This is an important update to my previous post "How to fix iPhone battery issue..." which did NOT get my battery back to normal, since it played up again after a little while... Finally, I now found a method that got my iPhone back to normal with a battery life of up to 24 hours and more... I feel like a new human being again and do not constantly have to look for a power supply, but I can now even leave my iPhone 4 on the couch over night and it will not loose much battery life, if I am not using it... Here is how I did it: I set my iPhone up as a NEW phone WITHOUT installing the backup and it was VERY successful and easier as I thought... Maybe took me roughly 2 hours... That's all.

Before you do Set Up Your iPhone as a NEW PHONE, please remember that any data that you cannot store externally will be lost, but there are apps to back up almost everything you need... Here are a few things I did...

1. I used an app to backup all my contacts, which sends you an email with a VCF file... (example app)
   
2. If you want to keep all your text messages, read this article...
   
3. I synched my phone to bring all music across into my iTunes library... (Music can later easily be put onto your newly installed phone without the backup!)... Synching your iPhone is also very useful, if you recently downloaded new apps since you will be able to see all your old apps later in iTunes in order to remember which ones to re-install...
   
4. I copied all my photos and films manually to my computer, using Windows Explorer file copying...
   
5. I made sure that all my notes were synched into the cloud e.g. with gmail activated for them...
   
6. I made screenshots of my smtp and imap email settings so that I could install them easier after I had set up the new iPhone
   

After you Set UP Your iPhone as a NEW PHONE, the real work begins, but it is well worth it...

1. You have to re-install each app manually on your iPhone through the app store... The good news: Apple remembers all the apps you previously bought, so you have not wasted any money!
2. Set up your WIFI
3. Set up your email accounts
4. Check your settings / PINs / locks, etc...
5. When you connect your iPhone to iTunes, DO NOT choose the option in iTunes to install a backup, but rather go through the iTunes flow for a NEW phone!!!

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LIFE WITH AN IPHONE4 BATTERY THAT LASTS AS IF IT WAS NEW! 

READ FIRST!!! VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THIS POST. READ FIRST!!! 

Three days ago I updated all of the apps on my iPhone 4 and from then on my battery lasted only a few hours after usually lasting all day. The decline in battery power was significant from maybe 12 hours down to 3 hours. I was able to fix it through the help of the Apple support chat. Here is what I had to do:

Follow these steps to erase your device and to install the backup to fix the components that suck up your battery.

1. Install all iOS updates! Check for software updates and install them if available.

2. Transfer the content! Before you erase your device, take few minutes to transfer your content from your device to your computer to ensure that all your critical data is safe.

3. Back up your iPhone! Back up your device before you erase it. Review the steps below, depending on your backup method, to ensure that you have a recent backup in case you decide to restore your device from a backup.
Important: Double check the backup history and settings in iTunes while your iPhone is plugged in and also check the settings you used, e.g. whether you once entered a security password and make sure you know that one!

a) iCloud: Cloud backs up your device automatically once a day when connected to power and Wi-Fi. Review when your device was last backed up by tapping Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup. You can see the last time the device was backed up on the bottom of the page. If you need to back up, tap Backup now. Ensure that your device is connected to Wi-Fi and connected to a power source before backing up.

b) iTunes: To back up your device using iTunes:

1. Ensure that you have the latest version of iTunes installed.
2. Connect your device to your computer.
3. Select your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch when it appears in the top right corner of iTunes.
   
   Note: If you have the Sidebar enabled, your device will appear there.
4. Select the Summary tab. In the center portion of the Summary tab, click Back Up Now.
   
5. When this is finished, view the date and time of your latest backup by clicking Preferences > Devices.
   

For more information on backing up your device, see iOS: How to back up. If you wish to copy your backup to another folder, disk, or location for safekeeping, see this article in the section titled "Where iTunes backups are stored on your computer." For more information about what iTunes backs up, see this article.

4. Turn off iMessage! If iMessage is active, turn off iMessage at Settings > Messages > iMessage. No idea why this has to be done, but I did as per Apple instructions

5. Erase your device! Erasing all content and settings will delete all the data from your device, including songs, videos, contacts, photos, calendar information, and any other data. All device settings are restored to their factory condition.

To remove all settings and information from your device, tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. For more information about this feature, see iOS: Understanding 'Erase All Content and Settings'.

6. Restore your device using a previous backup

Plug in your iPhone into your computer running your itunes

iCloud

1. Erase all content and settings by tapping Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
2. When your device turns back on, complete the setup assistant. When prompted to set up your device, choose "Setup from iCloud" and then enter your user name and password.
   
3. iCloud will prompt you to choose a backup. Select the backup you wish to use and then tap Restore to continue.
   

iTunes:
To restore your device using a previous backup, connect your device to iTunes. When your device appears in the source list, right-click your device and click "Restore from backup…". iTunes will ask you to choose the desired backup from the list provided and may also ask you to enter the security password.

Note:
Some Apple services (such as two-step verification for your Apple ID) require Find My iPhone to be turned on. After testing the issue, sign in to your iCloud account and enable Find My iPhone.

Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4137?viewlocale=en_US

READ FIRST!!! VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THIS POST. READ FIRST!!! 

Apple yesterday announced the design improvements in its new IOS7. Has Apple nailed the new design of its iPhone IOS7 without Steve Jobs? What do you think? Apparently this is the biggest change for Apple since the launch of the iPhone back in 2007 and it better be good as Apple has been struggeling in recent months...

Trademob in Europe just released very interesting numbers in an infographic about what it costs to reach a top position in an app store and how many organic downloads app marketing gets plus what the paid download costs are for different European countries and the US. 

Here are the most important findings and our own estimates for Australian app costs and downloads based on the Trademob data plus various multiples we applied:

• (1) The number of downloads in the first 72 hours are crucial, while the downloads of the last 24 hours count even more.
  
• (2) App marketing is therefore essential as it not only increases the paid downloads, but also the organic downloads.
  a) For one paid download gaming advertisers receive one additional free organic download in the first three days
  b) Non-gaming app advertisers receive 0.65 organic downloads for free per paid download

Graph via emarketer and MobiThinking

• (3) Costs for gaming apps per paid download per country (effective cost incl. organic):
  a) Germany: 0.45 EUR (0.2)
  b) USA: 1.1 EUR (0.55)
  c) France: 0.8 EUR (0.4)
  d) Italy: 0.55 EUR (0.3)
  e) Spain: 0.85 EUR (0.4)
  f) UK: 0.90 EUR (0.45)
  g) Australia: 0.81 AUD (0.45 AUD), estimate based on Insidemobileapps, plus multiple method using advertising spend and app rating data per country
• (4) Costs for non-gaming apps per paid download per country (effective cost incl. organic):
  a) Germany: 0.8 EUR (0.45)
  b) USA: 1.55 EUR (0.90)
  c) France: 1 EUR (0.6)
  d) Italy: 0.85 EUR (0.55)
  e) Spain: 1.1 EUR (0.6)
  f) UK: 1.1 EUR (0.65)
  g) Australia: 1.1 AUD (0.65 AUD), estimate based on Insidemobileapps, plus multiple method using advertising spend and app rating data per country
• (5) How many downloads did an app need for the Top10 app store charts in 2012 (increase from 2011)?
  a) USA: 80,000 (0%)
  b) UK: 26,000 (44%)
  c) Germany: 15,000 (25%)
  d) France: 13,000 (30%)
  e) Italy: 11,000 (38%)
  f) Spain: 7,000 (na)
  g) Australia: 4,000 - 8,000 (na) estimate based on Insidemobileapps, plus multiple method using advertising spend and app rating data per country

1. What are the elements of the mobile strategy of brandsExclusive?
The first stage is to provide the best mobile interface to our service on the devices they use today. The focus has been on iOS apps first as our audience is heavily skewed to iOS devices over other. We have also provided a html5 mobile website for other devices. This includes providing feature parity on our apps with our website so that customers need to never visit our website if they desire.  

The second stage of our strategy is to go above and beyond to provide interfaces and features that are not possible in a desktop browser environment, taking advantage of the unique benefits mobile devices provide.

It's our belief that mobile devices are the future for e-commerce, we estimated last year that by the end of 2013 most of our visits would be on mobile devices. 

2. Please share a few metrics about your mobile offerings with us e.g. how many mobile users do you have? How many app downloads?
In the last 30 days, 47% of visits have been using mobile devices, approximately 30% being on our dedicated iOS apps for iPhone and iPad. In terms of downloads we are in the top 10 in the lifestyle category on the app store, over 1200 app reviews with average score of 4.5/5.

One interesting aspect is that sales conversions are the highest on our apps, with far and away the most time spent. Customers are highly engaged and also making purchases. The notion that customers still prefer to checkout on desktop browsers and only browse on mobile is not true with us.

3. What is your advice for other online retailers that are considering to build an app or a mobile site?
The answer to app first or mobile website first is not the same for everyone. We have found that building native iOS apps are in fact easier than mobile websites where cross-browser issues are a burden. Not only are they easier if you have iOS resources available but provide a far better user experience.
For us going app first was an easier choice as our audience was heavily skewed to iOS 2 years ago and even now.

So from our point of view, should definitely do both if you are in the eCommerce space. Perhaps mobile website first if starting today, but a dedicated iPhone/iPad app following closely.


4. What are the mobile trends you see in the next few years?
Quite simply, majority audience being on smartphones, feature phones to quickly disappear for most, and using those devices to connect with more people and services than ever before.

Devices to provide more contextual experiences fuelled by being an extension of our senses, those senses to continue to expand, the experiences to get better. Wearable computing to become more mainstream.

5. What are some of the coolest apps you have on your iPhone?

• Letterpress gets plenty of my attention at the moment. Very engaging, but also an intuitive user interface
  
• Triage, makes cleaning your inbox so fast and easy.
  
• Circa News, clean and simple interface for reading news.
  
• Foxtel Go, for live sport.
  
• RunKeeper

I set up my companies on google apps for businesses, since the solution has tremendous advantages in collaborating online and in using Gmail's comprehensive suit of tools. With only $50 AUD per year per user it is relatively cheap as well. One advantage is the compatibility with iPhones and it allows me to set up IMAP Exchange accounts for my company emails on my iPhone synching not only my emails, but also my contacts, notes and calendar entries. I recently had to delete an email account on my iPhone though and had to find out the hard way that suddenly many of my contacts were gone as well. My iPhone didn't even know the mobile phone number of my wife any more...

I did a bit of investigating and found out how to recover, export and install these lost contacts again. Here is how it works.

1. You need access to your old gmail account with all the contacts that you would like to keep. Open Gmail / google apps for business and click on "Contacts" in the main menu.
2. Click on "More" and then "Export". You can now select all your contacts as vcard export.
3. Unzip the file and you will find different vcards. I found the one called My_Contacts the important one with all my telephone numbers. All_contacts would have every email in it that you ever contacted and the other files are from your google plus account, so I did not import these.
4. Next I opened up my current gmail / google apps account and basically did the same steps above, except now I clicked "Import" in the drop down under "More". Since I have this email also set up as an IMAP exchange account on my iPhone all my lost contacts popped up again. 
5. The importing function has a cool feature by the way to remove duplicates. You will see the import job on the left hand side. Simply click on your import, go to "More" and then select "Find&Merge Duplicates"

Hope this was helpful and you read this blog article while you still had access to your old company email account. ;-)