iPod Repair Blog

Chinese Apple fans threw eggs at Apple’s flagship store in Beijing. Reports say that the store resembled the stores in London after the riot. One media practitioner said that the store smeared in egg yolk (and egg white) looked like a crime scene.

It seems that the Chinese won’t take abuse from the Cupertino company especially when they waited all night in below freezing temperatures just to get their hands on the iPhone 4S. Even if the iPhone 5 will be released soon, Asia is still very much excited about the 4S. No one knows if Apple’s popularity in China will decrease because of the incident. As crowds began gathering in Beijing Apple stores the night before the release of the said device, police had to be deployed to these areas to make sure that no untoward incidents happen. However, even if the police were there, the “egging” was still done. The Sanlitun store located in Beijing failed to open as promised making the already very tired Apple fans angry.

One man interviewed by Reuters said that he has been waiting outside since the afternoon the day before only to hear that the store will not open and of course won’t sell any Apple products. The man, a yuppie in his 20s, added that this broke many people’s hearts. According to Apple, the store at Sanlitun did not open because of the large crowd outside. In their statement, Apple added that they were concerned for the safety of their employees and the safety of the people outside.

What really is annoying according to Apple fans in Beijing is that Apple will stop the sale of iPhones in Shanghai and Beijing for the time being but Chinese customers can still buy the smartphone online or at China Unicom. Other stores in Beijing opened though and did not experience a problem. One might say that Sanlitun is an isolated case but this news has made it to international news channels making Apple-haters hate Apple more.

Don’t tell the kids this but have you noticed that your iPhone can fit right into your toaster slot? This is of course not advisable but it does fit nicely in there because of the size and the shape of the infamous smartphone. For those who have always wanted to try and see if their iPhones fit like a pop tart inside the toaster, you can finally get an iPhone dock that looks like one. The TOAST! Speaker dock from Gavio looks like your usual shiny metal toaster but it is actually a docking system for your smartphone i.e. your iPhone for that matter. You won’t be able to toast pop tarts or bread here though so leave that task to your original toaster. The dock also has a built-in Li-Ion battery making it possible for you to not plug in the system at all.

If you are fond of iPhone accessories and furniture that looks like an iPhone or something that looks like a product from the Cupertino-based technology giant, you might want to take a look at the iTable. We are sorry to inform you though that this table is not made by Apple but was rather designed and made by Kyle Buckner Designs. This also serves as a giant docking system for your iPhone and of course functions as a table too.Looking like a stack of giant iPhone 4S’s, the iTable got a smooth, black surface as well as rails that look like the sides of the famous smartphone. And since this is an electronic device, the table has cupholders too to make sure that the owners do not put sweaty cups on top of the table.

Completely handcrafted, the iTable offers high fidelity sound and touch-sensitive controls. If you want to see a video of the iTable you may take a look at it here. We do not know how much this costs though but since it is handcrafted, we think it probably costs a lot.

The history of the iPhone began when Steve Jobs became CEO for Apple Inc. It was under Steve Jobs’ direction that the engineers of the company started investigating touch screens and its mechanisms. At the time, the company was considering making tablet PCs which later on became the infamous iPad we have today. Before the iPad was born however there came the iPhone, but before that Apple had to develop a synchronization mechanism first to make everything digitalized i.e. when it synchronization when it comes to music, communication, and other software that we use on a daily basis. This also includes synchronization through the internet and getting games on your iPhone.

Newton MessagePad: The iPhone’s Predecessor

Many experts have noted that there are similarities between the iPhone and Apple’s other touch screen portable device –the Newton MessagePad. Much like the Newton, iPhone operate mainly on screen i.e. there is no need for buttons for you to send messages to friends. The touch screen and form factor is credited to Jonathan Ive.

Origins of the iPhone

At the executive conference of All Things Digital, Jobs expressed what he felt about tablet PCs and PDAs as not very apt choices for Apple to produce despite many requests for the company to produce another PDA. Jobs however said that cell phones were going to become rather popular not only because they are uber cool devices but because they will become a necessity. This was of course in 2003 and we can see today that everybody have cell phones.  So at the time, the company focused its energies on making an excellent synchronization software which were later on used for all iPhones and other Apple products.

When the iPhone was already ready for release, its first advertisement called “Hello” was aired in early 2007 on ABC.

If you need to get your iPod fixed, it is not advisable for you to go to shops that claim to know how to repair your gadget. If you are in the US, you can always go to any Apple store and have your iPod serviced at the nearest iPod repair facility. If heading straight to Apple is something you do not want to do because the repairs are expensive, this is the only time you should tap into repair shops -make sure however that the place you will be going to is reliable and will not only make the problem worse.

For those who own an iPod that’s still within the 12 month warranty, you do not have to pay a dime for repair. Those who have expired warranties however can go here to take a look at repair prices.

You can also refer to the Apple website for iPad and iPhone repairs or call customer care for more information.

Another place you can go to is the repair labs at fix-iphones.com. The place has certified Mac technicians that offer top rated service with a low price guarantee.

Services offered by the website include iPad broken glass repair, broken LCD repair, audio jack repair, home button repair, water damage repair, repair diagnostic, battery repair, speaker repair, usb port repair among other types of repairs. The place also offers lower rates compared to iPad repair facilities. For more information you may call 1 888 755 1115.

For other Apple gadget repair, you can also pay a visit to RestoreDoctors.com. The company is one of the best companies in the US that fix iPhones and iPods. RestoreDoctors.com do not only serve the US though because lots of people from the world over also send their iPods and iPhones to the company to get them fixed.

It is only the end of April but the iPhone 5 rumor mill is churning once again. Just one year after the iPhone 4 was released, the fine folks at thismynext.com have developed this mock-up to show what they believe the iPhone 5 will look like.

From thisismynext-

For starters — as I reported back in January on Engadget — the design of the phone is set to radically change (“a completely redesigned handset”). Our sources say the new model (or at least one of the new designs in testing) looks “more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4.” The phone will be thinner than the iPhone 4, and may have a “teardrop” shape which goes from thick to thin (something along the lines of the MacBook Air profile).

In this mock-up provided to thisismynext by a source, the home button would also pull double duty as a gesture area and the screen would go all the way to the edges, no bezel, which I think is genius. Essentially, you would just be holding a device that is all screen and still boasting the immaculate Retina Display.

In my opinion, I would like to see the style go back to the bump similar to the 3Gs. I preferred the 3Gs design to the square design of the iPhone 4. Style cues that are more similar to the iPod Touch rather than the iPad would be nice. I do, however, like the Gorilla Glass backing on the iPhone 4, I would prefer the bump design in the iPhone 5 or would that be the iPhone 4s?

Various Apple sites, including the iPod Blog, have reported that the iPod Classic, as supplies appear to be slim pickings at retailers. Amazon, which has the 160GB Classic on sale at $229.99, lists shipping times at “two to four weeks”. The last update from Apple’s iPod line was in September of 2010. So is Apple moving on?

Apple could be moving in the direction of retiring the Classic in favor of smaller, sleeker devices like the Nano and shuffle. The iPod Nano was recently updated to a smaller design and a clip was added to make the device even more portable. The iPod shuffle has gone from a flash drive sized stick to a small clip with a click-wheel that can hold hundreds of songs.

The first generation of iPod was a simple but revolutionary idea, 100 songs in your pocket. The first gen iPod was also like a brick in your pocket. Now the smallest device in the iPod line, the Shuffle, can hold over 100 songs. The iPod Classic is a dinosaur that needs to be put to rest, respectfully.

The iPhone and iPod Touch can handle the video as well as music capabilities and the Nano and Shuffle can hold more than enough music for the average person. The iPod Classic has been overtaken by it’s colleagues and inadvertently become obsolete.

Here are a few things to consider before making the jump from AT&T to Verizon Wireless.

Starting February 3, you will be able to pre-order your Verizon Wireless iPhone but before you make the change or even consider it, take a minute to review some of the points you should consider.

Because they are different types of networks, AT&T and Verizon have different pros and cons in the user interface. AT&T is on the GSM (Global Systems for Mobile communications) network which allows for simultaneous voice and data usage. If you talk on the phone while surfing the web or checking e-mails, you will have to stay with AT&T. The Verizon wireless network is CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) and does not allow for voice and data usage at the same time.

The biggest gripes I have heard about the AT&T network is low signal, dropped calls and a pokey network. Typically this is more of a concern for users in large metro areas like New York or San Francisco. However, it is expected that the Verizon iPhone will handle calls better and have better signal reception. Also, with some customers switching to the Verizon network the AT&T network should become less congested.

Another point to consider is that if you switch to the Verizon iPhone now you will have to wait 20 months until you can upgrade. AT&T lets you upgrade your phone to the newest iPhone at reduced cost, so if you want to get the iPhone 5 you may have to wait until you are eligible for an upgrade.

Last, we are still waiting to hear all of the final pricing details from Verizon. But it has been released that VZW will start with unlimited data plans at $30 a month to start but the unlimited plans will end after new sign ups. This is a ploy used to snag as many AT&T customers as possible.

It’s your dollar so why not make an educated decision?

This almost sounds too good to be true but the truth is while AT&T has been trying to keep the exclusive rights to the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has been seriously beefing up its network. The announcement became official this morning and the claims from VZW will be put to the test immediately when the largest wireless carrier in the United States signs up millions of new users.
In a quote from Forrester Research wireless analyst Charles Golvin says, “LTE is the future 4G technology path for both Verizon and AT&T … If Verizon can convince Apple to accelerate its incorporation of LTE, the carrier will be able to deliver a significantly accelerated iPhone experience to more customers than its competitor, and attract a significant number of the first wave of buyers, including the Apple acolytes.”
If you have been paying attention to the new VZW marketing campaign, the carrier has started to punch the LTE 4G movement into high gear. The iPhone was announced at 11am this morning by Verizon’s President and COO Lowell McAdam at its network event in New York City. The rumors of a Verizon iPhone have been fulfilled and I expect to see a BOOM in sales for the largest carrier in the United States.
The move has been a long time coming with users voicing their frustration of the reliability of the At&T network. Moving to the VZW network means that a 4G network will be must.

This may be a favorite iPhone news story in a while. Enjoy.


It was reported Wednesday morning, December 29, 2010 that Police in Boise, Idaho took a man into custody after he struck a teenager in the arm for refusing to shut off his iPhone during a flight leaving Las Vegas. Other passengers aboard the plane said that the altercation began as the flight attendants announced the final decent into Boise. Everyone knows the drill at that point you are required to turn off all electronic devices, stow your tray tables and return your seat to its upright position. Apparently this rebellious teen had a problem with the instructions continued to play games and listen to music on his iPhone and did not respond to flight attendents’ requests. Eye witness accounts say the man, Russel Miller, became aggressive and struck the teen in the arm leaving a mark. While still in the air, pilots alerted the Local Boise Police and officers were waiting for the man when the plane landed. Miller was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery and was booked into the Ada County Jail.

I read this story and wanted to know…so…did he shut off the device or not? If he did not shut off his device how did the electronics in the plane not go crazy? That’s what I always imagined would happen if I didn’t shut my phone off. This kid is my hero, sticking it to “The Man“. He is the epitome of a rebellious youth, a true rebel without a cause. Not even a misdemeanor assault can bring this kid to shut off his iPhone. Bravo.

This was a very interesting year, to say the least, for Apple, Steve Jobs and the Cuppertino gang. 2010 was an ambitious year for Apple with highly anticipated new product launches of the iPad and a new installation of the iPhone. But the Year in Review also held some drama with an Apple test product making it out of the walls of the Cuppertino fortress and into civilian hands, as well as, a battle about Flash content on the iPad. Overall, Apple had a crazy year for sales and continue to exert their dominance over the rest of the gadget world year after year. With the holiday season “wrapping” up…(pun intended) I will not be surprised to see the inflated sales numbers after the year. The bottom line is, I know there will be millions of people opening up iPads, iPhones and iPods from under the tree.

The iPod Repair Blog Presents:

2010 Apple Year in Review Top Ten List:

10. Flash on Apple Devices

The uproar of not allowing Adobe Flash prompted Steve Jobs to post an open letter about Flash on the Apple website. It went something like this, “Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.” Said Jobs. He went on to also say, “New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.” I give Jobs credit here, he is moving forward and trying to encourage the creation of new platforms to challenge Adobe Flash which currently accounts for 75% of video and media on the internet.

9. iPad Frame with Hole for Front-Facing Camera

iPad repair specialists, Mission Repair, discovered that a replacement iPad Frame had a space for an iSight webcam/camera inside the device. Based on parts seemingly obtained through unofficial channels, the frame appears to have a very similar area to the MacBook’s existing iSight webcam enclosure. The second Gen iPad will be Face Time compatible but Apple decided to not implement the Face Time capability in the first generation.

8. iPad Delayed Ship Date

The iPad release was one of the most anticipated events of the year but some of the dedicated Apple fans who pre-ordered their iPads experienced some frustration. Apple began taking pre-orders beginning March 12 to have the device shipped directly to your house and have it arrive on your door step by the store launch date of April 3. Apple then announced that customers who placed pre-orders after March 27 had to wait until April 12 for their iPad to ship due to the high demand. Bummer.

7. Nasdaq Stock Rose from $210 a share to Over $300 a share in 2010

Apple enjoyed another great year in the Nasdaq. Apple’s share price rose from $210 in January 2010 to over $300 in December. This is due in large part to the release of two major products this year with the iPad and iPhone 4. Apple also continues to push the envelope when it comes to innovative, user-friendly products.

6. Face Time

Face Time may have been one of the most anticipated upgrades to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The front facing camera allows you to video chat with other iPhone users over a wi-fi connection. Face Time is now available to iPod touch and iMac desktop and laptop users. The second generation of the iPad will also have Face Time capability.

5. iPhone Death Grip Antenna Issues

An issue with the iPhone 4s external Antenna caused dropped calls. This problem, deemed the “death grip”, had iPhone 4 users grumbling. The external antenna on the iPhone 4 had a tendency to drop calls when users held the phone a certain way but to remedy this problem Apple offered users a free bumper case to help alleviate the “death grip”.

4. Multi-Tasking!

The iPhone 4 release also coincided with a new iOS release from Apple. iOS 4 allowed for multi-tasking, something that iPhone users had long awaited. The multi-tasking allowed users to open an App from the SpringBoard and then double click the home button to pull up a menu at the bottom of the screen. You could then switch apps and run more than one app at a time. Prior to multi-tasking, once you switched apps the app you were just running would close. Now you can go back to right where you left off.

3. iPhone Release

The release of the iPhone 4 was similar to the release of the iPad with lines spanning around the block and people camping out for days to be one of the first people to get their hands on the new iPhone. The iPhone 4 featured several revamped features including a new Retina display and a squared off casing with a stainless steel band. The iPhone took some of it’s styling cues from the iPad. Also, the iPhone featured an upgraded A4 processor and a Gorilla Glass backing to make it more durable and scratch resistant.

2. iPad Release

The long awaited iPad release garnered the most hype in 2010 and is one of the hottest products of the year. With the release of the iPad came several imitators such as the Samsung Galaxy and BlackBerry PlayBook. The most impressive number for the iPad this year was 1 million units sold in less than 30 days on the market. 1 million of anything is impressive but 1 million iPads is crazy. For comparison, the iPhone took almost three months to reach the million sales mark. The iPad moved off the shelves so quickly in 2010 Apple had to delay the International release. 300,000 units were sold on the first day.

1. Gizmodo Lost iPhone 4 Scandal

This was by far my favorite Apple headline in 2010. It just got better each day with more information coming out and the lengths that Apple went to to make it known that you don’t mess with Steve Jobs. A quick recap goes something like this: Apple software engineer, Gray Powell was enjoying a few drinks at a local watering hole and left his iPhone 4 test phone at the bar. The iPhone 4 was disguised as a 3Gs. Powell left the phone on a bar stool and the phone was recovered by a patron at the bar. The phone was then sold to Gizmodo.com for a reported $5,000 and photos were leaked out on Gizmodo.com. Apple then contacted Gizmodo editor Jason Chen to get the phone back and they also obtained a search warrant to seize Chen’s computers. Bottom line, Gizmodo ruined the surprise of the iPhone 4 for me but also broke a huge, entertaining story that gave me a weeks worth of great reading material.

I hope you enjoyed the Year in Review and hope you will check back in with the iPod Repair Blog for more entertaining content in 2011!