A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Amazingly, this iPhone 4S battery-life car-crash may not actually be fixed by the iOS 5.0.1 update! Some users are even complaining that it's worse than before. Has Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made a mess of the first OTA update? Many users are still reporting rotten-to-the-core power performance. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers troll frustrated fanbois.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: We will remember them...
Gregg Keizer reports:
iOS 5.0.1 was the first update that Apple delivered "over-the-air"...without requiring users to [plug in] their devices. ... Apple did not spell out the specific battery-related patches.
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Almost immediately after the launch of the iPhone 4S, owners began reporting that the phone was exhausting its battery at a prodigious rate.
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[It's] too early for results reports to appear on Apple's support forum..
Oh no it isn't, says Adrian Kingsley-Hughes:
[M]ost...are claiming that the update is a dud, and some [say] it makes the problem worse. ... Apples support forum is...abuzz with complaints.
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Its hard to find users who are happy with the new update. ... [I]ts hard to pin down...whether this is a configuration issue, a app issue, or an issue specific to certain handsets.
Mark Chubb adds:
iOS users who have updated to iOS 5.0.1 and have had their hopes of a better battery life dashed. ... Most complaints [say] battery life is still draining pretty much as it was before.
And Paul Hontz finds more problems:
My iPhone...no longer remember[s] the names of any of my contacts! ... [They're] still there but if I got a text or a call my iPhone would have a sudden bout of amnesia.
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Its even more bizarre when youre trying to create a new text. ... In the message pane...[it] forget[s] my contacts name and just shows the number.
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I mentioned this on Twitter and many of my followers had similar experiences.
Nick Farrell is on good, sarcastic form this morning:
Apple did everything it could...including rushing out a patch and firing the incompetent people [responsible].
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Actually, it denied there ever was a problem until there was enough press coverage.
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The update also fixes some other problems...such as a flaw in the OS that may allow hackers to build apps that secretly install programs. ... Apple was told about this flaw recently and responded by kicking the developer who found it out of the walled garden of delights.
Meanwhile, William Bastone tells us how not to react:
Michael Alan Skopec, 48, dialed [911] five times to beef about his malfunctioning Apple [iPhone].
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Cops traced the calls to Skopecs home, where he was arrested around 1 AM...according to a sheriffs spokesperson. Skopec...was charged with obstructing or resisting a peace officer.
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It is unclear what Skopec thought cops could do about his malfunctioning smartphone. ... Released on his own recognizance, Skopec is next due in court on November 18.
Nicolò Martini complains on the Apple support forum:
I've updated to 5.0.1 and my battery still drains dramatically. ... [In] Settings->General->Usage, the Usage time is always more than 60% of Standby-time, even if I don't touch the phone, and with all settings turned off ... and no background application running.
As does Beachgall:
I tried to update my iPhone 4s...and it got hung up in iTunes and said I need to restore the phone to factory settings. ... Then the phone came up as DEACTIVATED! ... Verizon doesn't open until the morning and I'm stuck without cellphone service.
And Morbo42, too:
Before the 5.0.1 update I...didn't have any battery problems on my iPhone 4S. But...I now seem to have one. ... The phone was charging over night...now after 20min of ... reading some news...and 1h 26min of standby, it is already down to 92%. ... Up until yesterday it was at 97-98% at this time of day.
Later, Darrell Etherington updates us with more reported issues:
[W]was the release too expedited?
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Many users...are expressing a similar suspicion that maybe the battery issue is not really related to software...but may be endemic to the iPhone 4S. Others claim that the 5.0.1 update has introduced...microphone failures, Wi-Fi signal loss and cellular network inconsistencies.
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The update isnt all bad. ... But it does seem like it was rushed out the door without making sure it addressed the problem...the flood of disappointed feedback from users is undeniable.
And Finally... They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: We will remember them Don't miss out on IT Blogwatch:
