent in question was EP1010336 (B1) (US equivalent No. 6,359,898), which describes a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system." It was declared "essential" for the GPRS standard which is universally used nowadays. So Apple had tried to use the "FRAND" defense, claiming that the patent was essential to the 3G standard and needed "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory" terms for licensing it.

FOSS Patents had highlighted exactly why the court ruled in Motorola's favor:

The logic presented by Motorola's counsel convinced the court: someone using a patented invention should have to pay a price for being found to have infringed. While competition law requires the patent holder to extend a license on FRAND terms going forward, past infringement is a different matter. If, in the alternative, damages for past infringement were limited to a FRAND royalty rate, Motorola and Judge Voß argue, an infringer might ultimately get to use the patent on more favorable terms than someone procuring a license at the outset. They say that favorable terms would result from a scenario in which payments for using the patent in the past can be avoided by proving the patent invalid.

It is not clear why Apple has not removed iPhone 4S from the online store, but it is possible that since iPhone 4S is relatively new, Motorola had not included it while filing the patent lawsuit.

This is a major setback for Apple who sold a whopping 37 million iPhones in the last quarter. It remains to be seen how this ban will impact iPhone sales for this quarter.

Update:

That didn't last too long. All iPad and iPhone models should be available in Apple's Online store shortly as the injunction has been temporarily suspended.

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iPhone 4S Now “In Stock” in Apple Online Stores

Ever since Apple launched iPhone 4S - the fifth generation iPhone - they have had a tough time keeping up with the unprecedented demand.

The shipping dates quickly slipped from "In Stock" to few days and then to 1 - 2 weeks most of the holiday shopping season. In fact, carriers cited shipping estimates of more than 2-3 weeks a month after iPhone 4S was launched.

Not surprisingly, Apple blew away estimates by announcing last week that they had sold a whopping 37 million iPhones in the last quarter.

However, it looks like Apple has finally managed to catch up with the demand as Electronista reports that iPhone 4S is now listed as "In Stock" in many Apple online stores. "In Stock" means that Apple is in a position to ship the iPhone 4S almost immediately.  The shipping estimates had dropped to 3 to 5 days two weeks back.

The drop in demand after the holiday season probably has also helped Apple to bring down the shipping estimates.

We wonder what would have happened if Apple had launched a redesigned iPhone 5 instead of the iPhone 4S. Any guesses?

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Apple Closes In On Android Owing to High iPhone 4S Demand: Nielsen

Nielsen's latest report on the smartphone ecosystem reaffirms NPD's stats, which showed Apple gained significant momentum amongst U.S. consumers who bought a phone in Q4 (October - December) of last year.

From the report:

Among recent acquirers, meaning those who said they got a new device within the past three months, 44.5 percent of those surveyed in December said they chose an iPhone, compared to just 25.1 percent in October. Furthermore, 57 percent of new iPhone owners surveyed in December said they got an iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S helped reduce Android's lead over iPhone, from 36.5 percent to a mere 4 percent, in just a matter of three months. Also, the last sentence suggests that it wasn't just the iPhone 4S that contributed to these figures, but also the lower priced iPhone 4 and (free) iPhone 3GS.

Overall marketshare amongst all those surveyed didn't undergo a major change though. Android remained at the top with a share of 46.3 percent, followed by iOS at 30 percent trailed by the usual suspects - RIM, Windows Mobile and others.

[source Nielsen]

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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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Carriers in Singapore to Sell Camera Less iPhone 4S Very Soon

Apple's three carrier partners in the Singapore - SingTel, StarHub and M1 will soon offer a camera less iPhone 4S model to cater to military personnel who can't carry image-capturing devices to their base.

However, unlike China, where Apple officially removes iPhone's Wi-Fi capabilities, the camera less models have no approval from Apple. Carriers take it upon themselves to remove the camera from the device, and charge premium for it.

M1, in fact, posted a listing of such an iPhone on its website, and took it down later.

Jakarta Globe reports:

When its [M1's] advertisement was live online, the 64-gigabyte model was going for more than $900 with a fresh two-year contract.

M1 declined to elaborate on this price tag when contacted, but its ad implied that the price included the cost of removing the camera.

It did not say whether the camera could be re-installed in the handset some time down the road.

[...]

In responding to queries from The Straits Times, an M1 spokesman would only say that the link 'has been removed as we are making some adjustments to this service'.

Personnel with a camera less iPhone would have to show a certificate that proves their phones were modded by one of the Singaporean carriers to remove the camera.

The modification obviously voids Apple's warranty on the device. As per a section of M1's terms and conditions (via CNET Asia):

"All applicable Manufacturers' warranty shall be void upon purchase of the [camera removed iPhone]. M1 will not be able to assist Customers on any warranty-related issues."

CNET Asia also notes that the price of the non-camera iPhones would be S$49 ($38) more than the regular price.

Some local iPhone repair shops offer services where they remove the camera from the iPhone, but they can charge as much as $155 for it.

[source Jakarta Globe, CNET Asia]

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Apple Suspends In-Store Sale of iPhone 4S in China Due to Safety Concerns

As we had reported earlier, Apple was forced to cancel the iPhone 4S launch in Beijing today due to unruly crowd.

Reuters now reports that Apple has suspended in-store sale of iPhone 4S in all the five retail stores in the country due to the crowd trouble.

Reuters reports:

The iPhone 4S, which went on sale early Friday, caused a near-riot in one of Apple's Beijing retail stores.

"The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out," an Apple spokeswoman said.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd. And to ensure the safety of our customers and our employees, iPhones will not be available in our retails stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being," she said.

Reuters reports that customers will be able to buy iPhone 4S from Apple's online store or from China Unicom's website. But it looks like Apple's online store are also out of stock of all iPhone 4S models.

Take a look at the photo below (courtesy M.I.C Gadget), which gives a glimpse of the massive crowd outside Apple's Sanlitun retail store in Beijing with the SWAT team trying to control them. It gives a good idea of why Apple was forced to cancel the iPhone 4S launch.

We won't be surprised if Samsung's new Samsung Galaxy II ad mocks Apple fanboys in China.

[via Reuters]

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