Peon's Place

And better yet, it’s on sale! Again!

Apple’s manufacturing partners are expected to build 2 million iPhone 3GS handsets in the fourth quarter this year. Last week marked exactly two and a half years since Apple unveiled the iPhone 3GS during its Worldwide Developer Conference in June 2009. Citing industry sources within Apple’s supply chain, DigiTimes on Friday reported that production of Apple’s iPhone 3GS has continued at high volumes that should hit 2 million units in the December quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, production of the iPhone 3GS will reportedly slow to between 1.4 million and 1.6 million units. The same report also suggests that production of Apple’s CDMA iPhone 4 could top 1 million units in the fourth quarter this year, slowing to between 500,000 and 600,000 units in the first quarter next year. In the United States, Apple’s iPhone 3GS is available for free on contract from AT&T while the CDMA iPhone 4 is sold by both Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

I still have my iPhone 3GS, and upgrading to a new phone leaves me with the feeling of “Oh look, I no longer have the latest and greatest” 3-6 months after doing so.  At least when i purchased this iPhone, that feeling stayed for over a year.  Read the rest of this entry » Two and a half year iPhon...

Wonder why Steve was a no-show at the Apple convention this week? Steve Jobs 1955-2011.

Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world’s first personal computer, the Apple II. Industry watchers called him a master innovator — perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison — changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications.

In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple’s chief executive. ”I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” Jobs wrote in his letter of resignation. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”

Read the rest of this entry » Steve Jobs passes away

Steve Jobs has officially resigned from his job as CEO of Apple, though he has been elected Chairman. Tim Cook, Apple’s long-time COO, who acted as CEO during Steve Jobs’ medical leaves will replace Jobs as CEO.

Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately. “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company. Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”  Read the rest of this entry » Steve resigns his Job wit...

Get ready, because in October when the iPhone 5 comes out, it’s being packed with Sprint’s amazing 4G speeds as well!

Well. Almost. Actually word around the Cupertino campus is that the iPhone 5 will be only 3g, making Apple substantially behind the competition.

But hey, at least Sprint will be the only carrier to offer unlimited data plans, now that AT&T and Verizon have cut users off from unlimited freedom and enjoyment! Actually, wrong again. Sprint plans to end, or at the very least throttle, data plans on the iPhone.

So much for excitement, right? Maybe you can go to T-Mobile, the only major carrier now without an Apple device.

While I love Google, I do not love their need to compete with Apple in terms of number of applications their phones have, so that they can compare with the iPhone. I mentioned a year ago that there was going to be problems with them allowing pretty much every app to be auto-accepted and put up onto their marketplace.

Now Google has pulled 21 applications today, more on the way, that have been found to contain a Trojan virus, collecting information and data from your phone and sending it onto private servers for whatever they feel the need to use it for. Your number, your friends’ numbers, your web browsing habits, all owned by random companies that will do nothing short of misuse and abuse your calendar appointments and schedules, addresses, etc.

The applications in question on the Android Marketplace contain an exploit that, when downloaded, automatically root the Android handset. Not only that, they also contain an embedded .apk file that can accept remote code and upload device information (like your IMEI) to a server in California. The malicious bundles were published by user Myournet and some of the individual applications have been downloaded over 50,000 times each. Once alerted of the potential malware, Google investigated and removed the code from the Market and users handsets. Unfortunately, that doesn’t have any effect on data already compromised by downloaders of the rogue applications. Google has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

Along with the new iPhone Nano that will supposedly be coming out this summer, Apple is reinventing the wheel, yet again, with different options for iPhone 5 models to come out this summer. A slide-out keyboard is among those ideas.

Now with someone with fatass sausage fingers like myself, who find typing on the iPhone’s touch screen to be as easy as coloring inside the lines of a second-grade coloring book while on a roller coaster, this presents a bit of intrigue. Hopefully it wouldn’t be made too cheaply. However Apple has declared that it will never present a full QWERTY keyboard to their iPhones, yet they’ve gone back on their word before.

The physical keyboard also won’t add any thickness to the phone, since the iPhone 5 is planned to be much slimmer already, closer to that is a current-day iPod Touch. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m skeptical!

So, how do you feel about a contract-free, whatever carrier you want, iPhone? Well it’s coming soon!

Our favorite Cupertino, CA company has been working on the iPhone Nano — a small version of the iPhone, with swappable SIM cards for different carriers. No more jailbreaking. No more expensive swap of internal parts. No more switching to a new carrier and having to buy a new phone.

The phone will have the chip of the iPhone 4 so as to save money, when the iPhone 5 is released this summer. The idea is to compete with Android phones, although I feel that it’s not necessary, as the iPhone 5 in a few months will rule the school.

A person who viewed an early version of the new iPhone stated that it’s lighter than the current version and has an edge-to-edge touch screen and virtual keyboard. Apple also may redo its MobileMe online storage service, which lets customers store data so calendars and contacts are available to multiple computers and other devices. The service now has a $99 annual fee, but could be made a free service that also would store photos, music and videos.

Here’s something that may interest those of you that work in some sort of medical field. I toyed with some Bio Feedback stuff last semester in my psychology course, but the primary function of this little device is wireless EKG transmitting. I’m trying to see if this tool could be worked as a modality and registered into my company’s system, so that we can see the EKG data within our software (I work at a medical imaging company, for those of you who are not already familiar).

View the video below! This is an amazing idea and is only the first step in a much more portable application.

Read the rest of this entry » iPhone ECG application, a...

We’ll soon be able to swipe our phones in the same place as we swipe our credit cards. Can anyone spell out “dangerous” and “identity/credit theft” with this one?

According to a report from Bloomberg this morning, Apple plans to add a mobile payment feature to future iOS devices. The service, which utilizes a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip and a software solution, will be integrated into Apple’s next-generation iPhone and iPad, the report says.

Read the rest of this entry » iPhone 5 – Swipe to...

Starbucks is at it again, allowing you to pay for that new 31-ounce calorie-filled drink you decided would be a good idea at the time, with your iPhone or Blackberry. The program officially started today, albeit it had been tested in New York and California for some time now. But it’s here nationwide, allowing you to reload your Starbucks cards, purchase drinks and other goodies, etc.

Ahh, technology! Thankfully every Starbucks sends out free AT&T WiFi which iPhones automatically pick up.