iPhone 5 is the name conforms apple website search result (screenshot )

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Some Apple Stores replacing iPhone 4 models with iPhone 4S But not in India.

9to5Mac is reporting this weekend that Apple is experiencing “atypical inventory shortages” of white 16GB iPhone 4 replacement units. As a result, it seems like [at least] some iPhone 4 users seeking hardware replacements could be in for a nice surprise.

According to the report, Apple has instructed some of its Apple Store Genius Bars to start replacing problematic white 16GB iPhone 4 models with compatible iPhone 4Sunits…

“This iPhone 4S would be a refurbished white iphone 4S 16GB. This situation will not affect all customers and Apple Stores, but it seems like many white iPhone 4 16GB owners seeking hardware replacements may get Siri, an A5 chip, and an eight megapixel camera out of their next Genius Bar appointment.”

It’s worth noting that this exception only applies to white 16GB iPhone 4 models that are still under their AppleCare warranties. And at this point, only Apple Stores in Canada and the United States appear to be making the exchanges.

But if you meet the above-criteria, and your iPhone 4 has been acting up, it seems like there’s a fair chance that Apple will replace it with a 4S model. Cool.

Have you received a 4S replacement for your iPhone 4?

Siri speaks Hindi with a little help from a proxy server

Last month, Apple released iOS 5.1 to the masses. The update included few new features, but it did bring Japanese Siri support. This brought the digital assistant’s number of compatible languages up to a whopping… four.

But if Siri doesn’t currently support your language, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. Developer Kunal Kaul took matters into his own hands and taught Siri to speak Hindi — with a little help from his proxy server…

Using proxy servers to enhance Siri’s capabilities has been a popular hack since the digital assistant debuted last October. Early on, developers used these servers to enable Siri to control lights, TVs and other appliances.

For those interested, we have an in-depth tutorial on how to setup a Siri proxy server. But don’t get your hopes up about teaching the assistant to speak Hindi just yet, Kaul says there is still “lots of work to be done.”

Fake iPhones (made from real parts) ring busted in Shanghai

What’s most interesting about these fake iPhones is that they were made from real iPhone parts. The assumption is that the companies that made supplies for Apple would make additional parts and sell them to third parties who would somehow assemble a Frankenstein of iPhone and non-iPhone parts together and sell them at double the cost.

The cost to make one fake iPhone, which used some genuine parts, was around 2,000 yuan ($313). It was sold on unauthorized markets and on the Internet for around 4,000 yuan, only a few hundred yuan cheaper than the real iPhone, the newspaper said. The fake iPhones had the same functions as the genuine ones but had a shorter battery life, it quoted the police as saying.

It would be interesting and surprising if they got iOS working on these. I’m guessing a flavor of Android with a iOS-like skin was used. Apple would have a big problem on their hands if iOS was being pirated.

I came across one such Fake Iphone yesterday and I took some snaps.

figure out which one is real and which one is fake?

And the most funniest one which was clicked few days back!!!!

Apple’s SIM connector patent explained and why it matters for Nano SIM

As Apple fights rivals Nokia, Motorola and Research In Motion for the upcoming Nano SIM card standard, a new patent filing indicates the company is thinking beyond smartphones. The iPhone maker already holds an important Nano SIM patent and now we’ve learned they’re researching a universal SIM card connector solution.

Yes, it would require a “drawer” and devices would need to be engineered with this in mind, but the benefits offset engineering hassles. Apple’s SIM card connector solution could let you transfer a SIM card from one device to another. Plus, it is reliable and resistant to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card.

It even works with Integrated Circuit Card found in credit cards, broadening potential uses to e-commerce applications. And if this patent filing is an indication, Apple’s universal SIM connector could be coming to a MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple television near you…

Patently Apple observes:

The ability to transfer a SIM from one device to another is perhaps one of the advantages to Apple’s design and why the ETSI is strongly considering it as a standard. In the era of mobility and device interconnectivity, Apple’s solution may be the winner.

The benefits of Apple’s solution include easy removal of a SIM card, resistance to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card and reliable mechanical performance.

A patent application filed with the United States Patents & Trademark Office (USPTO) describes a “plunger system” where a user can push a plunger rod and eject a SIM card. Reinserting the card is a simple matter of pushing the card into the connector.

Resistance to damage could be achieved with internal contacts arranged in such a way that they have a low profile, which would protect the contacts from damage due to an improper insertion of a SIM card.

Apple’s filing envisions uses of the SIM connector beyond smartphones. The document mentions tablet computers, laptops, media players and even displays (think iTV) as benefiting from this invention.

The most interesting aspect is the SIM card itself.

According to Apple, the SIM connector could work with Micro SIM as well as Mini SIM, provided the latter is inserted in a mini SIM card tray. More importantly, the SIM connector would work with the upcoming Nano SIM and even Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) used, for example, in Visa credit cards.

The publication explains:

Apple’s mystery inclusion of “other type of card” in this application could be demystified by their latest granted patent which discusses the use of an Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) in connection with a SIM Tray. An ICC is what is used in Visa credit cards, for example. This translates to ICC’s being integrated into an iPhone or other mobile device via a mini-tray system for the purposes of ecommerce. This was covered in our report titled “Apple Wins Patent Relating to Nano SIM and iWallet Chip.” This is a huge advantage in Apple’s SIM strategy and one that could be helpful to the entire industry. This is likely why Apple’s SIM card standard is being considered by the ETSI.

Summing up, no wonder Apple crossed swords with Nokia over the Nano SIM standard. Obviously, there’s more to the Apple-backed Nano SIM variant than meets the eye.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute will vote on Nano SIM in about 30 days.

Apple on its part promised to offer own Nano SIM solution to industry players on a royalty-free basis. The opposing camp did not make such a commitment.

It is now becoming obvious why exactly RIM has resorted to name calling and why Nokia is threatening not to license essential SIM-related patents should Apple prevail.

See, there’s nothing stopping Nokia from extracting license fees from competitors in case their Nano SIM proposal wins. Yes, it all comes down to patents and money – at least for Nokia, RIM and Motorola. Or any ways this is the last option

Not bad for a tiny SIM card.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Apple’s SIM connector patent down in the comments.

Facebook iPad app updated for Retina display

It took them a while but Facebook has finally updated their iPad application with Retina display graphics. The update also brings a few new features as well as minor bug fixes.

Considering how big Facebook is, I find it slightly disappointed they take so long to release such a simple update. Anyway, we have listed the full change log below for those of you interested…

You can go offline in chat

The right profile picture appears for everyone

Your list of friends always includes all your friends

In sets of photos, your name is displayed correctly

Photos of people who like Facebook Pages load correctly

Your friend-request notification only lights up if you have a request

You can change your language to Czech, Danish, Greek, Indonesian, Malaysian, Norwegian (Bokmal), Portuguese (Portugal) or Thai

If you’ve got a new Retina iPad, you’ll see a crisp, high resolution interface

You can get the new update by loading your App Store app directly from your iPad.

Apple’s Tim Cook Visits Foxconn IPhone Plant in China

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited Foxconn Technology Group’s newly built manufacturing facility for the iPhone in Zhengzhou, China, as the U.S. company seeks to improve working conditions.

The iPhone production line is at the new Foxconn Zhengzhou Technology Park, which employs 120,000 people, Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman, said in an e-mail today. She didn’t provide other details on Cook’s visit or say how much longer he’ll be in China after having held high-level talks in Beijing earlier this week.

Apple, which contracts Foxconn to make its iPhones and iPads, became the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association in January, opening up suppliers’ factories to inspections by the Washington-based group after complaints by human rights organizations. The group found “tons of issues,” while also seeing “dramatic” improvements, FLA Chief Executive Officer Auret van Heerden said last month.

“Apple has had a string of negative publicity this year with Foxconn factory issues,” said Mark Natkin, managing director of Marbridge Consulting Ltd., a Beijing-based market research firm. “Apple is trying to demonstrate how seriously they take these issues, and how strong their commitment is to China.”

Cupertino, California-based Apple has been criticized by organizations including China Labor Watch for conditions at its suppliers, and the company has found infractions including excessive overtime and environmental violations. It didn’t specify which companies breached its supplier code of conduct. Foxconn, founded by Chairman Terry Gou in 1974, raised the base pay for junior workers by as much as 25 percent last month and said its wages exceed government mandates.

‘Great’ Meetings Cook’s trip to Zhengzhou followed a meeting with Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong on March 26 and with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on March 27. Apple’s Wu said earlier those meetings were “great,” without providing details on their content. Vice Premier Li told Cook China will strengthen intellectual property rights, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

He also told Cook multinational companies should pay more attention to caring for workers and share development opportunities with the Chinese side, Xinhua reported. Cook told Li Apple “will strengthen comprehensive cooperation with the Chinese side and conduct business in a law- abiding and honest manner,” Xinhua reported

Steve Jobs didn’t really like the Siri name. What about you?

Siri, a digital assistant exclusive to the iPhone 4S, is heavily featured in Apple’s advertising as it’s the handset’s key differentiator in the eye of public. For all the rage surrounding Siri, Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs didn’t really like her name to begin with. This comes from the mouth of Dag Kittlaus, the guy who made Siri and became a millionaire following a personal phone call from Steve Jobs.

“Siri” is Norwegian for “beautiful woman who leads you to victory.” A new report highlighted Kittlaus’s speech from last weekend in which he briefly reflected on how he came up with the Siri name and why Steve Jobs wasn’t a fan of his choice.

Yoni Heisler of NetworkWorld quotes Kittlaus on choosing the name of Siri:

I worked with a lady named Siri in Norway and wanted to name my daughter Siri and the domain was available. And also consumer companies need to focus on the fact that the name is easy to spell, is easy to say…

Previous news articles also asserted that Kittlaus named its startup after the famous Norwegian meteorologist and business woman Siri Kalvig, with whom he had worked during his tenure at Telenor, a Norwegian telecommunications company. At the time, Kalvig worked for meteorologist company Storm.

Kittlaus also recounted that Jobs didn’t like the Siri name so he had to persuade Apple’s chief executive quite consistently that “it’s a great name”. Jobs eventually relented because he couldn’t think of a better name himself so he “decided to stick with ‘Siri’”.

This bit on that life-changing phone call from Apple is also interesting:

Three weeks after we launched I got a call in the office from someone at Apple that said, “Scott Forstall wants to talk to you and he’s the head software guy.”

And I said sure…

Only it wasn’t Scott that called it was Steve. And Steve never announces where he’s gonna be and what he’s gonna do because there’s too much commotion around it. So he said, “Dag, this is Steve Jobs.”

And he wanted me to come over to his house the next day, and I did, and I spent 3 hours with him in front of his fireplace having this surreal conversation about the future.

And, you know, he talked about why Apple was going to win, and we talked about how Siri was doing. And he was very excited about the fact that.. you know, he was very interested in this area in general but, you know, they’re patient, they don’t jump on anything until they feel they can go after something new and he felt that we cracked it. So that was his attraction.

I ended up very lucky, timing wise. I got to work with him for a year before he got real sick. And he’s pretty incredible. The stories are true. All of the stories.

Eagle-eyed readers could point out that Steve Jobs initially disliked the iMac and iPod names as well. iDownloadBlog also reported last week that Jobs said ‘no’ to the new Apple TV interface five years ago.

In my Dag Kittlaus report over at 9to5Mac, I noted that the sale to Apple for an estimated $200 million turned him and and other co-founders into millionaires. It was sourced from Norwegian publication E24! which also quoted Kittlaus, a former Motorola executive, as saying that by 2013 Apple will produce a full-blown television set featuring Siri voice interface (hope it doesn’t look like this).

According to a recent survey, nearly 90 percent of iPhone 4S owners use Siri and roughly a third would love to see it featured on the Apple TV.

It’s worth mentioning that the machine-translated version of the Norwegian article had later been confirmed to me as accurate.

Remarkably, Kittlaus emailed me to express his disatisfaction over the article. He claimed to have never mentioned the Siri TV thing to the reporter. I removed that bit, though the original article still has it intact. Editors of the magazine and authors of the report wouldn’t return my phone calls seeking clarification.

After Apple snapped up their startup, Kittlaus and his team moved to Apple’s headquarters. Kittlaus left Apple eighteen months later and is now writing a futuristic techno-drama and developing new projects.

I would love to hear from you about the Siri name…

Did you like the sound of it when you first heard it mentioned in an Apple product?

Apple’s Cook touring China, allegedly to talk iPhone 5 with carriers

Though Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs never visited China, the new CEO Tim Cook has been spotted at the company’s Apple Store in Joy City, a shopping mall located in Xidan, Beijing. A local news article included pictures of Cook posing with fans, snapped at the store. However, the real purpose of the executives’s visit to China is shrouded in secrecy. Remember, Cook also visited China last year and was photographed at China Mobile’s headquarters in Beijing. China Mobile, the nation’s largest wireless operator and the world’s largest carrier with more than 600 million subscribers, does not yet carry Apple’s handset. Nonetheless, they are already hosting some 15 million iPhones on their network, up from 10 million back in October. Is Cook in China to cut that long-expected iPhone deal with China Mobile? It’s interesting Cook chose not to visit the more prominent Sanitun store. The Joy City store, which opened for business in 2010 when Apple launched the iPhone 4 in China, has since become Apple’s top retail spot in terms of consumer traffic and transaction volume. It’s clear Cook would not take a flight to Beijing just to visit a high-grossing local store. According to the report by TechNode: There’re speculations that Tim came here to talk to China Unicom and China Telecom about introducing the company’s next generation of iPhone – iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone, who knows), according to people familiar with the matter. China Unicom and China Telecom are the only two carriers currently offering Apple’s handset in the 1.33 billion people market. Apple is now activating more iPhones in Chinathan in the United States or any other market for that matter. The company is said to appeal to the local market by China’s leading search engine Baidu as the default searhc choice for Chinese customers in iOS.

Apple’s CEO found time to pose for a nice shot with a fan. Last week, iDownloadBlog discovered code strings in iOS 5.1 strongly suggesting that a sixth-generation iPhone will feature fast 4G LTE networking and possibly FaceTime video calling over 4G. The new iPad is the first mobile device to feature 4G LTE networking, courtesy of a Qualcomm MDM9600 3G/4G wireless baseband chip paired with a Qualcomm RTR8600 multi-band/mode RF transceiver for LTE bands. Apple could pursue the same combo with the iPhone 5 or opt for Qualcomm’s smaller, next-gen Gobi modem chips. Whichever the case, the inclusion of the fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution radio technology in the next iPhone seems to be a forgone conclusion at this point. If the new iPad is anything to go by, 4G LTE and other improvements might pose a problem in terms of heat dissipation and battery life, both expected to be more pronounced on the iPhone where space is at a premium. Are we in for another Heatgate with iPhone 5? Chime in with your thoughts down in the comments.

Enable Internet Sharing in Mac OS X to Turn Your Mac Into a Wireless Router

Did you know you can turn your Mac into a wireless access point by using Internet Sharing? Internet Sharing works for both Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and with internet sharing enabled, your internet connected Mac will broadcast a wifi signal that can be used by another Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, or whatever else you need to get online from. Here are situations where Internet Sharing is particularly useful: You don’t own a wireless router – no problem, let the Mac become one There is only a wired internet connection (ethernet) available, and you need to get a wireless-only device online, like an iPad or MacBook Air You’re at a location that charges internet access per device, rather than a flat rate for all devices, this is fairly common at hotels and airports Skirt the connected device limitations of Personal Hotspot (iOS) and Internet Tethering from mobile phones Hotels in particular have a bad habit of charging customers a per device fee rather than a single per room cost for internet access, using Internet Sharing gets around that greatly inflated expense. The setup we are going to use in this example is as follows: Wired internet connection -> Mac -> Other Devices, here’s a simple diagram to demonstrate this: It’s easy to set up, let’s get started. How to Share Internet from a Mac to Other Computers & Devices We’ll walk you through the process of setting up a secured wireless access point, broadcast from an internet connected Mac to be shared with other Macs, PC’s, or iOS devices.

Connect the ethernet cable to the Mac

Launch “System Preferences” from the  Apple menu and click on “Sharing”

Click on “Internet Sharing” from the left menu Select the pull-down menu next to “Share your connection from:” and choose “Ethernet”

Alongside “To computers using:” check the box next to “Wi-Fi” or “AirPort” (name depends on OS X 10.7 vs 10.6)

Next click on “Wi-Fi Options” and name the network, and then click to enable security/encryption, and then type in a WEP key as the wireless password

Click “OK” and confirm that you want to start internet sharing

You’re done.

Your Mac is now broadcasting a wireless signal that can be picked up by any other wi-fi enabled devices. Connecting to the Mac’s shared internet connection is now the same as connecting to any other wireless network, find the wifi access point name you set, enter the password, and you’re online. The network is relatively secure thanks to the WEP password you set, if you forgot that password you just have to disable security and re-enable it to set a new one. If you’re a perfectionist, you could then run the Wi-Fi Diagnostics tool and get the optimal signal for the network, but in a brief hotel or airport situation, the the devices will be close enough together that this won’t matter much.

Angry Birds Space Launched

After announcing Angry Birds Space from the International Space Station, Rovio has finally released the pig bashing game. Additionally, the Finns have simultaneously launched merchandise and books based on the game.



As its name suggests, the game is set in deep space. Thanks to the zero gravity conditions, the gameplay has been drastically changed in this iteration. Needless to say that targeting pigs will be a tricky affair. The company has added new birds with special powers to entice fans of the franchise. Apart from its 60 levels, the game will have many hidden stages. Additionally, Rovio has promised a continuous flow of downloadable content.



Angry Birds Space is not only available for mobile phones, but also the computers. Here's the list of download links for each platform:


• 
Windows ($6);
• Mac ($5);
• Android (Ad supported);
• iOS ($1).