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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Prepaid iPhone: $400. No contract. $55 a month for unlimited use. - Christian Science Monitor

Prepaid iPhone will be offered by Leap Wireless starting June 22 in some cities. Open Mobile has already started selling a prepaid iPhone in Puerto Rico.

Leap Wireless International Inc., the parent of the Cricket cellphone service, on Thursday said it will be the first mainland U.S. phone company to sell recent iPhone models on a prepaid, no-contract basis.

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Starting June 22, Leap will sell the iPhone 4S starting at $500 and the iPhone 4 starting at $400. Service will cost $55 per month for unlimited calls, texting and data.

Leap Wireless International Inc., which is based in San Diego, focuses on selling no-contract service to low-income households. Its own network is limited to certain cities. In other places, it uses Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network.

The iPhone is compatible with only part of Leap's network, and the company is limiting sales to those areas, which include Houston and Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh; Denver; and Salt Lake City.

Leap said the arrangement will be available in areas covering about 70 percent of its 6.2 million subscribers. Leap is the sixth-largest cellphone company in the U.S., as measured by number of subscribers.

Open Mobile, which serves Puerto Rico, became the first U.S. company to start selling the iPhone 4 and 4s on a no-contract, prepaid basis on May 18.

When the original iPhone launched in 2007, buyers could chose to set it up directly on an AT&T prepaid plan, But that option disappeared with later models. It has been possible to use imported or hacked "unlocked" phones on prepaid plans as well.

Leap's "unlimited" data service for the phone slows down once a customer user has racked up 2.3 gigabytes of usage since the start of a monthly billing cycle. That's a slightly lower limit than either Verizon or AT&T imposes under their "unlimited" plans.

Apple sells the iPhone at an average wholesale price of $647. The bigger phone companies then subsidize it by hundreds of dollars to sell it for $99 or $199. They count on making their money back in service fees over the life of a two-year contract. Since Leap sells the phone without a contract, it's subsidizing the phone less.

Larger carriers also sell the iPhone without a contract plan. But those phones cost more than iPhones bought through plans, and service costs the same as for phones used on a contract plan. Leap's plan is cheaper than what most iPhone customers pay.

Since the iPhone is so expensive, it's not a given that it's a good deal for a phone company to sell it. In a presentation to investors, Leap said it has committed $900 million over three years to buying iPhones. That's just 10 percent of its projected spending on phones, it said, and it doesn't expect iPhone sales to affect its operating income this year.

"We wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think it was a money maker," said Leap CEO Doug Hutcheson, in an interview. But because of the high price of the phone, he doesn't expect that more than 10 percent of the company's customers will buy it.

"This is an important addition to our portfolio, but it isn't going to become our business," Hutcheson said.

Leap sells smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software for $100, and sometimes even less.

Investors initially cheered the news, sending Leap shares up in premarket trading, but the stock closed unchanged at $5.77.

The iPhone is hugely popular, but its price has kept it out of reach of many people who want it, across the world. When asked whether they could produce a cheaper model to satisfy demand, Apple executives have said that their first priority is making a good phone.

Missing from Leap's iPhone lineup is the 3GS, an older model that's still sold by AT&T. It's cheaper than the newer models, but doesn't work with Leap's or Sprint's networks.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and Sprint, the three biggest cellphone companies in the U.S., already sell theiPhone, as do a half-dozen smaller, regional phone companies. The biggest companies that don't carry it are T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS Communications Inc. U.S. Cellular Corp., another regional carrier, said it turned down the chance to sell the phone because of its cost.

iPhone Oddities: 10 Quirky Ways that Apple Builds, Sells Its Iconic Handset - eWeek

iPhone Oddities: 10 Quirky Ways that Apple Builds, Sells Its Iconic Handset
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Apple’s iPhone is officially the world’s most popular smartphone. Tens of millions of units of the device are sold to customers around the world each quarter and there is currently no product on store shelves today that can come even close to matching that figure. The iPhone is the benchmark by which all other smartphones are judged, and it’s widely viewed among reviewers and consumers alike as a device that deserves that crown.

But that doesn’t mean that the iPhone is perfect. As noted before, the iPhone has some flaws, including a less-than-desirable camera and lack of 4G, that doesn’t make it ideal for everyone. In addition, the device is surrounded by some rather surprising market and feature quirks that raise questions about how Apple made some of its decisions. From its choice to ignore T-Mobile to its old debate over not offering Flash support, Apple has made some odd decisions over the last several years.

Read on to find out what sort of oddities are surrounding Apple’s iPhone, and why, at least in some cases, they’ll never end:

1. No friend to T-Mobile

Apple has always offered the iPhone on AT&T’s network and last year brought the device to Verizon and Sprint. This year, it has made a serious push into the regional carriers. Along the way, however, Apple has turned its back on T-Mobile. It’s an odd decision, considering T-Mobile is a major carrier and has more customers than any of the smaller regional carriers. Why is Apple ignoring T-Mobile? And more importantly, when will it stop?

2. Apple’s no-4G stance

Although Apple has brought 4G LTE to the iPad, the company has yet to give the same treatment to its iPhone. It’s an odd decision, considering so many competitors have already introduced 4G smartphones. Hopefully Apple will support the ultra-high-speed network when the iPhone 5 launches later this year.

3. High subsidies: take it or leave it

In the vast majority of cases in the mobile space, smartphone makers aren’t so willing to charge carriers an exorbitant amount of cash to carry their products. In fact, they usually come to some sort of agreement to make it easier for carriers to want to sell their devices. But with Apple, everything is different. For years now, the company has been selling the iPhone for $600 or more to carriers, and Apple has given no indication it’ll budge from those prices.

4. Touch...to a point

Apple might have been the first company to truly popularize touch screens in the mobile space.  But to call its iPhone a fully touch-enabled device would be incorrect. Since it was released, the iPhone has come with a home button and in order to quickly change volume settings, set the phone to vibrate, or turn off the screen, physical buttons are required. When will Apple finally go all-touch?


Apple has 'locked down' RF suppliers for next iPhone, may move to advanced ... - Apple Insider

Apple has 'locked down' RF suppliers for next iPhone, may move to advanced filter tech

By Mikey Campbell

Published: 06:03 PM EST (03:03 PM PST) An industry analysis of the U.S. semi-conductor market released on Thursday claims that Apple has already decided which companies will supply the important radio chips in the next-generation iPhone, and one of the choices suggest that the handset will use advanced RF filtering technology.

Analysts at Barclays see the general internal architecture of the next iPhone as remaining largely similar to the firm's most recent report, but adjusted what they believe to be the likely suppliers for some components.

Massachusetts-based analog semiconductor maker Skyworks is seen as the biggest incremental winner and will provide the Band 13 and 17 LTE power amplifiers ($0.75 x 2), the 2G/EDGE power amplifier module ($1.00) and the WLAN PA/low noise amplifier ($0.50) in the upcoming iPhone. Together, the three chips account for $3.00 in circuitry compared to the company's $1.20 in components seen in the current iPhone 4S.

Perhaps the most surprising discovery is the possibility that Apple will replace current surface acoustic wave (SAW) RF filters with film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs). SAW devices have been used in past iterations of the iPhone, including the iPhone 4S, and Apple was expected to continue using the parts in the next-gen handset. Recent breakthroughs in FBAR manufacturing have brought down the size and raised unit efficiency to a level that makes it a prime candidate for a smartphone maker looking to squeeze the most circuitry into an increasingly tight area.

Avago Technologies, a spinoff company that began life as HP's components division in the early 1960's, is pegged as an iPhone RF filter supplier and has recently made significant additions to its FBAR capacity, allocating tens of millions of dollars on the component. This is a strong signal that the company is planning on a substantial ramp up in part production in the near future, possibly for Apple's next handset. Avago believes that it can scale down FBARs without degrading performance, which would change the size, price and performance metrics that previously limited the devices to certain bandwidths.

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With the new FBAR chips, which would be filtering on two 3G Bands, Avago could bump its piece of the iPhone component pie to $3.00 compared to the $2.25 seen in the 4S.

Usual players TriQuint and RF Micro Devices are also seen as supplying integral components, including WLAN PA/LNA units and antenna tuning ICs.

What Tim Cook's comments reveal about Apple's future - CNN

CEO Tim Cook is typically tight-lipped about Apple's future plans, so observers parse his words for clues.
CEO Tim Cook is typically tight-lipped about Apple's future plans, so observers parse his words for clues.
  • During a rare interview Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook teased a few interesting tidbits about where Apple may be headed
  • Clearly, Apple wants to evolve voice-assistant Siri, and lift its current "beta" status
  • Apple's mobile operating system could yield greater Facebook integration like it does with Twitter
  • Cook basically announced that an iTV is all but inevitable

(Wired) -- When Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the All Things Digital Conference Tuesday night, he wasn't just answering questions from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher â€" he was also dropping hints about the future of Apple's product roadmap.

Sure, a lot of his answers just regurgitated the same pat, familiar themes we've heard from Cook and other Apple executives: The iPad is taking the world by storm. The iPhone's doing great. The iPod has been the gateway drug for a new generation of Apple and Mac users.

But even Tim Cook can't completely stick to the script. During his interview, he teased a few interesting tidbits â€" which we present here along with analysis on what his words actually mean.

Siri should improve in the near future

Last week a former Apple employee reportedly said that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs would have "lost his mind" over Siri, and that employees are embarrassed by the virtual assistant. But luckily for Apple, any embarrassment should soon abate.

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"There's more that [Siri] can do, and we have a lot of people working on this," Cook said. "And I think you will be really pleased with some of the things you'll see over the coming months on this. We have some cool ideas about what Siri can do. We have a lot going on on this."

Clearly, Apple wants to evolve Siri, and lift its current "beta" status. A recent study may have found that 66 percent of iPhone 4S users are either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with Siri, but Apple has still been hit with a class-action suit from users who feel Siri was deceptively advertised.

In a final, non-beta version of Siri, Apple's virtual assistant would be better equipped to parse the nuances of human dialog. We should be able to talk to Siri as if she were an actual assistant. If a query needs clarification, she should be able to ask you much more specific questions to determine exactly what you need.

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Siri's capabilities should also expand via new database partnerships. Yelp and Wolfram|Alpha are great wealths of information, but Siri needs even more sources of human intelligence. In the original Siri iOS app, you could make OpenTable restaurant reservations using Siri. I would expect this and similar functionality to return.

You should also be able to use Siri to post tweets, and eventually Facebook status updates as well (other virtual assistant apps already do this). I would imagine that Apple will eventually open up Siri to third-party developers, so they could incorporate her voice recognition, dictation, and search features within their own apps, making Siri useful and ubiquitous system-wide.

IBM worries iPhone's Siri has loose lips

Apple's leaving wearables to third parties

Don't expect Apple to debut a headset or wrist-worn iDevice any time soon. Apple hasn't bought into the wearable fad, illustrated most notably by the Nike Fuel Band and Pebble Smartwatch. On the topic of wearables, Cook said:

"I have on a Nike Fuel Band. I think there are some cool things that can be done. I think it is an interesting area. The question is, Can it change somebody's behavior? The book hasn't been written on that yet."

Of course, Apple does promote the iPod nano as a watch replacement, so it's not like the company is completely ignoring the trend. But, for now, it looks like Apple won't be releasing any trendy wearable gadgets to jump on the bandwagon â€" and, in fact, there's no need to.

Developing new hardware, especially in the relatively immature wearable space, takes a lot of time, money, and intellectual resources. So Apple has much more to gain by letting other manufacturers make wearable accessories â€" which inevitably hook into Apple's existing ecosystem via iOS apps. Apple reaps the benefit of increased iDevice purchases and upgrades, and even takes a 30 percent cut of any paid app that a wearable computing manufacturer might sell.

Expect Facebook-Apple collaboration

Historically, Apple and Facebook haven't always seen eye-to-eye â€" a collaboration between Facebook and Apple reportedly failed prior to the release of Apple's Ping social network, and Facebook has since cozied up with Microsoft on its Windows Phone platform. Nonetheless, it doesn't look like past conflicts are preventing Apple and Facebook from working together in the future.

"I think the relationship is very solid," Cook said of Apple's relationship with Facebook. "We have great respect for them. I think we can do more with them. Just stay tuned on this one."

Just stay tuned? Cook might as well just have told us, "Yes, Facebook and Apple are teaming up right now." iOS already features deep Twitter integration, and significant Facebook integration is a glaring omission.

It's not a stretch to think iOS 6 could yield greater Facebook integration like what the OS already provides for Twitter (indeed, code in an iOS 5 beta hinted at just such a thing). Perhaps we'll find out more during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in a few weeks' time. Or perhaps we'll have to wait until the next iPhone is announced, likely in October. Whatever the case, we have to assume that Cook wants to see Facebook tools integrated throughout the mobile OS.

Apple is deeply interested in the TV space

Apple is widely rumored to be working on its own TV set, which many consumers are eager to get their hands on. Cook is still playing coy about the subject, but more than ever before it sounds like Apple is actively exploring the TV space.

"This is an area of intense interest for us," Cook said about the Apple TV set-top box, the company's current living-room content solution. "We are going to keep pulling the string and see where this takes us."

Could it take Apple to a full-fledged television set? Cook wouldn't directly say. Instead, he commented on Apple's strategy upon entering a new product area: "We would look not just at this area, but other areas, and ask, Can we control the key technology? Can we make a significant contribution far beyond what others have done in this area? Can we make a product that we all want? ... Those are all the things we would ask about any new product category."

Cook didn't answer his own questions, but we can.

Can Apple control the key technology? Yes. Apple already dominates manufacturing in a number of overseas factories. It's a master of supply-chain control. There should be little doubt that Apple can control the key technology, both on the manufacturing side, and the patents-software side.

Can Apple make a significant contribution to the TV space? Yes. Through a dedicated, TV-optimized version of Siri and a smart TV UI based on trademark Apple simplicity and aesthetics, Apple could advance the state of TV usability.

Can Apple make a TV we all want? Yes. As we reported above, consumers are excited by the prospect of an Apple-branded HD television. Come on, Tim! The questions you posed are softballs. You've basically announced that an iTV is all but inevitable.

No more lost iPhones?

"We're going to double down on secrecy on products," Cook said. "But, on other things â€" supplier responsibility, environmental issues, etc., Apple will be the most transparent company."

In a one-year period, Apple reportedly lost two iPhones: an iPhone 4 prototype in the spring of 2010 that made its way onto Gizmodo, and an iPhone 4S prototype that never made it into the public eye. And just this week, 9to5 Mac scored some images of what could be the next iPhone.

For a company that likes to keep upcoming product information under lock and key, such mishaps are monumental. Perhaps Apple will implement a new or different product testing program â€" one that doesn't involve its beta testers drinking at bars?

Joking aside, keeping multiple thousands of Foxconn workers from pulling out their own cameras and sending a few shots to the press for a quick buck would be a huge endeavor. Apple's next lines of defense might involve much more sophisticated device tagging, and elaborate sting operations, using deliberate bits of misinformation to smoke out moles who are giving up secrets.

Ping's days are numbered

"We tried Ping and I think the customer voted and said this isn't something that I want to put a lot of energy into," Cook said. "Will we kill it? I don't know, I'll look at it."

The first day Ping came out, we were excited to check it out and join the music-centric social network. Unfortunately, it just didn't stick, and Apple's aware of that. Rather than make a big announcement about its demise, we'd hazard that Apple will likely quietly put it to pasture some time in the next year or two.

For video highlights of Tim Cook's talk Tuesday evening, click here.

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Copyright 2011 Wired.com.

Next iPhone may be out before October; video of new part emerges - Los Angeles Times

Longer iPhone screen?

A video of an alleged iPhone part shows Apple's next smartphone screen could be longer. (Macotakara / May 31, 2012)

A new report on the Web suggests Apple is far in the process of its next iPhone and could launch the device before October, as has previously been the date expected by most Apple observers.

Apple's development of its next iteration of iOS is far in the process and meeting an October deadline will be easy, should the company not experience any trouble getting parts and assembling the products.

"So 'easy', in fact, that an earlier release is possible," says the report published Thursday by 9 to 5 Mac.

Along with updates on the phone and operating system's progress, the report says iOS 6 will also feature a brand new app by Apple. However, the report does not go into details as to what exactly that new app will be.

More good news for people thinking about buying the next iPhone is that the amount of RAM it will carry is expected to be double what the iPhone 4S has. The 9 to 5 Mac report says the next iPhone will have 1 GB of RAM, the same as the current iPad.

At the same time as all this news, a video showing the alleged cover for the sixth generation iPhone has also emerged on the Web.

The Japanese blog Macotakara filmed the part, which seems to match many of the recent reports that the next iPhone will have a larger screen. The video shows the alleged part next to an older iPhone.

Clearly the phone is much longer, and based off of Macotakara's images, boasts a 4.07-inch screen but it seems to be about the same width.

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Apple's Samsung Copy Case Hinges on Cheech and Chong Test - San Francisco Chronicle

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.'s claim that Samsung Electronics Co. copied the design of the iPhone may hinge on what a U.S. trade judge today described as the "Cheech and Chong test."

"Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?" U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender said at the beginning of Apple's patent-infringement trial against Samsung, referring to a routine in which the comedy duo identified dog feces.

Apple contends Samsung's phones and Galaxy Tab tablet computer copy designs on the look and front face of the iPhone, and they also infringe patents related to the user interface and headset plugs. The Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker is asking the ITC to block imports of Samsung products that violate Apple's patent rights.

"Not content to copy the overall design and interface, Samsung has copied the smallest detail of the iPhone," Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny of Morrison & Foerster told the judge in opening arguments today in Washington. "Samsung copied our original and iconic design."

Samsung is Apple's biggest adversary in the iPhone maker's challenge to the growth of devices that run on Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Together, Samsung and Apple made more than 49 percent of all smartphones sold worldwide in the first quarter, with Samsung edging out Apple in that period for the title of world's biggest manufacturer of the devices, research analyst Gartner Inc. said May 16.

Jobs' Warning

When the late Apple founder Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, he warned rivals that it was protected by more than 200 patents, McElhinny said. Apple's inventions have been displayed in museum shows and even been the subject of a book, he said.

"Samsung cannot overcome the originality of Apple's design," McElhinny said.

Samsung, which has its own patent-infringement claims against Apple that are scheduled to come to another trial at the trade agency next week, contends it came up with its own ideas and designs through decades and more than $3.5 billion spent on research.

"Samsung has been in this industry, building and innovating to the point where Apple could enter the market," Samsung lawyer Charles Verhoeven of Quinn Emanuel told the judge. "We are anything but an also-ran trying to copy Apple's technology."

The rectangular shape with a wide touchscreen was just one of many designs developed by Samsung and other smartphone makers before the iPhone, he said.

"Samsung is also known for its designs," Verhoeven said. "We've been recognized worldwide and compared favorably" to Apple.

Seeking Break

Pender is scheduled to hear testimony through June 6 and release his findings Oct. 5. ITC Judge James Gildea, who is scheduled to hear Samsung's case beginning June 4 through June 15, is expected to release his determination on Sept. 14. Apple's infringement claims against Samsung over other patents is set for a July trial in federal court in San Jose, California.

Meetings over the past two years, most recently ones involving Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Choi Gee Sung, have failed to resolve a standoff that spans 10 countries on four continents. Each side is looking in court for some break, such as an order blocking the rival's products from the U.S., that would give them an advantage in settlement talks.

"This about brinkmanship and bargaining position," said Rodney Sweetland, a patent lawyer with Duane Morris in Washington who specializes in ITC cases. "They both have too much to lose and too much to gain to not make a settlement."

First Trial

Apple's claim against Suwon, South Korea-based involves six patents including ones covering inventions related to touch- screen devices, headset detection and the look and shape of the iPhone. Apple is seeking to block imports of Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet computer and phones including the Nexus, Captivate, Indulge, Infuse and Sidekick.

Leap Wireless To Sell Prepaid iPhone Next Month - Wall Street Journal

Video shows taller front panel allegedly for Apple's next iPhone - Apple Insider

By Katie Marsal

Published: 03:27 PM EST (12:27 PM PST) A new video purports to show the front panel of Apple's next-generation iPhone, with space for a screen length appreciably greater than previous-generation models.

The video, posted on Thursday by Japanese site Macotakara, shows a component claimed to be the glass front panel from Apple's sixth-generation iPhone. When placed atop a current iPhone, the panel shows a component noticeably longer � long enough so that the hole for the forward-facing FaceTime camera sticks above the current iPhone.

The larger surface area for the screen on the glass panel suggests the new display would be long enough to pass the earpiece on current iPhone models.

The video even suggests that the next iPhone's screen could be even wider than current models, as the front glass panel features a slightly greater distance in that direction as well. However, the larger width of the new screen shown is not as pronounced as the greater length.

Like other claimed iPhone component leaks that have surfaced this week, the front panel pictured in the new video shows a relocated FaceTime camera placed above the earpiece, rather than to the left of it. That's consistent with a schematic picture that appeared online on Wednesday.

Rumors of an elongated form factor for the new iPhone were also bolstered with another alleged component that appeared on the Web on Tuesday, purporting to show the back panel of a prototype of Apple's next iPhone. That component featured a mostly aluminum back with what appears to be glass at the top and bottom of the device.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal joined a number of mainstream media organizations in reporting that Apple has been ordering 4-inch screens for Apple's next iPhone. The new, larger displays are believed to be manufactured by LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display Inc., and would be a departure from the 3.5-inch diagonal screen that has been found on every iPhone model to date.

While the iPhone's screen has remained the same size, many of Apple's Android-based competitors have adopted larger screen sizes. For example, Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S III smartphone, launched this week in Europe, features a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display more than an inch larger than Apple's iPhone.

Oh My Tech!: Tricks you might not know your iPhone can do - Salt Lake Tribune

Is there an iOS task bar so that you can shut off apps that are running in the background (and potentially draining your battery faster than needs to be)? â€" David Krummenacher, Salt Lake City.

Photos

There is a task bar on iPhones and iPads that tells you which apps may be running in the background, but not very many people know it exists.

That’s because the "multitask bar" is normally hidden. Just double-tap the Home button, and the bar pops up on the bottom of the screen.

It shows the row of icons of the most recently used apps. If you want to instantly go back to one of the previous apps you had on before, just press the appropriate icon. (By the way, you can switch between apps without calling up the mutitask bar by just swiping the screen left or right with four fingers.)

Calling up the multitask bar is also a way to shut off apps that may be running in the background. Most don’t actually run on the iPhone and iPad when you quit them. Instead, when you turn them off, they go into a "freeze" state where they aren’t running any code or processes. However, there are some that do run, taking up memory and processing power, and, therefore battery power.

One example is Skype, the video conferencing software. If you close the app, it’s still running in the background so it can notify you when you receive calls. Pandora, the great music radio app, also can play songs in the background so you can close it to go to other apps.

To close up all apps in the background, call up the multitask bar and then press and hold any of the icons. They will start to wiggle and show an X in the corner of each icon. Just press the X to close that app completely. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to shut all of them down with one press, unless you hack â€" or "jailbreak" â€" your iPhone and download a special app that can do that. Perhaps in a later version of the operating system.

I would like my iPhone to work like my flash drive â€" plug it in and see a folder structure. I can’t exchange folders without the desktop/sync Apple application or emailing myself the file. It would be nice to be able to use my PC to drag/drop files into my iPhone/iPod touch. â€" Ken, Riverton.

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The older "classic" versions of the iPod used to have a feature where you could devote some of the hard drive space in the MP3 player to a disk drive.

Unfortunately, iPhones and iPod Touches don’t have that feature anymore. That’s a shame because your iPhone has lots of storage space, especially if it’s a 32-gigabyte model, and you should be able to use it to store extra files like a flash drive.

Well, you still can, even though Apple doesn’t include that feature in its devices anymore.

Download software for your computer, such as iExplorer (which is free), and use it to connect your iPhone or iPod Touch to the computer as a flash drive.

Or you can purchase any of a number of apps, such as Phone Drive (99 cents) or Flash Drive Free, that allow you to transfer files back and forth between your computer and your iOS device wirelessly or by connecting them via a USB cable.

If you have a tech question for Vince, email him at ohmytech@sltrib.com, and he’ll try to answer it for his column in The Salt Lake Tribune or on its website. For an archive of past columns, go to www.sltrib.com/topics/ohmytech.

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Do these blueprints show the iPhone 5? - ZDNet (blog)

Summary: The blueprints, if genuine, show an iPhone design featuring a 4-inch screen with an aspect ratio close to that of 16:9 when held horizontally.

Schematic blueprints have emerged which allegedly detail Apple’s iPhone 5, or ‘the new iPhone’ as many are expecting it to be called.

A photo of the blueprints was sent by an unnamed source to Cydia Blog.

The blueprints, if genuine, show an iPhone design featuring a 4-inch screen with an aspect ratio close to that of 16:9 when held horizontally. However, despite the larger screen, this iPhone is the same width as the current iPhone 4/4S and only 7 mm taller.

It also shows that the front-facing camera has been moved to the center of the device to just above the ear speaker.

These blueprints seem to correspond closely to photos leaked a few days ago which purportedly showed the next-generation iPhone sporting a new metal case, an earphone socket that has been moved from the top of the handset to the underside, and a smaller dock connector.

It’s interesting that this is the latest in a series of leaks that all seem to dovetail together. However, I have to say that I’m more than a little suspicious.

First, I can’t remember schematics for an actually Apple product ever being leaked. We did see fake schematics leaked for the iPhone 4S in the run up to the launch, but there’s never been a leak that corresponded to a real product. Does Apple even use blueprints anymore? Seems somewhat old-school to me.

Secondly, these images come to us via an outlet that doesn’t have an established track record for having good sources. In fact, this along with most of the other leaks we’ve seen recently have come via sites that I’ve not heard of before.

Then there’s the fact that it’s not hard to fake blueprints. Over the years I’ve seen some pretty elaborate things that were ‘leaked’ which turned out to be fake. If we’d been shown high-resolution shots of several pages of blueprints â€" or better still, circuit diagrams â€" I’d be more comfortable calling this leak genuine. As it stands, that page could have been drawn up by someone in a few hours.

And even if these are real blueprints, bear in mind that Apple designs and tests dozens of prototypes for each product. This could be a rejected design for the iPhone 5, or even a rejected design for the iPhone 4 or 4S.

In my experience, some 98 percent of Apple rumors end up being incorrect or fake. It’s always worth bearing that in mind.

Is this the iPhone 5? I’m not convinced.

Image source: Cydia Blog.

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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Continue reading Cricket now offers the iPhone with $55 'unlimited' everything ... - Engadget

Cricket Wireless to Offer iPhone on June 22

~ Unlimited Talk, Text and Data for Just $55 a Month

SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), announced today that it will be the first pre-paid carrier in the US to offer iPhone to its customers. Beginning on Friday, June 22, Cricket will offer iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan.

iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible features including Apple's dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all-new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5.1, the world's most advanced mobile operating system; and iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

"Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan," said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer, Leap Wireless International, Inc. "Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan."

iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 will be available in Cricket company-owned stores and select dealers in nearly 60 markets, online at www.mycricket.com/iphone and over the phone at 800-853-7682. Starting today, customers can receive more information on the launch by registering at www.mycricket.com/iphone. iPhone 4S will be available for $499.99 for the 16GB model and iPhone 4 will be available for $399.99.

Cricket's service plans feature all-inclusive pricing and easy-to-understand pricing packages with no service fees or overage charges. For customers, that means a bill that doesn't fluctuate based upon monthly usage. Cricket's all-inclusive pre-paid smartphone service plan includes:

Monthly Fee
$55
Voice (minutes)
Unlimited
SMS
Unlimited
Data
Unlimited*
iPhone 4S 16GB
$499.99
iPhone 4 8GB
$399.99

* Fair usage policy of 2.3GB per month.
For more information about Cricket's dynamic service and to check for availability, visit www.mycricket.com. To follow Cricket's latest news and updates online, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation.
For more information on iPhone 4S, please visit: www.apple.com/iphone

About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative, value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts serving 6.2 million customers. Cricket offers wireless voice and mobile data services over the latest, high-quality, all-digital 4G (LTE) and 3G CDMA wireless networks. In 2011, Cricket launched its award-winning Muve Music® product, the first music service designed for a wireless phone that now has more than 600,000 customers. Cricket's innovative products and services are available at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.com. For more information about Cricket, please visit www.mycricket.com.

Romney's iPhone app gets no applause for spelling - Columbus Dispatch

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Romney's presidential campaign misspelled the word "America" on a new iPhone app, the phrase "A Better America" is misspelled "A Better Amercia."

From wire reports Thursday May 31, 2012 8:27 AM

WASHINGTON â€" Republican Mitt Romney says he is running for president in search of a better America.

This week, Romney’s campaign could have used a better speller.

The campaign released an iPhone app late Tuesday that features slogans supporting his campaign against Democratic President Barack Obama.

“We’re With Mitt,” read one. “American Greatness,” declared another.

“A Better Amercia,” proclaimed a third slogan, a misspelling that almost instantly became the subject of jokes on social media.

The typographical error was made on behalf of a candidate who has been known to sing America the Beautiful on the campaign trail.

“Mistakes happen,” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told MSNBC about the spelling slip.

A corrected version of the app was released by Apple yesterday.

Apple iPhone enters prepaid world with Cricket - CNET

Want a prepaid version of the iPhone? It'll cost you.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple's iPhone will make the leap to the prepaid world through Leap Wireless's Cricket wireless service.

The regional prepaid carrier plans to sell the iPhone on June 22, although its no-contract plans means a higher upfront cost. The 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S will cost $499.99, while the 8GB iPhone 4 will cost $399.99.

The iPhone moving to Cricket marks the continued expansion of the availability of Apple's blockbuster device, highlighting the company's push to get the device in as many hands as possible. The iPhone is an unusual device to hit the prepaid world, since it is such an expensive product relative to other prepaid phones.

The iPhone will be sold with a $55 no-contract plan that includes unlimited calling and text messages. The plan also includes 2.3GB of data, after which the carrier will throttle, or slow the connection down.

Despite a hefty price tag, the iPhone's popularity should help Cricket recapture a bit of momentum lost in the recent quarters. The company, as with other prepaid services, has seen growth slow as the larger carriers enter the prepaid business.

"Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan," Leap CEO Doug Hutchison said in a statement.

Prepaid customers are required to buy an iPhone through Cricket; they are unable to bring in an iPhone from another carrier.

Customer can go here to find out more information.

Inventors turn to accessorizing the iPhone - Philadelphia Inquirer

With familiar names like Apple, Google, and Facebook usually drawing the spotlight, it’s easy to forget one of the tech world’s old pleasures: the story of how somebody with a modest idea can take an innovation and run with it.

Maybe it won’t change the world or make billions. But the Internet gives even a small idea a shot to find a market in ways that inventors of the past couldn’t imagine.

Here’s a look at two small inventions that seek to piggyback on the popularity of Apple’s iPhone in the busy "iPhone accessories" market, an alluring place for inventors. ?

An iPhone case plus "oops" protection. Mike Kane didn’t own an Apple phone until the iPhone 4 came out in June 2010. Now he’s on his third, though he insists his own experiences dropping them â€" "all basically phone-to-concrete" â€" have little to do with his new product, the $45 CellHelmet.

Maybe so. But when Kane, 29, decided to branch out from selling other companies’ smartphone accessories on his website, CellPig.com, and create one of his own, he focused on an idea he might have appreciated himself.

Kane, of Greensburg, Pa., and a friend launched CellPig last year, six years after he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and two years after they got a start on eBay. They knew smartphone cases were a popular product, and they knew why: Without a carrier’s discount, an iPhone is a $500-plus investment. They also noticed that the best cases seemed to share a shortcoming: they resembled a brick.

"All the super-protective iPhone cases are really, really bulky," he says. "We thought, ‘Why don’t we create a case that’s really slim but that protects your phone better than a bulky case?’ Then we thought, ‘Well, duh.’?"

Thus was born CellHelmet’s innovation: combining an iPhone case with a yearlong promise to repair a busted phone or replace it.

CellHelmet got off the ground with help from Kickstarter, which provides crowd-sourced funding for artists and entrepreneurs. The first units began shipping last week, and Kane says CellHelmets will soon be widely available at retailers as well as online.

Of course, replacement plans are also offered by wireless carriers, and many people choose wisely to self-insure against damage rather than pay. Nor is CellPig the first to offer third-party coverage. In fact, Kane uses data from one of his competitors to explain the value of CellHelmet.

Kane says that according to SquareTrade, more than 15 percent of iPhone 4 owners suffer phone damage during the first year, and four out of five of those involve cracked screens. Most of the rest suffer damage from water or other liquids.

CellHelmet protects against any damage except liquids, he says. Owners send the phone to a repair facility, and pay a $50 handling charge. CellPig promises that it will be repaired or replaced with a refurbished phone and returned, by overnight shipment, within three business days.

It’s not comprehensive, but it protects against the most common damage and costs little more than a basic case, Kane says. "You’re basically getting a new iPhone for $95, which I think is worth it," he says.

For the record, I’ve had three iPhones and never broken one, despite repeated drops. But I’ve also never left one in my lap as I got out of a pickup truck. ?

Help for the ham-handed. Unlike Kane, Jerry Rosengarten has owned iPhones since the start. But the New Yorker, an entrepreneur whose other ventures include developing office buildings and owning a restaurant, has also had an iPhone problem from the start: typing on a virtual keypad.

He first introduced his answer two years ago: the 4iThumbs, a $30 plastic overlay with raised bumps that guide your fingers to the right places, sold via his website, 4iConcepts. When not in use, it slides off the front of the phone and onto the back.

This year’s version, renamed the Invisible Keypad, works much the same as the original. A series of improvements have centered on making the overlay easier to slide off the front of the phone and stow on the back. Starting in July, it will stow beneath a sliding back cover.

Rosengarten says some people use the Invisible Keypad to adjust from a BlackBerry or other devices with physical keyboards, like training wheels on a bicycle. Others, like Rosengarten, leave it on most of the time. A key market "is for people who like to feel the keys â€" big texters who barely use the phone," he says.

Rosengarten is planning a version designed for the iPad and another that will adhere to the front and back of an iPhone, so that it will work with any case.

"Steve Jobs was right. You can type pretty well with a flat screen," Rosengarten says. "But you have to get used to it â€" and this product helps you adjust."

Contact Jeff Gelles at 215-854-2776 or jgelles@phillynews.com.

Tech Life: Inventors turn to accessorizing the iPhone - Philadelphia Inquirer

With familiar names like Apple, Google, and Facebook usually drawing the spotlight, it’s easy to forget one of the tech world’s old pleasures: the story of how somebody with a modest idea can take an innovation and run with it.

Maybe it won’t change the world or make billions. But the Internet gives even a small idea a shot to find a market in ways that inventors of the past couldn’t imagine.

Here’s a look at two small inventions that seek to piggyback on the popularity of Apple’s iPhone in the busy "iPhone accessories" market, an alluring place for inventors. ?

An iPhone case plus "oops" protection. Mike Kane didn’t own an Apple phone until the iPhone 4 came out in June 2010. Now he’s on his third, though he insists his own experiences dropping them â€" "all basically phone-to-concrete" â€" have little to do with his new product, the $45 CellHelmet.

Maybe so. But when Kane, 29, decided to branch out from selling other companies’ smartphone accessories on his website, CellPig.com, and create one of his own, he focused on an idea he might have appreciated himself.

Kane, of Greensburg, Pa., and a friend launched CellPig last year, six years after he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and two years after they got a start on eBay. They knew smartphone cases were a popular product, and they knew why: Without a carrier’s discount, an iPhone is a $500-plus investment. They also noticed that the best cases seemed to share a shortcoming: they resembled a brick.

"All the super-protective iPhone cases are really, really bulky," he says. "We thought, ‘Why don’t we create a case that’s really slim but that protects your phone better than a bulky case?’ Then we thought, ‘Well, duh.’?"

Thus was born CellHelmet’s innovation: combining an iPhone case with a yearlong promise to repair a busted phone or replace it.

CellHelmet got off the ground with help from Kickstarter, which provides crowd-sourced funding for artists and entrepreneurs. The first units began shipping last week, and Kane says CellHelmets will soon be widely available at retailers as well as online.

Of course, replacement plans are also offered by wireless carriers, and many people choose wisely to self-insure against damage rather than pay. Nor is CellPig the first to offer third-party coverage. In fact, Kane uses data from one of his competitors to explain the value of CellHelmet.

Kane says that according to SquareTrade, more than 15 percent of iPhone 4 owners suffer phone damage during the first year, and four out of five of those involve cracked screens. Most of the rest suffer damage from water or other liquids.

CellHelmet protects against any damage except liquids, he says. Owners send the phone to a repair facility, and pay a $50 handling charge. CellPig promises that it will be repaired or replaced with a refurbished phone and returned, by overnight shipment, within three business days.

It’s not comprehensive, but it protects against the most common damage and costs little more than a basic case, Kane says. "You’re basically getting a new iPhone for $95, which I think is worth it," he says.

For the record, I’ve had three iPhones and never broken one, despite repeated drops. But I’ve also never left one in my lap as I got out of a pickup truck. ?

Help for the ham-handed. Unlike Kane, Jerry Rosengarten has owned iPhones since the start. But the New Yorker, an entrepreneur whose other ventures include developing office buildings and owning a restaurant, has also had an iPhone problem from the start: typing on a virtual keypad.

He first introduced his answer two years ago: the 4iThumbs, a $30 plastic overlay with raised bumps that guide your fingers to the right places, sold via his website, 4iConcepts. When not in use, it slides off the front of the phone and onto the back.

This year’s version, renamed the Invisible Keypad, works much the same as the original. A series of improvements have centered on making the overlay easier to slide off the front of the phone and stow on the back. Starting in July, it will stow beneath a sliding back cover.

Rosengarten says some people use the Invisible Keypad to adjust from a BlackBerry or other devices with physical keyboards, like training wheels on a bicycle. Others, like Rosengarten, leave it on most of the time. A key market "is for people who like to feel the keys â€" big texters who barely use the phone," he says.

Rosengarten is planning a version designed for the iPad and another that will adhere to the front and back of an iPhone, so that it will work with any case.

"Steve Jobs was right. You can type pretty well with a flat screen," Rosengarten says. "But you have to get used to it â€" and this product helps you adjust."

Contact Jeff Gelles at 215-854-2776 or jgelles@phillynews.com.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Columns: Which is Superior: Blackberry, Droid, or iPhone? - my.hsj.org

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

- Rebecca Oh

Advertising

The age of smart phones has officially arrived.  It has only been 70 years since the first cell phone was invented in the 1940s yet smart phones have dominated the cell phone market completely and changed the lives of people tremendously.  Without a doubt, Blackberry, Droid, and iPhone are the “Big Three” in the smart phone industry. Though society overwhelmingly favors the iPhone, each phone has its positives and negatives.
    The Blackberry can be considered one of the oldest smart phones in the market. It is famous for its operation system, which is one of the strongest. Since 1999, Blackberry has been the master of mobile email. Blackberries synchronize with many kinds of email and web mail accounts, such as those from unique domains of a company, providing a great convenience for people in business.  However iPhones can now do the exact same thing. Therefore, this special email system wouldn’t help Blackberry compete with the iPhone. 
Many believe that the keyboard is the Blackberry’s biggest advantage.  Not like the one and only home button for the iPhone, the Blackberry has several buttons, such as the return and clear button, limiting the chances of a button being unresponsive by overuse.  Additionally, the Blackberry’s hardware and durability are reputed to be the best among the three.  For people who enjoy texting, an actual keyboard, the QWERTY keyboard for Blackberry, may actually be appreciated more than a touch screen keyboard of the iPhone.  Also, the batteries for Blackberry usually last longer among the three: its statistics for the battery life is 528 hours on standby, with iPhone’s 300 hours on standby.  With the QWERTY keyboard and its generally smaller size screen, it uses less energy. However, the Blackberry proves less proficient with running multiple apps and sustaining battery life.  
In terms of apps, Blackberry doesn’t even stand a chance of winning against iPhone or Droid.  In comparison to the iPhone and Droid’s platforms, Blackberry provided the worst web browsing experience.  Another main problem for the Blackberry is its complexity; as Dr. Edwards stated, “It made no sense and it needed 3 steps every time to do one simple thing on a Blackberry.”  The market for Blackberry aims at business people, which is why it is a better smart phone for mobile professionals; this explains why only 14% of the students and faculty in our school like or use Blackberry.
    Droid, which also gain the support from 14% of the students and faculty, is a platform that started in 2007 under Google’s operation.  Although the Chatham Hall community does not favor it, Droid surprisingly takes up 48% of the sales in the smart phone market, becoming the best-selling smart phone platform worldwide.  What makes it so popular?  First, Droid has an extensive application library that can rival Apple’s app store.  Its biggest advantage is that most of the apps that Google provides are free. Unfortunately, they are not very selective, so it requires more time to find a good quality app.  The second advantage is that one has a vast variety of hardware because many cell phone companies have cooperated with Droid.  Therefore, one might have a greater chance finding a hardware that is unique.  That person will have his or her own fashionable hardware while four-fifths of the others on the same street are using iPhones and Apple products. 
Open source also creates flexibility and makes it compatible with a wider variety of other devices.  For example, the Droid system enables one to open Microsoft documents such as Word and Excel, a big plus as Windows remains the main system on the market. Yet, this also discourages some people because of the insecurity from an open source.  Viruses spread easily on Internet and between phones, which greatly affect peoples’ choosing the Droid.  Another big problem is its low battery life.  Droid is designed to compete with the iPhone rather than with Blackberry phones because it is used more for recreational purposes.
    And finally, the amazing, trendy, and versatile iPhone that seems to be a favorite for most.  It was not surprising that 71% of the Chatham Hall community favors iPhones.  Most of the praise that the iPhone receives is how easy and user friendly the operating system is.  That is what everybody wants and needs; one buys a cell phone to bring convenience to his or her life, not to make it more confusing.  Because the iPhone is the easiest to use among the three, it attracts a lot more buyers than Blackberry or Droid: iPhone applies to people of different age groups as both teenagers and middle aged people use this product.  The most important factor that explains the popularity of iPhones is the amazing and diversified selection of apps.  If there is an app that someone wants, one can name it and it find exactly what he or she is looking for.  With the app store, the phone becomes all-powerful. Games, tools, books, etc.; with this phone, one can have anything that he or she wants. 
Another thing that has to be praised about the iPhone is its high resolution (960x640), which makes the web browsing experience much more comfortable and pleasing.  Even though the pixel of iPhone’s camera is not the highest among its competitors, the high resolution assures the quality of pictures taken with iPhone.   In addition, the iCloud system is very important.  This powerful cloud computing service has been one of the greatest and ground-breaking inventions for Apple fans: the service allows users to store data and sync it with all iOS-based devices, such as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook. iCloud has already reached 125 million users since June 2011.  
On the other hand, iPhones have some cons as well.  Unlike Droid and Blackberry, iPhone batteries cannot be changed and gradually lose their charging capabilities. Because battery life is critical to a cell phone, this is one of the biggest disadvantages for iPhones. The iPhone is also very fragile. The hardware is not as strong as those of Blackberry and Droid.  Bluetooth on iPhones cannot be used to transfer files, Safari does not support flash, it is hard to remove the SIM Card in iPhone, etc.  With even more disadvantages in iPhones, why do people still favor it?  The answer is pretty obvious: most of us have a special complex towards Apple products.  Even without an iPhone, many people are huge Apple fans with iPods, iPads, and a MacBooks.  
    There is no exact conclusion on whether the Blackberry, Droid, or iPhone is better; it really depends on what one is looking for. Blackberry is probably the best match for businesspeople, while the iPhone is for those who just want a phone to play with.  Even though there are more and more fabulous smart phones coming out, it is important to remember that there are still people who simply use their phones for its original purposeâ€Â"calling.  Like Mr. Braun said, “I like to keep my phone a phone - no texting nor Internet.”  Regressing back to where we come from is maybe the best idea overall.

Mitt Romney official iPhone app touts “Amercia” - SlashGear

Worth Reading?

NoYes

+1 [1 votes]

First of all, kudos to Mitt Romney and his campaign for offering an official iPhone app to solicit micro donations and help spread the word. But we can’t say kudos to the fact that the app contains a pretty grave spelling mistake. The official iPhone app for Romney supporters gives users a selection of background images they can use for their phone.

One of them is a stark red background with bold white letters promoting “A Better Amercia.” The word “Amercia” appears large and prominent right in the middle of the screen. It’s highly unlikely Romney will take any serious flack for this, but in a campaign this heated, no mistake can be discounted.

The misspelling is already making its way around Twitter and Instagram and all those typical channels. When contacted by TalkingPointsMemo.com, the Romney campaign simply stated that it was “corrected immediately.” However, Apple still has to approve the update, so the flaw is still out there for everyone to see. Obama also has an official iPhone app. He spells America correctly.

[via Washington Post]

Inside Nokia's Struggle Against Apple's iPhone - Wall Street Journal

Nokia Corp.'s new top-of-the-line smartphone sells for $200 less than Apple Inc.'s cheapest iPhone 4S. But under the hood, Nokia actually pays more for the phone's components, according to an analysisâ€"underscoring the challenges for the Finnish cellphone maker as it struggles to compete in the cutthroat mobile marketplace.

The components of the Nokia Lumia 900, which sells for $450 without a phone contract, uses $209 worth of parts, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. Meanwhile, the comparable 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S, sold for $649 without a phone contract, is made of components that cost $190, iSuppli says.

The findings indicate Apple makes nearly twice as much on iPhone sales as Nokia does on the Lumia 900, excluding costs like manufacturing, marketing and distribution. Nokia declined to comment on IHS's analysis. Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.

In part, the cost difference is accounted for by the Lumia's larger screen and more advanced wireless chipsâ€"the Nokia phone can run on fourth-generation LTE networks, while the iPhone can't. But the cost differences also reflect Apple's command of the electronics supply chain and its ability to extract lower prices from suppliers.

For Nokia, low margins could be a big problem. To regain ground lost in the smartphone wars with Apple and manufacturers of devices running Google Inc.'s Android software, Nokia is betting on a new line of devices running Microsoft Corp. Windows software. Part of the strategy, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop has said, will be to lower sales prices. With high component costs, that will be a tough business proposition.

Apple wants to make products in US, but that's not so easy - CNET

Critics want Apple to manufacture more products in the U.S. CEO Tim Cook does, too. But there's a lot in the way.

Let's make the iPhone in the good ol' U. S. of A. Who's with me?

There are few Americans who don't like the idea of an all-American iPhone, iPad or MacBook. "Designed in California," sure -- but why not made there, too?

During the D: All Things Digital conference this week, Apple chief executive Tim Cook suggested that he wanted his celebrated tech company to make more components, and perhaps assemble them, here in the U.S.

But it's not that easy.

Cook knows it. As a longtime operations guy, there are probably few things the man knows better than a supply chain. When he says the semiconductor industry is good in the U.S., it's good. When he says there aren't high-tech manufacturing skills in the U.S., he's probably right. But actions speak louder than words, and there are good reasons why Apple no longer makes its millions upon millions of products stateside -- because it just doesn't make good business sense otherwise.

We've seen this film before. Before founder Steve Jobs died, he made headlines for the same reason, as the national economy crumbled beneath Apple.

Here's an excerpt from a New York Times report in January:

It isn't just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple's executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that "Made in the U.S.A." is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.

The reason: there's a very real tradeoff between what's good for workers and what's good for business. When push comes to shove, business wins -- which is why Apple's American employees enjoy comparatively nice perks while employees of its supply chain partners live in 8,000-strong dormitories, ready to be woken up at midnight to start a 12-hour shift making new parts for an iPhone that received last-minute design changes from California.

Imagine trying to do the same with an American worker. Unions would never stand for it, obviously, and chances are the rest of the family unit wouldn't, either.

My point is not to illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of unions, or even what's fair; rather, I'm trying to illustrate a landscape in which American companies can go overseas for greater flexibility, lower price and sheer speed. So long as there are nations in this world willing to do work others aren't, outsourcing will exist. In the capitalist system, businesses can't win in the free market unless they exploit every advantage.

There's a reason Apple, and GE, and many other well-regarded American companies keep most of their money offshore: so long as there's a cheaper alternative, it will be taken. There is no morality in money-making, even if there's still plenty to be made.

(Speaking of GE, that company has run into similar issues -- though for refrigerators and turbines, not computers.)

That's not to say things aren't changing. GE CEO Jeff Immelt has said that the U.S. is becoming more competitive as American firms, tired of decades of deterioration, snap to attention. Wages in the U.S. are still elevated -- good for individuals but bad for business -- but the skills, flexibility and speed are catching up.

The question is whether we'd really want them to. Does the U.S. really want to compete with China when human rights and quality of life standards are a bit more slippery? Manufacturing is a powerful driver of the American economy, but it's just one part of it. Whatever happened to the concept of a creative economy? (Answer: we realized we can't win on creativity alone. There needs to be some elbow grease, too.)

We focus on Apple because it's a beacon of American success and its products are made of components from all corners of the globe, but the truth is that the company can't do this alone. "Made in America" is a nice tagline, but it's a naive, unnecessarily restrictive strategy for a global company. So long as other nations are willing to outdo each other for business -- Foxconn City, anyone? -- corporations will follow.

In Tim Cook's case, that means there are few reasons to swim against the tide, aside from public opinion. All Apple can do is ensure that its supply chain partners are acting in accordance with local law. (Thus the Foxconn flareup.) But how do you take one company to task when an entire industry practices this way?

If you want Apple to manufacture in the U.S., you can't just pressure Tim Cook -- you need to pressure every Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Sony to do the same, along with the governments in each country that manufactures products for those companies, and every supplier in between. That's a bigger hurdle than any single organization can surmount.

So if the U.S. can compete on flexibility, speed and scale -- we're not a tiny country, after all -- and get partially there on wages, thanks to a down economy, there's only one thing left to address: skills. If I'm Tim Cook, lord of all that is vertical, I'd wonder backing accelerated industrial development in the U.S. -- starting with the creation of technical schools that could create that coveted workforce of engineers without a bachelor's degree -- could help return the balance back to the U.S.

The Midwest, the Carolinas -- these American manufacturing hubs already exist, but they're not geared for electronics. If the U.S. wants China's contracts, it needs to build a hub that can outduel the Shenzhen export hub.

Then again, capitalism need not be moral. At the end of the day, what's really in it for Apple? If we want Apple to manufacture its products in the U.S., we shouldn't keep asking Tim Cook about it. We'd probably need to go a bit higher up in the chain of command.

This report was first published as "Apple wants U.S. manufacturing, but it ain't that easy" on ZDNet's Between the Lines.