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iPhone 4S hype dampened by weak battery life |
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By Kim Do-yeun
A wave of complaints about battery life is rising from users of the iPhone 4S, Apple’s fifth-generation smartphone released on Oct. 14 in the U.S. It will be released on Nov. 11 in Korea and 14 other countries.
Upon seeking help online, users discovered that they were not alone. The short standby time of the iPhone 4S was the source of much frustration on blogs and online forums.
Many complained that their new phone’s battery hardly lasted 12 hours after being fully charged
Complaints began in mid-October, immediately after the phone’s release, with a post on the official Apple support forum. More than 2,500 replies have been added by users worldwide.
One post suggested disabling various functions on the phone as a solution, including wireless synchronization, location services for weather, iCloud backup and Twitter integration.
Some had even tried lowering the brightness on the handset’s screen and disconnecting from WiFi and 3G networks.
This stops users from enjoying all the features on their new phone.
But despite these improvised remedies, many reported that their phones’ battery life seemed to drain without stop.
Apple has not officially responded with a solution yet. Some customers who contacted the company’s support services were recommended to visit a store for a replacement phone.
The issue, however, seems likely to be narrowed down to the new software, iOS 5, that is used on the iPhone 4S. Users of the iPhone 4 who have updated their phones with the iOS 5 have experienced the same battery drain problem, which suggests that the problem is not the battery itself.
The tech blog iDownloadBlog, which is devoted to Apple products, suggested that the Setting Time Zone function may be a major culprit. The function tracks location during travel, and the web site said that this used up a considerable amount of battery power.
Meanwhile, Apple said on its website that Korean customers will be able to pre-order the phone starting Friday.
The iPhone 4S was one of the last products created during Apple founder Steve Jobs' lifetime. He died on Oct. 5.
Apple sold more than 4 million iPhone 4S smartphones during the first three days of its launch in seven countries.
Samsung Electronics Co., which has been staging global patent legal battles with Apple, filed motions to block sales of the iPhone 4S in four countries citing patent violations.
Samsung's mobile president Shin Jong-kyun said the company is reviewing whether it will take a similar action to stop the sale of the new iPhone in Korea.
The writer is a Korea Times intern / doyeun@gmail.com
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"아이폰4S 배터리 소모심해" 불만급증
미국에서 지난달 14일 출시된 애플의 아이폰 4S 배터리 과소모에 대한 불만이 급증했다. 한국에서 11월 11일 출시될 예정이며 금요일부터 사전 예약을 받는다.
갖가지 블로그와 온라인 포럼에서는 완전히 충전된 상태에서 12시간을 못 넘는 배터리의 수명을 지적하며 전세계 사용자들이 불평했다.
출시 초기부터 애플의 공식 포럼에 호소하는 글이 올려지며 2,500건이 넘는 댓글이 달려졌다.
애플은 아직 이 문제에 대한 답변을 하지 않고 있다.
사용자들은 무선 동기화, 아이클라우드(iCloud) 백업 등 여러 기능을 꺼놓는 수단으로 배터리 소모량을 줄이고 있다고 글을 올렸다.
어떤 사용자는 화면의 밝기를 낮추거나 무선 네트워크와 3G 네트워크를 해제하는 방법을 제안하기도 했다.
이런 방법들은 모두 아이폰 4S의 기능 사용을 제한한다.
한편 이런 자구책에도 불구하고 배터리 문제가 계속된다고 전하는 사용자들이 있었다.
하지만 문제는 배터리 자체가 아니라 아이폰 4S에 사용되는 iOS 5 최신 소프트웨어라는 말도 있다. 이 소프트웨어를 설치한 아이폰 4에서도 같은 문제가 발생한다고 블로그 사용자들이 보고하고 있다.
애플제품 전문 블로그 ‘아이다운로드’ (iDownloadBlog)는 iOS 5에 포함된 자동 시간대 설정 (Setting Time Zone)의 위치추적 기능이 배터리를 많이 소모함을 시사했다.
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doyeun@gmail.com |
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