Thursday, July 29, 2010
iPhone 3G Users Complain of Slowdown on Upgrade to iOS4
Some Apple 3G phone owners who upgraded to the new iOS4 operating system are facing buyer’s remorse. The upgrade has left their devices slow and struggling for breath, according to complaints on Apple’s users forum.
“My iPhone 8Gb 3G is soooo slow after ‘upgrading’ to OS4,” says a user registered as George Stark on the Apple forum. “Unlocking the phone sometimes takes 5-10 seconds and the home screen icons literally stop converging halfway through and then 2 seconds later, finish off. Other things are ridiculously slow, such as opening and replying to texts. Good one Apple, maybe you want us all to upgrade to the iPhone 4 so that OS4 actually runs at a manageable speed?”
Apple is looking into the complaints.
“We are aware of these reports and we are investigating,” a company spokeswoman told Wired.com
Apple rolled out iOS4 in June as a new version of the operating system that would introduce features such as multitasking, a unified inbox for e-mail and the ability to group apps into folders. iPhone users who had bough their devices in 2007, when the phone was first introduced, cannot run iOS 4 at all. But iPhone 3G users can upgrade to iOS4 though multitasking is not supported for these devices. iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are completely compatible with iOS 4.
But Apple’s decision to make older iPhone models seems to have backfired. When Apple moved from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, it introduced a faster processor in the latter. Remember all those company statement saying the ‘S’ in the 3GS stands for ’speed.’
The iPhone 3G has a 412 MHz ARM 11 chip, while the 3GS model uses a 600MHz ARM 11 processor. Clearly, the difference computing power seems to have an impact on how well the device can handle iOS4. The thread relating to iPhone 3G’s slow performance on the iOS4 is 38 pages now and has more than 560 messages.
Those stuck with iPhone 3Gs running at glacial speeds, downgrading the OS to the iOS 3.1.3 may be an option. But as this tutorial shows it’s not an easy process. The alternative is to do a factory reset on the device.
For Apple, the iOS4 woes on the iPhone 3G comes on the heel of ‘Antennagate‘–a widely publicized problem with the iPhone 4. Many iPhone 4 users have noticed that the device loses signal strength when gripped at a specific spot at the bottom left of the phone.� Apple has responded to those complaints by offering its iPhone 4 users a free case.
See Also:
- Apple Launches iOS 4 for iPhone, iPod Touch
- Apple iOS 4 vs. Google Android 2.2: How Do They Stack Up?
- Apple Unveils High-Resolution, Videoconferencing iPhone 4
- Finger Fail: Why Most Touchscreens Miss the Point
Photo: (twenty5pics/Flickr)
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/l5_GgzzLe9Q/
Amazon Strikes Back at the iPad With New, $140 Kindle
Jeff Bezos has survived the iPad.
Predictions that Apple’s bright tablet computer would be a Kindle-killer haven’t quite come to pass: Amazon CEO Bezos says that the growth rate in sales of his e-reading device has tripled since June, when he dropped the Kindle price to $189. (Clearly increased competition from other e-readers, like Sony Reader and the Barnes and Noble Nook, hasn’t dampened the Kindle fire, either.) And he’s still kvelling over last week’s announcement that e-book sales on Amazon exceed the number of hardback books sold by the e-commerce site. “And that’s with a device at the end of its product life cycle,” he says.
The cycle of life resets on Aug. 27, when Amazon will ship the third-generation Kindle. Judging from a brief hands-on demo, the new Kindle — which still costs $189 — isn’t a drastic makeover but a canny evolution that enhances the device’s raison d’etre: reading.
But by also releasing a lower-cost ($139) version of the Kindle without 3G wireless connectivity, Bezos anticipates millions of new customers who can live with waiting for a Wi-Fi hot spot to replenish their content. He says that the introduction of the Wi-Fi version is purely a price play, a way to sell Kindles to families and couples who already have one in the house.
“At $139, you’re going to have multiple Kindles, not just one,” Bezos says.
Consistent with Amazon’s past practice, Bezos revealed no specifics about Kindle sales to date, other than to say that “millions” have already been sold.
This year’s Kindle comes in either the classic ivory or an earthier graphite hue. The most significant improvement — perhaps as a “sez you” to the crisp iPad screen — is a sharper e-ink display than previous Kindles. Bezos claims that the contrast is 50 percent better, due in part to a proprietary technology involving “font hinting” which more skillfully manipulates the electronic ink that forms the letters.
Also, as Apple’s CEO has been known to say, “It’s really thin!” The new Kindle is a svelte 1/3 of an inch thick and weighs 8.7 ounces, making it 21 percent smaller than the 2G Kindle. This makes Kindle lighter than a paperback, while the iPad is heavier than Infinite Jest. (Eventually, Bezos says, he’d like to make the Kindle so light “you’d need a paperweight to hold it down.”)
“Our best estimate is that Kindle books will outsell paperbacks sometime in the next nine to 12 months.” — Jeff Bezos
The pages turn 20 percent faster than on the previous Kindle, and Amazon has even tamped down the clicking sound of the buttons, so readers are less likely to disturb a slumbering companion. Those page-turning buttons, by the way, are longer and slimmer — almost like bumpers on the edge of the device. This may be the first Kindle that finally prevents you from turning a page by mistake.
The long-anticipated Kindle touchscreen is ? still not there. “From an engineering point of view, it would have been very easy to put a touchscreen on it,” says Bezos. “But it would hurt the reading experience.” He says that e-ink touchscreens degrade display quality and add glare. Instead, the Kindle revamps its interface by replacing its stubby joystick with a “five way” arrangement where a thumbnail-sized selection button is surrounded by a thin band of compass-point directional buttons. The home and the menu button are now placed on the keyboard array. Maybe third time’s the charm for the Kindle, which has changed navigational controls on each version.
Other improvements include expanded battery life: a full month if the radio’s off, and 10 days if you leave the 3G turned on. There’s twice as much storage, enough for 3,500 books. And though Bezos didn’t show it to me, Amazon is offering a cover with a built-in LED reading light that works off the device’s battery. It’s $60, which seems pricey for a book light, but Amazon explains that it uses gold-plated conducive hinges. Maybe when you’re done reading you can use it as jewelry.
Citing competitive reasons, Bezos does not reveal Kindle sales figures, only saying the numbers are in the millions. “We’re starting to see evidence that at the $189 price point that this may be a mass product,” he says. “Even though we’re designing it for readers, it seems to be breaking out.” With a Kindle now selling at $139, he expects the tipping point to tip even more.
What’s more, the revelation that Amazon sells more Kindle books than hardcovers is only the beginning of what now looks like an inevitable mass migration to e-books.
“Our best estimate is that Kindle books will outsell paperbacks at Amazon sometime in the next nine to twelve months,” Bezos says. “And then at some point after that they’ll overtake the combination.”
As for the iPad? Bezos is a fan. “My first thought when I saw the iPad is that it will be great for our mobile commerce business — the more internet-connected devices the better, from Amazon’s point of view.” But if people thought the iPad would be a challenger to Kindle’s e-reading throne, “it hasn’t happened that way,” says Bezos with his trademark laugh. He tried reading a bit on an iPad but didn’t get far because “if I have to read a long document on an LCD display, the first thing I do is print it out.”
He thinks that people will be fine with carrying multiple devices — tablet, laptop and, of course, “purpose-built reading devices that are extremely light, let you read outside in bright daylight, a whole bunch of things.” Like the one he’s now selling for $139.
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/KUhaSCB1kuM/
Government considers scrapping parity rule for IT outsourcers
Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Thursday 29 July 2010 at 10:17:00
While Cameron reassures Indian outsourcers that the UK is open to offshoring
The government is considering scrapping a rule that guarantees workers at It may abolish an informal code that offers private sector workers on public The code was intended to stop the formation of a two-tier workforce, where However, not only is the government limiting the rights of UK outsourcing ?We are reviewing contracts and looking at what we pay for the services we "In terms of being open to outsourcing... Britain is one of the most open and
outsourcing firms similar working conditions to their equivalent co-workers in
the public sector.
sector contracts "no less favourable terms" to their in-house colleagues before
IT was outsourced, according to news agency
Reuters.
some staff enjoy much better pay and conditions than colleagues doing exactly
the same jobs. The move is expected to cause uproar from trade unions.
companies? employees, it is now keen on offshoring more of its own IT contracts
to foreign countries. David Cameron is in India today visiting IT outsourcing
companies with the message that ?the UK is open to outsourcing?.
have received. It is like any other business," Cameron said while visiting
Indian outsourcer Infosys Technologies, according to the agency.
progressive countries," he added.
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2267231/uk-outsourcing-workers-lose
Android users gobble more data than iPhone users
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38456202/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/
Amazon unveils new Kindle, starting at $139
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38456511/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
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