iOS Devices

Mercury News is reporting today that Apple will soon launch a subscription plan for newspapers which will also provide advertising revenue stream for publishers.

The Cupertino company has agreed to provide an opt-in function for subscribers to allow Apple to share with publishers their information, which includes vital data that news organizations use to attract advertisers, industry sources say.  Publishers “want the data of their customers so they can integrate it into their circulation database so they know who their customers are,” said [industry analyst]Fidler, who works with many newspapers…”Obviously, Steve Jobs sees this as a significant revenue stream for Apple in the future.”

The report states that Apple wants to take 30% of subscription revenue sold through the online store and up to 40% of advertising revenue from the venture.  Not all publishers are lining up for this proposition.

Publishers wanted to pay Apple a fee rather than a cut of subscription and advertising revenue, and are not happy with Apple’s terms, he said. They had hoped to offer app editions as part of subscription bundles that include print versions of the paper. Instead, they must use Apple as an intermediary with subscribers.

Apple continues to make major moves into publishing, with Conde Naste saying that devices like the iPad may soon account for 40% of their revenues.
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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ncmwgJzqw&fs=1&hl=en_US]

If you’ve been sitting back all excited over Project Sword and waiting for the release of the game then you have an excuse to get even more excited on news Epic Games intends releasing its Unreal development kit for iOS soon!

Yes, gamers, this means a tidal wave of Unreal-engine driven mobile games will be slamming themselves down on iPods, iPhones and iPads soon (ish).
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OILmXzvd9Vc&w=670&h=401]

Notice that the new iPod holds its own against all other iOS devices (except the iPad).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJSESZ3faH4&w=670&h=401]

Just in case anyone out there was wondering about any differences between the iPod touch and the iPhone 4 let this series of videos from Letemsvetemapplem.eu educate you. More after the break.
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Apple may have originally attempted to encourage development of Web applications before it introduced the App Store (and ain’t it glad it did), but now apps on smartphones are a bona fide US hit, with 35 percent of US adults having apps on their phones, though only one-in-four US adults actually use these apps. Still, that ain’t a bad record.

The most recent Pew Internet Life survey tells us that among mobile phone owners, 29 percent have downloaded apps to their phones and 13 percent have paid for the privilege.
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This will either be nauseating or exciting to many of you but that version of Parallels  ($39/$49/$79/$99) that is available today also has a free iPhone component which allows you to view your Parallels Desktop instance remotely with iOS devices.  While much easier to manipulate on the iPad, the application lets you navigate through Windows on your iPhone as well.  Parallels on iPad above and iPhone below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2I-jCY4N9I&w=640&h=385]

More Screenshots below:
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Computerworld: In attempting to rally their remaining troops with anti-Apple rants, both Amazon and Nokia unwittingly expose the fear afflicting management at both firms. With Amazon reticent on actual Kindle sales figures and Nokia facing declining European market share, does their mockering flattery betray low company morale?

Read More

Nokia remains the dominant smartphone provider in Europe but competitors are whittling away at its European marketshare, the latest July stats from comScore reveal.
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Apple has introduced a new Express Lane service to its customer support system, an online engine that should help customers find the support they need.

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Coolest/quickest way to find apps…in the spirit of Google Instant Search:

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We reported that Sean Kovacs, the developer of GV Mobile, may have gotten the heads up that his app would be re-approved to the App Store. Well today, it looks like he submitted it.

Update:

We’ve gotten some more information about GV Mobile:

-New app name is “GV Mobile +”

–This is the new app icon

-The app will support the retina display

-The app will do iOS 4 quick-app-switching/multitasking

-There may be some sort of push notification feature in this release or in a future update.

-It will be free for the first 12 hours then will go to $2.99

We’ll be following this story closely and update when news comes about. Update: Some screenies, below.
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…because Apple is dropping the free bumper plan at the end of September.  Clearly, they didn’t get the memo that a $.01 piece of tape solves the non-issue just as well as a case?

Our tests found the Bumper successfully mitigates the iPhone 4’s reception issue, which was a weak point in the phone’s otherwise-stellar performance in our tests. And we agree with Apple that not all iPhone 4 owners will experience reception difficulties with the device.

But putting the onus on any owners of a product to obtain a remedy to a design flaw is not acceptable to us. We therefore continue not to recommend the iPhone 4, and to call on Apple to provide a permanent fix for the phone’s reception issues.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBypHTKPqq8&w=560&h=340]
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It seems pretty likely  according to some research done by Macrumors.  imsense’s technology is likely behind the processing of the overexposed/underexposed images taken with the iPhone 4’s camera that leads to the often-better HDR pictures. Here’s the evidence, which is pretty damning:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGmRKSds9OY&w=673&h=404]

Yeah, OK. So it isn’t easy to read an iPad in direct sunlight.  Plus, who wants to bring your $500-$830 bundle of awesomeness out to the pool when a $140 piece of plastic does the job?

Oh, wait?  You wanted to browse the web in color?

via CrunchGear.
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iPad, meet the world’s biggest consumer market.  Apple today announced that the Wifi models of its iPad will be available in China on September 17th.  Legitimately.

iPad Wi-Fi models in China will be available for a suggested retail price of CNY3988 for 16GB, CNY4788 for 32GB and CNY5588 for 64GB.

No world on 3G models but we’re pretty certain there is some extra government complexity there.

Press release complete with ‘magical’ references below:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxLpMMzXVCk&w=670&h=415]

Apple-lover, raconteur and much-loved public figure, Stephen Fry, this morning jumped into the future of publishing with the release of his new book The Fry Chronicles as a conventional title, eBook and — but of course — iPhone, iPad, iPod touch app.
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Want to add that supercool new HDR functionality to your older iPhone? Not to worry. If you’ve jailbroken (or need a reason to) your iPhone 3GS or 3G and have iOS 4.1, it is just a few string mods away. Here are the steps via the very helpful Will:

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We’ve been getting tips that Target would be selling iPads really soon (including building a special display) and now Engadget’s got a pic that may or may not prove that.

Not that most people would need to worry about this, but experimenters are finding that Gamecenter is currently limited to 500 friends.

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Rock Your iPhone and Saurik’s Cydia have just announced a merger that also merges their app stores for jailbroken devices. All application licesneses will be kept for both the Rock and Cydia app stores so you should be all good when the transition completes in a few days.

Details of the acquisition have no been released, and this app store fusion will surely make jailbreaking even more convenient.

It looks like iOS 4.0 has successfully been cloned to another device, an HTC one in this case, and everything from iOS seems to be there. As iSpazio points out, the porting of iOS to another company’s device seems like a long-shot, so this is most likely the best, most realistic iOS clone ever. As you’ll see in the video below, everything works including folders, quick-app switching, spotlight, and all the keyboards.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY-uRRCARJw&w=480&h=385]

You will also notice that the device’s performance is just like an iPhone 3G running iOS 4.0; complete junk. Anyways, this video is still pretty cool as it gives an idea of what iOS would look like another piece of hardware. Hint: Crap.

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Whoa! Incipio has just announced a full-on case/watch strap (Linq) for the Dick Tracy iPod nano iWatch thingamabob. I can already tell these watch straps will sell like hotcakes, and we should have a review up sometime soon.

Incipio’s PR people explain it the best, and we can’t seem to find a price on these but have reached out for comment:

Incipio is taking a whole new design path with this wrist-worn carrying solution for the iPod nano. Meet the most rugged carrying solution for iPod nano produced to date, the Linq™. This is for users who already have or aspire for a lifestyle of action. Linq™ provides the user with an all-day, everyday accessory that may be worn effortlessly but always boldly. The Linq™ design was born from the logical “link” between the idea of the iPod nano existing simultaneously as a timepiece and a media player. Linq™ is your ultimate watch, built to endure a rugged lifestyle. Your once fragile iPod nano is not so fragile anymore as it sits in Incipio’s award winning Next Generation Polymer material securing to the wrist with a nylon and Velcro interchangeable strap. This durable and rugged iPod nano carrying option is a perfect solution for users who want to keep all functions of the nano close at hand (literally) at all times. Now you can wear your 6th generation iPod nano all day, everyday without a hint of it ever being worn (or torn). “Our entire design team at Incipio is obsessed with watches both old and new. This product was fun and exciting to work on. We can’t wait to carry our iPod nano media players on our wrists” stated President, Andy Fathollahi.

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