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AT&T: iPhone 4S users won't get discounted pricing for the iPhone 5
Numerous readers have written in to tell us that AT&T is not offering them upgrade pricing for the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S went on sale in mid-October of 2011, so even those in the first round of buyers are only midway through a two-year contract. Domestically, you can check your individual account status via Apple's iPhone 5 eligibility page, covering all three US carriers. In other countries, there should be similar carrier check-in links on the local version of store.apple.com. Customers who bought the 4S from AT&T signed on for a 24-month contract in exchange for a lower, subsidized purchase price for the phone (actual retail price $400 higher than what you paid, made up for over the life of the contract in service charges). It shouldn't be a big surprise that most aren't eligible for an upgrade barely a year later. What is causing the frustration is not policy but precedent: AT&T has offered upgrading pricing to many customers when the "new" iPhone came out, even to those who had purchased last year's model and signed a two-year contract. However, this year AT&T seems to have decided not to make such an offer. At least one reader has been told by an AT&T representative that this policy change was dictated to the carrier by Apple, insisting that AT&T wait at least 18 months before offering users upgrade pricing. Consider me highly dubious of that claim. Oh, I believe that it's something that someone at AT&T might say but I don't believe that it's true that Apple is dictating AT&T policy. First of all, I can't see any reason why Apple wouldn't want as many people as possible to have the newest iPhone. Secondly, if Apple was capable of dictating AT&T's business decisions, I doubt that AT&T would be artificially restricting FaceTime over cellular. That being said, one reader wrote in to say that while he was told that his AT&T iPhone is not eligible for an upgrade, his AT&T iPad was, and so he could get upgrade pricing through his "iPad phone number." That's a little bit wacky -- the iPad's data connection may technically have a phone number, but it's not a voice contract and in fact is only a month-to-month plan. It sounds like while some AT&T customer service reps are trying to blame Apple for AT&T's policies, others might be trying to find ways to help their customers "work the system." Obviously your mileage may vary, but if you have an AT&T iPhone and an AT&T iPad and are anxious for the iPhone 5, it might be worth a call to see if that option is available to you. Users with multiple lines or family plans may find that an older phone is upgrade-eligible even if the 4S is not. Personally I have been on an "every other model" plan with the iPhone since the original. I had the original, skipped the 3G and upgraded to the 3GS. The 3GS was much better than the 3G, and a much better "leap forward" than the 3G was over the original iPhone. Likewise, when the iPhone 4 came out, I resisted the call of the Retina display and waited for the 4S. Again this year I'll watch the iPhone 5 pass me by and look forward to the "whatever they call the one after the iPhone 5" in a year.
Confirmed: AT&T offers complimentary unlock of in-contract iPhones for deployed military personnel
Finally. A bit of closure. AT&T has confirmed the long-lived speculation of its policy to unlock in-contract iPhones for our military men and women deployed overseas. To qualify for the complimentary service, active military members must have an account in good standing and provide the carrier with deployment verification -- that's it, no other hoops to jump through. The revelation was made today as part AT&T's new Device Unlock Portal, which allows off-contract iPhone owners to apply online to have their handsets unlocked. Previously, this unlock service was available only through the carrier's retail outlets, online chat support or by dialing 611. As a quick rehash of the non-military policy, all users -- either current or former AT&T subscribers -- must have completed their contractual obligations to AT&T, and the phone cannot be flagged as lost or stolen. All those eligible should certainly apply for the service, as an unlocked iPhone is infinitely more useful when traveling abroad -- a reality that deployed military members know all too well. [Military photo via Shutterstock]
AT&T may discontinue subsidized tablet sales, will still offer slates at full price
Saving a few short-term bucks on a subsidized tablet by inking a two-year contract with AT&T may be a thing of the past. According to a document sent to us by a tipster, Ma Bell will no longer offer discounted, on-contract slates as of August 19th. However, it looks like Big Blue is still happy to offer slabs at standard, no-commitment prices along with DataConnect and MobileShare plans. Head past the break if you'd like to take a peek at the notice in deeper detail.
Motorola's Atrix HD LTE hits Bell Canada for $50 on a three-year contract
Canadians who need a new LTE handset, and can make things last, can now get Motorola's Atrix HD LTE from Bell for just $50. The catch? You'll be yoking yourself in matrimony to a whopping 36-month deal, a period longer than most celebrity marriages. The 4.5-inch handset is clad in a Kevlar body and comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, so as long as you're not in the habit of flinging phones against walls, you should be okay.
Leaked Rogers memo details its BlackBerry Playbook 4G LTE pricing options
For a few days now, folks in the Great White North tied to Telus and Bell have known how much coin they'll have to layout for a BlackBerry PlayBook 4G LTE when it launches on the 9th. Thanks to leaked memo from Rogers, obtained by MobileSyrup, we now know what the carrier will be charging as well. $550 nets Canadians the slate free of any commitments, while one- and two-year contracts drop that price by $50 and $100 respectively. If you're brave enough to partner up with the OS 2.0.1-loaded, 1.5Ghz slate for three years, it can be yours for a more wallet-friendly $350. Hey, it's not like BB10 is exactly right around the corner.
TUAW Origin Stories: Model Release
There are a few "model release" apps on the market. These apps have boilerplate contracts which allow a model in a photo or video to virtually sign those contracts. Model Release was created by a fashion photographer to meet his needs, however, and as such I think it's one of the best of its kind out there. After all, who understands the needs of a photographer better than a photographer? Add in a solid feature set (like iCloud) and lovely design and Model Release quickly moves to the top of the must-have list for working photographers. In this episode of Origin Stories we look at how Model Release came to be. You can get the app for iPad or iPhone here.
NBA star uses iPad to sign $100M contract
NBA star Deron Williams is a pro basketball point guard who's just signed a five-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets worth nearly US$100 million. And he signed it in style: As you can see on his Twitter account, the actual signature was recorded on an iPad. With his finger! The app he's using is called SignNow -- it's a free download that lets you sign documents (Word documents and PDFs) right on your device. It's pretty wild to think that all of Williams' work with the Nets (though he's training for the Olympics in Vegas right now) will be sealed with a signature on Apple's tablet. [via Gizmodo]
SpaceX and Intelsat announce first commercial contract for Falcon Heavy rocket
SpaceX hit one pretty big milestone recently -- to put it mildly -- and it's now already back with another fairly significant one. It's announced today that satellite service provider Intelsat has signed the first commercial contract for its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is currently slated to undertake its first launch sometime in 2013. Details on the contract itself remain decidedly light at the moment, but SpaceX will apparently be launching at least one Intelsat satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit (or GTO) sometime after it's completed its launch tests, and Intelsat says it'll be working closely with SpaceX in the lead up to the launch to ensure that the rocket meets its standards. You can find the official announcement after the break.
Minecraft XBLA was profitable within an hour, broke digital sale records
Minecraft is digging its own grave with its latest release on XBLA -- and by "grave" we mean "lavish, gold-plated throne room with indoor pool and grape-feeding robots." Minecraft was profitable within an hour of its launch on XBLA, developer Markus "Notch" Persson tweeted today. That's on top of Notch's multi-million-dollar PC version.Based on leaderboard participation numbers, Minecraft sold more than 400,000 copies in 24 hours, Notch said. Minecraft broke digital sales records for the console, selling more than any other XBLA title in its first day, according to Microsoft.Earlier today, Notch tweeted that he had sales numbers for Minecraft (turns out they were the above leaderboard figures), which sparked a conversation about the inner workings of XBLA developer contracts with Fez's Polytron. Polytron still doesn't know Fez's exact numbers, even though it came out a month ago."Standard procedure" according to Polytron is "you find out how much you sold when you get your first check three-four months later." Notch thought getting immediate numbers was standard, but he avoided contract negotiation and doesn't know what it says on the subject, he replied.Minecraft also gets free updates, "which is something every other developer on the platform is told is simply not an option," Polytron wrote. Notch replied: "We had to fight for that, and we got a limited number of them. Not sure why they don't like it."We may have discovered Notch's hidden talent and secret to his success: fighting for something in a contract while avoiding contract negotiation, and winning.
Dish Network, AMC dispute could see the network's channels dropped this summer
It wasn't that long ago that Dish Network was proudly offering AMC HD to its customers (especially since DirecTV didn't, which has since been rectified) but now the company is willing to let the network's contract expire this summer, taking new episodes of Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead away from subscribers. The source of the sudden animosity, according to a press release from AMC, is continuing litigation between it and Dish Network over dropping the Voom HD channels back in 2008, leading to them going dark soon after. The LA Times reports Dish Network claims the denial of its appeal on a decision in the case has nothing to do with its sudden change of heart is solely about AMC's high renewal cost for a relatively low viewership. Whatever you believe, the sniping and threats will likely continue right up until the contract runs out June 30th, which is at least long enough for this season of Mad Men to finish on its own.
Microsoft reportedly launching subsidized Xbox 360 bundle next week for $99 with a two-year subscription
Microsoft has long been pushing to get the Xbox 360 into as many living rooms as possible, and it looks like it could now be about to attempt a new tactic to further expand its reach. According to The Verge's sources, the company will launch a new bundle next week that will include both a 4GB Xbox 360 console and a Kinect sensor for just $99 -- the only catch being that you'll also have to sign a two-year contract at a rate of $15 a month. That will give you access to the Xbox Live Gold service, and potentially some additional streaming content, as well as a two-year warranty (there's also naturally an early termination fee for those that break the contract). From the sound of things, though, the new offering could be getting something of a soft launch -- the only outlet mentioned for the bundle so far is the rather limited number of Microsoft Stores in the US.
Twitter introduces Innovators Patent Agreement, vows to not abuse patent system
When it comes to patents Twitter doesn't want to be part of the problem. Or, at least doesn't want you to think it's part of the problem and its new IPA (that's Innovators Patent Agreement, not India Pale Ale) outlines how it plans to stay above the fray and avoid abusing the system. The document is a relatively simple contract between Twitter and its employees that says any patents related to their work will be used for "defensive" purposes only. Meaning that the microblogging service has no plans to take one of its engineers designs and hammer Google in court because a function of Google+ is similar to a feature of Twitter. Almost as important, these restrictions are bound to the patents themselves -- not the company. So, should Twitter ever sell off its patent quiver in an effort to boost its bottom line, the purchasers would still be bound by the IPA and unable to use them in offensive litigation without the inventors approval. Twitter intends to officially implement the agreement later this year and it will apply not only to all of its patents going forward, but will be retroactively applied to its existing stable. Check out the more coverage link to read the IPA in full.
AT&T purportedly unlocks in-contract iPhones for deployed military personnel
AT&T has gotten a good amount of attention lately for unlocking off-contract iPhone handsets, but a recent report from MacRumors suggests that the carrier is extending the same privilege to members of the US military currently serving overseas. While we haven't been able to verify the report, we'd like to believe that news of AT&T's goodwill gesture is indeed genuine. Naturally, we're rather curious to know whether this policy extends to AT&T's entire range of handsets. So, if you or a loved one is on active deployment, be sure to give this a try and let us know your experience in the comments below.[Military photo via Shutterstock]
AT&T's iPhone unlocking process simple but time-consuming
AT&T began unlocking iPhones this weekend. The unlocking process is being described as easy but long, according to a report on Electronista and forum posts at iMore. Customers only need to provide their phone's IMEI to AT&T online or in a store, and then they wait for Apple to unlock the phone. This wait period may be as short as a few minutes or as long as four to six days. Most customers are being told to expect to wait up to 72 hours for the unlock to go through Apple's system. Keep in mind that only iPhones that are out of contract are eligible for an unlock; alternatively, the customer can pay out the contract kill fee and then request the unlock. Phones that are still covered by a two-year AT&T agreement are not eligible.
AT&T to begin unlocking off-contract iPhones April 8
AT&T confirmed today that it will unlock customers' post-contract iPhones starting Sunday, April 8. AT&T told Engadget, Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee. This is good news for customers who travel abroad. When they reach their destination, customers will be able to purchase a less-expensive SIM from a local carrier, instead of subscribing to an AT&T international plan. We've asked AT&T to clarify if this will be only for the iPhone 4S, or other models as well, but at this time haven't received a reply.
US Army grants HP $249 million contract to deploy private cloud services
HP is in the Army now. Today, the Palo Alto company announced that it has received a $249 million contract to provide the Department of Defense and other federal agencies with enterprise level cloud computing services. The new initiative will allow the military to consolidate its existing data centers, and the services will be deployed to a number of commercial and government-owned buildings. HP will also provide the military with Performance-Optimized Data Centers (PODs) for quick deployment into tactical situations. Under the terms of the Army Private Cloud contract, HP will work with ten small businesses and Alabama A&M University to help actualize the private cloud and its requirements. We can only assume that Meg Whitman is glad to start out the month with a bit of walking-around money. You'll find the full PR after the break.
Huawei hardware won't be part of National Broadband Network, says Australia
Huawei just can't catch a break -- first the US blocks it from being a part of its first responder wireless network, and now, Australia is following suit. According to the Australian Financial Review, the Shenzhen-based outfit has been barred from tendering contracts for the country's A$43 billion National Broadband Network on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization. Alexander Downer, of Huawei's Australian board directors, called the situation "ridiculous," postulating that "the whole concept of Huawei being involved in cyber-warfare is based on the company being Chinese." This isn't the first time Huawei has had to combat suspicions of espionage, last year the outfit assured the US government that a "thorough investigation will prove that Huawei is a normal commercial institution and nothing more." Cheer up, Huawei, the smartphone market still loves you.
Phones 4u 'JUMP' plan lets you swap phones every six months, for a price
Britons! Dedicated followers of fashion! If your clothes are loud (but never square) and you've just gotta keep up with the latest trends, then Phones 4u should be your next stop. The independent phone retailer is offering customers JUMP (short for "Just Upgrade my Phone"): a 24-month deal that'll let you upgrade your handset every six months. Rather than signing a vanilla deal with your carrier, you plump for a cheaper plan and then rent-to-buy the handset from the store. It's a little more complicated -- and costly -- than your average contract, so keep a calculator handy as you try to follow the math (sorry, 'maths') after the break.
Sprint launches early upgrade promo, wants you to stay and chat awhile
In an industry where customer churn can be likened to the fearsome troll under the bridge, Sprint has launched a program designed to keep its favored subscribers around for another two years. While not everyone is eligible -- those who've upgraded less than eight months ago, corporate outfits and those in collections need not inquire -- the program lets customers buy their way out of their current commitment and become eligible for a new, subsidized handset. The promotion begins February 12th and is set to run through the 14th of April, where the amount you pay correlates to the time since your last upgrade. So if you're currently pining for the Epic 4G Touch or the iPhone 4S, just give your local Sprint store a call this Sunday. They just may be able to hook you up.
iBooks Author gets new EULA, aims to clear writer's block
We've waxed lyrical about iBooks Author at the technological level, but a good self-publishing platform counts for nothing if authors are put off by its terms and conditions. A particular source of antagonism so far has been the notion that, if an author decides to charge a fee for their iBook, then Apple will claim exclusive distribution rights and prevent them from publishing their work anywhere else. Check out the More Coverage links below and you'll see that a number of writers tore up Apple's licensing agreement and flung it into the proverbial overflowing trash can. Now though, Cupertino has done some re-writing of its own and come up with a new EULA. It clarifies that Apple will only demand exclusive distribution rights over .ibooks files that are created with iBooks Author, rather than the book's content itself. It states that "this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in [another] form." So, there it is -- writers everywhere can happily go back to tearing up their own work again.
