Skype for iPhone gets Video Chat. Works over 3G and with Computers (data usage: 3.4MB per min.)

Mark Gurman

Skype just updated their Skype application for iOS to include video chat functionality. It works both over WiFi and 3G networks and two-way video calling is supported by the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and iPhone 3GS. The iPad and third generation iPod touch support one-way video calling. Just like on Apple’s FaceTime application Skype for iPhone will video conference in both portrait and landscape orientations.

Seth and I just tested out the application and it looks very smooth on both ends. It even works in the background but your face gets frozen for the person on the other end (audio still works). Just like with FaceTime there is an option for the iPhone user to display either the front camera’s view, back camera’s or no camera. We have more screenshots of Skype video chat after the break.

We also ran some tests over 3G and it looked very smooth. I was on 3G and Seth was on WiFi and he saw me as crisp as I looked over my WiFi network. My view of him was also smooth and when he pointing his camera at a moving fan that looked smooth as well. Also, we tested it on an iPad (which still is blown up, not a universal binary) and it looked as expected without the camera. When used with an iPhone 3GS you should get the option to see the user’s back camera. Release notes, official promo video, and more screenshots are after the break.

Update: Skype video calls over 3G will use around 3.4 MB of data per minute. We calculated this by looking at our usage info on our iPhone 4 before and after a one minute (timed of course) call. Below are our screenshots:

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'Apple will be number one for a long time', says Angry Birds

9to5 Staff

Apple’s iOS has won a big thumbs-up from the Angry Birds themselves, who say that when it comes to mobile devices, Apple’s going to excel against the rest.

“Apple will be the number one platform for a long time from a developer perspective, they have gotten so many things right,” said Peter Vesterbacka, Angry Birds development lead. Read more

More iPod nano hacks: method to install custom firmware

Mark Gurman

Following yesterday’s proof of concept for hacking into the new iPod nano’s file system, developer Steven Troughton-Smith has figured out a way to put the device into DFU mode to install custom firmware files. The first part of the process is something anybody can do now with their sixth generation iPod nano. That is to hold down the iPod’s restart buttons until you see a black screen and a double reboot.

From here, Troughton-Smith modified the popular jailbreak utility iRecovery to work with the non-iOS iPod nano. After this, he used the newly modified iRecovery application to install an extracted operating system file onto the iPod nano (video above). This file was built to boot the iPod nano into a white screen mode and that is exactly what it did.

This obviously does not sound groundbreaking but in reality it is. An encrypted firmware file was just installed on an iPod nano and functioned as intended by the installer. This discovery is a step in the right direction for custom made firmware files to be installed on the iPod nano and is the best evidence yet for a possible iPod nano ‘jailbreak.’

A hacker/developer close to 9to5mac has let us know that Troughton-Smith’s discovery is a big step in the right direction, but before any custom firmware can actually be installed and used through this method an actual exploit in the iPod nano OS will be need to be found. To summarize, the method to install custom firmware on the iPod nano is present, but the jailbreak community is in need of an exploit to actually make this method useful.

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iPad 2.0 rumors claim CDMA, UMTS, Wi-Fi flavors

9to5 Staff

iPad 2.0 activity continues to heat up with the latest report claiming Apple will offer multiple configurations of the new product, with an accent on provision of pervasive Internet access.

Apple is expected to ship over half a million iPad 2.0 units in January with mass production set to begin then, the report claims. It seems Apple will offer Wi-Fi-equipped units alongside UMTS and CDMA-savvy iPads, maximizing the always connected Internet device proposition. Read more

Apple sued over apps that provide personal data to advertisers

Mark Gurman

Bloomberg reports that Apple was sued on December 23rd over claims that App Store apps are proving user data to advertisers without consent. The lawsuit claims that Apple’s iOS devices “are encoded with identifying devices that allow advertising networks to track what applications users download, how frequently they’re used and for how long.” The lawsuit also states that user information like age, gender, and political views are being sold to advertisers as well.

The lawsuit not only puts Apple up as a defendant but cites the creators of popular apps like Paper Toss, Pandora, The Weather Channel, and Dictionary.com as defendants too. Apple of course defends themselves stating that they review each App Store app to defend its user’s privacy and will remove and reject any that take users data for malicious or advertising purposes.

The filers of the lawsuit are hoping for their claims to turn into a class-action-lawsuit and say that anyone who has downloaded an App Store app to an iOS device since December 1st 2008 should be eligible for compensation. The App Store opened up on July 11th 2008 so we’re unsure where this December 1st date exactly stems from.

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