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Morgan Stanley: New regional carried deals help ensure iPhone growth

Next week, the iPhone will launch on three additional U.S. regional carriers. This move follows last month’s roll out to five regional carriers plus last year’s addition of C Spire and Puerto Rico-based Claro Puerto (Apple’s first deasl with regional carriers).

Apple’s regional expansion prompted Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty to issue a note to investors saying that the new partnerships will help ensure sustained iPhone growth. She also noted that she doesn’t expect to see carriers dropping subsidized pricing for the iPhone – a concern that has also made investors hesitant when it comes to Apple.

The three regional carriers involved in next week’s launch are Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky), Golden State Cellular (California), Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas). Combined with the existing carriers. Their iPhone adoption brings the number of U.S. regional iPhone carriers to ten across a wide range of territories.

In addition to expanding the iPhone’s U.S. market, it’s significant to note that all ten carriers will offer subsidy deals for the iPhone. Those deals are actually better than the options offered by the three national carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint) – offering users a $50 savings when buying an iPhone.

The expanded markets are good news and will help to sustain, and possibly accelerate, growth for Apple. The fact that all are offering subsidies, however, addresses the larger investor concern. The debate over carrier subsidies is a fair concern for Apple investors given the unsubsidized costs of an iPhone – $375 for an iPhone 3GS, $549 for an iPhone 4, and $649 – $849 for an iPhone 4S depending on the model. Without subsidies, the iPhone would become unaffordable for many customers.

The potential end to carrier subsidies isn’t a new concern overall. The decision by cash-strapped Spain’s top two carriers, Telefonica and Vodafone, to end subsidies for new customers across the board, however, has stoked fears that carriers in other countries might follow suit.

Tim Cook pointed out Spain’s unique situation in Apple’s latest financials call and Huberty echoed his sentiments in saying that she doesn’t expect U.S. carriers to follow suit. Even if they did, she pointed out that it’s unlikely Apple’s contracts with the three national carriers, and any related subsidy requirements, will be up for renewal and renegotiation at the same time.

As AppleInsider points out, however, carriers are lengthening the period during a contract when users are eligible for a full subsidy on a new device – AT&T, for example upped that period to 18 months into a contract to 20. Even so, Huberty expects that the iPhone market can still sustain growth and could even accomodate carriers requiring users to have fully served out their two-year contracts before upgrading.

Source: AppleInsider

Image: Golden State Cellular

Siri, how could you?

When you build a robot or an artificially intelligent machine, there’s always going to be a fear that one day it will turn against you. That’s what Siri has done to Apple today, labeling one of the iPhone’s biggest rivals, the Nokia Lumia 900, the “best smartphone ever.”

If you’ve got an iPhone 4S, pull it out of your pocket now, call up Siri, and ask her, “What is the best smartphone ever?”

Rather than the humorous response you get to questions like, “What is the best smartphone?”, Siri will, surprisingly, tell you all about the Nokia Lumia 900, the Finnish firm’s flagship Windows Phone handset.

Of course, when you ask Siri a question, she’ll often find your answer from Wolfram Alpha, which is clearly what’s happening here; she’s just searching the service for the best smartphone based on “customer review average.” But even so, it must be a little embarrassing for Apple when its intelligent assistant pulls up a competitor when you ask her what the best smartphone ever is.

If you want our advice, don’t listen to everything Siri tells you.

Source: The Next Web

Soon there will be a way to get 4G data on your current iPhone.

4G mobile broadband provider FreedomPop has started taking preorders for a $99 case/sleeve that gives free 4G data speeds to an iPhone 4/4S. Backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, iPhone owners who purchase FreedomPop’s case will be given 500MB of free 4G data each month. Full data packages will also be sold in the future, but those details have not been given at this time.

We know what you’re asking: Will this thing actually work? Take a look at this video and find out:

FreedomPop isn’t actually supplying the 4G internet, but instead using Clearwire’s WiMax network. The case plugs into the iPhone’s dock connector and automatically shows up under “WiFi” in the Settings app.

While it’s a neat idea, this seems like more of a test run to determine if there’s really a market for such a product. Considering Apple’s next-gen iPhone is expected to feature LTE networking speeds, FreedomPop may see less demand than anticipated. There is, however, a market for current iPhone owners who want a little kick of extra speed.

The case is expected to ship by late summer. You can preorder one from FreedomPop’s website.

Source: AllThingsD Via: Business Insider

Pod2g is making progress with his upcoming jailbreak.

With each new day we’re getting closer and closer to a new jailbreak release, but things are still not quite ready. Good news is that infamous Chronic Dev hacker pod2g has successfully jailbroken his third-gen iPad on iOS 5.1. The news follows the previous announcement that he had gotten an untethered jailbreak fully functional on his iPhone 4 running iOS 5.1.

Pod2g still has to work on stabilizing his jailbreak and packaging it for public distribution, but his exploits will work on all iOS devices, including the iPhone 4S.

Releasing jailbreaks for multiple iOS devices gets complicated because different generations of hardware run different processors and default versions of iOS. Just because you have a working jailbreak for the iPhone 4 doesn’t mean it will also work on the iPhone 4S, as the former iPhone runs the A4 processor while the latter runs the A5.

The good news is that pod2g’s untethered jailbreak will work on all iOS devices capable of running iOS 5.1, excluding the third-gen Apple TV. The jailbreak is still several weeks out, so stay tuned for more updates.

Right now, know that hackers are working to get an untethered jailbreak packaged together for the newly-released iOS 5.1.1 while also testing on 5.1. The jailbreak scene never sleeps!

Update: pod2g has posted a video demo of his untethered jailbreak running on a third-gen iPad.

Source: pod2g

According to a report from research firm MM Research Institute translated by Japanese blog Macotakara, iPhone sales in the Unites States during fiscal year 2011 hit 7.25 million units:

Research Institute released “General situation of mobile handsets shipment in Japan at 2011″.  According to this MM Research Institute report, the number of iPhone sales reached 7.25 million units in Japan at 2011.

Amount of shipment of cell-phone was 42.74 million, which was 13.5% bigger than 2010, and smart-phone sales was 24.17 million in amount. In this market, Apple occupied 7.25 million (17% of all mobile phone sale) and got 2nd position by handset maker.

Focusing on smartphone market, Apple got 1st position as 30% share by handset vendor. Androids got 69% share by platform, and iOS got 30%.

As of the latest numbers from comScore, Apple’s growth in Japan outpaced Android during the three-month period ending February 2012 to take 34.2-percent of smartphone subscribers.

Related articles

• Japan inches closer to Android/iPhone duopoly, as Apple gains marketshare (9to5mac.com)

As part of its new “Alter Ego” ad campaign, T-Mobile posted the above TV commercial comparing the speed of the iPhone 4S on AT&T to devices on its 4G network. The carrier recently did a similar comparison when launching its Test Drive tool for comparing its 4G devices with the iPhone on other networks. In related news, yesterday we reported T-Mobile was preparing to rollout an iPhone-compatible 4G HSPA+ 19000 MHz network to various markets by the end of the year.

Although many thought the comparison of the 3G iPhone on AT&T to 4G Android devices on T-Mobile was unfair, Apple is rumored to launch a new LTE iPhone following the introduction of the new 4G iPad last March. Recent reports indicated Qualcomm was having trouble meeting demand for LTE chips likely to land in the next-gen iPhone, indicating T-Mobile will likely have to take a new approach to its ads come October.

Related articles

• T-Mobile Test Drives 4G vs 3G in unfair network comparison (9to5mac.com)
• T-Mobile unveils new “Alter Ego” ad campaign (9to5google.com)

You'd better start saving, because Apple has another three iOS devices planned for 2012... apparently.

Before we read any further into these claims, let me just reveal where they came from: DigiTimes. While the site has published a few accurate reports on upcoming Apple products in the past, most of its rumors are worryingly farfetched.

The latest claims sources in Apple’s supply chain have detailed the Cupertino company’s launch plans for 2012, promising three new iOS devices between now and the end of the year. One of those will, as you’d expect, be the sixth-generation iPhone, but before that, we will see a new, 7-inch iPad.

What’s more, that new iPad you just bought will apparently be replaced by an even newer one during the fourth quarter.

Sources claim that Pegatron Technology, an iPhone 4S assembler, has landed orders for the next-generation iPhone, and has already expanded its equipment and labor resources to produce the device, which will reportedly make its debut in September.

That’s just 11 months after the iPhone 4S got its unveiling, and it means Apple will shift its iPhone launch schedule yet again, albeit only slightly. The Cupertino company broke away from a traditional June unveiling last year to make its announcement in October, and it seems to make sense it would wait until October again this time around. But apparently not, according to these sources.

That 7-inch iPad mini we’ve all been waiting to see will reportedly make its debut before the new iPhone, with a launch this August. The report offers no information on the much-anticipated device, other than it will be produced by Foxconn, which already assembles almost all of Apple’s devices.

The most questionable claim in this report is concerning a fourth-generation iPad, which sources claim will make its debut during the fourth quarter of 2012. Again, there’s no information on this device — the report simply states that “a 10-inch iPad to be launched in the fourth quarter, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.”

So, rather than the usual one new iPad per year we’ve seen since 2010, this year we’ll see three if those claims are correct. While it seems perfectly feasible that the iPad mini may finally make its debut before the year’s out, the suggestion that we’ll see yet another iPad during the fourth quarter seems ludicrous to me.

A similar rumor claiming Apple would release two iPads during 2011 began circulating shortly after the iPad 2 made its debut last March. Most of us quickly dismissed those rumors back then, and I’m going to do the same again with this one.

Source: DigiTimes

This is what downgrading an iPad 2 looks like.

If you’ve updated your iOS devices past iOS 5.0.1, then you would have lost your untethered jailbreak. Hackers are working on a solution for Apple’s latest firmware, but it’s expected to be at least several months before it makes its public debut.

Fortunately, there is hope. The upcoming Redsnow release will allow you to downgrade your A5-powered devices —that’s the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and the new iPad — so that you can reinstate your untethered jailbreak.

There is one caveat, however. To downgrade, you will need to have your SHSH blobs for the firmware you wish to downgrade to. For example, if you’re downgrading your iPhone 4S from iOS 5.1.1 to iOS 5.0.1, you’ll need the SHSH blobs that were used by your iPhone while it was running that software.

That means that if you purchased your device with iOS 5.1 pre-installed, you’re out of luck, and you won’t be able to take advantage of the untethered jailbreak. So anyone with the new iPad will be able to downgrade to iOS 5.1 only, because this is the earliest software for that device.

iDownloadBlog explains your downgrading possibilities in this handy guide:

iPad 2/iPhone 4S: If you have iOS 5.0.1 SHSH blobs, you can downgrade to iOS 5.0.1 for an untethered jailbreak.
The new iPad (iPad 3): You will be able to downgrade to 5.1 only. This is because there was no 5.0.1 for the new iPad to begin with, hence there are no SHSH blobs for 5.0.1 making a downgrade to this firmware version impossible.

There’s no word on when the Redsn0w update will be available, but it is expected to arrive soon. Just hold onto those blobs!

Source: iDownloadBlog

Four apps enter, but only one can reign supreme! Listen to us passionately pitch our favorite apps of the week then vote on which one conquers them all on the latest CultCast.

Plus — is the iPhone 5 getting a 4-inch retina screen? And is Apple about to kill off Macbook DVD drives? Don’t miss us Yay and Nay our way through all those rumors and more – subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes.

Seemingly in response to word that three new small regional carriers were going to be offering the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S with a $50 discount, RadioShack has just announced that they’ll be matching the offer.

Starting immediately, if you buy an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S at RadioShack, you’ll get $50 off the normal price on all carriers. That means that the iPhone 4S will be priced at $149/$249/$349 and the iPhone 4 will be available for $49.

If you’re in the market for an iPhone, this is a pretty killer deal. Better act soon, though: the offer ends at the end of June.