iPhone 4S Siri Helps Santa Claus Find People, Distribute Joy

In the latest iPhone 4S ad, Santa Claus uses iPhone 4S to locate people and their homes as he handles gift deliveries on his busiest night of the year. There's drama and a tinge of awesomeness in the ad, and it conveys more than just a message that the new iPhone is indeed a powerful device.

Head past the break to watch the latest iPhone 4S commercial. We've embedded it after the break for your viewing pleasure.

As a refresher, Apple released the iPhone 4S in October this year featuring a faster processor, better graphics, and the amazing voice-based digital assistant called Siri. Ever since its debut with the iPhone 4S, Siri has caught attention of enthusiastic developers, hackers and users alike.

There have been numerous tweaks showing Siri various awesome things that no other smartphone has accomplished till date. And it only grows better with every passing day.

Right now, presenting Santa using his iPhone 4S to manage his 3.7 million appointments is a nice way to showcase the power of the iPhone 4S and Siri, of course — which is a little dramatic too.

Seems like all those willing to purchase an iPhone 4S this reason just got another reason to be sure of their decision.

Click here to know more about Apple Siri.

iPhone app downloads stuttering in the US, but still gold compared to Android

At some point, we'll all have to stop binging on discounted apps and start being reflective - and that's when Distimo's 2011 'App Year in Review' report can serve as a nice digestive. Alongside some predictable trends, such as an impressive 400 percent surge in available Windows Phone apps, it also reveals a few interesting stats about the market leader. iPhone app downloads in the US "have been declining for nearly the entire year," it says, although there was big spike following the launch of the 4S. Regardless of volume, however, top-grossing iPhone apps still made four times as much money as the Android Market's premium performers. By the same measure, even iPad apps on their own generated twice as many dollars. Is this a tale of quality over quantity, or are Android apps simply better value? We'll decide when we're less queasy, and in the meantime there's a fuller summary of the report at the source link - though you'll have to register to view it.

Apple could sell almost 200 million iPhones in 2012

Apple could sell as many as 190 million iPhones next year according to a survey conducted by AlphaWise for Morgan Stanley. The survey results also suggested Apple will sell 31-36 million iPhone handsets this quarter, almost 30% more than estimates from other Wall Street analysts. That figure is also more than the 30 million iPhones Morgan Stanley's chief Apple analyst Katy Huberty expects the company to sell during the fourth quarter. ”Surprisingly, US consumers expect to buy more iPhones in C1Q12 than C4Q11,” Huberty wrote in an email to clients on Wednesday, noting that the survey results suggest consumers could buy as many as 41 million iPhones during the first quarter next year. Huberty also suggested that Apple could sell 15 million more iPads should it decide to drop the price by $100, making the entry-level iPad 2 just $399. Morgan Stanley estimates Apple will sell 52 million iPads during 2012 but the results of the AlphaWise survey suggested consumers are ready to purchase as many as 81 million units, far above the Street's consensus of 54 million units. 

Porting Siri to iPhone 4 now legal following iOS 5.0.1 update

IPhone 4 owners looking to take advantage of Apple's Siri software from the iPhone 4S now have one less barrier standing in their way. Sure, plenty of tricks have been available in the past that allow users to hack Siri onto an iPhone 4, but until now they were illegal. Apple's recent iOS 5.0.1 update, however, has a decrypted ramdisk, which means users can legally port files to the iPhone 4 that were previously encrypted and protected by Apple's public distribution policies. Apple may re-encrypt the files in iOS 5.1, which is expected to launch in the near future, so move quick if you want to take advantage of this loophole. 

iPhone 4S now available in 20 additional countries

Apple launched the iPhone 4S in 20 new countries on Friday. In addition to previously-launch markets, the blockbuster smartphone is now available in Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, according to MacRumors. While U.S. citizens can grab the iPhone 4S for as low as $199 with a new two-year contract, Apple's Brazilian store is reportedly selling the iPhone 4S for as much as $1,845 for the 64GB model. The 16GB version costs $1,410 in Brazil, and pricing in other markets varies. 

Audman Speaker Dock For iPhone

The Audman is claimed to be the smallest speaker dock for Apple's iPhone. Designed by Dean Ekkaia and Sean Solberg, the speaker dock has an integrated high-capacity rechargeable battery, allowing you to recharge your smartphone while on-the-go. The gadget is equipped with a pair of speakers, large analog buttons to control music playback and a pair of headphone jacks for sharing music with your friend. The Audman is currently available for pre-order at Kickstarter for $125 a pop. [Kickstarter]

Griffin and Third Man Records team up to add vinyl to your iPhone case

In the market for a new case for the brand new iPhone 4S that you just pick up today? A fan of all things Jack White? If so, Griffin and Third Man records have teamed up to put a vinyl spin on your next Apple-friendly smartphone case. The pair has introduced a set of accessories that make use of a legit 7-inch record die-cut to protect the back of your mobile device, blending analog and digital without making a sound. Each case is comprised of a two-part frame that wraps those precious edges — with openings for controls and jacks, of course — and a piece of genuine vinyl, pressed right in Nashville. You'll have your choice of three color variants that come with a Third Man-branded vinyl. If that's not enough, you can spring for a set of three inserts, one from each of Mr. White's musical projects. Protip: If you happen to opt for the extras and snag The Racounteur's insert, this collaboration marks the first pressing of “Steady, As She Goes.” Each case is $30 and the set of extra inserts will set you back another Jackson.

Apple to sell record 30 million iPhones in Q4, UBS says

Apple is on track to sell a record number of iPhone handsets in the December quarter thanks to the launch of its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S. UBS analyst Maynard Um was one of a number of analysts in recent weeks to raise his estimates on iPhone sales for the fourth calendar quarter, and he now believes Apple will offload as many as 30 million smartphones this quarter. Apple now sells three iPhone models: the new iPhone 4S, which broke Apple's previous record when it sold more than 4 million handsets during the phone's debut weekend alone, the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS. In the U.S., recent checks indicate that the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 are still among the best-selling smartphones in the country, and Apple's iPhone 3GS - which is now free on contract at AT&T - is reportedly still in high demand as well. Um is sticking with his previous iPad sales estimates for the fourth quarter. The analyst believes Apple will move 12 million iPads between October and December, though he did note that strong holiday sales could push that figure up to 13 million units.

Sales of Apple's iPhone, iPad banned by German court

A ruling handed down on Friday by the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany could see sales of Apple's iOS devices banned across Europe. The judgement relates to a patent infringement complaint filed by Motorola last April, when the company accused Apple of infringing a Motorola-owned patent covering ”a method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system.” Friday's ruling is preliminary, however, and according to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, it is only enforceable against Ireland-based Apple subsidiary Apple Sales International. The injunction formally pertains to the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2, though the iPhone 4S is likely covered as well. Apple must now remove the infringing functionality from its iOS devices or successfully appeal to Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court in order to avoid the ban.

Production of Apple's 30-month-old iPhone 3GS to hit 2 million units in Q4

Apple's manufacturing partners are expected to build 2 million iPhone 3GS handsets in the fourth quarter. Thursday of this week marked exactly two and a half years since Apple unveiled the iPhone 3GS during its Worldwide Developer Conference in June 2009. Citing industry sources within Apple's supply chain, DigiTimes on Friday reported that production of Apple's iPhone 3GS has continued at high volumes that should hit 2 million units in the December quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, production of the iPhone 3GS will reportedly slow to between 1.4 million and 1.6 million units. The same report also suggests that production of Apple's CDMA iPhone 4 could top 1 million units in the fourth quarter this year, slowing to between 500,000 and 600,000 units in the first quarter next year. In the United States, Apple's iPhone 3GS is available for free on contract from AT&T while the CDMA iPhone 4 is sold by both Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

iPhone 4S best-selling phone at three top U.S. carriers in November, Samsung sales strong

Apple's iPhone 4S was the best-selling smartphone at Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint in November according to a report released Monday night by Canaccord Genuity. According to checks performed by analyst Mike Walkley and his team, Apple's iPhone 4S remained a top-seller across the board while Samsung's Galaxy S II picked up momentum ahead of the holidays. Samsung's flagship handset was the top-selling smartphone at T-Mobile and it jumped up into the No.2 spot at AT&T. Sprint's Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch was the second best-selling smartphone at Sprint as well in November, and Motorola's DROID RAZR was No.2 at Verizon Wireless.

“IPhone 4S sales strength continues as distribution increases – Our November checks indicated iPhone sales remained strong in the US, particularly at AT&T and Sprint. Further, our checks indicated strong global share gains,” Walkley wrote. “With the iPhone 4S launching in new markets including China, Brazil, and Russia during December, we anticipate strong December quarter iPhone sales and have increased our estimate from 29.0 to 30.5M units.”

The analyst also noted that Apple's iPad 2 is still the world's top-selling tablet, though he did lower his unit sales estimates to 13 million in the December quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 14 million units.

HTC lost share in November according to Walkley, in line with the expectations set last month when the Taiwan-based vendor cut its fourth-quarter forecast. “Our November checks indicated weaker sales trends for both RIM and HTC, consistent with negative pre-announcements from both companies, as we believe weak trends are company-specific for both OEMs rather than indications of a weaker smartphone macro,” he wrote in his report. “Our checks indicated HTC has lost significant share at all four US carriers following the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II launches.”

Walkley's checks also indicated that sales of BlackBerry smartphones in the U.S. slowed significantly in November, with the high-end Bold 9900 in particular showing slowed adoption. “Following early strength for the Bold 9900, our checks indicated BlackBerry sales slowed significantly during November due to high-end smartphone share losses combined with lower-priced Nokia feature-phones and sub-$200 Android smartphones adversely impacting BlackBerry sales in emerging markets,” Walkley said. 

Syria bans iPhone to stifle protestors

The Syrian government recently banned the iPhone to stifle protestors communicating on social networks. Authorities are to “warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria,” Syria's finance ministry customs department said in an alleged statement. Protestors first informed the German Press Agency of the ban, which confirmed that an iPhone ban is indeed in effect, but it is unclear if the aforementioned statement from Syria's government is legitimate. Syria also banned imports of the iPhone, BBC said Friday. Other smartphones have not been banned.