Thứ Sáu, 11 tháng 3, 2011

iOS 4.3 spotlight: Personal Hotspot


Perhaps the biggest feature available in the iOS 4.3 update today is the Personal Hotspot — Verizon iPhone users have had access to the feature before now, but as of iOS 4.3, AT&T users can find the hotspot feature under the Network tab, inside the General Settings app on the iPhone. Note that while Personal Hotspot makes it possible for you to share a network connection with a computer, either over Bluetooth, a USB connection, or now over Wi-Fi, there is an extra charge on AT&T, and your phone will ask you to sign up for that service if you haven’t yet.
AT&T calls the service DataPro with Tethering, and it will cost you an extra $45 a month, allowing up to 4 GB of bandwidth, and extra charges beyond that for more. That’s not cheap, but if you are often in places where you have to depend on your phone for an internet connection, it could be worth it.
To use the service itself, you just jump into that Settings screen, set up a password, and then connect from your computer as you would any other Wi-Fi network. The hotspot works with up to three connections via Wi-Fi at a time, so you and two friends can access the internet from anywhere, right through your iPhone.
[via tuaw]

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iOS 4.3 spotlight: Message alerts options


Aside from major features like Personal Hotspot and iTunes Home Sharing, iOS 4.3 also brings some subtle changes to the way message alerts work. The settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals, which will come in handy if you’re away from your iPhone for awhile and miss a text.
Most of the 17 new (iPhone 4-only) text tones introduced in iOS 4.2 have been retooled. These new tones were quite lengthy before iOS 4.3, with some of them seeming more suited to a ringtone than a text message alert. 11 of the tones have been dramatically shortened and/or sped up — including Noir, which I thought was short enough to begin with — while six tones remain at roughly the same length they were before iOS 4.3.
Most tones are now less than a second long, and they sound much less overdriven, too; several of the new tones were so loud in iOS 4.2 that they sounded distorted through the iPhone 4′s speaker. That’s no longer an issue now as far as I can tell.
Another subtle change that you might not even notice at first: vibration alerts for messages have been changed up. Before, new messages had the same, brief vibration as the new mail alert. As of iOS 4.3, new text messages will instead give two sharp and quite noticeable vibratory pulses.
We’re unsure if the new tones have made it to the iPhone 3GS as of iOS 4.3; they weren’t available on the older iPhone in iOS 4.2, so chances are they’re still iPhone 4-only.
[via tuaw]

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White iPhone 4 available in April?



After a delay of almost one year, people will soon be able to get their hands on the white iPhone 4, according to Concord Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo told AppleInsider that Apple will begin production of the white iPhone 4 en masse this month with a scheduled early-April ship date.
After a long series of problems and delays with the white paint used on the iPhone 4 in 2010, Apple went back to the drawing board and partnered with a Japanese manufacturer to create a new type of paint that allowed for greater control of the thickness of it when applied to a material.
While analyst-generated rumors often fall short, Kuo’s assertion of the white iPhone 4 seems to be believable as Apple has previously said the white iPhone 4 will finally ship in the spring of 2011 and the fact that Apple is shipping white iPad 2s starting on Friday.
Kuo notes that the white iPhone 4 April ship date only applies to GSM iPhones (or AT&T ones if you are in the US). Kou had no word on when the white CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4 would ship.
[via tuaw]

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iOS 4.3 spotlight: iTunes Home Sharing



iOS 4.3 is now available for download, and along with it comes iTunes Home Sharing — the ability to stream your entire iTunes library to your iDevice over Wi-Fi. Previously, you could use Apple’s Remote app to control and play an iTunes installation on another computer, but this is different. With iTunes Home Sharing, the audio from files stored elsewhere actually comes out of your iOS device, so you can listen to iTunes while on your treadmill, or stream a movie to your iPad on the couch.
Note that Home Sharing requires an Apple ID, and all of the standard license requirements apply. One fun way to use this: Try streaming music out to your dock in the bedroom. Your complete iTunes library is now available anywhere in the house!
Home Sharing is found in the iPod settings on your iOS devices.
[via tuaw]

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iOS 4.3 is now available


Apple has released iOS 4.3 just a day after BGR’s rumored release schedule, but right on the nose for Jim Dalrymple’s prediction. This is a big update for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Changes include improve AirPlay support, the Nitro JavaScript engine for faster web browsing, personal hot spot and iTunes Home Sharing, which lets users stream iTunes media to their devices. We can’t wait to play with that! You’ll find the details on iOS 4.3 here.
To get the update, connect your device to iTunes and click Check for Update. We’ll have more coverage on the new features throughout the week. Go get it and have fun!
Update: Direct links to the update downloads are listed below (thanks to MacStories)
[via tuaw]

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TUAW’s Daily App: Geo Walk



Geo Walk is an interesting title from Vito Technology, the folks behind the popular Star Walk and Solar Walk apps. They originally released Geo Walk a little less than a year ago, but the app wasn’t quite as developed as their other titles (and presumably didn’t do as well as those either). So Vito went back to the drawing board, revamped the app completely, and the new version is now available on the App Store, at 99 cents for the iPhone, or $2.99 for the iPad.
The new app is still an educational title focusing on giving information about various places, people, and plants and animals from different areas all over the world, and rather than just a 3D globe, there are now a few different views, including a new card view to check out. There’s also a new quiz mode, which asks questions based on the information on the cards, letting you quiz yourself or others about the various facts.
It’s an interesting app, and if nothing else, it’s a good example of just how flexible the App Store can be — if an app doesn’t work the first time around, a developer can go back and try again. If you’ve already downloaded Geo Walk, the big update is free, and well worth checking out.
[via tuaw]

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Rumor: iPhone 5 to have 64 GB?



Recently-revealed engineering samples of iPhone 4s have been found to have 64 GB of memory — see picture above from Unwire, and this M.I.C. Gadget story — showing that there’s no physical reason why the iPhone 5 couldn’t have this much memory.
The iPad 2 has already been criticised for sticking with the earlier version’s 64 GB limit, and releasing an iPhone 5 with the earlier model’s 32 GB limit would be bound to increase the complaints. Previous speculation about the 32 GB limitation on the iPhone’s memory capacity centered on lack of physical space, production capacity and cost. With capacity due to almost double this year and prices falling, it looks like the third barrier may now have fallen if Apple can secure enough supplies.
The 64 GB engineering samples are very similar to the (in)famous Gizmodo iPhone 4 from last year (with a similar serial number) and appear to date to early 2010, showing that it was indeed constraints other than physical ones which kept Apple from releasing an increased-capacity iPhone 4. It was apparently obtained from sources at Apple manufacturer Foxconn rather than on the Hong Kong grey markets – you can watch a video of it in action here.
Update: Engadget spotted a 64 GB iPhone prototype in Hong Kong’s Sin Tak shopping mall. Upon investigation it appears as though it was made in 2010 but the serial numbers were invalid. Perhaps if prices on memory drop the iPhone 5 could still sport a higher capacity.
[via MacRumors]

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64 GB metal iPhone 5 with 4G could shift upgrade balance of power


Here we are talking about the iPhone 5, when the iPhone 4 is still the current model being bought by people as we speak – and today I saw a guy using an original iPhone from circa 2007. Often lost in the ponderance over how the new iPhone will contend with competing phones is the query of whether the iPhone 5 will be able to compete favorably enough with the current and previous iPhones so as to motivate folks to ditch the one they have. Different corners have the iPhone 5 pegged as offering sixty-four gigabytes of storage, or being made of aluminum metal, or offering access to the nascent 4G networks of its two U.S. carriers. Here’s a look at how each of these possibilities is likely to impact current iPhone users’ willingness to upgrade to the iPhone 5 when the time comes.
Space: The iPhone 4 maxes out at half the storage of either the iPad 2 (understandable) or even the current iPod touch (a bizarre feat, four years running. which Apple still has yet to explain away). Those who were able to fill even a 60 GB classic iPod back in the day are currently stuck not being able to get all of that content onto their iPhone, meaning they either must carry an iPod classic in their other pocket or settle for only having a portion of their content with them on their iPhone, and that’s before making room for iPhone-era goodies such as apps. Getting the iPhone 5 would solve one of the more common complaints about the iPhone over the years – it just doesn’t hold enough to be the all-in-wonder Apple claims it is – and could trigger significant upgrades.
Metallica: The original iPhone was mostly metal, and yet somehow it was metal which scratched and dented easily. Assuming Apple has now figured out how to make metal in such a way that it’s as durable as, well, metal, the change of pace could be an intriguing one. The glass body of the iPhone 4 seemingly never had a chance, as even though it’s by far the most durable iPhone to ever come to market, quite a few people haven’t been able to get past the “but it’s made of glass!” initial reaction. Hey, people get stupid when it comes to consumer technology. And it doesn’t help that as long as Apple keeps using the iPhone 4 body styling, the jackasses who started the phone “iPhone 4 antenna has issues” nonsense will keep getting their way. Because, again, people will believe anything when it comes to consumer technology. So a metal iPhone 5 would, if nothing else, convince iPhone 3GS and 3G laggards to go ahead and upgrade if they skipped the iPhone 4 for stupid and/or imaginary reasons.
Fourth gen: The fifth generation iPhone having fourth generation networking would manage to confuse an impressive number of people. But “4G” will be the buzz this year, as Verizon and AT&T join the already current chorus of Sprint and T-Mobile proclaiming that 4G networking is the future and the future is now. Nevermind that 4G still doesn’t exist in most places (at least when it comes the two biggest carriers), advertising will convince the public that they must own a phone with 4G built in. And most of them will just assume they are using 4G, even if they live in a place which doesn’t even yet have 3G. Don’t believe me? Check all the folks who bought an HD TV and never have figured out that they’re not watching the HD channels. So a “4G iPhone 5″ would go a long way in the marketing department, and motivate a lot of existing iPhone users to upgrade (with the exception of those current iPhone 4 users who mistakenly believe they’re already on 4G because their iPhone has a “4″ in its name – and I encounter those types all the time). Nevermind that most of them wouldn’t be able to put the 4G feature to use anyway; they’ll want it. Here’s more on the iPhone 5.
[apple insider]

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iPhone 5 set to bury Verizon customers’ newfound inferiority complex


Ahead of the iPhone 5, Verizon customers should feel like they’ve won. They stood their ground, waited years for the iPhone to come to their preferred carrier, and finally got the notoriously stubborn Apple to give in and give them what they were demanding. It only took four generations. But instead, the Verizon iPhone 4 has managed to arrive in a manner which has left many Verizon customers feeling they’re still waiting on champagne delays, or worse, developing an inferiority complex toward their existing iPhone 4-toting brethren.
The problems are easily identifiable enough: the “Verizon iPhone” happened in the middle of an iPhone generation and turned out to be nothing more than an eight month old iPhone 4 with some buttons shifted around and a Verizon-compatible antenna built in. Apple thought low enough of its prospects that it let Verizon handle the product introduction, something it never allows, and Apple even went on to run a TV ad insinuating that the two iPhone 4 flavors were exactly the same. Talk about a blueprint for getting Verizon customers to feel less than excellent about the idea of buying one: “Hey guys, it’s literally last year’s iPhone but now it’s on your network. Enjoy!”
That inferiority complex isn’t going away until something changes. And that change will of course come with the iPhone 5. It’ll be the first iPhone to launch on both carriers at the same time. It’ll be the first time Verizon customers get a shot at an iPhone model the same year in which it came into existence. And it’ll bury the collective inferiority complex which has been brewing on the Verizon side of the fence among iPhone lusters, first because they didn’t have access to it at all, and now because they’re left wondering whether the Verizon iPhone 4 is the real thing. But give it til this summer, and the AT&T-Verizon iPhone 5 should finally have all iPhone users feeling like they have a true shot at equality – even though they technically have it now with the iPhone 4. It just doesn’t feel that way. Here’s more on the iPhone 5.
[via beatweek]

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Apple to begin production of white iPhone 4 this month, ship by April, says analyst


Apple is expected to begin production of its long-awaited iPhone 4 sometime this month, with shipments no later than early April, according to one analyst’s checks.
Manufacturers will initiate production of the GSM-based iPhone 4 version in white enclosures and begin dispatching them to Apple ahead of general availability planned for next month, Concord Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told AppleInsider. Apple has made changes the “film material to solve the full-lamination problem that [was] the reason why white iPhones [were] delayed,” he added. The handset was first scheduled to debut last June. Kuo did not provide a timeframe for a white CDMA-based iPhone.
With the introduction of the CDMA iPhone, iOS 4.3 set to become available this week and an anticipated launch of the white iPhone 4, Kuo sees Apple selling a record 18 million iPhones in the first quarter of calendar 2010. That would easily best the 16.2 million phones Apple sold in the holiday sales period to end 2010.
More evidence that Apple has solved its white paint mixture woes came last week with the unveiling of the iPad 2. The new touchscreen tablet will come in both black and white, and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said both models will ship on the March 11 launch date — a statement that drew laughter from the audience at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
AppleInsider reported in January that Apple had made strides in developing a new material that would allow it to successfully manufacture a white iPhone 4 that meets the company’s high level of standards. Using earlier painting methods, Apple’s attempts to manufacture the white iPhone 4 apparently resulted in a “huge” number of defective handsets.
Unable to produce the white iPhone 4 in 2010, Apple allegedly partnered with a Japanese company that crafted a new paint material. The new material apparently allows for greater control and precision in setting the thickness of the paint layer.
White iPhone 4
Apple was forced to delay the white iPhone 4 numerous times in 2010 citing manufacturing issues. The most recent delay was announced by Apple in October, when the company said the device would not go on sale until spring, or about 9 months after the iPhone 4 first went on sale.
Some impatient iPhone 4 owners have been able to purchase unauthorized white iPhone 4 models custom-built using leaked parts from Apple’s overseas suppliers. Among those with a white model is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who said in January that the official model would ship “soon.” He also said that the camera flash was problematic with his custom-built model.
[apple insider]

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Purported Foxconn leak reveals 64GB iPhone 4 prototype


An unconfirmed report claims to have access to an engineering prototype of the iPhone 4 with 64GB of storage that was reportedly leaked from Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn.
Earlier this week, a Hong Kong-based website posted photos of a purported iPhone prototype with 64GB of storage. Apple currently only sells iPhone 4 models in 16GB and 32GB configurations.Late Tuesday, MIC Gadget posted a number of photos and a hands-on video of the device, which the site claims was “definitely leaked from Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen.” Photos of the prototype reveal striking similarities to a prototype iPhone 4 that was purchased by Gizmodo last year after being left in a bar by an Apple engineer.
Such similarities appear to suggest that the prototype is also from the Device Verification Test phase, which takes place right before production.
The device is running an official build of iOS 4.1, which was released in September of last year. Though the phone’s settings list the model number as 995-6049LL, the back of the device designates the model simply as XXXXX.
64GB iPhone prototype
64GB iPhone prototype
64GB iPhone prototype
It should be noted that the prototype, even if authentic, does not guarantee that Apple plans to release a 64GB iPhone 4. Some reports have speculated that the Cupertino, Calif., iPhone maker tested the prototype but ultimately decided not to mass produce and sell a 64GB version because of cost limitations.
Still others have taken the purported leak to mean that Apple will introduce only incremental upgrades, such as a storage boost, when the company releases a new version of the device this summer. It has been suggested that the addition of minor features of the next iPhone would more closely resemble the transition from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS than the jump from the 3GS to the iPhone 4.
On the other hand, a rumor from earlier this week claimed that Apple plans to abandon the glass back design of the iPhone 4 in favor of an aluminum back. Reports have also suggested that Apple will redesign the steel outer frame of the iPhone 4 that caused a controversy last summer.
[apple insider]

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Apple’s iPhone 4 coming to Korea’s SK Telecom on March 16 [u]


Korean carrier SK Telecom announced earlier this week that it will launch Apple’s iPhone 4 on March 16, though reports vary on whether the company will offer the CDMA or GSM version of the handset.
In an official press release on Monday, Korea’s largest wireless carrier announced that preorders of Apple’s latest smartphone would begin on March 9 before launching one week later on March 16. Pricing details on the handset and related plans are as yet unavailable.
With the launch of the iPhone 4, SK Telecom is poised to recapture market share from rival Korean network KT Corp. Second-place carrier KT Corp. has enjoyed exclusive access to the iPhone since it began selling the iPhone 3GS in late 2009.
Despite intense competition from local electronics giants Samsung and LG, Apple has managed to make inroads into the Korean market. According to one report, KT Corp. sold 60,000 units on the iPhone 3GS launch day. Sales of the device eventual reached more than 1 million units.
Last year, preorders of the iPhone 4 reached 130,000 handsets, overwhelming KT Corp.’s servers.
Update:Though several reports have suggested that SK Telecom will offer the CDMA iPhone 4, it is more likely that the carrier will launch the GSM version, as the network operates an HSPA overlay similar to providers in Canada and Mexico.
However, several other Asian wireless carriers are rumored to begin selling a CDMA iPhone sometime this year. In February, Chinese news outlets claimed that China Telecom is planning a limited Beijing launch of a CDMA-capable iPhone in June. Wall Street analysts expect Indian carrier Reliance to also begin carrying the CDMA iPhone 4 later this year.
Verizon was the first to begin carrying the CDMA iPhone 4. Though some reports had interpreted short launch day lines to mean a muted launch of the handset, Verizon CEO Dan Mead revealed that online sales of the iPhone 4 made it the most successful launch in the company’s history.
[apple insider]

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Apple rumored to unveil iOS 5, new MobileMe at media event in early April


A new rumor claims Apple will hold its annual iOS roadmap event in early April to show off iOS 5 as expected, but also states the company will also unveil an updated MobileMe service. Citing a “confident” source, German site Macerkopf.de reported Tuesday (via Google Translate) that the event will be held in early April at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., campus. The timing would not be a surprise, as last year’s iOS 4 preview event was held in early April. But the inclusion of MobileMe in the annual event would be new, and could signal that anticipated changes to the cloud-based service will be heavily integrated into the next major release of Apple’s mobile operating system for the iPhone and iPad. In February, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple plans to improve MobileMe by having the service act as a “locker” to hold personal data such as photos, music and videos. It was also said that Apple is considering making the service, which currently costs $99 per year, free. Corroborating that information, The New York Times separately reported that Apple plans to roll out an enhanced MobileMe this year. It was said that Apple is working on improved “voice navigation” on the iPhone, allowing users to operate the device through voice commands without the need to rely on a virtual keyboard. Further evidence of planned changes to MobileMe came as Apple discontinued the sale of retail boxes for the service last month. It has also been rumored that the new MobileMe will rely on self-storage from a home computer for streaming, rather than remotely saved files hosted by Apple.
[apple insider]

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