Handhelds

AT&T is still the “iPhone network,” according to numbers  from its quarterly earnings report. AT&T sold 5.5 million smartphones in the quarter, but 4.3 million of the smartphones activated were iPhones. That means the iPhone represented a whopping 78 percent of total smartphone sales (although some “iPhone activations” could have been hand me downs). Additionally, AT&T’s postpaid customers are almost 60 percent smartphone customers, which means AT&T’s iPhone customers represent a huge percentage of its base—nearly 5o percent and growing.

Verizon announced numbers last week including 3.2 million iPhones sold. While the iPhone is down significantly from the holiday quarter, it is up from 3.6 million activations in Q1 2011. Apple’s earnings will be reported at the end of the day today.

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Weiphone’s Hacker Loktar_Sun just unearthed how to unlock an iPhone—including the iPhone 4S.

To complete Weiphone’s step-by-step unlock tutorial, the latest version of iTunes and a jailbroken iPhone is required. For those unaware, unlocking is the process of modifying an iPhone’s software so that it can operate through carriers other than its official carrier in a given country. Also, a jailbroken iPhone simply means it is freed from the limitations imposed by Apple for safety measures.  In other words, continue at your own risk.

The following process is straightforward for anyone familiar with unlocked or jailbroken iPhones:
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Probably not.

The “hacks” require the attacker to have physical access to your device (whether it be Android or iOS). That could be a speaker dock, a charging station, or a friend’s computer, but it still requires you to plug the iPhone into something compromised or give up physical access to it.

The issue, as Gareth Wright first discovered, is that Facebook stores saved account information in a plaintext file that can be transferred to another phone and used to log into your Facebook account without signing in. Other services, like Dropbox, were also shown to have the same vulnerability (but that is disputed).

This is why, when you restore a phone from a backup, you already have access to your Facebook app without having to sign-in again. Facebook attempted to dispel the concern by claiming that a phone would need to be compromised for this to work. That is untrue.

However, as we know, once someone with the right software has your iPhone, your information is pretty much his or hers to use.

[tweet https://twitter.com/chronic/status/188363051139989504]

The bigger issue here is the software that people use to access your data. It is free—and the process is very simple. I expect Facebook and Apple will probably make it more difficult in forthcoming updates.

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Officially from the T-Mobile Blog:

Will refarming make your network compatible with the iPhone? And will you stop offering 2G services?
A nice side benefit of the refarming effort is that our 4G network will be compatible with a broader range of devices, including the iPhone. The other important benefit of our network modernization effort is the coverage improvements it will deliver, especially when it comes to in-home coverage. As we refarm our 1900 spectrum, we will continue to fully support our customers with 2G devices.

The move is a result of the “re-farming spectrum” from the botched AT&T merger.

We are also going to make more effective use of the spectrum we already have by refarming a portion of our 1900 MHz PCS spectrum to support HSPA+ services, which frees up additional AWS spectrum for LTE. With the AT&T breakup spectrum factored in, T-Mobile will have sufficient spectrum to roll out LTE with 20MHz to about 75% of the top 25 markets in 2013. Most remaining markets will have 10MHz. Our course, we’d love to have more spectrum to further strengthen our position to compete in the marketplace.

T-Mobile executives told analysts as much last month, but this is the first official word on T-Mobile’s website. We are hearing that 3G iPhone owners on T-Mobile could start seeing access in areas like Philadelphia in a matter of weeks.

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So about two weeks ago we got a tip from a reliable source that Apple was going to call the iPhone 5 (or whatever)- the new “iPhone”.

That seemed a little nuts at the time but what a difference a Keynote makes. As Christian explained, Apple chopped the suffix off if the iPad as part of a branding makeover that will likely expand.  Just like iMac is not called iMac 1,2,3 it looks like Apple won’t be doing the numbering on iOS devices (though it never did with the iPod touch).

So that tip –That the next iPhone is simply the new “iPhone” – seems a lot more plausible now.

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Update: Like others before it, Apple is now pulling QuasiDisk from its global iTunes stores. But we’ve added another below the fold

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNx6X4ZZFRA]

It appears another tethering app snuck into the App Store.  QuasiDisk ($1.99) purports to be a file manager for the iPhone, but it appears that in the most recent update over the weekend, it stealthily got the ability to tether via proxy.  Apple is usually pretty quick to pull these, so you might want to jump on this app if you want some tethering without a carrier plan.

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We heard earlier today that the next iPhone may have a bigger screen which could make the chassis slightly bigger.  How do you feel about this?  What size would you prefer?

Unsure? Check here (via Tim Bray).
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From 9to5Toys.com:

RadioShack is offering a $30 discount on all of their AT&T high end smartphones which obviously includes the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, starting Sunday and running until December 17th. The sale will bring the iPhone 4S 16GB down to $170 0n contract and the iPhone 4 16GB to $70 on contract. Also, if you use Radioshack’s trade-in program you can get the phones for free and even have some extra credit left over. Head over to your local store to take advantage of this sale.

Update: Word on the street is that Target is going to give $25 back on an iPhone purchase. (Thanks commenter)

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Macworld reminds us of a cool trick for iPhone photographers that will enable steadier shots than using the volume button on their iPhone. The trick is related to the volume trigger button on your iPhone’s Remote Earbuds, where you open the camera app, and then use the volume button on the headphones as a trigger. This is already helpful for steadier shots, or taking a better front-facing shot.

However, this trick can even be used with a Bluetooth device, as a sort of wireless remote, once paired. Interested in more iOS 5 camera tricks? Check out the iPhone’s built-in panorama mode.

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Confirming what we already told you yesterday, Apple has said the company has no current plans to implement Siri into any other iOS devices besides the iPhone 4S. Apple confirmed the news in an email (seen after the break) to developer Michael Steeber.

Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue:Siri only works on iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices.

That doesn’t mean however that developers won’t continue to work on building Siri for later iOS device — like the iPhone 4 and 3GS. Curious to see how it works on an iPhone 4? Check it out after the break, along with a screenshot of the email:

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This week, we are co-sponsoring iPhone 4S + Monster Accessory Pack giveaways with Monster Cable. You can win the iPhone 4S + Accessory Pack from Monster Cable by liking their Facebook page and entering their contest here: https://www.facebook.com/monstercable. Enter once for a chance to win every week until December 23rd.

Additionally, this week only, we at 9to5Mac are offering you guys the Monster Accessory Pack which can be won by liking our page https://www.facebook.com/9to5mac.

Monster’s 8x iPhone 4S Sweepstakes: What better way to fully enjoy Monster Cable’s lineup of mobile-friendly accessories than on the supreme gadget of today – the iPhone 4S! Monster is giving its fans the chance to win an iPhone 4S & Monster Accessory Pack every week for eight straight weeks! In addition to the iPhone 4S, the Monster Accessory Pack includes our sleek ($300) Turbine In-Ear Monitors, the static-free Monster iCable 800, the convenient Monster Mobile PowerPlug Dual USB 700, and the practical CleanTouch Pen! So go ahead, click the button… and remember, you only have to enter once and you’re then eligible to win each of the 8 weeks! (sorry this is for US residents only).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyOuqQ4zJCM]

I had a chance this week to demo a iPhone 4 and 4S case from a company called LifeProof that purports to offer 100% waterproof and military graded shockproof protection to iPhone 4 and 4S.  There are other cases that offer this type of protection, but this one is relatively thin and also allows you to hear the speakers and use the mic thanks to micro-holed that are so small that water can’t get through but sound can.  It also allows easy plugging in of a charging cable (forget docks) or headphone set with a convenient little O-ring adapter.

Well, it is certainly waterproof (even if it is really hard to let your iPhone go into the water the first time – what if you forgot to snap even one bit and it leaks?!  There goes $600!).  But it does work as advertised.  At the showstoppers event, LifeProof were throwing them on the carpeted floor which didn’t seem all that harrowing.  At home, I dropped it on hardwood from waist high (accidentally, incidentally) and the phone didn’t even see a scratch.  The underwater images below were taken after the drop so the case appears to have weathered the storm as well.

Whenever my toddler gets the iPhone 4, he also gets the LifeProof case.  You can pick up the LifeProof Cases at Best Buy for $79 in Black or White
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We were all ready to start making fun of these guys for being wacko gun nuts and wasting a perfectly good $650 iPhone until the slo-mos came in about halfway through the video. OK, that was cool.  Where’s the Android version?  Via Giz (of course)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B489u_1ZBIA#!]

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd7taHnHzcg]

If you’re trying to make your iPhone 4S buying decision based on network speeds, here’s a helpful comparison video (above). The test shows the loading of websites and also runs the speed test application on all three networks.

Remember, this was done at one fixed location so you’re mileage most certainly will vary.

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As the iPhone 4S launched worldwide today, Apple’s stock just closed at $422 a share — an all-time high for the company. Pretty amazing for a phone “that only has a better camera”, right?