The next-generation iPad mini device that’s been rumored for just about as long as the iPad’s been out on its own has once again been suggested to be coming this October, with a set of invites being sent on the 10th of this month. The event invites have been tipped by a source speaking with CNN who they say also just happens to be a major Apple investor. This source supposedly spoke with “multiple sources”, each saying that the invites would be sent on the 10th, the event would be on the 17th, and the iPad mini would be shipped on November 2nd (a Friday).
This rumor holds true to the notes over the past few weeks that said a “second” Apple event would be held after the iPhone 5 event in which iTunes would be more of a focus. This event, they said, would likely reveal the iPad mini as well as a collection of iPod devices. As it turned out, the iPods came up right alongside the iPhone 5, leaving this next event to hold the iPad mini and a possible iPad refresh – perhaps one called the iPad Air.
This iPad Air rumor has turned up in analysis more often than it has in tips and leaks, the suggestion being that the current iPad’s Retina quality display and giant battery could be down-graded somewhat to bring what’s essentially an iPad 2 set of specifications with the new 8-pin docking port included on the device. The iPad mini is being suggested to have similar specifications, with a screen resolution the same as the iPad 2 but smashed into a smaller 7.85-inch display.
The smaller device will be set to be released with a lower price, of course, competing then with the mini-tablet segment that’s cropped up over the past year. Have a peek at the iPad mini timeline below to see more suggestions on its innards, release dates, and price. Also note that this device has not been confirmed nor denied by Apple in any way.
The iPhone 5 has been out for a little over a week now, and we’ve already seen some issues arise. Of course, the Apple Maps debacle was certainly up there and caused a lot of frustration for users. However, on the carrier end, some Verizon users are reporting that 3G data has been active even when WiFi is enabled. Verizon has now issued a fix for this.
Verizon Wireless has released a carrier settings update that resolves an issue in which the iPhone 5 uses 3G data while the device is connected to a WiFi network. Verizon says this was only happening to a handful of users and would only occur in certain circumstances, but that was enough to release a fix.
To apply the update, follow these steps:
1. Go to Settings > General > About.
2. Wait for the carrier update alert to appear (pictured above).
3. Tap OK to install the update.
After the update is done downloading and installing, it’s important that you completely turn the device off and turn it back on again in order to complete the update. After your iPhone 5 starts back up, go to Settings > General > About, and then scroll down to Carrier and verify that “Verizon 13.1″ is displayed. If so, the update installed correctly.
Some users were even complaining about how their 3G connection would kick in instead of WiFi while in sleep mode. This was normal behavior in iOS 5, since WiFi was automatically switched off in sleep mode to save battery life, and was only switched on when needed. However, it looks like that has changed in iOS 6 — Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to kick on when needed anymore, and instead just stays off completely in sleep mode, making the 3G connection do all the work.
With the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, we’re sure that there are many iOS users out there who are itching to have their devices jailbroken. Unfortunately if that describes your current situation, you might be in for a wait. This was revealed by none other than pod2g during the JailbreakCon 2012 where he stated that there is no working untethered jailbreak available for iOS 6 yet. In case some of you guys came across a photo of a jailbroken iPhone 5 (pictured above), that is apparently what is known as a “failbreak” and is actually a version available only to developers which means that it is by no means suitable for regular folks like you and me. No word on when an untethered jailbreak will be available for iOS 6 or the iPhone 5, although it has been suggested that we could be waiting for months, so until then for those who want a jailbroken iOS device, you will need to downgrade back to iOS 5.1.1.
Apple’s App Store has more smartphone apps than those of its competitors. But the sheer size of the library is not the only source of consternation for Google or Microsoft, which would both readily concede that it’s also important to obtain the kind of key apps, optimized apps and platform-first apps the iPhone enjoys. The iPhone’s commanding marketplace lead is due to several factors. These include the huge number and historical affluence of its users and the ease of its App Store.
The iPhone, though, was not the first phone to have apps. In fact, in its early days, it didn’t have apps at all as the company urged developers to create optimized web apps for the platform similar to what Mozilla is now advocating for its streamlined mobile operating system Boot2Gecko. Apple originally put its efforts into creating archetypical apps for tasks such as calling, browsing, email and mapping. Rather than open the iPhone to third-party developers at first, it handpicked partners for various features, such as Google for maps and Yahoo for weather and stocks.
The Facebook environment on iOS for iPhone has been bumped upward once again with the Messenger app grabbing an update with a whole new user interface. If you’re the type of person who loves to message back and forth with friend via Facebook and have never tried the stand-alone app for iOS, now’s a better time than ever before! You’ll be getting favorites integration, better performance than with any version that’s come before, and the whole thing just looks a bit better – as it always does each time it’s updated.
This update brings both the iPhone and the iPod touch up to a new generation while the iPad will just have to wait a bit longer. On that note, you might also want to note that this version still does not include one of the only plusses that the Android version has over iOS: in-app SMS messaging integration from the rest of your phone. You’ve got a fully updated user interface here that does bring the app up to the already lovely looking Android version of the app, but SMS integration still does not exist.
It’s odd then that recent reports have Facebook developers being forced to use Android devices until their main Android app is up to snuff – or at least up to the quality that the iPhone version is. It would appear that the Messenger app does not live in the same universe. This version of the app is optimized for iOS 6 as well, and will be making full use of your iPhone 5 screen size.
The favorites list will more than likely be your most-loved feature here, with everyone’s massive cross-section of friends, colleagues, and business contacts quite often lending itself to a less than optimal friend-finding experience. Add your buddies to a smaller list and make the whole thing streamlined! This app is available for download or update in the iTunes app store right this minute – grab it now!
I’m an Android user. I love my Samsung Galaxy S III. So why am I punching my details into the iPhone 5 reservation site every day? For the past week or so I’ve been using a borrowed iPhone 5, tracking how it holds up – and where it falls short – to the Android experience I’ve grown accustomed to. During that time I’ve been frustrated by Maps, impressed by the camera, and generally had my expectations of iOS shaken up some. It’s always good to mix up the status-quo every so often, too, and along the way remember that there’s more than one way to skin a metaphorical cellular cat.
Vincent’s already comprehensively reviewed the iPhone 5, so I won’t retread old ground where it’s not necessary. Suffice to say, the general reviewer consensus is that it’s the best iPhone to-date, and Apple’s announced sales figures certainly suggest that the buying public agrees.
As I’ve said before, I split my geek life mainly between Android and Apple. I use a MacBook and I have a new iPad, but I also use a Nexus 7 and my regular phone is a Galaxy S III. I love OS X for its simplicity (and I love the new Retina MacBook Pro for its build quality, excellent display, and design) but I’ve had mixed results with iOS. The limits on things like inter-app sharing are a frustration in comparison to Android, and Apple’s comparatively locked down ecosystem overall – though making for a very consistent user-experience – have left me feeling more at home with Google’s platform.
The iPhone 5 is the first Apple handset that has made me consider switching, however. Part of that is the industrial design; while there are many people disappointed that Apple has ditched the glass back panel of the 4/4S, I much prefer the crisp metal of the newest model. It’s a device which you simply must hold in order to appreciate: the perfect alignment and slick finish (assuming yours didn’t get scratched up in transit), and the balance of lightweight feel yet a phone which still feels solid in your hand.
“The 4-inch screen instantly feels correct”
Even though it’s been stretched out in comparison to its predecessors, the 4-inch screen and the longer form-factor instantly feel correct. The old iPhone looks squat and blunted in comparison now. It’s not just an aesthetic boon, though, and flipping between the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S III, I was struck by just how large and, occasionally, unwieldy the Samsung’s sizable screen is. Conversely, there were times where I was browsing, and the iPhone 5 still felt cramped when viewing full sites where the same content looked bright, readable, and bold on the Galaxy S III.
Nothing prepares you for how tactile the iPhone 5 is, however. I found myself picking it up and toying with it – automatically reaching for it when I was in-between writing articles, for instance, or just while watching TV. Not even necessarily turning it on, though the quality of the display and the smoothness of iOS 6 makes flicking through apps a somewhat mesmerizing experience. The simple cohesiveness and immediacy of the UI animations is enough to convince you that there’s a lot to be said for perfectly matching homegrown software with homegrown silicon, as Apple has done with iOS and the A6 chipset.
Still, iOS 6 isn’t all good. The “over 200 new features” Apple has touted of the latest release is an eye-catching figure, certainly, but in practice it’s tough to identify more than a couple of changes over previous versions. Some of those, like the switch from Google Maps to Apple’s version, are effectively a step backwards, too. The learning curve for existing users is small, then, for the iPhone 5, but the platform is also beginning to feel tired and maybe even stagnant. Why can I share photos via email or Twitter from the gallery, but not Google+? Why is there no “new email” notification when the phone is locked, despite most other apps getting the opportunity to slot alerts onto the lockscreen? Why, if even Apple admits that Maps isn’t ideal, can I not set a third-party alternative as the default for opening addresses?
iOS helped pave the way for a more user-friendly breed of mobile devices, but in many ways Android and Windows Phone have surpassed it in imagination. Part of that might be Apple’s reluctance to leave anybody behind along the way: as Jony Ive said of the iPhone 5 design changes, Apple didn’t want to evolve the appearance of the smartphone simply for the sake of doing so. There’s certainly something to be said for familiarity and sticking with what works, but there’s a faint whiff of laziness around Apple’s approach: a sense of “why do too much when people will buy it in droves anyway.”
Maybe that’s unduly cynical, and what new features do stand-out are generally solid. The panoramic photo system may not be the first such example in a smartphone, but the quality of the final shots is highly impressive. Put Siri – finally becoming of some use outside of the US with the recent functional additions – next to Samsung’s S Voice and the clunkiness of the Galaxy S III’s system is obvious. I’ve not had a chance to try LTE – I was using Vodafone‘s network, still on 3G here in the UK as there’s no commercial 4G service to be had – but battery life proved impressively lengthy.
Maps, then, is the fly in the ointment, and though US-based reviewers have had less of a struggle, outside of the US the situation seems considerably worse. Dodgy data is only part of it, though; Apple may have added turn-by-turn navigation, and I can do without Street View, but the absence of public transport directions is, for a city-dweller without a car like myself, a deal-breaker. I’m not the only one, either. Over the past week I’ve spoken to confused tourists and frustrated cab drivers, none of whom have been particularly impressed with Apple’s own mapping tool.
“Apple has the opportunity to do something interesting in the location space”
Maps will undoubtedly improve – and I do believe that Apple has the opportunity to do something genuinely interesting in the location space, though a combination of gamification and crowdsourcing, and in the process refine its data considerably – but it will have left a lot of users with burnt fingers and lingering suspicions of the native app. Those days I didn’t double up and bring the Samsung with me too, I relied on the excellent Nokia Maps in the browser (with a homescreen shortcut so as to pretend as much as possible that it was a native app).
So why am I considering buying an iPhone 5? Put simply, it’s faults can be addressed with software tweaks – invisibly on the server-side, in the case of Maps, so that for users the experience simply gets better – and its strengths, such as build quality, design, camera capabilities, and battery life, are all undeniable. Plus there’s a whole lot to be said for phones with top-spec components but with more mid-scale displays: 4-inches is a sweet spot that’s overlooked by rival flagships, and usually if you want a handset of a similar size, you have to make do with lower resolution screen hardware, underwhelming specifications, or mediocre aesthetics. Huge displays are eye-catching, certainly, and they do make things like browsing far more immersive, but they come with compromises too.
Question is, will I be carrying the iPhone 5 alone, or will it have to share my attentions with the Galaxy S III? The likelihood is that I’ll be relying on two devices; I’m also considering pairing iPhone 5 and the Nexus 7, though even at 7-inches the Google tablet is less than ideal for bag-less travel. So, two phones it is; that makes me an outlier, yes, but that I’d even consider it having been so satisfied with Android until now is evidence of the step forward the iPhone 5 has taken. It’s not perfect, but it does enough – and well enough – to finally earn a place in my pocket.
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology to users of the company’s new Maps app. A good portion of the letter addressed the different alternatives that users could take advantage of while Apple was busy improving their own maps. The company is now making it even more convenient to download and install a maps app that isn’t Apple’s own.
The iTunes App Store now has a special “featured” section where Apple has gathered up all of its recommended maps apps into one place, which makes it handy for those looking to get away from the company’s own mapping solution. Some of the apps that they recommend are MotionX, Waze, Mapquest, and TeleNav.
In Cook’s letter, he also mentioned using web apps from Nokia and Google. Apple’s website details how to add shortcuts to these web apps to your iPhone’s home screen. It simply involves tapping the “Share” button in Safari, then tapping “Add to Home Screen”, giving the shortcut a name, and hit “Add”.
All of this is certainly a classy move by Apple, and it’s probably one of the few times that Apple is recommending using an alternative to one of its own apps. I’m sure third-party mapping solutions are seeing an increase in usage as we speak. One company’s misfortune is another company’s fortune.
Buried within Tim Cook’s apology for the embarrassment that is Apple Maps was the candid suggestion that people go try the many other map applications and websites out there. Well, now Apple has gone one step further, adding a whole featured section to the App Store for maps from third party developers. That’s a big on Apple’s part. Now maybe get your own maps working better? [MacRumors] More »
A lovely bit of news mixed with a bit of a downer for the first owners of the iPhone 5 has come down today from the NYPost where they’ve got an inside track on deals between Apple and Sony/ATV for streaming music rights. It appears that though Apple had been working on a competitor for the most popular streaming music radio app Pandora, but ran into a last-minute snag in negotiations with Sony/ATV. The Sony/ATV group is the world’s largest music publisher and is currently in the process of buying EMI Music Publishing, this eventually placing them in control of 2 million copyrights that span the globe.
Apple’s negotiations with Sony/ATV were reportedly down to the per-song rights fees which Sony/ATV asked to be higher than the standard tenths of a penny per stream standard. The NYPost also noted this week that “executives close to the matter” have said Sony/ATV will be pulling out of the two main copyright associations Ascap and BMI by January of 2013. If they do indeed pull out of these groups, licensing songs by businesses across the map will be more difficult as they’ll have to go through Ascap/BMI as well as Sony/ATV instead of working with a one-stop-shop, as it were.
Apple’s service would act as a main competitor for Pandora as it would be able to lower costs between free streams and final song purchases as they’ve already got a music store that can facilitate purchases. With iTunes, Apple is already a massively beastly music-toting group, but with a free radio streaming service that could give a more “human” way to the music discovery process, they could move on to a new level.
When word that a Pandora competitor was in the works for the iPhone 5 earlier this year, Pandora company stocks dropped significantly. This new news source notes that “They didn’t put whatever they needed to put in the app,” and that “It seems they were rushed into it.” This same source notes that music streaming from Apple on devices like the iPhone 5 is still a possibility for a software update months in the future – stay alert!
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With the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, we’re sure that there are many iOS users out there who are itching to have their devices jailbroken. Unfortunately if that describes your current situation, you might be in for a wait. This was revealed by none other than pod2g during the JailbreakCon 2012 where he stated that there is no working untethered jailbreak available for iOS 6 yet. In case some of you guys came across a photo of a jailbroken iPhone 5 (pictured above), that is apparently what is known as a “failbreak” and is actually a version available only to developers which means that it is by no means suitable for regular folks like you and me. No word on when an untethered jailbreak will be available for iOS 6 or the iPhone 5, although it has been suggested that we could be waiting for months, so until then for those who want a jailbroken iOS device, you will need to downgrade back to iOS 5.1.1.
