O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: handset

  • Vodafone UK, some users warn about overheating issues between iPhone 3GS handset and iOS 6.1 update

    If there’s one constant in the IT world, it’s that no update will make everyone happy…

    Per AppleInsider, a little over two weeks after Apple released iOS 6.1, a number of iPhone users are reporting battery drain and overheating issues possibly related to the newest update, while Vodafone UK sent out a warning telling iPhone 4S owners not to upgrade to the latest OS version as it has been found to cause 3G performance.

    While the extent of the 3G problems Vodafone reported is unknown, multiple Apple Support Community threads exist regarding battery drain and overheating issues, which appear to be affecting a number of iPhone models.

    The Support Community forum battery drain and overheating problems after updating to iOS 6.1. Reports are conflicting, however, as one iPhone 5 owner saw a drain of 35 percent overnight, while an iPhone 3GS user said Apple’s latest update actually boosted battery life.

    In Vodafone’s warning, the British carrier noted that iOS 6.1 is causing intermittent problems with iPhone 4S models, causing the handset to experience 3G-related issues with making calls, sending texts and accessing the company’s data network. The telecom said Apple is working on a fix, but failed to elaborate further on the matter.

    From Vodafone’s release regarding iOS 6.1:
    “Hi everyone,

    We’re aware of an issue caused by Apple iPhone 4s handsets that have been upgraded to iOS 6.1 which impacts performance on 3G.

    Some customers may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the Internet. Apple is working on a solution to their software issue. These connection problems are intermittent.”

    While Apple’s investigations continue, we would recommend that anyone who has not yet installed iOS 6.1 on their iPhone 4s should delay doing so until Apple has confirmed that their problem has been fixed.
    Apple released iOS 6.1 on Jan. 28, bringing a host of bug fixes and feature enhancements like added LTE support to its mobile operating system.

    If you’ve seen these issues on your iPhone 3GS handset after installing the iOS 6.1 update, please let us know in the comments.

  • Wireless handset unlocking becomes illegal in U.S. without carrier permission

    Well, here’s the thing that’ll drive you nuts today.

    Per Electronista and TechCrunch, phone unlocking without carrier permission is now illegal in the United States. A 90-day transition period, permitting the practice after an exemption added to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was reversed in October, has now run out. The expiration of the exemption now forces customers to either ask and potentially pay carriers for unlocking services, or to buy phones that have been unlocked beforehand.

    The exemption was put in place after a campaign by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 2010. Three exemptions were applied for, including making jailbreaking legal and the renewal of an existing exemption that permitted phone unlocking. In October, the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress reviewed and then overturned the unlocking exemption, citing the relative ease for consumers to either get an unlocked handset or to unlock a phone through a carrier. A 90-day transition period was then put in place, which has since ran out.

    Penalties for unlocking, as outlined by CTIA, range from the carrier’s “actual damages and any additional profits of the violator”, to a court-awarded statutory damages of between US$200 and US$2500 per individual unlock, on the Civil Penalties side. Criminal penalties would see violators fined at most US$500,000 or imprisoned for up to five years, or both, for a first offense, with the values doubled for subsequent offenses.

    In light of the unlocking exemption’s closure, a “We The People” petition asking for the Librarian of Congress to rescind the decision or to make unlocking permanently legal, has gathered over 25,000 signatures.

    Jailbreaking and rooting of smartphones continues to be legal.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • iPhone 5 supply stabilizes, units now readily available for holiday shopping season

    It took a while and there were muchos conflicts with Foxconn, but it finally happened: Apple’s iPhone 5 supply chain has stabilized.

    Per AppleInsider, the popular iPhone 5 handset is now readily available in the U.S. at Apple’s brick-and-mortar retail stores as the company has apparently overcome supply issues experienced since the device was launched in September.

    While the Apple online store still shows one-week ship-by dates, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said a poll of 20 U.S. Apple Stores reveals the iPhone 5 is readily available at physical Apple Stores for the first time since the unit was released at the end of September.

    “We believe the iPhone 5 has finally reached a point where consumers can walk into an Apple Store and walk out with a phone,” Munster said in a note to investors on Thursday.

    The analyst performs a nightly check with the online Apple Store for local pick-up orders half an hour after new stock arrives at 100 locations. He also noted that 20 out of 20 Apple Stores polled showed availability for Verizon models, the supply of which has been the most constrained out of the three major U.S. carriers.

    “The bottom line is that AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are consistently showing 90%+ availability,” Munster wrote.

    A similar report earlier this month showed that, while inventory of Sprint versions of the Phone 5 was improving, models supported by AT&T and Verizon’s networks were still seeing constraints.

    Going further, Munster maintains his estimate of 45 million iPhone shipments for the fourth quarter, but warns that there may not be a significant upside as supply is only now meeting demand.

    According to a recent report, the iPhone 5 helped to double Apple’s share of the U.S. smartphone market, pushing it ahead of worldwide leader Android.

  • Initial iSuppli report estimates production cost of 16GB iPhone 5 for $207

    The exact cost of an iPhone 5 is still under wraps until the handset’s release on Friday, but there’s still a pretty good guess in the meantime.

    Per a report released by iSuppli on Tuesday, Apple apparently pays an estimated US$207 to build the base model 16GB iPhone 5, a cost slightly higher than last year’s iPhone 4S.

    The market research company noted in its report that while previously-expensive NAND flash memory prices have dropped, the iPhone 5’s display technology and 4G LTE wireless components brings the build cost up to US$207, or US$8 more than consumer pricing after wireless carrier subsidies. In comparison, the bill of materials, or price without labor costs, for last year’s iPhone 4S was estimated to be $188.

    In total, the iPhone 5 is estimated to have a BOM of US$199, while the 32GB model rises to US$209 and the 64GB version jumps to US$230. With a manufacturing cost of US$8 across the line, the final cost comes out to US$208, US$217 and US$238 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, respectively.

    A report last Friday from UBM TechInsights pegged the 16GB iPhone 5′ BOM to be around US$168, substantially lower than the IHS estimate.

    The most expensive part in the iPhone 5 is the new 4-inch display which comes in at US$44. Apple is sourcing its screens from multiple suppliers, including LG Display, Japan Display and Sharp, as manufacturing the cutting-edge in-cell displays is complex and results in relatively low yield rates.

    “The iPhone 5 makes a big evolutionary step in technology that we have not seen elsewhere with the use of in-cell touch sensing,” said IHS Senior Principal Analyst, Teardown Services, Andrew Rassweiler. “Most other smartphones LCDs use a completely distinct capacitive touchscreen assembly that is physically separate and placed on top of the display. The iPhone 5 partially integrates the touch layers into the display glass, making the product thinner and reducing the number of parts required to build display that senses touch without the need for a separate capacitive touch layer.”

    Instead of sandwiching the touch sensing layer between glass substrates, Apple’s in-cell technology integrates the capacitive components with the LCD array, thus doing away with at least one layer of glass.

    The company is expected to be using a US$34, LTE-capable wireless system from Qualcomm similar to the one found in the iPad 3. However, the new iPhone’s subsystem swaps out the first-generation MDM9600 baseband processor for the more advanced and power efficient second-generation MDM9615.

    In previous years, NAND flash memory was one of the more costly components, however current prices have nearly halved in less than one year.

    “NAND flash continues to come down in price as manufacturing processes for these memory chips become more advanced,” Rassweiler said. “And because it is the world’s largest buyer of NAND flash, Apple gets preferential pricing. Apple’s massive leverage in this market is reflected in our price estimate.”

    Finally, the firm is estimating Apple’s new A6 processor is a bit more expensive at US$17.50 than the A5 found in the iPhone 4S, which cost US$15 in 2011.

    A more comprehensive analysis of the new handset’s internal parts is expected to be completed later this week, when the iPhone 5 hits store shelves on Friday.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • iPhone 5 pre-orders sell out in less than two hours, ship times slip into October

    It didn’t sell out in 30 minutes like its Lightning adapter counterpart, but the pre-orders went quickly…

    Per AppleInsider, it only took a little under two hours after pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 5 started at midnight on Friday, the device is already showing shipping estimates slip to two weeks for all models.

    With the initial batch exhausted, the company is now quoting a two-week wait time for the new handset.

    While a sellout was expected from analysts and pundits alike, many didn’t foresee it happening so soon. It is unclear whether Apple actually sold more units than the previous iPhone 4S launch, which took nearly 24 hours to run through stock, or if the company had less stock on hand.

    For those who have not yet purchased the iPhone 5 and want to grab one on launch day, the only option is to visit a brick-and-mortar Apple Store or another reseller like Walmart. The new handset will be in stores on Sept. 21.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    And, well, see you in line on the 21st…