iPhone Cruncher

China Mobile is in talks with Apple to carry the iPhone, according to a report from Bloomberg. No agreement has yet been reached between the two companies, and China Mobile can’t predict whether the companies will be able to come to agreement in 2012, making it likely the company would start carrying the next iPhone either later this year or in early 2013.

Getting the iPhone on China Mobile will be a big deal for Apple; the Chinese carrier is the largest in the world with just about 2/3 of a billion customers (667.2 million, as of March 31st) tied to the network. If Apple were able to garner a significant number of these customers, they could pull more even with Google’s Android in terms of worldwide market share. There is obviously a market to be had in China, as people are going to great lengths to smuggle iPhones and iPads into the country.

China Mobile is in a similar situation as T-Mobile USA, with 3G bands that are incompatible with Apple’s latest iPhone. As they build out a fourth-generation network, they hope they can secure the iPhone and offer the world’s most popular smartphone to the masses. The company is testing 4G networks in select markets in 2012, and if successful will ramp into heavy rollout mode in 2013.

We’ll be sure to bring you the news as we learn more about a potential relationship between Apple and China Mobile.

[via Bloomberg, All Things D]

About The Author

Anthony Domanico

Anthony is a big tech geek, and loves all things mobile. While he currently owns an Android device, he enjoys playing the mobile field with Windows Phone, iOS, and Blackberry (if they ever Release BB 10).

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The WWDC 2012 rumors are cranking out fast now that it’s less than a month away. The latest to hit the Internet revolves around what Apple will do with iCloud. For iCloud’s first birthday, it will likely get a wealth of desirable upgrades.

Apple is apparently in the process of taking Photo Stream, a current iCloud service that lets individual users share their own most recent photos with the cloud to keep in sync on all device, and turn it into a social network of sorts. This would mean users could share not just one set, but multiple sets of photos with other iCloud users and friends can interact with and comment on them.

In addition to photos, Apple wants to switch into high gear by allowing for videos to live in the cloud. The photos you take on your iPhone are easily sent up into iCloud and back down to your other iOS devices, Mac, or PC, but up until now, you’ve been out of luck if you wanted to keep your videos in sync. That requires the tedious pre-iOS 5 process of tethering your devices to iTunes. Hopefully Apple will offer some relief this year at WWDC.

Push notifications have also been found on a beta version of iCloud.com along with web apps for Notes and Reminders that would allow iOS users (and soon Mac users) to access these common productivity tools on the Internet. The push notifications would presumably tie in with the Reminders, Mail, and Calendar apps — the latter two of which already have a home on the web.

Apple is expected to unveil these upgrades to iCloud plus iOS 6 and more details on OS X Mountain Lion at WWDC 2012.

[via WSJ]

About The Author

George Tinari

George has followed technology news for quite some time, but he only started writing about it a few years ago. He’s a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, but that doesn’t stop him from covering a wide range of topics in the

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Eco-friendly iPhone users, this one’s for you. Case-Mate, the popular phone case maker, unveiled a new rPET (as in “recyclable PET”) collection of green iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S cases. Made out of 100% recycled post-consumer PET bottles, each case is made from one recycled water bottle. You can choose between few color options, including Lipstick Pink, Tangerine Tango, Lime, Turquoise, Black and White. The price you ask? It’s $30 per case.

But that’s not all — to get some media love for its green collection, Case-Mate will showcase the new products as part of the DASANI Designed to Make a Difference experiential tour, which kicked off on April 17th at Saint Catherine University in Minnesota. The tour consists of some 50 event days spanning college campuses, amusement parks, and music festivals from April through October. The DASANI “Designed to Make a Difference” tour looks at recycling through two interactive activations: the Designed to Make a Difference Gallery and Xtreme Recycling game; and it also has a dedicated page at Facebook where you can get additional information about it. Case-Mate’s rPET cases are available from here.

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The “convergence” is what he’s most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do.

In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it’s an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he’s there to try it out. He admits though, he’s still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which “sings” perfectly with the mobile PIM application.

Dusan used to run

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A new survey conducted by Guohe among mobile users in China reveals who is buying mobile apps, user preferences for iOS or Android, and user tolerance for ads appearing in their apps. Here are the highlights:

• 54% of users interviewed had Android phones, and 39% had jailbroken iPhones.
• Users were most accepting of ads within news apps and least tolerant of them in apps such as photography, graphics, or even location and map apps.
• Gaming as a category is a hit with both iOS and Android users, and it works well for advertisers.
• iPhones tend to be more expensive than their Android counterparts in China, with iOS users gravitating toward game, utility and shopping apps. On the other hand, Android users are more into reading apps.
• Only 23% of the study’s Android users ever purchased any apps, while about 25% of iPhone users surveyed prefer paid apps that are ad-free.
• Only 13% of Android users would rather buy an app that is ad-free rather than get a free app monetized by inserted ads.

And you can see how all this comes together from the following infographic…

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The “convergence” is what he’s most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do.

In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it’s an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he’s there to try it out. He admits though, he’s still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which “sings” perfectly with the mobile PIM

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Ready to hear some more new iPhone and iPad rumors? Well, everyones favorite Apple rumor starter, Digitimes, has gotten word that Pegatron Technology has landed orders for a new-generation iPhone to be launched in September and a 10-inch iPad to be launched in the fourth quarter. Pegatron is currently an OEM for the iPhone 4S and new iPad.

The company has already gotten its work staff expanded to properly handle the high demand for the for next upcoming generations of the two wildly popular iProducts. Furthermore, the chinese-based site is still holding true to the launch of a 7-inch iPad made by Foxconn. Digitimes got the scoop from its usual Taiwan-based supply chain makers. Pegatron makes other products, but the company is focused in on meeting Apple’s orders.

To mainly focus on Apple’s orders, Pegatron has also internally decided to downsize its SI motherboard department and to shift resources to Apple’s orders. Since Asustek has been reducing its motherboard orders to Pegatron, while gross margins are also rather low, the shifting in resources is expected to benefit Pegatron in its operations, the sources noted.

Like we always say over at IntoMobile, please take this with a heavy dose of salt, as nothing is official. Expect to see the Apple rumor mill ratchet up in the next couple of months as the summer begins to approach.

[via Digitimes]

About The Author

Charles West

Charles West is a self-described music snob and sports fanatic who loves occasional benders with friends and family. He has written about the mobile industry for TMCnet and Androinica. He also writes at his own blog The Trendaholic. You can follow him on Twitter @TheTrendaholic and Google+

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Apple released iOS 5.1.1 for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad this afternoon. The 40-50 MB download appears to be a minor release with a handful of bug fixes, including improved reliability for taking HDR photos from the lock screen, improvements in the  iPad’s ability to switch from 2G to 3G networks, bug fixes for AirPlay video playback, more reliable Safari bookmarks and Reading List syncing, and a fix for an unusual “Unable to Purchase” alert that appears after a successful transaction.

You can download the update over the air by going to Settings — General — Software Update or by connecting your iOS device to iTunes.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

About The Author

Kelly Hodgkins

Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at
places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she
spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe
Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several
years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she’s not writing, she
can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western
Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.

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Vonage has once again updated its mobile apps for iPhone and Android smartphones. The new version of the app goes beyond basic VoIP capabilities (that allow you to save some cash on International calling and messaging) to also include sharing capabilities to the mix. As a result now you will be able to share photos and your location with other Vonage Mobile users. Moreover, now you will see the per-minute calling rates for anyone in your address book, as well as remaining credits above address book. Finally, there are under the hood improvements with many of the bugs being squashed along the way.

And that’s not all – Vonage Mobile will soon introduce support for Bluetooth headsets, which honestly I thought was already there.

Again, the app itself is free to download and you can get it from either the AppStore or Google Play. Both links are below…

Vonage Mobile (FREE) [iTunes link] [Google Play link]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The “convergence” is what he’s most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do.

In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it’s an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he’s there to try it out. He admits though, he’s still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which “sings” perfectly with the mobile PIM application.

Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

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