Ios4
Latest
Is the iPhone 4 controversy much ado about nothing or a really big problem?
What's going on with the iPhone? It certainly depends on who's talking. This morning Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider says the iPhone reception problem is a non-issue and will blow over. "You can make calls, use the internet, and do everything else you should be able to do on the iPhone 4 all of the time, or almost all of the time." "But there's no reason for a huge recall. This isn't a faulty car that might kill you. It's a phone, and it's a phone that works." On the other side of the ring people are screaming for blood, and are sure the phone is just unusable. It's hard to know what to believe.
As Apple's PR disaster grows, some say recall
Now that the iPhone has been in customers' hands for a few weeks, the antenna issue has been demonstrated time and again to be very real. Holding the lower left-hand corner of the iPhone causes a significant loss in signal strength. Those in low-signal areas to begin with will often lose their connection entirely. As soon as that corner of the phone is released, the connection is restored. Apple issued a statement on July 2nd which essentially said that the iPhone is erroneously reporting signal strength via the number of bars displayed. Apple plans to release a patch to fix the discrepancy soon. In other words, a user whose phone says it's got 3 bars could actually have less than that. After applying Apple's fix, the iPhone would read 2 bars or 1 for that user. That's not a fix. Touching the corner will, we assume, continue to kill the signal. Users will just have a more advanced warning of the results: "I'm about to drop to 3 bars" vs. "I'm about to lose my connection entirely." This week, people are talking about a hardware recall. Professor Matthew Seeger of Wayne State University told Cult of Mac that a hardware recall is "inevitable." Meanwhile, Dr. Larry Barton can't understand Apple's slow response. "There has to be a military-like response to this issue," he told Cult of Mac. "And we have not seen this kind of urgency." A hardware recall would be a disaster, but consider the damage that's already been done to Apple's PR. Consumer Reports (CR) suggested people not buy the iPhone 4. Say what you want, but CR is the definitive guide for a huge number of consumers. A software fix that simply reports how poor the iPhone's connection to AT&T's network won't fix this issue. Apple's got to act. Fast.
BMW working on better iOS integration
People have been plugging their iPods into their cars almost since their introduction. I had a headphone-to-cassette adapter back in the day. How glorious! Now, BMW has announced that their cars will take advantage of "iPod Out," a new feature of iOS 4. Essentially, it allows a very iPod-like UI to appear on the car's in-dash display, making navigation, playback, etc. instantly familiar to the iPod owner. No more learning the car manufacturer's UI vs. the iPod's. BMW's solution will also add support for genius playlists. Now don't go rushing out to the dealer just yet. BMW expects to have this feature in all of their cars (Minis, too) by next year. Until then, we'll just have to make do. At least I still have my cassette adapter.
Consumer Reports now 'can't recommend' the iPhone 4
After a recent positive blog post stating that the iPhone 4 reception issues were not something that should prevent someone from buying the new iPhone, the nationwide testing firm has now changed its mind and given a thumbs down to Apple's latest efforts. In lab tests, Consumer Reports says the signal "can significantly degrade to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal." Three iPhone 4s were tested in an RF isolation chamber, and while the signal fell out on the new iPhone, CR didn't see the same issues on an iPhone 3GS or a Palm Pre. The tests also showed that putting some duct tape (of course!!) on the lower left portion of the iPhone antenna strip helps a great deal, and they speculate a case would do the trick as well. The testing firm adds that the iPhone 4 scored at the top of the list in every other feature, so the reception issue is a deal-killer for the firm. CR says that Apple will have to provide "a permanent -- and free fix" before it recommends the iPhone 4.
On the road with the latest Navigon MobileNavigator
The iOS 4 update to MobileNavigator North America has been eagerly awaited by fans of the best selling turn-by-turn navigation system, and overall I'd call the update a win. To test the system, I took a drive from Southern Arizona to Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix. First off, having the multitasking capabilities was wonderful. I could take or make calls without stopping the route guidance, and while I was on the phone, I could get notice of turns. Since my phone was connected to my car via Bluetooth, the voice announcements came through the car speaker. I set up speed limit warnings, and the system dutifully warned me if I was going too fast, which is easy to do on those long, straight Arizona highways. %Gallery-97295%
Navigon updates MobileNavigator with iOS4 multitasking, new maps and parking info
The popular Navigon app for the iPhone has had a significant update which is likely to please current owners and may get the company some new sales as well. New features include Live Weather (which gives the current weather wherever you're going), parking information, iOS 4 integration -- including background navigation and Retina Display enhancements), and updates to the NAVTEQ maps included. Additionally, there are some nice changes and improvements to the graphics, so this is a fairly substantial update. Read on for a little more insight.
More photography with the iPhone
The above video shows a fashion photo shoot taken completely with an iPhone, and it isn't even the iPhone 4! The photographer uses only an iPhone 3GS. I think there might be a little cheating involved; the lighting is overdone and the photos were sent off to a retoucher, so it's not that surprising that they look as good as they do. Then again, considering that all fashion shoots probably have that kind of lighting and retouching applied to them, the fact that the iPhone can even compete is pretty impressive. If you like iPhone photography, you might want to check out the eyephoneography blog; it's a site that features some great photographs that are taken strictly with mobile phones (including the iPhone). They just announced an exhibit that will take place next September in Madrid, Spain, and they're also working with another blog called iPhoneography to spotlight and show off some of the best iPhone 4-based photography on the Web. It's pretty cool stuff. The iPhone's mobility and interface have always made it a pretty good camera, but with the arrival of HD on the iPhone 4, it's turned into an even better tool for photographers.
iPhone OS 2.1 on 3G had signal problems too
Once upon a time, iPhones had an OS update known as version 2.1, and there was much rejoicing. Actually, there was a little bit of the rejoicing and a bit more of the griping. What was the griping about? Well, some of you kiddies might not remember this, since it was so two years ago, but the story may ring familiar: it was all about degrading signal indicator issues with the iPhone 3G. Part of what that article notes is the existence of the field service test mode that was, then, present in the iPhone OS. It used to be pretty trivial to access this mode, which would give us gadgety techno-nerds information like more detailed signal strength. A feature like that would be dandy for troubleshooting the iPhone 4's recent disappearing bars problems, but Apple decided to remove access to test mode in iOS 4. Seeing as this issue cropped up in the early days of the iPhone 3G, AT&T's response to it then seems to indicate that, quite simply, a software update will fix the signal strength indicator problem in the iPhone 4. Let's just hope it comes out sooner than later so that we can stop talking about this issue already. Thanks Ilkyone for the tip!
iOS 4 adds direct access to iTunes library, iPhone DJ apps about to get crazy
Although there's been no shortage of iPhone DJ apps in the past few years, they've remained fairly niche, since Apple didn't allow devs official access to the iPod music library -- mobile DJs needed to upload a second separate music library per app, and that's no fun at all. Looks like that's about to change, though: one of the 1500 new APIs in iOS 4 provides direct access to the iPod library, meaning music apps of all kinds can play your tracks in any wacky way they want -- including, yes, scratching them. The first app to support the new API in the store is Flare Scratch, which is a relatively simple scratch app -- we just gave it a shot and yes, it does indeed load tracks from the iPod library and let you scratch 'em. There's a bit of a wait when loading up a new track, though, so it's not totally fluid to use in anything but a hey-this-is-fun context, but we're betting we'll see more serious DJ apps hit with smoother transitions soon enough -- and we can't wait to see what devs do once iOS 4 hits the iPad and they've got more room to work with. Video after the break.
Xenome: Episode 1 is a fully immersive post-apocalyptic RPG on your iPhone
As I kid I burned up an entire summer playing Wasteland on my Apple II. I spent countless hours playing Fallout many years later. Xenome is clearly inspired by these two games, and promises to chew up yet more of my time. You play a lone wanderer in the desert, searching for something and having a few nasty encounters with mutated animals and people along the way. Xenome: Episode 1 is also the first sliver in a much larger story, with an MMORPG to follow after other episodes (which will be single-player RPGs) have been released. I had become pretty jaded with iPhone games in general, and words like "immersive" are trotted out so often I rarely believe the claims. But the first thing that struck me about Xenome's in-game world was the large, open landscape. There is a fantastic sense of scale in the game, with beat up old buildings jutting out of the desert landscape, looming over your character. You can go anywhere and do nearly anything, although your character is quite weak at first. The graphics are as good as you can get on the iPhone whilst providing ample geometry, although the game isn't yet tuned for Retina displays. This didn't matter so much to me, however, as the overall polish of the game is impeccable. The 3rd-person camera, for example, floats perfectly. It's clear Nine Pound Studios spent a lot of time on the artwork, music, sounds and in-game graphics because they're as good as anything I've experienced in mobile gaming. %Gallery-97174%
BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface
If you wish the iPod support in your BMW or Mini was a little less Munich and a little more Cupertino, this latest development from Bavaria will make you a happy little infotainment meister. BMW is announcing that its in-car iPod compatibility will be boosted to support iOS 4's iPod Out feature, which does not enhance your gadget's Ryan Seacrest impression but instead allows it to output its interface to another device. So, the in-car dash will replicate the simple iPod UI, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on whether you prefer Apple's design cues to BMW's. No word on exactly which vehicles will get this support, but this is referred to as part of a "new offer," so it certainly sounds like future autos only. C'mon guys, haven't you heard of a firmware update? %Gallery-97136%
iAds uses iTunes history, location information to target advertising
We've heard about this before, but now that it's up and running, this is probably worth a revisit. Apple's iAds system actually uses lots of your information, including your iTunes purchasing history, location data, and any other download or library information it can suss out about you, to determine what ads you see. So say a few marketing firms working with the large companies now buying and selling iAds. A recent series of ads for soap was able to target "married men who are in their late 30s and have children." That's very specific, and when Apple rolls out the full program, it'll even be able to use things like iBooks purchases and iTunes movie and TV downloads to target you with advertising. Is there anything wrong with that? Not really. Apple isn't running the only targeted advertising network, of course, and the whole problem with analytics firms like Flurry is that they were tracking and sharing this information anyway through third-party apps. Apple also isn't sharing your personal information; it's just connecting you with advertisers who want to speak with you, not actually telling those advertisers who you are. Apple knows what you've purchased in iTunes, but that information isn't necessarily communicated to Nissan or Best Buy. If you're still worried about iAds, though, Apple does offer a way to opt-out of sharing your location or purchase information; you can go to https://oo.apple.com/ in your iOS 4 device's browser and register to opt-out of that kind of targeting. You will still see iAds, but Apple won't use your personal information to choose them for you.
iPhone network settings take 2. Will it fix the proximity sensor bug?
We were surprised and gratified at how many of our readers were able to improve iPhone 4 reception (or at least there were more bars) by resetting network settings. Now it appears people are using the same technique to fix the sometimes buggy proximity sensor that is supposed to turn the screen light off when the phone is near your head for making a call. A chorus of users are reporting the issue, saying the screen does not turn off and they wind up muting calls and even hanging up on people inadvertently. Apple support boards are now filling up with reports from people who say that our old friend 'reset network settings' will often fix the issue. Others have said a hard reset of the phone (hold down the sleep and home button until the white Apple logo appears) has a similar effect, and of course some say it doesn't help at all. If you do reset your network settings, you'll lose any Wi-Fi or network passwords. The hard re-boot of the phone will leave everything in place and should have no ill effects. You can find the network reset software switch towards the bottom of iPhone Settings > General. My, those network resets seem to fix some bugs that are frustrating iPhone 4 owners. I wonder if it will take care of my allergies? As always, let us know if these solutions work for you, or if they don't.
Android 2.2 (Froyo) versus iOS 4: the browser showdown (video)
A little while back Google boldly claimed that Froyo would have the world's fastest mobile browser, but the lack of final software back then meant we'd had to tie up our itchy hands until now. And boy, it sure looks like it was worth the wait -- Ars Technica's JavaScript benchmarks show that not only is Froyo's browser almost three times faster than its Éclair counterpart, but it also beats iOS 4's Safari by at least two-fold. That said, numbers alone don't always reflect real-life performance -- especially with Froyo supporting iPhone's much-missed Flash -- so we went ahead and conducted our own browser speed test. Read on for our videos and results after the jump. Update: for those who were concerned about the battery affecting the Nexus One's performance, we did use Android System Info to verify that the CPU was still clocked at 1GHz. We were also able to reproduce the same results with a full battery. Either way, it's still a win for Android.
Found Footage: Browsing speed compared on the iPhone 4 and 3GS
Thanks to Obama Pacman, here's a neat (audio muted) video comparison of web browsing speed over 3G on an iPhone 4 (shown on the left) and an iPhone 3GS (shown on the right). The test was done using only mobile 3G with Wi-Fi turned off, and it shows a variety of sites using Safari in a head to head comparison. In almost all the tests, the iPhone 4 was much faster in Web browsing. When you look under the hood at the iPhone 4's 3G performance, the improved browsing speed is not much of a surprise; CNET benchmarked the 4 against the 3G (not the 3GS) and found dramatic improvement across the board. Even against the more recent 3GS, the iPhone 4 delivered stronger download performance in Andy Ihnatko and John Gruber's tests. The processor is obviously kicked up a notch as well. MacRumors, running benchmark tests, found the iPhone 4 processor to be 31% faster than the 3GS using Geekbench 2.1. The iPhone 4 came in with a 2.514 score across routine tests like memory allocation and view drawing, easily besting the 3GS at 2.298. Both were tested under iOS 4. Benchmark tests are not really analogous to real life usage, of course, but they do give a basic indication for comparison purposes. So although it probably takes more muscle to paint the screen using the iPhone 4's high-resolution Retina Display, the faster A4 chip combined with the improved network throughput (when you've got all your bars, that is) seems more than up to the task.
iPhone sales expectations lowered due to supply shortage
We've already heard that Apple is taking a risk by being low on supplies for iPhone 4, and now at least one analyst says it's too far: Shawn Wu of Kaufman Bros. is lowering his expectations for iPhone 4 sales this year. Of course, that means he's cutting expected sales from 9 million to 7.5 million (which means Apple would still make truckloads of money), but nevertheless, Wu says that "an inventory drawdown and screen supply constraints could impact near-term shipments over the next two quarters." Ouch -- that's pretty harsh by analyst standards. I think Apple was in the same boat with me on this one -- after such a successful iPad launch (and a not-bad 3GS launch last year), I didn't think that the iPhone 4 launch would provide too many issues. But from all of the anecdotal and sales data we've heard so far, it was huge -- much bigger than any of the previous iOS device launches so far. Apple's probably not worried -- 7 million phones is still plenty of phones for them. But it certainly seems, especially since a lot of stores still don't have phones ready and in stock, that they were caught off guard by demand.
devsugar: Understanding iPhone 4 backgrounding
If you're looking for a simple and easy-to-follow introduction to iPhone 4's new backgrounding abilities, head on over to Oliver Drobnik's weblog and check out his latest write-up. You'll find a lovingly crafted graphic that walks you through the iPhone application lifecycle, showing how an application reacts to system changes like incoming phone calls or users' home button presses. A small portion of the chart appears at the top of this post. Don't miss Drobnik's write-up in addition to his flowchart. I like the case he lays out for using applicationDidEnterBackground as the perfect place for saving state before giving up application control. As he points out, applicationWillTerminate will not get called in many application suspension cases. Drobnik continues to refine his write-up, so keep checking back in for last-minute tuning and updates.
iPhone 4 reception issues? A network reset might help
I know this sounds like a bit of Voodoo, but it's worth a try. If you've upgraded to the new iPhone 4 and have restored your old software, you may see what appears to be a signal drop-off. Let's stay away from the whole iPhone 4 "death grip" controversy; that aside, no matter what you do, you're not seeing as many bars or getting reception that's as good as what you had with your older iPhone. Here's something to try. On your iPhone preferences, navigate to "General," and then scroll down to the bottom where it says "Reset." Tap that, and then tap "Reset Network Settings." You'll get a warning, and the phone will reset to factory defaults. You'll likely lose some Wi-Fi passwords, but you may also find that your cellular reception gets a lot better. I have two friends who tried this, and they went from one or two bars to four or five at the same locations. This is the same trick they are doing at the Genius Bar, and my research shows that it can help in many (but not all) cases. We've talked about this fix before, but we have a lot of new readers, and some old ones, who may have missed it. There are also some discussions about this on the Apple support board. If you have seen a drop-off in reception, it's certainly worth a try. If it doesn't work, we're sorry. If it does, well, the price is right for the fix. Let us know in the comments if it helped, or sadly, if it didn't.
Pac-Man iOS 4 wallpaper just a 'video' feature away from perfection
We won't say that this is on the same level as Google's own playable Pac-Man graphic, but it's darn close. Designed to fit onto the iPhone 4's Retina Display, this Pac-Man PNG wallpaper lines up exactly to give you a glimpse of retro on each and every home pane. The only problem? There's no motion in the background, which leaves Sir Pac physically incapable of chowing down on any extra dots. Android users: this is where you stifle your evil grin and pretend that you're sympathetic.
Pair of App Store studies show Apple is the devs' choice, for now
I wouldn't have called July 4th weekend as a great time for releasing studies about in-depth App Store information, but it was certainly that, as quite a few studies came to light this weekend about how the Android and the Apple App Stores compare. First up, App Store HQ has released some information from their own database of developers indicating that Apple's iPhone still has a larger developer base than the Android platform, and while some developers have gone cross platform, most prefer to stick to one or the other. Additionally, a recent survey of mobile developers shows this may all be in due course: the majority of developers prefer the iPhone for now, but in the long run, 54% of developers polled say that Android has the best "long-term outlook." Analytics firm Distino also released a report this past weekend, about App Store offerings rather than developers, and it found that about 80% of iPad apps on the App Store were paid, with only slightly fewer for the iPhone. Google's Android market, however, has 57% of its apps listed as free, the highest percentage by far of all the mobile marketplaces tracked. That may give some indication as to why developers currently prefer the App Store -- they can make more money there, with a larger audience more ready to open the wallet. But don't count Android out -- the service is still growing (only developers from nine different countries can distribute paid apps), and as the platform becomes more viable, it seems developers will be ready to move in the future. As Appcelerator concludes, Apple's store is the current winner of developers' attention, but as soon as developers see a flexible platform with a solid userbase elsewhere, they'll happily go there. too.
