Happy iPhone 4S Day! It’s been a crazy week for Apple fans with iOS 5, iCloud and a ton of related updates mid-week and now the new hardware finally arriving in stores today. Unfortunately it seems like many of us are stuck with a device that can’t be activated (on AT&T at least, see below) -- so here’s some reading material to keep you occupied for this Friday, October 14, 2011.
Despite the underwhelming response from last week’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event as Apple executive Phil Schiller showed off the new iPhone 4S, the device is on track to trump last week’s first day preorders of one million units as retailers across the planet opened their doors for launch day buyers. According to AppleInsider, the iPhone 4S did not disappoint as the masses converged on stores across the U.S., Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. Wall Street analysts are predicting sales of three million units for the launch weekend, with Apple on track to move upwards of 25 million of these suckers before year’s end.
Let’s face it: iCloud is great for iOS 5 devices, but it doesn’t do much for your Mac. That’s why online backup service Dolly Drive is following this week’s iCloud launch with a new upgrade of their own, bringing OS X Lion File Vault compatibility and an integrated scheduler for local backups. The new version 1.4 release provides an effective all-in-one online backup and disaster recovery solution for your OS X Lion Mac using Apple’s Time Machine. For more information about the release and to see subscription pricing, visit the Dolly Drive website.
The jailbreak scene is still thriving as iPhone users shift to iOS 5, although at the moment most devices are on a tethered jailbreak, sadly requiring a connection to a computer with the redsn0w tool to make the magic happen. One particular group who doesn’t need this trick are iPhone 3GS owners who have managed to maintain an older bootrom, and that group will be particularly excited to hear about the release of ultrasn0w 1.2.4 via Cydia today, which allows your untethered iOS 5 jailbreak to also maintain its baseband unlock (the same also applies for early iPhone 4 users who haven’t gone past 01.59.00 baseband). Hit up the Dev-Team Blog for all of the details and as always, you do such things at your own risk!
Remember Google Buzz? Yeah, those were good times. If you’re one of the few still actively using it, you might want to reconsider that decision, because The Official Google Blog today announced the service will be shut down “in a few weeks” in favor of Google+. Can’t say we’re surprised, or frankly sorry to see it go. RIP Google Buzz!
If you’re sitting here reading this instead of playing with your new iPhone 4S, you’re probably one of those unfortunate buyers saddled with a device that can’t be activated through AT&T. This has proven to be an annual event as early adopters crack open the shrink wrap only to discover they’re sitting on an expensive brick until AT&T’s logjam clears up. Ironically, preorder customers who purchased their device through ATT.com have managed to sail right through activation thanks to a new website the company set up to address the situation. (Mental note: Next year, buy from ATT.com.) Meanwhile, MacRumors is reporting that “Could Not Activate iPhone” is becoming four dreaded words for many launch day and preorder customers.
We don’t often think about the technology that goes into many of Apple’s magical products, particularly when they’re the ones we can’t really see, such as iCloud. According to 9to5Mac, that seemingly invisible service could have cost upwards of $750 million -- and that’s just into the company’s new North Carolina data center alone. That figure comes by way of Asmyco’s Horace Dediu, who added up the company’s property, plant and equipment costs based on their quarterly statements, but notes that figure was mostly just a “down payment” for the facility alone. Ouch!
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)
kurtmac
October 14, 2011 at 6:30pm
Let the early adopter buyers beware, Murphy's law has the iPhone in it's sights (well, if you're committed to AT&T).
I will say I was an early adopter 16 months ago and did not have a problem with my first iPhone, the 3GS. This time around, I have decided to wait (whether it be because I enjoy not currently being under an AT&T contract or I have developed a bad case of patience). I will say that I did notice various issues with the iTunes Store today, specifically Home Sharing and accessing my iTunes account. The issues resolved themselves after about 1 hour.
Lesson to be learned: Not only was AT&T experiencing issues, but Apple (servers) appeared to be having some pains as well.
2nd lesson to be learned: If you're an early adopter, get to the store early and bring plenty of patience.
