GigaOM » iphone 4s

With MetroPCS, T-Mobile could help Apple reach 9 million new potential iPhone buyers

Erica Ogg — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:57:33 +0000

One of the side benefits of the completion of T-Mobile’s merger today, at least for customers of MetroPCS, is that they will eventually be able to use an iPhone on their current carrier. The all-new T-Mobile hasn’t said when that will be. But there’s also an interesting benefit for Apple when this does happen: the iPhone maker may edge further into the lower-cost smartphone category.

MetroPCS’s current customers can choose from a variety of feature phones or inexpensive Android-powered smartphones: there’s just one flagship Android device offered, the Samsung Galaxy S III. The vast majority of the devices cost around $99. If MetroPCS subscribers have been waiting for an opportunity to switch to an iPhone, it’s probably less likely they’ll be going for a $200 to $300 iPhone. But the free-on-contract iPhone 4 or $99-with-contract iPhone 4S could be more appealing than their current options.

This also represents a chance for MetroPCS to convince feature-phone owners to upgrade too. And the trend among late-stage smartphone adopters is that they, in general, go for lower-cost devices.

A recent survey of iPhone buyers in the U.S. by CIRP showed while the iPhone 5 represented a little over half of all new iPhones purchased, that is a historically low number: never has an Apple device that’s been available for just over one fiscal quarter seen such slow demand. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, either free on contract or $99 with a contract, are more popular than legacy iPhones have ever been.

T-Mobile says that by joining with MetroPCS, it’s bringing 9 million new customers — and potential new iPhone activations — with it. That might seem small when compared to what T-Mobile already has (a little over 30 million customers) and to what could happen if Apple hooked up with China Mobile. But at this point, Apple needs to expand its footprint anywhere it can. Whether that’s among luxury-brand hungry customers in Tokyo, Shanghai or Moscow who shell out for an iPhone 5, or among smartphone hold-outs who just want a free or very cheap phone, Apple is going to take it.

Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook used the example of first-time iPhone buyers in China to explain why he’s OK with this scenario: ”China has an unusually large number of potential first-time smartphone buyers and that’s not lost on us. We’ve seen a significant interest in iPhone 4 there and have recently made it even more affordable to make it even more attractive to those first-time buyers. We’re hopeful that helps iPhone sales in the future.”

It’s true that trading iPhone 5 sales for the iPhone 4 or 4S could mean lower profits in the end for Apple. But being able to sell smartphones to people who otherwise wouldn’t have purchased an iPhone (either for a feature phone or a cheaper Android device) is not a bad fallback.

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The year-old iPhone 4S was world’s 2nd most popular smartphone in Q4

Erica Ogg — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:40:19 +0000

We know Apple sold 37 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2012, but a new report gives more fine-grain detail to sales of its top two models. The iPhone 5, which debuted in September, rose to become the best-selling smartphone in the world on the strength of 27.4 million units sold, or 13 percent of all shipments, according to Strategy Analytics’ Handset Country Share Tracker published on Wednesday. The year-old iPhone 4S was the second-most popular smartphone, with 17.4 million units sold. And both models beat out Samsung’s Galaxy S III juggernaut, which after five months of availability, sold 15.4 million units during the fourth quarter.

Credit: Strategy Analytics

While Apple investors continue to worry that the iPhone’s relatively smaller screen and higher price prevent it from attracting more customers, the iPhone seems to be having one of its best moments. Wednesday’s report follows a previous one from the same firm, published earlier this month, that found the iPhone was for the first time ever the best-selling mobile phone in the U.S.

But what may be more interesting than the iPhone 5′s stats is the sustained popularity of the iPhone 4S, which was released in October 2011. These numbers serve as evidence that a significant chunk of Apple’s customers are more interested in a lower price — $99 with a two-year contract — than the absolute latest in tech and design Apple offers. You could also use it as an argument against Apple making a new model cheaper iPhone, since it essentially already has one in the 4S.

For its part, Samsung is reportedly set to release its follow-up to the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S IV, in March, so this picture may very well change over the next several quarters.

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After iPhone 5, iOS makes gains at AT&T and Verizon

Erica Ogg — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:01:57 +0000

Apple sold more than half of the smartphones in the U.S. between mid-October (just after the iPhone 5 hit stores) and the end of November, according to a new research report published Monday by Kantar Worldpanel Comtech. While Apple’s rise during one of its historically strongest periods — right after the release of a new iPhone — isn’t that surprising, it’s interesting to see how those new devices are divided among the major U.S. carriers.

AT&T, the U.S. carrier that’s offered the iPhone the longest, actually had the biggest year over year bump in iOS device sales. Smartphones made up 35.4 percent of all AT&T sales during the 12 weeks ending Nov. 25, inching up from the 30.9 percent during the same period in 2011. And while AT&T is selling more smartphones, it’s also selling more iPhones: its iOS device share was 71.8 percent from mid-October to right after Black Friday this year. That’s up from iOS’s 62.3 percent share during the same period in 2011.

But the story was even better at Verizon, on whom AT&T had an almost three year head start in offering Apple’s phone. While Verizon saw barely any change in the ratio of smartphones to all other device sales during the six-week period in October/November (31.9 percent compared to 31.3 percent in 2011), it sold more iPhones anyway: iOS devices made up 55 percent of smartphone sales for the carrier, up from the 40.7 percent during the same period a year ago.

Kantar’s research is put together from continusous research throughout the year with 250,000 U.S. consumers. Here’s their latest market share data:

Some of Apple’s gain appears to be RIM’s loss as Blackberry sales dropped off at both carriers. Windows devices declined only at Verizon, while they saw an increase at AT&T. The remaining pickup by Apple may have come from new customers joining the carrier, or from upgrades from Android devices, which lost share year over year during that same period at both AT&T and Verizon.

U.S. carriers will likely add much more detail to their overall quarterly sales during their individual earnings call later this month: AT&T on Jan. 24 and Verizon on Jan. 22.

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A photographer’s view of the iPhone 5

Mark Crump — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:00:44 +0000

The other day I was rummaging around in my junk drawer and found my old point-and-shoot camera. I had forgotten I even owned one. The iPhone took over that job long ago. A few months ago I wrote about how I use the iPad and iPhone for my photography, and this post is an update on how I’ll be using the iPhone 5.

Initial camera impressions

At first, I was a tad disappointed with the camera in the iPhone 5. Each iPhone’s camera has been significantly better than its predecessor’s. My general experience has been that for most day-to-day uses where the image has some decent lighting, you’re not going to notice a gigantic difference between the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 cameras. I think that’s because the iPhone 4s camera was so good, that’s it’s like the Spinal Tap version of cameras: How much better can it be? None more better.

Instead of the camera lens, where Apple can make more significant improvements is in the software. According to Apple, the iPhone 5 has faster photo capture, better low-light performance, and improved noise reduction. My initial test backs those claims up. I noticed a huge difference in low light captures between the iPhone 4s and the iPhone 5. Below are two images of the junk pile on my desk:

iPhone 4s

iPhone 5

There are a few obvious points here. The first is that I really need to tidy up my desk. The second is the the iPhone 5 photo really is a lot better than the iPhone 4s. I’ve tried to line the two shots up as close I could (and for the pixel peepers, the controls for my headset have moved between shots).

With the iPhone 4s camera you can vaguely see an iPhone 5 box and my EarPod case. With the iPhone 5, the overall image quality is lot better. There are only two light sources with this capture: a Luxo-style lamp behind the iPhone 5 case, and a 27-inch monitor slightly off-camera. The iPhone 4s picture also has a lot of noise, which gives it some unwanted grain. The iPhone 5 camera, again, is much sharper. For giggles, I also took a panorama with the iPhone 5 in the same conditions.

The screen

Aside from the size, the iPhone 5 screen covers the full spectrum of sRGB. Apple has also eliminated one of the layers in the screen composition, moving the pixels closer to the edge. While overall the screen has better blacks and more saturation, it’s a subtle, subjective difference.

As a photographer, the overall screen quality between the two phones isn’t a big selling point. That’s because for the most part, I rarely show someone a photo on my iPhone. Usually, I’m posting it on Flickr, or sending it directly to someone. Where it will, however, come in handy is how it affects my overall workflow.

My iPhone 5 workflow

I tend to shoot a lot of low-light images — bands, for the most part — and the iPhone 5 will come in handy for that. While I doubt an iPhone camera will ever replace my DSLR as my main photo for these shoots, the iPhone 5 camera will increase the images I capture and immediately post to Facebook.

The screen, though, I think will have the biggest impact to how I handle shots taken on my iPhone. Since iPhoto for iOS takes advantage of the larger screen, I won’t feel as cramped when I edit the image. iPhoto is great for taking a photo, performing some minor edits like cropping and white balance adjustment, and then posting directly to Facebook.

One personal challenge I’m taking on this year is to enter a photo taken and edited solely on my iPhone 5 in one of the competitions my camera club runs. I continue to be amazed at what the iPhone 5 and iPhoto can do, and want to shake myself free of the mentality that I need to use my DSLR to create a competition-ready image. I’d be surprised if the technology hasn’t gotten to the point where an image taken and edited on an iPhone won’t at least score well. I’m a firm believer that the real magic of photography happens with the person taking the photo; not the camera he or she uses.

Final Frame

The iPhone 5, and the Camera app, is the best iPhone camera yet. But, that’s what we expect these days, isn’t it? While you may not notice a difference in the majority of your shots, if you deal with less-than-ideal lighting and don’t want to use a flash (an example that comes to mind is shooting someone blowing out the candles on a cake) the iPhone 5 camera will blow you away.

That said, previous iPhone cameras I’ve felt were worth the upgrade alone, but this camera upgrade feels more situational and subjective. I expect this is likely to be the case going forward. There’s only so many dramatic improvements you can make in a camera designed to fit into a slim body. The biggest software improvement I want is an app — either from Apple or someone else — that shoots true RAW images. This would allow for better post-processing edits in software like Lightroom and Aperture. Unfortunately, the closest app I’ve seen, 645 PRO, still doesn’t take full RAW images.

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Improved iPhone 5 less expensive to make than iPhone 4S

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:50:34 +0000

There are few companies I can think of that improve their products while holding prices and still reaping the rewards of high profit margins. Apple, of course, is one of those and the latest iPhone 5 cost estimates from IHS iSuppli only further reinforce the idea that when it comes to managing supply chain costs, Apple is setting the gold standard.

It’s worth noting that the teardown is “preliminary in nature, account only for hardware and manufacturing costs and do not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures,” says the research firm. In light of that, IHS iSuppli suggests that the total bill of materials plus an $8 manufacturing cost for the 16 GB iPhone 5 is $207. Bump up the iPhone to 32 GB or 64 GB of memory and that number increases to $217 and $238 respectively; a vast difference from the phone’s full price to consumers, which are $649, $749 and $849, respectively.

Buying a subsidized handset still gets Apple its profit though; carriers pay hundreds of dollars per handset to Apple in return for voice and data plan commitments from the consumer.

One aspect of the cost breakdown that jumped out to me is that the 64 GB iPhone 5 model actually costs Apple $15 less in parts and production than last year’s phone. The other two models cost slightly more: Apple spends an additional $2 to create this year’s 32 GB phone and $11 more for the 16 GB version, per the IHS iSuppli figures.

Still, if Apple were to sell an equal amount of each model this year; it works out to a net gain: The $13 more to create the two lower models is more than offset by the savings on the high-end model. I’m not implying that Apple actually does sell an equal number across the model line, but it’s an interesting profit hedge scenario. And I suspect that more people — especially existing iPhone owners that are upgrading — gravitate towards the models with more storage capacity.

Where’s the big savings this year? The largest is Apple moving away from Samsung for its flash memory. SanDisk memory was found in the iPhone 5 torn down for the IHS iSuppli analysis, although the research firm says that Samsung, Hynix and Toshiba could be suppliers across the line too. This difference is huge by comparison to all other parts. Last year, the memory in Apple’s 64 GB iPhone 4S cost $76.80; this year, that part is $41.60.

Not only does this illustrate how well Apple manages its part supply prices, but also why it’s in a position to do so. Instead of multiple phone models with different sizes and varied components, the iPhone is generally a fixed entity with few major design changes that would impact parts as much as other hardware makers. Sure, this year, the iPhone has a larger screen and form factor, which surely affects production lines and parts, but if history holds true, Apple will likely keep this size and shape for a few years and reap the benefits of superior supply chain management and economies of scale.

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Chart: iPhone 5 first weekend sales compared to earlier iPhone models (chart)

Rani Molla — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:08:31 +0000

Five million iPhone 5s sold its opening weekend, making it the fastest-selling iPhone of all time, likely because it was available in more countries this time. It took 74 days to sell 1 million of the original iPhones; the iPhone 5 doubled that number just in pre-orders. We take a look back at first-weekend iPhone sales to see how the franchise has grown.

Rani Molla/GigaOM

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How an advanced photographer uses the iPhone and iPad

Mark Crump — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:00:42 +0000

I find myself straddling a line with my photography. One foot sits on the side where I don’t need anything advanced; the other foot enjoys taking photographs of sporting and musical events that require decent cameras and fast lenses. Today I’m going to share with you how Apple products have completely taken over my work flow.

The emergence of the iPhone as a preferred camera

Once the iPhone 4s came out with its great camera, and because of my own general laziness, I don’t bring my “real” camera out anymore unless I specifically need it. I feel the most important part of any photography workflow is to capture the moment first, and a technically correct photo second. Obviously, if you’re shooting an event professionally you’ll want both. For most of us, though, if we are skilled at photographic composition we can take a perfectly fine photo with the iPhone most of the time. And Apple is set to improve the sharing capabilities drastically — in iOS 6, which will be available to the public this fall, I can take a photo and have it posted to Facebook almost immediately thanks to the deep integration with the social network.

The iPhone as a camera also really impresses me. Below are two iPhone photos I snapped that I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. I was surprised for two reasons: For the shot of the kid, I was able to snap a credible photo, edit it, and post to Facebook all from my iPhone in about two minutes. For the shot of The Wall, I was amazed at how well a photo taken at night, from about 300 feet, came out on a cell phone camera.

Neal Vitullo and the Vipers, Warwick City Hall

Roger Waters, Fenway Pahk.

Post-processing

There are two post-processing tools I use: Lightroom 4.0 and Aperture 3.3. Each is a great program, and you’d be well-served with either. I like Lightroom’s workflow a little better, and the fact that unlike Aperture, my photos aren’t contained in a single database. Aperture, however, allows me to also sync my photos directly to iOS, and take advantage of Photo Stream. Because I float between the two editors, I also keep a clean copy of my master images in a separate folder.

Plug Ins:

There are two Topaz Labs plug-ins I love: Denoise, and B&W Effects. Denoise is indispensable for reducing noise from high-ISO pictures. My DSLR images of rock bands tend to be in the 32000-64000 ISO range, which generates a ton of noise. Denoise allows me to drastically reduce, if not eliminate, the noise.

I’m color blind, so I tend to convert my images to black and white since I might not be able to tell if the photo is a little extra blue. I also grew up shooting black and white (even developing photos by hand in our bathroom with my dad), so for me, B&W holds a lot of nostalgia. B&W Effects by Topaz has a wide range of presets that allows me to get close to the image I want. It also has eight Collections that encompass a broad smattering of styles.

iOS and Sharing

I sync almost all of my photos to my iPad. Usually, it’s to show them off if someone wants to see my work. Or, I’m showing the pictures of a family event with the participants. One feature for sharing I absolutely adore is Photo Journals in iPhoto for iOS. I can group the photos I want into a Journal, then share them via iCloud and just mail off a link to the Journal. I was hoping that this feature would make it to OS X iPhoto when Mountain Lion shipped, but, alas, it didn’t. In fact, for most post-processing, I find that iOS iPhoto does a remarkable job with light adjustments and cropping.

Another valuable I keep in my camera bag is the Camera Connection kit. Often after a shoot with my DSLR, I’ll import the photos from my SD card into my iPad and quickly determine the keepers on the larger screen.

Final Frame

It’s amazing at how quickly technology has altered the photography field. It seems like just yesterday I was hanging strips of negatives up to dry. If you had told me even a year ago that more than 60 percent of the photos I take would never touch my Mac, I’d have laughed. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

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Why nTelos gets the iPhone but T-Mobile must wait

Kevin Fitchard — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:43:17 +0000

Updated. Apple has a new U.S. carrier partner for the iPhone, and once again, it’s not T-Mobile. Nor is it MetroPCS, Cricket or any of the large regional operators in the country. Instead it’s nTelos, a carrier with only 400,000 customers in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of the surrounding states.

Apple isn’t snubbing T-Mobile or other regional operators here. It’s merely following the path of least resistance. NTelos’s CDMA 1X and EV-DO use the exact same frequency configurations as Verizon Wireless’s and Sprint’s networks, as does the network run by C Spire, the first small operator to land the iPhone.

Several other media outlets have reported that there are no technical reasons Apple can’t offer T-Mobile an iPhone 4S. That’s true, but there is one big practical reason: Apple would have to add support for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ wireless frequencies if the device was to have more than just bare-bones 2G data connectivity. As we have pointed out before, adding new bands to the iPhone is much harder than it sounds, and building a specific variant of the iPhone for a single carrier is something Apple has been so far unwilling to do.

Things will change as Apple adds LTE to its smartphones. There is so much fragmentation in the LTE airwaves that Apple may be forced to design multiple versions of the iPhone to target different markets and even specific carriers. The two versions of the new 4G iPad were essentially custom-designed for AT&T’s and Verizon’s LTE networks. Furthermore, once T-Mobile completes its own LTE network in 2013, its 4G bands will match up with those of Verizon, AT&T and the Canadian operators. That means any iPhone working on AT&T’s network will work on T-Mobile’s.

C Spire and nTelos may not be so lucky when it comes to that same 4G iPhone. The same forces that work in T-Mobile’s favor will conspire against the smaller carriers. Today they benefit from the fact that to Apple devices their networks look just like Verizon’s. When LTE arrives, that advantage goes away.

NTelos will begin selling the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S on April 20, offering the former for as cheaply as $50 and the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions of the 4S for $150, $250 and $350, respectively — all with two-year contracts. NTelos will offer two iPhone plans that cost $80 and $100, which vary voice usage, but both include substantial data buckets, 5 GB, but if customers exceed that cap their speeds will be throttled.

Update: Another tiny regional carrier also announced Wednesday it will begin offering the iPhone. Alaska Communications’ roughly 100,000 customers can buy an iPhone 4S through the carrier starting April 20.

Update 2: It looks like Apple is planning to roll out the iPhone with a wave of new operators later this month. MacRumors has dug three more: GCI in Alaska, Appalachian Wireless in Kentucky and CellCom in Wisconsin.

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First-look video: Wahoo Blue HR heart-rate monitor

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:50:10 +0000

This year is shaping up to be a good one for health-related gadgets, thanks to the new Bluetooth 4.0 specification and profiles. The $79 Wahoo Blue HR is among the first of these devices to take advantage of this low-powered wireless capability, and I took it for a 5-mile test run. There’s no need to charge the heart-rate monitor because it runs on a fairly standard watch battery that should last for at least a year.

It’s great to see my heart-rate data after a run, but even more important to see it during a training session. The Wahoo Blue HR works with a number of apps, including a free native app. For now, you can only use this monitor with the iPhone 4S because most handsets aren’t yet using Bluetooth 4.0. That should change during 2012, however. And I foresee uses other than exercise tracking for these types of gadgets. Imagine doctors that can remotely monitor the pulse of their patients after a procedure or upon starting a new medication.

For now I’ll just be using the Wahoo Blue HR during my road race and track-and-field training. At least until I get older and out of shape, that is; at that point, I’ll hope my doctor actually can monitor my health from afar!

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Opportunities and challenges for mobile deals

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:55:17 +0000

The trend “mobile deals” combines location-aware discounts with mobile marketing campaigns and often incorporates purchases made on the phone at brick-and-mortar retailers. This report sizes up the mobile deals space with an aim to present a comprehensive view of the influential companies and technologies. Heavyweights like Google, PayPal and American Express are moving aggressively forward with new offerings, and it will be worth watching their different strategies (e.g., deploying QR codes vs. NFC technology) to see which dominates and sets the overall bar for the market.

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