Hasta La Gadget!

Google has updated Google Maps on the web with Street View functionality, allowing iPhone 5 and other iOS 6 users to again access the street-level photography missing from Apple’s own Maps app. The new feature, which Google confirmed was incoming late last month, works on the iPhone and iPad, adding a Street View icon to the toolbar at the bottom of the page.

Clicking that button brings up a new tab in the iOS browser with Street View photography. Navigation is via the usual arrow buttons, with floating street names and other details overlaid; closing the tab returns you to the regular map.

Interestingly, loading up maps.google.com in Android does not bring up the same Street View icon. Instead, users of Android phones and tablets need to go to the dedicated Google Maps app to access the service. [Update: You can in fact access Street View in the Android browser version, but you need to drop a pin on the map first; the Street View icon does not show up by default as it does in the iOS browser] Google has said that it is working on a Google Maps for iOS app, though that isn’t expected to be released until later in the year.

As well as apologizing for the poor reception of Maps, Apple has also made it straightforward for iOS 6 users to use alternative mapping providers. There is now a featured section for recommended downloads from the App Store, including MotionX, Waze, Mapquest, and TeleNav, while Apple also suggested adding homescreen shortcuts to Google Maps or Nokia Maps as web-based alternatives.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Google Maps for iOS browser adds Street View is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week it appears that the iPad mini – a device not yet confirmed by Apple – has had details leaked by none other than accessory makers Cygnett in a couple of cases released to a storefront in Australia. Normally this sort of thing would be mentionable, but it’s generally a small brand that makes a point of showing off their pre-release device cases – in this case, a big brand like Cygnett would never show off cases early because such a reveal would be looked upon by Apple as a major breach of trust. As it stands, if these cases are indeed real, Cygnett may be in a load of trouble.

What we’re seeing here is a case that seems to confirm several of the details that we’ve head about before on the iPad mini. First, the name – iPad mini will be the name of the device if these cases are legit, and they do appear to be. Second, the case is 20 cm long by 13 cm wide, 9 inches diagonally. The case is also approximately 1 cm deep, this and the rest of the specifications leading toward a general understanding of how large the iPad mini will be.

The man from ProductFeedback that found the case drew up an iPad mini device on paper with the same border around a prospective display that the iPad currently has. Though this doesn’t match up with the product models that have been “leaked” thus far, it does yield an interesting final display size: 7 inches. This creates a device with a 19:6 aspect ratio and a device that’s essentially a squished iPad as it exists today.

Have a peek at the timeline below showing several other iPad mini bits and pieces, and know this: if Apple does indeed send out invitations on the 10th of this month, as it’s also been tipped, and the event is on the 17th, the device could be out in stores by the end of the month. Would you pick up an iPad mini here in the Autumn of 2012 to go along with your brand new iPhone 5? Let us know!

[via Muhammad Skaka]

iPad Mini details leaked by Cygnett cases is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s iOS 6 operating system has been out on the market for almost two weeks now, and already we’re seeing 60% of iPhone users making the leap to the updated version. iPad owners are coming in second with a 45% adoption rate, and the iPod Touch is lagging behind with just 39% of owners updating to iOS 6.

These numbers come to us from advertising and research firm Chitika, where they tracked millions of mobile ad impressions coming out of their ad network from September 18 to October 1. The adoption rate of iOS 6 was then split up by iOS device and compared to the total iOS web usage.

iOS 6 has seen a pretty fast adoption rate so far. In its first 24 hours of availability, the new OS was installed on 15% of iDevices. Not only is the adoption rate quick, but users are updating to iOS 6 faster than ever. To be exact, users were updating to iOS 6 122% faster than iOS 5 during the first two days of release. It seems users have a lot of faith in the new update despite Apple Maps.

While iPod Touch users have been slow to adopt iOS 6 according to the numbers, lets not forget that almost half of all iPod Touch models aren’t able to update to iOS 6 — first and second generation iPod Touches are stuck at iOS 4. With that said, 39% is actually a pretty respectable number, and there’s still a lot of new features that third and fourth generation iPod Touch users can take advantage of.

[via GigaOM]

iOS 6 adoption now at 60% for iPhones, iPod Touch lagging behind is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We talked about the presence of a cellular bug in iOS 6 which actually consumed precious cellular data even when one is connected to a Wi-Fi network, and while it seems that Verizon Wireless had already fixed that issue, there are users of the iPhone 5 on AT&T who also complain of the same thing happening to them, including others who have upgraded to iOS 6 while using older iPhone models and the iPad tablet. Of course, none of these have been proven in black and white just yet, remaining in the realm of anecdotal reports, although there is a growing number of users who are absolutely convinced that AT&T has been charging them for cellular data even when they are hooked up over to a Wi-Fi network.

If this be true, does it mean that the cellular bug itself is an issue with iOS 6, the operating system itself, instead of being narrowed down to carrier problems or even hardware (the iPhone 5 in this case)? We do hope that companies start to step forward and issue official statements concerning the situation, otherwise things might take a turn for the worse.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iOS 6 WiFi issues persist?, iOS 6 has Wi-Fi bug that has apparently been fixed,

There’s a clause in the iOS developer guidelines listing that has reportedly been added on the 12th of September that may well have far-reaching effects on the way game and app creators find cash outside the iTunes app store. This note says that “Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.” Bad news for those that come in to the iTunes app store with a free offering hoping to spur purchases for themselves in stores outside Apple’s own.

With this ruling, Apple is attempting to stop users from working with the free app model only to lead users away from iTunes to purchase other wares. This solution has critics suggesting that Apple will stop at nothing to keep their ecosystem in-house. This solution also has detractors saying that such a rule will not serve Apple well, saying that anyone who was already set up to work with non-iTunes apps would already also have been looking outside the app store for their own content one way or another.

It’s been suggested that this rule will shut down services such as TouchArcade because of their presentation, showing apps in a manner similar to iTunes. It would seem though that the rule instead suggests that developers not try to trick users into believing that purchases from their own site are actually from iTunes when they’re not. TouchArcade shows apps in a way that iTunes would have a problem with – but only if they didn’t link directly back to iTunes, not another shop.

The folks at Pocketgamer.BIZ suggest that the rule was put into place on the 25th instead of the 12th – we shall see! For those of you wondering how this will affect the non-developers of us out there – it will likely only have a good effect, especially if you’re not a jailbreaking citizen. Those of you outside the traditional Apple-approved system of app distribution will be having to use those un-official search engines for real this time around.

[via Daring Fireball]

Apple axes in-app ads for non-iTunes stores is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.