Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
We’ve been testing out Otterbox’s Reflex Series case for the iPhone 4 for the past few weeks and it’s a fantastic offering for anyone who wants great iPhone protection in a slim and light package. The Reflex is a slider case that comes with two parts: put your iPhone 4 in the bottom piece and then slide on the top piece. The case leaves room for all iPhone 4 access points including the volume rocker, silent/ringer switch, earphone jack, dock connector, speaker, and microphone. The case is made of very tough plastic, but is thin and light enough to fit in your pocket, bag, purse, etc…
MacRumors found an interesting new feature in the latest Mac OS X Lion builds called the Safari Reading List. Reading List is a feature akin to services like Instapaper, and allows you to save webpages “to read later”. The feature is not fully activated in Lion Safari, but the application’s help menu breaks it down.
If you come across a webpage or link that you want to read later, Reading List gives you an easy way to save the link.
The concept is very simple. When you want to save a link for later, simply click shift and click the link and it will go into your reading list for later viewing:
To open up your reading list, simply click the reading glasses icon next to the bookmarks icon (not yet visible in Lion). You can also view saved links/articles in “reader mode” – a feature that debuted with Safari 5 last year.
Instapaper’s Marco Ament comments and reactions via Twitter are below:
When the first developer previews of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion were released, we reported on our findings of “Find my Mac” strings hidden deep in the operating system. At that time there was no concrete evidence that Apple is bringing their Find my iPhone service to the Mac, but now there are some strong indicators in the latest Lion update, that Find my Mac is launching with Lion. The first would be the Find my Mac icon, which is reminiscent of the Find my iPhone icon.
Additionally, there is something called Find my Mac messenger. We’re not too sure what this is, but we speculate that it might be a way for the Mac’s finder to instant message with the Mac’s owner. Apple is set to unveil a revamped MobileMe, so it’s possible that Apple will throw some instant messenger client for Find my Mac into the new web interface.
Apple has released a second update for preview 2 of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The 1.17 GB update is available through the software update application for anyone with preview 2 installed. The updated is recommended for those users and what the update holds is yet to be revealed. Let us know if you spot anything new. Thanks, Sergio W.
Update : Apple also released Xcode 4.1 developer preview 4
$4.5 million might sound like a lot for the purchase of iCloud.com, but what if $4.5m bought Apple a portfolio of cloud-related domain names? See, Xcerion owns nine other cloud/iCloud related names, as pointed out by Elliot Silver, so it makes sense that Apple may have scooped up those names as well. Notably, Xcerion owns (or owned) names like iCloudMusic.com and iCloudApps, in addition to the following domain names:
iCloudNews.com
iCloudos.com (net and org, too)
iCloud.org
LiquidCloud.com (net and org, too)
iCloudBlog.com
LeadCloud.com
AlbumCloud.com
Like iCloud.com, Xcerion still is listed as the owner of the above domain names. Apple certainly likes to purchase multiple variations of domain names, so it would not be a surprise if they purchased the whole package.
As promised, HBO has released their HBO GO application, which provides iOS users with access to HBO’s array of original shows in addition to sports and full-length movies. The app includes free access on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch to over 1,400 shows for HBO subscribers.
Keep up with your favorites. Watch everything you love about HBO, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, comedy and every episode of the best HBO shows, including True Blood®, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire®, Entourage®, The Sopranos®, Curb Your Enthusiasm®, Sex and the City®, The Wire® and more. Plus, get bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras!
The application allows users to create a personal “watchlist” that puts all your favorite content in line for easy and quick viewing. HBO Go only works in the United States and recommeneded use comes over WiFi. The application will work on 3G networks as well, though. HBO Go is now free on the App Store. Thanks, Mike.
Apple has just pulled down the Apple Online store and the white iPhone 4 is of course coming up. Our colleague Mr. X has let us know that the white iPhone 4 will be the only thing coming up this time around (save for new iPad 2 countries). iMacs will likely wait until next week. Speaking of iMacs, we’ve been told that certain Apple Store employees will be at work early on May 3rd (naturally a Tuesday), putting up new posters and displays. Catching my drift?
According to GigaOM, Apple has scooped up the domain name www.iCloud.com from Xcerion, the maker of a cloud-based service. The deal is said to have gone down for somewhere in the range of $4.5m, and we don’t think Apple would pay that much for a domain name unless they would put it to good use. We think iCloud is a potential name for Apple’s upcoming locker service which should keep your music, photos, videos, and other media in the cloud. This service will likely tie directly into MobileMe and may even replace MobileMe’s long existing iDisk feature.
iCloud.com still points to the old owner’s website and a quick Whois search of the domain still pulls up the information for Xcerion. Apple will likely introduce their new cloud services at WWDC, and if GigaOM‘s report is legitimate, this might just be one of the best pieces of evidence for Apple’s upcoming cloud services yet. Apple’s cloud services will likely include a new music locker and possibly some new cloud features for iOS users. Apple recently stopped selling retail packages and discounted copies of MobileMe.
Update: iCloud changed their company name to CloudMe. Looks like Apple went after the iXXXX. Here’s the email we got last week (“chosen a new name” – ha!):
In order to better reflect the expanded offerings of our service, we have chosen the new name, CloudMe – Your files online with anywhere access. Our Web Desktop is just one of many ways to use CloudMe’s service. We have developed an entire suite of apps and services that allow you to go mobile and access CloudMe on the go.
App Store developer FutureTap just revealed that they have received their first crash report from an iOS 5 device. This means that Apple is currently field-testing their next-generation mobile operating system that runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with applications from the iOS App Store. The application apparently crashed in iOS 5 due to the MKUserLocationBreadCrumb. Developer Will Strafach (Chronic) let us know that this API relates to the iOS maps and location functionality.
Just received the first iOS 5.0 crash report. MKUserLocationBreadCrumb sounds interesting.
This could possibly mean that Apple changed up some map and location APIs in iOS 5, causing issues with map-based applications built for current versions of iOS 4. iOS 5 is expected to take on some new cloud-based features and will be officially unveiled at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference in early June. Apple is expected to release iOS 5 in September alongside the fifth-generation iPhone. Thanks, Peter Silie!
Update: FutureTap sent us the below screenshot of their iOS 5 hits. Their WhereTo application has seen five iOS 5.0 and four of the hits come from AT&T HQ. This means that both Apple and their largest carrier are actively testing the new operating system before its early June preview. The AT&T-based device(s) is the iPhone 4 (iPhone 3,1) and the hit from Apple HQ comes from a first-generation iPad. We don’t learn much, but at least we now know that iOS 5 will seemingly not require the dual-core A5 processor in the next iPhone and iPad 2.
The real white iPhone 4 won’t even hit the hands of consumers until Wednesday, but prototypes are still popping up all over the place. Last week, a white 64 GB prototype iPhone 4 made its way into the hands of a Vietnamese site, and now a 16 GB white prototype iPhone 4 has shown up for sale on eBay. The back features the markings of “XX” like all the other prototype iPhone 4s we’ve seen in the wild. We are really not sure how Apple could lose so many prototypes of one product. Thanks, Sonny D.
That didn’t take long… Bloomberg reports that two Tampa, Florida-based iPhone customers have sued Apple over the controversial iPhone location tracking issue. The customers claim that Apple is secretly recording the whereabouts of iPhone and iPad users. Steve Jobs is going to love this one…
The complaint cited a report last week by two computer programmers claiming that Apple’s iOS4 operating system is logging latitude-longitude coordinates along with the time a spot is visited. The programmers said Apple devices are collecting about a year’s worth of location data. Apple hasn’t commented on the matter since the April 20 report was released.
“We take issue specifically with the notion that Apple is now basically tracking people everywhere they go,” Aaron Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said today in a telephone interview. “If you are a federal marshal, you have to have a warrant to do this kind of thing, and Apple is doing it without one.”
M.I.C. Gadget posts two images of what they are calling the “iPhone 4S.” Of course this name comes from our report about game developers preparing their next-generation iPhone applications on iPhone 4s with A5 processors. We didn’t hear anything about a larger display on the “iPhone 4S” so if the above image has any legitimacy, we’re going to call it the iPhone 5.
iPhone 5’s with larger displays have long been rumored with Digitimes saying 4 inches, the WSJ says edge-to-edge, and Joshua Topolsky saying 3.7 inches. A quick glance at the photo shows the new screen to be slightly taller and slightly wider. If the image is legitimate, it appears to be closer to 3.7 inches than 4 inches. Of note, the image features a white iPhone bezel with Apple’s new proximity sensor. We think it perhaps adds legitimacy to the photo if anything. However, it is a long way from an official announcement.
All current signs point to an iMac refresh sometime next week. The rumors started a few weeks ago when an unsourced report claimed that refreshed iMacs are en route to the United States for a late April or early May launch. Then, just last week, our sources across the globe backed up these claims, saying that iMac shipments and components are very constrained. Yesterday, our colleague Mr. X told us to expect new iMacs the week of May 2nd as Apple will officially stop shipping iMacs to resellers this week (week of April 25th).
Since Apple tends to release new products on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the likelihood of new iMacs with Thunderbolt I/O and Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors is high for May 3rd or 4th. Now, a reader tells us that Apple has delayed his order for an iMac from the Apple online education store. The order was not completely cancelled but simply delayed to the week of May 2nd. A May 2nd ship date is a possible new iMac release day but also would give Apple enough time to make a May 4th delivery date.
Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the following item(s)
by the date that you were originally quoted:
Z0JP, IMAC 27\”/5750/SD
will now ship on or before
May 02, 2011
Since BGR broke the news that Apple is testing, or has tested, a version of the iPhone that works on T-Mobile USA’s network, we started thinking about the future of the iPhone. Specifically, the fifth-generation product that is not too far off from public consumption. Right now, the iPhone 5 – or whatever Apple ends up calling it – does not seem to be such a big hardware upgrade. Sure there are reports that peg a gesture-based home button and 3.7 inch display (which we would love), but more reports are talking an iPhone 4 design, an A5 chip, and possibly a better camera.
What could Apple throw into the purported iPhone 5 package to make it a better device and a device that more people would buy? Right now, the general consensus is that Apple is going to use a Qualcomm chip within the iPhone 5 that can connect to both Verizon (CDMA) and AT&T (GSM) networks around the world. What about T-Mobile? Apple is obviously testing the T-Mobile iPhone (4S?) and with the technology available for Apple to create an antenna system that supports both types of GSM networks, what stops Apple from making an AT&T+T-Mobile iPhone 5? We received an unconfirmed report, from a connected individual, that Apple is actually testing a device that runs on both networks…
BGR’s T-Mobile iPhone prototype leak from earlier today is not simply an iPhone 4 packed with guts that support the T-Mobile 3G network radios, but it also carries the A5 processor from the next-generation iPhone.
The ‘N94’ prototype build (above) is the exact iPhone build that we found carries an A5 or ‘S5L8940’ processor a few months ago.
…and the iPhone 5 (N94AP), has the same S5L8940 processor as the iPad.
That makes last week’s story pretty convenient…
Remember that ‘iPhone 4S’ we told you about? That’s the prototype iPhone with an A5 processor that game developers are using to prepare their iPhone 5 apps. That sounds a lot like this phone.
The only question now is if that is a prototype ‘4S’ or ‘5’.
BGR has nabbed a bunch of photos of a purported white T-Mobile USA iPhone 4 test unit. The phone looks virtually identical to the current iPhone 4 and runs a version of iOS 4. You can tell that it’s a test unit by the several field-testing settings and applications on the device. The device is obviously a prototype unit, not a production model, and that is evidenced by the prototype markings on the back of the device. There is no information on a release time frame or if Apple is going to release this thing to customers at all, but be sure to check out all 26 photos in the gallery.
Our sources in Europe have already told us that the white iPhone 4 is launching on Wednesday, April 27, in the Netherlands at least, and now other sources are pointing to a launch on that same day in the United States. A source at Best Buy sent us the above inventory screenshot and this screenshot details the April 27th launch date for the product. That particular screenshot is for the AT&T, GSM model of the white iPhone 4, but our connects at Verizon told us there is a CDMA version coming, too. We suppose that the Verizon version is launching that same day in the United States.
Additionally, we have been told that both 16 GB and 32 GB white units have already been shipped to Best Buy locations across the United States, so those models should arrive by Monday or Tuesday ahead of the Wednesday launch. White iPhone 4s have already arrived at phone retailers in the Netherlands and at Vodafone in the UK. Most stores have about ten 16 GB units on order for launch day (screenshot after the break), but there could be more coming, and inventory numbers for the 32 GB units are unconfirmed. If the white iPhone 4 launch in Europe is any indication, there might be a shortage of 32 GB units in the U.S. That is unconfirmed, though. As soon we hear more, you’ll be first to know.
Update: MacRumors and people in the know who we have spoken to are having their doubts about this one.
This is my next drops a bombshell, claiming that the next-generation iPhone will not be a minimal departure from the iPhone 4, like others are saying, but will be a completely re-designed phone, as Engadget reported earlier this year. The iPhone 5 that the report describes is said to be a prototype in testing – we know that Apple tests many products before going to market – that features a body akin to that of the one found on the fourth-generation iPod touch. This design is said to also be “teardrop” like the late 2010 MacBook Air’s design – thicker to thinner from top to bottom.
Even more interesting is that the next-generation iPhone is said to gain a larger home button on the bottom portion of the device and… it’s gesture sensitive. This is my next points out that this could easily work hand-in-hand with some of those funky new gestures Apple is testing in iOS 4.3 with iOS App Store developers. The report also backs up a report from the Wall Street Journal, and says the screen will cover most of the device’s front and the new phone will likely lack a true bezel. Even cooler is that This is my next says Apple is exploring ways to hide the earpiece and the iPhone 4’s famous sensors behind the screen.
Speaking of screens… the report says that it’s not your everyday iPhone 3.5 inch display, but it’s 3.7 inches and the pixels are staying the same. This will cause a drop in pixel density of 13 pixels-per-inch – but this will still be above the magic Retina mark of 300 pixels per inch. The screen will likely look the same to the human eye, and developers will not need to adjust their graphics. Perhaps they will have the option in the iPhone SDK to to take full advantage of the extra screen real estate. This is my next is also saying that this all-new-phone could possibly sport some sort of wireless/inductive charging and/or NFC, but that is less confirmed – on their part – compared to the rest of the story.
Finally, This is my next closes by making it clear that the described iPhone 5 may never hit the streets, but it’s certainly being toyed with at Apple HQ:
Following our post about an internal memo dictating a April 27th launch for the white iPhone 4, Engadget has nabbed three pictures of the device at Vodafone UK. Supposedly a customer was able to purchase the device with model number MC604B/A. The biggest thing we take from these pictures is the white iPhone 4’s new proximity sensor. Notice the new sensor is just a black cut in the white front plate versus the old sensor with dotted cuts. Perhaps the proximity sensor was the main reason for delay? Anyways, count us thrilled.
A tipster at Netherlands phone retailer BelCompany sent us the above picture of a company memo, detailing a Wednesday, April 27th launch for the white iPhone 4. Our sources in AT&T and Verizon say that they have still recieved no concrete information about a release date, though. So, is the white iPhone 4 launching next week? We think this might be the best proof yet. What a had a picture of the memo but we were asked not to post it. Here’s the translation:
This Wednesday, all retail stores will receive the white T-Mobile iPhone 4 16 GB. Also, a limited number of retail stores will receive one single white iPhone 4 32 GB. New supplies will be scarce/very limited. If the supply is exhausted/sold out, inform the customer that new deliveries are expected in 4 to 5 weeks time.
The source says that T-Mobile might have one month exclusivity on the white iPhone 4, in the Netherlands at least. Also, the white iPhone 4 supply is said to be in limited in Europe at launch, with availability increasing in the coming weeks. Even more interesting is that the white iPhone 4 has already arrived today at some European retailers. They have arrived in boxes with embargo stickers all over them – “due not open until April 27” – and are kept in the company safe. Both 16 GB and 32 GB capacities are said to be offered, as we have previously detailed, but quantities are said to initially be limited. Thanks, Simon for translating the memo!
Samsung has fired right back at Apple and has sued the Cupertino, California company over Samsung patents filed in South Korea, Japan, and Germany. The lawsuit is said to involve five specific patents. Samsung provided the following statement to Reuters:
Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business.
Apple sued Samsung earlier this week over patent infringements relating to the iPhone and iPad. Apple claims Samsung copied the designs found in the Galaxy S series of phones and tablet devices.
The iPad 2’s A5 processor not only is a speedy, dual-core chip, but also works to provide nine times the gaming performance of its predecessor, A4. So, what’s Apple to do for their best-selling gaming phone? Give it the A5 chip with remarkably better gaming performance. We have already discovered, in the iOS 4 SDK, that Apple is bringing the A5 chip to the next iPhone, and now we have heard Apple is going to push this gaming performance and speed as one of the next-generation iPhone’s major marketing points.
Apple isn’t taking the next iPhone’s A5-power lightly. They already have select developers working on versions of their iPhone applications that take full advantage of the next-generation iPhone’s speedier and much more powerful hardware. These developers, seemingly from high-level gaming outfits, have been given what is essentially an iPhone 4 but with an A5 processor instead of an A4. The device itself is virtually identical to the iPhone 4, and there is no way anyone can tell it’s not an iPhone 4 based on the phone’s exterior.
The person who chose to share this information with us calls it the ‘iPhone 4S’, though the device itself only has typical Apple prototype nomenclature. He also shared that the device spends its evenings in a safe in the company’s offices.
To be clear: these prototype iPhone 4S devices are not necessarily the next-generation iPhone. These phones are simply prototype units for developers to get ready for the new phone, rumored to be launching in September. The next-generation iPhone may end up looking just like the iPhone 4 (iPhone 3G-iPhone 3GS sort of thing) but we cannot confirm this. If the next iPhone does end up looking like the iPhone 4, we would assume that Apple would pack in more than just an A5. Probably an 8 megapixel camera, a world phone Gobi chips, and a few other things to spice up the package.
The operating system running on these phones is a version of iOS 4 that supports the next-generation hardware, and this may be why we found the iPhone 5 with an A5 chip in the iOS 4 SDK at all. If past history repeats itself, the fifth-generation iPhone will ship with Apple’s fifth-generation mobile software, in this case iOS 5. iOS 5 will be announced at Apple’s WWDC conference in early June with a rumored launch in September of this year. If anything, this news backs up claims that the fifth-generation iPhone will have an A5 and that Apple is taking gaming very seriously.
Commenting on Andy Inhatko’s article on iOS storing user’s location data, Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber reveals that iOS storing user’s location information is in fact a bug. The bug comes down to a consolidated.db being in place. This file is supposed to store a user’s recent location information to work with iOS and iOS applications, but, due to a bug, does not delete older location information.
I don’t have a definitive answer, but my little-birdie-informed understanding is that consolidated.db acts as a cache for location data, and that historical data should be getting culled but isn’t, either due to a bug or, more likely, an oversight. I.e. someone wrote the code to cache location data but never wrote code to cull non-recent entries from the cache, so that a database that’s meant to serve as a cache of your recent location data is instead a persistent log of your location history.
Gruber “wagers” that the bug will be fixed in a future release of iOS, and we tend to agree with him. We’re unsure as to why Apple is yet to comment on this issue. If you are worried about your privacy and want to block this bug, a free jailbreak utility has been released to do so.
