The iPhone 5 Has A Bug That Makes The Screen Flicker

Several users in Apple's support forums are reporting that the iPhone 5 screen flickers when the keyboard pops up.

In fact, it happened to our own iPhone 5 screen last night. The bug appears to be a software glitch, as it only happens when the keyboard launches. The on-screen image distorts with jagged lines, sort of like an old TV trying to find the right channel frequency.

We've heard from several people that the bug only happens when you launch the keyboard in the App Store, specifically when you enter your Apple ID or password to download a new app. But we've been unable to reproduce the glitch since last night.

There are several videos on YouTube demonstrating the screen flickering. You can check them out here, here, and here.

We've asked Apple for comment and will update if we hear back.

Source : businessinsider

Apple on iPhone 5 purple flare: You're aiming it wrong

Apple has responded to complaints that some photos taken with the iPhone 5 show a purple flare, saying it happens to many smartphones when they're aimed near a light source like the sun.

"Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources," the company wrote in the support section of its website. "This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor."

Apple suggested keeping bright light from shining into photos taken with the phone.

"Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect," the post said.

Not surprisingly, some users weren't satisfied with the response.

"You gotta be kidding me apple. You must be. Now I have to protect the camera with my hand when I want to take a picture?" one user wrote in a thread on Apple's user forums. "When a new iPhone comes out, I always buy it. If there is anyone from Apple reading this, I have to tell you that I am pretty disappointed with the product, for the first time. That's very bad."
Wrote another: "This purpling has nothing to do with pointing the iPhone 5 at direct sunlight. You can see this purple is occurring in more than just the bright light scenarios."

Some have speculated that the problem is caused by a sapphire cover that Apple added to the phone's camera.

"The new iSight camera in iPhone 5 features a sapphire crystal lens cover that is thinner and more durable than standard glass with the ability to provide crystal clear images," Apple wrote in promotional material for the phone.

Some users also suggested in the forums that a third-party filter on the lens might help.

Released Septermber 21, the iPhone 5 has been Apple's biggest product launch to date, with more than 5 million sold over its first weekend on the market.

But, as often is the case with new tech products, there have been a handful of persistent complaints about the iPhone 5. Among them, some users have said the phone's new aluminum casing scratches and dents easily. And Apple's new map app, which replaced Google Maps for the first time, has been so glitchy that CEO Tim Cook issued an apology.

But, overall, reviews have been positive. And on Friday, respected product testers Consumer Reports gave the phone a thumbs-up, calling it the best iPhone yet after running a battery of tests.

"A larger, 4-inch display; a thinner and lighter profile; 4G LTE access; and a host of innovative features all helped the iPhone 5 move up in the ranks, surpassing not only the previous iPhone 4S but also a number of other new Android-based smart phones," CR wrote on its website.

In its review, Consumer Reports actually gave high praise to the phone's 8-megapixel camera.

"In the full battery of tests we give to smartphone cameras, the iPhone 5's camera proved capable of capturing beautifully sharp and vibrant photos," the report read.

CR also gave high marks to the phone's new turn-by-turn GPS navigation (a feature Android phones already had) and its larger 4-inch screen. Of the map app, Consumer Reports found it "competent enough, even if it falls short of what's available for free on many other phones," and said it expects Apple to improve it.

The phone did not, however, top Consumer Reports' smartphone rankings.

The Samsung Galaxy S III retained the top spot, and the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX also got a higher overall score from the group than the iPhone 5.

Source : editionCNN

5 reasons to skip iPhone 5 lines

Folks are already lining up at Apple Stores to join the annual party, hoping to be first on the block with the new iPhone 5. Pre-orders are sold out, and online orders placed today won't be delivered for two to three weeks. That means braving the lines at Apple Stores and other retailers is pretty much your only option, if you want the phone Friday or this weekend.

But maybe being first on the block isn't so radically important. The iPhone 5 will be just as cool in mid-October. Here are five reasons not to bother camping out for an iPhone this weekend.

1. The phone isn't that radical. Yes, the phone has been redesigned with a slightly larger (4-inch) screen and faster processor. Apple promises zippier speeds via connections to 4G LTE service from AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint. The LTE service is available in some spots, but not everywhere. Those are all great features, but they will be just as great a few weeks later, after you've ordered the phone online and waited patiently for it to arrive in the mail.

2. Competition. Your chances of getting the phone for this weekend aren't good. Apple sold 2 million iPhone 5s in its first hour of pre-order sales before pulling the plug. Odds are very good that pros will be online ahead of you -- folks who are paid to be there by foreign interests who either want to re-sell the iPhone or to make their money producing apps and need the new device as soon as possible. The iPhone 5 goes on sale Friday in the U.S. as well as in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. It rolls out a week later to 22 more countries, including Italy, Spain and Sweden. But countries such as China, Russia and South Africa will have to wait a long time for their official iPhone 5 fix. Apple hasn't announced when the phone will be sold there. So you've got some stiff and well-heeled competition on the line.

3. Software update effectively gives you a new iPhone. On Wednesday, Apple makes available a free iOS 6 software update that gives you a new phone without you having to buy a new one. Apple promises 200 new features in the software, which includes Apple's take on Maps (goodbye, Google Maps) which offers spoken turn-by-turn directions. You also get Passbook, an app that ties together all your tickets and loyalty cards, Facebook integration and a massive improvement for the FaceTime video chat feature. Before, you could only speak in Wi-Fi hot spots. But with the new software, you can also talk over cellular signals. Get used to the new features on your old phone while you wait for the new one to arrive.

4. It's an expensive purchase. The iPhone 5 starts at $199 with a new or renewed two-year contract. If you're not eligible for an upgrade, the iPhone 5 starts at $649 and goes up to $849 for a model with 64 gigabytes of storage. That's a lot of moola to spend -- even more if you ditch work for the day to stand in line and get docked for a day's work.

5. You buy time to stock up on new power adapters. The iPhone 5 ditches the old 30-pin connector that worked on 150,000 devices -- such as car chargers and home stereos -- in favor of the new, smaller and thinner "Lightning" cable. Apple's reasoning is that the new thinner, phone required a smaller charger. Apple will try to ease the pain by offering a $29.99 adapter for the old cords, which we all have lying around the house to juice up our iPhone, iPad and iPod. So by the time your new phone arrives in the mail in early to mid-October, you'll have discovered the new software features you like, have adapters ready to charge up and dock your new phone and saved yourselves hours of strife braving the weather and crowds so you could be first on your block.

Source : usatoday30

AT&T iPhone 5 iOS 6 Microcell Users Are Facing Problems

For customers of AT&T who do not get good reception in their home due to the peculiar location of their house can get over the problem by getting a 3G Microcell device which will boost the weak signals through their existing broad band connections.  However sometimes the Microcell which has been installed itself become a cause for disruption of communication and it is a situation where the disease is worse than the cure.

Many iPhone 5 users who have installed microcell in their smartphones or iPhone 4 users who have upgraded to iOS 6 are facing difficulty in reception of signals.  I have an iPhone 5 and it has a 3G Microcell device installed. However inside my house the device does not work and I have to switch to VOIP like Skype for my business communications. I had a talk with AT&T guys and they informed me that they are aware of the problem and are working on it. However they did not give any timeframe for the problem to be solved.


The Microcell is a complicated device and is managed by three entities-AT&T, Apple and Cisco who makes the device. Having a word with my good old friend who is a geek in wireless technology helped me to get to the gist of the problem which is caused by the following reasons-

The first reason for it not to work is that 3G MicroCell does not support LTE connections. It is a hardware issue and is caused because the HSPA base band chip on the device’s circuit board is incompatible with LTE. Nothing can fix this problem. However I have read in forums that some users were able to connect with their Microcell by just switching off the LTE. Microcell connects to the fastest connection and will choose the weak LTE signal instead of the stronger 3 or 4G HSPA signal. So switching off the LTE will do the trick.

Another problem with the Microcell not working with iPhone 5 or the iOS upgraded iPhone 4 is that it adjusts its signals it generates to avoid interference with local towers. This in turn depends upon how weak the signals are at the time of activation. The user’s phones will also adjust their transmitter power based upon the strength of the received signal from the MicroCell. So the balancing of the signals becomes very tricky and often erroneous.

The Microcell is a boon for people who are residing in rural areas where the signal strength is often poor. However it causes problems in city where the signals are adequate but are unable to reach the inner parts of your house. There is also a risk of hacking. Therefore users are cautioned to proceed very carefully and report back any issues with your 3G MicroCell or if your iPhone 5

Source : pc-tablet

Samsung Galaxy S3 Better Than iPhone 5 (15 Reasons Why)

The iPhone 5 is doing valiant battle against the Samsung Galaxy S3, and the S3 is on the backfoot. Samsung however wants to keep the spotlight shined brightly on the S3 and went to great lengths to make an ad showing 15 reasons why its flagship is better than the newly released iPhone 5. In case you missed the ad, here’s is what Samsung had to say.

Why Samsung Galaxy S3 beats the iPhone 5 (Samsung ad)

The Samsung Galaxy S3has NFC and the iPhone doesn’t. NFC is as good as Bluetooth but expands just what you can do by simply tapping your phone against NFC-compatible devices.

Smart Stay keeps the Samsung Galaxy S3 back light on while the user is looking at the screen. This is handy for well-lit places.

S-Beam allows the transfer of data between handsets simply by tapping them together.

Share Shot means that Samsung Galaxy S3 owners can share images over their own Wi-Fi, like iPhone’s Shared Photo Streams.

Group Cast is great for people giving presentations. Users can see files like PowerPoint and interact with them live, as well as PDFs and images stored on their phones.

Direct Call is handy, too. If you’re writing a text and realize you need to call the person instead, just raise the phone to your ear and it’ll start calling the person.

Smart Alert vibrates to tell you you’ve missed calls or texts. It’s like the notification centre, but it reminds you to check your phone rather than you remembering.

Palm Swipe Capture lets users screen grab by swiping a palm over the Samsung Galaxy S3 screen. The iPhone 5 does screen grabs too, but users have to hold the home and sleep/wake buttons down.

Palm Touch works the same was as Palm Swipe, but you use it when you’re playing music to mute it.

Picture in Picture lets users watch videos when they’re already doing something else. You watch the video in a small pop-up.

Shake to Update means you shake your Samsung Galaxy S3 to refresh your apps, like Twitter. Just shake to get your latest tweets.

The removable battery is great if you buy another and keep it charged as a back-up. The iPhone 5 battery is notoriously unremovable.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 supports a microSD card and this can double the storage in some cases to a whopping 128GB. The iPhone 5 simply does not.

Turn Over to Mute does as it says on the tin. Use this widget to silence an incoming cal in seconds.

Tilt-to-Zoom also does as it says on the tin. This is better than pinching.

Now of course it was a bit naughty of Samsung to leave out the many features of the iPhone 5 that put the Samsung Galaxy S3 in the shade, but you can’t find fault with these 15 in their ad either.

Source : autoomobile