Apple may be crowd-sourcing ideas for iPhone 4S battery problems

Unfortunately, it seems like short battery life is no longer just a worry for Android users, because Apple has battling its own troubles with the iPhone 4S. There have been widespread complaints that battery life in the iPhone 4S is unnecessarily short, even after users turn off persistent battery draining services like iCloud, Siri, location awareness, and Ping. In our informal poll from last week, we found that a significant number of users were noticing a problem. 

Now, there are reports that Apple may be contacting users directly to find a solution to the problem. One user has claimed that Apple had contacted him and asked that he install a diagnostic tool on his iPhone 4S. That user told The Guardian, and also added that he had noticed his battery drain by as much as 10% per hour while in use and about 5% per hour in standby mode. And, these findings came after he had done a clean install of iOS 5 on his new device. He wrote a blog post about his troubles, and says that an Apple engineer reached out to him to try finding a solution. As we could have expected, the man even said that the engineer was very helpful "in the typical Apple way". The engineer even went so far as to admit that Apple isn't even close to finding a fix.

It seems as though Apple still is no closer to finding a fix for whatever is causing the extra battery drain for users, but it's great to know that the company is being proactive about finding a solution to the problem. 

iPhone 4S hits 22 more countries

The iPhone 4S has been released in twenty-two new countries today, meaning twenty-two new countries get all the highs and lows from the Siri virtual assistant to the nagging issues with battery life.  

On Friday, the new Apple smartphone launched in twenty new European countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The iPhone 4S also launched outside of Europe in Mexico and Singapore.

This brings the total countries selling the iPhone 4S to twenty-nine once we include the original seven launch countries of the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Japan

Nokia Lumia 800 against the world: specs comparison

The Nokia Lumia 800 has finally been announced and it's the "first real Windows Phone," as Stephen Elop himself put it. But fancy words aside, what does it really hide under that beautiful pillow-shaped display? The guts are what really matters in the Android world, but even the iPhone has jumped into dual-core territory. 

The Lumia 800 however stays single-core with a 1.4GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 processor. Nonetheless, we shouldn't just judge a book by its cover, nor a phone by its specs. We've seen that the first wave of Windows Phone might have seemed underpowered compared to the well specced competition, but still managed to deliver a flawless, buttery smooth experience.

We don't expect this to have changed much in the Nokia Lumia 800, but we couldn't resist the urge to put its technical details alongside its biggest competitors on iOS and Android: the iPhone 4S, the Samsung GALAXY Nexus, the Motorola DROID RAZR and the Samsung Galaxy S II. Do you consider it capable of competing with those heavyweights? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Poll results: Galaxy NEXUS vs Galaxy S II vs DROID RAZR vs iPhone 4S

The Samsung GALAXY Nexus was announced last week with industry challenging huge 4.65-inch screen with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. The beautiful contoured screen was the biggest and brightest highlight of the device, but along with it came a brand new Android – 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwhich. Together, last week's joint Samsung-Google event was like the two companies shouting in the mountains – the echo would definitely trigger an avalanche of devices.

But the Galaxy Nexus, the first one is already announced and it's shifting the tectonic plates of the industry. At least over here at PhoneArena, as the majority of you opted for the new Nexus amidst all other top-tier handsets. Let us remind you – last week we brought you four cream of the crop smartphones in a spec smack down for you to judge the winner. But it wasn't just specs that mattered – you had to pick the device you'd vote for with your dollar in the future.

The contestants were the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Motorola DROID RAZR, the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II. 

The Galaxy Nexus turned out to be the clear winner, but the battle for the second place was fierce. It was up until the very last minute that a couple of votes tipped the scales in favor of the upcoming Motorola DROID RAZR and deservedly so – the handset packs LTE, a dual-core chip and a previously unseen ridiculously thin body. 

The Galaxy Nexus got nearly half of your votes.

The RAZR got 21.35% of your votes, while the now available Galaxy S II snatched 21.2% for the third place.

Strangely, given the incredible sales data about the iPhone 4S, it couldn't hold its ground and only got a meager 8%, or 314 votes.

In our view, there's one clear conclusion to draw from your vote – the Nexus line has for the first time managed to produce an Android flagship, a device other phone makers will probably reference in the form of the beautiful GALAXY Nexus. The iPhone 4S also seems to have lost its cutting edge status and is now admired more for its traditional stability. Now, what do you make out of the results?

Keystone ECO Slider turns the iPhone 4/4S into a side-sliding device with QWERTY keyboard

I’m sure there are some iPhone users out there who really miss a physical keyboard. Sure Apple’s predictive text input is cool, but sometimes you just want an extra screen estate which is used by the on-screen keyboard. For those times you would appreciate if there were a side-sliding keyboard available for the iPhone… And… now it is!

It’s called Keystone ECO Slider and it’s a work of the company called Concord Keystone. The ever-useful accessory connects to theiPhone 4 or iPhone 4S via Bluetooth, and also works like a case, protecting your beloved smartphone while providing you with the extra capability. Of course, even when used, you will still be able to access to all ports and use your iPhone 4/4S’ camera like nothing has happened.

On the downside though, the Keystone ECO Slider will make your iPhone 4/4S look pretty fat. I guess something’s gotta give… As for the price, Concord Keystone is selling its case/keyboard for $49.99.

Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders still available at Target Mobile and M2Cmobile

If you are disappointed in the now 4 week estimated shipping times of the Apple iPhone 4S then head on over to your local Target Mobile because pre-orders are still available and you can have your new smartphone next week. 

Target Mobile has been offering pre-orders of the iPhone 4S since last Friday. As of now they are only offering them for AT&T and Verizon in USA. All models with the exception of the black 32GB iPhone 4S for AT&T is still available in USA.  


M2Cmobile.com is offering unlocked iphone 4S for 16G, 32G, and 64G with all colors in Canada. Please check http://www.m2cmobile.com.

Today, October 13, is the last day that they can accept pre-orders for any of the iPhones. The cutoff date for getting the device on launch day was Monday, October 10. Even though the devices won’t arrive until mid-next week that is still a lot sooner than the 4 week wait time that Apple is currently estimating for new orders. 

HTC Radar 4G Hands-on

Across the big pond, our friends are able to experience all the lovely aspects with the Mango flavored HTC Radar, but it won’t be too long before T-Mobile customers will have the fine opportunity of checking it out as well. Even though we’re in the dark in terms of pricing and an actual release date, it’s mentioned to be coming out “in time for the holidays.” As we continue to see Mango’s penetration to other first generation Windows Phone 7 smartphones, the HTC Radar 4G for T-Mobile is being graced with the notion of being the very first 4G enabled Mango handset for the carrier. Also, you can get unlocked Radar on http://www.m2cmobile.com

Clearly, there isn’t much of a difference found with the design of this specific version for T-Mobile, as it retains that lovable sleek and stylish unibody aluminum chassis found in use with the European version. Not surprisingly, we dig its compact and solid feel, which is further complemented by its premium choice of materials. Equally as stunning, we like the bright and vivid 3.8” WVGA LCD display it’s flaunting to match its already shining luster.

The HTC Radar 4G flaunts a bright and vivid 3.8” WVGA LCD display to match its already shining luster

When it comes to raw processing power, it might not impress people with its 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but it’s actually enough to handle all the intricacies found with Windows Phone Mango. Of course, it’s made evident by the smooth operation that it exhibits while moving around the platform. Sweetening the deal even further, it’s a camera centric device thanks to the 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, F2.2 lens, and backside illumination that it’s flaunting in the rear.

The HTC Radar 4G is a camera centric device thanks to the 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash

Lastly, as its name implies, the other notable thing about the handset is the fact that it’s the carrier’s very first 4G HSPA+ enabled Windows Phone Mango smartphone. Therefore, if you simply tire or don’t take fancy with the carrier’s first-generation WP7 smartphones, even though we’re seeing Mango being pushed out now to more devices, then you might want to keep an eye out for the HTC Radar 4G when it launches. Honestly, just wait for it to pop up on radar.