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GEVEY has announced the Ultra S unlock for the GSM iPhone 4S. Unlike an unlocked iPhone you have to buy at full price from your carrier, GEVEY’s $55 solution turns your iPhone 4S into a plug-and-play device for any GSM network around the world.

Jailbreakers have been able to unlock their iPhones with a software tool called UltraSn0w, but an unlock for the iPhone 4S has yet to be provided until now. The GEVEY Ultra S does not require a jailbreak, and it’s definitely the easiest way to get your iPhone unlocked for cheap.

Several huge improvements are included in the GEVEY Ultra S, including a re-engineered SIM interposer. The people at GEVEY note, “It’s true plug-and-play functionality, so just pop it in and unlock your phone with the original sim card.” You don’t have to cut or physically modify your SIM card anymore, as the GEVEY interposer has been made small enough to fit into your iPhone properly.

The GEVEY Ultra S is only for the iPhone 4S on GSM networks, which isn’t really an issue since the majority of the networks around the world use that standard. In the United States, you would be able to use your iPhone 4S on T-Mobile’s network. GEVEY’s unlock will let your iPhone 4S switch between 2G and 3G GSM frequencies, although potential users should be warned that “there is no phone unlocking solution that can guarantee connectivity to every data network.”

Another new feature called “learning mode” allows the GEVEY Ultra S to automatically learn your iPhone’s network configuration and unlock it. If you ever change your internal SIM card for a different carrier, you will need to unlock again with GEVEY.

Perhaps the most significant update to the Ultra S is that you no longer need to dial ’112′ on your iPhone 4S during installation. In many countries, including the United States, it is a violation of telecommunication abuse policies to dial and hang up on an emergency number.

All iPhone 4S devices on iOS 5.0 or 5.0.1 with the 1.0.11, 1.013, or 1.0.14 basebands can be unlocked with the GEVEY Ultra S. (You can check to see what baseband you have under Settings > General > About > Modem Firmware) Power consumption has been increased and reception has been improved with this latest release.

Applenberry is taking pre-orders for the Ultra S now, with shipments expected to arrive between March 3-7. Here’s a somewhat lengthy demonstration of the new unlock in action:

(via iDownloadBlog)

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25 iPhones worth over $16,000 have been stolen from an Apple Store in Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. Unlike the familiar attacks in which thieves smash in Apple’s trademark glass doors, the suspect in this case was an Apple store employee and had easy access to the store’s stock room.

The Charlotte Observer reports:

“The iPhones were stolen from the Genius Room located inside of the store,” a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report says. “The suspect did have access to the Genius Room.”

The stolen phones, which are valued at $16,425, include 22 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S models, one 64-GB 4S model, one eight-GB iPhone 4 model and one 32-GB 4S model.

The suspect was confirmed as an Apple store employee by Charlotte’s WBTV, which reports that 25 devices were stolen in total, over a period of time:

According to a police report, the person had access to a storage room at the store and stole the phones over a period of a month and a half, between December 1st and January 11th.

[via MacRumors]

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Apple’s iPhone 4S will arrive very soon on China Telecom, China’s third-largest carrier. The phone will be available for sale starting March 9. It’s an important step for Apple, which has highly prioritized its business in China, but the number of customers it will reach on that network will pale in comparison to the roughly 650 million Apple could reach by striking a deal with China Mobile.

The China Telecom deal has been in the works for a while. Last month it was reported that only the final steps for the phone to be certified to run on the network remained, and that the deal would be finished by the end of February. By offering the iPhone 4S — of which Apple has sold 37 million units in just three months — to China Telecom’s 15 million customers, Apple stands to add to its already impressive tally for number of iPhone 4Ses sold.

But more importantly, by adding yet another carrier, Apple is moving closer to more fully addressing its second-most important market in the world. It already has China Unicom, where one out of every five of the carrier’s subscribers have chosen the iPhone, according to Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty.

The big “get,” however, is China Mobile, which has a 70 percent share of mobile customers in China. The two sides have been talking, but there are still some technical hurdles. Considering how important China is to Apple, it seems like Cupertino would find a way to iron those out eventually.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been very clear about his commitment to the country and has said he’s “never seen a country with as many people rising into the middle class aspiring to buy products that Apple makes. It’s an area of enormous opportunity.”

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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We’re huge fans of the MyAssistant tweak here at Cult of Mac, so much so that it recently featured in our guide to supercharging Siri on your iPhone. And its latest update makes it even more of a must-have for jailbreakers. In addition to some handy bug fixes, it also gets new features like ability to download content, open apps, turn on your flash, and more using Siri.

The 1.1 update is available to download now from Cydia, and if you don’t already have MyAssistant, you can find it for $0.99 in the BigBoss repo. It adds to the terrific enhancements it already provides to Siri, by allowing you to toggle your flashlight on and off, tweet messages using your voice, and even download content to your device.

Furthermore, the latest version fixes that pesky “I don’t know what you mean” error, and other little bugs.

The full list of changes includes:

• Download with Siri by saying ‘Download’
• Open any app with Siri by saying ‘Open app name’
• Send a tweet with Siri by saying ‘Tweet’
• Dismiss Siri command
• Flashlight toggle
• Added French and German language support
• Shorter height bar option
• Fix for ‘I don’t know what you mean by’ error
• Mic bug fix
• Custom background fix

MyAssistant is one of the best Siri tweaks you can grab for your jailbroken device right now, so if you haven’t already, be sure to check it out.

[via iDownloadBlog]

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China Telecom and Apple have officially confirmed that the carrier will get the iPhone 4S on March 9th. China Telecom’s 130 million subscribers will have access to Apple’s latest handset for $0 RMB with select carrier contracts. The device will be sold in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB flavors.

This launch will make the iPhone available on a second major Chinese carrier. Much like when the iPhone 4 launched on Verizon in the United States, China Telecom is ending China Unicom’s three-year run as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in China.

The Loop has an official statement from Apple:

“iPhone 4S has been an incredible hit with customers around the world,” Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison, told The Loop. “We’re thrilled to be launching iPhone 4S with China Telecom and can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China.”

Pre-orders for China Telecom subscribers start on March 2nd. The carrier only accounts for 12% of China’s wireless subscriber base, and China Mobile (the world’s largest carrier with 650 million subscribers) has yet to close a deal with Apple.

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Today’s painfully obvious report comes from Japanese site Macotakara. Citing a “reliable source,” the report claims that Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone will be released in either September or October of this year.

Apple broke its typical 12-month release pattern with the iPhone 4S, and it looks like the trend will continue in 2012.

New iPhones were always released in the summer until the Verizon iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S broke the pattern. There was no need to release the 4S during the summer months last year when the iPhone 4 was still flying off the shelves. Whether strong sales of the iPhone 4 delayed the 4S launch or not, the point is the same: Apple is no longer held to its once-predictable release schedule.

BGR reported last December that Apple was set to release a “completely redesigned” iPhone in the fall of 2012. Other sources, including iMore’s recent report that pegged the upcoming iPad 3 announcement, have also suggested an iPhone announcement during the same timeframe.

Releasing the next-gen iPhone in the fall would put it on the market right in time for the holidays. No details on the mysterious device have been revealed, although the industry consensus is that we’ll see a thinner, tapered design.

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If you’ve jailbroken your iPhone 4S, you have access to some great tweaks for adding functionality to Apple’s digital assistant, Siri. You can turn Siri into your personal translator, launch apps and toggle system settings, tweet, and and even change the look of the Siri UI.

We’ve collected the best tweaks in Cydia to help you supercharge Siri on your jailbroken iPhone 4S.

AssistantExtensions

AssistantExtensions is perhaps the ultimate jailbreak tweak for enhancing Siri on the iPhone 4S. With this incredible tweak you can use your voice to compose tweets, open all your of apps, search YouTube, and more. The best part is that AssistantExtension allows for developer plugins, so you can keep adding more features as new plugins are created. Did we mention that it’s all free?

MyAssistant

Many of MyAssistant’s features overlap with AssistantExtensions, but there are a few differences worth noting. You can create custom voice commands for settings toggles and even make your own custom conversations. You can also use photos from your device’s Camera Roll to customize Siri’s background. There’s some added customization for opening third-party apps as well. Grab it in Cydia for $1.

Hands-Free Control

This $3 tweak takes Siri to a whole other level. Instead of having to tap and hold the Home button, you never have to touch your iPhone to use the digital assistant. With a custom voice command, Siri will initiate itself from across the room. You could, for instance, set an alarm with Siri from bed without ever having to get up and grab your iPhone. Because Hands-Free Control is always running in the background, you may notice a slight drain in battery life, but nothing too detrimental.

Lingual

With Lingual, Siri becomes your personal translator. This incredible AssistantExtensions plugin will take a phrase you give Siri and translate it into another language almost instantly. There’s support for over 30 languages, including Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Russian and Hebrew. Lingual could very easily be a tourist’s best friend, and it’s available for free now in Cydia.

SiriLoveLyrics

Have Siri show you lyrics for your favorite tune. Just say “show text” or “show lyrics” while a song is playing in your Music app. Not bad for $1.

SiriLaunch

Because a double tap of the Home button is too difficult, the free SiriLaunch tweak adds a nifty little mic icon to the bottom left of your Notification Center.

TweetLine

TweetLine is a free plugin for AssistantExtensions that loads your Twitter timeline inside Siri’s interface. To trigger TweetLine in Siri, simply say the word “timeline.” The last 5 tweets from your timeline are displayed in plain text, but you can’t open links or specific profiles. It’s all very basic, but kind of neat if you have a quick second to kill and you want to see your most recent tweets.

TinyAssistant

TinyAssistant lets you resize the bottom Siri window to your liking. You can hide the “What can I help you with?” help dialog. Saying “help” into Siri will bring it back. Get it in Cydia for free.

Neurotech Siri

This is by far the greatest theme for Siri in Cydia. It’s like Siri meets sci-fi. Lots of the default interfaces in Siri have been skinned to match the theme, and you’ll notice how well done it is as you use it more. It’ll cost you $1 in Cydia and it does require Winterboard.

Siri Mic Colors

Purple Siri is soo boring. Why not change it up a bit? Once installed for free in Cydia, this simple package spices up your iPhone’s digital assistant with some rainbow flair.

Make sure to check out our roundup of the best jailbreak apps for the iPhone 4S!

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Yet another rear panel for Apple’s iPad 3 has surfaced, refueling rumors that claim the third-generation tablet will feature a new camera and a slightly modified design to accommodate its new components.

At a glance, the new shell, which was obtained by NextMedia, looks identical to that featured on the iPad 2. But when compared to the current device, there are some notable differences.

The most exciting of which is the new camera lens. As you can see in the comparison shot above, it’s noticeably larger than the lens provided for the iPad 2′s rear-facing camera, and it has revived speculation that the device will feature an 8-megapixel camera similar to the Sony camera featured in the iPhone 4S.

Furthermore, if you look carefully at the edges of each casing, you’ll notice that the iPad 3′s rear panel appears to sport a more gradual taper to its edges. As a result, the device’s camera sits on the taper itself. This taper is likely to be what makes the iPad 3 slightly thicker and accommodates that Retina Display.

The new device is expected to make its debut on March 7, with a launch around one week later. In addition to a new camera and a Retina Display, it is also believed to include Apple’s new quad-core A6 chip.

[via MacRumors]

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The world is mad for smartphones. Everyone wants the latest and greatest smartphone that blows their mind with its ability to tell you where your friends are at, what they’re eating, their opinions on Rick Santorum’s sweatervests, and their favorite cat videos. But phones become outdated so quickly that we quickly toss out last year’s trend and pickup the next great mobile device more frequently than we change our car’s oil. It should come as no surprise, then, that pretty soon there will be more smartphones on the planet that humans. In fact, it will happen by the end of the year.

A recent mobile traffic analysis by Cisco this week revealed that by the end of 2012 internet-connected mobile devices will outnumber humans. By 2016 there will be an estimated 10 billion such devices. Mobile traffic alone in 2011 was greater than the entire internet traffic of 2000. Apple’s record breaking financial quarter shouldn’t have been such a shocker when we consider the world’s collective love for mobile computing.

Looking at my desk I have an iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Galaxy Nexus and some Windows Phone whose name I can’t remember. It’s reckless people like me that are going to turn the planet into massive dump of dilapidated smartphones, and ya know what? I don’t even feel that guilty yet. It’s terrible I know, but the guilt of my cellphone habits are quickly washed away as soon as I see some cool picture on Instagram or read the latest news story on Flipboard (which is usually about a new cellphone that is coming out).

Cisco estimates that inorder to keep pace with the world’s growing thirst for mobile data, service providers will have to increase capacity 17 fold. What type of content is demanding all that data usage? It’s those damn cat videos! Cisco says that by 2016 video alone will account for a staggering 66% of the global mobile traffic demand. Just wait till Apple comes out with iPad 3-D, because those video files are sure to be bigger than the boring 2D ones you’re watching now.

The Global Data Forecast Update is an eye opening read for anyone interested in seeing the affect their cellphone usage has on the world and just where things might go. Did you know that despite having the largest population in the world, China only accounts for 5% of mobile traffic and that number is projected to increase to only 10% by 2016? I don’t know what kind of cool shit Chinese people check out on the internet, but once all 1 billion of them get their mits on an iPhone the internet servers of the world are sure to go on strike.

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While registered developers have already been testing iOS 5.1 betas for some time, it seems the firmware holds several new features that Apple is yet to release to developers. A leaked “pre-GM” build has reportedly been obtained by a Portuguese iPhone blog, which reveals a new camera slider for the lock screen, and support for the Japanese language within Siri.

BlogdoiPhone claims to have a pre-Gold Master build of iOS 5.1. Gold Master is typically the final beta release before the public software is launched. While there are no major changes lurking within, there are a few subtle updates.

The camera button that appears on the lock screen under iOS 5 when you double-tap the home button is now gone. In its place is a camera slider, which you simply slide up to access the camera app. And you don’t need to tap the home button — the slider is always present.

Additionally, there is said to be support for the Japanese language within Siri on the iPhone 4S, which recent rumors have claimed would soon appear.

Despite months of beta testing, Apple’s iOS 5.1 public release still doesn’t appear to be close. It is believed that the company may be waiting to launch the update alongside its iPad 3, which is expected to appear on March 7.

[via MacRumors]

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