Engadget

iOS 5 will be available October 12, iCloud launching the same day

Dana Wollman — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:37:00 EST

Mark your calendars, kids. Scott Forstall's on stage here at "Let's Talk iPhone" and just gave a hard date for iOS 5's arrival: expect it to hit next week, on October 12th, with Apple's iCloud service launching that same day. Though developers have been playing with it for four months now, this will be the first time the general, non-tinkering public gets to taste its 200-plus new features -- a list that includes Newsstand, Reminders, iMessage, WiFi sync, Find My Friends, split keyboards, AirPlay mirroring for the iPad 2 (and iPhone 4S!) and the Notification Center. (And, you know, greeting cards, if you're into that sort of thing.) iOS 5 will be free for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, while iCloud's standard 5GB of email / storage will come gratis to folks already using iOS 5 and Lion. Take note that if it's iTunes Match you're after (and you live in the states), you'll have to sit tight a few more weeks yet.

Gallery: iOS 5 landing October 12

iOS 5 will be available October 12, iCloud launching the same day originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple affirms: no software fix for iPhone 4 antenna issue

Darren Murph — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EST

In case it wasn't obvious enough from Apple's agitated response to our question during today's iPhone 4 Q&A session in Cupertino, there's no software fix in the pipeline for the antenna issues that are plaguing users today. A prior report in the New York Times seemed fairly confident that the troubles could (and would) be solved in the near term by a simple software update, but the company's own Scott Forstall called said report "patently false." So, there you have it -- the only thing that'll be fixed via software is how big your smallest bar of signal is. Beyond that, you'll need to grab some Duct tape, a free case or a white glove if you're looking to avoid attenuation entirely.

Apple affirms: no software fix for iPhone 4 antenna issue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jobs: If you see a stylus or a task manager, 'they blew it'

Nilay Patel — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:48:00 EST

Steve Jobs is never one to mince words when taking questions from the press, and he just made it very clear how he feels about other platforms during the iPhone OS 4 event when asked about task management:

Q: How do you close applications when multitasking?
A: (Scott Forstall) You don't have to. The user just uses things and doesn't ever have to worry about it.
A: (Steve Jobs) It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. In multitasking, if you see a task manager... they blew it. Users shouldn't ever have to think about it.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the Apple Way, but hey -- tell us how you really feel, Steve.

Jobs: If you see a stylus or a task manager, 'they blew it' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's John Koller: Apple's entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP

Darren Murph — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:17:00 EST

Um, okay? Just days after Apple introduced its exceedingly underwhelming iPad while simultaneously attempting to convince that masses that said product was the portable gaming device they had been waiting their whole lives for, Sony's own hardware marketing honcho has come forward and extolled Cupertino's decision to finally make the gaming leap. In a recent interview, John stated the following:

"Apple's entrance into the portable gaming space has been a net positive for Sony. When people want a deeper, richer console, they start playing on a PSP."

While we can't seem to shake the suspicion that Mr. Koller is drawing links that probably don't exist (at least fully) in reality, research firm NPD does show that sales of the PSP have "nearly tripled since the iPhone went on sale in June 2007." Of course, it's not like the PSP has gained functionality, become the home of more than a few killer titles and spawned a UMD-less sibling since the heydays of '07, but hey -- who are we to question the suit?

Sony's John Koller: Apple's entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple shuffles execs, Scott Forstall now head of iPhone Software

Nilay Patel — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:44:00 EST

Looks like El Steve's getting the house in order before all the guests roll in for WWDC -- AppleInsider says there's been some exec reshuffling at the top. Most prominently, Scott Forstall has been bumped up to Senior Vice President of iPhone Software, which means he now reports directly to Jobs. Given Apple's big push into the mobile devices space, that's a big responsibility, but Forstall's got the chops -- he's been working on the core of OS X since the NeXT days, and he was responsible for the release of OS X Leopard. Also getting a fatter paycheck is Bob Mansfield, who's the new SVP of Mac Hardware Engineering and will report to COO Tim Cook. MHE hasn't had a leader since 2004, when a committee of Mansfield, Jonathan Ive, and Dan Riccio was put in place to lead development. Of course, all these guys are merely puppets in the grand schemes of Dear Leader anyhow, but hey, someone's got to do the paperwork, right?

Filed under: Handsets, Apple