iPhone News Updated

What’s Really Next for Apple in Television

“I’ve finally cracked it!” Steven P. Jobs, co-founder of Apple, told his biographer, Walter Isaacson.

Although Mr. Jobs was referring to Apple’s plans to build a full-fledged television, he was not actually referring to the TV set, which is how the comment has been widely interpreted. Instead, it is becoming clear that Mr. Jobs was talking about Siri, Apple’s new artificial intelligent software on the iPhone 4S.

Apple engineers and designers, spurred by Mr. Jobs, have been struggling for years to find a new interface for the television. One of the biggest hurdles, according to people with knowledge of the project, has been replacing the television set’s annoying best friend: the awkward and confusing remote control. Apple would give people a way to choose the content on their television that is as easy as choosing the content on their iPod, iPhone or iPad.

Alternative remote ideas floated by Apple included a wireless keyboard and mouse, or using an iPod, iPhone or iPad as a remote. None of these concepts worked. But there was one “I finally cracked it” moment, when Apple realized you could just talk to your television.

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Sprint says iPhone most network-efficient smartphone and “worth every penny”

Sprint’s top executive said this week that Apple’s new iPhone is its most network-efficient smartphone, using some 50% less data than comparable Android handsets.

Speaking during the carrier’s third-quarter conference call Wednesday, Sprint chief executive Dan Hesse said the company’s four-year subsidy-driven bid to carry the iPhone was “worth every penny,” with preliminary reports indicating that the handset uses significantly less data than other smartphones, allowing the company to retain its unlimited 3G data plans.

In order to carry the iPhone, the nation’s third-largest carrier is reported to be paying 40% more than the industry average in subsidies, translating to $200 per device, in a $20 billion four-year deal with Apple.

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