Apple is selling almost 1,000 iPhone 4Ss/minute!!

Shawn Blanc (via The Next Web) calculated this morning that Apple is selling 16 iPhone 4Ss a second, or roughly 1,000 a minute.



Reaching this milestone, Apple is on tract to pass Microsoft's Kinect as the fastest selling consumer device of all time. Microsoft sold 8 million Kinects in the first 60 days, a number Apple could theoretically pass in the first two weeks.


The success of the iPhone 4S is most likely helped by a few factors:

1. The availability on three U.S. carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. AT&T and Sprint both announced opening day sales records on Friday.  The iPhone 4 was only on AT&T in the US its opening day.
2. iPhone 4 was released in 5 Countries.  iPhone 4S was also available in Canada and Australia in addition.
3. iPhone 4 saw serious product shortages while it appears that Apple made plenty of iPhone 4S’s
4. There was a longer than normal wait time between the iPhone 4 and 4S
5. iPhone 4S is amazing.

We’re sure to hear more in Apple’s FYQ4 earnings call tomorrow afternoon.

(via 9to5mac)

What happens when two Siris talk to one another.

Someone got this interesting idea and tried it out.

But even at this early stage of Siri's development, all it takes is for someone to leave 2 Siris lying around and accidentally activate them and press their buttons at the right time in order to let them speak to each other.. and the consequences can be dire.

The outcome can get someone fired.

(via macrumors) 

Adobe Reader iOS app and Instapaper 4.0 land on App Store

Adobe just took the wraps off the iOS version of Adobe Reader, which admittedly doesn’t bring much functionality we don’t already have with third-party apps. Either way it’s a welcome addition to their iOS app lineup and could possibly have the potential to be more than just a reader down the road.

The app allows you to read and share PDFs from your email, the web, or any other third party app that supports “Open In”– pretty straight forward. Everything seems to work as advertised, although for some reason it just doesn’t feel as smooth as iBooks when zooming in and out.

It does however build in all the features you’d hope for including the ability to open encrypted PDFs, (supports up to AES256 encryption and LiveCycle Rights Management), the ability to search text, place bookmarks, and print using AirPrint. A nice addition is the single page mode allows you to tap the edge of a page to switch to the next, but the good old continuous scrolling will probably feel more at home on the iPad.

The iPad version looks a little more fine-tuned than the UI on the iPhone. Perhaps even fine-tuned enough to give iBooks a run for its money as your PDF viewer of choice.

Adobe Reader is available as a free download from the App Store now.

Instapaper also pushed out a huge update to their iOS app today. Instapaper Version 4.0 brings a complete UI redesign for iPad with a new grid layout with sidebar, redesigned black-and-white UI for iPhone, $1/month search subscriptions service as in-app purchase, iOS 5 support, and a ton of new features and UI elements that go along with the redesigns. Also expect many of issues you were having with previous versions to be fixed. For example, “Archive” and “Delete” options should behave as expected throughout the app.

If you use Instapaper, you are definitely going to have to take a few minutes to get used to all the changes, but once you do, you’ll realize just how great this update is.

(via 9to5mac)

Drop test: iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy S II

The folks over at SquareTrade took an iPhone 4S for a spin and pitted it against Samsung’s Galaxy S II to see which one survives a waist high and shoulder high drop. As you can see in the above clip, Apple’s latest and greatest handset was pretty badly damaged from the outside, just like its predecessor. It did, however, fare pretty well landing on its stainless steel band. Dropped face down, however, the iPhone 4S’s screen completely shattered. Samsung’s device didn’t suffer nearly as much damage (note that being light weight is probably a factor).

In addition, the plastic back on the Samsung device has gotta be more prone to surviving the shock of a sudden impact compared to glass. By the way, if you’re concerned about your iPhone’s droppability, head over to 9to5Toys and get yourself a great case. SquareTrade is an independent warranty provider cover nearly everything – excluding, of course, intentional damage shown in the clip. Hop over to their web site for more information.

For obvious reasons, the glass back raises concerns about the iPhone 4’s droppability. With previous iPhones, it was like dropping a piece of buttered toast — there was a lucky and unlucky side on which it could land. With the iPhone 4, it’s like dropping a piece of toast that’s been buttered on both sides.


Adapted from: 9to5mac

Apple to Stick with Samsung for A6 Chip Production After All?

Last month, word surfaced that Apple had signed on with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for production of the next-generation A6 and A7 chips destined for future iOS devices. Samsung has been Apple's manufacturing partner for the A4 and A5 chips, but several reports have been claiming that Apple has been trying to shift to TSMC in part because of strained relations between Apple and Samsung over intellectual property issues. 

The Korea Times now reports that Apple will indeed primarily be sticking with Samsung for A6 production.

"Apple has been in talks with Samsung over shipment of its A6 quad-core mobile processor (AP) chips to be used in the next iPhone. It appears that Apple clearly has concluded that Samsung remains a critical business partner," an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea said on condition of anonymity. 

He said that Samsung has been increasing the output of the Apple-designed A6 chips in its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

The apparent shift back to Samsung for the A6 is said to be tied to TSMC having issues with its production process, with Apple understandably requiring a stable component supplier as it looks toward its next-generation iOS devices.

"The manufacturing process at TSMC hasn’t been stabilized. Considering Apple's previous patterns of adopting qualified technologies, Apple isn't taking risks. Samsung offers better pricing and capacity commitment for the A6 mobile APs," said an official from a different Apple supplier.

The report also touches on the next-generation iPhone even as the iPhone 4S is only just hitting the market, reviving claims of a larger-screened "iPhone 5" design with a 4-inch display carrying the same resolution as the current iPhone.

iPhone 4S Battery Life Worse for 3G Data and Media as Compared to iPhone 4

iLounge publishes their review of the iPhone 4S and provides one of the more extensive battery comparison testing we've seen for the new model. There's been some ongoing debate in our forums about how the iPhone 4S's battery compares to the iPhone 4. In Apple's official specifications, the company claims the iPhone 4S has an improved talk time but worse standby time as compared to the iPhone 4. iLounge put the two devices to the test. 

For tests with 3G Data, Audio Playback, Video Playback, and Video Recording, iLoungefound that the iPhone 4S came in under the iPhone 4's battery life times. For Wi-Fi and FaceTime testing they found it to be similiar to the iPhone 4, and on Cellular Calls, they found the iPhone 4S slightly better. 

For a detailed and complete list of data see iLounge's review. This graph compiles some of the data (AT&T only): 


One interesting finding with 3G data was that while their Verizon 4S unit ran for the same time as the AT&T model (~ 5 hours and 54 minutes), they found the Sprint model to lag at 5 hours and 23 minutes. Comparisons across mobile providers may not be completely fair due to differences in signal strength which could impact battery life. 

In voice calls, they found the AT&T iPhone 4 and AT&T iPhone 4S to have comparable times of around 7 hours and 6-16 minutes. The Verizon 4S model, however, showed a surprising 8 hours and 27 minutes, while the Sprint 4S again lagged at 6 hours and 27 minutes. iLounge notes that the Verizon model may have shown 4 bars more often than the other two. 

Both media playback and recording has taken a hit on the iPhone 4S as compared to the iPhone 4. For video recording, of course, it should be noted that the iPhone 4S is recording much higher resolution video than the iPhone 4. 

Ultimately, their conclusion on iPhone 4S battery life is based on what your exact usage model is:

If you spend much of your day near a Wi-Fi network and only rely upon the iPhone 4S for web browsing and phone calling, you won’t notice a major difference—unless you’re thinking of switching to Sprint, in which case we’d be a little concerned. Similarly, if you use 3G data, plan to record or play videos, or want to listen to hours of audio during the day, you can expect greater battery drain from the iPhone 4S.

As we mentioned, there may be some confounding data due to regional signal strengths, but given the other complaints about Sprint's data speeds, it still seems to be the worst choice amongst the iPhone carriers. iLounge's full review covers many other areas and is worth a read. 

Now, we should note that some users seem to have been experiencing dramatically decreased battery life on their iPhone 4S. One solution to that is said to be the calibration of the battery, in which case you drain your entire battery once and then charge to full. Some have found their battery gauge to be inaccurate until this is performed. Apple includes other tips on their site about improving your battery life on the iPhone.

Adapted from: macumors.com

Apple announced sales of 4 million iPhone 4S units

Apple announced sales of 4 millions iPhone 4S units in three after its launch on October 14. The company also said that more than 25 million iPhone users have already upgraded to iOS 5 in the first 5 days release and more than 20 million users have signed up for iCloud. Phil Schiller was quoted in a statement:

“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”

iPhone 4S is available today in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK, and will be available in 22 more countries on October 28 and more than 70 countries by the end of the year.