iPhoneIndiaBlog.com

Quick Update: During last quarter, AT&T sold 9.4 million smartphones. Of which, 1.8 million were Android devices, and 7.6 million were iPhones. 80% of smartphones AT&T sold were iPhones, while only 20% were Android based devices, according to idownloadblog.com.

Cool… isnt it. Apple continues to ROCK!

These are huge numbers. Mac Observer is citing an inside source at AT&T, who claims the iPhone made up 66% of phone sales at AT&T corporate retail stores during the month of December, while Android accounted for 8.5%. AT&T’s stores sold 981,000 iPhones in December.

Tim Cook mentioned last quarter he was confident Apple would set another iPhone sales record during the December quarter, no doubt fueled by the iPhone 4S and the holiday shopping season. Some analysts estimate Apples revenue at over $40 billion for the December quarter besting Apple’s own estimate of $37 billion.

Source: Mac Observer

This is very very interesting and Gizmodo has a few users who have confirmed this process as well. A new unlock method has surfaced which claims to work without the need of any software, hardware or jailbreak. Michael Capozzi claims he has found a way to unlock the iPhone 4S without using any hardware or software. The video below shows a demonstration of his method. This works with AT&T’s iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. You will need to cut the T-Mobile SIM card so it fits into the Micro-SIM card slot in the iPhone 4S. There are several devices to do this accurately available online.

Here are the magical steps:

1. Insert original carrier AT&T SIM card
2. Dial 611 for AT&T customer service hotline and drop the call
3. Turn on Airplane Mode
4. Take out AT&T SIM card
5. Insert T-Mobile SIM card
6. Make sure WiFi is off ( also tap on ‘Forget this Network” to make sure it doesn’t connect automatically later)
7. Switch off Airplane Mode and iPhone will search for network. This is followed by the Apple splash screen appearing.
8. Activation Required will be displayed on the screen
9. EDGE network will activate automatically – notice the ‘E’ on the top left corner of the screen
10. Wait for about 20-30 seconds and turn off the phone
11. Turn on iPhone and the same Activation Required screen will be displayed
12. When you see one signal bar, tap on Use Cellular Connection
13. Eject SIM card
14. Activation Required screen will be displayed the second time
15. Insert SIM card
16. Unlocked!

Source – iClarified

AppleInsider shared this anonymous source information where HotHardware reported that AT&T could finally lose their iPhone exclusivity this Wednesday.

The report does not go as far as to claim what other U.S. carriers could offer the iPhone. But a source allegedly told the Web site that AT&T is “tired of taking the heat” for poor reception from iPhone users. In short, the report claims, AT&T officials believe the iPhone is hurting the company’s image, and they are no longer interested in having exclusive access to Apple’s handset.

“Inside of AT&T, we are hearing that the iPhone is causing more trouble than ever before,” the report said. “On some level, having the iPhone is hurting AT&T’s image. Because they are the only company to carry it, and it’s such a data hog, it’s largely to blame for AT&T’s network troubles. We don’t remember hearing about AT&T’s ‘horrible network’ before the iPhone–do you?”

Finally some relief for iPhone users in the US. Congrats guys

[via - AppleInsider]

Yesterday AT&T confirmed that it has informed Apple and the FCC that it will permit VoIP functionality on the iPhone over its 3G network. Awesome news for all cellular users in the US and at the same time iPhone users all around the world will start benefiting from VoIP apps that will flood App Store.

AT&T today announced it has taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T’s wireless network. Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled for Wi-Fi connectivity. For some time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks. AT&T this afternoon informed Apple Inc. and the FCC of its decision.

Macrumors also covered this news and had this to say:

The announcement covers traditional VoIP services and does not address the issue of Google Voice, which is not strictly a VoIP service, although it provides some functionalities similar to VoIP. But it remains unclear whether AT&T has ever actually opposed Google Voice on the iPhone, as the company claimed that it played no role in the application review process.

[via - AT&T]

Good news for AT&T customers. Quite a few iPhone users in the US are reporting that the MMS feature have been enabled on iPhones much in advance. AT&T’’s was support start MMS service by 25th Sept. AppleInsider has more on this:

Rather than turning on MMS service for millions of American iPhone users all at once, AT&T has been selectively activating users across the country. Once activated, iPhone 3G and 3GS users should see a new “Cellular Data Network” menu item within the General/Network page of the Settings app and a new camera icon within the Messages app for sending photos.

[via - AppleInsider]

I am sure all you iPhone users in the US keep cursing AT&T’s crappy service and coverage. Since AT&T is the only service provider for iPhone in the US, consumers are left with no choice. Many are still waiting for this exclusivity to end some day and Apple brings in the 2nd service provider, Verizon. Till that happen, check this awesome video:

BTW, we are lucky here in India. We have Airtel, the best mobile service provider in the whole world. Awesome rates, free tethering, MMS, clear connectivity and coverage… what more does one wants . The best mobile phone in the world with the No.1 service provider.

AT&T announced late Friday via Twitter that it is selling refurbished iPhones for as low as $49 in the US.

iPhone 3G refurbs now as low as $49 while supplies last. Visit att.com to order.

To buy this refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G, click ATT.com now.

Breaking news for AT&T users in the US. Boy Genius Report reports that AT&T will be offering contract-free iPhone 3Gs to existing customers starting from March 26th. iPhone 3Gs will be priced at $599 for the 8 GB model and $699 for the 16 GB model, and no service agreement or device activation is required.

But isn’t $599 quite expensive?

[via - Boy Genius Report]