Report: Apple iPhone 4 Reliable But Accident Prone

Smartphone and electronics warranty provider SquareTrade recently shared its smartphone data in a report comparing the iPhone 4 to other mobile devices. Included in the study were four months of data on the iPhone 4, eight months of data on Motorola and HTC Android devices, and one year of RIM BlackBerry data. The iPhone 4 led the group in reliability, with only 2.1 percent projected to have a non-accident malfunction in the first year of ownership.

SquareTrade iPhone insurance


Motorola is hot on the iPhone's heels, with only a 2.3 percent non-accident malfunction rate. HTC took third place in the reliability contest, while BlackBerry devices had the highest rate of spontaneous problems at 6.3 percent. Remarkably, 77 percent of smartphone failures from devices made by these four companies are due to accidental damage. When it comes to accidents, the numbers paint a different picture.

iPhone iOS 4.2 Update Coming on Friday?

Evidence is mounting that Apple plans to release iOS 4.2 to anxious iPhone and iPad owners at 10 AM PST on Friday, November 12. iTunes 10.1, which hasn't been released yet, will be required to install the iOS 4.2 firmware. All indications are that Apple will launch iTunes 10.1 and Mac OS X 10.6.5 as early as Wednesday to prepare for the iOS 4.2 public release. The golden master of iOS 4.2 has already been seeded to developers and is not expected to change in the public version.

apple iphone ios 4.2 update

German blog iFun found evidence (above) that Apple plans to push carrier updates to wireless service providers on November 12. This date matches with inside infomation from an anonymous AT&T employee revealed by MacStories. The source also stated that Apple was delayed in its release of iOS 4.2 due to a bug discovered by AT&T testers. iOS 4.2 was originally slated for release on November 2, however an error in the display of Japanese characters required a fix from Apple.

iOS 4.2 Update Boosts iPhone 3G Speeds in Test

iPhone 3G users were disappointed when Apple's iOS 4.0 made their devices all but unusable due to sluggish performance and short battery life. The iOS 4.1 update was a step in the right direction, with iPhone 3G owners reporting that Apple had made significant improvements. With the release of iOS 4.2 coming any day now, many are wondering if upgrading the firmware on their devices will speed things up even further or lead to more problems.

apple iphone 3G iOS 4.2 improvement

Apple has released the golden master of iOS 4.2, which is the last version that goes to developers before public release via iTunes. The iPhone Blog has thoroughly tested iOS 4.2 on the iPhone 3G and they have revealed that iOS 4.2 runs pretty smoothly in a video demonstration.

Time Change Will Trigger iPhone Alarm Clock Bug

Keep a close watch on your iPhone alarms this weekend if you depend on your smartphone to wake you up on Monday morning. Once again it's time to fall back this weekend, as US clocks must be set an hour earlier at 2 AM Sunday. Standard Time should be set automatically on your iPhone, however a bug in the alarm clock software could wreak havoc with repeating alarms.

apple iphone alarm fall back bug

These alarms won't recognize the time change and will go off precisely one hour late. The bug has already caught people off guard in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Apple is aware of the issue, and the company plans to issue a fix in the iOS 4.2 update. In the meantime, they have issued a support document for the problem.

Skyfire Plays Flash Video on Your iPhone

Apple is set to approve the web browsing iPhone app Skyfire for release later this week. Although other third-party web browsers exist, Skyfire is unique in that it makes playing Flash content possible on iOS devices. The app works by downloading Flash content to its servers and converting it for display in an HTML5 pop-up window on the iPhone.

apple iphone flash app skyfire browser video

Don't get too excited just yet. Sites such as Hulu won't work due to licensing concerns, and you can't play Flash games with the Skyfire browser. These functions are still limited by Apple, although the video content alone will open up vast swaths of the Internet to iOS devices that until now appeared as a blank page.

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