iOS devices refer to any of Apple’s hardware that runs the iOS mobile operating system which include iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 10. Here is the complete list of iOS 10 compatible devices.
Remember when we discovered that the iPad 2 glass was about 27% thinner than iPad 1? The natural assumption was that the iPad 2 would be weaker than iPad 1 when it came to its glass front end. The iPhone repair experts at iFixyouri wanted to test that theory…
It turns out that the iPad 2 glass is just as strong as the original iPad’s glass and because it is is a bit more flexible has more bending tolerances. To quote the guy not wearing gloves:
Twitter has released an update to their iOS application with support for the iPad 2’s dual camera system. The update now allows users to capture photos and videos within the application and directly upload them in a tweet via any photo/video uploading service they choose.
– Photo/Video capture support for iPad 2
– Disabled significant location change monitoring that was causing compass to appear constantly when in app
– Bug Fixes from user reported crashes
The rest of the update covers bug fixes relating to location, the built-in compass in certain iOS devices, and app crashes. We think this update will make a big impact as it will now seemingly be the quickest way to share media taken with the iPad 2 with the world. Get it for free on the App Store.
Woops! A Belgian retailler at Hall Shopping Center in Nivelles accidentally started distributing iPads a day early. Don’t drop your Frites and head over there now however, they are aware of the situation and issued this poorly translated apology:
The sales manager of Photo Hall group, Simon Wasseige, contacted our editorial in the late afternoon.The latter regrets this situation he calls a mistake, “For now, most of our brands have been delivered to the marketing of the iPad 2 which will begin this Friday.Our instructions not to sell the product, however, were very clear and our entire staff had yet been informed not to release the product until tomorrow.Photo Hall group regrets this situation and take necessary measures so that it can not happen again in the future “ , explains de Wasseige.
Somehow, I don’t think there will be an opportunity for it to “happen again in the future.” Expand Expanding Close
Our friends over at the Italian blog Setteb.it have compiled a handy iPad 2 pricing matrix ahead of the international expansion tomorrow. Actually, due to time zones iPad 2 just launched in New Zealand and Australia (it’s Friday there). If domestic launch is anything to go by, patience of Apple’s loyalists overseas will be put to test as the company’s struggle to meet demand continues.
A glance at the online Apple store in New Zealand and Australia shows a 2-3 weeks shipping estimate. The US online Apple store also has shortened estimates for new orders to 3-4 weeks, down from a 4-5 weeks estimate. We bet international delays are possible because supplies are likely to get more constrained. Like in the US, in some territories abroad the gizmo costs the same in local currency compared to the last year’s model.
Today, US shipping estimates for iPad 2 improved to 3-4 weeks Expand Expanding Close
It is a fact that all mobile phones emit a certain level of radiation. Yes, even the iPhone. That’s why a company named tawkon developed an application to measure the amount of radiation coming through your iPhone. According to the company the application was praised by Apple executives for its graphically appealing design, use of non-private APIs, and overall functionality.
We tried the front door via Apple’s App Store, including great discussions with senior Apple executives at their Cupertino headquarters who praised our app functionality and graphic appeal, and explored various technical solutions with us to overcome API restrictions and get tawkon onto the App Store.
The problem is that it was still rejected. This is not the first time an application was given a blessing from an Apple executive then still rejected (think Google Voice). After their app was rejected, tawkon e-mailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs inquiring about the reason. In return they got a simple “no interest.” For those interested in the application it is now available on Cydia via an iOS jailbreak.
If you resort to software to figure out those speed traps, know that your senator is possibly lobbying to ban such programs from mobile bazaars forever. A group of senators took a tough stance on the matter, reports ABC News. The senators call such specialized apps “nothing but a public safety hazard”.
Deciding enough is enough, senators Harry Reid, Charles E. Schumer, Frank R. Lautenberg and Tom Udall – all Democrats – in a knee jerk reaction sat down and wrote a letter to Apple, Google and Research In Motion.
They want those checkpoint-dodging programs taken down from Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Market and RIM’s App World. A mind-boggling excerpt from their letter reads:
AirPlay, a technology from Apple that beams media from iOS devices to the $99 Apple TV set-top box with no setup required, is allegedly coming to your television set, reports Bloomberg. The Cupertino firm is reportedly “weighing” to license AirPlay technology to third-parties for use in TV sets, enabling users to wirelessly stream movies, photos and music from their iPhones, iPads and iPods to compatible television sets. First devices are expected this year, the story has it. The report goes on to note that, if successful, such a move would spur greater popularity of Apple’s gadgets in the living room:
An expanded AirPlay would let users stream programming wirelessly from an Apple mobile device to a TV that carries the technology. That may spur wider use of Apple’s services and devices in consumers’ living rooms.
According to several threads on the Apple Discussions forum (here, here and here), the iPad’s front camera locks up in the FaceTime app when attempting to establish a video call. It’s unknown how widespread the issue is, but it seems to be stemming from a software bug likely to be addressed with the next iOS release. According to users posting on the forum, the problem won’t go away until device is restarted.
Other hiccups are also being reported. One poster details the issue:
Facetime was frozen on iPad 2. It had the last video capture as the main screen of Facetime. Could not see receiving video. Resolution: Reset to factoring settings. Apple – possible app glitch.
Another user is having troubles with the back camera, too: Expand Expanding Close
Yesterday, Apple updated a support document to reflect the problem some users reported with iMovie for iOS where the built-in media browser wouldn’t list certain video clips stored in your camera roll. According to Apple, footage not directly captured on the device may not be compatible with iMovie. This includes non-Apple-friendly material imported from, say, your camcorder – either directly via the official camera connection kit or through desktop iTunes. Such video clips do not appear in the Video browser within iMovie, explains Apple.
iMovie for iOS is designed to work with video recorded with iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation). To ensure optimal performance, the app filters out certain non-Apple video clips from the Video browser. These incompatible clips cannot be added to your iMovie project.
Here’s a simple workaround that circumvents this design deficiency.
Boy Genius Report had a chance to test the unreleased iOS 4.3.1 build and they claim the firmware update will fix the widely reported subpar battery performance, a “feature” of iOS 4.3:
Battery life seems a tad bit better, though that’s not scientific at all.
I initially dismissed claims of subpar battery performance until my iPhone 4 began acting up a few days ago. Battery performance dropped visibly, forcing me to charge the phone twice a day. How’s your battery life in iOS 4.3? Meet us in comments.
Above image: A third-party solar case for the iPhone
French company Wypsis is drumming up a superthin solar panel layer (less than 100 microns) that could juice a phone from outdoor light. A deal with Corning, the producer of Gorilla Glass, is also possible, paving the way to solar-powered iPhones. Apple’s patent entitled “Integrated touch sensor and solar assembly” from last year, originally filed in Q3 2008, did predicate solar-powered portable devices such as iPhones and iPods. Expand Expanding Close
Buyers of the iPad 2 from the Apple online store who originally received projected shipping dates should be happy to know that these orders have begun shipping. Users via Twitter are reporting this, with some ordering on launch day.
iPad 2 ordering opened with 3-5 day shipping times, but that quickly turned to 2-3 weeks, then 3-4 weeks, and now 4-5 weeks. Be sure to let us know if yours is getting shipped early, too.
It’s not that we particularly believe hints and rumors originating from sources aiming for a little coverage, but we thought you might like to know. Our reader Tommaso turned our attention to Italian-language blog MelaBlog.it that apparently spotted a Michal Kors-designed leather case listed at the online Apple store. The blog speculates how a slight difference between product images gives away a larger screen rumored to debut with iPhone 5. Or it could just be an angle thing. Expand Expanding Close
A digital games distribution platform, Valve Corporation’s Steam, could expand to iOS and Android devices following Steam for Mac launch last May. The news came via a Steampowered User Forum member who had an interesting chat with Valve’s co-founder Gabe Newell at the company’s Bellevue, Washington headquarters. The boss apparently dropped hints of both iOS and Android possibly becoming Steam-powered gaming platforms:
After a little “sneak peek” we sat down to talk about Steam and other goings on in Valve. During this chat he confirmed that Steam will get a video recorder very soon, also he said they were looking into the iOS/Android platform for possible expansions with Steam. He also said that the Source film maker is in the pipeline for a public release.
That’s cool, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Apple has issued a statement confirming that it will be launching its iPad 2 in more countries this Friday. The device goes on sale at Apple’s online and retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers this coming Friday, March 25 at 5pm local time. Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries will get all models of iPad 2 in April, Apple said. Expand Expanding Close
China Times is abuzz (original in Chinese, Google translation) with alleged details concerning a fifth-generation iPhone 5. The handset is in trial production as we speak, the story claims, and full production is expected in the third quarter of this year. This would indicate that iPhone 5, which is expected to be introduced this summer, may not be immediately available in larger quantities following the launch. The device will be manufactured by Apple’s long-time manufacturing partner Hon Hai Presicion Industry Co., also known as Foxconn, the paper added. We told you this past weekend that Foxconn is planning to open a new manufacturing plant in São Paulo, Brazil in order to meet Apple’s growing appetite.
China Times also confirms speculation that iPhone 5 boasts a larger four-inch touchscreen in response to Android superphones with blown up displays. The story goes on to mention a possible NFC chip for contactless payments and an all-new scratch-resistant metal chassis designed to improve reception. The metal back corroborates our Foxconn source telling 9to5Mac that iPhone 5 will sport metal back akin to the original iPhone. Expand Expanding Close
We are hearing from our connections with sources at Foxconn that the next-generation iPhone will include an iPhone 4-like design, and now we have some more information: parts.
Replace Base helped us get our hands on the dock connector and headphone jack flex. While these parts don’t look all to interesting to the normal eye, we had our friends at the iFixYouri iPhone repair shop take a look at these parts to basically confirm a few things.
First is that, indicative of these parts, the fifth-generation iPhone will have color options: black or white. This isn’t all too surprising – seeing we’re seeing a white iPhone 4 soon – but it’s still worth mentioning for fans of white devices.
Next is the iPhone home button. Some rumors from earlier this year pointed to future iPhones lacking physical home buttons. The dock connector for the iPhone 5 seems to refute all that as the home button connector is present on the piece.
Next is the headphone jack flex: It’s redesigned. Although the redesign of an internal part that the consumer will never see does not seem exciting, the engineering aspect of it certainly does. The connection piece to the iPhone’s motherboard usually sits at the top of the cable but on the next iPhone, it sits on the middle of the cable.
Apple moving the headphone jack flex motherboard connector elsewhere could mean that Apple might be making room for something new in the device. Our speculation ranges from a beefier processor, more storage, a bigger battery, a better camera, a 4G chip, a Gobi CDMA/GSM chip, to NFC. At this point there is no way to tell.
There’s a chatter these days that the Japan crisis and shortages of components might force Apple to consider delaying international roll out of iPad 2, especially with fears of the iPad 2 launch in the Czech Republic slipping to April, which was a false alarm attributed to translation errors.
Nonetheless, it appears retailer Best Buy is gearing up to launch the tablet in Canada this coming Friday, March 25. The company appears to have learned from the US experience where Best Buy had a small number of iPad 2s at hand while customers waited in lines outside Apple stores for hours only to be told the device sold out. In other words, Canadians should expect a more orderly iPad 2 experience at Best Buy’s retail stores.
All of this came in the comment section over at the retailer’s Canadian web site where a person identified as an employee confirmed that Best Buy will begin selling Apple’s tablet Friday morning at 10am. There will be no pre-orders, the site admin warned. The launch will be handled on a first come first served basis. Lines are expected, he wrote, and a ticket system will be exercised in order to sort through the orders:
Smart Cover is one of the killer features of iPad 2. It automagically snaps into place with the satisfyingly clicking sound, thanks to the use of 21 hidden magnets. The cover auto-aligns and props up the device perfectly while its microfiber cloth keeps the screen clean when the iPad is not in use. And now, you can retrofit the original iPad for the use with the new cover, thanks to a nifty DIY trickery from the guys behind The Russians Used A Pencil website.
Although not a hack per se, it nevertheless works like a charm. “The solution is incredibly simple and not for the fain of heart. Basically, I glued four rare earth magnets to the spine of the iPad,” one of the guys behind the project explains in the below video. The trick is in finding the right place for the magnets, he explains:
BGR says we’re due for an iOS update in the next week or two which should address some, if not all of the issues that have been giving 4.3 users some hassles. Perhaps we’ll also see some battery optimizations for 4.3 which seems to have lowered battery time for some.
Baseband updates for the 3GS and iPad (original)
Fixed memory hang that results in memory corruption when reading large files from USIM filesystem
Fixed problem with NTLM authentication in apps and on websites
Fixed issue with the Springboard and 3rd party apps not recgonizing the gyroscope on the iPad 2
Fixed iPad 2 jailbreak vulnerability
That means developers should be seeing a seed any…minute…now (tomorrow?). Will Verizon users get an update too?
Following the announcement that AT&T has agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, T-Mobile has released some new information including some questions and answers. Before we get to the juicy stuff, here’s what is important for current T-Mobile customers. T-Mobile will still remain “T-Mobile” and will be an independent company. Your billing will also remain exactly how it is today and T-Mobile will be your biller….and you won’t be offered the iPhone.
T-Mobile USA remains an independent company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months. We do not offer the iPhone. We offer cutting edge devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and coming soon our new Sidekick 4G.
Watching this clip of then two-year old Bridger working an iPad effortlessly as if it was second nature to him gave me a pause. His dad Mike says that “his speech, understanding, word recognition, and even hand eye coordination have improved within just a short while.” Bridger often cracks a smile, his eyes lighting up with excitement when exploring the device. To me, this is why Apple’s winning – they own these toddlers. A new generation of kids are growing up as we speak with an iPad etched in their memory. For me and you, it was a SNES or probably old school plastic elephants, turtles and giraffes. For your kids, it’s a shiny, easy to use toy with wonderful apps that respond to touch. Check out two more videos included below.
If you happen to own a Google TV-branded product, the official remote app released last December on Android devices is now available free on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 3 or higher. Sporting a plethora of buttons, the program packs in channel surfing, DVR access, voice search and other features from the Android version minus the ability to push web pages from your iPhone to a Google TV device. Check out Google’s quick video tutorial for more features, embedded below.
