iOS Devices

If you are one of the million or so people who have been suffering slow uploads on their iPhone as a result of an equipment problem on the ATT network, have no fear, AT&T has “begun” working on a fix.

The issue should be resolved in 2-3 weeks the carrier said.

At issue was a software glitch in equipment provided by Alcatel-Lucent which was slowing speeds.

AT&T said earlier this month that fewer than 2 percent of its wireless customers were affected (statement below). That’s a significant 1.8 million people.

“AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect

http://s.marketwatch.com/media/swf/main.swf

Pity those poor souls in Seoul, South Korea. They

Here’s some breaking news from the AP:

Owners of the iPhone will be able to break electronic locks on their devices in order to download applications that have not been approved by Apple. The government is making that legal under new rules announced Monday….Another exemption will allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.

Apple has previously argued that Jailbreaking is illegal under the DMCA. Interesting news, the whole ruling is here. We’re following (here?) to see how this shakes out for Apple and the industry.

Also, some new stuff for those who like to make backupDVDs of purchased Video/Music:

(1) Motion pictures on DVDs that are lawfully made and acquired and that are protected by the Content Scrambling System when circumvention is accomplished solely in order to accomplish the incorporation of short portions of motion pictures into new works for the purpose of criticism or comment, and where the person engaging in circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that circumvention is necessary to fulfill the purpose of the use in the following instances:

(i)  Educational uses by college and university professors and by college and university film and media studies students;
(ii) Documentary filmmaking;
(iii) Noncommercial videos.

It really is time to wake up and smell the coffee. The iPad is eating up the netbook market, Mac sales are rising inexorably and the iPhone is not just a phone but the world’s most popular hand-held computer. Add it all up (properly) and Apple is facing off against HP for the bragging rights to being the world’s biggest (number one) PC maker. Wake up to an Apple planet, PC world!

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The next edition of iLife is expected, this morning we learn that the software is scheduled to ship “on August 7”.

French Mac website, Mac4Ever.com has announced the date, saying iLife 10 (or, perhaps, 11) will be 64-bit compatible and will ship with a mysterious new application.

That mysterious app could perhaps be support for the creation of iTunes LP and iTunes Extras packages, giving consumers a way to share detailed digital albums featuring all manner of multimedia assets. This software was briefly discussed in December last year.

This would perhaps replace iDVD, which hasn’t seen any significant recent updates.

This will allow artists to create their own iTunes LPs and submit these directly to Apple from the application, which will form part of iLife 2010. (We reckon it will also let consumers create mixed-media assets a la iTunes Extras, and suspect we

What better way to show someone you care than by presenting them with a laser-engraved iPad?

Alright, there’s as many different ways to express care as there are humans standing underneath the sun, but now it seems Apple is preparing to unleash engraved iPad messages to contribute to that smorgasboard of choice. Just like those really rather popular engraved iPods, right?

This report emanates from tech blog Erictric, who claim their (anonymous) source is saying Apple intends offering personalization (engraving) on demand.

“From what I understand, Apple’s going to be offering customers the option to get their iPads engraved just before the Holidays roll around,” the site informs.

How much?

“Most likely free, especially since they’ll be trying to sell a ton more of the tablets during the holiday season,” the source is alleged to have said.

You may also impress them if you memorise some choice lines from this. After all, as Apple marketing almost certainly won’t say when attempting to convince you to invest in some engraved iPads this season, “They do not love that do not show their love.”

Some users are today reporting shipment notifications for their free Apple iPhone 4 bumper.  That is good!  Others, who’ve ordered third party bumpers, are reporting ship dates as late as October (below), which is after Apple is ending its free bumper giveaway.  That’s not good.

via RazorianFly.

Update: They are from this ABC News broadcast(US Viewers can view the Hulu below):

http://www.hulu.com/embed/5KXJFK38I7rMvnkQe4Tl0A/194/321

Here are some pics of the ‘Black Lab’ that Apple didn’t want us to see. You’ll see the magical black covering cloths, cat scan machines as well as their mobile testing vehicle.

Bunch more after the break...

Hooray! Embedded YouTube videos are beginning to work without Flash. How? YouTube announced they are experimenting with new embed code that uses the iFrame interface to switch between Flash and HTML5 versions of the video. The code will sense the type of device you’re on so, as en example, if you’re on your PC and you want to play ‘double rainbow’ you’ll get the video in Flash. If you’ve enabled HTML5 in YouTube and using Safari, you’ll see the MP4 version below. If you are on a new version of Firefox and its available, it will kick in WebM video.  Eventually.  It is still in beta.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0D4oZwCsA&w=640&h=385]

For instance, to embed the above video, you need to use this code:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0D4oZwCsA&w=640&h=385]

Here are the downsides to this awesome innovation. Videos that are ad supported won’t work on HTML5, website managers will have to manually adjust the video code (don’t adjust the player size!), and YouTube HTML5 will need to be enabled on your iOS device. OK, fanboys, you can go back to hating on Google now.

via NewTeeVee.

Windows Phone 7 will be about the only major mobile platform not using a Webkit browser.  And it shows.  While Google and Apple are taking turns being the fastest (and Blackberry’s new Webkit browser showing promise), Windows Mobile, based on IE’s engine is…well…watch:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffsMteF6Ktk&w=690&h=385]

While Windows Phone 7 is still in beta, other platforms aren’t standing still.  A fast browser is one of the most important parts of a Smartphone. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can overcome this disparity. via Redmond Pie

It looks like Steve Jobs wasn’t joking when he said that they, and other case manufacturers, couldn’t make these things fast enough.

This one from Speck isn’t going to arrive until a week before the free bumper promotion is over, for some users.

Thanks Krapps!

Apple, (keeping Antenna-gate in the news!) today is hoping to squash their latest competitor, Motorola, with their already popular Droid X by releasing a video showcasing its antenna performance. The video is in identical format to the previous set of Apple’s antenna videos and the Droid X drops from 3 to 0 bars.  

Is this a good strategy? Especially when the issue around the iPhone 4 isn’t the “death grip” but that spot on the lower left side that reduces signal upon flesh touching it (that’s why Apple is giving out bumpers?!).  Maybe dropping Antennagate now would be a good strategy?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJG7pbSRvJ8&w=640&h=385]

via MacRumors.

Earlier this week, Apple released iBooks 1.1.1, a fairly substantial upgrade to their e-book reading application. The update brought enhanced media abilities such as viewing videos and photos embedded into books. Today, Apple released a 1.1.2 update which eliminates a bug some users faced when installing the latest update. 

via Mac Stories.

Engadget reports AT&T is set to narrow its plan offerings by combining the new ‘Data Pro’ and ‘Data Plus’ with new calling plans. Essentially, the difference between each respective plan is the higher end gets unlimited texting while the cheaper goes the ‘pay-per-use’ method. The spy shot below explains everything else. 

Engadget has more pics for you to enjoy. 

On Apple’s diagrams for case manufacturers, they make it pretty clear that metal shouldn’t touch the steel band that surrounds the iPhone 4.  There should be little surprise then that the signal degrades slightly when it comes in contact with a conductor.

Earlier today, Apple’s retail store reservation system pointed to a wide range of unavailability for the Mac Pro. After looking back through the system many stores point to the iMac being unavailable as well. We scanned through multiple stores in multiple states and many of them indicate that the iMac 27 inch Core i5 model is unavailable and a few stores also pointed to the lack of the higher-end iMac 21.5 inch models. 

While the retail store reservation system points to this “unavailable” state, the online store still ships all iMac models within 24 hours. Just yesterday we reported that the iMac was due for a refresh very soon. We imagine this upgrade won’t consist of a design change as the iMac line was recently overhauled with larger HD displays and quad-core processors in October 2009. 

The iMac line will most likely receive speed-bumps and the wider availability of quad-core processors throughout the line. There have also been rumors of USB 3.0 coming to the Mac and of course there’s the everlasting rumor of blu-ray, which probably won’t happen as it’s a “bag of hurt”.

Is Apple sending a message that, after two years, it may be time to upgrade your iPhone?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdk2cJpSXLg&w=640&h=385]

Via TUAW

http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/apps/cvp/4.0/swf/cnn_money_384x216_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=/video/technology/2010/07/16/n_iphone_fix_jobs_bumper.cnnmoney

A telling stat from Yankee Group via CNN:

The iPhone is also the gift that keeps on giving: 77% of iPhone owners say they’ll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they’ll buy another Android phone.

What more needs to be said?

Apple today released the iPhone 4 free case program as an app downloadable here.   Seems pretty simple and a good way to prove you actually have an iPhone 4.  However, we just got a tip from a reader named Adam:

I just wanted to throw in this little tip to say that I purchased an iPhone 4 July 23rd 2010 and I got an email yesterday saying we will automatically give you your money back by Apple, but then I downloaded the app today and it let me get another free case.

Shame on you Adam and everyone else who tries this.  The options below:

Apple iPhone 4 Bumper – Black

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 – Smoke

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 – Clear

Belkin Shield Micra for iPhone 4 – Clear

Griffin Motif iPhone 4 – Diamonds/Smoke

Griffin Reveal Etch iPhone 4 – Black/Black Graphite

Speck Fitted Case iPhone 4 – Black Tartan

Speck PixelSkin HD iPhone 4 – Black

All cases currently show a 3-5 week ship time.

(thanks commenter!)

It is time to face it: With iPads selling in their millions and only today introduced in the busy Asia-Pacific markets, Apple has already stolen the tablet/netbook industry. This success breeds tablet component shortages, add the huge iPad mind share and all those promised ‘iPad killers’ are dead before they have even begun.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7BbEkgujzk&w=700&h=415]

Well, unless we find out something else that’s awful, antenna-gate has reached its zenith and is about to fall just behind the horizon lines to disappear into the Apple history books. So, just before it goes, what better than a spoof video featuring no less than Darth Vader giving AAPL a quick call to find out what’s going on.

Watch out for classic lines, including the splendid: