Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s latest iPhone OS 3.1 update was initially welcomed with open arms. The new iPhone OS promised genius mixes, phone number copy/paste, improved video editing, remote lock (via MobileMe) and better Exchange support. Alas, iPhone OS 3.1 proved to be a headache for Exchange users on older iPhone hardware (iPhone, iPhone 3G). And, there are reports that iPhone OS 3.1 has been draining iPhone batteries faster than ever. The good news is that Apple is looking into the matter.

The iPhone Blog is reporting that Apple is contacting some iPhone users that complained of poor iPhone battery performance following an update to iPhone OS 3.1. Apple reps are apparently asking users 11 questions about their iPhone habits. One question asks if the user thinks the perceived drop in battery power was real or just a bug with the battery icon. It’s clear that Apple has no idea what’s causing the reported battery drains.

Apple is also distributing an unofficial iPhone app that monitors iPhone battery logs. The app, which is being sent out to certain users, phones home to Cupertino to report battery activity with every iTunes sync. Let’s hope Apple can get to the bottom of this…

[Via: TheiPhoneBlog]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s 3G network may be sparse and their indoor reception lacking, but if there’s one thing T-Mobile USA always delivers, it’s high-performance customer service. J.D. Power and Associates have just released the second volume of their 2009 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction Study, and the results give T-Mobile USA top billing as the nation’s most satisfying wireless carrier. No surprise there – T-Mobile has been repeatedly rated the highest in customer care in J.D. Power’s recent surveys.

The survey was conducted between January 2009 and June 2009 on 8,637 wireless subscribers. Their votes gave T-Mobile USA the highest score in terms of friendly and knowledgeable sales staff. When it came to price and promotions, T-Mobile USA was ranked the highest of all national wireless carriers. Even T-Mobile’s retail displays were voted the best of all wireless carriers in America. As for the convenience of T-Mobile retail locations, the No. 4 US wireless carrier was above-average, but not the best. In the end, T-Mobile walked away from the survey with the highest marks in three out of the four retail satisfaction categories… and another J.D. Power trophy.

What does T-Mobile think? Well, of course they’re happy. “We are proud of this achievement,” said Paula Lentini, vice president of retail sales and operations, T-Mobile USA.  But, having won 9 of the last 10 Customer Care Performance Studies conducted by J.D. Power and Associates, we’d think T-Mo would  somewhat used to satisfying the American masses.

Ruh-roh. Sprint (NYSE: S)’s BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour return rates “have been climbing toward 50%” due to trackball difficulties, according to an analyst note from TownHall Investment Research.  As CDMA carriers’ flagship BlackBerry device, this is bad news. Mounting anecdotal evidence supports the seriousness of the problem, although I personally didn’t have any issues during my two weeks with the device. The Tour will be getting a fix to the problem in the upcoming Essex by way of a new trackpad, but could the damage caused by the original malfunctions have been prevented? Sprint said that quality control totalling an extra 2%-3% in manufacturing costs would have made sure only working trackballs made it out, and even that cost would be offset by preventing returns. Has anyone here had to return their Tour because of trackball issues?

[Barron's via Ars]

Apple’s got a pretty big appetite for NAND flash memory modules. Now that the iPhone 3GS boasts 32GB of onboard storage, and is headed to China Unicom’s massive subscriber-base, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is gobbling up flash memory chips faster than suppliers can punch them out. DigiTimes is reporting that the world’s main NAND manufacturers are prioritizing Apple’s increased flash demands, which will leave other customers out of luck in the short term. The shortage is bad enough that Samsung Electronics sent out a notice that it will halve its September NAND flash supply. Micron Technologies has gone so far as to tell their other customers that NAND flash memory supplies are tapped out. When Apple wants NAND, they get NAND.

Apple buys so much NAND flash memory for its iPod and iPhone devices that memory chip manufacturers cater to Apple’s demands. Even if it leaves the smaller fish out to dry – Cupertino’s business is that important. In the flash memory market, there’s Apple and then there’s everyone else. When Apple ramps up their NAND demand, the world takes note. People like us, get curious.

Apple’s increased demand for NAND flash memory might signal the company’s intention to push millions more iPhones to China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)’s 600+ million subscribers. On the other hand, China Unicom is already on board to push iPhones in China, so Apple may just be getting ready to ship WiFi-less iPhones for that deal. Still, If Apple does manage to crack China Mobile and get the iPhone onto the world’s single-largest wireless network, iPhone demand might very well skyrocket – and along with it, demand for NAND chips.

And you know Apple will get what they need.

[Via: DigiTimes]

A recent survey of Ontarians has revealed that a wooping 90% are in favour of upcoming legislation that will ban texting while driving across the province. Over 20% already have necessary hands-free hardware, but that leaves a significant opportunity for accessories (be they Bluetooth or wired headsets and speakerphones) to fill a mandated demand. Sadly, 8% admitted they will be ignoring the ban, but hopefully legal and social pressures will squeeze that minority even lower.  Here are a few other interesting stats on people’s attitudes regarding texting while driving:

• 62 per cent of men strongly agree with the legislation and 25 per cent moderately agree compared to 76 and 16 per cent of women respectively.
• Compliance is lowest amongst those aged 18 to 34 with 14 per cent saying they will likely continue to use their hand-held communication device regardless of the law.
• The highest level of support was among respondents aged 55 plus with 94 per cent indicating that they will comply and only three per cent planning to ignore the ban.
• Regionally, Northern Ontario has the highest level of compliance with 98 per cent planning on complying with the law and no longer using their hand-held device while driving compared to 82 per cent in Eastern Ontario.
• 85 per cent of men are aware of the ban compared to 79 per cent of women.

[via Sony Ericsson]

Demand for improved 3G reception will be a principal driving force behind the growth of femtocells in the next few years, with subscribers exceeding 15 million globally during 2012. According to Juniper Research, femtocells began as standalone units but will become integrated into the home wireless routers in future, to form a “multi function mix and match” home network services gateway.

Juniper’s report author, Howard Wilcox, said: “Surprisingly for some people, surveys such as that by Orange in March show that most mobile usage actually takes place from our homes. Poor indoor signal strength and slow web access are quite common problems faced by users. Femtocells offer an attractive solution – both for users and network operators who themselves can achieve economies through data traffic offload.”

The research company identified Western Europe, North America and the Far East & China to be the top three regions for femtocell subscribers in 2014. Moreover, they said that revenues from new, advanced femtocell services will gain traction as soon as 2011…

More information about the study titled “3G Femtocells and Beyond: Opportunities & Service Scenarios in the Home 2009-2014″ is available from Juniper’s website.

Okay, now before anyone launches in to a tirade in the comments, this was an unscientific test. Very unscientific. But the results were rather interesting, so I think.

As I mentioned, I’m travelling this weekend, and have had the great pleasure of air travel within that. Waiting to get off the plane, during what seemed to be longest disembarkation ever, I was fascinated to listen to the variety (read: cacophony) of mobile ringtones/message alerts/start-up tones that formed some kind of freakish orchestra, as people turned their devices back on, in the plane (isn’t there some kinda rule on that….).

As I heard the tones, I realised I recognised them – and that oddly, they fell into three categories, at least in from the multiple tones that I could hear in the surrounding 40 or so seats.  So what were they?

• RIM BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Message Alert & Ringtone
• Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone Message Alert
• Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Start-up Tone

Bizarrely, all the tones I heard fell in these three categories. Now admittedly, this is totally unscientific, but could we make some guesstimations about the kind of users?

• Well it was mostly business travellers on the flight – so could we say Businesspeople use mostly Nokia and RIM, apart from the tech-rebels who use iPhone?
• Could we say perhaps that Apple, Nokia, and RIM are the brands of the moment for Mobile devices?
• Or could we perhaps say Apple, RIM, and Nokia devices users are the most keen to get their messages?

Probably none of the above – but perhaps we can say that users of these brands have their devices turned up the loudest- any maybe ought to think about a bit of silent/flight-mode/power-down modes for their devices

Ben

Not sure how this one slipped through the cracks, but Nokia (NYSE: NOK) apparently showed off a new 3D stereoscopic display at Nokia World 2009 that it doesn’t require any special 3D glasses! The new tech can display simple 3D perspectives on a handheld-sized device, paving they way for truly 3D mobile phones in the future.

Nokia outfitted a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet with their special 3D display, giving the naked eye the perception of depth in the field. TheD screen 3 requires special software, developed by Nokia, to make ordinary pictures and movies come to life. Unfortunately, the Finns are staying tight-lipped on which third-party display maker is responsible for the 3D display. Still, they did tell Pocket-lint that Nokia has been researching 3D display for “several years.”

Let’s hope we’ll be seeing Nokia’s next 3D smartphone hitting stores before another “several years.”

[Via: Pocket-lint]

ABI Research forecasts that the number of people using mobile cloud services will rapidly grow over the next five years, reaching 998 million in 2014. Last year, these kind of services were used by 42.8 million subscribers, which is approximately 1.1% of all mobile users. In comparison, the number of people that are expected to use mobile cloud in 2014 will represent nearly 19% of all mobile phone users.

Senior analyst Mark Beccue argues that from 2008 through 2010, subscriber numbers will be driven by location-enabled services, particularly navigation and map applications. “A total of 60% of the mobile Cloud application subscribers worldwide will use an application enabled by location during these years,” he added.

As an innovative mobile cloud service, ABI mentions lock manufacturer Schlage, which product called LiNK enables users to remotely control not only the door lock, but heating/cooling, security cameras and light monitors, all via PC or mobile device. On that note, ABI expects some or all of the major PaaS (Product-as-a-Service) platforms – Google (NSDQ: GOOG), Amazon AWS, and Force.com to start marketing their mobile capabilities in 2010. In addition, the research company said they expect that by 2014, mobile cloud becomes the leading mobile application development and deployment strategy, “displacing today’s native and downloadable mobile applications.”

More information about ABI Research’s study “Mobile Cloud Computing” is available from their website.

According to Juniper Research, the NFC technology will take off, after all. As a matter of fact, the research company argues that coupons and smart posters will support the growth of NFC mobile payment transaction values from $8 billion in 2009 to $30 billion within three years.

Some of the findings from the NFC research include:

• First NFC devices will be shipped commercially later in 2009 and the market will ramp up from 2011;
• NFC/Felica payments are already established in Japan but by 2014 North America and Western Europe will be experiencing high growth;
• By 2012, NFC global gross transaction value will exceed $30 billion.

Juniper’s full report examines the opportunities available in both the mobile payments market and the mobile retail market (smart posters and coupons), as well as newly emerging interim solutions such as stickers & SD cards. More information is available from the research company’s website…