9to5 Staff

Apple has submitted a new patent application, explained in detail by Patently Apple, which could simplify contactless payments on future iPhones. Instead of fiddling with WiFi or Bluetooth pairing, a compass output could be monitored in order to determine your device’s magnetic field signature and consequentially initiate the pairing when needed.

This would cut down on power and network bandwidth consumption while making the pairing process faster and automatic. The publication explained other benefits of the patent application which surfaced in the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s database:

The newly proposed system utilizes a unique magnetic compass and encoded supersonic tone methodology. Apple notes that their new methodology will also allow you to share information on your iPhone easily with other devices like your iMac, MacBook or stereo system.

But why stop there, let’s add an e-wallet into the picture. Read on…

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Senator Al Franken image: The New York Times

You know Apple messed up when your senator gets involved. In the case of the latest story about your iPhone collecting your geographical location, Senator Al Franken wants answers, reports CNN. Apple’s handling of the situation ticked off Franken enough to write a two-page letter to Steve Jobs, demanding “prompt response” to his concerns:

Anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of the user’s home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken over the past months or even a year.

It’s not known why Apple collects this data, but they’ve been doing this in every iOS release since version four, released a year ago. This means Apple’s been amassing a year’s worth of location data on you that gets stored on your computer in the iPhone backup file at each iTunes sync. The Senator also couldn’t resist the urge to mention the dreaded viruses.

Apple, meanwhile, says it “intermittently” collects location data, including GPS coordinates, of many iPhone users and nearby Wi-Fi networks and transmits that data to itself every 12 hours, according to a letter the company sent to U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) last year. Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment

Read on…

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Verizon Wireless just released their first quarter earnings, their first quarter with official iPhone sales. The carrier activated 2.2 million CDMA iPhone units in the seven weeks between the February 10 launch and  March 31, 2011. They reported a 6.3 percent annual increase in service revenues based on 1.8 million net additions which includes 906,000 retail postpaid net customer additions. The carrier had 104.0 million total connections, including 88.4 million retail customers.

Data revenues were up 22.3 percent and operating income margin was 25.8 percent. Verizon also activated 260,000 HTC Thunderbolt units over the two-week period. Verizon’s iPhone figures compare to 3.6 million iPhones AT&T activated during the entire quarter. Crunching the numbers from Apple, AT&T and Verizon yields interesting conclusions. Read on…

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RockmeIt, a desktop browser available on Macs and PCs since last November, just hit the App Store last night (it was one we glossed over because of the earnings). If you’ve used the desktop version, expect quite a different mobile experience. RockmeIt is a browser focused on social media, which is all the rage these days in mobile.

Similar to the Skyfire web browser, RockmeIt lets you log into your social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook to stay on top of things while browsing the web. It’s also got a built-in RSS reader and it syncs everything seamlessly with your desktop. The app packs in a bunch of useful features, like saving articles for offline reading, rich sharing features and so forth. More features, screenshots and a video introduction after the break.

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Less than a week after MIC announced the cutesy $10 iHub for the Mac, it looks like Apple released its legal rottweilers after the company that also brought you the Steve Jobs Doll. The iHub is a tiny four-port USB hub that looks like a miniaturized Mac mini. Our reader Thomas Massengale first noticed this and gave us a heads-up in the comment section of the iHub piece:

Well, I just heard from MIC that the iHub has been pulled after Apple put pressure on them. They do say that they will fulfil all existing orders so I’ve got 5 on the way!

Indeed, the original link no longer works and the online MIC store simply says that “the product is no longer available.” Judging by your comments, this development doesn’t come as a surprise as the product, unfortunately, blatantly infringes Apple’s trademarks. Read on…

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The game that knocked Angry Birds and Tiny Wings off of the top slots in the App Store games chart.

What is this with the App Store and bird-themed games, huh? First Angry Birds sat atop the App Store games charts, then Tiny Wings came along and now we have Air Penguing, a Gamevil-branded feather-themed time killer. It’s currently #1 paid app in the App Store games category in the US, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Russia. I just bought it and played it for like half an hour. Here are my initial impressions…

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As all eyes are on Apple and its upcoming quarterly earnings that will tell us how many iPads they shipped in the March quarter, ABI Research is out with a new survey focused on the tablet space. The market research company said full-year figures show that Apple owned 85 percent of the tablet market in the entire 2010. Kinda contradicts the above slide claiming “>90% market share” that Jobs put up during the March 2011 iPad 2 introduction.

While taking note of the fact that tablets, netbooks and network-enabled e-readers all surged in popularity last year, ABI Research said tablets aren’t going to replace other computing gear, as some feared:

The hype that media tablets were displacing portable computers and dedicated CE device purchases simply didn’t become a reality.

They expect a bunch of low-cost tablets that will undercut Apple’s $500 entry point and between 40 and 50 million tablets units shipped worldwide in 2011. Other tidbits and a handy chart right below the fold…

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Above: A location map from an iPhone that had been used in the southwest of England

Privacy advocates are going to have a field day with this one. According to researchers interviewed by The Guardian, your iPhone keeps record of your whereabouts in a secret file that gets copied to your computer as part of iTunes sync. It gets spookier, the paper explains:

The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone’s recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner’s movements using a simple program.

The root cause of the problem is iOS 4 which, for some reason, silently tracks our geographical location. This means, the paper explains, that for some people there could be “almost a year’s worth of data stored.” Keep on reading…

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Amazon just announced a new library lending feature for digital Kindle books. The official press release says customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 local libraries in the United States to read on all Kindle hardware versions and free Kindle reading apps. The familiar features will work with Kindle library books as well, the stuff like whispersyncing of notes, highlights and last page read.

iOS users have been able to use the Overdrive App to do the same thing for some time (although Overdrive says 13,000 libraries)

This is a pretty big deal and here’s why…

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Cell tower image: forklift

AT&T reported its first quarter earnings today and iPhone activations were up by one million units over the year-ago quarter, a notable 33 percent increase. More precisely, the carrier reported 3.6 million iPhone activations during the quarter, which is impressive considering that Verizon iPhone launched on February 10. AT&T added two million wireless subscribers during the quarter and had a total of 97.5 million users as of the end of March. A month ago AT&T agreed to buy T-Mobile USA for approximately $39 billion, creating the nation’s largest wireless company, which prompted duopoly accusations. More factoids and iPad stats after the break.

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As developer Firemint promised a month ago, racing game Real Racing 2 HD is now live on the App Store with support for real 1080p video output that lets you enjoy action on your big screen in native 1920-by-1080 pixel resolution, without upscaling. It’s a first for iPad 2 and a testament to the power of the A5 chip. TouchArchade got a chance to test out this feature and they walked away impressed with the overall polish and frame rates. Check out a video demo right after the break…

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Even though estimated iPad 2 shipping times are better than they were following the gizmo’s launch, the online Apple Store still has a three-week wait on the iconic device. Buying it from third-parties is a time-consuming process as a lot of calls need to be made in order to figure out best iPad 2 availability at your nearby retailers. Why not save yourself valuable time and let an iPhone app search for the device for you? Yes, there’s an app for that. Read on…

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Just as China approved eleven iPod nano design patents, Apple’s had a field day today with the United States Patent & Trademark Office awarding the company eighteen new patents. Patently Apple got the hang of them all (here and here) and we’re highlighting two key inventions. Before we dig deeper, Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive are credited among the inventors of the iPhone’s stainless steel band. There, now you know who to blame for the death grip non-issue. The creative duo was also behind the design of the 2007 iPod touch.

Apple also won a design patent for the iOS Maps and Compass apps, another one for reducing wait times in a call center plus the polycarbonate MacBook patent. More interesting than that is a patent describing methods for reprogramming your iPhone on the go, over-the-air, for use with any carrier. Read on…

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Apple’s third supplier for the iPad 2’s touchscreen is Foxconn affiliate Chimei Innolux, reports Bloomberg. The remaining two suppliers of touchscreen modules for the iconic tablet are Wintek and TPK Holding, Apple’s long-time partners. The publication explains:

Chimei Innolux will begin supplying the components next month, said the people, who declined to be identified because the details aren’t public.

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A string of recent releases of iOS television apps continues with the news that Sony has just released their official Crackle app for iOS devices, as previously rumored. The app provides access to tons of movies and television shows that can be streamed to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via 3G cellular connection and WiFi networks.

It’s a US-only thing, with a limited selection of content available to users from Canada, Australia and UK. Available movies and television shows include content from Sony-owned Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics studios. What are you waiting for, get downloading. More features and a couple of screenies after the break.

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After teasing the press with a puzzle poster ahead of the official April 19 launch date, Valve Software has released their first-person action puzzler Portal 2. The game was released on the Mac and PC via digital distribution service Steam, in addition to versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that are available through their respective stores. More details after the break.

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Apple is Samsung’s second-biggest client after Sony, having spent $5.7 billion on components last year. After learning that their key account would sue them for copying the design, user interface and technology of iOS gadgets, Samsung is threatening counter-actions. A company spokesperson provided this statement:

Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.

In other words, you can expect the South Korean giant to file a counter-lawsuit and here’s why.

Update: Nilay Patel at This is my next put together a fantastic analysis of the case.

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iOS 4.3.2 untethered jailbreak has been released just days after the Dev-team delivered a tethered jailbreak. You know what that means, right? Yeah, you can now jailbreak your iPhone and run unsanctioned apps that cannot be found on the App Store without having to re-connect your device to a computer each time it restarts. A Dev-team member, MuscleNerd, tweeted yesterday that the “redsn0w tool was updated to include 4.3.2 untether.” Download links and more information right below the fold.

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When Microsoft released a free tech preview of the Photosynth.net service in November of 2006 following their acquisition of Seadragon technology, I was blown away. Back then, compelling panorama creation utilities were far and few between and required a lot of horsepower.

These days, of course, breathtaking 360-degree images can be captured with ease on a smartphone. Still, the Photosynth service manages to impress me to this date with its speed, image and zoom quality and intuitiveness. That said, it’s beyond comprehension why it took Microsoft so long to deliver a companion iPhone app, but here it is and it’s been a worthwhile wait. My initial thoughts and test shots are right below the fold…

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Paul Allen owns a megayacht named Octoups, seen above (please, no 007 jokes).

Paul Allen, the 58-year-old co-founding Microsoft billionaire, is on a roll again. He’s giving eyebrow-raising interviews left and right clearly meant to impress and inspire Apple fans and Microsoft haters. It’s a calculated move for a very prosaic reason – tomorrow sees the launch of The Idea Man, a memoir supposedly filled with dirty secrets about his complex business dealings with Bill Gates and Microsoft.

He first sat down with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl and then did an interview with Wired’s Sam Gustin and other media outlets. Working with Bill Gates was like “being in hell,” he quipped. Microsoft “needs to accelerate the pace of product development” to better compete with Apple and Google, he said, the two firms with which he’s locked in an intellectual property dispute. “Unbelievable” is how he described Apple’s turnaround before launching into this Steve Jobs appraisal:

What he’s done with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad – what a triple play there.

For more, watch a clip from the CBS interview right below the fold.

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The United States International Trade Commission thinks there should be no ban on imports of HTC and Nokia phones over Apple’s patent infringement claims. This is the official position of the ITC staff members who represent the public as a third party in the case, even though “its recommendations aren’t binding,” reports Bloomberg:

A staff lawyer, Erin Joffre, disclosed the position at the start of an ITC trial in Washington today in which Apple is seeking to ban imports of mobile phones made by HTC that run Google Inc.’s Android operating system, as well as block some Nokia devices.

After administrative law Judge Carl Charneski discloses his decision regarding HTC on August 5 (for Nokia, June 24), the six-member commission will review and act upon it. They will either ban imports of said phones – which is very unlikely – or dismiss Apple’s patent infringement claims. I don’t know about you, but this oxymoron puzzles me…

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