T-Mobile to experience losses with iPhone 4S

T-Mobile is now the only major carrier that does not feature the iPhone, a device which has captured the hearts of all its major competitors. Now some analysts think that the company is going to suffer for its decision. T-Mobile has thus far, focused on a variety of other smartphones with particular attention paid to the latest generation of Android phones. However, the latest quarter, in which the company lost 389,000 contract customers, may only be a worrying sign of worse things to come. This loss does not necessarily mean that the iPhone was the only factor responsible, but by all accounts, it certainly plays a part. The problem for T-Mobile is that despite the fact that Android devices dominate the overall market, the iPhone is still the most popular device around.

 

T-Mobile execs maintain that the current incarnations of the iPhone are just not meant to work optimally with its 3G and 4G networks. The fact that Apple decided not to go with a 4G version of the iPhone was quite surprising as it was since it places the iPhone a step back from the latest generation of Android devices. Overall, T-Mobile has done a relatively good job at playing to its strengths by providing unlimited family value plans and introducing a variety of high-end 4G enabled devices. In fact, it has managed to attract 126,000 customers with family friendly value plans.

 As of now, the chances of T-Mobile adopting the iPhone remains very slim by any measure. The only way this will change is if Apple decides to release a 4G enabled device, which might very well happen next time around. Another possibility is its merger with AT&T but this potential deal has come under a lot of scrutiny by the FCC and by some accounts, it may never materialise. For now, T-Mobile can only hope that the next set of Android devices can make up for the losses by its failure to showcase the iPhone 4S.

Was the iPhone 5 real?

As soon as the iPhone 4S was revealed, many across the industry were frankly shocked because expectations of a radically transformed iPhone 5 did not materialise. The idea that Apple would simply pack in a enhanced hardware and a few special apps into an existing design seemed to be out of sync with Apple’s tradition of launching superbly engineered devices (not saying that the iPhone 4S anything but superb). This idea was further compounded by the fact that this time around, Apple will be facing the most intense competition with from rivals such as HTC and Samsung, which have both released high-end devices that easily outclass the iPhone 4S in terms of hardware. In hindsight, many of the criticisms seemed to have been misguided since the iPhone 4S, with the iOS 5, has become the best selling iPhone ever.

For those with the lingering questions of the iPhone 5, there is now a rumour going around claiming that Apple indeed created an “iPhone 5” prototype with radical design changes, but the idea was killed by Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple. Before reading any further, keep in mind that this is still a rumour and should be read with a bit of skepticism.

According to some sources, the “iPhone 5” prototype was completed months before the eventual launch of the iPhone 4S and featured amongst other things a bigger screen, aluminium back, liquid metal technology (makes it possible to create different coloured phones), no physical home button and an overall thinner and wider design.

 As impressive as all this sounds, Jobs killed the idea because in his mind the device supposedly “fragmented the iPhones.” If this is true at any level then it might raise questions to the overall strategy of iPhones in the years to come. Maybe the iPhone 4S is the end of an era and the next generation of iPhones may adopt a design standard that will last for yet another few years.

Gartner Report: iPhone Sales Show Annual Increase of 21%

Gartner today released their report on worldwide smartphone sales during the 3rd quarter of 2011, with Apple seeing an annual increase of 21%. The numbers show sales of the iPhone were down nearly 3 million from the second quarter, which they correctly attribute to aniticipation of a new iPhone, which at that time was rumored to be the iPhone 5.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Screen-Shot-2011-11-15-at-11.17.00-AM.png" class="lightbox" >class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25227" title="Screen Shot 2011-11-15 at 11.17.00 AM" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Screen-Shot-2011-11-15-at-11.17.00-AM.png" alt="iPhone sales Q3" width="510" height="404" />

With brisk pre-orders of the iPhone 4S, they expect Apple will bouceback. The new iPhone coupled with the release of a lower-cost iPhone 4 in emerging markets should also have a major impact. Android based phones accounted for an impressive 52.3 percent of smartphone sales, doubling its market share from the third quarter in 2010.

 

“Android benefited from more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems such as Windows Phone 7 and RIM,” Ms. Cozza said. “Apple’s iOS market share suffered from delayed purchases as consumers waited for the new iPhone. Continued pressure is impacting RIM’s performance, and its smartphone share reached its lowest point so far in the U.S. market, where it dropped to 10 percent.”

 

This was the first year that Apple didn’t release on iPhone during the June/July period. Subsequently, the numbers here show that companies like Samsung with their strong Galaxy line of phones were able to see impressive sales numbers. Samsung will counter with the Galaxy Nexus, the first phone to run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It will be interesting to see if Apple decides to move back to the summer release schedule in 2012 for the iPhone 5.

Source: href="http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1848514">Gartner

Winners of our Camera+ Giveaway

We’ve got this thing happening on weekends where we offer up codes from some of the hottest apps. This week, we are pleased to announce that Piet, Fury and bayday76 are the winners of our href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/weekend-giveaways-win-a-free-copy-of-camera/2011/11/12/">Camera+ giveaway. If you are among those in the winner’s circle, we’ll be in touch shortly to confirm that your submitted email address is the same one associated with your iTunes account. If you didn’t win, then please stay tuned this weekend. If you need a reminder, please consider href="http://www.twitter.com/everythingicafe">following @everythingiCafe on Twitter. The odds this week were insanely awesome for those who entered, each of whom had a 1 in 6 chance of winning.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Screen-Shot-2011-11-12-at-10.13.25-AM.png" class="lightbox" >class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25208" title="Screen Shot 2011-11-12 at 10.13.25 AM" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Screen-Shot-2011-11-12-at-10.13.25-AM.png" alt="" width="198" height="198" />

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MjsfjViH61U" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360">

Stay tuned for more giveaways from everythingiCafe, your source for everything iPhone and iPad.

href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id329670577?mt=8">Camera+ is available in the App Store and it’s one of our favorites. Be sure to check it out.

Capta mount gains Kickstarter funding, an all in one stand, cable management and tripod mount [video]

The Capta mount is an all in one stand, cable management and tripod mount designed for the iPhone and other smartphones. It has just received Kickstarter funding with double the pledges required and there are still seven days to go.

Designed by two freelance designers, Bojan Smiljanic and Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi they set about originally creating a simple and elegant tripod mount. That has now expanded and the Capta can be used for many more things. The Capta is made from airplane grade aluminium and has a adhesive pad that can hold an iPhone securely. There is also a groove for cable management as well as threaded hole for a tripod attachment.

According to Smiljanic, “With the form factor and technology of smartphones always changing we designed Capta to be the hybrid accessory that could keep up with those changes. For example for iPhone users regardless of generation, Capta replaces the iPhone tripod mount, iPhone stand and iPhone cable management with one simple device. Capta has exceeded our original expectations and when paired with a suction cup or tripod mount the uses increase exponentially. We are humbled by how versatile Capta truly is.”

If you want to be an early adopter, you can still head over to the Kickstarter page and make a pledge; $20 will get you a silver version. If you are really impressed, you could pledge the maximum $265 and get two exclusive black Capta’s as well as a lot of extras too.

Source: Kickstarter

Siri security protocol cracked, now possible to run on any device

The guys from Applidium claim to have cracked Siri’s security protocol and it could open the floodgates to third party developers and of course other hardware too. There is a downside, in order to use Siri on one of these other devices; you still need to have a UDID of an iPhone 4S device. A UDID is a Unique Device Identifier and is a 40 character unique number assigned to every iPhone.

The iPhone 4S sends identifiers everywhere. So if you want to use Siri on another device, you still need the identfier of at least one iPhone 4S. Of course we’re not publishing ours, but it’s very easy to retrieve one using the tools we’ve written. Of course Apple could blacklist an identifier, but as long as you’re keeping it for personal use, that should be allright!

We have already seen Siri running on an iPhone 4 and an iPod touch; so this looks like another step nearer to getting it out there. Of course there is still the question of legalities and Apple could block the security hole at any minute. If you are a developer and want to play around with Siri integration in an app, Applidium has released a set of tools to help with that too.

Source: Applidium

 

App Giveaway: 30GB subscription for SugarSync for iPhone and iPad

SugarSync is an online storage solution for your iPhone, iPad and computer. With SugarSync, you can store files, photos, and music to the cloud and access from any of your devices and you can even be stream your music and play in the background while using other apps.

Have you ever been away from home or the office and realized you need a file that is on your computer? SugarSync puts ALL of your data from all of your computers right at your fingertips…anytime, anywhere from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. With SugarSync, it is dead simple to sync and share your files online, giving you easy access to everything directly from your mobile device. If you like Dropbox, MobileMe, or Carbonite, you’ll love SugarSync.

The good folks at SugarSync have given us a code for a 30 GB/year account for one lucky winner! For a chance to win, just leave a comment below! Must provide a valid email address to win.

SugarSync is available on the iPhone and iPad for free. A free account includes 5GB. Paid subscriptions are available for 30-250 GB and start at $4.99/mo.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.