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Apple releases iOS 4.3.5, inches towards iOS 5
Less than ten days after iOS 4.3.4 parachuted in to fix that nasty PDF exploit, Apple's gone and dropped another. So what'll Cupertino's latest fix today? Build 8L1 -- or 8E600 on 4.2.10 if you're rocking CDMA -- apparently nixes a vulnerability with "certificate validation," or you know, Apple's just really fond of keeping all you hackers on your toes. Either way, time to fire up iTunes, unless of course, you're already living in the future. Update: Turns out you can still (tether) jailbreak with redSn0w. Peep the more coverage link below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Video Time Machine for iOS (hands-on)
What's the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of time travel comes up? If you're like us, you probably think of flying DeLoreans or malfunctioning hot tubs; maybe even the HG Wells chair with a brobdingnagian spinning wheel on the back. Since these types of time machines (you know, the ones that actually go back in time) don't exist -- that we know of, anyway -- we need to find other methods of transporting ourselves to another time. That's where Video Time Machine comes in handy: it chronicles over a century of compiled movies, commercials, TV broadcasts, and other forms of moving pictures into one clever iOS app. We had an opportunity to get some hands-on time with both the iPhone and iPad apps and did some time travelling of our own. Did it satisfy our hunger for one hundred years of visual treats? Head past the break to find out.
Apple patent apps describe 'smart' pens for notetaking and long-distance doodling
Apple's knack for filing patent applications has struck again, offering a pair of digital pens that could become a competitive one-up for HTC's Scribe pen. Both filed apps revealed by the USPTO involve styli for iOS displays, but if you're imagining a magical item that helps (or hinders) your typing, this is another ball of wax. The first stylus is appropriately called "stylus for touch sensitive devices" and includes a rechargeable battery that could be stored and charged by placing it in a dock embedded directly in the device. Curiously, the stylus is heated for "more consistent interaction between the capacitive-sensors in the computing device and the stylus," which sounds mighty nice on a cold day. By allowing the user to easily write real notes and draw pictures, this patent turns out to be much more than just a different method of inputting text. Next up is the "communicating stylus," a digital pen equipped with accelerometers and wireless transmitters that send position data. This would enable it to be used for an iOS device without any physical contact or other accessories. In theory, you could take the stylus (shown after the break) across the room and still jot down notes or doodle on your iPad, even if it's out of sight. Finally, "the greatest pointing device in the world" -- our fingers -- will get a chance to rest.
AT&T to offer standard insurance for iPhone owners starting July 17th
If you have an AT&T iPhone in your possession, there's a good chance you've quickly glanced at available insurance options and noticed they're... well, a tad on the spendy side. Big Blue's only solution requires a $12 monthly asking price -- considering that's before the deductible gets factored in, we just can't imagine it selling like hotcakes. The tides appear to be turning, however; according to AT&T's official site, iPhones will be eligible for Asurion Mobile Insurance plans on July 17th. With these new plans, the monthly cost will plummet to a much more reasonable $5, placing it lower than Verizon's version. We're still awaiting word on the deductible, though other smartphones on the same protection plan require a $125 replacement charge. Here's the drawback: it's only available for the first 30 days after the device is purchased, which means anyone who procured an iPhone before mid-June will want to keep those cases and screen protectors glued on tight. There's also no intimate details on what kind of damage is covered -- good thing these things are so difficult to destroy, eh?
Samsung drops Apple countersuit -- Apple's still got a bone to pick
Back in April, Samsung slapped back at Apple's claims of patent infringement with a healthy helping of ten claims of its own. Now Bloomberg is reporting that Samsung quietly dropped its countersuit against the Cupertino-based company on June 30th, in an attempt "to streamline the legal proceedings." Of course that doesn't mean the saga is over: Apple's smartphone infringement accusations stand, as do legal battles in South Korea, Japan, Germany, and the UK. Samsung says it will also continue to fight Apple's accusations in the US in the form of a counter-claim. One down, one to go?Update: To clarify, this does not mean that Samsung has abandoned its own infringement claims against Apple. Those claims have been rolled into counter-claims in the original suit.
Apple will reportedly re-launch unlocked iPhone 3GS in India
Indian website IT Pro says it's heard from Apple that the company will be relaunching the iPhone 3GS in an unlocked model to keep up with Indian demand for an Apple handheld. Back when the 3GS was first introduced in India, it was only available through a few carriers. Now, demand for iPhones is so high that Apple is simply going to relaunch the old model, this time allowing anyone to use it on any carrier in India. IT Pro notes Apple is being a little sketchy here by selling such an old phone as new ("India has become a dumping ground for Apple," they say), but Indian customers will probably be happy with the option to get an unlocked iPhone 3GS, as iPhone 4 units are still very hard to find. Price is another concern. The iPhone 4 in India costs the equivalent of about US$760, so a cheaper option will be popular even if it's a bit slower and clunkier. The iPhone 3GS still won't run cheap; the price is set at 19,990 rupees, or about $444.
Analyst: the cheap iPhone will be a free 3GS
Analysts really want Apple to enter the low-price smartphone market. So much so, they can't stop talking about this rumored cheap model. The latest analyst to chime in on this topic is Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital. He predicts Apple will release a cheap iPhone model when the iPhone 5 debuts. It won't be a new model, though. Instead, he expects the iPhone 3GS to be offered for free. Apple will also drop the price on the iPhone 4 to US$99, says Abramsky. Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore kicked off this rumor again when he proposed the idea of a mid-range iPhone 4S that will launch along with the iPhone 5. Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford Bernstein also called for Apple to release a lower priced iPhone, but did not mention an iPhone 4S. Keith Bachman of BMO threw a monkey wrench into everyone's predictions by dismissing the idea of a cheap iPhone and predicting a single, full-featured model - the iPhone 4S.
T-Mobile now home to 1 million iPhones
When talking to 9to5Mac, a T-Mobile spokesperson offered up a tidbit of information that suggests the #4 wireless carrier, which does not sell the popular Apple smartphone, is home to over a million iPhones. Most of the devices are older iPhone models, though a fair amount of customers have reportedly trimmed down their T-Mobile SIM to fit in the microSIM slot of the iPhone 4. Since T-Mobile does not offer the iPhone 4 and uses the AWS band for its 3G network, these iPhone models are unlocked and running on EDGE. It's not a pretty situation, but it gets the job done for those T-Mobile customers that must have the iPhone. As for the possibility of a future iPhone, the T-Mobile spokesperson was tight-lipped and would only say there is nothing to announce at this time.
iPhone 101: Using Voice Control
While we wait for iOS 5 to deliver cool new features, here's a look at Voice Control, a feature introduced with the iPhone 3GS model. There are three types of Voice Control commands: phone, music and other. Here's how to use each. Launching Voice Control Of course, you can't use Voice Control until you get it running. You can either hold the Home Button down for about two seconds, or do the same with the middle button on your supplied Apple earbuds. You'll hear a beep and the iPhone's screen will display "Voice Control" with a blue background. Now, let's issue some commands. Phone commands Your iPhone understands "call" and "dial." To tell your iPhone to call a contact, say "call" (or "dial") plus the contact's name. For example, saying "Call Janie Smith" will launch the phone app and call Janie's number. If a contact has several numbers (work and home, for example), you can specify which one you want. "Call Janie Smith home" will call Janie's home number. Calling a number that's not in your contacts list is just as easy. Simply say, "call" plus the number. Music commands Voice Control supports a nice list of music commands, from starting and stopping a song to asking about the artist. Here's how to get started. You can say "play" or "play music" to get the music going. If you've got a song paused when you issue the play command, it will resume. If the iPod app isn't running, it will start at the very first song in your library. Of course, you can get specific. Voice Control also understands "play playlist [name of playlist]," "play album [name of album]" and "play artist [name of artist]." For example, saying "Play album Dark Side of the Moon" will start the first track of that album, while "Play artist Pink Floyd" will start at the first track of the first album in your Pink Floyd collection (you have one, right?). While you're at it, create a Genius playlist. While a song you dig is playing, tell Voice Control "Genius play more like this" or "Genius play more songs like this" or simply "play more like this" and it'll create a Genius playlist for you on the spot. Simple navigation is also possible. Your iPhone understands "pause," "pause music," "next song," "previous song" and "shuffle." Finally, you can ask your iPhone four questions about the track being played. Specifically, "what's playing," "what song is this," "who sings this song" or "who is this song by." Miscellaneous commands Here are a few other commands that don't fit into the previous categories. "What is the time" or "what time is it." For most people it's quicker to tap the Home Button once and look at the time, but this command will benefit visually impaired users. "Cancel" and "stop" exit Voice Control. You can correct a mistake (and there will be plenty. More on that in a minute) by saying, "no," "not that," "nope," "not that one" or "wrong." Write those down now. Finally, saying "FaceTime" supposedly initiates a FaceTime call. Which brings me to the bad news. Voice Control works in the way that temporary tattoos look like real tattoos. At first it's passable but upon closer inspection, you see that it's not the real thing (my attempts at initiating a FaceTime call launched a Genesis album). Placing calls was the most reliable function, while the phone had trouble understanding some musical artist's names and was downright befuddled at other times. That being said, I have friends who swear by it, so perhaps I've got poor diction. Give it a try yourself using the commands listed above, and dream of the day that Siri purchase actually pays off. Thanks to reader Walt whose email inspired this post!
Apple iCloud brings previously purchased apps back from the dead
Lamenting the time you restored your iPhone and lost that beloved VLC app because it's no longer available on the App Store? Cheer up, there's an iCloud for that. The service allows you to re-download any app you've previously purchased on any of your iOS devices -- including killed apps. We decided to give it a whirl, testing our luck with an iPhone 3GS humming along on iOS 4.3.3. Upon browsing the Purchases section of the App Store, we beheld Tris, an app that hasn't been available in nearly three years. Sure enough, we pressed the iCloud icon and within seconds, the ol' Tetris clone was back in action. So if you were one of the four people that downloaded I am Rich before it was killed, you'll be sure to enjoy that $1,000 investment for years to come. [Thanks, Chris] Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Video of iOS 5 on an iPhone 3GS and a 4 side by side
The folks at AppleRumors Italia did a side-by-side video comparison of iOS 5 on both the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4. As you can see in the video, the two models perform similarly with only a small amount of lag apparent on the iPhone 3GS during certain tasks, like loading a complex web page. The biggest difference is the lack of some features, like HDR and photo editing, on the older iPhone 3GS. Though this is only one video, the results are encouraging for those still rocking a third-generation iPhone.
iOS 5 imposes minor feature limitations on iPhone 3GS, 3G owners still bitter
The unveiling of iOS 5 at this year's WWDC keynote brought a wonderful feast of features, but it left us wondering if the iPhone 3GS would be updated with a few cards short of a full deck -- the same way the 3G was treated last year. Reports are starting to flow in from folks who've tested it, so let's get the bad news out of the way first: yes, some features are being withheld from the 3GS. The good news? They're much more minor than we feared. So far, it appears that full Twitter integration and notifications are included; the newsstand and App Store are also intact, as well as the Safari reading list and grid lines in the camera. The only things we see missing so far are the photo editing features in the camera and the tab bar in Safari. So breathe a deep and well-deserved sigh of relief, fans, because your iPhone 3GS isn't obsolete -- at least, not yet. The full walkthrough of iOS 5 on the 3GS is right after the break.
ooVoo brings its webcam wares to iOS with six-way video calling and more
If getting your family together under one roof feels like herding cats, then you might consider ooVoo Mobile as a far less painful solution. It's now available for iOS and supports (nearly) free six-way video chatting for you and five webcam-toting friends. The one catch is that someone in the conference must purchase a monthly plan, otherwise you're limited to three participants. We've already seen this app released for Android, and both versions feature: six-way conferencing, group texting, voice calls to other users, and -- if you're willing to purchase credits or a monthly plan -- outbound calling to landlines and mobile phones. Subscription prices start at $9.95 per month if you want to use the service to its full potential, but it seems there's plenty to enjoy without spending a dime. And if you're a cheapskate who's determined to have it all, perhaps you can convince someone else to foot the bill.
iOS 5 rumor: iPhone 3GS to drop off supported list?
Normally we don't give much credence to a single tweet pertaining to rumors about the next iPhone, but this one comes from Eldar Murtazin, editor-in-chief of mobile phone blog Mobile-Review. Murtazin has a history of accurately predicting mobile phone rumors and in this tweet says the iPhone 3GS will not be upgradable to iOS 5 when it debuts this fall: "Just one comment. Apple iPhone 3Gs wont be upgradable to iOS 5.x. iPhone 4 will." [Note that it is possible that Murtazin was referring to the plural of iPhone 3G -- 3Gs -- and not the iPhone 3GS model, but it's not clear. –Ed.] Apple dropped support for the original iPhone in iOS 4 and limited support to certain features of iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G, so some might think it's obvious that iOS 5 will not support the iPhone 3GS -- a two year old phone by the time the new operating system ships. However, as MacRumors points out, Apple still currently sells the iPhone 3GS and not supporting the newest OS on something they currently sell (at least until the day they announce the new iPhone) would be out of character for the company. But with all the rumors that iOS 5 will sport the biggest changes iOS has seen since its debut, it's conceivable that iOS 5 might have some pretty big hardware requirements and could require at least an A4 chip and possibly even a Retina Display to run. [hat tip MacStories]
redsn0w untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 works with 4.3.3, still no iPad 2 support
Apple released iOS 4.3.3 on Wednesday, but as it did with 4.3.2, neglected to patch the untethered jailbreak exploit in redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 (since updated to rc15). Looks like that's a hat trick for the iPhone Dev Team. The hack works with most devices (even the Apple TV), but there's still no solution for iPad 2 owners -- we're sure that the underground powers that be are hard at work searching for holes that Apple overlooked. Installation instructions remain unchanged, so if you've been eager to get your iPhone tracking fix on without bricking your device, grab the latest IPSW and head over to our source link for the download links. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims
This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones' resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy's load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we've yet to hear more details about these claims. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show -- popcorn, anyone?[Thanks, Jake L.]Update: Reuters has shed some light on the actual patents Samsung is alleging are being infringed. The news organization reports they relate to "power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology."
iPhone dev-team releases untethered redsn0w jailbreak for iOS 4.3.2, iPad 2 not included
The iPhone dev-team released an untethered jailbreak for iOS owners running Apple's latest 4.3.2 firmware. Good news for jailbreakers as Apple did not patch the hole discovered by @i0n1c. The code for this exploit was used in the untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 and was easily ported over to the jailbreak for this latest version of iOS. iPad 2 owners cannot join the jailbreak party as the 0.9.6rc14 version of redsn0w only supports the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM), iPod touch 3G/4G and the first generation iPad. Point your browser to the dev-team's website for more information on the Mac and Windows version of redSn0w. As always, follow the directions closely and remember you jailbreak at your own risk. [Via Redmond Pie]
redsn0w untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 released for Windows and OS X, lacks iPad 2 support
If you've been waiting for a nice, easy jailbreak solution for iOS 4.3.1, then today's your lucky day: Dev-Team's just released redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 for both Windows and OS X, allowing us mere mortals to free our supported devices -- iPhone 3GS, 4 (GSM); iPod touch 3G, 4G; iPad 1; and Apple TV 2G -- with a few simple clicks. Alas, there are a couple of caveats: the iPad 2 isn't supported here, as Cupertino has somehow managed to tighten up its security to fend off hackers (for now); and ultrasn0w users have also been told to hang tight until there's a compatibility fix -- Dev-Team will announce on Twitter when this becomes available. As for those who are eligible for this new jailbreak, head over to Dev-Team's website for the download links, and make sure you have the corresponding IPSW files handy as well -- you can find them over at iClarified or on your favorite search engine. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iPhone 3GS falls to free in Canada (now that you're over it)
Canadian citizens suffering from iPhone envy are in for a sweet treat this weekend. Mobile carriers Bell and Telus recently introduced competing promotions, offering the iPhone 3GS 8GB for precisely nothing with a three-year commitment. This presents an enticing opportunity for those willing to saddle up with Apple's last-gen phone for the long (long) haul, but really, is anyone still interested in actually doing so? With Telus, only refurbished models are available, and it appears to be an online exclusive for now. Meanwhile, Bell's promo features new (as in unused) 3GS', and should be available in stores. Nothing like watching a race to the bottom, eh?
Problems syncing after iOS 4.3? It might be your photos
I just updated to iOS 4.3 on my iPhone, which is connected to a MacBook Pro, and when the installation was done, I tried to sync. The sync stalled at step four of four on syncing photos, with a message telling me that the sync could not complete because "The required file cannot be found." I called Apple right away, and the support rep, after checking with a few higher levels of tech support, asked me to uncheck the box to sync photos. The sync worked. I was then told that the problem had to be with one of the photos in my iPhoto library, and I would have to find it using the process of elimination. This didn't sound like fun since I have over 3600 photos, and this would take quite a long time to accomplish. I tried to find a simpler solution and found it. Incorrectly thinking that it might be in the last import, I had my iPhone 3GS sync all events except the last one. The sync worked flawlessly. Then I added the last event, and the sync still worked. Next I added all the albums and faces, and the sync worked again. I girded my loins and decided to try to sync all photos, events and faces ... and was able to sync perfectly. My iPad had the same issue, but first unchecking syncing and then re-syncing everything (which took a while, as all of the photos were re-optimized and copied over) worked just fine. So, at least for me, there was a problem with syncing photos, and in both cases, deleting the photos and then having the computers and iDevices sync all photos, events and faces solved the problem. I don't know how widespread this problem might be, or if it even affected anyone but me, but if you are in the same boat, give this a try.
