iphone4 posts

According to M.I.C Gadget, Apple is canceling online iPhone 4 orders in Hong Kong in an attempt to thwart would-be resellers.

Recently, customers have either had their existing orders canceled or been prevented from placing new orders. Many shoppers received this email from Apple:

A new iPhone 4 ad has hit the airwaves.

Rather than featuring FaceTime, which is now quickly making it into the mainstream on shows like Hawaii Five-O, the new ad focuses on the Retina Display. In the ad, the ability of the display to bring out the best of photos, movies, text, and games is vividly demonstrated on "the highest resolution phone screen ever."

Seeing how other phone manufacturers are now using terms like "our high-resolution AMOLED display" in their advertising, this is a smart move on Apple's part while they still have the lead in phone display technology.

While I wait for Movie Peg to make a little doohickey for my iPhone 4, Dan Provost and Thomas Gerhardt have been working on a doohickey of their own, called the Glif. It will allow you to prop your iPhone 4 in a variety of positions for reading, typing with a Bluetooth keyboard, watching video, and so on.

The neat part is that it's also a tripod mount. Since the iPhone 4 shoots HD video, you can attach it to your tripod to shoot and then prop it up on a desk to review your footage. Neat, eh?

The guys are looking for funding to get an initial run produced, and they're looking for supporters. For US$20, you'll essentially pre-order a Glif while pushing them towards their goal of $10,000. (We don't know what happens if you donate and they fail to reach their goal.)

It's a cool-looking device. Good luck, guys. Click here to watch a promo video.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Despite the iPhone's official release in China, a grey market continues to thrive. So much so that shoppers are buying units from Apple for private resale in such large quantity, that Apple had to temporarily down the Beijing Apple Store.

According to M.I.C Gadget, the trouble started when Apple lifted the 2-per-customer restriction at the Beijing store. People were buying up to 30 iPhones at a time, which they would privately resell for a profit. In fact, many were selling right outside the store. Things got out of hand as the crowd quickly swelled and scuffles broke out between the mass-quantity buyers and individuals looking for a single phone. Security eventually shut the store down.

Within hours, the store re-opened with a new policy. Customers must show ID when making a purchase. They may purchase only 1 iPhone at a time, which will be unboxed and activated in the store by an employee before the customer is allowed to leave. This policy has now been extended to all four of China's Apple Stores.

Considering the high demand and extreme shortage of iPhones in China, it's understandable how a grey market develops. This was an unfortunate circumstance. Good on Apple Store security and management for addressing it in a timely fashion.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have the worst memory. I also have a bad short-term memory. This makes it tough to remember the things that pop into my head throughout the day, and it makes it especially hard to keep track of tasks and other actions that I must take. I've wanted to use my iPhone to "bottle" these fleeting thoughts for years, but nothing on the App Store allowed me to do this without some sort of distraction.

Enter Captio, a new app from Ben Lenarts of Boonbits. It's a small note taking application that allows you to capture thoughts, ideas, tasks, and other tidbits of information as they come to you. You may say, "But there are a million of those apps on the store, Josh, you handsome man!" Given, but Captio has one killer feature that everyone else has failed to deliver on: nothing. For example, here's how it works:

Step 1: You open the app.

Step 2: You type what you need to remember.

And that's it. Your idea is in your email inbox. That's what makes Captio so great. You can add a quick photo before Captio whisks the idea out of your mind, but the feature is hidden quite well under the keyboard (as not to distract you). It's one fast app, too. I don't mean that in the same way that reviewers normally say it, either. Captio could outrun Usain Bolt strapped to a rocket cheetah. My iPhone 4 loads it from a cold start in about a second, and it's even quicker when loading from multitasking memory.

If you're looking for something to capture everything you need to remember (and capture it quickly), I highly recommend picking up Captio. It's available now on the App Store for a fantastic $0.99. Just be prepared to break the news gently to your iPod icon, though; he won't be happy to lose his spot on the dock.

After four days of availability, China Unicom (CU) has sold 100,000 iPhone 4s in China (here are some photos from launch day). Pre-orders began on September 16th, and CU reported earlier this week that 200,000 orders were taken. Today, all online reservations have come to a halt. Customers must be physically present at a retail store to buy one. For now, the iPhone 4 is outselling the iPhone 3GS many times over.

Phones bought through China Unicom require a two year service contract. However, the phone is also available contract-free at Apple stores.

Liu Liang, an analyst with consulting group iResearch, commented on the iPhone's popularity."The level of smartphone usage is hitting a new level in China," he said. "A lot of users no longer want to use these older phones with few features and instead want to buy the latest models like the iPhone."

The iPad was also met with enthusiasm in China, though sales figures are not yet available.

Apple has released an all-new version of its long-untouched Remote app for iOS devices, which has been well overdue an update for some time now. It has a number of significant new features, including Retina Display support, an all-new iPad UI, gesture-based remote control support for the new Apple TV, and (perhaps most significantly for some people) the ability to use Home Streaming to stream content from an iTunes library on your local network to your iOS device (UPDATE- please see note below). This last addition will be really useful for people with music libraries that are too large to fit on their device.

We'll have more coverage of the app soon, but in the meantime, get your download via iTunes.

UPDATE: Numerous commenters are pointing out that the Home Sharing feature does not allow you to stream from iTunes to the iOS device, although that would sound like a logical thing for it to do. Instead, it merely allows an easier way to "pair" your iOS device and iTunes without entering the four-digit codes required by the previous version. The overly enthusiastic writer of the original story conveyed his deep regret about this error as he was taken out and shot.

Apple's advertising for the FaceTime video chat feature on the iPhone 4 is emotional and effective, and now the ads are making it to the European market. All of the ads are backed with the universally-known voice of Louis Armstrong singing "When You're Smiling," and there is no audible dialog, so these ads can be used in just about any European market. So far, they've made it to the U.K., Italy, and Spain.

The ads are sponsored by carriers 3Italia, Vodafone, and Orange. Click the Read More link to view the videos.

[via Macstories.net]

Our favorite blogger in China, Maik Lutze of SuddenlyBeijing.com, has provided TUAW with exclusive photos from the official Chinese iPhone 4 launch this morning (9/25). Not only were there lines for the iPhone 4, but there was a new Apple Store being opened in Beijing at Xidan's Joy City today, so he provided photos of the crowds on had for the opening:

This is the second Apple Store in Beijing, the first being the Sanitun store. Maik provided a batch of photos for TUAW of the iPhone 4 lines at this store as well:

The second Apple retail location in Shanghai also opened today. The new Huaihai Lu Apple Store is a two-story structure with the only curved window front of any Apple Store. Apple is really booming in the Chinese market, with a third Beijing store planned for Qianmen Street that will open this fall.

[Shanghai store information via Shanghaiist.com, Beijing store info via Asia Blog]

GTA TeleGuam has announced that the iPhone 4 will be available tomorrow, September 24th, on its mpulse wireless network. Those wanting a head start can reserve one now, though GTA's website does warn, "All phones are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last."

Roland Certeza, GTA's executive vice president of sales, was all enthusiasm this week. "Customer response to iPhone in Guam has been overwhelming," he said, "and we are confident the unique features of iPhone 4 will be received with great excitement by our customers." While we couldn't find pricing or plan information on the GTA website, Certeza did say, "GTA customers will find it easy and affordable to enjoy the great new innovations of iPhone 4 with our range of plans and pricing."

If you're in Guam for the launch, let us know! We'd love to see your pictures and hear your story. Good luck and have fun.

[Via Macsimum News]

Distributor KT Corporation announced this week that the iPhone has sold more than 1 million units in South Korea. It took nine months for that many units to fly off the shelves, and that doesn't include sales of the iPhone 4.

When the iPhone 3GS launched in Korea in November of 2009, KT Corp. had some 65,000 pre-orders to fill. By contrast, customers had placed 350,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4. Now, KT and Apple struggle to meet the demand as bottlenecks are hindering distribution elsewhere, despite manufacturer Foxconn's best efforts. Still, KT Corp. expects to reach 1.2 million iPhones sold by October.

As Electronista points out, Korean consumers have traditionally resisted smartphones, so Apple deserves kudos for breaking into the stubborn market. KT Corp notes that Koreans using iPhones consume four times more data than those with other smartphones.

Congratulations to Apple and KT! Of course, this is all good news for CJ Corporation, right?

[Via Electronista]

Google Earth for iOS, which was already one of the biggest "wow" apps on the iPhone (It's the Earth in your pants!), has received a huge update that adds support for the iPhone 4's gorgeous retina display, as well as new ocean topographies that will allow users to explore the underwater depths.

You can see from the screenshot above that this adds an insane amount of detail to the textures and drawing space. Even this comically oversized screen grab can't convey how good this looks on a real iPhone 4, though. I highly suggest that you check it out for yourself.

Google Earth is a universal application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch; it is available in the App Store as a free download.

With earlier iPhone models, external battery packs and battery cases like the Mophie Juice Pack Air became very popular, due to the original iPhone's shorter battery life. With the iPhone 4, we're not seeing quite the battery life issues that we did with the earlier models, but for those who need to be away from a recharging power source for a while, battery cases are still an excellent solution.

Exogear has recently released the Exolife rechargeable battery case for iPhone 4 ($89.95), with a built-in 1500 mAh Lithium-Ion Polymer battery that's sure to keep your iPhone 4 running for a long time. Read on for a complete review of the Exolife case, and a chance to win one from TUAW.

Taiwanese customers placed 200,000 iPhone 4 pre-orders, yet carriers fear that only about one-fourth of those orders will be filled by the end of the year.

iPhonetouch.Blorge reports that Apple's three Taiwanese carrier partners, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone, had access to a mere 1,800 iPhone 4s when they finally became available on September 15th. Additionally, the carriers expect to receive no more than 50,000 units before the year's end.

Meanwhile, the chairman of manufacturer Foxconn told the press that his company is pumping out 1.5 iPhones per second -- that's about 137,000 units per day -- to keep up with the enormous global demand. In fact, Foxconn recently bought 1,000 special machining rigs at $20k each to help them stay on track. Most manufacturers own one. Unless they're on Kamino.

Remember that "antenna issue" that was supposed to doom the iPhone 4? Um, yeah.

[Via Macsimum News]

To read all the latest internet posts, the iPhone is all but dead, succumbing to the onslaught of Android phones being bought by customers in massive numbers. ComScore, who watches mobile use very carefully, pretty much says Android is rapidly eating away at the iPhone market share.

It's enough to make an Apple stockholder or fan weep, or at least get a bit nervous. The problem is, it's all a bit over-hyped. In a Fortune column today, the numbers get a bit of welcome perspective. While Android phones are doing very well, with market share up 5% in the three month period ending July 31 from the previous three months. Meanwhile Apple is down 1.3%, but the numbers don't tell the whole story.

First, the iPhone sold out on the U.S. launch day on June 24, and has been in short supply ever since. Of course that means that the iPhone wasn't even on sale for all of May and most of June. Further, since everyone and their cousin Clem knew a that a fresh iPhone model was coming out, it also likely suppressed sales.

Will Android eventually be the number one smartphone? Good chance. Suppliers and carriers get the OS for free, it's a good phone with a vibrant app store and an increasing loyal user base. It's not such good news for RIM and Microsoft, but who knows what the future might bring. It's just that the shovels are getting deployed just a bit early to bury the iPhone, and Apple continues to be innovative and responsive to the competition, which is good for all smartphone users.