Apple Nabs Top Spot In Customer Satisfaction

J.D. Power and Associates has released their list of top smartphone companies in customer satisfaction, and for the FOURTH year in a row, Apple has nabbed the top spot. To answer your immediate question – Motorola came in 2nd with HTC following closely in 3rd.

The key factors that played into this survey were:

• ease of operation
• operating system
• physical design
• features
• battery function

Great news for Apple who had a bit of a stumble with the iPhone 4 this past summer surrounding the antenna. This should put a smile on the face of Steve Jobs.

source – cnet / J.D. Power PR

Otterbox announces OtterBox Commuter Series for iPhone 4

Otterbox announced today via a press release that they are now offering a new case for iPhone 4 users, the iPhone 4 Commuter Series Case. The Commuter Case line at Otterbox is by far one of the best out there. Offering your device 3 layers of protection from bumps, scratches and shocks, nothing beats Otterbox when it comes to quality and toughness.

Here’s some information regarding this new accessory, straight from the press release:

Fort Collins, COLO. – Hot on the heels of the highly-anticipated release of Defender Series^® cases, OtterBox^® announces protection in a fresh new design with the Commuter Series^® for the Apple^® iPhone^® 4.

“The iPhone 4 offers so many different custom features,” said OtterBox founder and CEO Curt Richardson. “With Commuter Series cases now available, OtterBox lets users choose the case design that best fits their personality and style.”

The OtterBox Commuter Series offers three sleek layers of security to complement the iPhone 4’s thin design. First, a self-adhering screen protector keeps the Multi-Touch display screen safe from scratches. Next, a silicone mid-layer absorbs shock, keeping the glass panels safe from bumps and shock. Finally, a polycarbonate shell provides added strength and helps the device slide easily in and out of a pocket or purse. The Commuter Series offers coverage for the iPhone 4 power button, volume rocker and home button, while silicone plugs for the charging port and headphone jack keep out dust and dirt but flip open for easy access.*

Included with each Commuter Series case is a microfiber cleaning cloth and installation card for smooth application of the screen protector.

Give the Apple iPhone 4 fresh and stylish protection with Commuter Series cases from OtterBox. Or, if you’re looking for extra-rugged protection, check out the OtterBox Defender Series to safeguard against all of life’s mishaps. Impact Series^®cases coming soon!

Additional information for OtterBox Commuter Series for Apple iPhone 4:

Environmental Protection:

• Added protection against bump and shock

Colors:

• Layer 2: black

• Layer 3: black

Dimensions (case only):

• 4.73” (120.18 mm) x 2.50” (63.58 mm) x 0.55” (14.00 mm)

Approximate Weight (case only):

• 0.96 oz (28 g)

About OtterBox:

Built upon fundamentals of hard work, innovation and perseverance, OtterBox is a leader in the production of premier protective solutions for global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors.

Incorporating creativity and cutting-edge design into every product, OtterBox creates sleek and durable cases that offer reliable device protection to complement any lifestyle.

OtterBox was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo.

For more information, visit www.otterbox.com or call 888-695-8820. We’ve Got Technology Covered.

Notes:

*Commuter Series cases NOT protected against water. Will provide some added protection against bump and shock.

Head on over to the official Otterbox store and pick yours up today! You can get one right now for $34.99! Thanks to Otterbox for letting us know about this great new accessory for the iPhone 4!

Anyone pick this up? Let us know in the comments below!

source – email/press release

White iPhone 4 Delayed AGAIN

You may or may not have heard this yesterday, but Apple put out an official statement regarding the timeline for launch of their iPhone 4 in white. If you remember just last week, Steve Jobs said that the white iPhone 4 would be available at the end of July. Actually, not only would it be available, but it would start SHIPPING at the end of July.

Fast forward to yesterday, and here is the press release put out by the folks at Apple:

White models of Apple’s new iPhone® 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

Disappointing news for the folks that have been waiting patiently for the release of this. Hopefully Apple is just working hard to find a fix for Antennagate and that is all that is holding up the release of the white iPhone 4. Time will tell!

Anyone waiting for a white iPhone 4? What do you think of this latest news?

source – press release

TSR Deal Of The Day – iPhone 4 Accessories by Seidio

Seidio sent out an email this morning announcing a promotion that they’re having for iPhone 4 customers, and I thought it was something that the TSR readers would be interested in!

Right now you can get 10% off of any iPhone 4 accessory simply by using the code “IPH410″ at checkout! Here are just SOME of the accessories that you can pick up for your iPhone 4:

• Screen Guards
• Innocases & Holsters
• Innodocks
• Isolating Headsets

So, head on over to Seidio and pick out some great gear for your new iPhone 4!

NOTE: they also offer FREE Domestic Ground Shipping on all Seidioonline Accessories.

*Domestic shipping implies the least expensive shipping method to the destination for your choice ►Promotion ends on 8/1/2010 at 11:59 P.M. CST ►This offer is not redeemable for cash and applies only to merchandise purchased from seidioonline.com ► Offer not valid on previous purchases and cannot be combined with any other promotions ► One coupon code per order ► Entire order must be shipped to a single address ► No split shipments allowed ► Rules are subject to change without notice ► All brand names and its logo are service or registered trademarks of their respective owners, all rights reserved

source – email

iPhone 4 users – ZAGG has a case for you

ZAGG let us know about a solution they have for the Apple iPhone 4 signal issue. What is it? Well it’s none other than the ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD for your iPhone! Here are the details:

SALT LAKE CITY, Jul 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — ZAGG Inc. (NASDAQ: ZAGG) (www.ZAGG.com), a leading producer of electronics accessories for protecting and enhancing the mobile experience, including the popular invisibleSHIELD(TM), ZAGGskins(TM), and ZAGGsparq(TM) brands, has completed independent testing to determine whether their protective skins products help improve antenna concerns associated with the Apple iPhone 4.

Based on conclusions from internal tests, independent lab tests and research with consumers in the wireless industry, both the invisibleSHIELD and ZAGGskins help prevent loss of signal strength that has been attributed to placing the hand over the antennas on the lower left-hand corner of the phone. More information about the testing and links to ZAGG’s products can be found at ZAGG.com/iPhone4.

“We are thrilled to offer this solution to help customers get the most out of their iPhone 4,” said Brian Packer, VP of Marketing for ZAGG. “Nobody wants to hide that amazing device behind a bulky case just to save the signal, and by using the invisibleSHIELD or ZAGGskins, they don’t need to.”

The invisibleSHIELD is ZAGG’s military-grade, virtually invisible and indestructible film that protects thousands of gadgets from bumps, scratches, and dings with a lifetime guarantee. ZAGGskins are high-res images printed on high-grade vinyl and fused with the invisibleSHIELD. Both the invisibleSHIELD Full Body Maximum Coverage design and a ZAGGskin design includes strips to cover the antennas/stainless steel frame of the iPhone 4. ZAGG also offers Complete Sides Only designs for both the invisibleSHIELD and ZAGGskins.

The invisibleSHIELD Full Body Maximum Coverage sells for $24.99, and the ZAGGskin sells for $19.99. The Complete Sides Only Coverage specifically addresses the antenna concern and is available separately for $9.99. ZAGG products are available online at ZAGG.com or through select ZAGG retail partners.

For more information about ZAGG or any of their products, please visit ZAGG.com.

Here’s a short video released by ZAGG showcasing the InvisibleSHIELD and how it works with the iPhone 4:

So there you have it, head on over to the official ZAGG online store and pick yours up now! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Apple iPhone 4 Press Conference In A Nutshell

As you may or may not know, yesterday Steve Jobs held a press conference regarding the reception issues surrounding the iPhone 4. It was highly anticipated and heavily covered. I’m not going to offer up a play by play on what happened, but I will sum it up for you and give you the highlights on what went down at the press conference yesterday.

First of all, head on over to this page to check out the breakdown on how to hold your device showcasing various phones. I kid, they’re making a point here saying that many phones have this same signal issue, depending on how you hold it. So head on over and check out their theory. There are a few videos there to keep you busy for awhile.

Also, you can head over to this page to watch the entire press conference including a very humorous song regarding all the hooplah surrounding the reception issue.

Ok here we go, the finer points of this press conference:

• Apple isn’t perfect
• Phones aren’t perfect
• Over 3 million iPhone 4 devices have sold since they became available
• Have been working on solution for 22 days
• “Antennagate” not unique to iPhone 4
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 does it
• HTC Droid Eris does it
• Samsung Omnia II does it
• Apple’s Algorithm has been fixed, release 4.0.1 was pushed two days ago
• 0.55% of customers have called AppleCare about reception issues
• 1.7% of AT&T customers have returned their iPhone 4′s (early shipments)
• iPhone 4 drops more calls per 100 than the iPhone 3GS, but only less than 1 additional call per 100
• Every iPhone 4 user will get a free case
• Full refund for a Bumper if you already bought one
• Offer good for every iPhone 4 bought through September 30th, will re-evaluate after that
• Apple cannot make enough Bumpers, so you will get a choice of cases
• Apply on website late next week, pick a case, they’ll send it to you
• Full refund on all iPhone 4 devices (undamaged) within 30 days of purchase, no restocking fee
• Issues with Proximity Sensor will be updated in another software release soon
• White iPhone 4 to start shipping at the end of July
• Starting July 30th, the iPhone 4 will be available in 17 more countries

So, that’s it. What do you think? If you are an iPhone 4 owner, what do you think? Are you seeing these issues? If so, are you happy with the solution? I commend Apple for addressing it so soon and finding a temporary solution. Hopefully this will help the issues and they will be able to solve the entire issue eventually.

Let us know what you think, good bad or indifferent, in the comments below!

source – Apple Press Conference

Letter from Apple released today

Well, you can’t swing a dead cat around without hitting someone that’s upset about the way their new iPhone 4 is behaving. There’s been alot of back and forth between customers and folks in the Apple camp.

In response to this, Apple has released a statement regarding all the hub-bub surrounding their newest device. They state that the formula that they use to calculate how many bars to show regarding signal strength is off, thus making the customer "think" that they have 4 or 5 bars to begin with, so when the signal strength drops while gripping the device, really they didn’t have those 4 or 5 bars to begin with.

Hmm….whether or not the formula is "correct" or not, does it suddenly become CORRECT when gripped? Makes no sense. If you see 4 or 5 bars to begin with, whether that is a correct number or not, it still drops to 1 or 2 bars for some people. Am I to assume that the 1 or 2 bars is correct when the 4 or 5 bars was wrong? Wouldn’t the 1 or 2 bars still be wrong, thus making the actual signal even lower?

I don’t know. I don’t own an iPhone 4, so I cannot speculate. However, if someone wants to send me one, I’ll be more than happy to report my findings with signal strength in my area.

Apple does say that it will do right by their customers and push through a free software update, not only to iPhone 4 customers, but also iPhone 3G and 3GS customers! Great news for all iPhone device users! Free software updates are always good!

Below is the full statement from Apple, what do you think?

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

via – press release

Did you pre-order your iPhone 4?

Today was the big day, the first day you could pre-order the new iPhone 4! I know that Apple was having many issues today with their site being bogged down, but many people reported success in ordering.

So, did you get in on it? I sure hope you did, because as of approximately 1:30pm PST all pre-orders were sold out! If you ordered before 1:30pm PST, no worries, you’ll still receive your new iPhone 4 sometime between June 25th and July 5th. Not bad for a days work, huh Apple?

via – BGR

T-Mobile confirms it will carry the iPhone

Today, Yahoo! News UK & Ireland confirmed that T-Mobile will carry the new Apple iPhone 4 in the US and UK. No details have been released yet regarding launch date(s), prices and tariffs, but hopefully we’ll get word on that soon.

The new iPhone 4, which is set to launch in a handful of countries on June 24th, will also be stocked in the UK with O2, Orange, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U. Those carriers are set to start offering the iPhone 4 on the launch date.

So keep it here, we’ll update you all when T-Mobile releases more info!

via – Yahoo! News UK & Ireland

Get The iPhone 4 At The Shack

For those of you who are wanting to pick up the new iPhone 4 when it drops, you have a few options: Apple, AT&T, Best Buy, and now…..Radio Shack! Great news for people who may not have an Apple store close by. Not that there are Radio Shacks on every corner, but it’s another option. This was announced today via the Radio Shack Twitter account.

I know there is a pretty definitive line in the sand when it comes to people getting one and people absolutely NOT getting one….where do you fall?

via: Gizmodo