Apple Offers Unlocked iPhone 5

After keeping the iPhone 5 tied up with certain wireless carriers with each purchase, Apple now offers its latest smartphone without the burden of a two-year carrier contract. You can now buy an unlocked iPhone 5 right within Apple’s online store and use it on whichever network you want, as long as it is compatible with the device. And by compatible, we mean only GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States. Those who travel a lot can simply pop in a new nano-SIM card from a local GSM carrier and you are good to go. The unlocked iPhone 5 does not work in CDMA networks such as Sprint and Verizon. The contract-free iPhone 5 starts at $649 for the 16GB model, $749 for the 32GB version, and $849 for the 64GB device.

Source: http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/01/apple-offers-unlocked-iphone-5/

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Top 9 Free iPhone Apps, According to Apple

No matter how Apple would try to eliminate Google from the minds of their faithful users, it does not seem to work. Even though Google-made apps such as YouTube and Google Maps were no longer included among Apple’s suite of default programs when it unveiled iOS 6, users of the iPhone and iPad continue to download them anyway and it was very much evident in iTunes’ year-end chart. Apple recently released its “iTunes Best of 2012,” highlighting the most popular apps for its devices. Leading the pack in the list of free apps for iPhones is YouTube, which was released ahead of the launch of iOS 6. It is very weird that Apple ditched YouTube when the iPhone maker has yet to come up with its own video-sharing service, just like how the company introduced its own Maps app to erstwhile default Google Maps. But after Maps was largely panned by the public to the point its CEO apologized, Apple may want to take their time in developing its YouTube counterpart… that is, if they are making one. Here are the rest of the Top 9 free iPhone apps: 2. Instagram – Many users were initially worried when their favorite photo-editing and photo-sharing app was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion last April. The original company–Burbn, Inc.–remains independently managed and the app’s popularity continues to soar even as it severs its compatibility with Twitter. 3. Draw Something – This Pictionary-style game app is one of the breakout mobile stars of 2012. It was downloaded 50 million times 50 days after its release, then the app (and its company, Omgpop) were acquired by social gaming magnate Zynga. Draw Something has its share of bad news, such as when cyberscammers tricked users into revealing their personal information. 4. Flashlight Ⓞ – This utility app turns your iPhone into a convenient flashlight, harnessing the LED bulb right by the camera. Flashlight can be used for both recreation and emergency situations. It comes with a compass and SOS mode, which are very handy when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere. 5. Facebook – A huge chunk of social media users check out their news feed through their mobile devices, so it is not that surprising why three social media apps are on this list. The latest version allows users to choose an album when uploading photos, as well as view their profiles in a revamped Timeline format. 6. Pandora Radio – The popularity of streaming radio apps is at its highest in 2012, with Pandora leading the way. Users can simply type in the name of their favorite music artist or songs and Pandora would create a customized “station” based on similar music. 7. Temple Run – Temple Run has knocked out Angry Birds as the most popular free action game app on iTunes. (Angry Birds Space, meanwhile, is #1 among paid apps.) The critically-acclaimed endless running game has reached 100 million downloads since its release. 8. Pinterest – Since mainstream media took notice of this visual-board app in 2012, many tech companies took notice. In reaction, Facebook introduced “Interest List“; Myspace and eBay completely flipped their layouts and made it as pristine as that of Pinterest. 9. Twitter – Despite its popularity, not a lot of Twitter users use its native iOS app, opting to tweet instead in third-party applications such as TweetDeck (which Twitter bought) and Echofon.

Source: http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/15/top-9-free-iphone-apps-according-to-apple/

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Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case

Many people think of having the new iPhone 5 for a smartphone as something of a privilege that puts them at a different level among the other smartphone crowd. The iPhone just have established that kind of experience with its ownership. And many people also try to put themselves a step above other iPhone 5 users by dressing up their phones according to their style and status preference. For those who look for elegance, this Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case certainly provides that. The Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case gives that added ounce of elegance to your much-coveted iPhone. It is made out of premium aniline dyed leather covering a durable hardshell case. An easy snap-on attachment feature that provides ample protection to your iPhone 5 makes it convenient to use. The Incase iPhone 5 Leather Snap Case is available at Incase for US$50.
Source : http://www.gadget.com/2012/12/21/incase-iphone-5-leather-snap-case/

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The Top 5 Things About the iPhone 4S

Although it is not obvious from just a quick glance, the iPhone 4S contract comes with a huge number of improvements compared to the previous iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S does not have a radically new design but it does come with many new hardware and software tweaks. So what are the best of these? We look at the top five things iPhone 4S brings to the table.

Processor
This 1GHz dual core processor, the same that is used in the iPad 2, is a powerful one and one that manages to really improve the performance of the phone. It also increases the amount of apps that can be created for the iPhone 4S as it is able to perform tasks that previous iPhones couldn’t cope with.

This new processor comes with a new GPU, which will offer 7 times the power in graphical areas when compared to the iPhone 4. This places the iPhone 4S as one of the best mobile gaming devices on the market. It is not just the best smartphone for games, it also gives traditional handheld consoles a run for their money too, with fantastic games like Infinity Blade II available.

iCloud
The iCloud software is a very well laid out piece of cloud computing software and offers the users the chance to upload all their software on to the cloud and then use it from their device. This is especially useful for those who wish to use the iTunes iCloud software. This allows users to upload track IDs and then play songs through these IDs on the phone without having to upload the tracks themselves.

As Mark Hirst the director at Best Mobile Contracts has said, ‘Apple, with the release of the 4S now has a dual core smartphone in line with the likes of HTC, Samsung and Motorola. Where Apple wins through is with the introduction of the iCloud, enabling flawless synching between all its devices.’

Siri
The Siri voice control option is also an important consequence of the new phone and allows users to tell their phone what to do and, unlike most other voice control software, it actually works. This Siri technology learns as it goes and is also capable of giving back answers to commonly asked humorous questions. This is the first useful change to this technology and really pushes Apple ahead.

Siri really could mark the transition from finger based phone interaction to full voice control, and could revolutionise the smartphone market in a similar way that the original iPhone did with touchscreens back in 2007.

Camera
The new device also comes with an 8mp camera that can shoot 1080p video – a large improvement for Apple who have always lagged behind in the device stakes. This camera is excellent and makes a huge difference to the phone’s multimedia abilities.

iOS 5
iOS 5 brings a number of other innovations to the phone and includes BBM like iMessage and also a notifications bar that drops down with all the phones happenings included. This helps the Apple surpass all other software for phones out there and really makes a difference to the device.

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iPhone 3G S launched by 3 Italy for a Good Price

3 Italy has recently launched Apple’s new iPhone 3G S, and its prices are quite attractive.

On contract, the 16GB iPhone 3G S costs as low as €99 ($140). The 32GB model is obviously more expensive, starting at €199 ($280) with a contract agreement.

Customers can also buy the iPhone 3G S 16GB and 32GB with various 3 pre-pay plans, or free of any contract, for €599 and €699 respectively.

3 Italy also offers the older iPhone 3G, which can be free if you choose a new contract agreement. To check out all the iPhone offerings available via 3 Italy, visit the

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Apple iPhone launch draws gadget geeks, hired help

(Reuters) - Albert Livingstone's wife thinks he is crazy for lining up overnight in Chicago to be among the first on Friday to buy Apple's much-hyped iPhone.

"It's the newest toy. I'm 62 -- I don't have much time left to buy toys," said Livingstone, who stood in line with his friend Mark Stevenson, 50. They rented a room across the street and took turns to sleep.


The pair were among hundreds of people who lined up -- some for up to five days -- outside Apple stores and outlets of AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier for the next two years, for the launch at 6 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone.

The iPhone melds a phone, Web browser and media player. It has received rave reviews from U.S. technology gurus, who have praised the gadget as a "breakthrough."

But not everyone could understand the excitement.

"It's just a phone!" a San Francisco construction worker, driving by the Apple store in his pick-up truck, yelled at the waiting crowd.

Yet on a mild summer's day in Chicago, 50-year-old business consultant James Budd joined the line at dawn to not only buy an iPhone for himself, but also for his 95-year-old grandmother because he hoped it would be "simple enough" for her to use.

Even John Street, mayor of Philadelphia, has been waiting in line outside an AT&T Inc. store since Friday morning, his spokesman Joe Grace said.

But other high-flying professionals who couldn't escape work paid others to do it for them.

A tongue-in-cheek Citigroup research note on Apple Inc. even gave tips on how "to obtain an iPhone ASAP on Friday," advising clients to "send whoever is the newest and most junior at your firm to stand in line."

"Given the likely crowd density and accompanying pushing and shoving, it would be helpful for the firm's representative to be more physically intimidating.

"The ideal candidate would be a summer intern who plays football for an NCAA Division I university. A nondescript bag to carry the phone home in is a good idea too," the note added.

"WE STINK"

Some executives seemed to have similar plans of their own.

Lauren Smith, 21 -- No. 144 in line outside the Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue -- said her boss was paying her $15 an hour to wait.

"If it rains, I'm going to call him and try to knock that up," said Smith, who works at media company Worldwide Biggies.

Several young entrepreneurs also sought to make a quick buck off the launch of the iPhone, which started going on sale at up to $600.

In Walnut Creek, California, a group of college students arrived at the Apple store at dawn on Wednesday to nab the first 10 spots, which they were selling on Web site www.iwait.org.

One of them, Josh May, said most spots had already been sold for up to $700 to "people with kids, a lot of businessmen who have to work and people who just don't want to wait in line," but No. 1 and No. 2 were still up for grabs.

"We're exhausted, we're having trouble speaking -- and we stink," said May.

He added the group would offer their services for other events, such as the launch of the last Harry Potter book in July.

Nicholas Haubrich, 25, a restaurant reservations manager, secured the number-one place in line at the Chicago Apple store after arriving at 2.30 p.m. Thursday.

"If my mom can operate a Mac, anyone can," he said. "I want to be part of it -- it's history."

In New York, Imran Khan, 27, pinned a note to his shirt that read: "Buy my spot for $5000 and get my chair."

He said he received an offer of $4,500 on Friday, but turned it down.

Terry Austin, a 23-year-old New Yorker, waited in line for 27 hours outside Apple's Fifth Avenue store and was among the first to buy one.

"I feel good, it was fun," he said when he walked out clutching his purchase.

When asked if it was worth it, he answered: "We'll find out."

(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew and Franklin Paul in New York, Eric Auchard in San Francisco and Jon Hurdle in Philadelphia)

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video : Samsung Instinct vs. iPhone 3G: which one will be better?

It's not only the battle of two devices it is the battle of two cell phone services providers: Sprint and AT&T. These two phones will be their best and most powerful presenters that they have. iPhone 3G is not out yet but AT&T was successfully selling the previous versions of iPhone for almost a year now. So some people love AT&T and other love Sprint and it's their choice. What we are going to do is compare the features of the two phones.

First of all let's do the comparison of the exterior of Samsung Instinct and iPhone. Instinct is made mainly of plastic which is not that neat today; iPhone has pats made of metal and harden glass to prevent it from scratching.

As to AT&T vs. Sprint there are some advantages and disadvantages; but concerning these phones Sprint is giving very high internet speeds and music store from any point of coverage. AT&T's iPhone can only connect to iTunes store via Wi-Fi, which restricts it to the city limits. Besides, everybody knows about Samsung Instinct's and iPhone's GPS capabilities.

I personally liked the voice control on Samsung Instinct; however not sure if it would work as good as they demonstrate it, so train your speech to be able to control it.
I'm not sure if it was a good idea to have the keyboard only in landscape mode. My personal opinion is that I want to choose what mode to use because it really frustrates me that I need to turn it every time I want to input some text.

One more thing that I love about Instinct is its open platform. I really like to install and use the software I choose. iPhone has made a pretty good job on giving positive experience for the customers but it is closed platform.

Another good thing about Instinct is that they give an additional battery and an external battery charger, which can be very helpful during traveling.

iPhone should be twice as fast in web browsing as the old iPhone is. It supports Bluetooth, GPRS, GSM, EDGE, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, UMTS connectivity and that's what they are proud about. One of the biggest news: it will be able to give you 3G video talks with your friends.

One other big news is that Apple is going to allow third party applications on their iPhone but only those that are approved by them. Not sure how popular that will be. Apple has done a pretty good job on the user interface. And the question I have is: "Will the third party applications be free or they are going to charge the customers for that?" The platform it is running on is Mac OS X Mobile which should bring the customers best experiences.

In the rest of features the iPhone 3G will be just as its predecessor (one of the best phones out there.) It will roll out on July the 11th in 70 countries of the world. The 8GB version will cost $199 and the 16GB version will cost $299.

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Pocket Projector For iPhone 4

When one wants to share some videos or photos from a portable device like the iPhone 4, the audience can only be limited to 2 or 3 at the most. But if you want to share it to more people at once, you might need to have a portable projector handy. This Pocket Projector for the iPhone 4 would be an accessory that iPhone users should do without.

The Pocket Projector comes with a 15 lumen super bright LED projector lamp that allows the device to project images or videos into any flat surface for up to 50″ at 640×360 native display resolution. It also comes with focus adjustment controls that allow users to adjust image clarity and with integrated 0.5W speakers to handle the audio output. Using it is as easy as docking your iPhone 4 into the device and turning it on.

The Pocket Projector also comes with a built-in 2100 mAh battery that can be charged via USB. The device can also be used as a backup battery for your iPhone 4 during emergencies. The Pocket Projector is available at Brookstone for US$230.

Image Source: google

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Apple sold 3 millions of new generation iPads in just 3 days

Each year Apple makes new records in selling and developing their products, and iPad is no exception. The first iPad set a record of 300.000 in first 3 days of selling, second pushed the record up to one million devices in 3 days. And now Apple reports that the New iPad exceeded all expectations and in first three days of selling they sold over 3 million units.

"The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday."

As a reminder, the “resolutionary” tablet is currently available in ten countries and will be available in 24 more countries on March 23rd.

Take Of Gadget

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Apple HDTV release mid-2012?

Analysts have now come forward with what they believe to be fairly solid predictions for the arrival of the Apple HDTV, marking Apple's entry to the TV market

Apple could well be launching their own HDTV as soon as mid-2012 if one analyst is to be believed.

The source comes from analytics company Jefferies & Company and claims that the Apple HDTV could well be put into production as early as February with a mid-2012 release expected.

In terms of specs the analyst was unable to say anymore except that the screen would most likely be supplied by Sharp, it is unknown as to whether this will also feature 3D or what price-range Apple will be looking at, however if their displays are anything to go by, excpect it to be a premium priced product.

One of the more interesting comments made by the analyst however was that Apple's HDTV would heavily rely on the technology that's used in the iPhone 4S's Siri, utilising the software to allow users to control the Apple TV simply by voice. This would directly then compete with technologies such as the Microsoft Kinect which already allows voice-control of the Xbox on a TV.

Do you think Apple will be able to get a foothold in the HDTV market? Let us know what you think via the comments box below...

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22% of users regret buying Apple iPhones

More than one in five people who buy an Apple iPhone in the UK go on to regret the purchase, according to a new poll

The poll was conducted by mobile deal site goodmobilephones.co.uk, who asked 1,694 British adults if they were happy with their handsets. As it turns out, 22% of those polled with iPhones said that they weren't.
The disaffected Apple users cited poor battery life and better smartphone alternatives as reasons for regretting their purchases - both valid positions to hold given the slew of recent top-end handsets (including the Nokia Lumia 800, HTC Sensation XE and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S), and the recent hand-wringing over iOS 5's effect on battery life.
Furthermore, with the release of the iPhone 4S Apple are ignoring the current trend for mobiles with larger and larger screens. While some might argue that it's a trend that's gone too far with massive mobiles like the Samsung Galaxy Note, with the standard size of screen on high-end Android phones now resting at a little over four inches, Apple's 3.5-inch iPhone displays are starting to look comparatively titchy, especially as more and more people turn to smartphones for gaming and watching video.
Regretting your own purchase of the iPhone 4S? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Siri on iPad 2 or Android possible thanks to hack

It would appear as though Siri is not as unique to the iPhone 4S as was first thought with developers able to potentially port it to Android..

Mobile developers Applidium have cracked the protocols used for Siri which potentially means that if the right application was built, you could have Siri working on an iPad 2 or Android device.
The developers worked out that Siri in fact does a lot of its work via Apple's own remote servers, which also explains why Siri won't work if you don't have a 3G or Wi-fi connection. They then discovered that if you could work out the correct code to talk to these servers then it could be sent from any device, not just the Apple iPhone 4S.
While the majority of how it works is so technical we're still recovering from the headache reading it, the summary is that unless Apple finds some way of protecting Siri's servers from communication that isn't from an iPhone 4S you could potentially see hacks that allow Siri to work on an iPad 2 or even a Samsung Galaxy S2.
Would you like to see Siri on your iPad 2, should it have been made available on the iPad 2 anyway? Let us know what you think via the comments box below...
iPhone 4S Siri Demo video

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Apple Recalls Original iPod Nano; Know How to Get a Free Replacement

Apple has issued a recall for its first-gen iPod Nano, aka the Original Nano. You might want to refer to the photo so you won’t be confused with the Fat Nano, the Round Nano, or the One that Turns Into a Watch. It turns out the media device has an overheating battery problem, which poses a risk of exploding as the battery ages.
Only a limited number of problematic iPod Nanos are included in the recall: those that were only available between September 2005 and Januray 2006. If you have received yoru iPod Nano as a Christmas present in 2005, you might want to consider checking your device if it is covered by the recall. Find the serial number at the back of the Nano at put that sequence into Apple’s web-based checker. If your device is part of the bad batch, Apple will send a replacement iPod Nano after six weeks. Apparently, Apple has a lot of original iPod Nanos to issue as replacements.

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Apple Confirms Bugs in iOS5

After an influx consumer reports claiming that the iOS5 is sucking the life out of iPhones faster than usual, Apple has officially acknowledged that several bugs affect the battery life of its latest mobile OS.
In a statement released to tech blog All Things D, Apple said it would “release a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks.”
Complaints poured in online forums in recent days about how the iPhone 4S, as well as other Apple devices updated with iOS5, is consuming a lot of battery power mainly due to its power-demanding location services, which require constant pings to server. Despite the acknowledgement, Apple has so far released the iOS 5.0.1 Beta, which supposed fixes the bugs, to developers. We may have to wait for days, or even weeks before the update would land in our hands.
In the meantime, consider bringing your charger at all times.

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Apple MacBook Pro Laptops Get Specs Boost

You may not have noticed this on your way to your local Apple store, but its MacBook Pro laptops were given some boost in specs.
For starters, the 15- and 17-inch models now come with a faster AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete GPU. Both versions are also packed with quad-core 2.4GHz i7 processor. Meanwhile, the 13-inch version gets the option of a 2.4GHz Core i5 or a 2.8GHz Core i7 dual-core processor, as well as a notched-up 500GB to 750GB hard disk drive.
The best news about this? The new-new MacBook Pro still goes by its original prices, starting at $1,199 all the way to $2,499, depending on the model.
Source: Apple

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Ten Years of iPod

October 23, 2011, marks the tenth year since the iPod was introduced. The iconic portable media player has since become tiny and powerful, touch-capable and interactive throughout its different models and generations.
Then-CEO of Apple Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod 10 years ago at a special event. It has 4GB of storage, can hold up to a thousand songs, lasts for up to 10 hours, and can easily fit in one’s pocket. Although it was not the first MP3 player introduced in the market, the iPod was the first to become immensely popular among consumers.
To date, over 300 million iPods have been sold, but it did not come easy. The first iPod had a hefty $399 price tag on its launch and since at that time it can only be connected to iTunes-installed Apple computers, the rest of the world (who mainly uses Windows-based PCs) did not care. Things only began to pick up in 2002 when Apple came up with a Windows-compatible version of iTunes. By 2003, Apple had sold one million iPods. A year later, sales had reached 10 million.
There was concern on the fate of the iPod when more and more people are beginning to carry their music on their smartphones. While iPhone sales are exploding, iPod sales cannot seem to catch up, accounting for just 8 percent of Apple’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2010. The iPod Classic also did not get its update this year, as it usually does.
Whether new versions of iPods will be introduced or it will be shelved due to redundancy, the impact of the iPod in casual listening, as well as in the music industry itself, remains undeniable.

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