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Tag: iphone-4

  • iPhone 4S Could Be Banned in Europe

    iPhone 4S, Apple’s latest smartphone, could be banned in Europe along with all Apple devices that have GPRS connectivity and run iOS, following a lawsuit filed in Germany by Motorola.

    The number of lawsuits in which the company in Cupertino is involved grows with every passing day. After last week a court in Australia has unanimously decided to withdraw a preliminary decision prohibiting Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be sold in Australia, Apple faces a new threat from Motorola.

    The company, acquired this year by Google, has won in Germany a preliminary injunction through which obtained prohibiting the sale of Apple devices that have the GPRS  technology, namely iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G, in Europe.

    The case represents a huge loss for Apple in the patents war that they are carrying with the Asian manufacturers of Android devices in several countries worldwide.

    “We will appeal the decision immediately. German consumers who want to buy an iPhone or an iPad for the holidays should not have troubles finding them,” said Apple representatives shortly after the decision.

    In the light of recent events, the Motorola Mobility purchase by Google, recorded this summer, seems a natural one. Market specialists have speculated even since those times that Google has paid $12.5 billion for the U.S. company only for its patent portfolio in the telecom area, and only in order to defend Android, the mobile platform that develops, by the trials filed by Apple against several manufacturers.

    Legal conflict between Apple and Android manufacturers has a long history, most of the lawsuits being filed by the U.S. company against the South Koreans from Samsung.

    Apple accuses them of copying the design and functionality of the iPhone and iPad smartphones and tablets of the Galaxy series models. In response, Samsung accuses Apple of violating several patents in the telecommunications area.

    Currently, between Apple and Samsung are opened 23 lawsuits in countries like France, Japan, Germany, South Korea and the United States.

  • iPhone in a Smaller and Cheaper Version for Emerging Markets

    A few days ago have appeared a number of new rumors about iPhone 5, according to which the terminal will come equipped with iPad's processor, will have an 8-megapixel camera and will have a radically changed design, as "teardrop".

    The sources close to Bloomberg are disclosing some information that we won’t even dare to hope: Apple is preparing a smaller and cheaper version of iPhone, based on the iPhone 4’s hardware. The device aims the under-development countries, areas that until now have been dominated by Nokia’s handsets.

    The same sources are saying that Apple will soon release a new iPad, which uses an improved version of the “Retina Display” technology, which currently features the iPhone 4. The tablet will have a higher resolution and will include a touch layer to respond more quickly to commands.

    And as the sixth generation of iPhone is becoming more and more interesting for the Apple fans and the speculation have already started to flow, the enthusiasts claim that the iPhone 5 will hit the market in the spring 2012. The phone is expected to come equipped with major hardware updates, with a magnitude as great as the fourth generation had.

    The experts in this field believe that Apple should really embrace a more aggressive launch cycle to cope with strong competition coming from the growing army of Android smartphones.

    It is estimated that by the end of 2011, Apple will hold 18.5 percent points of the market share, while Google will have twice, 38.9 percent points. These are some bad news for Apple, which obtains more than half of revenue from the sales of iPhones.

    Meanwhile, new information on the final design for the iPhone 5 were used to create a portrait that we can form an opinion about how the future iPhone should look like.

    You may also want to read:
    Apple Prepares the Next iPhone for September
    The Most Efficient Mass-Media Apps for iPad
    Adobe Facilitated Android, iOS and BlackBerry with its Updates for Flash Builder and Flex

  • iSuppli: Apple’s A5 Microprocessor Builds on Success of Predecessor

    Driven by the soaring sales of products including the iPad and the iPhone 4, Apple’s shipments of products based on its A4 microprocessor reached nearly 50 million units in 2010 from virtually zero sales in 2009, IHS iSuppli research indicates.

    Building on the success of its A4 microprocessor, Apple recently announced that its second-generation iPad line will be based on a new microprocessor, the A5, which the company said doubles the performance of the A4. Apple said the A5 will include dual microprocessor cores, compared to a single core for the A4. Along with the rise in computing power, Apple said the A5 will offer nine times faster graphics performance than the A4.

    In an indication of how successful the microprocessor has been, Apple in 2010 shipped nearly four times as many units of A4-based products as it did of X86-based .

    According to the analysts, the low-cost, highly integrated A4 and A5 designs represent an important element in Apple’s philosophy of offering products focused on delivering a compelling user interface (UI) and a greatly optimized computing platform for Apple’s iOS operating system.

    "In the new design paradigm of smart phones and tablets, computing efficiency trumps raw computing power. Designs like the iPad demand highly integrated microprocessors that emphasize graphics performance, lower power consumption and small space usage," Wayne Lam, Senior Analyst at iSuppli.

    Apple so far has introduced five products based on the A4: the first-generation iPad, the AT&T version of the iPhone 4, the Apple TV, the iPod Touch and the CDMA iPhone 4 carried by Verizon Wireless.

    The A4 combines an A4 microprocessor core and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The device was custom designed by P.A. Semi—a company acquired by Apple in 2008—and is manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co.

    Partly because of the popularity of Apple’s iPad, companies around the world are developing media tablets and other products that feature small and innovative form factors. These products require highly integrated semiconductor solutions that consume less power and space, similar to the A4 microprocessor.

    "In the PC market, this trend is driving rising sales of notebook microprocessors that integrate graphics processing capabilities, eliminating the need for separate GPUs," said Lam.

    In tablets and smart phones, companies are offering alternatives to the A4 that provide similar levels of integration. For instance, Intel and Nvidia have announced plans for tablet-oriented microprocessors with similar characteristics to the A4.

  • VoIP-PAL Working on New iPad 2 App

    VoIP-PAL announced the development of integrating the video conferencing feature on forthcoming new PointsPhone Mobile App for the iPhone 4G and Apple’s new iPad 2. The App and the new Video Calling feature will soon be available for free downloading at the Apple App Store.

    According to VoIP-PAL, its goal is to provide "a quality, reliable, cost-effective and safe solution" for the casual and business international traveler who must rely on their smartphones to communicate.

    "Apple has once again proven to be the leader in innovation," stated Dennis Chang, President of VoIP-PAL. 

    "When it comes to providing what the consumer seems to want. A front facing camera on its iPhone 4G has made it practical for video calling and conferencing. Apple’s own FaceTime App is available from the Apple App Store, but we are developing a new version of our PointsPhone Mobile iPhone App that will also incorporate video calling. This new iPhone App will also be compatible and allow video chatting on Apple’s latest iPad 2. The new iPad 2 is a modest but significant upgrade and it’s important for our PointsPhone iPhone App to work on Apple’s latest product," he added.

    According to him,  video valling capabilities for smartphones is an important step in bringing the world closer together. Face-to-Face communication will not only improve family and friends’ connectivity, but it will help strengthen business relationships.

    "The first step is to complete the work to upgrade our iPhone App," said Mukesh Mohanbhai, VoIP-PAL’s Chief Technical Officer. "A beta version has been completed and tested. The new version will be fully capable of supporting our new Video Calling feature. Some of the new features of the Video Calling will be highly competitive to some of the others offered, such as transports to various popular Instant Messaging (IM) protocols such as MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo. Again, we will not release a product until I am sure it is truly a quality product and that it is safe and reliable. At VoIP-PAL we have adopted the doctrine of ‘Right the First Time’ release."

  • Verizon and Apple Team Up to Deliver iPhone 4 on Verizon

    Verizon Wireless and Apple have just announced that the iPhone 4 will be available on the Verizon network beginning on Thursday, February 10. Verizon customers will be given the opportunity to pre-order CDMA iPhone 4 online on February 3, ahead of general availability.

    The companies have signed a multi-year but non-exclusive deal. The device will be selling at standar $199 for the 16GB and $299 for 32GB. iPhone 4 on Verizon will include new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing customers to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices. The phone works on Verizon 3G (EV-DO) only – 4G data or GSM roaming will not be available.

    “We are pleased to introduce millions of wireless users to the industry leading iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon.

    “This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century,” he added.

    Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer said: “Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it. We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”

    iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, a 3-axis gyro and a glass and stainless steel design. iPhone 4 also comes with iOS 4, which includes multitasking, folders, Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint wireless printing.

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    iPhone 4 is Here

  • iPhone 4 Turns up the Volume for MEMS Microphone Technology

    Highlighted by their adoption in Apple’s iPhone 4, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones are set to achieve a more than 50 percent increase in shipments in 2010 and a fourfold rise by 2014, according to the market research firm iSuppli.

    Global MEMS microphone shipments are set to expand to 695.5 million units this year, up 57.7 percent from 441 million in 2009. By 2014, shipments will rise to 1.7 billion units, four times the total for 2009.

    MEMS microphones are tiny microphones that employ a pressure-sensitive diaphragm etched on a semiconductor using microelectromechanical technology. They are commonly employed in cell phones, headsets, notebook PCs and video cameras, replacing conventional electret condenser microphones (ECM).

    “In a major milestone, Apple in 2010 employed MEMS microphones in the iPhone 4, the first time the company used the technology in the iPhone line,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, MEMS, for iSuppli.

    “Although Apple previously used MEMS microphones in the fifth-generation iPod nano released in 2009, the company exclusively had been employing ECM technology in the iPhone line. With this move, Apple in 2010 will become the world’s second-largest buyer of MEMS microphones, behind Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Apple was the sixth largest buyer in 2009,” he added.

    Although they are significantly more expensive than ECM devices, MEMS microphones provide a host of advantages in terms of size, scalability, temperature stability and sound quality.

    The iPhone 4 employs two separate MEMS microphones for noise suppression, a technique that reduces background sounds to improve the clarity of voice communications. Although noise suppression has been available since 2006, the arrival of Motorola’s Droid as well as the iPhone 4 has caused the popularity of the technology—and of MEMS microphones—to soar. The majority of smart phones by 2014 will use two or more MEMS microphones.

    The mobile handset market in 2010 is the largest consumer of MEMS microphones, ahead of notebook PCs. Headsets will form the third largest user of MEMS microphones, due to their use by Apple. By 2014, mobile handsets and notebook PCs will still be the largest application for MEMS microphones, followed by slate-type tablets, such as Apple’s iPad.

    Since establishing the business in 2003, MEMS microphone pioneer Knowles Electronics has maintained market dominance, with the company set to account for more than 80 percent of shipments this year. The company has benefitted from its strong intellectual property portfolio. However, competition is rising, with three of the world’s five largest MEMS microphone suppliers now being Asian suppliers of conventional ECM—AAC Acoustic Technologies Holdings Inc., BSE Co. Ltd. and Hosiden Corp.—all of which recently added the product to their portfolio. These companies buy MEMS die from Infineon Technologies, package them and sell them, using their existing channels. Analog Devices Inc. is the only other pure MEMS company in the Top 5.

  • Cell Phone Antenna Troubles? Radio Frequency MEMS Come to the Rescue

    Help may be on the way for iPhone 4 users frustrated by dropped calls with the arrival of Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Systems (RF MEMS), semiconductors that can improve the performance of antennas in cell phones, according to the market research firm iSuppli.

    Long plagued by technological hurdles and other disappointing setbacks, RF MEMS are finally ready for the big time, with revenue projected to double in 2010 and more than triple in 2011, as the analysts say.

    From slightly less than $4 million in 2006, global RF MEMS revenue is anticipated to climb to $8.1 million this year—and then surge to $27.9 million in 2011, according to iSuppli. By 2014, revenue will reach a whopping $223.2 million—a far cry from the industry’s extremely modest beginnings.

    “More than 50 percent of cell phones shipped in 2014 will feature some form of front-end-module tuning using RF MEMS technology,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at iSuppli.

    “The implementation of RF MEMS switches and varactors in mobile phones could help boost the performance of smart phones like the iPhone 4, which made news headlines recently because of a problematic antenna that resulted in dropped signal strength. RF MEMS are also ideal for impedance matching of the Power Amplifier,” he said.

    Although other technologies will address antenna issues, including SoS FETs and BST varactors, MEMS deliver the best performance in terms of insertion loss.

    According to iSuppli analysts, RF MEMS switches have been used in small volumes in instrumentation applications because of their small form factor and excellent RF performance. However, despite initial promise, they failed to take off on a large scale because of myriad commercialization and technological obstacles. All that is about to change as RF MEMS technology begins to realize its potential because of strong product offerings from a number of major suppliers.

    The report finds that Seven firms are sampling RF MEMS products.

    California-based WiSpry Inc. and Japan’s TDK-Epcos are offering RF MEMS for high-volume cell phone applications. On another front, U.S. firms Analog Devices Inc., Radant Technologies Inc. and XCOM Wireless Inc.—in cooperation with relay manufacturer Teledyne Technologies Inc.—as well as Japanese supplier Omron Corp. are targeting high-end applications for testing and instrumentation such as ATE and RF test. U.S. startups Radant MEMS and MEMtronics focus on defense applications.

    "In particular, interest is growing among mobile handset manufacturers on how RF MEMS can be used for the front-end tuning of cell phones to improve antenna performance, given the advent of new wireless standards like LTE for 4G technology. WiSpry—which has garnered several design wins for its MEMS varactors—is expected to commence volume production by the fourth quarter this year," said Bouchaud.

  • iPhone 4 Sounds Starting Gun for Smartphone Gyroscope Market

    Monday’s introduction of the iPhone 4 is set to trigger explosive growth in the market for gyroscopes used in cell phones, as a flood of competitors vie to emulate the feature, says iSuppli.

    According to the research group, global unit shipments of gyroscopes in mobile handsets are expected to rise to 285 million in 2014, up from 26 million in 2010 and from zero in 2009.

    The integration of the gyroscope in the iPhone 4, which is set to begin shipping on June 24, confirms iSuppli’s forecast that these parts would make their first appearance in smart phones this summer.

    “Because of Apple’s role as a technology trendsetter, a multitude of mobile handset OEMs are expected to offer smart phones that integrate gyroscopes,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, Microelectromechanical Systems, for iSuppli. “This will cause shipments to rise by 157 percent in 2011 and by 60 percent in 2012 and 2013.”

    Mobile handset makers until recently have shown little interest in gyroscopes, Bouchaud noted. However, the success of the Nintendo Wii Motion Plus video game console demonstrated the consumer appeal of gyroscopes for game playing. Meanwhile, InvenSense and STMicroelectronics have offered a cascade of new gyroscopes with 2 and 3 axes, making the technology more accessible.

    “STMicroelectronics is the sole supplier of accelerometers for previous models of the iPhone, as well as for the iPad and the iPod line,” Bouchaud said.

    “Because of this, we believe that STMicroelectronics is also the supplier of the gyroscope in the iPhone 4. However, we will have to wait for confirmation from iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis Service when it dissects the iPhone 4 in late June.”

    According to the analysts, the main applications for gyroscopes in cell phones in 2010 and 2011 will comprise a user interface utilizing a gyroscope in combination with an accelerometer, followed by image stabilization and dead-reckoning for in-vehicle navigation.

    From 2012, gyroscopes will start to be used for indoor navigation in combination with an accelerometer, compass and pressure sensor for floor accuracy. By 2014, the market for gyroscopes in cell phones is expected to amount to $220 million.

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    iPhone 4 is Here

  • iPhone 4 is Here

    The iPhone 4 has been finally announced at the WWDC 2010. Steve Jobs himself revealed the new smartphone by Apple: the next iPhone is a 9.3mm thick (a quarter thinner than the iPhone 3GS; “the thinnest smartphone on the planet”, as Jobs said), has glass on front and back (“for better optical quality and scratch resistance”), and stainless steel around. It uses the stainless steel band as part of the antenna system.

    “It’s the most precise thing we’ve ever made,” Apple CEO said.

    iPhone 4 is powered by the A4 chip (designed ”in house”) and comes with two built-in cameras (one on the front and one on the back with an LED flash), two mics (one for a noise cancellation), micro-SIM (“we needed the space!"), 802.11n WiFi, GPS, compass, accelerometer, Quadband HSDPA/HSUPA, 7.2Mbps and up to 32GB of storage.

    The display is a huge innovation: based on new IPS technology ("quite a bit better than OLED"), the 3.5 inch, 960 x 640 Retina Display displays 326 pixels per inch (four times as many pixels as in any standard display) giving us really sharp text and pictures. The contrast ratio is 800:1 (4x better than the 3GS).

    Since the battery is now a bit bigger, its life has been improved. Apple says there is 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby.

    Another new piece of hardware is a gyroscope with pitch, roll, and yaw. It provides 6-axis motion sensing and features new CoreMotion APIs for extremely precise positioning. "We’re adding a 3 axis gyro, and we tied the gyro and accelerometer, compass, and gyro together for six axis. It’s perfect for gaming," Jobs said.

    Back camera has gone from 3 to 5 MP. Apple is using something that’s new to smarpthones — a back side illuminated sensor (giving more light to the camera). There’s a 5X digital zoom, tap to focus, and LED flash built in.

    Camera also does HD 720p (at 30 frames per second) video recording. It supports tap to focus and allows us to edit videos right on the phone. It also has 1-click sharing and the LED flash will stay on for the HD video recording. There is also iMovie coming to the iPhone for $4.99 (“if we approve it,” Jobs joked).

    iPhone 4 will also feature "FaceTime" video calling. It works between iPhone 4 devices, doesn’t require any setting-up and works anywhere there is WiFi. “It’s WIFI only in 2010. We need to work a little bit with our providers,” Jobs said. He added that Apple is going to make FaceTime and open industry standard.

    Apple has renamed the iPhone OS. Now it’s just iOS 4." Becuase it’s on iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone,” Apple CEO said. He also said that 100 millionth iOS device will be sold this month. "There is definitely a market for your applications," Jobs added.

    As announced earlier this year, new iOS 4 features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with better data protection, mobile device management and wireless app distribution.

    Apple has also added Bing to the iPhone for search (“Microsoft has done a great job on this,” Jobs said). Google will still be the default, but now we’ll have choice of Google, Yahoo, or Bing.

    Developers will get a Golden Master Candidate release of iOS4 today.

    Apple is also bringing iBooks to the iPhone with the iPhone 4. It has the same bookshelf as on the iPad, the same ability to read a PDF and comes with the same controls, highlighting, notes, and bookmarking. We can download the same book to all our devices at no extra charge (“Buy it on your iPad, download to your iPhone”)! In addition, iBooks will automatically and wirelessly sync our current place, bookmarks, and notes across all our devices.

    On July 1st Apple will also start providing iAds to all iOS 4 devices. “Why are we doing this? To help our developers earn money to continue to create free and low-cost apps for users,” Jobs said. According to him, they are trying to combine “the emotion of video with the interactivity of the Web."

    Apple sells and hosts the ads, so developers just have to tell them where to put the ads. And devs get paid 60 percent of the revenue. The company started selling ads eight weeks ago to: Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Campbells, Sears, JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, DirecTV, TBS Network and Disney. "We’ve got advertisers committing to $60m," Jobs said.

    Price and availability
    iPhone 4 comes in two colors: black and white. 16GB model is for $199, and 32GB model for $299. Old 3GS is now $99

    Jobs said that AT&T is going to make an “incredibly generous upgrade offer: if your contract expires at any time in 2010, you can upgrade to the iPhone 4. You can get it up to six months early."

    The new iPhone will be on sale June 24th. Pre orders begin June 15th. Apple will ship iPhone 4 in US and four other countries on the first day (U.K., Germany, France, Japan). In July they’re shipping in 18 countries more. By September it will ship in 88 countries. "Our fastest roll out ever," Jobs said.

    iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod touch users can upgrade to iOS 4 for free starting June 21.

    Reed Hastings from Netflix, Mark Pincus from Zygna and Karthik Bala from Activision were also on stage announcing that Netflix, Farmville and new Guitar Hero will be coming to the iPhone.