Reddit user TheReverndZ shows the text he just got from AT&T. He was over 11GB (!!) today for the month which is pretty hefty to say the least. Next month, he’s probably going to get throttled as per the news we broke in June.
Starting October 1, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.
Don’t laugh Verizon users. Yours is coming too. Sprint, for the record, says it won’t throttle guys like Skelatwork, if they get the iphone Expand Expanding Close
Qantas Airlines is beginning a six week trial program, offering passengers an iPad 2 for the duration of the flight to stream movies over in-flight Wi-Fi, reportsAUSBT. Passengers will use a preloaded ‘Q Streaming’ app to view movies, streaming from one of five Wi-Fi access points available on the flight. The current six week trial will be taking place on one single Boeing 767-300, which carries up to 254 passengers. That’s a lot of iPads and interestingly, a whole Class C subnet. If everyone is streaming, will the 5 Wi-Fi hotspots be able to handle the traffic?
As the six week trial comes to an end, Qantas will begin offering the ‘Q Streaming’ app to passengers so they can download it on their own iOS device. If the six week trial is successful the airline will install iPad brackets in the seats, presumably across their whole fleet.
The Apple Store dropped its price on the factory-refurbished, 1st-generation Apple iPad 16GB Wi-Fi (pictured), model no. MB292LL/A, to $299 with free shipping. That’s $30 under our June mention and is $184 under the lowest total price we could find for a new one. (It’s also the lowest we’ve ever seen for any iPad.) This 0.5″-thick tablet weighs 1.5 lbs. and features an Apple A4 1GHz processor, 9.7″ 1024×768 LCD touchscreen display, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, accelerometer, compass, up to 10 hours of battery life, and more.
Also available is the factory-refurbished, 1st-generation Apple iPad 32GB Wi-Fi, model no. MB293LL/A, for $399. That’s another price-low, this time by $121. Both units carry a 1-year Apple warranty, the same as new units.
The update addresses a few issues including the Wifi issues we’ve been hearing much about. It also appears to incorporate the recent Migration Assistant update. It is available via Software Update and weighs in at a paltry 17.4MB on our rig.
The 10.7.1 update is recommended for all users running OS X Lion and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability and compatibility of your Mac, including fixes that:
– Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari – Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out – Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections – Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion
The Mac App store still lists Lion at 10.7 so it isn’t clear if new updaters will always have to do additional updates. We’re also left wondering if this update fixes the “video performance after a sleep” that new Lion Mac users have been reporting.
Update: Interesting there is a direct link (here) for New Mac Mini and MacBook Air users (68MB) which updates a few more issues (below):
As reported by TechCrunch, Amazon has released a new Kindle Cloud Reader service. The service allows users of both Macs and PCs running either Safari or Google Chrome to read their Kindle books online. Better yet, the service works on iPad’s Mobile Safari. A feature that owners of WiFi-only iPads will enjoy is page caching for offline reading.
Notably, this is a great solution for Amazon to work around Apple’s in-app-purchase requirements for applications that offer purchases. In fact, what better way to spur Web innovation than to force people out of the store? Good job Apple!
Illustration via profile pictures on IEEE’s Facebook page
The IEEE standards body that oversees the development of WiFi technology announced today a next-generation WiFi 802.22 technology designed to facilitate wireless data transfer up to 22Mbps over great distances up to 60 miles, or a hundred kilometers. The interesting thing is, the new technology is utilizing television bands without interfering with reception of existing TV broadcast stations:
This new standard for Wireless Regional Area Networks (WRANs) takes advantage of the favorable transmission characteristics of the VHF and UHF TV bands to provide broadband wireless access over a large area up to 100 km from the transmitter. Each WRAN will deliver up to 22 Mbps per channel without interfering with reception of existing TV broadcast stations, using the so-called white spaces between the occupied TV channels.
The technology will be great in rural areas and developing countries with vacant TV channels, IEEE says. In our view, this could also knock out any rationale for the much talked-about AT&T/T-Mobile merger. For example, why use pricey cellular data if your phone is within the range of a 802.22 hotspot? Apple is one of the leading backers of WiFi and has long ago incorporated wireless capabilities to all their products. As of recently, Apple ships its Macs with souped up WiFi capable of hitting 450Mbps over wireless networks, even though they aren’t advertising this as a feature.
Lifehacker has conducted a series of tests to see which is faster: Lion or Snow Leopard. As you can see in the video above, the two operating systems do about the same in almost every category tested, but Snow Leopard weasels out the win almost every time. To be fair, most categories were won by a very small margin. Lifehacker summarizes:
Boot
1:32
1:25
Compress a ~900MB File
0:51
0:59
Decompress a ~900MB File
0:10
0:09
Duplicate a ~900MB File
0:09
0:09
Encoder a Movie for iPhone in Quicktime X
0:56
0:53
Launch 9 Applications
0:59
0:37
Open 10 Tabs in Safari
0:15
0:17
Total Time
4:43+
4:29
Snow Leopard was built for speed and Lion was built to add functionality. It’s great to see Lion isn’t exactly slipping away on the speed end of things. How’s the speed on your end?
Want that face on your big screen? No problem! Just Facetime with Rene Ritchie over at TiPb. You see, the latest build of iOS 5 Beta 3 has support for Airplay.
With all of the new trickery in the AppleTV 5.0 software, it wouldn’t surprise us to see a family-like FacetimeHD option for the current AppleTV or even a new 1080P version.
Apple has already announced that they will be building a new mapping service based on crowd-sourcing, and in iOS 5 Apple is more clear about this. Apple is also more clear about their use location in iOS 5 beta 3, putting in a clear and descriptive boot screen (on first setup) that discusses the device’s location services. This screenshot is shown above. (Thanks, Devin and PiratX!)
In addition, we are noticing speed improvements and bug improvements throughout the operating system. Notably, the camera application is much faster to boot with the iPhone 4. More snappiness is present in Safari. Also, a slight user interface tweak in the iTunes WiFi sync menu is present. That is shown after the break. Let us know if you find anything else… tips@9to5mac.com.
Update: Reminders.app got a new icon! Shown after the break.
Update 2: New location services preferences! After the break..
Update 3: You can now disable/enable voice roaming. Neat.
We’ve been tracking Time Capsule/Airport shortages reported earlier for about a week. Our sources noted that Airport Express has been plentiful but supplies of TimeCapsule and Airport Extreme have been tightening globally the way products usually do before a refresh.
What we do know is that Apple has been internally testing Time Capsules to cache Software Updates for both Mac and iOS devices. The way we’ve heard it works is that the new Time Capsule learns which devices connect to it via Wifi. It then goes out to Apple’s servers and downloads Software Updates for those products.
When the user wants to install the software update, the Time Capsule, which is also the router, routes you to the locally stored update, rather than downloading the whole thing over the Internet. This works for iOS updates as well, though the updating still happened via the Mac.
Apple’s Mac OSX Servers currently do this for Mac businesses, so the technology already exists externally (though Mac OSX Server just downloads everything – without knowing which devices will be connected).
With Apple’s new iCloud component, we believe Apple has a chance to extend this functionality. Perhaps Time Capsules could cache parts of your iCloud music locker that you use the most so that it speeds up the streaming process. It could also cache large documents and files that get used often or even movies and photos you own.
While Macs have plenty of local storage, this would be particularly beneficial for iOS devices which are limited to Flash storage, especially AppleTV which has very little local storage. As HD video gets bigger (1080P) Apple will need new ways to deliver and store this content.
The system could also work in reverse. Apple could allow these new Time Capsules to back up your backups to the Cloud.
Will this be part of Apple’s iOS 5/Lion/iCloud announcement? We’ll just have to wait and see. Expand Expanding Close
As noted by TUAW, you can now trade-in your iOS devices via Amazon’s Electronics Trade-In program. If you wanna get rid off your aging iPhone, simply mail in the device to Amazon in exchange for some Amazon gift card credits.
A sampling of other iOS device trade-in prices includes up to $114 for iPod classics, $235 for first-gen 16 GB Wi-Fi iPads and $162 for an 8 GB iPhone 3GS. That’s definitely way more than you’ll get if you let your old iPhone rattle around in a desk drawer after upgrading to a new one.
The program, currently in beta, accepts other consumer electronics devices, not just Apple’s. Some product eligibility criteria applies…
You can’t always be there at bedtime to read your kids their evening stories. However, Nursery Rhymes with StoryTime let’s you read them their favorite stories remotely using an iPhone. While it doesn’t replace being there, it is a nice stopgap and a great idea. The artwork on these stories is top notch.
I see this as being fantastic for parents that are split up or even parents that travel often. Perhaps v2 could have a little FaceTime window.
3G and GPS are supposedly the only notable differences between WiFi and 3G models of iPad 2. Alas, the WiFi model records higher-quality audio than its 3G counterpart. Mind you, it’s a design deficiency rather than a feature. iLounge did some testing and discovered that WiFi units evidently record better-sounding audio.
The iPhone repair experts at iFixyouri have determined that most of the weight savings in the iPad 2 – a fifth of a pound, is in the LCD and Glass assembly.
If we break that down even further, the iPad 1 LCD/Glass is almost half the weight of the original iPad.
iPad 1 front half(LCD & Glass assembly) – 347.90g iPad 1 back half – 364.70g
However, breaking down the iPad 2, we find a much lighter glass assembly accounts for most of the weight loss. The glass we found out last night is 27% thinner than the original iPad. Eliminating the frame that the glass sits on, using thinner LCD and thinner glass, Apple saved 84.7g. That makes up for 75% of the weight reduction.
iPad 2 front half(LCD & Glass) – 263.20g iPad 2 back half – 337.40g
Apple was able to shave almost 30 grams off of the rest of the device, and with a slightly bigger battery, that is significant. But the lightness you feel is mostly the glass weight savings.
Our report on the iPad 2 glass from over a month ago first detailed Apple’s effort to save weight in the LCD/Glass assembly.
Apple has mailers going out today telling us to get ready to interrupt our Friday in order to line up like little actors all over the place in their iPad 2 Friday marketing campaign blitz. Ugh. I’m kinda down on the whole “spend Friday in line without a reservation” thing if you hadn’t noticed.
It is also interesting that Apple seems to default to the White iPad more often than not in its marketing – which was only a rumor a week ago.
Sorry Apple, I’m not spending my Friday in line. Instead, I’m going to do the more convenient thing: Have my alarm wake me up at 2:55 am on Friday morning before work, order it online then, then try to go back to sleep. (we love you Apple) I won’t have a 2 to play with over the weekend but at least I’ll have my Friday.
I think @MarkGurman will be queueing up at the Grove in LA if anyone wants to go bother him there (or hold his place in line).
Price conscious UK consumers are already grappling with declining public services and public sector jobs and a huge climb in VAT — perhaps that’s why Orange sold just 1,000 iPads in the first week the products went on sale via the carrier in the UK.
As has been widely-reported, Orange is one of the first UK networks to offer the 3G/Wi-Fi iPad at a subsidized price in the UK to customers signing-up for a 24-month service contract. The subsidy means you can get an iPad for just £199, so long as consumers agree to a £25/month contract. Expand Expanding Close
CES news is beginning to trickle through now, and we anticipate at least some AirPlay-enabled systems from the big audio dynamos will be waiting in the wings; meanwhile, WallWizard will be at the show to demonstrate its range of motorised iPhone/iPad-controlled HDTV mounts. Expand Expanding Close
Skype just updated their Skype application for iOS to include video chat functionality. It works both over WiFi and 3G networks and two-way video calling is supported by the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and iPhone 3GS. The iPad and third generation iPod touch support one-way video calling. Just like on Apple’s FaceTime application Skype for iPhone will video conference in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Seth and I just tested out the application and it looks very smooth on both ends. It even works in the background but your face gets frozen for the person on the other end (audio still works). Just like with FaceTime there is an option for the iPhone user to display either the front camera’s view, back camera’s or no camera. We have more screenshots of Skype video chat after the break.
We also ran some tests over 3G and it looked very smooth. I was on 3G and Seth was on WiFi and he saw me as crisp as I looked over my WiFi network. My view of him was also smooth and when he pointing his camera at a moving fan that looked smooth as well. Also, we tested it on an iPad (which still is blown up, not a universal binary) and it looked as expected without the camera. When used with an iPhone 3GS you should get the option to see the user’s back camera. Release notes, official promo video, and more screenshots are after the break.
Update: Skype video calls over 3G will use around 3.4 MB of data per minute. We calculated this by looking at our usage info on our iPhone 4 before and after a one minute (timed of course) call. Below are our screenshots:
iPad 2.0 activity continues to heat up with the latest report claiming Apple will offer multiple configurations of the new product, with an accent on provision of pervasive Internet access.
Apple is expected to ship over half a million iPad 2.0 units in January with mass production set to begin then, the report claims. It seems Apple will offer Wi-Fi-equipped units alongside UMTS and CDMA-savvy iPads, maximizing the always connected Internet device proposition. Expand Expanding Close
It appears that an upcoming update to Skype will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to video chat with desktop Skype users or other iPhones (an iPod touch 3rd Gen) users with Skype installed. Skype hasn’t released the software just yet but maybe they have a Christmas surprise?
We have been told that TJ Maxx in the UK, TK Maxx, has started selling iPads at a discounted price. The discount appears to be £100 on all models making the entry level 16 GB WiFi iPad £329.00 instead of £429.00. We’re not exactly sure which models are in store but readers have spotted both the 16 GB and 32 GB WiFi models. These discounted iPads at TK Maxx are of course not authorized by Apple and are in extremely limited quantities. Let us know if you spot them in your local UK store.
Research In Motion’s in the news today: not only is its iPad-killing PlayBook delayed until around the time iPad 2.0 is expected to ship, but Mac users with a BlackBerry can now download the latest desktop connection kit. Meanwhile the company’s financial results were alright but nothing supercalifragilistic.
Apple has just added Best Buy’s online store as another channel for iPad sales. Prior to today, customers were only able to purchase iPads at BestBuy.com as reservations for retail pickup. Now, all six models of iPad are available for purchase with free shipping in the US. The current shipping time from BestBuy.com is 6-10 business days with guaranteed delivery before Christmas for the WiFi-only models. BestBuy.com is now the third online store to sell the iPad with a brief stint at Amazon being the first and Verizon being second. Oh, and BestBuy.com charges $0.99 more than Apple – Dealbreaker?!
