Apple

Nokia has filed patent infringement litigation against Apple, charging that the iPhone infringes on several Nokia patents.

The litigation, which involves 10 patents, was filed Thursday in the Federal District Court in Delaware. The patents at issue, Nokia said, involve GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA), and wireless LAN standards.
[click to continue...]

Apple revamped its desktop and laptop lines on Tuesday, dramatically redesigning the iMac all-in-one and MacBook laptop. Apple has also added a few updates to its Mac Mini line of small-scale desktops. It introduced a handful of updated peripherals, with a multitouch mouse bringing the most thorough changes.
[click to continue...]

The second-generation iPod Touch adds speaker and volume controls–and delivers one of the most polished media players available at a lower price.

With its latest iteration of the iPod Touch, Apple has added two highly coveted features–external volume controls and a speaker–and lowered prices, too. However, the Touch’s physical changes are incremental, and they don’t bring the device up to the level of its sibling, the iPhone 3G.
[click to continue...]

Play even more games, access new and exciting applications and create instant playlists at the touch of a button with the New Apple iPod touch 8GB.

The incredibly sleek and much-loved iPod Touch now comes with a new Genius Playlist feature, which groups together songs that complement each other into one easy to access list. If you’re listening to a song you like and want to hear more of the same, just access Genius with a few clicks of your wheel and it’ll do the rest. If you don’t like the list it comes up with, you can even refresh and it will try again! Your own personal DJ in the palm of your hand!
[click to continue...]

Its product-launch offensive includes a new Nokia netbook, handset, and tablet PC that seem squarely aimed at Nokia’s top rival

Nokia has seemed determined recently to remind the world that it, not a certain Cupertino rival, is the world’s dominant handset maker. In the space of four days, the Finnish company, which accounts for 37% of global mobile-phone sales, announced plans for a netbook computer, unveiled a new bargain-priced touchscreen handset, and a high-end “Internet Tablet.” Nokia also rejiggered its top management, elevating an executive in charge of user friendliness to the executive board. Finally, the company announced an ambitious effort to offer money-transfer services to the billions of handset owners in emerging markets who don’t have bank accounts.

All but the last announcement seemed aimed squarely at Apple, whose phenomenally successful iPhone has thrown Nokia off-balance. Although the Apple accounts for less than 2% of the overall handset market, its iPhone has stolen share from Nokia in smartphones, the market’s sweet spot. Sales of high-end gadgets with computer-like capabilities grew 27% in the second quarter, according to market watcher Gartner. That comes as the overall market for mobile handsets fell 6% over the same period. Gartner says Apple’s share of the smartphone market soared to 13% from 3% in the second quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, while Nokia’s slipped to 45% from 47%. (Nokia counters that it recently has regained share.) Apple declined to comment for this article.

Nokia Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo denies Apple is driving the company’s strategy. Rather, he says, Nokia is aiming at totally new markets as the mobile-handset business shifts from hardware to a greater focus on such services as games, music, and navigation. “It’s not simply fighting against your competitors like Apple, it’s claiming new ground. It’s claiming no-man’s land,” Kallasvuo told BusinessWeek on Aug. 27.

Still, the unprecedented flurry of announcements signaled that Nokia is going on the offensive after a long period when Apple seemed to dominate industry buzz. More major announcements are expected on Sept. 2-3, Nokia execs say, during the annual Nokia World extravaganza for analysts, press, and business partners in Stuttgart. “We are on the attack,” says Nokia Executive Vice-President Anssi Vanjoki, who oversees global sales. “We had a more peaceful moment, and now we are really aggressive.”
Source:[businessweek.com]

Half a dozen new cases of “exploding iPhones” have emerged in France this week, putting Apple into hot water, as its alliance with China Unicom seems close to an agreement.

An 80-year-old pensioner from the Paris suburbs said Wednesday his iPhone screen cracked up in his hands, a day after a supermarket employee claimed he was hurt in the eye when his screen suddenly shattered.

Ten French consumers have now come forward saying their iPhone screens exploded or cracked without explanation, according to an AFP tally, including a first case in mid-August in which a teenager suffered an eye injury.

None of the incidents has caused a serious injury but Apple was forced to defend the safety of its flagship smartphone before the European Union this month, insisting the exploding screens were “isolated incidents.”

The US technology giant, which has sold 26 million iPhones and 200 million iPods, said it had been informed of the French cases, but would not comment until it had examined the damaged phones.

But France’s official competition, consumer affairs and fraud watchdog, the DGCCRF, has launched an investigation to find out whether the Apple iPhone could pose a threat to consumers.

Chinese concerns

Hearing the explosion news, many Chinese citizens yesterday posted their opinions on the Internet, expressing concerns over the safety of the gadgets.

A citizen from Anhui Province pointed out in a forum on sina.com that “The problem of Apple gadgets’ getting hot while in use is not a new one, but it has never been explained or improved, how strange!”

Meanwhile, Apple is getting closer to clearing the hurdles to iPhone sales in China, the world’s largest mobile market with some 687 million users.

China Unicom will announce a deal to sell Apple’s iPhone in China as soon as today, an analyst said, citing an industry source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Rumors have been circulating for months that China Unicom and Apple would sell iPhones in China. One point of contention was reportedly the revenue-sharing model adopted by Apple, which China Unicom opposed.

Earlier this month, the disclosure of some negotiation details by officials from the Guangdong branch of China Unicom sparked harsh criticism of the estimated 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) payment by China Unicom for Apple’s “5 billion” smartphones, casting more doubts on the revenue-sharing model between them.

However, China Unicom yesterday also denied the announcement would take place today because the deal has not been signed yet.

Meanwhile, the continuing wait for the arrival of the iPhone to China has produced an estimated 1 million users of smuggled iPhones, according to MSN news.
Source:[news.alibaba.com]

Apple’s latest set of quarterly financial results saw the company top $10bn in sales for the first time ever. As well as selling zillions of iPhones and iPods, it also increased Mac sales by almost ten per cent. That growth was largely down to the success of its MacBook range of laptops, which were completely redesigned and upgraded in October 2008.

That redesign no doubt helped boost sales, but the remarkable fact about the new MacBooks is that their gleaming new aluminium design actually resulted in a hefty price rise, with prices now starting at £929 for a model with 13in, 1280 x 800 screen and 2GHz processor.

The fact that Apple can increase its prices and still rack up significant sales increases during the worst recession in the entire history of the universe says something about the sheer eye-catching quality of its designs. Even so, £929 is a lot of money for what is meant to be the low end of Apple’s product range. And, in particular, it’s a lot of money for the cash-strapped students and the bulk-buying US schools and colleges that make up such an important part of Apple’s market.

So, when it introduced the new aluminium MacBooks, Apple also decided to keep one of the older MacBooks on sale in order to appease its key educational customers. Priced at £719, the old model retained the somewhat cheap and cheerful white plastic casing that it had used for several years, emphasizing the fact that it was very much the cheapo alternative to its shiny aluminium siblings.

Then, in January, with virtually no fanfare at all, Apple went and upgraded the white MacBook as well, and while it may lack the gleaming good looks of the aluminium models the new white MacBook actually works out as rather good value for money.

The new white MacBook costs £719, as before, and includes a 13.3in screen, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR 2memory, 120GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive and – the key improvement – an Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics chip. On paper, those specs look almost identical to those of the 2GHz aluminium MacBook model that costs £929. However, you need to look a little more closely at the spec sheet to spot the differences.

With typical Apple perversity, this upgrade actually starts out with a small downgrade. The previous white MacBook ran at 2.1GHz, so Apple has actually lowered the speed slightly for this model. It’s a tiny decrease, though, and probably more than made up for by an increase in the front-side bus speed from 800MHz to 1026MHz.

The memory has been increased from 1GB, which is perfectly adequate for running Mac OS X 10.5 and most mainstream Mac software, although the additional gigabyte was probably necessitated by the fact that the new integrated graphics processor grabs a 256MB chunk of system memory for its own use. It’s a shame, though, that the DDR 2 memory still runs at 667MHz, rather than the 1067MHz DDR 3 memory used in the aluminium models, as that would have put a little more spring in its step.

The 120GB hard disk is a bit miserly, but not something we’d lose any sleep over. The most important feature is the inclusion of the GeForce 9400M to boost graphics performance. This is the same integrated graphics processor used in the new aluminium MacBooks and, as our Xbench test results show, it produces a huge increase in 3D graphics performance compared to previous white MacBook models.

Our own trusty white MacBook - 1.83GHz with Intel GMA950 integrated graphics - can only manage a feeble nine frames per second when running Doom 3, whereas this new model romps ahead with a very respectable 47f/s.

Of course, nobody buys an Apple Mac to do nothing but play games – in fact, the never-exactly-healthy Mac games market seems to have declined even further recently as all the big games developers have been concentrating on the iPhone instead. However, there’s a lot of eye-candy in the Mac operating system – such as the Cover Flow and Quick Look options that allow you to quickly preview files without opening them – that requires a reasonable amount of graphics power to function efficiently, so the new graphics processor will have practical benefits even for routine tasks when working with the MacBook.

Programs such as the bundled iPhoto and iMovie are also awash in graphical bells and whistles that will benefit from the enhanced graphics performance.
Source:[reghardware.co.uk]

A number of complaints regarding the iPhone 3GS’ battery have surfaced on Apple’s discussion board since the handset’s June 19 launch. Given Apple’s promises of a faster and longer lasting iPhone, it’s understandable that 3GS users, particularly those who have made the jump from the previous models, have higher expectations.

Preliminary battery testing on our iPhone 3GS review model showed positive results, but we won’t know the whole story until CNET Labs finishes its tests. Until that time, I can offer tips on making your iPhone battery last. They can be used individually or in combination to best suit your own needs. Some of these ideas are even recommended by Apple and some of them we’ve mentioned on iPhone Atlas before.

Reset iPhone
In addition to resolving signal strength problems, resetting an iPhone can fix a faulty battery indicator and end applications that are improperly consuming the battery. Hold down the home and sleep buttons simultaneously until you see the white Apple logo indicating that your iPhone has restarted.

Restore with original settings
You can restore your iPhone by launching iTunes and selecting the Restore option on your iPhone’s Summary page. This process will erase your iPhone’s software and data, including all settings. You can restore them later via iTunes.

Drain the battery completely
Instead of charging it midway through a battery drain, add more juice only after the battery dies completely. A full drain may reset circuitry that prevents a full charge from occurring, despite indication of a full charge.

Force quit applications
If an application quits unexpectedly and you begin to notice poor battery life, relaunch the application, then force quit it by following the directions in this post. This can eliminate problematic or hung processes that might be draining the battery.

Lock your iPhone
Make sure that your iPhone goes to sleep automatically when not in use. You always can press the Sleep/Wake button, but even better is the Auto-Lock feature in the General section of the Settings menu.

Applications
Apps that keep the display from dimming or shutting off and that prevent your iPhone from sleeping can reduce battery life. This is particularly true for apps that use location services and push notifications. You can turn off Location Services in Settings > General menu. You’ll have to deactivate Push Notifications for each app individually, also in the Setting menu.

Push notifications for e-mail
The iPhone 3G’s Push functionality for Exchange and Mobile Me accounts also can destroy battery life. Turn this option off in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data before restarting your iPhone. Messages sent to your push e-mail accounts will now appear on your phone based on the global Fetch setting (every 15 minutes, every 30 minutes, hourly, or manually) rather than as they arrive. The manual Fetch setting will preserve the most battery life.

Checking fewer e-mail accounts
Deleting e-mail accounts or turning them off can preserve battery life as well. You can remove an e-mail account in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, tap to choose an e-mail account, and tap Delete Account. To turn an account off but leave it on the phone, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, tap to choose an e-mail account, and set Account to Off.

Airplane mode
Even it you’re not flying, use the airplane mode while listening to music, watching a video, working in your favorite productivity app, or whenever you don’t want to be disturbed. Also, since constantly seeking a cellular connection also drains the iPhone’s battery, the airplane mode is useful if you’re in an area with poor cellular coverage.

Reset network settings
Restarting your phone will delete any stored Wi-Fi passwords, DNS settings, and more. And in some cases it also can resolve signal strength issues. Find it in Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Turn off Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth
Be sure to turn off these features when not in use. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and set Wi-Fi to Off. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and set Bluetooth to Off.

Turn off 3G
The iPhone’s 3G radio consumes a lot of juice so turning if off will save power. Go to Settings > General > Network and toggle Enable 3G to Off. You’ll be able to make and receive calls and access some data while 3G is off, though your iPhone will run on the slower EDGE or GPRS 2G network.

Adjust brightness
Dimming the screen definitely can extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider left to lower brightness or right to increase brightness until you reach your desired settings. Turning off the Auto-Brightness settings also will help.

Turn off the equalizer
Just like on the iPod, this feature can reduce battery life. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ and select Off. Yet, since EQ settings in iTunes migrate to the iPhone, you’ll have to override those settings and set the iPhone to Flat. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ and select Flat.

More help
If you’re worried about your iPhone 3GS being defective, according to HardMac there is Apple’s Procedure for Users Experiencing Short Battery Life with the iPhone 3G S. Also, if you’re still experiencing severe battery problems after trying some of these tips, it might be time to take a trip to your local Apple Genius Bar.

Personal experience
So far, my personal experience has been that my iPhone 3GS lasts a bit longer than the iPhone 3G, particularly after I tuned the iPhone 3GS’ features to meet my personal needs. Yet, it still doesn’t last more than a day with heavy use, unlike other smartphones.

One typically intense day started at 100 percent battery capacity at 5:00 a.m. The battery then dipped to 80 percent at 9:30 a.m., 64 percent at 12:30 p.m., 39 percent at 3:30 p.m., and 25 percent at 6:30 p.m before showing the 20 percent battery warning at 8:30 p.m. With my iPhone 3G, I used to get that warning prior to 6:30 p.m. And after tweaking my iPhone 3GS using the tips below, the battery showed 49 percent capacity after 15 hours of heavy use. That’s not bad for smartphone battery performance.

Are you experiencing problems with your iPhone battery? Got some tips to share that might help conserve battery life? What kind of activities do you do on your iPhone that deplete the battery faster? Let us know in the comments.

Source:[cnet.com]

The Nokia N97, the Finnish company’s much-hyped crown jewel, has finally made its way into Indian stores.

Since the timing of Nokia N97’s launch in India has coincided with the launch of Apple iPhone 3GS and the fact that there’s a software upgrade available for the older iPhone 3G (and iPod Touch), it is inevitable that we end up comparing both (we don’t have the iPhone 3GS in India yet). The Nokia N97 is also the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, best described as an online appstore for applications such as games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services. Similar to Apple’s AppStore, Ovi Store, too, has paid for free content from content providers and developers that offer applications for Facebook, Hi5, Twitter, city maps and documents.

Hardware
The Nokia N97 is powered by a 434 MHz processor and 128MB RAM compared to the rumoured 600 MHz processor and 256MB RAM on the iPhone 3GS. If this configuration of the iPhone 3GS stands confirmed, then it clearly sets the N97 a step back. Add to that, the Symbian, the new S60 (5th edition) operating system on N97, looks achingly old-fashioned and sluggish when compared with the older iPhone 3G.Too bad that Nokia decided to go with the resistive touch screen instead of the capacitive one on the iPhone that makes its touch operation unmatched. Though the N97 has some touch gestures and the accelerometer, we have to admit that touch features on the iPhone remain iconic despite all efforts by Nokia and Windows Mobile.

Noticeably, the huge 1,500 mAh Li-Ion battery gives the N97 an advantage over iPhone 3G. Also the built-in 32GB internal memory and the microSD card slot are big positives when compared with iPhone 3G, which has 16GB internal memory.

Design
A slide-out 3.5 inch touch display along with a Qwerty keyboard and a fully customisable home screen makes the Nokia N97 look really elegant. The slide-out keyboard on the phone begins to feel very useful after you have written some emails and text messages on it. It’s not perfect, but it gets your work done faster.

But for average users, Nokia N97 is better positioned as a touch screen N-series device that happens to have a D-pad for gaming and a miniature Qwerty keyboard for ad hoc use .

Multimedia & Other Features
We liked the active home screen on the Nokia N97 as well as the phone’s ability to organise the widgets on it. Not to forget, Nokia widgets are really amazing, making the home screen the most usable page.

The N97 obviously takes a lead with its 5 megapixel camera whereas iPhone 3G sports only a 2 megapixel lens. The two stereo speakers, located along the left edge of N97, are the best set of speakers we have heard on a phone. They clearly put iPhone speakers to shame. Bundled features such as handwriting recognition, Bluetooth file transfers, FM radio and video recording on the N97 clearly put the message out loud and clear — it’s a great multimedia device.

Though scrolling through webpages isn’t as smooth and fluid on the N97 as on the iPhone (which has the Safari browser), yet the pages render quickly.

And…
The Nokia N97 is expected to retail for around Rs 36,119 in India (official prices not yet announced) while the iPhone 3G is sold for about Rs 29,000 (the 8GB model)

PROs

Battery life of up to 7 hours

Hi-end camera and video features

Fantastic home screen widgets and variety of apps from Ovi Store

CONs

QWERTY keypad; navigational buttons need time to get used to

The multi-touch feature seems sluggish

Relatively lower RAM causes slowing down while running with multiple applications