Hasta La Gadget!

iPhone 5 owners have been waiting patiently for any kind of jailbreak to come their way, but it’s proving to be a Herculean task for dev teams, since the iPhone 5 has a completely new chip as well as a completely new operating system. However, a member of the Chronic Dev Team announced that a full tethered jailbreak is close to being done.

The only catch is that you need a developer account in order to run the tethered jailbreak for now, which is obviously not good news for regular users who are dying to jailbreak their devices. However, the good news is that with the accomplishment of a tethered jailbreak, an untethered jailbreak is just around the corner.

However, we’re not sure how long it will take to break out of the requirements of needing a developer account. However, a developer-only untethered jailbreak will at least open the door for an untethered jailbreaks for everyone at some point, so at least it’s something we can get excited about and know that it will eventually come.

Apple‘s iPhone 5 comes with the company’s new A6 dual-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz with 1GB of RAM. Of course, the new device has the larger 4-inch display with the Retina 1136×640 resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio. It has an 8MP rear camera and 1.2MP front-facing camera. Check out our full review of the device if you haven’t yet gotten your hands on one yet.

[via Cult of Mac]

iPhone 5 jailbreak just over the horizon is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Verizon has quietly confirmed its iPhone 5 sales performance in Q3 2012, with over 650,000 of the latest Apple smartphones sold up until the end of September. Speaking on the carrier’s financial results call, CFO Fran Shammo broke down the “6.8m smartphones sold” stat Verizon initially shared into Android and iPhone, with 3.4m of the former and 3.1m of the latter activated in the three month period.

However, Shammo also gave the percentage of iPhones that were LTE-compatible – 21-percent – and since there’s only one such version, the newest iPhone 5, that doesn’t make the math too hard. Verizon must also have sold around 2.45m older iPhones, which only work on the carrier’s 3G network.

Still, considering the iPhone 5 was only available from September 21, which gives just 10 days of sales until the end of Q3, it’s an impressive tally for Verizon. Over 65,000 iPhone 5 devices must have been activated each day, on average, and Shammo hinted that the number could have been greater had supplies been sufficient to meet customer demand.

That short supply still remains, with Apple’s online store listing a 3-4 week delay before shipments can be expected. Verizon, meanwhile, quotes November 9 availability for the cheapest 16GB iPhone 5, though the more expensive versions are expected October 26.

Verizon sold 651,000 iPhone 5 in dying days of Q3 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s time to begin counting down to the weekend once again, because we’ve hit Wednesday evening. Today we heard that the iPad Mini could launch on November 2, which makes sense considering that date is just over a week after Apple’s October 23 press event. Later in the day, more sources were mentioning a November 2 release date for the iPad Mini, as well as spilling a few more details about the long-rumored device. The Isis NFC mobile payment system will apparently be launching on October 22, and Microsoft said that Internet Explorer 10 will be coming to Windows 7 in mid-November.

We found out today iOS app size is on the rise, and that the FCC will allow AT&T to take advantage of unused airwaves for mobile broadband. Google is allowing third-party developers to use its plethora of Maps information with a set of new APIs, and Facebook’s new promoted posts feature is undergoing and expansion in Europe. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins had something to say about a recent (and rather negative) write-up about BlackBerry in The New York Times today, and a series of leaked AT&T training videos revealed that the Lumia 920 will be exclusive to the carrier for six months after its release.

Call of Duty Elite won’t be featured in the Wii U version of Black Ops II, and Apple has been granted a patent for an alternative NFC technology. Speaking of Apple, the company will be holding a meeting with the MFI group next month to talk about the future of the Lightning connector, and Foxconn is saying that the iPhone 5 is a difficult device to make, but assures that it’s getting better. Consumers are reporting a decline in overall Internet usage, but Forrester (the company that did the study) has a good explination for that, while V-MODA was busy pulling the veil off its Crossfade M-100 headphones today.

A new video called “Star Trails” shows time-lapse footage captured by the International Space Station, and the Color app that has been gracing Verizon phones lately may be going dark soon. Just a little while ago, Google sent out invites to an Android event that will take place in New York in a couple of weeks, and we got a high-definition look inside the company’s data centers today. The Pirate Bay told us this afternoon that it has switched its servers to the cloud, eBay posted some strong Q3 financial results, and Project Eternity from Obsidian reached its funding goal on Kickstarter (and then some).

Finally tonight, Chris Davies asks why we care about the iPad Mini, and Craig Lloyd brings us his review of the Loop Mummy iPhone case. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 17, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Smartphone cases are a mixed bag nowadays — some are great, some are good, and some are just pretty awful. On top of the fact that cases are a hotly-debated item in the first place, it’s pretty difficult for case manufacturers to get the attention of smartphone users, and only a few have done it successfully. Loop Attachment has made a pretty unique silicone case called the Mummy, and it’s arrived just in time for Halloween. I ended up trying one out for myself to get a first impression and see how well it worked.

Personally, I don’t use a case on my phone since I’m not a huge fan of them to begin with. However, the Mummy case got my attention pretty quickly, and it’s one of the few cases that I was excited to actually try out. Obviously, right away you’ll notice the back of the case makes it look like the phone is wrapped with mummy wrappings (hence the name). The Apple logo and the “iPhone” are still visible, which is some clever design work to say the least. The mummy wrappings also serve another purpose besides just looking cool. You can stick credit cards, IDs, or cash in between the case and the phone, which also makes it a great makeshift wallet.

As with any silicone case, it can be a little difficult to slide your phone in and out of your pocket due to the rubbery texture, but the Mummy actually felt less rubbery, and it slid into my pocket a lot easier than most cases would. However, just like with any case, the Mummy does add a little bit of thickness to the iPhone, which gets rid of one of the features that makes the iPhone appealing in the first place. It can take time to get used to the size difference, but if you love the thinness of the iPhone, you’re probably not even using a case anyway.

The button “extenders,” so to speak, for the volume and power buttons work surprisingly well; they don’t take any more effort to push than normal, which can’t be said with most other iPhone silicone cases sadly. The opening for the ring/silent switch just above the volume buttons is a bit off, but that’s only because the case is catered towards both the iPhone 4 and 4S, which have slightly different placements when it comes to that small switch — not a huge deal there.

I did find it a bit of a nuisance trying to fit a credit card into the back of the case. Loop didn’t make it easy, since you kind of have to jimmy it in pretty good. There were even times where I was afraid I was going to scratch up the back of my iPhone with my credit card. Cash is even worse, since it’s more flimsy than a card. The trick is just to lift up the flaps and slide it in as best you can.

Overall, if you’re looking to get a minimalist and stylish silicone case for your iPhone, I’d probably tell you to get this one, despite the couple of very minor flaws. The case is well built, looks great, and has a one-of-a-kind unique Halloween theme that also works year-round.

Loop Attachment makes the Mummy case for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and the new iPhone 5 (pre-order only). The iPhone 5 version will be available early next month for a special introductory price of $20. The iPhone 4/4S version costs $25, or you can get a bundle of three Mummy cases for $60.

Apple touted the fit, finish, and technical wizardry required to produce the iPhone 5. Apparently that wasn’t just marketing fluff. According to an unnamed Foxconn exec who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, it really is a pain in the ass to manufacture. More »