No Support For 4G On Next Years iPhone

Posted on October 12, 2010 by sophieparker

It won?t be till June next year that we?ll get a glimpse of the next iPhone, an official glimpse any way. But reports are already out that it won?t support 4G and will continue to use the 3G chipset.

Hopes were high the Apple?s next generation iPhone will support 4G or even LTE. But it seems that Apple will be playing it safe and opting not to use their new bulky power-hungry technology in the next iPhone. Perhaps Apple have learnt their lesson from the iPhone 4 and will be focussing on getting this technology spot on before releasing it.

Also reported is that a CDMA iPhone will be released by the end of the year that won?t support LTE either. That?s along with June?s iPhone. So it looks like Apple won?t support the LTE standard 2012.

There are 4G phones out there already, in the US Android 4G devices are available on Sprint?s WiMax network. And, there will be dual-mode LTE-powered phones early next year.

Apple is said to be unveiling a 3G GSM and CDMA iPhone next year. Which would explain why CDMS traces are found in the iPhone?s OS.

Jailbreak Community Battle It Out, GeoHot Returns

Posted on October 12, 2010 by sophieparker

The Jailbreaking community and Apple will always be playing cat and mouse, and in the spirit of that another jailbreak has been found for the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4 and iPad. A similar exploit to the old 3GS exploit has been found in the A4 chip bootrom.

Discovered by p0sixninja, who originally planned to release the exploit on the 10/10/10 at 10:10 AM. But, once the Greenpois0n team announced their release date, GeoHot re-appeared and announced that he would release a jailbreak on the 11/10/10. GeoHot then created a jailbreak based on p0sixninja’s exploit and released ahead of Greenpois0n.

Limera1n created by GeoHot, works on the iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3G, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, iPad on iOS 4.0, 4.1 and beyond.

GeoHot, or George Hotz, was the first hacker to unlock the first iPhone so that it would work on any GSM carrier in the world. he is also famous for BlackRa1n, which was capable of unlocking and Apple device at the time and was widely used.

iPhone 4 Hit With Glassgate

Posted on October 8, 2010 by sophieparker

Apple?s much anticipated iPhone 4 has been plagues with issues since it?s release. There have been antenna, display and camera issues to date. And now it?s faced with Glassgate.

If the death grip wasn?t enough for iPhone 4 users to worry about then Glassgate will be. gdgt.com has reported that Apple?s engineering team have been on a potential issue on the sly. A possible design flaw may have been identified as the following:

"Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases — specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case — can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass."

According to reports Apple has blocked sales of nearly all third-party cases from it?s stores. This move has been reversed for it?s online stores but not it?s retail stores. Manufacturers are waiting to find out if Apple plans to stock their cases again. However, iPhone 4 users will still be able to purchase non Apple cases have allot of cases available to them whether they are officially licenced to Apple or not. So it looks like users could potentially be doing more damage to their iPhone 4s by trying to protect them. If using a slide on case that is.

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BitTorrent App Approved By Apple

Posted on October 4, 2010 by sophieparker

Every developer knows all too well about the strict guidelines Apple enforces for it?s App store. Some Apps seem to be rejected for ridiculous reasons, while others, like IS Drive, manage to make it through all the hoops. The most surprising aspect of IS Drives approval is that it?s a BitTorrent App. The app is designed for premium ImageShack Torrent Drive users.

Apple banned BitTorrent apps from the store as they deemed them to be "used for the purpose of infringing third party rights". So is this a case of IS Drive slipping through the net, soon to be pulled from the store when Apple realise what?s going on. Or has Apple changed it?s mind BitTorrent clients? But probably not.

The IS drive app allows users to manage their down/uploads on the go. Currently a user can?t add their own sources but this may be added at a later stage. The author states: "I?ll probably add a search feature where it?s up to the user to manually add the torrent site they want. The app will not be designed to easily break the law and I hope no one intends to do so. But if a user is determined to break the law, what business is that of mine or Apple?s? They could do the same in Safari anyway, right?"

It?s not likely that we?ll start seeing pure BitTorrent clients on the store any time soon, but this could be a step in the right direction. Or not depending on your views.

iAd Has Competitors Shaking In Their Boots

Posted on September 28, 2010 by sophieparker

Apple?s release of the iAd advertising solution with iOS 4 was always going to cause a stir in the mobile advertising industry. But according to Bloomberg, it hasn?t been just a stir. The numbers show that the big players are in a desperate place, trying to stop their market share from going to Apple. Apple is seeing a jump to a 21% market share by the end of the year. But it appears that Apple isn?t the only threat in an industry that was one dominated by Google. Small ad companies such as Millennial Media and Jumptrap are becoming key competitors as the gain market ground.

There was a flurry of acquisitions and upgrades after Apple announced iAd, such as Google?s purchase of AdMob. In an effort to keep up with the competition the negative flow of market share may have been stemmed to a point. But is seems it has only really served to slow iAd?s ascent into the mobile ad fray. Google is down 6% on last years figure of 27%. Microsoft is down to 7% from 10%. The question now is, how fast will iAd grow going forwards. Striking ad deals with companies like Best Buy, Unilever, and DirectTV will certainly help iAd to get to one of the top few spots on the market leader board. But swift innovation and upgrades are the real keys to success in this field.

As well as Apple, Ericsson has announced it?s it?s own ad network, Admarket. And RIM has been rumoured to be purchasing an ad network of unknown origin. According to IDC analyst, Karsten Weide, "It’s not going to be a two-horse race. The race by no means is over."

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Jailbreak For Life With New iPhone Exploit

Posted on September 10, 2010 by sophieparker

A new exploit has been found in the iPhone?s A4 processor that makes the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4G and iPad, jailbreakable for life. As the exploit is found in the A4 hardware Apple can?t patch it through a software update.

The A4 exploit is much like the old bootrom exploit for the 3GS, before Apple revised the hardware to block it. This is a tethered jailbreak however, which means you wont be able to reboot your device without it being connected to a Mac/PC. But it?s likely that the hacking community will find a way of untethering it.

This discovery may well force Apple to update the hardware on their latest generation of iDevices. This latest revelation comes just one day after the release of iOS 4.1 and the shipping iPod touch 4G.

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Apple Goes Blunt With Jokers And Amateurs

Posted on September 9, 2010 by sophieparker

Apple has published it?s review guidelines for the App Store. The document opens with a blunt and honest introduction. It?s approach is personal and outlines Apple?s thinking behind the approval process for apps.

  • We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don’t work unless the parents set them up (many don’t). So know that we’re keeping an eye out for the kids.
  • We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don’t need any more Fart apps. If your app doesn’t do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted.
  • If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you’re trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don’t want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.
  • We will reject Apps for any content or behaviour that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, "I’ll know it when I see it". And we think that you will also know it when you cross it.
  • If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps.
  • This is a living document, and new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this.

The introduction is somewhat surprisingly honest and confirms the fears of many developers. Amateur developers a definitely given the put down. Which is something successful developers will no doubt appreciate. the document is finished of with Apple saying:

"If it sounds like we’re control freaks, well, maybe it’s because we’re so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products."

Ping Gains One million Users In 48 Hours

Posted on September 6, 2010 by sophieparker

Apple?s first social network service, Ping, has reached 1 million users in 48 hours.

Ping was announced last Wednesday at Apple?s special event as part of iTunes latest update 10.0. Ping is a social network based around what music users are buying from the iTunes Store. Much like Facebook users add their friends and comment on their own or others purchases. A custom music chart is built on a users circle of friends.

iTunes is already run by more than 160 million users, so it?s no surprise that they broke the one million mark in 48 hours. Apple have revealed that one third of those that have downloaded iTunes 10.0 have signed up to Ping. Apple?s vice president of Internet Services, Eddy Cue said the following: ?One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping. As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.?

Apple is happy with the uptake for Ping, but some are a little surprised that the number isn?t much higher considering how many people use iTunes.

iTunes 10.0

Posted on September 3, 2010 by sophieparker

iTunes is a free application that runs on Mac and PC that syncs up your iDevice and plays your digital music and video, it?s store is always open and it includes Quicktime. Here?s what it did do and what the 10.0 update brings:

  • Organize your music into playlists
  • Edit file information
  • Record compact discs
  • Copy files to an iPod or other digital audio player
  • Purchase music and videos on the Internet through the built-in iTunes store
  • Run a visualizer to display graphical effects in time to the music
  • Encode music into a number of different audio formats.

Updates

  • Adds new social networking layer named "Ping".
  • Adds support for iPod shuffle 4G, iPod nano 6G, iPod touch 4G, and Apple TV (late 2010).
  • Renamed AirTunes to AirPlay.
  • Adds visual improvements to list view.
  • Improves performance.
  • Adds additional support for VoiceOver Kit for iPod.
  • Changes application icon.

Ping, iTunes Social Network

Posted on September 3, 2010 by sophieparker

Apple have announced their new social network ?Ping? and the latest update for iTunes. iTunes 10.0 and Ping have already gone live. It?s very early days for Ping, so there?s not too much to look at at the moment. But you do get an idea of what?s to come, as more and more user sign up the service will grow.

It?s easy to register, select ?Ping? from the sidebar in iTunes, log in with your iTunes account, and set up a profile. Once a profile is set up it seems to auto populate with some of the music that has been recently purchased and you get the chance to ?like? that music. the auto population seems to be pretty random and not based on most played etc.

After you?ve done that you?re presented with a ?welcome to Ping? screen, and given three options: ?Search for People or Artists?, ?Invite Your Friends by Email?, and ?Connect iTunes Ping with Facebook.? Ping allows you to follow either artists or people. The Facebook connection is best for finding friends on ping, and the ?Artists We Recommend You Follow? for artists. Again, it?s still early days so don?t expect to see much.

Recent Activity offers a feed much like Facebook?s news feed, but it?s all music related. You can see who?s following who and what?s been purchased with the option to make that purchase as well.

The main difference with Ping is that it?s tied to iTunes, which is a different approach to social networks. One that Microsoft has previously tried with Zune Social, it didn?t really work. Online, in browser access is the key to the success of social networks. But there?s no sign of that happening. Deeper integration with Facebook would be a way to do it perhaps.

Ping isn?t active on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch yet, but should be going live in the not too distant future.

Whether Ping will become the successful social network Apple want it to be is yet to be seen. Some have already labelled it a ?MySpace killer?. It could be a great way of sharing your music tastes with your friends, if your friends are using it.

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