Sprint has reduced the prices of its iPhone 4S models by $50. While the cut may gain the carrier new subscribers, it has no doubt encouraged the rumors that an iPhone 5 is coming soon.

Sprint reduced the price of its iPhones by $50 on Aug. 6, a move that has encouraged rumors that Apple’s next smartphone—the so called iPhone 5—is on its way.

Its 16GB iPhone 4S is now available for $150, its 32GB for $250 and its 64GB for $350. Sprint is now also advertising that, for subscribers who purchase online, the carrier will also waive its $36 activation fee.

When asked about the timing of the price cut, a Sprint spokesperson offered no comment.

By any number of accounts, Apple plans to introduce its next iPhone in early September—the 12th is latest report—and release it fewer than a dozen days later. The smartphone—again according to numerous reports, none of them from Apple—is expected to be faster, larger and thinner, include Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and near-field communication (NFC) technologies, more closely mimic the iPad’s aesthetic and have a far better camera.

Such speculations, however, haven’t been good for iPhone sales.

Apple reported a record $35 billion in revenue during its fiscal third quarter and sold 26 million iPhones, which was down from the quarter before. During a July 24 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook addressed a question about how much the dip was due to anticipation of the iPhone 5 by telling analysts: “It’s difficult to sort this out. There’s incredible anticipation out there for future products, given what we’ve been able to deliver in the past. And so I think it’s a reasonable amount.”

Analysts have been somewhat less generous, attributing the dip in sales to more a decline in interest than heightened anticipation—or at least some combination of the two.

“Demand for Apple’s flagship smartphone has cooled off now that the device has been available since October, and the rumors around the blogosphere have fueled speculation about a new design and features,” IDC reported Aug. 8.

Analyst Charles King, with Pund-It, similarly told eWEEK, “I’m not sure I buy claims that consumers waiting on the iPhone 5 put that big a dent into Apple sales.”

Sprint was the rare carrier that saw its iPhone sales (1.5 million units) remain consistent from the first quarter to the second. Verizon sold 2.7 million iPhones during its second quarter, down from 3.2 million during the first, while AT&T’s iPhone sales fell from 4.3 million to 3.6 million during the first quarter.

Still, while AT&T posted income of $6.8 billion on revenue of $31.6 billion and Verizon earned $5.7 billion on revenue of $28.6 billion, Sprint posted an operating loss of $629 million, largely related to expenses related to its closure of its Nextel iDen network.

Even at a discounted rate, sales of a few extra iPhones—and more importantly the potential for new subscribers—would be welcome at Sprint. The carrier is hustling to catch up to AT&T and Verizon’s LTE rollouts, and still significantly trails in subscriber additions each month. It also took out a big loan to be able to offer the iPhone.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, hosting a number of journalists at Sprint headquarters this week, said that decision was the right one.

“We knew our customers wanted the ability to choose the iPhone. We clearly looked at economics, both short term and long term. Over time, it starts to be cash-flow positive. We saw no reason to bet against Apple. You really don’t want to be on the outside of that,” Hesse said, according to a report from USA Today.

“From a brand perspective, you like having your brand associated with very strong great brands, and nobody can debate just what a great brand Apple has,” Hesse added. “We thought the benefits greatly outweighed the risks.”

 

 

Author: Michelle Maisto

Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Sprint-Cuts-iPhone-4S-Prices-by-50-Fueling-iPhone-5-Talk-370926/

Sprint Cuts iPhone 4s Prices by $50, Fueling iPhone 5 Talk

Delta Employees Flash Mob Across The U.S.

Check out this flash mob of Delta employees from In-Flight and TechOps across the U.S.!

Delta Employees Flash Mob Across The U.S.

dentical Twin Flight Attendants Daniel & David, Flying Together With Delta

After more than 35 years of service as flight attendants, Delta brought identical twin brothers Daniel and David together for a very special flight. Based in Hawaii and B

oston respectively, the “Flying Together” venture marked the first time the two ever shared a flight on the clock. Read more about Daniel and David here: http://bit.ly/DeltaFlyTogether.

For more great stories about the people who help Delta keep climbing each day, visit us on:

 

 

 

 

dentical Twin Flight Attendants Daniel & David, Flying Together With Delta

Google antipiracy measure skips YouTube, says report

New policy demotes sites in search results if Google receives a lot of take-down notices involving content on those sites. But removal requests are handled differently for YouTube and won’t count against the site, according to a report.

 

Google’s new copyright-policing policy apparently won’t affect Google-owned YouTube as it does other Web sites, despite the fact that YouTube has been known to play host to illegally posted copyrighted material.

The new policy, announced yesterday, knocks sites down in search results if Google receives a lot of “valid copyright removal notices” involving content on those sites.

But Search Engine Land reports that flagging supposedly illegal content on most sites involves using an online process that starts on a page labeled “Removing Content From Google,” whereas flagging content on YouTube involves using the video site’s baked-in “Copyright Center.” And the removal requests Google will be considering as far as search-result positioning is concerned will be those made through the Removing Content page, not through YouTube’s Copyright Center.

 

Gizmodo’s Eric Limer believes there are two ways to look at this: 1) Google is playing favorites, or 2) Google is “just rewarding YouTube for having such a proactive, easy to use, built-in takedown system.”

Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan says he asked Google to comment on the situation and got the following response from the search giant:

 

 

Google antipiracy measure skips YouTube, says report

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company’s most fuel-efficient airliner and the world’s first major airliner to use composite materials for most of its construction.^[5] According to Boeing, the 787 consumes 20% less fuel than the similarly-sized 767.^[6] Its distinguishing features include a four-panel windshield, noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles, and a smoother nose contour. The 787 shares a common type rating with the larger 777 twinjet, allowing qualified pilots to operate both models, due to related design features.^[7]

 

The aircraft’s initial designation was 7E7, prior to its renaming in January 2005.^[8] The first 787 was unveiled in a roll-out ceremony on July 8, 2007, at Boeing’s Everett assembly factory, by which time it had reached 677 orders; this is more orders from launch to roll-out than any previous wide-body airliner.^[9] By October 2011, the 787 program had logged 873 orders from 57 customers, with ILFC having the largest number on order.^[10]

The 787 development and production has involved a large-scale collaboration with numerous suppliers around the globe. Final assembly is at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington. Assembly is also taking place at a new factory in North Charleston, South Carolina. Both sites will deliver 787s to airline customers. Originally planned to enter service in May 2008, the project has suffered from multiple delays. The airliner’s maiden flight took place on December 15, 2009, and completed flight testing in mid-2011. Final Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency certification was received in late August 2011 and the first model was delivered in late September 2011. It entered commercial service on October 26, 2011.

 

 

 

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Foldable Smartphone wireless keyboard, battery expected to last years

Cords and plugins are nonexistent in this foldable smartphone keyboard from One2Touch, as the built-in battery lasts up to five years without being charged.

 

The one thing that bothers many smartphone users is the lack of a reliable keyboard. When it comes to smartphone keyboards, the iPhone seems to get the most criticism. Learning the iPhone keyboard is an effort. The keys are small and sensitive, and you have to essentially learn to trust that your phone will auto correct. But often, auto correct messes up your words, mistaking them for something else. There’s even a website (damnyouautocorrect) dedicated to chronicling all the hilarious auto correct mishaps.

Erroneous text messages tend to happen when you’re in a rush or extremely busy. Often, those are the moments when sending a legible message is critical. It’s such a disappointment to send off a message, then realize you typed “waht is the code for the Paris?” when you wanted to know the code for your co-worker’s apartment building. If you have an iPhone, you know this is a normal occurrence.

There has to be a way around this. We are living in the digital age, people are inventing things left and right, so why hasn’t anyone invented a solution to our iPhone keyboard woes? It turns out, two companies have come together to solve the keyboard issue, and they seem to have went above and beyond the call of duty.

A Japanese electronics firm called Elecom and a Norwegian company called One2Touch plan to launch an NFC-enabled keyboard that works with all smartphones. What makes this invention so unique is that it doesn’t require any cables, and it also doesn’t need to be charged. The foldable, flexible keyboard, made of silicone, has a built-in battery that lasts three to five years. When you want to use it, all you have to do is set your smartphone down on the space in the middle of the device and start typing.

The keyboard might take a little getting used to, as the keys are separated halfway down, so one set of keys is on the left and the other on the right. If you’re used to working with laptops or the standard keyboard all day, you’ll probably struggle for a bit. After awhile, though, the keyboard should be easy to type on. Since the buttons are made of silicone, it’s a soft and comfortable way to type. You also won’t get the dreaded “texting thumb” — when you text so much that your thumb has trouble releasing from that curled up position.

Of course, it has some downfalls. When the battery dies, you can’t replace it, you have to go out and buy a whole new keyboard. And since the keyboard will retail for about $240, buying another one every few years may be a pain.

After the keyboard starts selling, the companies will likely drop the price. In the meantime, this keyboard would be good for those who plan to use it sporadically. The three-to-five year timeline for the keyboard battery is based off regular use of the device. If you don’t use it that much, the battery will last longer.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com

BY ASHLEY_DAVIS

Foldable Smartphone wireless keyboard, battery expected to last years

Japanese scientist makes synthetic eatable meat from "HUMAN POOP"

It’s being called the “poop burger”. Japanese scientists have found a way to create artificial meat from sewage containing human feces.

Somehow this feels like a Vonnegut plotline: population boom equals food shortage. Solution? Synthesize food from human waste matter. Absurd yes, but Japanese scientists have actually discovered a way to create edible steaks from human feces.

Mitsuyuki Ikeda, a researcher from the Okayama Laboratory, has developed steaks based on proteins from human excrement. Tokyo Sewage approached the scientist because of an overabundance of sewage mud. They asked him to explore the possible uses of the sewage and Ikeda found that the mud contained a great deal of protein because of all the bacteria.

The researchers then extracted those proteins, combined them with a reaction enhancer and put it in an exploder which created the artificial steak. The “meat” is 63% proteins, 25% carbohydrates, 3% lipids and 9% minerals. The researchers color the poop meat red with food coloring and enhance the flavor with soy protein. Initial tests have people saying it even tastes like beef.

Inhabitat notes that “the meatpacking industry causes 18 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions, mostly due to the release of methane from animals.” Livestock also consume huge amounts of resources and space in efforts to feed ourselves as well as the controversy over cruelty to animals. Ikeda’s recycled poop burger would reduce waste and emissions, not to mention obliterating Dante’s circle for gluttons.

The scientists hope to price it the same as actual meat, but at the moment the excrement steaks are ten to twenty times the price they should be thanks to the cost of research. Professor Ikeda understands the psychological barriers that need to be surmounted knowing that your food is made from human feces. They hope that once the research is complete, people will be able to overlook that ugly detail in favor of perks like environmental responsibility, cost and the fact that the meat will have fewer calories.

Waste not; want not.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/japanese-scientists-creates-meat-out-of-feces/#ixzz23KgN6djv

BY JEFF HUGHES

Japanese scientist makes synthetic eatable meat from "HUMAN POOP"