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iPhones accounted for almost half of October, November smartphone sales (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/10/iphones-accounted-for-almost-half-of-october-november-smartphon/)

Market research group NPD is reporting some good news for Apple ahead of the January 24 earnings call. The three models of the iPhone that are currently for sale — the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS — accounted for 43 percent of US smartphone sales in October and November.

Android phones saw a significant drop of 13 percent of share during that same period, while Apple’s share bumped up 17 percent. Where are RIM and Windows Phone handsets in all of this insanity? Well, RIM saw a 6 percent share in the US, while Windows Phone and “all others” were barely above the zero line.

At least in the American market, iOS and Android have the market and mind share for smartphones. As noted on Macgasm, the iPhone 3GS outsold every model of Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone handset during the October-November timeframe. Of course, the 3GS is now free from AT&T, so it's hard to compete with a no-cost handset and an application base of over half a million apps.

iPhones accounted for almost half of October, November smartphone sales originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video shows face recognition unlock for iPhone (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/10/video-shows-face-recognition-unlock-for-iphone/)

One of the features that graces the screens of many Android 4.0 phones is FaceUnlock, which uses facial recognition technology to unlock a phone rather than a simple swipe or swiping and entering a passcode. Now some devs have ported that capability to iOS and are promising that the capability will be available soon in the form of an app.

In the video below, there’s a demo of this app-in-progress. It’s pretty cool and seems to work well, although at least at this point it seems to be a bit slower than just swiping the home screen and tapping a four-digit code. What do you think, TUAW readers? Is this just an Android-y gimmick or the wave of the unlocking future? Tell us in the comments.

[via Engadget]

Video shows face recognition unlock for iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast Begins Rolling Out ‘AnyPlay’ Live TV Streaming for iPad (http://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/10/comcast-begins-rolling-out-anyplay-live-tv-streaming-for-ipad/)

Back in September, we reported on a leaked document from cable and Internet provider Comcast revealing details on the company’s forthcoming “AnyPlay” live television streaming service. While Comcast is not the first cable provider to bring such a product to market, it is the largest cable and Internet provider in the United States.

Comcast today announced that it has begun rolling the AnyPlay service out to its customers, beginning with Xfinity HD Triple Play customers in Denver and Nashville. More markets will be added in the coming months, with the service initially launching for the iPad only but joined in the future by the Motorola Xoom.

Here’s how it works…the AnyPlay device works the same as any other set top box in the home, but instead of delivering the incoming channel lineup to a television, AnyPlay delivers the lineup to the Wi-Fi router on the home network. The router then distributes the secure video signal to the iPad or Xoom over your home’s wireless network. So as long as your tablet is within range of the home wireless router, you can turn it into another television screen.

The AnyPlay service is accessed via the company’s existing Xfinity TV app for the iPad, which also offers thousands of hours of on demand movies and TV shows available for viewing both inside and outside of the home.

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Survey finds iPhone demand still strong in North America (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/10/survey-finds-iphone-demand-still-strong-in-north-america/)

The iPhone 4S launched several months ago, and demand remains strong says a new survey from ChangeWave. The December 2011 survey asked customers if they were buying a new smartphone in the next 90 days and which handset they would choose. Similar to previous surveys, the iPhone was the top choice, chosen by a majority (54%) of the respondents. The runner-ups were Samsung and Motorola which grabbed 13% and 7% of shoppers, respectively.

The iPhone has slipped a bit, and Samsung has gained some ground since the September 2011 survey. This isn’t a sign that Apple is losing its appeal; it’s just the natural flow of product launches. ChangeWave surveyed customers in September, just before the launch of the iPhone 4S. People were eager for Apple’s new phone and waiting to buy it. In December, the fervor died down and demand dropped slightly. Samsung, however, launched its flagship phone, the Galaxy Nexus in the US in mid-December. Demand climbed because the phone was brand new.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months. Apple will continue to provide the 4S, while Samsung will likely reveal a range of handsets at both CES in January and Mobile World Congress in February. Samsung won’t surpass Apple in the coming months, but its string of phones could take another percentage point or two from Apple. Of course, Apple will recoup these points when it introduces the iPhone 5.

[Via GigaOM]

Survey finds iPhone demand still strong in North America originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liquipel could make your iPhone waterproof without a case (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/09/liquipel-could-make-your-iphone-waterproof-without-a-case/)

Yeah, it sounds too good to be true. But that really is an iPhone in the cylinder above. Liquipel claims to make your smartphone water resistant by bonding it inside and out with a “nano” coating which repels water. While this isn’t for deep sea diving, it appears to be an ideal solution if you are clumsy or happen to be around water quite a bit. In the image below, I snapped a pic of a tissue paper coated with Liquipel technology. The tissue is impervious to water absorption, acting more like wax paper. Pretty neat stuff.

The downside (for now) is that you’ll have to send your device off to Liquipel for a few days for them to coat it. A rep I spoke to said they are hoping to work directly with manufacturers to integrate their coating before you buy a phone. In that case, you’d buy a water resistant phone automatically, eliminating the need for a LifeProof case or OtterBox if you’re just going to have your phone by the pool. I’m hopeful Apple will license or acquire this tech and implement it as soon as possible. While it won’t help with gravity, Liquipel certainly seems capable of preventing those spills and splashes that we’re all accustomed to — the ones which make us cringe or, at worst, place our iPhones in a sealed container filled with dry rice overnight (and prayer, for the devout).

Currently the Liquipel coating costs $59 for a 1-2 day turnaround for coating your phone. While the iPhone is certainly supported, it isn’t the only smartphone you can protect. But really, if you have one of those other phones, is it worth it? I kid. Check out Liquipel’s YouTube videos for more of this product in action. Here’s hoping Apple shows some interest in using the material soon — I’d love my iPhone 5 to be water resistant.

Liquipel could make your iPhone waterproof without a case originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS Multitasking Video Clarifies Why ‘Killing’ Apps Isn’t Necessary (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/iphoneincanada/~3/TIxCUSvHFAQ/)

Earlier we further learned about iOS multitasking as detailed in a post by Fraser Speirs. As much as the debate continues about whether or not we need to ‘kill’ apps in the multitasking tray, Speirs has now posted a detailed video of how iOS multitasking works as we get to see memory and CPU management in real time on his iPad.

There are five sections to this video demonstrating:

An app going from active to background to suspended

Instacast HD requesting extra background time to finish a podcast download

TomTom running indefinitely in the background

Batman Arkham City Lockdown and Real Racing 2 HD competing for big chunks of device memory

Batman Arkham City Lockdown forcing several smaller apps out of memory

His conclusion remains that force closing apps is fine for troubleshooting but should not be required as a regular routine.

Check out his 17 minute video below and tell me what you think:

iOS Multitasking Video Clarifies Why ‘Killing’ Apps Isn’t Necessary is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

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Find My Car Smarter uses Bluetooth Smart to locate your car (http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/06/find-my-car-smarter-uses-bluetooth-smart-to-locate-your-car/)

One time, I spent hours wandering the parking lot after a concert. I really wish I had marked the location of my car and not relied on my memory to navigate. Next time I find myself in that situation, I’m going to use Find My Car Smarter. It’s a Kickstarter project from FMC Smart which automatically marks your location every time you park your car.

The system uses a low-power Bluetooth Smart device (shown below), an iOS app and a Bluetooth 4.0 compatible phone like the iPhone 4S. The Bluetooth Smart device is a small USB dongle that fits in a standard car charger. It plugs into your car’s 12V accessory charging port and stays there. The iOS app, Find My Car Smarter, connects to the Bluetooth Smart device and runs in the background. The app stays connected to the dongle until you power down the device by turning off your car. If your car doesn’t power down the accessory port, then the app will disconnect when you walk away and get outside the dongle’s 10-foot range.

It’s this disconnection that triggers the app to mark your location. This all happens in the background automatically. You don’t have to open the app or remove the Bluetooth device. You just stop your car and walk away knowing that your location has been pinned. If you’re away on vacation and don’t need your car, you can turn off these background processes. This stops the app from automatically saving your car’s location, so you’ll have to remember to turn it back on when you get home.

When you’re ready to return home, just fire up the app, and it’ll show both your current location and your car’s location on a map. The app calculates how far away you are from your car, and how long its been parked in that place. It’ll even use your phone’s compass to help you walk in the right direction.

I tested out the system for a few weeks, and I highly recommend it to anyone who regularly parks in a large parking lot. It’s so convenient. You only have to set it up once and then you can forget about it. In practice, I found it to be accurate within 10-20 feet. The app brought me close enough to my car that I could easily find it with a quick scan.

The system is easy to use, accurate and reasonably priced. I also like the fact that it uses cutting edge technology like Bluetooth Smart. The only drawback I found was the size of the Bluetooth Smart dongle. It’s so small that it’s very easy to lose. If you keep stored in a USB car charger, you’ll do ok, but if you carry it around loose in your bag, there’s a good chance you will lose it.

The Find My Car Smarter system is available as a Kickstarter project. It’s reached its funding goal, and the first round of devices shipped this week. When the Kickstarter part of the project ends next week, the devices will be available for purchase from the company’s website. The basic package includes a Bluetooth Smart dongle and the iOS app for US$25. For an extra $5, you can add in a USB car charger if you don’t already have one.

Find My Car Smarter uses Bluetooth Smart to locate your car originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 5.1 hides references to quad-core chips (http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=bbc3e32097268f39e3b5a27b8152abca)

A delve into the iOS 5.1 beta has supported beliefs that the A6 chip will have four cores. Its processor management software was seen by 9to5 as referencing “core.0″ through “core.3,” a giveaway that it has to control quad-core hardware. iOS 5.0 only stops at “core.1″ and hints Apple is at least using iOS 5.1 as a testbed for quad-core devices, if not as the initially shipping version.br clear=both style=clear: both;/
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China Unicom to offer free iPhone 4S on long-term contracts (http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=5a39083b0c57f33a3478893637525513)

National carrier China Unicom will be giving the away iPhone 4S on some multi-year contracts, Bloomberg reports. When the 4S launches in mainland China on January 13th, a 16GB model will be free on a two-year contract costing a minimum of 386 yuan a month. Getting a free 32GB model will require a three-year contract, but at a cheaper minimum of 286 yuan per month.br clear=both style=clear: both;/
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Velocomp intros iBike Powerhouse iOS case and app at CES (http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=db3f0df82ed8919168d400fa9d265663)

Sports technology company Velocomp, already known for its iBike Dash housing-and-app combo, has expanded its lineup with the iBike Powerhouse [website not yet updated], a motivational and user-directed fitness program incorporated into a water- and shock-resistant casing for the iPhone or iPod Touch that includes wireless speed/cadence sensors and other detectors to measure the cyclists’ “power” (level of effort in pedalling) for maximum impact according to user goals.br clear=both style=clear: both;/
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