iOS 4 purportedly references CDMA iPhone 4, next-gen iPad

A new report claims that the source code of iOS 4 references new hardware from Apple that is about to begin field testing, including a two revised iPhone 4 models potentially compatible with the Verizon network, and a next-generation iPad.

With a screenshot of the alleged source code to bolster their claim, Boy Genius Report reported on Monday that an "intriguing" piece of code found in iOS 4 indicates that new hardware is set to begin field testing. The source code is said to reference three products: "iPhone3,2," "iPhone3,3," and "iProd2,1."

"Our source says that the code queries the device, and if the device is either a CDMA iPhone or iPad 2, the device will auto-activate, thus bypassing the need for iTunes," the report said. "We're told this block of code has appeared every year consequently before a major iPhone / device release, removed right before launch. This allows the products to be field tested by carriers (or partners) without having to activate the handsets or devices."

Last year, a mystery device known as "iProd" began showing up in beta builds of iOS 3.1. The hardware eventually became the iPad, announced in January of 2010. The "2,1" distinction allegedly found in iOS 4 would suggest that it is actually a revised, next-generation version of the iPad in testing.

Apple always uses the first number in these device identifiers to refer to major revisions, the naming schemes allude to a second major reworking of the iPhone in testing at Apple as well as a minor revision of the current iPod touch and a third-generation overhaul. The original iPhone is seen as iPhone 1,1, while the iPhone 3G appears as iPhone 1,2 -- a minor upgrade to an existing design. The first- and second-generation iPod touch show as 1,1 and 2,1 respectively.

The two iPhone models said to be referenced in the source code carry the same "3,X" suffix, which likely means that the devices are not a complete revision from the existing iPhone 4.

Another tipster reportedly told BGR that CDMA iPhone is code-named N92AP, while the platform for the next-generation iPod touch is N81AP.

Boy Genius Report has had a respectable track record in forecasting AT&T and iPhone related announcements, but some of its Apple rumors have been less than accurate. Last year the site incorrectly indicated iTunes 9 would add Blu-ray support and said Apple would create a social media consolidation application, both times citing a "reliable" source. In January, the site also inaccurately hinted that a Verizon announcement would coincide with Apple's introduction of the iPad.

In June, the site claimed that a Verizon-compatible CDMA iPad with 4G LTE was being tested. It said that a CDMA iPhone and iPad would likely arrive "very soon." And in July, the site claimed that a cloud-based iTunes service was "definitely happening soon," but was quickly disputed by insiders contacted by CNet.

Apple's public relations also recently denied a purported email exchange between a customer and Steve Jobs that was published by the site as being "100% legitimate." The most sensationalist remarks attributed to Jobs, telling a customer to "Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it," were mistakenly attributed to Jobs on accident.

Original Article.

RIM, T-Mobile Announce BlackBerry Curve 3G

The BlackBerry Torch just came out last week, but RIM has already moved on to the BlackBerry Curve 3G. The midrange Curve 3G - which will get an upgrade to the new BlackBerry 6 OS - is coming out from T-Mobile in the next few weeks, the carrier said.

The Curve 3G replaces T-Mobile's Curve 8520 with a faster 624-MHz processor, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11n, and 3G HSDPA Internet connectivity, although it keeps the relatively low-res 2.4-inch, 320-by-240 screen and 2-megapixel camera. Interestingly, the Wi-Fi is noted for "data and voice," which means that this phone will work with T-Mobile's unheralded (but much loved) Hotspot@Home voice-over-Wi-Fi system.

There's not all that much exciting in the Curve 3G's hardware. The exciting part is that promised BlackBerry 6 upgrade, which will bring a new Web browser and lots of new media features to the phone. RIM and T-Mobile's announcement didn't give a date for the BlackBerry 6 upgrade.

T-Mobile didn't announce a price for the Curve 3G, but it will probably be pretty inexpensive; the Curve 8520 debuted at under $50 with contract. The Curve 3G's appearance also reminds us that the Torch probably doesn't have a very long exclusivity period with AT&T, as the Torch and Curve 3G complement each other quite neatly to provide low-end and high-end options from RIM.

original article.

Rumors of a Verizon iPhone get louder

Two new reports give some heft to oft-heard rumors that the iPhone may be coming to Verizon Wireless, possibly as soon as January 2011.

The first report is based on AT&T's quarterly filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, in which the company talks about reducing its dependence on "any single handset," with carrier's exclusivity arrangement with Apple in the United States due to end sometime in the near future.

The second is from a TechCrunch report which says that "sources with knowledge of this entire situation" say that Apple has submitted orders for Qualcomm CDMA chipsets "for a Verizon iPhone run due in December. This production run would likely be for a January launch."

These two items provide creedence to a Bloomberg report from last June saying that the Verizon iPhone would indeed be shipping in January.

The iPhone, which came out in 2007, runs on AT&T's GSM network; CDMA, another technology, is used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint. However, both AT&T and Verizon Wireless are moving to a fourth-generation wireless technology known as LTE in the next year, although that rollout will take a few years to complete. There could be a combination CDMA/LTE chip for the iPhone, or perhaps the CDMA chips being ordered by Apple could power another of its devices, such as the iPad tablet.

In its SEC filing, AT&T noted its need to branch out even more with its offerings — and AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega helped unveil Research In Motion's newest BlackBerry, the Torch, last week.

"We offer a large variety of handsets, including at least 18 smart phones (including Apple iPhones, our most popular models) with advanced operating systems from at least 7 manufacturers," AT&T said in the quarterly filing.

original article.

How BlackBerry developed its mobile phone and networks

The decision of the United Arab Emirates to ban BlackBerry email, messenger and web browsing services goes to the heart of the way in which the handheld devices operate – itself a consequence of the mobile market in which they were born.

When the first BlackBerry appeared, over a decade ago, mobile phone networks were far more basic than they are today. The most innovative service the majority of users had seen since mobile devices first appeared in the 1980s was the introduction of text messaging.

In the US, many mobile users were still making calls on analogue networks, while in Europe the new digital operators were only just introducing data services. But the sorts of speeds possible over networks such as Orange and Cellnet in the UK were pitiful. Speeds of 9.6Kb per second – less than 1% of the average speed available in the UK today, according to recent research – meant the networks had to resort to offering a pared-down version of the internet using Wap (Wireless application protocol) technology. Using a mobile phone to receive email, let alone access the "real" internet was almost unheard of.

By the mid-1990s, Canada's Research In Motion (RIM) was already working with partners on a messaging device that would work on a new wireless data network, which its owners hoped would be rolled out across Europe and the US. It was not much of a success – although the UK network that used this technology eventually became Turbo Dispatch, which now sends mechanics from local garages to help millions of stranded motorists every year.

As a result, RIM switched to working with the existing mobile phone companies, but to squeeze emails across their networks meant using compression technology. RIM also needed to be able to persuade jittery corporate IT departments their emails would be safe, which required encryption technology. To create such a lean and secure service required an end-to-end solution, with both the device, the BlackBerry, and the server hosting the user's email being able to understand each other. However, RIM wanted to be able to offer its devices on any mobile phone network.

As a result, it created the Network Operations Centre (Noc), which seems to have created such a headache in the Gulf. Every mobile phone operator that wants to offer BlackBerry devices has to have a connection to a Noc: – there is apparently one based in Canada to cover the Americas and one covering Europe and Asia. A company that wants to offer BlackBerrys to its employees, meanwhile, has to install software within its own IT systems that can communicate with the Noc.

When a user's inbox receives a new email, that software securely communicates with the Noc, which then connects securely to the BlackBerry over a mobile phone network to deliver the email. It uses compression technology to make sure the email can be squeezed over even the most congested network. Numerous research reports over the past year have suggested that BlackBerrys are at least five times more efficient at email and attachment viewing than any other platform.

RIM has since opened its network up to consumer email services such as Gmail and Hotmail, which together with the introduction of a range of stylish devices aimed at the consumer market has created a boom in usage of BlackBerry phones among teenagers. Opening up the RIM network to the web has also allowed internet browsing, which is also apparently faster on a BlackBerry than other devices. They are three times more efficient than other carriers, according to a recent report by Rysavy Research.

But there is another side-effect to the way that RIM's network architecture is configured and it has been seized upon by cash-strapped teenagers: BlackBerry Messenger. Because RIM knows every BlackBerry device in use, regardless of which network it is on, and they are all directly connected to its Nocs, BlackBerry users who have devices with the right software can communicate with each other without incurring the network interconnection and roaming charges associated with text messages.

Text messages and telephone calls, meanwhile, are routed solely over a mobile phone network, so neither will be affected by the UAE's decision. That also explains why when there is a problem with RIM's network – which has happened in the past – BlackBerry users can still make calls.

The first BlackBerry appeared in the late 1990s and was effectively a two-way pager. The first full email device – the 5810 – appeared in 2002.

The name, incidentally, was created by the company's brand agency, which looked at the trademark small buttons on the device's keyboard and decided they looked like the pips on a strawberry. That name, however, sounded too "slow". Blackberry sounded punchier and it stuck.
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