Jordan Kahn

[tweet https://twitter.com/kyleleakway/status/252775864666824704]

An update was delivered yesterday to Verizon iPhone 5 owners experiencing an issue where cellular data would be used even when the device is connected to Wi-Fi. The carrier confirmed to 9to5Mac in a statement that customers will not be charged for the data, but it looks like the issue is not Verizon-only. We received multiple reports of the same issue from AT&T customers, indicating the problem might be related to iPhone 5/iOS 6 rather than Verizon-specific.

[tweet https://twitter.com/tjacker31/status/252798385378181120]

As noted in the tweet above, like Verizon iPhone 5 users, some AT&T customers experienced hundreds of dollars in overages. One iPhone 5 user reported gobbling up to 2GB of cellular data over a three-day period while connected to Wi-Fi. There are several AT&T users on Apple’s support website reporting the same problem, too.

The New York Times also noted the problem was not specific to Verizon:

the problem may also affect iPhone 5 owners on other carriers, including AT&T and Sprint. Those two carriers and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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According to a report from Fortune, which cited a “major Apple investor,” Apple is apparently preparing to launch the much-rumoured iPad mini with invitations expected to go out Oct. 10:

According to our source, who asked not be named, there appears to be some truth to the widespread rumors that Apple is preparing to launch a smaller and cheaper version of the iPad — often called the iPad mini or iPad air and usually described as having a 7.85-inch screen… What our source adds is the specificity of a date: The press, he says, can expect invitations to go out on Oct. 10.

Author of the post, Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt, is well connected with AAPL analysts and big traders, and the report noted the invitation rumor is coming from multiple reliable sources. If there is any truth to the rumor, it could line up nicely with an Oct. 17 unveiling and possibly an early November launch.
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Bumpers: Last week we showed you some inexpensive Apple-style bumpers ranging from $2.99 to $9.95 on Amazon and they were among the most popular for 9to5 readers. Today we have a few more bumpers to show you from Amazon’s array of iPhone 5 accessories…

Poetic has its Up-Tempo Leather Bumper with a tweed-like design, and we also found this transparent TPU bumper for iPhone 5 (pictured right) for under $10. There is a cheaper $4 transparent bumper from Chivel, and a similar white version of the transparent bumper here.

Kickstand cases- If you want a case with a built-in stand for watching media or other hands-free tasks, Incipio has you covered with its reasonably priced KickSnap for iPhone 5 in both black and white with charcoal accents. Another option is Ionic’s CONVENIENCE leather wallet case that transitions into a stand. Seidio also has its Active Case with a metal kickstand on the far right.

Transparent: (From left to right) Cygnett’s Clear Slim Hard Case, KaysCase SoftSkin Cover Case, Belkin VIew Case/Cover. Another transparent getting some attention is the Zero 5 from Caze. Available for $20 from the company’s website here, Caze says at 0.5mm the Zero 5 is the thinnest iPhone case available.

More wallet, card holder, and leather iPhone 5 cases below…

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While Apple’s new Maps app has raised quite a bit of controversy for what is being viewed as a downgraded experience compared to the old Google-powered iOS Maps, there are a few locations Apple might have to censor imagery rather than improve. After Turkish website Sosyalmedya claimed Apple threatened national security by releasing high-resolution imagery of a prison normally censored in Google’s maps, The Verge investigated to see what other sensitive locations Apple does not censor. To be fair, Nokia’s maps also show high-quality imagery of many locations that Google’s chooses to obscure. You can see the full comparison on The Verge, which includes a maximum-security prison on Imrali Island, Turkey, a NATO airbase in Geilenkirchen, Germany, and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

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Earlier this week, we told you pre-order delays and shortages of initial retail supplies would likely continue into today’s international iPhone 5 rollout. Many customers included in the 22 countries where the device launched today did not have the ability to pre-order the device, and several carriers and retailers confirmed there would be a limited number of retail stock due to lower-than-expected shipments from Apple. Today, Apple is once again sold out of initial supplies. The company listed shipping times of “3-4 weeks” for the majority of the 22 countries included in today’s launch. Shipping times slipped for at least New Zealand, Sweden, Poland, and Ireland, meaning customers will not get their hands on the device through Apple until at least the end of October. There might still be availability in some stores locally, but it appears the device is in low supply at retail locations worldwide. For instance, we received word that only 500 devices were delivered for all of Ireland.

As for when Apple’s supply might get ahead of demand: Reuters reported today that a Sharp executive, while speaking at a press conference in Japan, said the company is now producing “adequate volumes” of iPhone 5 displays. Issues with producing high volumes of displays using the iPhone 5’s new in-cell screen technology was originally thought to be one of the major contributors to low supplies:

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Apple just published an open letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook explaining to customers that it “fell short” in delivering the best experience possible with the new Maps app. Within the letter, Cook noted the company is doing everything to improve the app. However, it recommended a number of alternative apps and web apps for users to try in the meantime. Among his recommendations: Bing, MapQuest, Waze, or the Google or Nokia web apps. Links in the letter point customers to the featured section for mapping apps on the App Store and another to the graphic above showing how to install the Google and Nokia web apps. The letter is currently posted through a link displayed prominently on the Apple.com homepage.

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMUdeVBo_UE]

We knew the United States Air Force had plans to purchase iPads to replace its traditional flight bags with a lighter, more efficient digital version, but we get a look today at exactly how it is implementing the technology in the video above featuring Electronic Flight Bag Program Manager Maj Pete Birchenough. In the video, we get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the reasons that lead to the decision, including: savings of $3.20 for every $1 spent, $34 million in paper savings over 10 years, a 90 percent reduction in man-hours for maintaining charts and maps, and 22,000 man hours productivity increase.

We also get a look at some of the software being deployed on the iPads and the team behind keeping those apps running and secure. The Electronic Fight Bag Requirements Manager Rich Quidgoen explained the difficulties of convincing security officials to allow the Air Force to work with Apple products (around 4:35). Birchenough noted (5:15) that going with a “non-windows device garnered an unbelievable amount of resistance from virtually every agency,” where as going with a Windows device would have been a lot easier if it was an “adequate solution.”
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[tweet http://twitter.com/gmail/status/251366215262552064]

Today, Google announced on the official Gmail blog that it is adding CardDAV, the open protocol for syncing contacts, to the list of protocols supporting Gmail and Google Calendar. This means third-party clients, such as the iOS Contacts app, will now be able to sync Google contacts using the protocol rather than using alternative options like Exchange. Google noted the addition is “making it possible for 3rd parties to build a seamless Google Account sync experience.” Google also explained the benefit of the CardDAV protocol:

When you sync your Google contacts using CardDAV, you’ll be able to edit, add, and remove contacts from your device and keep them in sync everywhere you use them… If you have set up iCloud, are syncing contacts from another account, or already have contacts stored on the device, you will need to select a Default Account. New contacts created directly on your iOS device will be added to your default account.

Google provided the following instructions to sync your Google contacts on iOS with CardDAV:

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Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Slovak Telekom is cancelling plans to take preorders for the iPhone 5 due to low supplies. Orange Slovakia is not accepting preorders either.

In the end, we’ve decided against taking pre-orders because of low delivery volumes from the supplier,” Slovak Telekom spokesman Michal Korec said. “We’ll begin selling iPhone 5 tomorrow morning during regular opening hours of our stores.”

Despite continued delays for pre-order customers and supply shortages at retail, Apple will officially rollout the iPhone 5 tonight in 22 more countries as the device goes on sale at many international retailers and carriers starting at midnight. The official Sept. 28 rollout extends to Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The device will also hit many regional carriers in the United States.

[tweet https://twitter.com/eddy_1984/status/251357293034213376]

We just received word from nTelos Wireless, operating out of Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina, that it will launch the iPhone 5 starting tomorrow at $149 on a two-year contract. That’s $50 off Apple’s price on contract for most major carriers, and the savings will also hit the 32GB model at $249 and the 64GB model at $349. We expect to see some other regional carriers matching these prices in the weeks to come. The carrier will also offer the iPhone 4S for $50 and the iPhone 4 for $0.01.

Apple is now selling the unlocked device on its New Zealand website starting at NZ $1049. Also, Letemsvetemapplem.eu pointed us to pricing just posted by T-Mobile and Vodafone for the Czech Republic as well as pricing in Slovakia for Telekom. For Slovakia, the device will hit Telekom at €679 (16GB), € 789 (32GB), and € 899 (64GB). For the Czech Republic, prices vary from carrier to carrier, but you can get a full breakdown of pricing in local currency here.

We also already know that a number of other regional carriers will launch the device tomorrow, such as: Cricket Wireless, C Spire, Alaska GCI, Appalachian Wireless, and Kentucky-based Bluegrass Cellular. There is no word on pricing and plans for many of these carriers, but we expect supplies to be low, as recent reports noted major retailers and carriers worldwide are announcing a low amount of initial stock in comparison with previous iPhone launches. We will update this post as more regional and intentional retailers and carriers announce availability.

Countries included in Apple’s international rollout tomorrow:

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In case you had not heard, the Maps app that Apple released in iOS 6 is not meeting everyone’s expectations and there are more than a few people claiming to have intel on Google’s plans for bringing an alternative, third-party app into the mix. We have also learned a lot about why exactly Apple was unable to build an app that competes with the Google-powered experience iPhones users knew and loved from past versions of iOS. Since we (and others) posted that Google already has versions of a Google Maps iOS app ready for Apple (and Eric Schmidt said it was up to them), many have weighed in with info from their own sources:

The Verge: Last night The Verge claimed to have new info on the Maps situation saying Apple’s decision to drop Google a year before its Google Maps contract expired “sent Google scrambling to develop an iOS Google Maps app — an app which both sources say is still incomplete and currently not scheduled to ship for several months…”

[tweet https://twitter.com/joshuatopolsky/status/250804088990728192]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTj2qatbQdE&feature=plcp]

Streamweaver: Just launched, Streamweaver lets you invite friends and jointly record video. When you’re finished, the app automatically stitches the video together to give you a split-screen view with multiple angles. After you can share the video on Facebook, Twitter, email, or SMS.  You can see the end result in the highlight reel above.

Streamweaver also breaks away from today’s mobile video apps by delivering split-screen viewing experiences. After friends record and upload their videos through the app, Streamweaver combines them into a single split-screen video that plays all perspectives, uncut and synchronized, at the same time and on the same screen. While this viewing experience is common in TV, film, and advertising, Streamweaver is the first to bring it to mobile video.

CoPilot Live: One of the biggest updates today goes to the CoPilot Live apps. The update has not hit the U.S. version yet, but when it does you can expect a ton of new features including support as an iOS 6 Maps routing app for transit directions.  Other improvements included: updated NAVTEQ street maps, new current road info display, improved traffic data, and a number of other new themes and features.

Twittelator for iPad version 2.3: 

• Runs on iOS 6 natively, supports back to iOS 4.3
• Support for new Retina iPad 3
• Luscious new Apple Maps
• Bug fixes and enhancements

Opera Mini Web Browser version 7.0.4:

– Support for iPhone 5 and 5th generation iPod touch
– Stability fixes

DataMan- Real Time Data Usage Manager version 3.5:

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