Sprint’s CEO reaffirms plans to keep unlimited data, for now

With recent moves by both AT&T and Verizon to nudge their remaining customers off of unlimited data and onto their new share plans, the spotlight has turned to Sprint.

Sprint is the last remaining major carrier in the US to still offer an unlimited data plan for smartphone subscribers, and everyone wants to know how long that’s going to last…

Through spokespeople, Sprint has confirmed on a number of occasions that it plans to continue offering unlimited data — even as it transitions its network over to LTE.

Today, the carrier’s CEO Dan Hesse spoke with The New York Times about the subject. And in response to a question regarding AT&T and Verizon’s new shared data plans, Hesse said:

“We currently have no plans to change. We’re not saying we won’t but right now we don’t have any plans to change our rate plan structure or our price levels. If anything, the changes that AT&T and Verizon have done have put our rate plans in very stark contrast to theirs —not only the fact that ours are unlimited but also very simple. Our plan is to stay with that very significantly differentiated value proposition, but we’ll watch how the market moves, if you will, in terms of what customers are attracted to over the next few months.”

While it’s good to hear straight from the horse’s mouth that the carrier plans to keep its unlimited data around, he does leave the door open for a possible future change.

Hesse’s “we’re not saying we won’t change” comment comes as a bit of a surprise actually, given the fact that Sprint’s unlimited offering is one of the only things keeping it competitive right now. Both Verizon and AT&T are far ahead of the carrier in terms of subscribers, as well as LTE speed and availability.

As it sits right now, our money is on Sprint keeping its unlimited data plans around through the fall — at least through the next iPhone launch — and then abandoning them down the road due to network constraints or for more money. At least, that seems to be how the “market is moving” these days.

What do you think?



Mark Zuckerberg squashes Facebook phone rumors

Rumors that Facebook has been working on its own smartphone have been around for more than a year now. Last fall, a report came out that the social network had tapped HTC to help it build the handset.

Since then, the speculation has only gotten louder. Yesterday, Bloomberg even threw its hat into the ring. But this afternoon, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to squash the chatter…

Today, Facebook held its first earnings call after going public back in May. And Zuckerburg was on hand to talk about the company’s performance over the past three months, and field questions from analysts and investors.

With all of the phone rumors flying about, you knew the question would come up: what is the future of Facebook’s mobile strategy?

The CEO responded:

“We want to not just have apps that people use, but also be as deeply integrated into these systems as possible. We want to support a development ecosystem where other apps can build on top of Facebook, so that’s why you’ll see us do things like support Apple in the iOS integration they wanted to do. There are lots of things that you can build in other operating systems as well that aren’t really like building out a whole phone, which I think wouldn’t really make much sense for us to do.”

While Zuckerberg’s answer seems to effectively squash the Facebook phone rumors, as BusinessInsider‘s Steve Kovach points out, it still leaves the door wide open for a Facebook operating system.

The company could be using those poached Apple engineers to build a platform that other hardware manufacturers, like HTC, could build upon. And between the ongoing Android lawsuits, and Windows Phone struggling for marketshare, the list of interested parties is probably a lot longer than you think.



Path 2.5 brings enhanced sharing, improved camera and more

The official Path iOS client received a major update last night, bringing the app to version 2.5. The update includes a number of changes, such as enhanced media sharing, an improved camera, and new photo editing tools.

Path 2.5 also includes another cool addition that might just persuade folks to join the social network. New users now have the option to import data from their Facebook, Instagram, and Foursquare accounts into Path…

First we’ll talk about the changes that current users can enjoy, and then we’ll get into the account importing. Here’s the 2.5 change log:

Movies & Books! Share the movies you watch and books you read with full previews, actor and author pages, synapse, and reviews.
Improved camera that can instantly capture square and landscape photos and videos.
New tools to help you fix and improve photos: Glo, Depth, Zoom, and Crop — use Glo to fix and enhance details in dark or bright photos.
Simpler more personal invitations — invite your friends to Path with a personally written or recorded audio message.
Newly designed and easily accessible rich notifications from your friends.
Keep up on conversations with new “For Friends” notifications.
Photos and videos are now displayed 30% larger!
Quickly snap photos using the volume button.
Simple one-tap video recording (no more switch!).
Nudge your friends for photos and check-ins from their city or neighborhood.
Help friends get started on Path now with friend suggestions.
Bug fixes.
These changes alone are worth the update, but new users will really like this. While setting up a new account in Path, you can now import your status updates, photos, check-ins and tips from your Facebook, Instagram and Foursquare accounts. That means you can have all of your social network data, in one place.

Note that this feature is currently for new users only. So if you already have a Path account, you either need to create a new one, using a new email address, or you’ll have to hang tight. It’s assumed that Path will eventually open this up to all users.

Path has been slowly rising in popularity over the past year, and is constantly praised for its iOS app (looking at you Facebook). If you want to see what all of the fuss is about, you can find Path in the App Store, for free.

What do you think of the new update?



Poll: is Mountain Lion worth its asking price?

As you know, Apple today released OS X Mountain Lion. It will run you only twenty bucks a copy, which includes rights to install the operating system on up to five different Macs. Mountain Lion builds upon its predecessor Lion in that it streamlines your experience with additional iOS tricks, deep integration with iCloud, Facebook and Twitter and interesting new capabilities such as PowerNap and Gatekeeper, to name a few.

It also includes a handful of apps ported from iOS, such as iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Game Center and Notification Center, in the hope that it’ll help new Mac owners get up to speed quickly. At that breakthrough price, Mountain Lion should be a no-brainer. But as is often the case, the price is a reflection of the product’s perceived value.

For some, Mountain Lion is worth every cent. There are also those who feel that even twenty bucks is too high a price for an OS that underwhelms with just a handful of truly new features while spoiling the fun by insisting on a bunch of glorified iOS apps with that forced skeuomorphic design.

Which camp do you belong to?



Microsoft job listing suggests iOS Office apps in the works

Microsoft recently announced the latest version of its popular Office suite, Office 2013. And while there was no mention of whether or not the software would make it to iOS, the tech world seems pretty convinced it’s coming.

A recently discovered job listing on Microsoft’s website adds fuel to the fire, as it calls for a new software development engineer for the company’s Office division to “be part of Microsoft’s next move on the Mac and on iOS…”

The posting reads:

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test

Location: Mountain View, CA, US

Job ID: 791567-79632

Division: Microsoft Office Division

The MacBU Group at the Silicon Valley Campus is looking for a talented Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) with a strong technical background to join the Outlook Test team. YOu will work very closely with the Development team on the design, implementation, & testing of new feature work to be part of Microsoft’s next move on the Mac and on iOS.

As 9to5Mac points out, this doesn’t necessarily prove that Office is going to be coming to iOS anytime soon. Microsoft does have a number of apps in the App Store, so it’s possible that Outlook is just next on the list.

That would jibe with a previous report which claimed that Outlook and Lync would be making their way to Apple’s mobile platform this fall. Perhaps Microsoft plans on releasing Office apps for iOS, one or two at a time.

What do you think? Would you use Outlook in iOS?

New iPod touch said to feature a 4-inch display, A5 chip

Hot on the heels of last night’s note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, comes a new report regarding the future of the iPod touch. If it holds true, the mp3 player could be getting quite the makeover this fall.

According to the new dispatch, the next-generation iPod touch will feature the same 4-inch display that the new iPhone is rumored to get, as well as an A5 processor and other internal upgrades…

Macotakara, a credible source for Apple information, reports:

“According to asian source, new iPod touch (5th generation) will have a 4 inch LCD which is the same size with coming iPhone 5.

CPU or other spec is considered to be the same with iPhone 4S, and has different back-case design, which will be not mirror polished but buffed aluminum one And it seems to be prepared black and white color model.”

The iPod touch line has gone largely unchanged during the past two years, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see the device get a significant upgrade this fall. And if you break down the report, none of the stuff that’s mentioned seems all that far-fetched.

For example, if Apple is expected to bump up the iPhone’s display from 3.5 to 4-inches, it would make sense from both a manufacturing standpoint, and a consistency standpoint, to do the same to the iPod. And Apple’s not going to throw the two-year old A4 processor in this thing, so the A5 chip from the iPhone 4S sounds like the obvious choice.

Put together, it seems like Apple could have a real winner on its hands. Especially if it’s able to keep the low-end model under that $200 price point. Apple is expected to unveil the new iPod touch, a new iPhone and a smaller iPad sometime this fall.

So, who wants one?



Another rumor says iPhone 5 will be released on Friday, September 21

A new rumor published by a French site claims that Apple will release the next iPhone on Friday, September 21, 2012.

If you believe this story whose veracity couldn’t be verified at press time, this date pertains to the U.S. launch, as well as parts of Europe and China.

With October approaching fast, no wonder folks are making all kinds of prediction. The consensus out there is that Apple will release the next iPhone by October, approximately a year after it had brought the iPhone 4S to market…

App4phone (via Cult of Mac), a French blog, wrote in an exclusive report on Monday (machine-translated):

While the track’s August 7 logically begins to cool, we learned from our source that the future iPhone would be launched in September 2012, specifically September 21, 2012 .

This date sticks rather well with Planned Apple, knowing that the iPhone 4S was made available in mid-October 2011.

This September 21 concerns the United States, a part of Europe (including France and the United States), and China.

We’re not keeping our fingers crossed for this one, mainly because App4phone’s track record hasn’t been established. Know Your Mobile recently asserted the handset would launch on August 7, but the usually well-informed Jim Dalrymple of The Loop shot down that silly rumor with a simple ‘nope’.

The last we heard from DigiTimes, another unreliable publication, and Macotakara (a pretty credible blog) is that contract manufacturer Pegatron has begun production of the iPhone 5 at its Shanghai, Eastern China facility.

However, these reports run contrary to what “trusted sources” told Boy Genius Report (another publication whose track record as of late also is a mixed bag of hits and misses), that the device hasn’t gone past the engineering verification phase.

The rumor-mill seems to agree that the iPhone 5 will have a four-inch display, 4G LTE radios and an all-new case design. And if Reuters is to be trusted, you’ll probably be throwing all your accessories in the garbage because it’ll have a smaller dock connector.

What do you make of this September 21 date?



The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Apple’s cash flow

Apple’s unprecedented success over the past 10 years goes far beyond its ability to churn out hit products. It also has a knack for supply chain deals and is extremely efficient with its cash, and how it manages its balance sheet.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at this in a new report entitled “Heard on the Street.” The piece explains, among other things, how Apple has streamlined its business to get paid for products faster than it makes them…

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Moreover, thanks to the efficiency with which Apple manages much of its balance sheet, the capital invested in its business is actually negative. In other words, Apple gets paid for its products faster than it pays to make them.

Cash comes in before it goes out in part because Apple has incredible negotiating leverage vis-a-vis its suppliers. On average, in fiscal 2011 it didn’t pay suppliers for 83 days after being invoice, according to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Yet Apple collected on its customer invoices much faster, 18 days on average. Meanwhile, it paid to keep just four days of inventory on hand in 2011, versus an already impressive 10 days in 2010.”

The entire thing is worth a read, as it demonstrates the genius behind Apple’s business. Mix in the company’s massive supply chain presence, and the fact that it controls its own distribution channel thanks to its widely successful retail chain, and it’s not hard to see why Apple’s on top.

Speaking of performance, Apple is set to publish its quarterly earnings this Tuesday. The company will also announce the numbers on a conference call that evening around 5PM PST. We’ll be listening in, and reporting back with last quarter’s sales numbers and other interesting info.



Parts vendor offering new permanent unlock service for AT&T iPhones

Apple N Berry is an online parts vendor that also deals in iPhone unlock solutions. We actually point to the store quite often when mentioning GEVEY Ultra products — they usually have them.

But now it’s offering something much different than interposers. The vendor has just launched a new IMEI unlock service that, it promises, will permanently unlock all AT&T iPhone models…

From the site’s description:

“Apple N Berry iPhone IMEI unlock is a permanent iPhone unlock solution. Once unlocked, your iPhone will remain unlocked even after an iOS upgrade or SIM card swap. IMEI unlocks are considered an iPhone factory unlock that works with any AT&T iPhone model 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S regardless of baseband.”

As you can imagine, this doesn’t come cheap. Apple N Berry is charging $150 for its IMEI Unlock. And it requires you to hand over your handset’s IMEI and serial number.

Should you order it, the vendor says that the unlock can take from 1-2 business days. You’ll receive an email once it’s complete, and you can verify it worked by syncing your iPhone with iTunes.

While all of this sounds great, there’s a few things worth noting. First off, remember that AT&T will unlock your iPhone for free if it’s out of contract. So if you’ve had yours for close to two years, you should try that route first.

Second, we have not confirmed the legitimacy of this service, and have no idea if it works or not. Apple N Berry is fairly well known in the unlock community, and this sounds a lot like the credible CutYourSim service, but you should always approach things like this with a certain level of caution.

We’ll let you know once we can verify that this works as advertised. But in the meantime, if you happen to try it, let us know about your experience below.



Australian airline to serve up in-flight entertainment via iPads

This is pretty interesting: Qantas, an Australian airline, is now handing out iPads to passengers on all of its B767 airliners. The tablet is being used to provide an in-flight entertainment service, called QStreaming, which features more than 200 hours of on-demand content.

QStreaming is free, and offered to all Qantas Business and Economy class customers. Here’s a brief overview of the new service:

Perhaps even more interesting is what all of this means for Apple. Now that the QStreaming project is rolling out, Qantas is expected to purchase more than 5,000 iPads to cover its fleet of jets. Add that to the 2,200 iPads it’s already purchasing for its pilots and flight crews, and that’s 7000+ tablet sales for Apple from a single customer.

In a related note, Qantas is also in the process of dropping all of its BlackBerry handsets in favor of the iPhone. The airline’s CIO Paul Jones says that the iPhone offers a “user-friendly interface and simple access to emails, contacts and calendars, as well as meeting all Qantas’ security requirements.”

But back to QStreaming. The service seems like it’s going to be a hit with passengers, who not only will be able to leave their slates at home, or packed, but will also get to enjoy 200 hours of free movies and TV shows. We wouldn’t be surprised if other airlines followed suit here.

What do you think? Good idea/bad idea?