Tag Archives: iphone
General

Unlocking the iPhone 4S

By on Thursday, December 12, 2013

x-simI wanted to unlock the iPhone 4S so that I can be more flexible in carrier selection. My first, and preferred, option was for the carrier to unlock it. AT&T, for example, does that for out-of-contract phones. The IMEI of the phone is actually officially registered with Apple as unlocked essentially making it factory unlocked. Unfortunately, the local carriers do not unlock phones whether it is still in-contract or out of it.

My next option was unlocking using software. This means installing 3rd party tools that Apple does not approve of. Thus jailbreaking is required. Unfortunately, the phone is already on the latest iOS version and as of this writing, there is no jailbreak available. Nor is downgrading to an older iOS version possible unless I have SHSH blobs which I don’t.

My last option is an interposer SIM. It is essentially a pseudo-SIM that interposes itself between the new SIM and the phone. It’s a marvel of miniaturization. They basically fit in the new SIM, an adapter, and a microprocessor within a SIM tray. Once inserted, you simply “program” the interposer SIM to emulate the old SIM. You actually just input the IMSI of the carrier.

The best-known interposer SIM is the Gevey. I actually wasn’t able to get a Gevey, but instead was given an X-SIM. But it works the same way. And yes, it does work!

0
General

iPhone 5s Case

By on Monday, December 9, 2013

I’ve said that putting the gorgeous iPhone inside a case generally fuglifies it. But there are exceptions such as the Sena UltraSlim Leather Pouch that I used for the iPhone 4/4S. And now there’s the Apple iPhone 5s Case.

Probably one of the things that Apple learned from the antennagate controversy is that bumpers and casings are good business. So along with the recent iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, they released corresponding casings. The iPhone 5c case looks like Crocs and won’t be mentioned again. Ever.

The iPhone 5s case is a full back and side coverage case made of aniline leather reinforced with plastic. The inner side of the back is lined with a soft velvety material to protect the glass and aluminum back of the phone from scratches. That’s three layers but the overall casing is still very slim. The power and volume buttons are covered but remain easy to use. There are precision-cut(!) cutouts and holes for the Lightning port, silent switch, headphone jack, camera, and speakers. The holes for the speakers are especially neat.

The case comes in several conservative (black, brown, tan) and trendy (blue, red, yellow) colors. Supposedly the aniline dyeing process infuses the color deep into the leather and not just on the surface. This means that minor scuffs might not be very visible. Unfortunately, aniline leather is rather fragile and in this case, no pun intended, rather thin. This case is definitely more stylish than protective. But I believe that’s the intent. A premium case for a premium phone. It is a perfect match for the iPhone 5s.

 

 

0
General

iPhone 5c: C is for Cheaper

By on Friday, October 4, 2013

I believe the iPhone 5s is a good phone. The iPhone 5c? Ummm let’s just say the iPhone 5s provides the better value and that’s where Apple’s emphasis is on. The mid-tier and low/free-tier phones are there only to provide coverage. But here are the numbers as to why I think Apple came out with the iPhone 5c.

Below is the pricing before the iPhone 5s arrived,  the pricing if Apple had’t released the iPhone 5c, and the current pricing.

  Subsidized Selling Price Unsubsidized Selling Price iSuppli Est. Cost Gross Margin Gross Margin % Gross Margin % Change
IPhone 5 64GB 399 849 238 611 71.97%
IPhone 5 32GB 299 749 217 532 71.03%
IPhone 5 16GB 199 649 207 442 68.10%
iPhone 4S 16GB 99 549 196 353 64.30%
IPhone 4 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
IPhone 5 16GB 99 549 207 342 62.30% -2.00%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
iPhone 5C 32GB 199 649 182.85 466.15 71.83%
iPhone 5C 16GB 99 549 173.45 375.55 68.41% 4.11%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE

If Apple hadn’t released the iPhone 5c, they would have taken a 2% reduction in the gross margin of their mid-tier phone. But instead with the 16GB iPhone 5c they were able to pull off a 4.11% increase. Or 6.11% if compared against the alternate scenario. I don’t know about you, but I think 4% is pretty good! Notice that they were also able get modest increases in their top-tier phone gross margins.

This increase is mainly due to savings in the casing. That’s why the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 are practically the same except for the casing. Apple bumped down their previous top-tier phone as they normally do but this time changed the casing. Plus, given the similarities between the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 casings, there are production line benefits for the top-tier phone.

People were disappointed by the price of the iPhone 5c. It certainly wasn’t cheaper for them (or me). But it certainly was cheaper for Apple. To manufacture.

 

0
General

iOS 7 Gold Master

By on Thursday, September 12, 2013

Apple has released iOS 7 Gold Master (GM), right after the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch. The GM is already the final version for release. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any more outward changes. Unfortunately because I was still hoping for changes to those fugly icons. But the good news is that iOS 7 is good to go!

0
General

Apple iPhone 5S vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4

By on Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Now that Apple has announced the iPhone 5S, it’s time for a side-by-side for comparison against the previous iPhone 5 and the de facto Android flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The first question is, is it an upgrade over the iPhone 5? The answer is yes, specifically in the processor, the camera, and Touch ID. Apple’s “S” releases are normally minor updates. So this is actually significant. Apple obviously is feeling the competitive pressure.

The next question is how does it fare against the Galaxy S4? By the numbers you would see that Galaxy S4 would win. But most numbers don’t matter much (e.g. processor speed, and megapixel count) without context. So I won’t even go into the 64-bit (although really that is significant). Numbers are nothing compared to the experience.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with either iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S4. Personally, I’d go for the iPhone 5S due to four reasons: design (understated elegance), the size (I like my phones small and light), the camera (True Tone flash, 2.2/f aperture and 15% larger sensor) and Touch ID (definitely more secure than Android’s rather gimmicky face unlock).

Apple iPhone 5S Apple iPhone 5 Samsung Galaxy S4
Size 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
Weight 112 g 112 g 130 g
Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
LTE LTE LTE
Display LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (441 ppi)
Processor unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A7 chipset, 64-bit unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A6 chipset Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
RAM unspecified unspecified 1/2 GB RAM
Internal Storage 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB
External Storage No External Memory No External Memory Up to 64GB
Data Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP
NFC none none yes
Operating System iOS 7 iOS 6 Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Camera 8 megapixel AF with True Tone dual-LED flash and f/2.2 aperture lens, 15-percent larger sensor, 10fps burst 8 megapixel AF, f/2.4 aperture lens 13 megapixel AF, f/2.2 aperture lens
Video 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light
Apps About 900K from the Apple App Store About 900K from the Apple App Store About 1M from Google Play + access to non-market apps
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Ion 2600 mAh
Standby Up to 270 h (3G) Up to 225 h (3G) Up to 370 h (3G)
Talk-time Up to 10 h (3G) Up to 8 h (3G) Up to 117 h (3G)
0