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Customers will not be able to get their hands on Apple Inc.’s white iPhone 4 until later this year, the company said on Friday, conceding that making the model has proven surprisingly difficult.
Apple, in a brief statement, said that its black iPhone 4 had not been affected. As for the white iPhone, the company said it has “continued to be more challenging to manufacture that we originally expected.” Get the full story »
U.S. mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. has sued China’s Huawei Technologies Co. for alleged theft of trade secrets, highlighting the fast-growing Chinese firm’s difficulty in shaking the nation’s reputation for piracy.
In the amended complaint, filed on July 16 in a federal court in Chicago, Motorola claimed an engineer shared information about a Motorola transceiver and other technology with Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, a former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army. Get the full story »
On Aug. 4, car shoppers will be able to get a new car paid, financed and insured using only an iPhone. Already, members of USAA — the insurance company for military servicepeople, veterans or their family — can research new cars and get price quotes from up to three area car dealers, using either the website or iPhone application. Now, just about everything but driving the car off the lot can be taken care of without ever walking into the dealership. Get the full story »
Motorola Inc. is selling its wireless networks unit to Nokia Siemens Networks for $1.2 billion, a move that will accelerate the Schaumburg-based company’s planned break-up into separate businesses.
The deal, expected to close at the end of 2010, will boost Nokia Siemen’s standing in key markets such as the U.S. and Japan, while allowing Motorola to devote more attention to the enterprise mobility unit that makes communications equipment for public safety agencies and industrial companies. Get the full story »
Steve Jobs’s attempt to close the door on criticism of Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone ignited another debate: Are competing smartphones just as prone to reception problems or does Apple have a unique design flaw?
Jobs, in a news conference Friday, conceded that reception on the new iPhone 4 can be degraded by the way a user holds the device but insisted that the problem, which occurs in areas with relatively weak cellular coverage is shared by other smartphones.
His arguments were swiftly rejected by competitors, including RIM and Motorola Inc., which said they have deliberately avoided Apple’s approach of locating antennas on the phone’s edge. Some other cellular-industry veterans also called Apple’s antenna design a mistake, noting that it creates a uniquely sensitive spot on the lower left side that causes signals to degrade when touched with a hand or a finger. Get the full story »
ITT Corp. has settled its patent dispute with Motorola Inc., after claiming the mobile-phone maker incorporated global positioning systems in its devices that infringed ITT rights. The manufacturing conglomerate said it was pleased with the outcome, although details of the settlement weren’t disclosed except to specify that it resolved all issues between the two over the claim. Get the full story »
Apple CEO Steve Jobs addresses antenna problems in the iPhone 4 during a news conference today. (Kimberly White/Reuters)
Apple says it will give free protective cases to buyers of its latest iPhone model to alleviate the so-called “death grip” problem: holding the phone with a bare hand can muffle the wireless signal.
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announced the giveaway Friday at the company’s headquarters in California. Those who have already bought the phone and new buyers through Sept. 30 will all be eligible. People who already purchased the $29 “Bumper” cases will be refunded.
Earlier, Jobs declared, “We’re not perfect.”
From PC World | Verizon appears to have already sold out of its online stock for the Droid X smartphone on its first day on the market Thursday. Although early orders shipped on schedule, the company’s Web site now lists the flagship device with a promised ship date of July 23. The phones, selling for $199 with the signing of a new two-year contract, are still available in most Verizon stores or Best Buy.
Apple Inc. is likely to announce a fix for the iPhone 4’s reception problems, rather than a recall, at a surprise press conference on the device on Friday, analysts said.
Apple has declined to provide any details about the morning event, called late Wednesday, at its corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. Get the full story »
Apple Inc has called a surprise press conference for Friday to talk about the iPhone 4, as the company continues to deal with fallout from reported reception problems on its popular smartphone.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to provide further details, or to say whether the event will address the signal-strength problems that some people have reported having with the iPhone 4 when the device is held in a certain way. Get the full story »
The possibility that Apple’s new iPhone could have a faulty antenna has fueled speculation that the popular phone could be recalled, and one analyst has pegged the potential cost at $1.5 billion.
Recall rumors were prompted by Consumer Reports’ announcement Monday that it couldn’t recommend the handset because its tests confirmed large drops in reception when the phone is held in a certain way.
Motorola shares surged nearly 4 percent this morning on speculation the company may be selling its networks equipment unit to competitor Nokia Siemens.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that Nokia Siemens and Motorola are in talks for the Schaumburg-based company’s networks business, which makes infrastructure and equipment for wireless operators. Get the full story »
Shares of Apple Inc slid more than 4 percent Tuesday after a poor review for its iPhone 4 from an influential consumer guide underpinned mounting complaints about the hot-selling device’s reception.
Consumer Reports said Monday that it could not recommend the iPhone 4 — which sold 1.7 million units worldwide in its first three days — after its tests confirmed concerns about signal loss when the device is held in a certain way. Get the full story »
The results are in. Consumer Reports’ engineers have completed their testing of the iPhone 4 and have deemed it unfit because of poor reception.
“When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side — an easy thing, especially for lefties — the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal,” a July 12 Consumer Reports blog post said.
“Due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.”
In the latest snag for the iPhone 4, AT&T Inc. said Wednesday that a software defect in its network is limiting data uploads from the phone in some areas in the U.S.
That means it takes longer for users to send pictures, video and other content from the phone.
