iPhone Thief Caught Due to Tattoo on Face
Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office in South Florida were able to apprehend and arrest 19 year old Joseph Williams shortly after 8 pm on a recent Tuesday night. Crime Stoppers had reported a tip stating that Williams was in Miami Gardens. Williams is just one of many that have been caught or are wanted for thefts of iPhones. Recent trends in iPhone thefts have led experts to state that iPhones have become one of the most desirable and valuable electronics on the market today.
While some iPhone thefts involve stealing the device directly from the owner, which in turn has raised the amount of iPhone users who choose to insure their devices, many thieves of these phones tend to operate more in the style that Williams did. Reports indicate that Williams would walk into an AT&T store, posing as a customer, and after locating the iPhone display would take one or two of the phones from the security cables connecting them to the actual display and rush out of the store before anyone noticed. He lifted almost two dozen of the phones in this way, all throughout South Florida, beginning in late August. According to reports, Williams was recognized by his tattoo on his forehead that read “I’m Me”. Obviously, a tattoo such as this was very recognizable and lead to a much quicker arrest than most iPhone thieves encounter. Officials state that while he is suspected in as many as 15 other thefts of iPhones, he was charged with four counts of grand theft.
Amazon App Offers iPhone Users Range of Features
The Apple App store has long been a source of great entertainment and data apps, but it turns out it is also becoming a place that offers those looking to earn some money a bit of utility, as well. The most recent version of the Amazon iPhone app, version 1.2.8, now bridges the gap between the online and offline world in a way that never would have been possible in the past. Amazon has long served as a key earning point for many online due to the fact that its affiliate program has proven a strong way for amateur fans of books, video games and other products to get a small commission on items they can sell through blogs and other sources. This latest app offers a bar code scanner that makes use of the iPhone’s built in camera similar to the way that the Red Laser app does. This will then let people do offline to online shopping or add items they find in the offline world to their online wish list that Amazon is known for.
For sellers, this means that buyers who come across an item offline can look for it via Amazon, but for brick and mortar stores this is incredibly bad news since consumers could scan an item and then buy it online while still being in the physical store. However, it should still be said that those looking to make an immediate purchase will probably use the app more as a way to weigh out the pros and cons in terms of wait time and price.
iPhone Users Most Frequent to Actually Purchase Apps
In recent findings in the State of Mobile Apps study from the Nielsen Media firm that monitors usage of all types of media from radio to TV to downloads on the web, it has been found that Apple iPhone users are buying nearly twice as many apps from the official Apple App Store as users of any other platform. Neither the BlackBerry App World Store nor the Android Market have anywhere near the sales that the Apple App Store does. The Nielsen study found that for ever 2 apps that iPhone users download for free, they tend to purchase one, as well. In comparison, those using the Android Market or Blackberry App World were noted as downloading an average of 3.5 apps at no cost before purchasing one. Out of all the platforms surveyed, Blackberry users were the least likely of all to convert from a free trial of an app to an upgraded fee based version.
The study also noted that out of all the apps offered for smart phones and feature phones, it is still games that lead the way, but close behind them are apps related to the weather. Out of the apps noted for popularity, it is still Facebook that is the most used app on any smart phone platform today. While Twitter ranked highly for Blackberry users, it did not for iPhone nor Android which had Youtube as a top performer which was also not popular on the iPhone - news that came as a surprise to many iPhone experts.
Fashion Apps for iPhone Growing in Popularity
The iPhone from Apple, Inc. has long been considered a more trendy smart phone choice for the savvy tech user, but it turns out that there are more uses for it than previously thought among some of the users most in touch with today’s hottest trends: fashion fans. While the new apps will not get users dressed or pick the perfect wardrobe out for them, they are becoming quite popular with those who want to keep tabs on all the latest from major designers in the fashion world, fashion magazines and, of course, fashion shops that sell a wide variety of high end, cutting edge apparel. In some cases these personal apps are updated daily, giving users the full scoop on what that designer or shop has to offer most recently. A big entrant to the world of fashion apps was eBay which launched its own app for fashion savvy folks that is expected to do well over one and a half billion dollars in fashion sales this year, building on its 2009 income of $600 million. According to Chris Devore who co-founded a site dedicated to helping customers discover apps for Apple and Android smart phones, the iPhone is leading the way with the largest number and widest variety of fashion apps on the market today.
A quick search of the iTunes store will show more than 550 unique apps for the keyword fashion, ranging from one for Chanel or Dolce & Gabbana to another for GQ or Glamour magazines. Experts say that as iPhone users get more interwoven with current culture, this trend is only likely to grow.
iPhone Apps Disappoint Bioware and Capcom
The iPhone from Apple, Inc. has impressed a huge number of developers who want to make apps for the smart phone, but it remains true that not all companies - especially those larger companies that have software across multiple platforms - have found that they appreciate the device’s potential. Famed indie game design groups have been doing very well, but the larger more established companies are reluctant to work within the confines of the device and often find its features to be lacking for their intended purposes. Profit is not always forthcoming for app makers and this is certainly a troubling fact for larger companies that are more dependant on bigger streams of revenue when they develop a game using their higher cost in house design teams. This is the case for Capcom, the famed makers of Street Fighter II and a range of other hit video games on a variety of systems. Capcom has told the press that they were disappointed with their recent financial reports because they do not feel that the titles they offer are increasing in sales at a fast enough rate. Projected sales levels have been reached for Street Fighter IV and Phoenix Wright, but this is not enough for Capcom. Even the Resident Evil 4 sales were seen as lackluster at best by the gaming giant.
Bioware, a partner for Electronic Arts has seen a very dismal portrait of sales for their sci fi RPG epic Mass Effect. The company believes that it was not the right time or the right title and this has held their sales down. Bioware has concluded that for iPhone gamers, backstory is not a selling point.
Can the HTC Desire Compete with iPhone 4? Let’s Compare
The world has been waiting for the so called iPhone killer for as long as Apple has been on top of the smart phone market, but with each passing year and the generation of the iPhone that it brings, the expectations grow stronger. Plenty have tried, but thus far no other smart phone maker has managed to steal the hearts of customers around the globe who have pushed iPhone sales far past anything that could have been predicted. Will the new HTC Desire change this or can the iPhone 4 hold its own against this latest challenger? The only way to find out is to compare both devices and let the viewers decide.
The first thing to consider is probably the most obvious difference between the 2 phones and this is the fact that they use different operating systems. Of course, with the iPhone 4 the proprietary iOS 4.0 is the software of choice while HTC’s Desire is running the Android OS from Google. The battery life for the iPhone 4 is 16% longer than what the HTC offers and this could be a sticking point for consumers who want to maximize talking time by any way possible.
In terms of size, there are definite differences between the smart phones and of the two, the iPhone 4 is heavier, weighing in at 140 grams compared with the 135 gram Desire. Much of this could be due to the steel antennae band featured on the iPhone 4. On the other hand, the Desire is the bulkier device in terms of dimensions: 119 cm x 60 cm x 12 cm (width, height and depth) compared with 114.3 cm x 58.7 cm x 9.4 cm for the iPhone 4. Both devices also feature an LCD screen, but the iPhone has the smaller at .2 inches less than the 3.7 inch screen the Desire offers.
For internal memory, the iPhone has 32 GB of space, but the Desire only offers 576 MB which can be expanded with a microSD card.
OLED Screen to Be Part of iPhone 4G
While many in the media have been abuzz about the potential of the upcoming Apple iPad, there has been a quiet hum of potential which is coming in with the expected arrival of the latest in Apple’s iPhone line up, the iPhone 4G. This will be the latest generation of the famed iPhone and is expected to be shown off in the near future as the official 2010 model of the device. The expected incentives for purchasing this mobile phone will most likely be tied to a lower price point and even further upgraded hi tech features because this has been a real tradition for the iPhone up until this point. There are a large number of features that have analysts and reviewers alike very excited about this latest incarnation of the device and suggest it may well do a lot more business than even its predecessor given the higher level of innovation that is expected this time around.
The premiere feature which has the experts in the smart phone industry in an frenzy is the the suggestion that what is referred to as ‘gesture based technology’ will be making a debut on this particular rendition of the iPhone. With only a quick finger swipe users will be able to access the full range of features built into their device without having to tap exclusively and this can lead to better one handed use of the device. This should be even more ground breaking than what is expected for the upcoming iPad.
Apple Claims iPhone Leak Crunching Profits
The well known and now world famous leak of the upcoming iPhone model from Apple was first discovered in a Vietnam bar and is now causing even more controversy than at the outset. According to new documents from courts involved in the case and Apple’s corporate attorney, the images leaked to the press have been devastating to Apple as a company. The details on the new phone’s features, too, have chopped into the profits for the current phone models that are still in stores. Apple’s attorney has said that the damage to profits has been immense because consumers are holding off until the new model, thus putting sales in the deep freeze for the smart phone giant. Specifics on the profit loss Apple claims are not currently available, but have been described as ‘huge’ in recent meetings with the press. A judge in the case ordered the first tech blog to offer the photos to be investigated for what was deemed an assault on Apple.
While Apple has not formally commented on the situation other than by way of their legal representative, analysts in the tech industry are not buying the case. They have been reported as saying they think the situation has more to do with publicity than actual damage control. Experts and reviewers alike have said the public already knew a new iPhone was under way and that the images themselves are hardly news worthy other than to a very hard core set of customers which are unlikely to leave Apple or purchase a current product.
Simplicity Leads the Way in LG Charge for iPhone Territory
In the media lately, there has been a lot of speculation over whether or not any company will be able to give Apple a serious run for their money. Since the iPhone was first brought to market, many critics have predicted its success would be eminent but might not be as long lived as it has proven to be. this is probably due to the fact that most products in the consumer device industry, particularly phones, have not usually held such a high position for so many product cycles the way Apple has managed to do with the iPhone. There are definite boosts to the Apple image with each succeeding victory, but some critics say they may have painted themselves into a corner with their one size fits all approach when consumers have thrived on a variety of product mix in the past. There is not a low cost iPhone version the way there are with many devices and not all consumers want to have state of the art or simply an older model, many would like what the LG Pop offers, say reviewers, with its low cost and a stripped down approach to features that is designed to get rid of the options many consumers do not care about. The primary aim of the phone is to give users a device which answers their desire for a smart phone without all of the excess that they have spoken out against. This puts the Pop in a very strong position to take over the lower price end of the smart phone market with its new product.
Adding to this the fact that it is a smaller, lighter smart phone also gives it strength in the market. There are still features such as its lighted button glowing green when pressing it would initiate a new call or red when the same button would end the call, but these features are very specific.
Smart Phone Customers Consider Features of Samsung Wave and iPhone
As the future of smart phones begins to grow ever brighter, consumers have come to take it for granted that features will be piling up with each and every release. They certainly have to thank Apple for these expectations as the iPhone is almost a brand new machine with each release it goes through. This has made it very tough for the company’s competition to keep up since the other companies in the market had not been ready when Apple dropped the bomb on the market with its surprise unveiling of its industry standard iPhone. This has lead many companies to scramble their R and D departments to design some sort of device that could come close and the key to competing with the iPhone, according to those watching the market today, is having the right mix of features that buyers are actually going to care about. The Samsung Wave proves that the Korean electronics giant just might have a solid grasp of this since the device is far more than a phone and offers an impressive on board camera and camcorder combination that would be great as stand alone devices, much less additions to a smart phone. By leveraging their expertise in the consumer electronics market, the company has gone to great lengths to pair their own strong points with teams of developers that could create highly convenient software in the form of an OS that consumers would be able to learn extremely fast and it appears they may have achieved this.
It is looking to many analysts as if Apple may want to take some time with heir next release to make sure they have all their ducks in a row since the Wave is set to offer so many options consumers just may begin to favor it over the proven standard.