Mobile: T-Mobile Shows Being Consumer Friendly Helps As "Uncarrier" Plans Added Record Number of Subscribers

Source:  BGR.

T-Mobile's consumer friendly plans, though not as perfect but close to what we all want, is paying off as it recorded a record number of new subscribers in August.  That's great news.  We'll have to see just where these customers are coming from and if it's enough to get its larger competitors off their butts and following T-Mobile.

It could be a while before you expect the likes of AT&T, one of the most unfriendly companies as far as consumers are concerned, does anything.  However, T-Mobile's lower monthly plans, because it no longer subsidizes devices, has created transparency never seen before in the wireless carrier industry.

For those new subscribers, what's not to like?  No more two-year plans that lock you in.  You pay for the plans you want and the cost of the phone is a separate line item charge if you pay T-Mobile on a monthly basis for the cost of the phone.  Once you're done paying off the phone, you only pay for the wireless plan.  Unlike other carriers, they continue to charge you even if you aren't upgrading your phone.

Boy Genius Report, the source for this post, also earlier called T-Mobile's disruption "gimmicky".  It's not perfect but I don't see where it's a gimmick, do you?

And with new devices like the Note 3 and iPhone 5s leading the charge, the more consumer friendly T-Mobile could benefit greatly.  I see AT&T suffering as a result.

iPhone 5s Order Strategy: Lots of Coffee, Perseverance, Chatting With Friends

Apple HQ is in Cupertino.  That in California.  That's in the Pacific time zone.  That means it's pretty awesome to be living in California where I'm at because I'm in sync with a lot of Apple going-on.  Events are PST and that means most launches are as well.
So, this is why the iPhone 5C preorder starts midnight PST - 12 AM, Friday morning.  Unfortunately, the iPhone 5s won't be available for preordering like other iPhones in the previous year.  Maybe Apple wants buzz by forcing fans to line up.  Maybe, as is likely the case, 5s supply is constraint at launch.  Whatever the reason, I'm hoping that Apple will make the iPhone 5s available for ordering on September 20th midnight, a week from this Friday.
That means my strategy for ordering a week from now, assuming Apple does open up order for the 5s on the same day it makes it available for purchase in the stores, also applies to you folks looking to order the 5C, about ten hours from now.
To start, stay awake.  That's key.  Also, it's about perseverance.  It's not enough you stay awake.  Depending on demand, which sounds like Apple has high hope that there will be plenty of folks who want the iPhone 5C, you could run into server issues.  When a few hundred thousand, maybe millions, of folks are trying to order at the same time, you end up slowing down the system.  It's can feel like a denial of service attack.
This is how I see my Thursday night a week from now.  I'm gonna go home, clean up, sort through the mail, and then go to the gym.  Order a nice dinner, haven't decided on what yet, and come around 8:30-ish.  Do some work while listening to podcasts or just have Netflix playing.  Meanwhile, I'll also be linked to an IRC or forums to keep an eye on whatever one else is doing or saying.
Then around 10:30, I'll head out and get coffee or snack/dessert and come back just after 11.  I've already told Siri to alert me around 11:40 that it's almost time.  I'll have my Macbook Air, Macbook point to the Apple store.  And iPhone/iPad at the ready with the Apple Store app.
Once 12 AM hits, Thursday give way to Friday, the race is on.  I think during that 5 to 6 hours, I'll probably also down about four cups of coffee.

iPhone 5s Has a Two Hour LTE Use Improvement Over iPhone 5

Source:  Apple, iMore (iPhone 5 specs)

I was "meh" or mildly pleased with what we heard about the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5C from Apple on Tuesday morning.  There was one major disappointment in my mind.  Yes, the battery life.  I'm sounding like a broken record but, my fellow mobile warriors, you know as well as I do that battery life is everything when we are increasingly on the go.

After seeing Apple wowed us with the 9 and 12 hours battery life for the Macbook Airs, I had high hopes for the iPhone 5S.  I was not expecting a substantial increase in battery life.  20-25% Overall increase in battery life would have been all I asked for.

Well, well, well...I guess we sort of did.  Under LTE Internet usage, the battery life for the iPhone 5s and 5C stands at 10 hours, just like Internet use under Wi-Fi.  The iPhone 5 only had 8 hours of LTE use.

Not bad.  Would have love to see Wi-Fi upped a bit but we can't have everything now, can we?

Touch ID Coming to Macbooks, Tablets, and Apple TV - For Authentication and Purchases

Regarding Touch ID, Kevin Rose has tweeted.  That's a good bet.

apple's touch ID will extend to tablets, laptops, apple tv remote, within the next 18 months. Purchasing all apps/media will be with touch.
— Kevin Rose (@kevinrose) September 11, 2013

iPhone 5S: 64-bit A7 Chip Is About the Future, Just Not Sure What It Is Yet

Source:  CNET.

By going 64-bit with the A7 chip, doubling the processing power for the iPhone 5S, Apple knows that in the short-term, probably a year to year and half out, iPhone users are not going to see a whole lot of advantages. In fact, we may never see anything tangible at all except for a few iOS tweaks that made the system snappy and maybe only a handful of apps will truly take advantage of the new CPU architecture.

What's interesting is that Apple called this a desktop-class architecture.  Obviously, Apple is looking to turn iOS devices more into a crossover than just a regular sport car and not quite a truck either.

Think of it this way. With PC sales slowing, includ Macs though not collasping like Windows-based PC, Apple has to continue to innovate and make sure its iOS devices, particular iPads, will pick up some slacks that the Macbooks do.  

Final Cut, more advanced iWork features, and other video or sound apps will need this 64-bit power to give more sophisticated users what they need when they're on the go or don't need a Macbook with them all the time.

And yes, eventually, designers and builders will want their iOS devices to do much more.  Sure, Apple could say, "go get a Mac for what you need" but we already know where the mobile computing is headed.

And in keeping up with its philosophy for future outlooks, Apple is skating to where the puck is going to be.  Even now, as its rivals crow and boast about quad-core, even octo-core, they still chasing the puck.

By giving itself and its developers a head start, it will be able to head off competitors with new innovative features and apps with iOS devices that can do more, faster, and efficiently.

iPhone 5S: Not An Upgrade, With iOS 7, It's More Like A Reboot

I like this Mashable take on the iPhone 5S.  They call it a reboot rather than a straight up upgrade.  Makes sense.  Plus, there are not going to be a whole lot of apps out now that will true take advantage of the whole package - iOS 7, the M7 co-processor, and the 64-bit CPU.

Apple's iPhone Event: Still Much To Digest

I haven't post anything about Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C event yesterday.  Sorry, just woke up from sitting through the live-blogs yesterday morning.  Seriously though, it was pretty boring.  Not boring as in the event itself was but the fact that much of what Apple unveiled had been widely leaked through blogs, Weibo, and insiders.

However, that doesn't meant there isn't anything to talk about.  And I'm sure I'll chime in at some point.  I'm going with a 64 GB iPhone 5S.  No way I'm waiting in line for it on the 20th and I doubt I'll find what the right model on the 21st, the opportunity and day I'll have to wait in line for it.

So, I might not be too picky about which carrier (since they should all be unlocked) or color.  I'm leaning towards white/silver model.  But I do want the 64 GB model.