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Tag: ipad

  • iPad To The Face: How Apple Revolutionizes Sibling Rivalry

    The iPad has revolutionized the way we do a lot of things: watch movies, read books, shop online, and more. Now it looks like we can add sibling rivalry to that list. In the video below, we see a two brothers reenacting a story as old as brotherhood: the younger one wants attention, the older one is busy, so the younger one pokes and prods and pesters until the older one has enough. Watch and see how the iPad makes this ordinary encounter a little more… magical.

    Ouch.

    [Hat Tip: Macgasm]

  • Canadian Man Enters U.S. With Scanned Passport on iPad

    This certainly isn’t going to sit well with the border hawks who want to fence off the borders of the United States: a man successfully crossed the Canadian/U.S. border without presenting his passport. It starts out sounding like a bad joke but it’s completely real.

    After arriving at the border, Martin Reisch realized that he had forgotten his passport at home. Living somewhere in Canada that isn’t exactly close to the border, he didn’t feel like driving all the way back to retrieve the passport and instead gave the problem the old Jack Burton “What the hell” solution and decided to try to cross the border anyways. Instead of offering up a passport, though, Reisch produced the scanned image of his passport he had on his iPad to the border patrol guard. You gotta give the guy credit for trying to pull a fast one on the U.S. border patrol especially since much has been argued in the post-9/11 era about the security of the U.S. borders.

    Ah well. Better luck next time, Martin Reisch. Ballsy doesn’t get you across the border.

    Er, oh. Wait?

    “I figured I’d try, and in the worst case, I would have to go home,” he said Tuesday.

    Reisch, 33, said he explained his situation to the customs agent, who seemed mildly annoyed when he handed him the iPad.

    “He kind of gave me a stare, like neither impressed nor amused,” Reisch said of their exchange last Friday in southern Quebec.

    The officer took the iPad into the border office for five minutes before coming back out to give Reisch the green light and wish him happy holidays.

    “He was very nice about it,” he said of the officer.

    “I think a good part of it had to do with the fact that it was the holidays and I seem like a nice-enough person.”

    That’s what he told CTV, Canada’s largest news channel.

    Are you kidding me? Wham bam thankyouma’am and Martin Reisch is enjoying the good old U.S. of A. thanks to his trusty iPad! What the hell does that even mean? We U.S. citizens have to pay $140 for fancy, techno-coding passports with computery parts in them so that people won’t make counterfeits of them and yet a scan on an iPad blows all that precaution away. And honestly, who keeps a scan of their passport on their iPad in the first place?

    CTV didn’t receive any response from the U.S. Customers and Border Protection when they asked about the incident but they did cite the department’s policy for accepting other forms of identification other than a passport such as a Nexus pass or an enhanced driver’s license. Still, no mention of a scan of a passport on there. Would it still have worked, I wonder, if Reisch would’ve simply had a dot matrix print-out of his passport that he rendered on his iPad? Maybe I’ll just draw a chalky facsimile of my passport on a brick the next time I accidentally leave the real one at home. Should work, right?

    As if that one slip-up wasn’t enough, Reisch decided to double-dip the U.S. border patrol and used the iPad scan of his passport again when he returned to Canada later that same day. You are the winner, Martin Reisch. Indeed.

    Something tells me that Apple’s market shares in Mexico and Central America are about to explode.

    So what do you think, did the Customs Department screw the pooch on this one or should a scan of a passport on an iPad be an acceptable substitute for a required country border-crossing identification?

  • Apple To Revamp iPad Pricing (Rumor)

    Apple To Revamp iPad Pricing (Rumor)

    Rumors have been flying for several weeks about Apple’s next generation iPad. Most expect Apple to follow a similar pattern as with previous iPad launches, both in terms of device lineup and pricing. DigiTimes, however, has been insisting that Apple plans to split the line. Citing sources in the supply chain, they have repeatedly claimed that Apple will release two iPads, one to appeal to higher-end customers, and one aimed at the mid-range.

    Today, DigiTimes is offering more details about what they expect from the next iPad lineup. They claim that with the launch of the two iPad 3 models, Apple means to drop the price of the iPad 2 to $299, which would put it solidly in the middle of the price range of competing Android tablets – including the Kindle Fire. Considering that Apple currently rules the tablet market anyway, such a maneuver could put the iPad in an even stronger position against the competition.

    As to the iPad 3, the report claims that both models will have an A6 processor – the successor to the A5 chip currently in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The main difference between the two will be that the high-end model will get a retina display, while the mid-range model will get the same panel as the iPad 2.

    As always, a rumor is a rumor, and should be treated as such. While Apple splitting a product line to appeal to a wider audience is hardly without precedent – they’ve done it with most of their computer lines – it is something they’ve consistently resisted doing with iOS devices. Rumors of a mid-tier iPhone have cropped up almost every year since the original iPhone’s release. While the iPad 2 pricing rumor seems pretty likely, I still don’t buy that Apple will split the iPad 3 line.

    What do you think? Should we expect two iPad 3s, or will Apple keep doing what they’ve always done. Sound off in the comments.

  • A Software Solution For Your iPad Content Woes

    Of the many amazing and useful features of Apple’s iPad tablet, one of the best is the way it allows users to consume a variety of content in a convenient, go-anywhere format. Getting that content onto the iPad, however, has occasionally proven to be a tricky process. While videos purchased from the iTunes Store can be put on the iPad quickly and easily, getting your own content onto the device has always required a few extra steps – ripping DVDs, converting file formats to something iTunes will play nicely with, and so on. And that’s just for videos. Plenty of other processes for getting non-iTunes Store content onto your iDevice can be pretty tricky, as well. Putting your own ringtones on your iPhone, for example, is a process of several steps and usually at least two software programs, unless you want to lay out $.99 for a 30-second sound file in the iTunes Store.

    Now, a new software package from 4Media Software Studio aims to streamline the process of getting your own content onto your iDevice. The company announced this morning that they had released iPad Max Platinum. The software, which is available in both Windows and Mac versions, promises to be an all-in-one content solution for your iOS device. Features include iPhone ringtone creation, DVD ripping, downloading YouTube videos, and a host of other features. What’s more, it appears to work on copy-protected DVDs (screencaps on the DVD ripping How-To show demonstrate ripping and converting Pixar’s The Incredibles).

    iPad Max Platinum is free to download, or you can buy a license for $62.99 (normally $69.99). The descriptions on the site are a little vague as to what buying a license gets you, apart from discounts on future purchases and a few customer service perks. Considering that it’s free, it’s definitely worth a shot. Try it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

  • iPad 3 To Get Thinner Display

    Thus far most of the speculation about the iPad 3’s size has been that it would actually be thicker than its predecessor: a retina display, after all, is thicker than the display found in the iPad 2. Now, however, there are reports that Apple may have a new kind of display in the works that will allow them to put a retina display on the iPad 3 while still trimming the device down to make it as thin or thinner than the current model.

    Citing their usual sources in Apple’s supply chain, DigiTimes is reporting this morning that Apple will be adopting indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display panels for its next generation tablet. These panels are reportedly going to be manufactured by Sharp, who has contracted with apple to produce displays for Apple.

    As always, you should read any rumor with a few grains of salt close at hand. If true, however, this is a pretty interesting bit of information. Apart from the under-the-hood improvements and the addition of a couple bells and whistles – i.e., cameras and magnets for the Smart Cover – the feature of the iPad 2 that generated the most buzz was the dramatic reduction in thickness and weight over the first generation model. Making the iPad 3 as thin or thinner still, especially in light of all the speculation that it will be heavier, would be a pretty popular move for Apple.

    What do you think? Would a thinner iPad be a selling point for you? Let us know in the comments.

  • Follow-Up: Apple Not Launching Anything At MacWorld

    This morning we reported on a couple of rumors surrounding the iPad 3. One was that the next generation tablet would be getting a sizable boost in battery capacity – more than double that of the current iPad. The second was that Apple would be launching two separate iPads, and that it would be doing so at the MacWorld Expo in late January. While the first report is interesting and quite possible, I concluded that the second was unlikely in the extreme. Apple hasn’t been to MacWorld since 2009, and has no plans to attend the 2012 show.

    It seems others were skeptical, as well. Jim Dalyrimple, a respected source for Apple news, wrote on The Loop early this afternoon that he had contacted his sources at Apple, who absolutely denied that Apple would be releasing anything – iPad or iTV – at either MacWorld or CES (which Apple has never attended, and from which Microsoft just announced it was withdrawing as well).

    Now, this doesn’t mean that Apple won’t be launching an iPad 3 or an iTV, nor does it mean that they aren’t splitting the iPad line in two (though I doubt they will). It just means that they won’t be doing it at either MacWorld or CES. That, of course, should not come as a surprise. The surprise would have been if DigiTimes had been right and Apple did decide to show up at a tradeshow it abandoned two years ago.

  • Rumor: iPad 3 To Get Major Battery Upgrade

    Rumor: iPad 3 To Get Major Battery Upgrade

    There are two new rumors on the iPad 3 pile this morning: one concerning the device’s features, one concerning the release date. We’ll start with the device features.

    Battery life has long been the bane of the gadget industry. Though the iPad has been largely immune to compaints that have dogged the iPhone, everybody wants their device to have more power (insert Tim Allen grunt here, for all you children of the ‘90s). Well, it seems that the next generation iPad will be getting a hefty power-up. DigiTimes is reporting that the iPad 3’s battery capacity will be more than double that of the iPad 2. Though part of that extra power will no doubt go toward accommodating a retina display and some other bells and whistles – including Siri? – that is still a major jump in battery power. We can only hope they figure out how to cram a similar battery into the iPhone’s smaller case.

    Now, on to the release date. Earlier this month we ran a story about the possibility that Apple would release its next generation iPad in February. Then, just a few days later, we reported on a rumor that Apple’s supply chain was gearing up for an early second quarter iPad launch. Then, just a few days later there were reports that Apple was working on a second, smaller version of their device – the long-rumored iPad Mini – which they were preparing for a late second quarter 2012 launch. Today, DigiTimes is reporting that Apple is indeed working on two versions of the iPad 3, but that both will feature the current standard 9.7-inch screen (i.e., no iPad Mini). These two models, along with the continued availability of the iPad 2, will allow Apple to appeal more directly to a wider variety of potential consumers. What exactly the differences between the two are supposed to be remains unclear. The report also says that Apple will be announcing these new iPads at the MacWorld conference in late January.

    Now, a January announcement is not entirely out of the question – the first iPad was announced in January. However there are two problems: first, Apple hasn’t been to MacWorld in two years, and is not on the schedule for January, so unless Apple has some sort of secret arrangement with MacWorld, that is not likely to be the setting. Second, Apple has been consistently shortening the gap between the announcement of a new iOS device and its release. While the first iPad was announced in January 2010, it was not released until March. The iPad 2, on the other hand, was announced in late March and released in early April. The gap between announcement and release of the iPhone has narrowed in much the same way: the six months between the announcement and release of the first iPhone was reduced to a gap of less than a month with the iPhone 4S. So if the iPad doesn’t reach full production until February, a January announcement is not likely.

    Okay, then, let’s sum up: 1)the iPad 3 may be getting a major battery boost; 2)there may be (though I doubt it) two iPad 3 models being prepped for launch; 3)Apple may be (but probably isn’t) preparing for a January 2012 announcement of the iPad 3, possibly (though not probably) at MacWorld.

  • Study Finds Android Users Prefer Apps, iPhone Users Prefer Games

    Xyologic, a company specializing in app discovery and search, has released the results of a study into app preferences among iPhone and Android users. The study compared the top 150 downloads from the Android App Market in November with those from the iPhone App Store. They concluded that “iPhone is for games, Android is for apps.”

    Xyologic’s study found that 85 of the top 150 downloads in the Android App Market were apps, and the remaining 65 were games. Conversely, only 50 of the top 150 downloads in the iPhone store were apps, while 100 were games. Both stores showed a significant increase in game downloads over last year, when 79 of the top 150 in the iPhone store and only 34 in the Android App Market were games.

    At first glance, this data seems to paint an interesting picture of phone usage between iOS and Android users. There is, however, a fatal flaw in Xyologic’s methodology: they compared the top 150 Android downloads overall to the top 150 free iPhone apps. In other words, the iOS data is skewed. The data excludes two immensely important categories of apps: iPad apps, and paid apps. Xyologic compared the top 150 Android downloads overall to only one segment of App Store downloads.

    In response to a flurry of comments pointing this flaw out, Xyologic added an update to the blog post where they originally published the results:

    Please note that all the app [sic] in the Android Top 150 are free apps. Hence this is a comparison of free US Android Market apps with free US Apple App Store iPhone apps.

    This alleviates the problem somewhat, but not entirely. It still isn’t a fair comparison. They’ve still compared the top overall Android downloads to a narrow subset of iOS downloads. The fact that all the Android apps in question happen to be free is effectively a coincidence: it may just mean that Android users are less willing to pay for apps.

    While a proper comparison of the top 150 downloads in the App Market versus the App Store would certainly be interesting – and may even come to a similar conclusion – that is not what Xyologic has done. By narrowing the App Store results but not the Android results, they’ve skewed the data and tainted the results.

  • iPad 3 Redesign Rumors Pick Up Steam

    Rumors have already begun to swirl around the next generation of Apple’s iPad. Earlier this month came rumors that Apple would have the device ready to roll out in February, while other reports suggested a launch date closer to the more traditional March/April timeframe. Meanwhile, there was also an unlikely story that Apple was preparing an iPad Mini for a late 2012 release.

    Relatively few rumors so far have dealt with design features of the iPad. Reports out of China today, however, are fueling speculation about what the iPad 3 will look like. 9to5Mac is reporting that iPad 3 home buttons have been leaked from the Chinese factory where they are being produced. Although they are largely similar to the home button on the iPad 2, the difference is what is driving speculation: the structures on the underside of the button are smaller, suggesting that Apple may be trying to minimize increasing the thickness of the device which could be necessary if it incorporates the new retina display.

    The existence of the buttons also suggests that the iPad 3 is at or near large-scale production, and that the iPad will not be losing the home button. The lack of a home button on the next generation iDevice is, like the iPad Mini, one of those rumors that never dies no matter how many times it fails to pan out.

    Some iPad 3 features are very likely – Siri, a retina display, and an improved camera. Others, are possible but less likely, such as NFC integration (though don’t be surprised if you see it in next year’s iPhone). We expect to have more information about the iPad 3 revealed over the next few months.

  • Android App Brings Apple AirPlay to Google TV

    As the array of Apple devices has broadened, Apple has continually looked for ways to keep them connected to one another. One of the most recent examples of this trend is AirPlay, a feature that allows users to stream content from one device to another. For example, a video being played on an iPhone could be sent via AirPlay to an Apple TV. While Apple devices are not the only ones compatible with AirPlay, Apple has generally tried to exert a measure of control over which devices are AirPlay compatible and which are not.

    Now, however, an app called Airtight will allow Google TV users to receive content via AirPlay from their iOS devices. The app, which is $.99 in the Android App Market, allows the Google TV to become an AirPlay receiver. With the app installed on their Google TV, users will be able to stream content from their iOS devices to their television. The app is not without its limitations, however. It does not currently support streaming music, nor does it support DRM-protected content, which means that any movies you get from the iTunes Store will not play on your Google TV. The app also does not support mirroring, a process that allows users to send the screen view from their iPad to their Apple TV.

    Reviews of the app have tended to be positive, and the developers say they are looking into bringing music streaming to the app. However, mirroring and DRM playback are not likely to ever be added. Look for more interesting developments on this in the future.

    Do you have a Google TV? If so, give Airtight a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

  • Siri Comes To Older iPhones

    Siri Comes To Older iPhones

    Siri, the killer app for Apple’s latest iPhone, has finally come to older iOS devices. Thanks to Grant Paul (aka chpwn), a developer in the iOS jailbreak community, a free (and legal!) port of Siri called Spire was released late last night to the Cydia store (the App Store for jailbroken phones). The port is not quite perfect, as Siri’s servers require identifying information from an iPhone 4S. So people who want to install Spire will have to obtain identifiers from a 4S before they can get it set up on their phones. Paul has several suggestions on how to do that on his blog, where he announced the release.

    This new app capitalizes on what appears to be a pretty significant mistake by Apple. Two weeks ago we ran a story on a mysterious update to the iPhone’s operating system. Though it was eventually found to be a fix for a SIM card problem, no one was quite sure what this update – a newer build of the current iOS 5.0.1 software – was supposed to do. One thing was clear however: Apple had left the iPhone’s file system unencrypted. That meant that the jailbreak community could get to iOS’s basic files without breaking Apple’s encryption, and therefore without breaking copyright law. In effect, Apple had gift-wrapped Siri, which has been giving jailbreak developers fits since the iPhone 4S released earlier this year. The unfettered access to the file system allowed direct access to the files underlying Siri, clearing the way for the software to be ported to older iOS devices. Spire reportedly runs on a range of devices, including the iPhone 4 and the first-generation iPad.

    Here is Paul’s announcement on Twitter:

    Introducing Spire (for Siri): http://t.co/SXNJJIp6 — a simple Siri installer for all iOS 5 devices. 13 hours ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    Older iOS device users, would you jailbreak your phone to get Siri? Let us know in the comments.

  • Evernote Brings Skitch to iPad

    Evernote Brings Skitch to iPad

    Late this summer Evernote, makers of the uber-popular note taking software of the same name, announced that they were buying Skitch, the company that made an (also eponymous) image annotation app for the Mac and Android phones.

    Skitch for Mac and Android

    Today, Evernote announced that they have brought Skitch to the iPad [iTunes link]. The app is free in the iTunes App Store. The app allows users to draw and annotate on a wide variety of images – screen shots, maps, photos, the web, and more. It also includes a variety of sharing options. Users can send their work to Evernote (of course), as well as sending as email attachments or posting to Twitter. The app also allows for sharing over AirPlay

    Skitch on the iPad

    Evernote is careful to stress that they have not forgotten iPhone users. They say they have an iPhone app in the works already, but that they wanted to focus on the iPad first, as it seemed a better platform to show off the app’s capabilities.

    Skitch is free in the App Store. Take a test drive, then let us know what you think in the comments.

  • Intel Unveils First Forays Into the Smartphone and Tablet Market

    Intel has unveiled a set of reference designs for smartphones and tablets centered around their latest generation of chips. The devices run the Android operating system and sport the latest and greatest Intel chipsets, which have been specifically optimized to speed up web traffic and apps on mobile devices.

    According to Technology Review, who were apparently given the prototypes last week for review purposes, the devices are “powerful and easy to use,” comparable to the leaders in the device markets. The prototypes are a meant to be a demonstration of what Intel’s latest chips – dubbed Medfield – are capable of.

    Intel’s chips are found in a wide variety of devices, including computers, TVs, and a whole host of others. Nevertheless, the chip maker that has long reigned supreme in the personal computer market has remained woefully underrepresented in smartphones and tablets. Though Intel has chips in some Android-based phones, many smartphones use chip technology developed by, and licensed from, ARM Technology, a British tech company. The iPad 2 and iPhone 4S both use the A5 processor, a chip designed in-house by Apple and based on ARM’s technology. These new devices aim to increase Intel’s presence in the ridiculously lucrative smartphone market.

  • Apple Rumor Roundup: Big Things Coming In 2012

    The iPhone rumor mill appears to be rumbling to life once again. It’s gotten a bit of a late start this year, likely due to the later-than-usual release of the current iPhone – fall, as opposed to mid-summer. But now reports are starting to surface about across-the-board redesigns for all of Apple’s products, not just the iPhone.

    Two weeks ago we brought you a rumor that Apple was preparing a retina display iPad 3, possibly for a February launch (though probably not until later). Then came the rumor that Apple was preparing to put a retina display in its MacBook Pro notebooks. That report appears to have been confirmed – or at least supported – by the discovery of references to “HIDPI” in recent beta builds of the latest version of OS X Lion, 10.7.3.

    To this mix we can add re-vamped rumors of an iTV, and the unlikely story of a late 2012 launch of the long-rumored but never-appearing iPad mini.

    As to the iPhone, rumors have been trickling in for over a month about some of its new features. One report suggests that Sprint was preparing its LTE network for a 2012 iPhone launch, suggesting that unlike the iPhone 4S, next year’s iPhone (which should be called the iPhone 6, despite the fact that many insist on calling the iPhone 5) will be able to access the 4G LTE networks of AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Meanwhile, DigiTimes predicted late last month that Apple would be bringing NFC technology to the iPhone in 2012, a feature which had been rumored for the current-generation iPhone, but was not included.

    Finally, fuel has been added to the fire by analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray. Munster sent a note to his clients today saying that he expected significant changes in Apple’s product lineup in 2012, including a revamped “iPhone 5,” and only one third-generation iPad (i.e., no iPad Mini). Munster also said that he believes a redesign of the Mac computer line could generate tremendous amounts of revenue for Apple in 2012 and 2013.

    Munster predicts that after the changes coming in 2012, Apple will sell 142-162 million iPhones, accounting for 50% of Apple’s revenue, in 2013. He also expects 66-70 million iPad sals, 24-26 million Mac sales, and 29 million iPod sales.

    What kind of surprises do you think Apple has in store for next year? Let us know in the comments.

  • Apps for Water: App Sale Brings Clean Water To Developing Nations

    Water is something we in the US tend to take for granted. After all, we wash our dishes and fill our toilets with fresh, clean, drinkable water. In many developing countries, however, clean water is much harder to come by, and is therefore a far more valuable commodity. There are a number of charities devoted to helping people in these countries gain better and more reliable access to drinkable water. Once such charity is the simply-named charity: water.

    charity: water

    Today – and today only – a special sale aims to raise money for charity: water by donating the proceeds from the sale of several apps to the non-profit organization. Apps for Water is a special fundraiser sponsored by Gaucho Software, a developer of Mac and iOS apps. Today only all proceeds from sales of the apps go to charity: water. The sale includes nearly 220 apps from dozens of developers. The apps come in all shapes and sizes and span Apple’s platforms – there are Mac apps and iPhone apps and iPad apps. They range in price from $0.99 to $63.99.

    Mac Apps for Water

    iOS Apps for Water

    Do some good with your app purchases today, and tell us about it in the comments.

  • Google To Challenge Apple With New Tablet

    In an interview published today in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (Google Translation) Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke fondly of Steve Jobs, praising his creativity and genius, and called the iPad an amazing and revolutionary product. Schmidt also told the paper, however, that Apple and Google remain rivals, and that the competition between the two companies would continue. To that end, he announced that Google was working on a “tablet of the highest quality” that would rival Apple’s iPad. He also hinted at exciting things coming in the smartphone market as “brutal competition” would continue between Apple and Google.

    Schmidt also confirmed a rumor we reported on last week told the paper that Google was preparing a system capable of competing with Siri, the killer app of Apple’s iPhone 4S. Schmidt declined to offer any further details of Google’s new tablet apart from the six month time frame.

    While Google-branded smartphones have generally been only a small portion of broader Android market, they have consistently done well. Their most recent entry, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, released late last week to much fanfare and even lines outside Verizon stores. In the tablet market, however, Google has been rather less fortunate. Samsung has delivered what many regard as the best Android tablet available, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Google’s one attemptt at a Google-branded device, the Motorola Xoom, did not fare well at all. A new tablet, perhaps with the Nexus branding, could be a welcome addition to the tablet market. The question remains, however, whether it will be able to knock the iPad off its lofty perch. While there have been a slew of Android-based tablets released since the first iPad’s launch in April of 2010, none has come close to being a true rival to Apple’s tablet. It seems Eric Schmidt hopes to change that by taking Google into the tablet market again.

    Can Google make a real iPad rival? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

  • Latest iOS Update Fixes SIM Card Bug

    Latest iOS Update Fixes SIM Card Bug

    Last week we brought you the news that Apple had released an update to their iPhone operating system. The update, which was released without much fanfare late on Thursday, was not the looked-for iOS 5.1, nor even iOS 5.0.2, as one might expect. Instead, the software is a new build of the current software, iOS 5.0.1. This meant that instead of going out to all iPhone users, the update has to be deliberately applied. At the time the big story was the fact that Apple had, accidentally or otherwise, left the file system unencrypted. This allowed free access to the software underlying Siri, which in turned paved the way for members of the jailbreak community to port Siri to older phones without breaking Apple’s encryption, and therefore without violating copyright.

    Today, however, it has become apparent that there was more to the update than handing Siri to the jailbreak community. According to an article on Apple’s support page, the update apparently fixes an issue with the iPhone 4S failing to recognize its micro-SIM card. Since the iPhone 4S released, some users have been encountering an error where the phone reports that it either has an invalid SIM card or no SIM card at all, or else the status bar shows a lack of service in a well-covered area. The issue appears to have been experienced by a fairly small percentage of users, though for them it was a significant problem. When showing the “No SIM” message, users could not access data networks or make phone calls, essentially reducing their iPhone to a glorified iPod Touch. The latest build of iOS 5.0.1 is apparently designed to fix the issue.

    No SIM Error

    The support page directs users backup and then restore their devices via iTunes, a process which should update the build of their iOS software. There is no word on how effective the update is for those who were having the problem. Many solved the issue by having their SIM replaced, and it is unclear whether Apple has specifically alerted users to the software fix. Meanwhile, the issue created by the unencrypted file system remains. Look for another update in the near future – either iOS 5.0.2 or 5.1 – to re-lock that particular door.

    Restore iPhone

  • Scrivener Coming to iPad and iPhone

    Scrivener Coming to iPad and iPhone

    Literature and Latte announced over the weekend that they had begun development of an iOS version of their writing software, Scrivener. The app is still only in its early development stage at this point, though it is apparently about to enter the design phase. The company does not give any kind of release date, saying only that they hope to have the app available “some time in 2012.”

    Scrivener on the iPad

    Since its original release as a Mac app several years ago, Scrivener has become wildly popular among writers of all stripes – novelists, journalists, script writers, academics, and more. Scrivener 2 released last year, bringing a Windows version with it, along with several new features. The new folder sync feature allowed users to edit Scrivener-created content via one of a handful of iOS text editing apps. The process left much to be desired, though, and calls to release an iOS version began almost immediately.

    There is no word at this point on how much the app will cost, or on whether it will be a universal app or have separate versions for iPhone and iPad. Considering that the desktop version of the software is $45, a free iOS app is unlikely, though we can at least hope for a universal app. An update to the original blog post says that an Android version of the software “is on our radar too,” but that the current focus is on iOS, and they plan to look more closely at an Android version late next year, presumably after the iOS release.

    Fans of the software took to Twitter to express their excitement.

    Apple’s Pages App will have some serious competition next year. Scrivener is developing for iOS in 2012. http://t.co/3XiMnS3i 3 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    OMG They are making Scrivener for iOS!!!!!!!!!!! 1 day ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    Scrivener are developing an iOS app. Yay, at last!!! http://t.co/0JXaAKR4 2 days ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

    Fans of Scrivener, are you excited for an iOS version? Let us know in the comments.

  • Visualize Population Growth With The AAAS Science Population App

    Science-loving non-profit organization The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s biggest general scientific group with over 125,000 members. Their journal, Science, is the largest general science journal around and is a go-to place for research, articles and news.

    Now they’ve put part of this into a new iPad app, one that focuses on an issue facing the world as a whole: population growth.

    The app focuses on education surrounding the issue of population growth, and how the expanding population impacts specific areas of the world in terms of economics and health.

    The app contains peer-reviewed research, articles, videos, podcasts and interactive features like graphs and tables. Some of these interactive elements allow users to look at population growth over time, in specific corners of the Earth.

    Here are some examples of the types of articles, research and podcasts you’ll have access to with the new app:


    Are More People Necessarily a Problem? – As world population surges, debate surrounds studies suggesting that population growth can have economic and environmental benefits.

    Regional Snapshots – Science has created several “snapshots,” to capture some of the demographic trends that set countries and regions apart.

    India’s Demographic Change: Opportunities and Challenges – A review of emerging demographic patterns and the opportunities and challenges they present to India.

    Stories and insights on the graying of world population, the future of cities, the role of education, and much more.

    There are over 7 billion people on the planet and counting. As this number rises, we have to consider the impact it will have in both a regional and global sense. If you have some time over the holidays for a (predominantly) educational app, try this one out. The app is currently available in the App Store for $4.99.

  • Samsung Drops One Suit Against Apple, Files Two More

    There was a flurry of activity today on the German front of the Apple-Samsung patent war. Samsung dropped one of their suits upon learning that Apple might be shielded by a licensing agreement it holds with Qualcomm. Among the products protected by the Qualcomm license is the iPhone 4S.

    Not inclined to let Apple get off too easily, though, Samsung filed a suit over four more patents. Three of them are fairly technical in nature, but the third deals with an “emoticon input method for mobile terminal.” That’s right, among other things, Samsung is suing Apple over a smiley. The four new patents were originally added as amendments to an existing suit, but Apple filed to have them divided, creating two new separate suits.

    The news was tweeted out this morning by patent expert Florian Mueller, who was present at the hearings:

    News from Mannheim: today Samsung sued Apple over four more patents here. 2 FRAND patents, 2 unencumbered ones. 10 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Other news from Mannheim: Samsung has formally given up attacking the iPhone 4S with 3G patents. Recognizes Apple is licensed thru Qualcomm. 10 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

  • Apple Brings Chip Manufacturing Closer to Home

    Apple’s A5 processor, the chip that lies at the heart of all the company’s latest iOS devices, has historically been made where nearly all of Apple’s components are made: Asia. Apple contracts with several Asian companies for many of the components for its products. Chinese company Foxconn, for example, is responsible for assembling most of Apple’s gadgets. Several Japanese companies are responsible for other parts as well. In fact, there has been much speculation that the delay in the release of this year’s iPhone 4S was due in large part to the tsunami’s influence on production from Japanese plants.

    For its processors, Apple has long contracted with Korean-based Samsung. Historically, Samsung has manufactured its components overseas, mainly in Korea. Recently, however, the company that manufactures the chips has invested in a multi-billion dollar facility in Austin, Texas and have moved production of the component there.

    In the peculiar way that large companies have of working together, Apple has remained one of the electronics giant’s biggest customers, despite the ongoing legal feud between the two over Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Galaxy phones. Samsung has supplied Apple with the A5 chip since the launch of the iPad 2, the first device to carry it, earlier this year. At the same time, Samsung has been in fierce competition with Apple. Its Android-based Galaxy devices – especially the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the just-launched Galaxy Nexus, are widely regarded as some of the strongest competition for Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices.

    The facility, which cost roughly $3.6 billion and is expected to reach full production soon, is devoted almost entirely to the manufacture of Apple’s A5 chips, which are currently to be found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The chip, which has double the speed of its predecessor, the A4, was designed in-house by Apple.

    [Source: Reuters]