$15 million iPhone with black diamond is world’s most expensive smartphone

Stuart Hughes, known for crafting luxury Apple devices covered in precious metals and encrusted with rare stones, has created the most expensive iPhone 5 - embedded with a rare black diamond. News has it that a Chinese businessman, the owner of the black diamond, contacted Stuart Hughes about his gold iPhones, and commissioned the handset. The Black Diamond iPhone 5 is priced at a whopping $15 million.

World's costliest iPhone 5

Apparently, it took nine weeks to re-create the chassis of the iPhone 5 in solid gold, and the complete handset has been finished by hand. The single, flawless, deep cut black diamond weighs in at 26 cts and aptly replaces the home button of the smartphone. The chassis is inlaid with approximately 600 white flawless diamonds with full gold dressing on the back. It has about 135 grams of 24ct gold and a sapphire glass set in the screen. The back also has the Apple logo showing off 53 flawless diamonds. 

This isn’t the first time that the iPhone 5 has got such luxurious treatment. We have seen Hughes create the limited-edition (100 units) iPhone 5 decked in 18-carat gold and gold and diamond finishing. It also boasts of a diamond studded Apple logo. We have seen Apple’s iPad too flaunt not only precious stones and metals but also a T-REX's thigh bone and a 75-million year old rock. It was called the world’s most expensive iPad 2 dubbed History Edition built with 2kgs of gold and several diamonds.

In the meanwhile, here is a quick look at the specifications of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels
• GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions

While all this looks and sounds fancy, do you think a tech enthusiast with $15 million to throw away would ever buy such a device?

New Apple iPhone to come in 'three sizes'

Tech giant Apple's new smartphone, iPhone 5S, will reportedly be launched in three sizes.
Analyst Brian White said that from discussions with officials at an unnamed "tech-supply chain company" during a trip to China he learned that the iPhone 5S will be available in two, or possibly three, screen sizes, Mac Rumours reports.
Mac Rumours reported that White said Apple now believes that one size per iPhone release does not work for everyone and offering consumers an option has the potential to expand the company's market share.
White predicted the iPhone 5S to be released in July, News.com.au reports.
He expects Apple to release a low-cost iPhone during the launch with a price range between 300 dollars and 350 dollars.
Security analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, maintains that the iPhone will remain the same size.
He also says that the new phone will instead focus on improving the tech specs of the phone by improving the camera.

Apple iPhone 4 hot in India as sales triple in less than one week

The Apple iPhone 4 is red hot in India. Thanks to a trade-in promotion, Apple has become the number two manufacturer in the country with sales tripling in less than a week. Contracts for smartphones are rare in the country and users end up paying the full price in advance for a handset along with paying full price for service. So when a deal like the one Apple has running for the Apple iPhone 4 comes along, it ends up bringing in big business. Remember, this is an emerging market with low income buyers who want a phone that will run for years.

The Apple iPhone 4 is hot in India

The current deal being run by Apple and cooperating re-sellers takes 7,000 Rupees ($129 USD) off the price of the Apple iPhone 4, which costs $488 before the discount. To get the discount, the buyers must trade-in a used smartphone. The used device is refurbished and sold right into the country's sizzling hot used smartphone market. The deal has pushed the 4th generation iPhone ahead of the Apple iPhone 5 in India as Apple's non-existent sales in India have turned thanks to the aggressive sales tactics from the Cupertino tech giant. The company tripled sales during the 2012 holiday quarter. It is expected that Apple will start pushing the Apple iPhone 4S in India once the Apple iPhone 5S is launched.

Samsung has been following Apple and has copied the sales plan. The Samsung Galaxy Grand And Samsung GALAXY Note II are among the top three handsets in India. With BlackBerry and Nokia Windows Phone 8 models also in strong demand in India, Apple has been surprised by how hot the Apple iPhone 4 has become. It gives Apple more incentive to come up with the oft-rumored low-cost version of the iPhone as the device can be designed by Apple to maximize profits.

iPhone 5S coming this August with more than two colour options: Report

iPhone 5S, the next generation iPhone, would come in a number of colours including black and white, as per a report by Japanese website Macotakara via (MacRumors). The report adds that the much rumoured cheaper iPhone will also come in a range of different colours. It suggests that the iPhone 5S would be announced in July and will see an August release.

In addition to the prediction related to multiple colours, it's also predicted that the next iPhone would come in different sizes. Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, has said in his research note that Apple will release the iPhone 5S in two or three screen sizes this summer. He also suggests a July launch and mentions that he believes that Apple would launch a cheaper iPhone.

It's not the first time that White has predicted multiple screen sizes. In January, he had said that the next iPhone may come in multiple colours and different sizes. White had also predicted that the next iPhone would come in a total of eight colours.

There's some confusion on the number of colours that the iPhone is rumoured to sport as it's not clear from the Macotakara report if Apple would add three new colours to the existing set or a single colour.

The site translates the rumour as:

"It seems that it will have gossiped if the 5-color lineup of low-priced edition iPhone is carried out until now, but iPhone 5S may be 3 colors added to 2 colors of iPhone 5 1 color somehow. However, the informed sources did not tell about the kind of detailed color."

Also, there's no mention of the additional colours but the present generation iPod touch is available in white, black, yellow, blue, and pink, in addition to a special red edition.

It seems that multiple analysts and industry watchers have agreed on the next iPhone launching in July-August. iMore's Rene Ritchie had also predicted that the iPhone 5S, is likely to release in August. The Wall Street Journal had also suggested a summer launch. Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets had also claimed that Apple will launch the iPhone 5S and the much-rumoured cheaper iPhone in June or July.

iPhone 5S to launch June 20, go on sale July, claims report

Apple will unveil its next iPhone on June 20 and kick off sales in July. At least, that's the claim from Japanese Mac enthusiast site MacFan.
Marking its 20th anniversary as a Mac-oriented Web site, MacFan suggests that the next-generation iPhone will take the stage at a Apple event on Thursday, June 20. The new iPhone will then go on sale a few weeks later in early July, as reported by Electronista.
The report further claims that Apple will launch the much-rumored low-cost iPhone in August and target it as a pre-paid device for developing markets such as China and India.
Electronista dubs the rumor plausible but doesn't indicate where or how MacFan got its information.
A June or July launch timeframe for the iPhone 5S has been proposed by other Apple watchers and even a couple of analysts. Apple did release the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 during the June and July period and only switched to fall for the iPhone 4S and 5.
How does MacFan's claims stack up with other recent rumors?

• Apple analyst Gene Munster expects the iPhone 5S to launch in late June, followed by the low-cost model in the September quarter.
• KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will announce the next iPhone in June and offer it for sale in July.
• Japanese Apple blog Macotakara said earlier this month that production of the next iPhone had already gotten off the ground.

MacFan's report does echo those of other sources, though it's gone farther out on the limb by suggesting a specific launch date. And like most rumors, that one should be taken with a grain of salt.
A June 20 event would come hot on the heels of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which typically runs throughout the second week of the month. In the past, Apple actually used WWDC to announce new iPhone models, including the iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3. So, if Apple returns to a June iPhone launch, an announcement during this year's WWDC seems the more likely timeframe.
Whatever the date, a summer debut for the next iPhone could be a good strategic move on Apple's part.
Apple launched the iPhone 5 last September in large part to end its September quarter with a bang.
But the company then proceeded to unveil a new iPad, the iPad Mini, a new iPod Touch, and other refreshed products in October. If Apple continues to stack all its product launches in the fall, it leaves the company with little to announce the other three quarters of any given year.
Apple could generate even more attention for its new products if it spaces out the launches throughout the year, in essence a return to its older strategy.

iOS 7 jailbreak supposedly already in the works

With an iOS 6 jailbreak now out and about, developers are starting to think ahead to iOS 7. We’ve already heard from Evad3rs team member David Wang (a.k.a. Planetbeing) about the chances of jailbreaking iOS 7, and according to him, it’ll most likely be a slow battle to find the exploits in iOS 7. However, another well-known jailbreaker has stepped up and pointed out that he has a solution.


Joshua Hill (a.k.a. p0sixninja, who’s a member of the Greenpois0n dev team) took to Twitter and said that, from the looks it, “the next jailbreak might be created entirely by [him].” He followed up with that statement saying that “Evad3rs haven’t gone anywhere,” and he claims he “just discovered all the needed exploits…over the past few months.”
The latest version to be jailbroken is iOS 6.1.2, which means that iOS 6.1.3 still has to be exploited, as Apple as specifically called out the Evad3rs dev team and patched up the exploits needed to jailbreak. At that point, Wang says he doesn’t know if a jailbreak will be released for iOS 6.1.3, and iOS 7 may be just as hard to break into.
Of course, we’re not sure if Hill is simply pulling our leg or if he’s actually being quite serious, but considering that he’s a reputable dev team member, it’s very likely that he’s telling the truth. Either way, iOS 7 hasn’t even been announced yet, so it’s too early to tell exactly how easy or hard it will be to break into iOS 7.

Nokia CEO evades questions about Lumia 928, tosses an iPhone on the floor

Stephen Elop is in the news again. The Nokia CEO evaded questions related to the existence of the Nokia Lumia 928 during a recent interview with a Finnish television channel. But more interestingly, he tossed the show host's iPhone on the floor and  said that it was embarrassing, when the host took the iPhone out of his pocket.
 

The TV show host, Hjallis Harkimo, took out his iPhone and said that he'd like to own a Nokia phone, hinting that he has to use the iPhone as there's no Nokia phone to match it. Seeing this, Elop exclaimed, "Oh, how embarrassing!"

"I don't want to have an iPhone. I want to have a Nokia phone," said Harkimo.

Following the conversation, Elop took the iPhone from Harkimo and tossed it off camera, with a sound of the phone hitting the floor. "There, it's gone," said Elop.

The show host further probed, "I want to have a Nokia phone because I believe in you and I believe in Nokia. But I want to have that Lumia 928. So when do I get it?" But Elop did not answer the question and promised that he would replace the host's phone with a Nokia phone.

Finnish blog Tietoviikko later confirmed that the interviewer's phone did not suffer any damages, however, he's yet to receive a replacement Nokia phone.

Rumours suggest that the Lumia 928 would be Nokia's next flagship and would compete with phones such as the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, sporting an all aluminium body, a beautiful design, a 4.5-inch OLED display, a powerful processor and great camera capabilities. It's also expected to feature a Xenon flash,and a microSD card slot. The phone is said to be thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920.

iPhone 5 case has an equalizer on the back

There's no shortage of iPhone cases, but here's one that will really make you stand out at the disco: The iEqualizer iPhone 5 case from Strapya World shows off a set of lovely blinking lights on the back that look exactly like a graphic equalizer.
First, the good news: Those attractive illuminations are powered by their own button-sized batteries that reside inside this case. That means your iPhone 5's battery won't have to pay the price for all this frivolity.
Better yet, from the looks of the video above, you'll agree that it's a pretty cool effect, especially in the dark.
The bad news? Like all cases, you'll sacrifice the svelte design of the iPhone 5 for this enclosure, which also includes a plastic appendage at the top that functions as an on/off switch. In fact, the case is so thick, it will make your iPhone nearly twice its present girth.
For purists, this won't qualify as an equalizer, especially since each of the bars isn't reacting to specific frequencies. Nay, it's just the whole array of blinkenlights reacting to any sound nearby.
Available for preorder now, look for it in late March or early April for $32.30.

Apple's iOS 6.1.3 update set to kill evasi0n untethered jailbreak

The iOS 6.1.3 beta 2 update from Apple won't work with evasi0n, according to one of the developers behind the untethered jailbreak for iPhone 5 and newer iOS devices.
Apple's latest beta, which the company began pushing to iOS developers late last week, patches one of the five bugs that the evasi0n jailbreak exploits, evasi0n creator David Wang told Forbes.
"If one of the vulnerabilities doesn't work, evasi0n doesn't work," Wang said.
"We could replace that part with a different vulnerability, but [Apple] will probably fix most if not all of the bugs we've used when 6.1.3 comes out."

Untethered jailbreak cat-and-mouse game

Apple's undoing of the three-week-old untethered jailbreak doesn't mean this is the end of the jailbreak store Cydia or custom software on iOS devices.
Wang told Forbes that his team of "evad3rs" found other bugs in the iOS platform besides the aforementioned five exploits, and could build an entirely new jailbreak based on them.
Yes, Apple's move looks like it will be just the latest update in the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between the Cupertino company and the jailbreak community.

iOS 6.1.3 lockscreen fix

As the first untethered iOS 6 jailbreak, evasi0n was downloaded 270,000 times as soon as it went live. It continued to break records with almost 7 million downloads over the next four days.
While avid users of Cydia will want to avoid updating, the iOS 6.1.3 patch may be essential for other security-focused iPhone and iPad users.
Besides patching one of the five exploits used by the evasi0n untethered jailbreak, the iOS 6.1.3 update is set to fix the persistent lockscreen bug.
Even though Apple knew about this lockscreen bug before it released the iOS 6.1.2 update, users can still bypass the not-so-secure lockscreen without entering the "required" four-digit keycode.
Once again, the benefits of jailbreaking an iOS device come with giving up a little bit of security.

Yet another iPhone passcode security flaw allows access to internal storage

At this rate, Apple will have to update iOS every month. Close on the heels of the passcode bypass vulnerability found on iOS 6.1 earlier this month comes another passcode bypass vulnerability that lets attackers access users' photos, contacts and more by following a series of steps on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 6.1.

The vulnerability was revealed in a post on the Full Disclosure mailer last week by Benjamin Kunz Mejri, Founder and CEO of Vulnerability Lab. In the email, Mejri gives step-by-step instructions to reproduce the flaw. It is similar to the loophole around the passcode discovered earlier this month. The most ominous part of this bug is that it allows any hacker direct access (via USB) to your iDevice’s content stored on the internal storage without needing to enter a pin.

Apple will reportedly fix the passcode bypass flaw in an upcoming update

All anyone has to do is dial an emergency number directly from the lockscreen. Immediately after dialing, you have to cancel the call and press the power button. Follow this by pressing the home button. Till here, the steps sound simple, but the next few require some dexterity. Depress the power button for 3 seconds and on the last of the three, press the power button while tapping the emergency call button. Next, remove the finger off the home button before releasing the power/unlock button. Here, Mejri says your screen (minus the top bar) will go black. In this state, connect the USB cable to your phone. This will allow you to access photos, contacts and whatever else you have stored in your iDevice’s internal storage without a pin from your computer.

The first half of the exploit is very similar to the earlier vulnerability. In fact, the Vulnerability Lab references this in its proof of concept. Apple released a 6.1.2 update last week that didn’t fix this security flaw. But the company is planning a 6.1.3 update, which it has started seeding to developers. iOS 6.1.3 will supposedly plug the passcode bypass trick. The forthcoming update will also reportedly kill the evasi0n untethered jailbreak.

Of course, it is not always possible to reproduce this flaw. iMore reports that if an attacker uses a computer that has not previously been connected to a particular iPhone or iPad, the passcode on that device cannot be bypassed. “With the device plugged in, once you enter your passcode, iTunes will never require you to enter it again. iTunes has some mechanism in place that will now allow your computer to talk to the device, even when the lock screen is present. Had the person in the video plugged their device in to a computer that it had never been plugged in to before, they would have met with an error message instead,” iMore’s report said.

iPhone Mini reportedly launching this summer

The next device from Apple is rumored to be the iPhone Mini, a smaller - and more importantly cheaper - version of its smartphone, and the release date may be in the summer.
There are plenty of reasons why Apple needs to start making the cheaper iPhone Mini, and the Morgan Stanley managing director of the PC hardware industry, Katy Huberty, points that out after meeting with Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer.
Emerging markets like China and Brazil have snapped up the iPad Mini, according to her comments picked up by CNET.
"iPad Mini is expanding Apple's customer base with 50 [percent] of purchases in China/Brazil representing new customers to the ecosystem," said Huberty.
Likewise, Chinese consumers are showing signs that they're willing to buy into the latest models of the iPhone instead of the smartphone's older generations.
Preparing for expanding markets as well as existing ones, she anticipates that new carrier partnerships will take place in Q2 2014 with NTT Docomo, T-Mobile, and China Mobile.

iOS 6.1.3 update to fix lock screen vulnerability

Apple released iOS 6.1.2 a couple of days ago that fixed the annoying Microsoft Exchange bug plaguing numerous iOS devices. However, it didn’t address the recent lock screen exploit that allows nosy eyes to get a peek at your contacts and photos. However, iOS 6.1.3 beta 2 was just seeded to developers, and it looks like this update will fix the vulnerability.

This is the third minor update to iOS 6.1 alone in just a few weeks, so it seems Apple is getting better at addressing issues in a quicker and more efficient manner. This latest release was just seeded to developers, and it’s actually the same update as iOS 6.1.1 beta 1, but is being rebranded as iOS 6.1.3 with a few more fixes added on, including the lock screen bug.
The update also includes several enhancements to the Apple Maps application for Japan users that we saw earlier this month. There’s no word on when the official iOS 6.1.3 update will roll out to all users, but it should be fairly soon. There’s also no word on whether or not this new update patches up the evasi0n jailbreak, so stay tuned for that.
The lock screen exploit that iOS 6.1.3 will fix allowed people who got a hold of your phone to bypass the lock screen and gain access to your contact list, as well as any photos stored on your iDevice. While the hack itself takes a bit of practice to learn, anybody could easily learn the trick to get a hold of your contacts.

Apple’s iPhone 5 topples the Samsung Galaxy S III to become the best-selling smartphone in Q4 2012

Apple’s iPhone 5 managed to dislodge the Samsung Galaxy S III as the world’s best-selling smartphone during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to new figures published today by market research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics.
Global shipments of Apple’s flagship smartphone increased from 6 million in the third quarter of 2012 to a much more impressive 27.4 million units in the final three months. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S III slipped from 18 million to 15.4 million units over the same period.
It’s a significant role reversal given that in the third quarter of last year, Apple was using the iPhone 4S to go toe-to-toe with Samsung’s flagship Android handset. At the time the iPhone 4S had shipped 16.2 million units, a figure not too far off the Galaxy S III’s more dominant 18 million units.
Despite the significant growth in iPhone 5 sales, the iPhone 4S actually increased in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 17.4 million units. Combined, these two devices easily outstrip the Galaxy S III with a global market share of  20.6 percent – although it’s arguably not a fair fight due to the complete absence of figures for Samsung’s other devices, such as the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note II.
Samsung shouldn’t be worried though. The Galaxy S III is still selling very well considering that it launched last May, and has since had to contend with a number of other high-end handsets such as the Nexus 4, Nokia Lumia 920 and most recently, the BlackBerry Z10.
Rumor has it that Samsung could be launching the successor to the Galaxy S III, most likely called the Galaxy S4, as soon as March 14. If this turns out to be accurate, the power play between these two could shift yet again, giving the South Korean OEM another quarter or two at the top.
It’s a constant back and forth, given that both companies now launch a new flagship device every year and roughly six months apart from one another. Until another OEM – perhaps HTC, BlackBerry or Nokia – can gain anything like the same traction or find a marketing budget to compete with Samsung and Apple, the landscape at the top is unlikely to change anytime soon.
The figures today are mostly in line with the estimates for the fourth quarter of 2012, published by Strategy Analytics earlier this month. It remains to be seen though whether Samsung can regain its crown by growing its smartphone sales by 35 percent this year, which was also predicted by the research firm back in January.

Apple could unveil iPhone Mini this summer, says analyst

An iPhone Mini priced at $330 in China would provide a healthy shot in the arm to Apple's Chinese smartphone sales, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.
A low-priced iPhone would add another 20 percent to the 10 percent Chinese market share currently addressed by the iPhone 5, the analyst said toda. Smartphone prices are starting to stabilize in China, which will open up the market for such a phone. But a deal with China Mobile is also key.
Apple currently sells the iPhone to Chinese consumers through China Unicom and China Telecom. The company has been trying to cook up a deal with China Mobile, the country's largest carrier, but has run into stumbling blocks.
Still, the analyst sees China Mobile as a major contributor to the growth of the iPhone, citing a few different factors. First, Apple would launch a new Mini model. Second, legislation for TD-LTE licenses and number portability could pass later this year or in 2014. And third, China Mobile would be more open to subsidizing higher-end smartphones on a TD-LTE network.
"We believe Apple could launch iPhone Mini at $330 (about Rmb 2,000), in-line with flagship products in China from Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, and Coolpad," Huberty said in an investors note out today. "Even in a scenario of low 40 percent gross margin and 1/3 iPhone cannibalization rate (flattening legacy iPhone shipment growth), which we view as conservative, the iPhone Mini adds incremental revenue and gross profit dollars."
The $330 would be the unlocked price for the phone in China. Launching over the summer, the iPhone Mini would target other emerging markets beyond China, according to the investors note.
Rumors of a low-cost iPhone gained traction last month following stories from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg claiming such a device is on the horizon.
Several analysts have also forecast a less-expensive iPhone on the agenda for sometime this year.
Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston also sees an iPhone Mini on Apple'sfuture but doesn't think it will appear until 2014 at the earliest.

iPhone users spend more time playing games than Android users

The results from the latest Arbitron Mobile US smartphone panel have been published and show that iPhone users spend more time playing mobile games than Android users. According to the survey results, 85.7% of iPhone users played mobile gaming apps during December of 2012. The survey shows that 76% of Android users played games during the same month.


The survey also shows that iPhone users access game apps more often with an average of 151.5 sessions monthly compared to the 94.6 sessions a month average by Android users. Gamers in the survey panel spent an average of 12 hours and 23 minutes playing games on the iPhone. Android users in the panel spent an average of eight hours and 4 minutes playing games.
Arbitron says that mobile gamers make up 78.8% of its US panel. That group of gamers spent 594.1 minutes using game apps making games the most popular function on smartphones. The second most popular activity for smartphone users on the panel was social networking with 477 minutes spent with social networking apps during the month.
Users in the survey group spent 447.9 minutes messaging during December, 447.8 minutes browsing the web, and 418.6 minutes making phone calls. The survey also looked at the most popular games by platform and found that Words With Friends was the most popular on both Android and iPhones. Rounding out the top five games for iPhone users were Scramble With Friends, Temple Run, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, and Draw Something. Rounding out the top five for Android gamers was Angry Birds Star Wars, Scramble With Friends, Drag Racing, and Fruit Ninja.

Apple releases iOS 6.1.1 update to address battery issues with iOS 6.1

After complaints about the recent iOS 6.1.0 update, Apple has now released a new update to iOS, numbered at 6.1.1. According to Pocket Lint, the update is 23MB and can be downloaded over-the-air by iPhone 4S users. It is primarily meant to address the bugs that people have been facing because of the iOS 6.1 update.

Apple said, "This update fixes an issue that could impact mobile performance and reliability for iPhone 4S." The update is said to have been in testing for members of Apple's developer program since February 6. This points to the fact that Apple worked to get this update out quickly to address many of the complaints it was facing.

The update aims to fix issues that iPhone 4S owners are facing

Many of the complaints came to light just yesterday with users facing issues with 3G connectivity, battery life, and over heating. An earlier report states that complaints regarding iOS 6.1 started trickling in all the way back from January 28, when Apple officially released version 6.1 for users to download. The issue seems to be plaguing only users who have upgraded their devices recently.

The earliest report from January 28 came from a user who incidentally reported an improved battery life, with comments talking about how users were saying the ‘exact opposite’ instead. Complaints about depleting battery life was the most common complaint with one user complaining about the battery life of his device having fallen to 23 percent after about an hour and a half of standby.

The problem has escalated so much in the last few days that Vodafone sent out a mass text to users advising users to not upgrade their phones to iOS 6.1 as far as possible, not at least till Apple releases a fix. Vodafone said that upgrading to iOS 6.1 is bringing about issues with 3G.

The update to 6.1 had brought along with it support for LTE capabilities to iPhone 5 across 36 additional carriers. Users of the new iPad could also enjoy LTE across 23 iPad carriers around the world. However, India did not figure in the list of countries to get this feature, which means the iPhone 5 and the new iPad are limited to HSPA+ speeds here.

Additional updates in iOS 6.1 also brought the much-awaited ability to use Siri to purchase movie tickets in the United States through Fandango. Moreover, iTunes Match subscribers could download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud, Apple’s cloud storage service after the update to iOS 6.1.

However, Apple is known to have issues with its updates and this is not the first time a new release is causing troubles for devices. Apple had released a minor 6.0.2 update to fix an issue a Wi-Fi issue that seemed to be plaguing the newer Apple devices – the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini. Instead, the fix ended up messing with device battery life instead.

The issue appeared to be plaguing the iPhone 5 a lot more than the iPad mini. Prior to the update, we had found the battery life to be decent on the iPhone 5. With normal usage, the handset could be used for a day without it depleting too much. However, after the update to 6.0.2, with the same amount of usage, the battery appeared to be draining a lot faster than before.

Some iPhone users are seeing battery drain and overheating issues after upgrading to iOS 6.1 (Updated)

We have started seeing an increase in iPhone issues related to battery life and overheating. All of them seem to be related to users upgrading their devices to iOS 6.1.
A quick search on the Apple Support Communities forum for iOS 6.1 battery shows this is not an isolated problem. Apple released iOS 6.1 on January 28. It appears some users have been having problems ever since they’ve upgraded: complaints have been coming in from that date all the way till today.
The earliest report we could find was created on January 28 and actually comes from a user reporting great battery life on his iPhone 5. Yet the first reply is from another iPhone 5 user who is “seeing the exact opposite” and the thread goes down from there. It goes on for 11 pages, and at the time of writing has 157 replies.
There’s another 16-page thread started on January 29 (239 replies at the time of writing) and a third started on February 4 with just three replies. All these threads have the majority of their replies coming in today, on February 8.
A fourth thread started on January 29 has the closest thing to a possible solution:

I went to see the genius’ yesterday. My problem was that my usage was almost identical to my stand by times, which means that something was continuing to run in the background after closing all the apps.
I was told to turn off location services and then one by one turn each in turn to see which one was causing the drain on the battery. I was impatient so just factory reset the handset which seems to have fixed the problem.
I’ll keep you all posted on how it continues.

One possible theory links this problem with Apple Mail and Microsoft Exchange. As pointed out by Michel de Rooij (as well as Windows IT Pro, Paul Robichaux, and SharePoint Pro) it appears iOS 6.1 is throwing up malformed meetings, causing devices to get into a sync loop which in turn causes excessive transaction log growth on Exchange mailbox servers. This then leads to Exchange performance issues and transaction log drives can potentially run out of disk space.
Again, it’s not clear if the two are related, but it’s certainly possible that the reason only some iPhones are having their batteries drained and are overheating comes down to not everyone using Exchange. A temporary fix is available at DevCentral. If you’re experiencing this problem and don’t use Exchange, we would like to know.
Much like with iOS 6.0, some (if not all) of these issues will likely be fixed with an update, probably iOS 6.1.1. In the meantime, if you haven’t upgraded yet, do so at your own risk.
We have contacted Apple about this issue. We will update this article if we hear back.

Here's How the BlackBerry Z10 Stacks Up With Competitors

BlackBerry — the company formerly known as Research in Motion — announced on Wednesday the arrival of its new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, which has the potential to brighten the future of the struggling company.
The sleek device is a lightweight beauty and packs a whole slew of bells and whistles. But could the BlackBerry Z10 truly compete against the big hitters in mobile tech once again?

Like many of its competitors, it touts a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. It is 0.8 ounces heavier than the iPhone 5, but features a greater screen resolution (1,280 x 768 pixels) — the same as the Lumia 920, but Nokia's device is almost a whole two ounces heavier.
To give a better look at how the BlackBerry Z10 stacks up against other key products on the market, check out the chart below.
Do you think the smartphone can compete against the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III and the Nokia Lumia 920?

BlackBerry Z10 vs. Samsung Galaxy S III vs. iPhone 5 vs. Nokia Lumia 920

	BlackBerry Z10	Samsung Galaxy S III	iPhone 5	Nokia Lumia 920
Screen Size	4.2 inches	4.8 inches	4 inches	4.5 inches
Resolution	1,280 x 768	1,280 x 720	1,136 x 640	1,280 x 768
Weight	4.78 oz	4.7 oz	3.9 oz	6.5 oz
CPU	Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4	Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 (in the U.S.)	Dual-core Apple A6	Dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4
Storage	16 GB + microSD slot	16GB, 32GB or 64GB +microSD slot	16GB, 32GB or 64GB, no card slot	32GB, no card slot
Connectors	microUSB, micro HDMI	microUSB, HDMI adapter not included	Apple Lightning, HDMI adapter not included	microUSB, HDMI adapter not included
Operating System	BlackBerry 10	Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)	iOS 6	Windows Phone 8
Battery	305 hours standby, 10 hours talk time (3G)	790 hours standby, 11:40 hours talk time (3G)	225 hours standby, 8 hours talk time (3G)	300 hours standby, 10 hours talk time (3G)
Camera	8MP, LED flash, autofocus	8MP, 3,264x2,448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	8MP, 3,264x2,448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	8MP, 3,264x2,448 pixels, optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED flash
Networking	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
Price	$199 (estimated)	$199.99 + $35 carrier fee	$199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB	$99.99

47.8 million iPhones, 22.9 million iPads sold in the last quarter

Apple has released a press release stating that it has seen record results in its 13-week fiscal 2013 quarter that ended on December 29, 2012. The company has stated that it has sold 47.8 million iPhones, compared to 37 million before, and 22.9 million iPads, compared to 15.4 million before.

Other major landmarks for Apple in the quarter include the sale of 4.1 million Macs, compared to 5.2 million in the year-ago quarter, and 12.7 million iPods, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

“We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.”

Almost 48 milion iPhones sold!

“We’re pleased to have generated over $23 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever.”

According to an earlier report, cumulative sales of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, and the iPhone 5 have surpassed the sales of Samsung's Galaxy S line-up and the Galaxy Note.

It could be seen that Apple has outsold Samsung 219 million to 131 million. Tavis McCourt of Raymond Jame said in a research note, "Although undoubtedly Samsung's Galaxy lineup has been tremendously successful, given the sudden negative sentiment related to iPhone, we thought it would be interesting to compare Galaxy sales vs. iPhone sales over the last two and a half years."

But on the flip side of the coin, a report shows that Samsung's latest high-end device—the Galaxy Note II—has outdone the iPhone 5 in terms of sales in India.

When we inquired about the sales of its devices, Samsung told us that the Note II and the Galaxy S III have been doing very well in India in terms of sales. The grey market vendors sang to a similar tune as the popular phablet, Note 2, seems to be the best-selling device in the market. So, it’s the phablet that is attracting users with its large display and powerful performance, selling for Rs 35,500. In fact, we were told that it is more in demand than the iPhone 5 and has been the highest selling smartphone as of last week.

According to the grey market vendors, the iPhone 5 takes the second place followed by Samsung’s Galaxy S3 (selling for Rs. 31,000) taking the third place for the best-selling smartphones. They, however, weren't too keen on divulging daily sales figures, or any other sales data. HTC's recent releases this season – HTC One X+ and the WP8 running HTC 8X – have been moving a fair amount of pieces, but not as much as the top three. Nokia's latest flagship offering also seems to be wowing the audience and our sources claimed that there have been many enquiries about the Lumia range; however, the phones (Lumia 920 and Lumia 820) don't seem to be in stock in the grey market because of the official launch.

Rumor: Apple to Launch an iPhone With a 4.8-Inch Screen in 2013

Apple will launch not one, not two, but three new iPhones in 2013, one of which will have a 4.8-inch screen, a new rumor claims.
According to the China Times, which cites sources from Apple's supply chain, Apple will launch a next-generation "classic" iPhone and a 4.8-inch device, halfway between a smartphone and a tablet, codenamed "iPhone Math". Furthermore, the rumor claims Apple will also launch a third iPhone model with a 12-megapixel camera towards the end of the year.
Very little is known about either of these, except for the camera on the 4.8-inch device, which should be of the 8-megapixel variety, with Largan Precision building the lenses.
The report should be taken with a large chunk of salt. Apple's 7.9-inch iPad mini and the 4-inch iPhone 5 have shown the company is willing to explore different form factors, which sparked the iPhone-tablet hybrid rumors. There has been no official word or indication that such a device is indeed being built, though it could arguably help Apple deal with competing large-screen Android smartphones which are selling extremely well, most notably the 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S III.