Hasta La Gadget!

This morning the folks at AT&T have made it clear that they will indeed be blocking Apple’s FaceTime usage over their 3G network unless users switch to their new data plan, and have defended this move with a reiteration of an FCC rule on the subject. The FCC has a rule in place that keeps carriers from blocking applications that compete with their own – but because AT&T does not have an application that competes with FaceTime, they’ve made it clear that they feel justified in this situation. AT&T representative Bob Quinn spoke up today with assurances that criticism of this move by the carrier is nothing more than a “knee jerk reaction” on the part of users.

Since AT&T does not have a “similar preloaded video chat app” that would make the FCC look twice at their blocking of Apple’s FaceTime, they’re attempting to make users sign up for their new shared data plan structure. This applies to people using the iPhone, for example, with a grandfathered data plan attempting to work with FaceTime over 3G. AT&T’s move is perfectly legitimate, says Quinn.

“The FCC’s net neutrality rules do not regulate the availability to customers of applications that are preloaded on phones. Indeed, the rules do not require that providers make available any preloaded apps. Rather, they address whether customers are able to download apps that compete without voice or video telephony services.” – Quinn

He added that FaceTime does of course still work over Wi-fi, but are indeed “subject to some reasonable restrictions.” All pre-loaded video chat applications that have appeared on phones carried by AT&T have always been restricted to Wi-fi. AT&T’s new shared data plan is as follows, for those of you not familiar with the change that occurred several weeks ago.

With the rise of the new iPhone (aka the iPhone 5, if you prefer), we’ll be seeing the operating system iOS 6 which allows FaceTime over 3G. Quinn noted that once that operating system is in place, AT&T will be in “learning mode” in seeing how the app will affect their 3G network. In other words, plans may change again!

[via AT&T]

AT&T defends blocking 3G FaceTime with FCC rule wording is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re an iPhone owner, you may want to use good judgment before responding to any out-of-the-blue text messages in the near future. French jailbreak developer and security researcher pod2g finds that every iPhone firmware revision, even iOS 6 beta 4, is susceptible to a flaw that theoretically lets a ne’er-do-well spoof the reply address of outbound SMS messages. As Apple is using the reply-to address of a message’s User Data Header to identify the origin rather than the raw source, receiving iPhone owners risk being fooled by a phishing attack (or just a dishonest acquaintance) that poses as a contact or a company. A proof of concept messaging tool is coming to the iPhone soon, but pod2g is pushing for an official solution before the next iOS version is out the door. We’ve asked Apple for commentary and will get back if there’s an update. In the meantime, we wouldn’t panic — if the trickery hasn’t been a significant issue since 2007, there isn’t likely to be a sudden outbreak today.

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone reportedly vulnerable to text message spoofing flaw originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Right now, Apple claims that iOS 5 is the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and I do not suppose that the majority of you out there do agree to such a statement – where most of you would be toting an iOS-powered device, of course. Well, it does seem that iOS 6 is going to rock with the latest word on its ‘Wi-Fi plus Cellular’ setting found in the latest iOS 6 beta. Assuming there is a weak Wi-Fi signal which prevents you from running certain apps on an iOS 6-powered device, you might need to make the necessary change to rely on cellular connectivity – but not so with the latest beta release of iOS 6, where there is an option under settings in the General/Cellular control panel, allowing you to choose ‘Wi-Fi Plus Cellular’.

The whole idea behind this option is to let the device switch to cellular connectivity automatically whenever it detects a weak Wi-Fi signal in the vicinity. It remains to be seen whether this feature will be retained for the final polished version of iOS 6, or will it remain in developer’s land only for the time being.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: 9-pin dock connector revealed in iOS 6 beta?, iOS 6 scales to match iPhone 5 resolution?,

If you have an iPhone, hopping on a wi-fi network is good when you want to connect to an AirPlay device, or wi-fi based storage device, or save some battery. But if the actually internet connection is really crappy or non-existent, that means you’re essentially cut off from the world (unless you’re trying to talk). But a new feature discovered by Apple Insider in the latest iOS 6 beta fixes that. More »

There has been plenty of stories surrounding iOS 6 for some time now, including support for Spotify, in addition to scaling iOS 6′s resolution to match the next generation iPhone, not to mention delivering 3D maps to new cities. Of course, who can forget that YouTube too, will no longer be part of iOS 6′s genetic makeup? Well, the latest information concerning iOS 6 beta which was sent to developers also indicated the possibility of a 9-pin dock connector in the next generation iPhone.

With this new connection, you can be more or less guaranteed that one would make it impossible to have it work with existing speakers, docks, and chargers without relying on an conversion adapter. Are you one of the many millions who are extremely excited to see just what the new iPhone is going to bring to the fore? How many of you already have plans to save up for one of these puppies?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iOS 6 scales to match iPhone 5 resolution?, Apple zooms in on iOS 6 in-app purchase bug,