iphone5

Apple loses another unreleased iPhone (exclusive)

In a bizarre repeat of a high-profile incident last year, an Apple employee once again appears to have lost an unreleased iPhone in a bar, CNET has learned.

The errant iPhone, which went missing in San Francisco's Mission district in late July, sparked a scramble by Apple security to recover the device over the next few days, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Last year, an iPhone 4 prototype was bought by a gadget blog that paid $5,000 in cash. This year's lost phone seems to have taken a more mundane path: it was taken … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1541: How to kill HP in 15 easy steps (Podcast)

The Wall Street Journal devastates Hewlett Packard in one incredibly accurate editorial that compiles all the mistakes of the past year or so. And well ... it hurts. In that "oh so true" way. Speaking of hard truths, Eric Schmidt says Google + is an "identity service" and not a social network, and if you don't want to use your real name, don't use G+. Respect. Less respect for the possibility that Larry Page knew about the rogue Canadian pharmacy ads that were posting on Google. Hmm.

Facebook bumps up privacy controls

The new iPhone may land on Sprint by mid-October, developers can start submitting apps for Windows Phone 7 "Mango" due out next month, and Facebook has announced new privacy controls.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Sprint to sell iPhone 5 in October, report says

Sprint Nextel may finally be getting the iPhone.

The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported today that the nation's third-largest wireless carrier will begin selling the iPhone 5 alongside Verizon Wireless and AT&T in mid-October.

Gaining access to the iPhone would represent a major victory for Sprint. Selling Apple's smartphone would put the carrier--which lags behind its larger rivals--on relatively equal footing with Verizon and AT&T. Exclusively offering the iPhone had, for years, been a massive advantage for AT&T, until Verizon began selling its version of the device earlier this year. … Read more

New BlackBerry Curve arrives

RankMyHack.com lets hackers brag about their latest endeavors, the iPhone 5 is rumored to be a dual-mode device, and Research In Motion has released a new BlackBerry Curve.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Report: iPhone 5 to be a dual-mode 'world phone'

Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 will support access to both CDMA and GSM networks, allowing it to operate in most countries around the world, a source tells TechCrunch.

An unidentified app developer reportedly pulled information from registration logs that show two distinct mobile network codes (MNC) / mobile country codes (MCC). These codes, which are believed to have been entered by testers of a single device using Apple's upcoming mobile operating system iOS 5, are unique mobile network identifiers belonging to Verizon and AT&T, TechCrunch said.

Apple now caters to both companies, but the devices are not designed to operate on each other's networks; Verizon's works on the CDMA standard, while AT&T's iPhone 4 operates on a GSM network, the dominant global wireless technology and the standard in Europe.

While the iPhone 5 has been long rumored to be a CDMA/GSM world phone, Verizon's iPhone has always had this capability, although it's not activated. Teardowns of the device showed that it sports the Qualcomm MDM6600 chip, the same chip that's used in the Droid Pro world phone.

TechCrunch concluded that a dual-mode phone would suggest that the iPhone 5 would not support LTE. However, Apple's latest developer builds for iOS 5 contain a snippet of code that mentions LTE, according to enthusiast site MacRumors, prompting speculation that the company may be testing 4G internally.

The hotly anticipated next edition of Apple's smartphone is expected to be released in October. … Read more

Best Buy offers iPhone 3GS for free--for a day

The iPhone 3GS just got better--for the moment, anyway. Best Buy is offering a free 8GB version of the one-rev-back iPhone model with a two-year AT&T contract. Clearly we're in the iPhone 5 rollout zone.

The offer's only good for one day--today, Monday, August 22--and it's only available in-store at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile. But I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the start of a trend.

Analysts have recently been predicting that the 3GS price would drop from $49 to $0 and the 16GB iPhone 4 from $199 to $99 when the iPhone 5 is officially announced.

According to analyst predictions, free iPhone 3GSes could more than double the number of iPhone users worldwide from an estimated 64 million to 150 milllion. A Touchpad firesale this ain't.

So, is free (with contract) cheap enough for a phone that's soon to be two revs old? Buying a 3GS was questionable at $49. Free seems like a pretty good deal.… Read more

Is this what the iPhone 5 looks like? MacRumors says yes

If the latest rumors are true, we'll find out September 7 what the iPhone 5 looks like. That's when Apple will purportedly hold a media event to unveil whatever it's been hatching all summer.

In the meantime, MacRumors has cooked up some decidedly sexy mockups of the iPhone 5. (Click either photo for a larger version.) But these images aren't based on wishful thinking; Chinese case manufacturers have already started producing iPhone 5 cases based on some design specs that were leaked last month.

Consequently, MacRumors commissioned CiccareseDesign to "create high-quality renderings made as closely … Read more

On Call: 5 tiny things the new iPhone needs

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

As you've heard many times over, a new iPhone is due from Apple by the end of the year. Depending on who you talk to, it will come in September or October, and it will be a small upgrade or a complete revamp, which means that only one thing is certain at this point: we won't know exactly what we'll get until CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage to tell us.

In the meantime, though, we can … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1522: Is there ice cream for WiFi Day? (Podcast)

It's 8-02-11 (in U.S. style date parlance, we know), and therefore it's WiFi Day ... we don't know what that means, but Molly's planning to get some ice cream out of it! Plus, Android malware that can record your phone calls and free WiFi in London, thanks to Virgin Media. Plus, the New Yorker is a winner on the iPad and the MacBook Air is a winner with our show hosts.