Category Archives: iPhone 4S
Study: iPhone retains value better than top Galaxy models
The next time your Samsung Galaxy-toting friends try to annoy you, here’s a piece of information you can throw back at them. According to a study published yesterday by investment bank Piper Jaffray, iPhones depreciate at less than half the rate of similar Android devices from Samsung.
Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray referred to the new index as “a pulse on what consumers are willing to pay for unsubsidized phones in the US.” The index compares US eBay auction ending prices for the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II over a rolling 8 weeks to create a trend on resale prices.
Apple receives iPhone unlock requests from law enforcement
The decryption on your iPhone is apparently secure enough that law enforcement agencies are waiting in line to have Apple “crack” the lock and provide data to be used as evidence.
According to a report by CNET, Apple has the ability to decrypt seized iPhones and has created a waiting list to handle requests. At one point last summer, the wait was over 7 weeks long and one ATF agent reported that it took his request at least four months to be processed. The ATF had tried to decrypt the iPhone 4S of a Kentucky man accused of distributing crack cocaine and became so frustrated that it contacted Apple for assistance. That’s where the wait started…
For those who are concerned about how secure their personal information is on an iOS device, the fact that the devices can’t be cracked by Federal agents is good news. No one is sure exactly how Apple can decrypt the information for police, whether there’s a backdoor that only Apple knows about, has custom hardware for decryption, or just has better-trained cryptologists.
iOS 6 obtains FIPS 140-2 certification, opening door to more government use
Close on the heels of last week’s announcement that US Department of Defense approval of iOS 6 devices was imminent comes word from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that a cryptographic module in iOS 6 has achieved FIPS 140-2 certification (Level 1). This has, to quote our tipster, “huge implications for government use of iOS (and eventually Macs)”.
Apple iOS CoreCrypto Kernel Module v3.0, when operated in FIPS mode, “generates cryptographic keys whose strengths are modified by available entropy”. CoreCrypto is described as “a software cryptographic module running on a multi-chip standalone mobile device and provides services intended to protect data in transit and at rest.”
The module met Level 1 of FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2. Level 1 provides the lowest level of security, as no physical security mechanisms are required beyond the basic requirement for production-grade components. CoreCrypto uses FIPS-approved algorithms including Triple-DES, AES, SHS, and an additional alphabet soup of acronyms.
Win a collector’s item: a Behringer iNuke Boom Junior speaker dock
I’m usually very good about turning around reviews; usually within a week or two of receiving a review device or accessory I’ve had a chance to try it out, take photos, and write it up. But there are two things that have been sitting in my office unopened for a few months, and I finally decided to get going on them. One item is a Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 that I’ll be writing up shortly now that the weather in Colorado is cooperating (except for the winter storm hitting tomorrow…), but today’s focus is on what’s in the big box in the corner of my office — the Behringer iNuke Boom Junior iPod/iPhone speaker dock.
Apple ad man Ken Segall takes issue with Apple’s iPhone naming scheme
While serving as the creative lead of TBWA/Chiat Day, Ken Segall oversaw the creative direction of Apple’s marketing efforts. Credited as the man who put the ‘i’ in iMac, Segall worked very closely with Steve Jobs and helped oversee a number of memorable Apple ad campaigns, including the award-winning Think Different campaign.
Suffice it to say, when Segall has something to say about Apple’s advertising efforts, it’s typically worth paying attention to.
In a blogpost published last week, Segall opines on Apple’s current iPhone naming scheme and let’s just say he thinks Apple is shooting itself in the foot.
