Apple

Apple's iPhone is still king of the smartphone hill.

(Credit: Apple)

J.D. Power and Associates on Thursday released the results of its 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study and the 2009 Wireless Business Smartphone Satisfaction Study. It may not surprise you to learn that Apple topped the list for satisfaction among consumers, but the iPhone is also the No. 1 pick among business users, too.

The factors determining satisfaction for business users (in order of importance) are ease of operation (29 percent); operating system (23 percent); physical design (21 percent); features (16 percent); and battery function (11 percent).

Apple scored 803 out of a possible 1,000 points among business users in the survey. Research in Motion's BlackBerry finished in second place in the business category, with a score of 724.

The factors and how they were weighted differed for the consumer and business surveys. Factors used to determine satisfaction for consumers were ease of operation (which accounted for 30 percent of the score), operating system (22 percent), features (21 percent), physical design (18 percent), and battery function (9 percent).

J.D. Power said Apple came in first with consumers, scoring 811 out of a possible 1,000. LG came in second with 776, and the BlackBerry took the third spot with 724.

While the company didn't give specific numbers, J.D. Power said the iPhone performed "particularly well in ease of operation, operating system, features, and physical design."

Overall, consumer satisfaction with smartphones has gone up 23 points out of 1,000 from a year ago, while business users report an increase of 43 points during the same time.

Apple on Thursday released an update for the iPhone operating system, bringing the current version of the OS to 3.1.2.

According to notes accompanying the update, Apple fixed three bugs, which may not seem like a lot, but they are important. Among the changes is a fix for what Apple says is a "sporadic issue," where the iPhone would not wake up from sleep mode.

The update also resolves an issue that could interrupt the cell network until the phone is restarted. A bug that caused a crash during video streaming has been addressed in iPhone OS 3.1.2.

Apple said iPhone OS 3.1.2 is compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS. The update is available by plugging your iPhone into your computer and clicking on the update button in iTunes.

Once finished, your iPhone will restart and immediately alert you to a Carrier Settings update. This is a very small update that will be completed without needing to restart again.

Battery issues with the iPhone 3GS have led Apple to contact some customers to get first-hand reports on what may be causing premature draining, according to users on Apple's forums and the iPhone Blog enthusiast site.

(Credit: The iPhone Blog)

Apple's discussion boards have been buzzing with users complaining about poor battery life with the iPhone 3GS, which was released in June.

In some cases, users on the forums say the battery is draining while the iPhone is on standby. Other users say that after charging the battery overnight, it mysteriously drains after sending a couple of text messages or e-mails. Turning off features like Push Notifications and Bluetooth seem to have no effect for most users reporting problems.

Apple's support team has started contacting some customers who reported their battery problem to AppleCare, according to the enthusiast site and Apple's own forums. AppleCare is apparently asking customers to enable battery-life logging on the iPhone and then sync the logs to a computer. AppleCare is then asking customers to send in the logs, so it can try to figure out what's causing the issue.

The company apparently is telling customers that battery logging does not affect battery life itself, but that the logs do take up hard drive space. Thus, customers should plug the smartphone into a computer to get the logs off the device. This is done automatically when the iPhone is synced to a computer.

Apple representatives weren't immediately available for comment.

iPhone and iPhone 3G users hit a roadblock last week trying to login to Exchange 2007 servers after upgrading to iPhone OS 3.1.

(Credit: Apple)

Because the problems began with the latest update, it may seem reasonable to assume that the update is to blame, but it's not. In fact, everything is working exactly how it's supposed to be, according to Apple.

"iPhone OS 3.1 is working properly with Exchange Server 2007," Apple representative Natalie Harrison told CNET News. "We added device encryption information to the data that can be managed by IT administrators using Exchange Server 2007. The policy of whether to support iPhone 3G, in addition to iPhone 3GS, which always has on-device encryption, on Exchange Server 2007 is set by the administrator and can be changed at any time."

What this means is that iPhone OS 3.1 now properly identifies itself to Exchange 2007 as having hardware encryption, and that's what is causing the problems for iPhone and iPhone 3G users.

iPhone OS 3.0 did not identify itself properly to Exchange 2007 on any iPhone. This means that if you had a 3G and Exchange 2007 was configured to require hardware encryption, you could still login, even though the device does not have hardware encryption.

With iPhone OS 3.1, all iPhones identify themselves properly to the server, essentially fixing a glitch in the previous operating system. However, now iPhone and iPhone 3G users that upgraded to iPhone OS 3.1 cannot login to Exchange 2007 servers that require hardware encryption.

If you use the new iPhone 3GS, you won't notice any change. Apple's newest phone is equipped with hardware encryption, so it will meet the requirements of the Exchange server when identifying itself.

If you already upgraded to iPhone OS 3.1 on an iPhone or iPhone 3G and connect to an Exchange 2007 server, you can ask that the IT admin turn off the hardware encryption requirement for those devices.

Company IT administrators who require hardware encryption to access Exchange 2007 will need to decide whether they want older iPhones to access their servers. If so, they will need to configure Exchange to not require encryption from the iPhone and iPhone 3G.

Of course, if you haven't upgraded your iPhone, it will continue to access Exchange 2007 as it always did.

One of the features that iPod Touch users have been requesting from Apple is a camera. According to reports, they may be getting their wish.

Apple's iPhone 3GS still-camera autofocus feature.

(Credit: Apple)

While attributing its information only to a "sources in Asia," TechCrunch claims that Apple has placed an order for camera modules destined for the next version of the iPod Touch. The size of the order, according to TechCrunch, is "massive."

MacRumors is taking the camera information a step further, claiming that both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano will receive cameras when they are updated. New case designs, purportedly for the iPods, show a hole for the camera.

This isn't the first time rumors of iPods getting a camera have come up. In May, AppleInsider said that iPods would get cameras similar to those found in iPhones.

At this point the only handheld device from Apple with a camera is the iPhone. All three models of the iPhone come with a one.

In addition to its 3-megapixel still camera, the iPhone 3GS includes video recording and basic video-editing software, which allows chunks of video to be uploaded to YouTube or MobileMe.

Just as America gears up to celebrate Independence Day comes news that iPhone 3GS owners are getting some freedom of their own.

This is the site for purplera1n, which enables the installation of third-party software not approved for Apple's App Store.

George Hotz, who you may recall as the teenage hacker who originally unlocked the iPhone, has let loose a jailbreaking app for the iPhone 3GS code-named purplera1n. It enables the installation of third-party software not approved for Apple's App Store.

For now, purplera1n is Windows-only (but not Windows 7) and requires the latest iTunes installed, as well as an iPhone 3GS with the 3.0 firmware. In a Friday blog post titled "I make it ra1n," Hotz says a Mac version is "coming shortly."

Hotz notes that he normally doesn't make tools for the general public and would rather wait for the iPhone dev team to do that.

"But guys, what's up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played," he chides on his blog. "We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the 'last' hole in the iPhone. What last hole...this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week.

John Biggs over at CrunchGear is among those who have already given purplera1n a go and declares the jailbreaking process "amazingly simple."

Why do we get the sense jailbreaking is going to be part of a whole lot of Fourth of July agendas? But take note: Hotz does caution that purplera1n is in beta and suggests backing up your data before running the app.

OK, folks, it's time to step back, take a deep breath, and relax.

(Credit: Apple, Inc.)

There has been a lot of talk today about Apple supposedly admitting it has heat issues with the new iPhone 3GS. The simple fact is that is not true.

What Apple did do is update a previously published tech note advising customers of the safe operating temperatures of the iPhone. Now, why would Apple do this? Because it does it every time it releases a device like the iPhone 3GS. It's standard procedure for the company to continually update tech notes for all its products.

If you're not familiar with them, tech notes are a way for companies to offer advice, best practices, workarounds, and other tidbits of information for their customers. They are not a way to advise customers of disastrous heat issues that they may have with a device.

For whatever reason, some people picked up the tech note today and wrote that Apple had admitted to an overheating issue. Here's what the tech note actually says.

Apple recommends that you don't:

• Leave the device in a car on a hot day.
• Leave it in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time.
• Use certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.

I hardly see that as an admission that there are heat issues. Best practices for operating the iPhone, sure.

I've been through several incidents over my 15 years of covering Apple where warnings were issued about products. Whether it was a notebook battery or a power cord, we usually learned of the problem from Apple, and they were always quick to respond and to offer replacements.

It is true that Apple has been quiet about this so far. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because they have not been able to replicate the heat issues some users are reporting.

You will know when Apple acknowledges a serious problem like this. It won't come in the form of a tech note. It will come directly from a company representative.

Apple's recently released iPhone 3GS pulled out a victory in Consumer Reports' latest smartphone showdown.

(Credit: Apple)

In handing the iPhone the top spot in this year's smartphone list, Consumer Reports on Wednesday praised the iPhone 3GS for its "superior display, reinforced by top-notch multimedia, navigation, Web browsing, and battery life." However, the iPhone didn't win in all of the categories.

Consumer Reports gave high marks to the Palm Pre and BlackBerry for their messaging functionality. The organization also praised the Pre as a "superior multitasker" for its "deck-of-cards handling of multiple applications."

In light of the changing features and needs of the smartphone category, Consumer Reports changed some of the criteria for this year's showdown. The changes helped some older phones--like the iPhone 3G--move up in the rankings, while other phones--like the Samsung Blackjack II and BlackBerry Pearl Flip--dropped due to the changes.

Changes include putting more emphasis on things like the display, navigation, multimedia, and messaging, while putting less of an emphasis on features such as talk time and voice quality.

It's unclear how the iPhone 3GS would have rated, had MMS messaging been available from AT&T at the time of the tests. AT&T said functionality would be available sometime this summer.

The full report is available to Consumer Reports subscribers.

The iPhone 3GS is already wooing game developers with its faster, more powerful platform, but don't expect a ton of games fully taking advantage of it to flood the App Store--yet.

Though 1 million iPhone 3GSs sold in one weekend, the latest Apple mobile device is essentially still a niche product, compared to the 40 million original iPhones, iPhone 3Gs, and both iPod Touch models already sold. And those won't be able to run games with the same efficiency and speed as the new iPhone 3GS.

1 million iPhone 3GSs sold the first weekend, but it's still considered a niche device for many iPhone game developers.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

In short, it's still too early to declare the era of iPhone 3GS games officially arrived. Some game makers are waiting, or not creating games to take advantage of the device at all. Some say it's "not wise" to play specifically to what is still a small slice of the audience combing Apple's App Store for the latest downloads. For example, Pop Cap, the company behind Peggle and Bejeweled for the iPhone, said its games are benefiting from the faster load times the 3GS offers, but it has no plans to create games that are iPhone 3GS-specific.

This wait-and-see approach may be contrary to what some expected. The iPhone 3GS was essentially an update to the iPhone 3G. The "S," we were told, stands for "speed." Indeed, there's a faster processor, a PowerVR SGX graphics chip that can handle 3D rendering, and support for OpenGL ES 2.0, a standard use for creating 2D and 3D graphics. It also has a magnetometer and a video camera, unlike other Apple mobile devices.

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