New AppleCare+ for iPhone Covers Accidental Damage

AppleCare is a popular service that extends the warranty on all of Apple’s major products. It gives purchasers 90 days of free over-the-phone support, and adds an extra year to the standard hardware warranty.

Typically, this service doesn’t cover accidental damage. Those looking for that kind of coverage had to enroll in some type of insurance plan. But Apple is looking to change all that with its introduction of AppleCare+…

AppleCare+, which will be available October 14, costs $99, and users must enroll in the plan at the same time they purchase their new iPhone. And for the first time ever, the support package covers accidental damage.

On top of adding an additional year to your smartphone’s warranty, AppleCare+ will also cover two incidents of damage due to handling errors. So if you drop your iPhone and crack the screen or backplate, Apple will repair it for you for a small fee.

How small? According to TUAW, Apple will extract a $49 service charge for fixing your broken device. Even with the upfront charge of $99, that’s still a pretty good deal, considering that new iPhones (not on contract)  run upwards of $600.

Keep in mind that you will only get two opportunities to have your damaged device serviced, and make sure to underline the words accidental damage. I doubt Apple would repair a phone that’s been thrown against the wall repeatedly .

Regardless, it still sounds like a good deal. I remember when you couldn’t even purchase insurance for the iPhone. So basically if you ruined the handset, you were out of luck.

Do you plan on picking up AppleCare+ for your new iPhone?

Full iPhone 4S Specs Revealed: A5 Processor, Download Speeds That Rival 4G, World Phone, 8MP Camera, 1080P Vide

Wow, if anyone was doubting that the iPhone 4S could compete with the latest and greatest crop of smartphones, would you like your crow served scrambled, or over easy?

The specs are ridiculous, and the “S” wholeheartedly lives up to its name by bringing significantly more speed, to the already capable iPhone 4.

On top of the obvious A5 processing speed increase, the 4S actually rivals 4G speeds when it comes to downloads. Not only that, but it features CDMA and GSM capabilities for true world phone functionality…

The Stats:

Processor: A5 Dual Core Processor, up to 2x faster cpu, dual core graphics resulting in up to 7x faster graphics.

Battery Life: Improved battery life, 8 hours of talk time, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 6 hours of 3G browsing.

Faster Downloads: It’s technically still 3G, but it’s capable of speeds that rival 4G phones in real world comparisons, thanks to the improved antenna. 14.4Mbps downloads, and 5.8Mbps uploads. These are the same maximum data speeds for 4G phones like the HTC Inspire 4G and the Motorola Atrix.

World Phone: CDMA and GSM built into the same device, for true global roaming.

Improved Camera: 8MP Sensor capable of macro shots, and 3264 x 2428 resolution photos. New hybrid IR filer, face detection, improved white balance, and faster photo time. In fact it heavily bests Android’s flagship Droid Bionic in this area. Just 1.1 seconds to the first photo, and half a second to the next.

Video: 1080p video recording, noise reduction, and image stabilization.

Basically, this looks like a killer device, and one that I’m happy to replace my iPhone 4 with. It looks and sounds absolutely killer. Dare I say “iPhone 5, what?”

And that’s just the hardware end of the spectrum, coming up, we’ll have details on the new Assistant integration stemming from Apple’s purchase of Siri.

What do you think of the specs? I’m quite satisfied!

Source

iPhone 4S Camera Will Rival The Top Point And Shoot Models

The iPhone 4 turned out to be one of the world’s most popular cameras. It was one of the first smartphones that literally started taking the place of every day point-and-shootpicture-takers.

With the iPhone 4S, Apple is looking to build on that success with its all-new 8MP camera. The sensor is capable of capturing 3264 x 2448 photos — 60% more pixels than the iPhone 4. And there’s much, much more…

On top of its additional pixels, the new 8MP camera sensor can gather in 73% more light than the previous model. It also houses a hybrid IR filter for richer colors, and it’s super fast. It takes just 1.1 seconds to snap its first photo.

Source

And as for video recording? The new iPhone 4S records in full 1080P HD, and includes built-in image stabilization and a temporal noise reduction filter to ensure that all of your videos look first class. Not bad for a cell phone.

This Is The iPhone 4S

Ladies and gentlemen, after months of rumors and speculations, the iDB team is excited to introduce you to the iPhone 4S.

Do you notice anything new about it? Probably not, because it’s the same design, but on the inside, it’s a whole different beast…

iPhone 4S to Launch Today, No iPhone 5 This Year

Only hours before Apple’s actual announcement, the folks over at The Next Web just dropped the bomb on what Apple has planned for the iPhone today.

According to the site’s trusted sources inside Apple, the iPhone 4S will be launched today with a 8 megapixel camera, A5 processor, 1 GB of RAM, “improved optics,” and a “more accurate differential GPS stage.” The iPhone 5 ‘teardrop’ design that Apple was rumored to unveil won’t be released this year.

Matt Brian of The Next Web:

“Sources familiar with Apple’s plans have revealed to us that Apple will indeed debut the new iPhone 4S today, featuring an 8-megapixel camera with “improved optics” and a “more accurate differential GPS stage” thanks to Apple’s new Qualcomm chipset.

Our sources tell us the iPhone 4S “is much more powerful than an iPhone 4″ and “feels like the high-end device”, all but confirming that the device will feature Apple’s new A5 processor and include 1GB RAM, as tipped in previous reports, noting that the device will retain the same dimensions and design as the iPhone 4.”

The 8 megapixel camera will come courtesy of Sony, as was previously reported.

The iPhone 5 rumor that was started back in April has also been squashed:

“We were also told that the iPhone 5, which is rumored to sport a teardrop design and aluminium unibody, is merely an Apple prototype for a future iPhone 5 “which won’t be available any time soon”, as the “iPhone 4S will have the same dimensions.”

The iPhone 4S was directly named by Apple in iTunes beta code, and the image associated with the name was of a CDMA iPhone 4. The two devices have been rumored to be nearly identical in physical design, with improved internals and iOS 5′s Assistant feature separating the 4S from its predecessor.

Are you upset that there won’t be an iPhone 5 today? Or will the 4S be enough?

Read the iDB team’s predictions for today’s event for more information on what to expect.

[That was our very last iPhone 4S rumor that will ever be published on iDB. Yay!]