Battery Issues with the iPhone 4S

Just recently, there have been some issues discovered with the battery of the newest version of the iPhone. Apple engineers have been spending their time contacting iPhone 4S owners to make them aware of the problem.

The iPhone 4S became available to consumers just over two weeks ago, and ever since its release users have been raising concerns about unexplainable battery loss on the device, even when the phone is on standby. One individual dealt with a ten percent drop every hour according to The Guardian.

"I then got a call from a senior [Apple] engineer who said he had read my post and was 'reaching out' to users for data and admitted this was an issue (and that they aren't close to finding a fix!) and asked lots of questions about my usage and then asked if he could install the file below and that he would call back the day after to retrieve the info," he told The Guardian.

When the iPhone 4S was first released, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, promised that the device would feature a much longer battery life; however, some of the devices are obviously not fulfilling that promise. According to Sascha Segan, a lead mobile analyst at PCMag, the Sprint iPhone 4S got 7 hours and 33 minutes of continuous 3G talk time, while the Verizon iPhone 4 only got 6 hours and 17 minutes. This would make it seem like the iPhone 4S does follow through with the promise that Cook made, but there are still the incidents surrounding battery issues.

Although Cook promised longer battery life, he did add that “it delivers on Apple's promise of longer battery life - as long as you have strong wireless signal." There’s the catch!

If you’re having issues with your iPhone 4S’s life, there are things that you can do to reduce the loss of battery life. You can drop push e-mail, lower the brightness of the screen, turn off all calendar notifications and shut down the Wi-Fi when you aren’t using it.

Hopefully, the issues will be worked out soon, because there is nothing more frustrating than having a phone that dies on you all of the time. Knowing Apple, they will have it worked out sooner than later.

Sources: PCMag - Report: Apple Investigates iPhone 4S Battery Issue and PCWorld - Apple iPhone 4S Battery Drain: Guessing Game Continues

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iPhone’s New FarmVille App from Zynga

Finally Facebook’s most popular game is coming to the iPhone. On Thursday, Zynga announced that they were launching the FarmVille app the same day that they release their next generation smartphone. This iPhone app will allow FarmVille players to now tend their farms from their phones and will even send out status updates regarding their farms.

Mark Pincus, the founder and CEO of Zynga, stated, “Mobile devices are an extension of people's daily social lives everywhere in the world and the Apple iPhone is the most innovative breakthrough in this area. We are excited to bring FarmVille to the Apple iPhone and introduce our social games to a new audience of mobile users around the world.”

FarmVille can boast over 75 million users merely a year after its release on Facebook. Zynga developed the game originally for Facebook, who signed a 5-year contract with them recently, but they also have a deal with Yahoo as well.

In case you are unsure of exactly what FarmVille is, it is a farming game in which you develop and tend to a virtual farm with the help and collaboration of your friends. Although FarmVille is the number one downloadable game according to the tally by AppData, its numbers have recently been waning. Zynga is hoping that this new app that allows users to take their virtual farms with them on their iPhone will help spark FarmVille fever once again.

Zynga picked a great time to release their new app. There’s plenty of hype about the new iPhone 4, and I’m sure that many users will be excited about the new FarmVille app. I expect that FarmVille will most definitely keep its spot as the number one game thanks to this new app on the iPhone.

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AT&T Feeling a Bit Overwhelmed with iPhone 4G

Since Apple & AT&T announced they'd be taking orders on Tuesday, the iPhone 4G has been hot. Maybe too hot.

And if you haven't yet placed an order on one, you better get busy. Yesterday, AT&T announced that it would temporarily suspend iPhone 4G orders. The phone company is the exclusive carrier of all Apple products, something many Apple product users are not too thrilled about, and leaves many wondering if AT&T will be able to handle the new iPhone 4G. AT&T says it will begin taking orders again when inventory increases. They company released a statement on Wednesday, saying, "We are working hard to bring the iPhone 4 to as many of our customers as soon as possible."

Between Apple & AT&T, over 600,000 orders were taken for the new phone in less than 24 hours. That's more than any other Apple product.

If you tried to get online or place an order through the phone on Tuesday, with either Apple or AT&T, you probably had a hard time getting through, or at the very least, your service was slow. Many customers complained about the trouble they had, something Apple should be used to at this point. The same thing happened with previous iPhone releases.

When calling Apple, customers received a message saying that due to high call volumes, they could not answer the call and asking them to please call back. The website crashed or took forever to get anywhere.

Apple did release a statement on Wednesday, saying, "We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock."

AT&T announced that its website saw over 13 million visitors, who were there to specifically check whether or not they were eligible for a phone upgrade. Any other day they usually have about one third as many. AT&T also said that their customers reported seeing the wrong information when logging into their accounts on Tuesday, but that didn't involve social security numbers, credit card info, or call log details.

But even with the issues, analysts say this is all good news for Apple. Orders have so far exceeded company expectations. And customers who can't get through are probably just going to try again, or even do what one man told the USA Today he did, hang up and go visit his local AT&T store. According to the USA Today, some customers took advantage of Apple's new Apple Store app that allows customers to buy and reserve in-store via the their iPhones and iPod Touches.

The iPhone 4 will start at $199 with a two year contract or upgrade. Its body is thinner, it has a higher-resolution display and two-way video calling. The hoopla surrounding the phone caused a rise of Apple stock of about $5.24.

AT&T Making Changes

AT&T is making some changes and it probably has something to do with Apple's impending announcement of the iPhone 4G, which is expected to come any day now. In addition to adding Wi-Fi to a struggling 3G network, the company has announced that it is increasing early termination fees from smartphone and netbook-using customers.

As of yesterday, early termination fees that were once $175 will grow to a whopping $325. The company sent an open letter to its customers last week about the fee increase. On the other hand, if you have a phone that is not a smartphone, your fees will drop from $175 to $150. If you are within an existing service agreement, the fees will not apply to you, but they will apply to new and renewed contracts.

With the new early termination plan, for every month a customer stay with AT&T, their fee will be lowered by around $10 each month (that's for smartphones and "high-end devices). The fees for basic phones will drop about $4 each month.

Despite what seems like an extreme increase in fees, AT&T's fees are still lower than Verizon's, which can run $350 on a Droid and other Smartphones. And the price of the iPhone is dropping. As a matter of fact, at Wal-Mart, you can purchase a 16GB iPhone 3GS for just $97.

Even so, AT&T will probably not be winning any new fans with the price increase. The network is already the target of thousands of complaints about dropped calls and other wireless data issues. In an effort to make some improvements, just last week, AT&T began attempts to support its 3G wireless service in New York City. The company added a free Wi-Fi hotspot to Times Square. If all goes well, you can probably expect more free Wi-Fi hotspots in cities around the world.

According to Wall Street analyst, Drake Johnstone, AT&T could lose about 40% of its iPhone customers when Apple releases the iPhone for Verizon networks, but will the increase in fees and attempts at increase in service make a difference or affect iPhone owners' migration to Verizon? Johnstone says they might, but no one can say for sure until actually happens.

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