The new iPhone 5 hasn’t even been released yet and it is already envisioned to accomplish great things. The latest prediction on the menu: the smartphone will not only end up beefing up Apple’s accounts but will probably contribute greatly to the American economy.

Chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli apparently believes that the new iPhone isn’t just your average gadget. Far from that, he feels that the new iconic handset coming out of Cupertino will exercise a great power over the tech markets worldwide. He stated that the iPhone 5 is expected to cause economic growth in the last quarter of the year by between a quarter and half per cent.

The prediction relies on the fact that the tech giant will probably end up shipping over eight million handsets just this year. Not to mention that some bold analysts predicted that this figure will be reached in just a matter of 9 days. Apparently, Feroli is more cautious. His calculations indicate that $400 of each iPhone will be redirected towards the US GDP and adding the numbers gives us the total of $3.2 billion.

“Calculated using the so-called retail control method, sales of iPhone 5 could boost annualized GDP growth by $3.2 billion, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate. That 0.33 percentage-point boost, he added, “would limit the downside risk to our Q4 GDP growth protection, which remains 2.0 percent.”

Nevertheless Feroli warned that his predictions shouldn’t be taken as fact and be “treated skeptically.” The iPhone 5 will be launched tomorrow during a special event held in San Francisco so the real numbers will become available soon enough.

By Radu

Source: iPhone 5: JP Morgan Says U.S. Economy Stands To Get Big Boost From Apple's New Phone

The Chrome browser was popular amongst mobile users who had a love for privacy because it enabled private browsing. Nevertheless, Safari fans should be happy to hear that a fix to their problem exists in the realm of jailbreaking. Thanks to a new little tweak called “Privata,” users opting to use Safari will have this option available as well. Also when private mode is activated, the browser will turn black.

Privata is available in the ModMyi repository in the Cydia store and comes free of charge. The only thing you need is a working jailbroken iPhone. Install the tweak and then head on to the stock Settings up. Users will discover the easy one button menu that allows you to enable or disable the tweak. The software will not add an extra button to the Safari interface so there will be no visible change on the starting screen to notice. Users will find the Toggle Private Browsing button in the action menu.

The release is very new and that’s why some users might experience some bugs here and there. For example, the button in the action menu might appear to be duplicated. Also another big problem highlighted by the developer himself is that the first site you log on to after installing the tweak will end up being saved. After that everything behaves normally and the addresses are not saved.

The teak comes to us courtsey of developers Rudolf Lichtner and Ravirajm.

By Radu

Source: Apple, iPhone and iPad News | ModMyi - Easily Toggle Private Browsing Right From Mobile Safari With 'Privata'

Only a single day separates us from the product release of the year. While the iPhone 5 is being readied for the big launch, analysts are already wondering how many units will Apple manage to sell before the September quarter comes to an abrupt end. Due for public appearance on the 12th of September, the new iconic smartphone will have existed just 9 days before the current quarter will be complete.

Last quarter Apple experienced a downfall in sales that was swiftly attributed to the new iPhone being in the makes, thus a lot of customers ended up restraining themselves from buying an iPhone before the new one arrived on the market. The new iPad was able to make up for the 9 million loss, nevertheless everyone felt the company could do a lot better.

At the moment Wall Street Journal expects Cupertino to ship between 22 million and 23 million units of the new gadget. These figures would amount to a growth of 29% to 35%. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has also placed a bet. He believes that Apple will manage to sale between 6 and 10 million units before this quarter is completed.

Apple is no stranger to big numbers like this as last year when the iPhone 4S was launched, Cupertino managed to ship 4 million units in the first few days. The increase was almost double, when compared to the figures scored by the iPhone 4 who managed to capture only 1.7 million users. With the holiday quarter coming right up and gadgets rising in popularity as Christmas presents, Apple is expected to score massive revenue numbers.

By Radu

Source: How many iPhone 5 units can Apple sell in 9 days?

While most of us already know that Apple will most likely be launching the iPhone 5 tomorrow (September 12th), that hasn't stopped the rumors that the iPad Mini will be announced too. Other rumors have suggested that the iPad Mini will be launched at a separate Apple press event later on. Regardless of whether we will actually see the device tomorrow or later, some new pics have leaked, and if they are fake, then they are very good ones.

Interestingly, these pics showed up on a French website, which claims that the original post for these pics was found on a Chinese blog. However, that thread either has been taken down, or never really existed. The pics look really good, and seem to confirm previous rumors that the iPad Mini might be slightly larger than the typical 7-inch tablet size.

What do you guys think?

Source: iPadForums.net via VentureBeat

As if we weren’t excited enough already about Wednesday, AppleInsider reports today that Apple has already started beautifying the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in California, the location of the iPhone 5 launch. As you can see from the picture, the building has been decorated with some lovely bright banners, none of which give any clues about the next iPhone, unfortunately! Through the window you can just see a giant Apple logo. Meanwhile, AppleInsider also reports that FedEx is said to have told its employees to expect a “surge volume” happening on Friday September 21 and going through to September 24. As AppleInsider notes, this points to the fact that the iPhone 5 will be going on sale from September 21, as has been strongly rumoured by many good sources in the know, especially with FedEx being Apple’s usual partner for home deliveries of its products in the US.


Source: Colorful banners for Sep 12 Phone 5 Apple Event now going up
FedEx preparing for 'surge' on anticipated Sept. 21 'iPhone 5' launch date

The Wall Street analysts have been out in force today giving their considered thoughts on what we can all expect from the iPhone 5, which will be launched by Apple on Wednesday. AppleInsider has a nice round up of some of the key analyst opinions, with both Topeka Capital Markets’ Brian White and Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore saying that they think that the iPhone 5 will be Apple’s most significant iPhone upgrade so far, with White even going as far as to say that it will be the biggest upgrade ever in consumer electronics. Whitmore adds that because of all the well-reported leaks about the next iPhone, there won’t really be any surprises as far as features are concerned. As far as sales are concerned, White says that Apple may well sell 10-12 million of its new iPhone 5s in the current fiscal quarter, ending in September, which basically means he expects it to sell that many in just over a week!

Source: Huge sales but no big surprises expected from Apple's 'iPhone 5'

As far as the iPhone 5 and 4G LTE capabilities are concerned, the “yes it will/no it won’t” rumours have been swirling around for quite some time now, but as Apple gets ready to officially launch the iPhone 5 this Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal writes that it has heard from its sources in the know that the iPhone 5 will indeed work on the fastest LTE networks worldwide, including those in Europe and Asia, although not necessarily working on all carriers in those territories where it will be available. As the WSJ notes, this is a good move for Apple, not just for their customers who want to use the fastest networks available on their shiny new iPhones, but also because it helps Apple keep step with competitors such as Samsung, who are already offering LTE-capable phones. Also good to hear that it will be available right out of the box in international territories, unlike the latest iPad’s LTE functionality, which basically only works in the US at the moment.

Source: New Apple iPhone to Support LTE Around the World - WSJ.com

Engadget has a great story today about a rather strange invention that had me thinking it might be a very early (or very late) April Fool’s joke, but it does in fact seem to be genuine. What we have here is a product called the Hi-Call, which Engadget spotted at the IFA trade show, and which is basically a pair of gloves with Bluetooth capabilities, whereby the speaker is situated in the thumb, and the mic is in the little finger. So when you talk on the phone, it’s like you’re pretending to make a phone call, or making the Hawaiian Shaka sign, all the while you’re actually making a phone call for real. Engadget tested out the Hi-Call glove, and seemed to be a little disappointed with the woolly reception. Sorry! Hi-Call will be available at the beginning of October, for €49.

Thanks to Super Moderator Gabriel1 for the heads-up on this story.

Source: Hi-Fun's call-receiving Bluetooth gloves, hands-in (video) -- Engadget

Those concerned that the iPhone 5 will be more expensive that its predecessors can breathe a sigh of relief as according to a report on 9to5 Mac today, the next iPhone will have the same price points as the iPhone 4S, which leads them to speculate that it will also have the same configurations as the iPhone 4S, e.g., 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. This would tie in with other reports yesterday that said that the new iPhone would have three price points. 9to5 Mac also says that the iPhone 5’s Apple codename is N42, one of two prototypes that it had previously reported Apple as working on, with the other, the N41, having NFC, which Apple has obviously decided not to go for, for reasons as yet unknown, possibly just because it’s too soon for an NFC iPhone. 9to5 Mac thinks that pre-orders will start soon after the announcement next week in the US, with staggered launches in other territories, as is usually the case.

Source: Redesigned iPhone (N42) being announced next week at iPhone 4S price points | 9to5Mac

The US mobile market is dominated by giant carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon but that doesn’t mean that smaller regional carriers don’t exist across the American territory. Seven of them even started providing the iPhone to their customers earlier this year.

Pat Riordan, CEO of small carrier Cellcom, that covers the eastern Wisconsin and northwestern Michigan area, has talked to GigaOM and tried to explain why the company decided to include the iPhone in their portfolio.

Even if Riordan didn’t come forward with any specific sales numbers, he states that selling the iPhone is not really about numbers but about prestige. It makes sense since the Cellcom’s numbers wouldn’t be even close to the one registered by major carriers. Nevertheless since the company decided to bring in the iPhone a lot of customers have signed deals with them.

“Customers were telling us they were simply going to leave us because we didn’t have the iPhone. We know our sales had been falling between the end of the year and April, and we think not having the iPhone was the reason,” explained Riordan.
The article mentions however that another small carrier, Alaska Communications managed to sell 11,000 iPhones for the second quarter of 2012. That’s impressive considering they have a consumer based made up of 120,000 people. Also from Alaska, GCI reported selling 9, 200 iPhones. The company has 141,000 customers. These numbers are tiny in compared to the million devices sold by AT&T or Verizon, but nevertheless to small business they bring a substantial boost in revenue.

By Radu

Source: To small carriers the iPhone is about prestige, not activations — Apple News, Tips and Reviews

With the launch of the iPhone 5 just a few days away, AppleInsider reports that the iPhone brand goes from strength to strength for Apple, with the news that the iPhone sits atop the J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction charts for the eighth time in succession. In fact, the iPhone managed to earn the accolade of a five-star “PowerCircle Rating” from J.D. Power, with an overall points tally of 849 out of a possible 1,000. To put these figures in context, AppleInsider says that Apple was the only company in the 2012 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study to receive this accolade. Generally speaking, the iPhone finished way ahead of the chasing pack in the survey, a full 59 points in front of HTC in second place, with a customer satisfaction score of 790. Samsung placed third, with 782 points. For all smartphones, the average score was 783 out of 1,000, reports AppleInsider, although when the likes of Apple and other front runners are removed from the equation, the overall smartphone customer satisfaction score drops to 768 points.

Source: Apple's iPhone tops JD Power satisfaction survey for 8th straight time

AppleInsider reports today that a Virgin Australia passenger has been spotted using the new Passbook app on an iPhone running an iOS 6 beta to board a plane. The news comes from Australian Business Traveller, which says that the passenger was able to check themselves onto a flight via Virgin Australia’s mobile website on his iPhone, which then recognised the digital boarding pass and asked the passenger if they wanted to add the digital pass to Passbook. AppleInsider says that this would seem to indicate that Virgin Australia’s mobile website is using Apple’s new “.pkpass” mime type, which officially only United Airlines is supporting so far. As AppleInsider also notes, clearly other airlines and businesses will soon come on board (pardon the pun!) once iOS 6 is released, and it looks like Virgin Australia is already there. There was no word whether or not the passenger was actually able to get onto their flight using Passbook; possibly not, as the system is not yet officially released so this could be considered a security problem.

Source: Evidence of airline support for Apple's Passbook surfaces ahead of iPhone debut