Hasta La Gadget!

There are ways and ways of unpacking your new iPhone 5. This is probably one you want to try and avoid. More »

Well look at that: one minute we’re in the middle of summer, and then October is suddenly here the next. Let’s jump into the Evening Wrap-Up, shall we? Today we heard that Apple may begin sending out invitations to its rumored iPad Mini reveal event on October 10, and we were impressed by the leaked specifications for an upcoming BlackBerry 10 phone called Aristo. The Kindle Paperwhite started shipping to excited readers across the country today, and we found out that the Android remote wipe is still roaming around out there.

Apple and Verizon have admitted to (and fixed) an issue with iPhone 5 that makes data charges go through the roof, while Apple was busy blocking in-app ads for digital stores other than the App Store. A recently discovered Twitter security flaw allows the less favorable people of the world to steal your account, and we found out today that one of The Pirate Bay’s founders is still in jail without any charges. User adoption of Windows 8 seems to be lower than it was for Windows 7, and we caught wind of a new rumor that claims the next Nexus phone could be right around the corner, along with a new version of Jelly Bean.

Mark Zuckerberg visited Russia today to talk about setting up a Facebook research center there, and a particularly funny glitch was seen telling former MobileMe users that their free iCloud storage wouldn’t expire until 2050. There were a couple different team ups today, with Samsung and Peel coming together to offer interactive content during the upcoming presidential debates, and NETGEAR and Qualcomm joining forces to offer a new developer program. The US Navy has helped a team of scientists at Indiana University come up with a particularly scary new bit of malware, while Ten One Design announced the new Pogo Connect Bluetooth 4.0 stylus.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition has officially hit 4 million sales, and things aren’t looking too good for the ultrabook. The new MSN portal is taking some design cues from Windows 8, and Netflix has added its “Just For Kids” section to its iPad app. A Google buyout of Viewdle is said to be closing soon, and our old friend the CD turned 30 years old today. Finally tonight, we have a review of the new Vizio All-in-One PC by Chris Burns, so be sure to check it out! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up – enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 1, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier, we reported that Apple’s iPhone 5 seemed to have some issues with purple flaring when taking photos with a light source just in or off frame, as reported by a number of users and duplicated in tests. Today, Gizmodo reader Matt Van Gastel received a response from Apple’s engineering team routed through a support representative which essentially says that behavior isn’t cause for concern. According to the email from Apple:

[W]e recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures. The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5′s camera.

Of course, long-time Apple watchers will recognize this approach to dealing with what seem to be hardware problems with iPhones, since it’s very similar to what the company initially said about the iPhone 4′s reception issues, which was basically ‘you’re holding it wrong.‘ But in this case, there’s reason to believe Apple might actually be correct. TechCrunch reader and photographer Adam Panzica explains in a note posted to our original story:

As many others have stated, this kind of thing happens very frequently in cameras of all types. I actually remember there being a firmware update to my Canon 7D to address this issues with certain less and lighting combinations. It’s a result of certain light frequencies being reflected/refracted in the lens from the off-angle light source. It might look like lens flare on a larger glass, but on something this thin it’s probably always going to look like a purple haze. You simply cannot beat the laws of physics. High end DSLRs have whole image processors a hell of a lot more advanced than the one in a cellphone dedicated to removing this kind of thing. But it still shows up from time to time, especially with new glass.

The bad news, as Adam points out, is that it’s largely unavoidable, at least in terms of getting rid of it completely. The good news is that as mentioned, it’s the type of effect that’s been addressed or improved elsewhere via firmware update, so Apple could potentially develop a way to compensate for it occurring in iPhone 5 in later versions of iOS, and it might even go away with time.

In the meantime, this is more of a nuisance bug than a game-ender; I’ve yet to have it happen to my photos in the general course of taking pictures, other than when I was trying to make it happen. The response from Apple’s customer support team may not be particularly comforting to those who are seeing this problem with any frequency, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the last word from Apple on the matter of the purple haze.

If you’ve got yourself one of the earliest shipments of the iPhone 5 for Verizon, you may be amongst the crowd of people who saw their data bill go through the roof – the carrier is now responding to this situation. What Verizon and Apple have noted today is that there is indeed an error which makes data costs rise even when wi-fi is being utilized – Verizon has also mentioned that the cost of this “unwarranted cellular data use” will not be showing up on your bill – now we’ve got to find out how that’s going to happen.

With a situation like this, it’s difficult to tell how the carrier – Verizon in this case – is going to figure out which amount of data has been used when it wasn’t supposed to be being used, and what amount of data was “legitimate” – so to speak. Verizon has spoken through a public relations representative to the press noting that “Verizon Wireless customers will not be charged for any unwarranted cellular data usage.”

This note came after an advisory earlier today from Apple which noted that “Under certain circumstances, iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.” Apple quickly patched the situation and those of you with a Verizon iPhone 5 should have an update waiting for you in your settings. To grab this update, you’ll have to follow these simple instructions:

1. Tap Settings > General > About.
2. Wait for the following alert to appear:

3. Tap OK to install the update.
4. Hold the Sleep/Wake button down until you see “slide to power off”.
5. Slide to power off.
6. After the device powers off, hold the Sleep/Wake button to turn your phone back on.

Note: To finish the installation of the update, your iPhone 5 must be turned off and then on again. After your iPhone restarts, tap Settings > General > About, then scroll down to Carrier and verify that “Verizon 13.1″ is displayed.

If you believe your data bill does not reflect the amount of data that you’ve used here in your first week using the iPhone 5, be sure to check with Verizon to see that you’re all squared away as far as the error goes. If you’ve got an iPhone 5 working with a different carrier, you’re out of luck – this error only appeared on Verizon devices.

Verizon iPhone 5 gets bill adjustment after data mishap is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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.

iPad mini event invites tipped for October 10th is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.