Jan 20

iPhone 4 Switches to Tamper-Proof Screws

Posted in: Apple, diy, iPhone, Today's Chili

Pentalobe screws.jpg

Apple doesn’t want you to fix your own gear–it would much rather have you walk into a Genius Bar for repair, or just buy a new gadget altogether. The company has made that painfully clear all along, with non-removable batteries and other safety guards in place to assure that you don’t open up your devices. And now it has another trick up its sleeve.

The company has begun using Pentalobe-screw heads on its devices. The screws apparently first started popping up on MacBook Pros in 2009, assuring that no one could get the pesky battery out of the thing. Next up, they began appearing on last year’s MacBook Air, keeping the whole inside of the ultraportable off limits.

The screws were in place on a certain number of international iPhone 4 units, but not any of the ones that arrived in the first shipment of US handsets. Now, it seems, Apple has begun to install them on more recent phones.

Why is Apple going through all of the trouble? Simple–Pentalobe screwdrivers are hard to come by. iFixit, those perpetual gadget fiddlers, are offering a solution–the iPhone 4 Liberation Kit. It’s basically two screwdrivers–something approximating a Pentalobe and a Phillps–and all of the requisite screws, so you can remove the old one and stick in much more easily removed versions.

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Jan 20

iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video)

Posted in: Apple, ios, ipad, iPhone, multitouch, Today's Chili, video
iOS 4.3 beta mulitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video)

If you came along for our most recent podcast you heard us discussing some of the new features uncovered in the iOS 4.3 beta, including multitouch gestures for multitasking like four-finger swipes to go between apps. They seem hugely useful on an iPad but, on an iPhone, sounded like a bit of a handful. Now we have some video evidence, with Antoni Nygaard managing to get them working on his iPhone, along with the lock/mute switch toggle as well. Given these multitouch gestures aren’t coming to the iPad (yet) we’re guessing it won’t be hitting the iPhone either, but we can always hope.

Update: BGR has a little more information on this, including some screenshots if the video below isn’t good enough for ya.

[Thanks, Crazyyen]

Continue reading iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video)

iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 20

iPad 2 Retina Display “Too Good to Be True”

Posted in: Apple, ipad 2, Today's Chili

ipad 2 ces.JPG

Anyone else sick of all of this on-again, off-again with the supposed Retina Display for the iPad 2? It’s like a consumer electronics rom-com. Of all of the many rumors we’ve been seeing about Apple’s second generation tablet, none–save, perhaps, for the incredibly likely FaceTimey front and rear facing camera–has been more rampant than the Retina Display, the tablet’s adoption of the iPhone 4’s incredibly high resolution (about 326 pixels an inch) display.

Such a display would be have to be 2048 by 1346, reasons Daring Fireball–double the size of iPad’s current display. The site also reasons, it turns out, that the feature just isn’t coming in the next version of the tablet. “I asked around,” writes the site,” and according to my sources, it is too good to be true: the iPad 2 does not have a retina display.”

The iPad 2 may, in fact, have an increased display resolution (from, say 1024 by 768 to, say, 1536 by 1152), but it won’t be a Retina Display, according to those aforementioned sources. The site also claims that anything but complete doubling, while not impossible, is also unlikely “for reasons pertaining to UI scaling math (the same reason that the iPhone display resolution didn’t increase incrementally)–but it’s worth noting that my sources only claim ‘no retina display,’ not that the resolution is unchanged. The ‘double or nothing’ line is my opinion, not information from any source.”

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Jan 20

FaceTime, PhotoBooth and Camera Icons ‘Confirm’ Dual-Camera iPad 2

Posted in: Apple, ios, ipad, rumors, Software and Operating Systems, Today's Chili

A screenshot inside the latest iOS 4.3 beta from Apple gives further evidence that there will be both front and rear-facing cameras in the iPad 2. The shot, which is used to preview desktop backgrounds in the Settings app, shows icons for the FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth apps. PhotoBooth is currently an OS X-only App for taking and applying filters to photos of yourself.

The image is exactly the same as the current one except for the addition of these new icons, and the movement of the icon for the settings app to the last position in the list. Further, MacRumors has also found evidence of PhotoBooth filters within the beta, including “Thermal Camera, Mirror, X-Ray, Kaleidoscope, Light Tunnel, Squeeze, Twirl and Stretch.”

This would seem to be the clincher for expectations of a dual-camera-equipped iPad 2. It also means that I have just lost all incentive to buy an iPhone 4, now that the next iPad will do everything the iPhone can do, only without the pesky phone-calls.

FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth Icons Confirm Camera in iPad 2 [MacRumors]

Picture: MacRumors

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Jan 20

When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros

Posted in: Apple, earnings, financials, Today's Chili

The Challenge: predict seven key metrics of Apple’s fiscal success over the past quarter — such as sales numbers, profit margins, and gross revenue — with the highest accuracy. The Competitors: In the blue corner, a bunch of amateur finance bloggers, and in the red corner, a cabal of professional analysts making mad dough at banks and trading houses. The Conclusion: whatever you’re paying for your “expert” advice on the future financial wellbeing of Apple, or any other tech stock for that matter, stop. Just… stop.

When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 20

iPad camera apps discovered in iOS 4.3 beta, nobody surprised

Posted in: Apple, camera, ios, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, rumor, Today's Chili

Oh look, even more evidence that the next generation iPad will be equipped with cameras. The image above showing the three new iPad apps was discovered in the iOS 4.3 beta 2 by MacRumors. To be effective, the iPad’s Camera and FaceTime apps would require both back- and front-facing cameras just like the iPhone 4. The Photo Booth app is new to iOS but already ships on Macs running OS X — it could, presumably, use either camera to record snapshots (with filters) and video. And really, at this point, with such overwhelming evidence the only surprise would be for Apple to announce a new iPad without a camera.

iPad camera apps discovered in iOS 4.3 beta, nobody surprised originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 19

Next-gen iPad may come with proximity sensor, iOS 4.3 beta reveals

Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, ios, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, sensor, speculation, Today's Chili

Some careful digging in the iOS 4.3 beta has revealed an intriguing new string intended for the iPad’s Settings menu. As you can see above, users will be able to toggle a new auto-unlocking feature on their iPad, which would respond to closing and opening of the slate’s cover (or case, or sleeve, or whatever). Though the iPad already has an ambient light sensor, the one true way to make this functionality work is by employing a good old proximity sensor, so we can probably pencil that into our ever-expanding list of iPad 2 attributes. Who’d have thought there were so many ways to improve on a magical revolution, eh?

[Thanks, Mike]

Next-gen iPad may come with proximity sensor, iOS 4.3 beta reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 19

iPhone rumor two-pack: multitasking gestures and MobileMe Photo Streams? (Update: those pics are real)

Posted in: Apple, ios, iPhone, multitouch, rumor, stream, Today's Chili

Looks like the iPad might not have an exclusive on those new “multitasking” gestures unearthed in the latest iOS 4.3 beta, because BGR‘s got some shots up of an purported internal build that seem to indicate Cupertino intends to push them down to the iPhone line as well. Now, there are a couple of obvious red flags here — using “four or five fingers” sounds pretty unreasonable for a 3.5-inch display, though it’d certainly tie in with recent rumors that Apple’s turning sour on the physical Home button and might indicate that the complete redesign we’re hearing about could include a slightly larger display. Of course, it could also indicate that this is really early software with the wrong (read: iPad) wording — but at any rate, we could definitely see the benefit of, say, a two-finger gesture to swipe between apps.

Now, on to part two: 9to5 Mac seems to have unearthed traces in the iOS 4.3 beta of a new feature called “Photo Streams” that seems to be — you guessed it — a way to share continuous streams of photos with friends you approve, presumably through MobileMe (which would fit in nicely with the Find my Friends stuff). Alone, that’s not worth $99 a year — plenty of other services offer similar functionality — but we wouldn’t be surprised if this were bundled in with a bunch of MobileMe refreshes this year.

Update: We just received an interesting tidbit of information on the above pic (and others that BGR has its hands on). According to sources, after the iPhone 4 barroom debacle, Apple made significant changes to how it keeps track of — and identifies to third parties — its devices. Namely, the company began adding clauses to screens on the phones which read “Confidential and Proprietary, if found, please contact…” followed by a 408 number (that’s Cupertino, of course). This prevents any misunderstanding from parties who may come across these devices. So what does it all mean? Well, not much, save that it seems these photos we’re viewing are in fact the real deal… which means gestures may be headed to your iPhone. Intrigue!

iPhone rumor two-pack: multitasking gestures and MobileMe Photo Streams? (Update: those pics are real) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 19

Playboy Coming to iPad, But Not Via App

Posted in: Apple, ipad, Today's Chili

hug_hefner.jpg

Hugh Hefner wasn’t lying to his loyal Twitter followers earlier today when he stated, “Big news! Playboy–both old & new–will be available on iPad beginning in March.” But the facts aren’t quite what many had suspected (or, perhaps, hoped).

Apple hasn’t dropped its staunch anti-adult content policy in the wake of Steve Jobs’s absence. Nope, Hefner and co. will be circumventing the company’s strict App Store policing the way so many adult content providers have before–via the Internet.

Playboy is teaming up with Web designer Bondi to create an iPad-friendly content site. As a Playboy rep said in an interview, “We are releasing a web-based subscription service with Bondi Digital Publishing that will give users access to every issue of Playboy both past and present. The service will be iPad-compatible and will utilize iPad functions.”

The publisher will also be offering an iPad app in the coming months, but this one will feature a lot less nakedness, for those who are actually, you know, in it for the articles.

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Jan 19

iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview

Posted in: Apple, developer, ios, ipad, iPhone, Today's Chili

Apple just dropped iOS 4.3 beta 2 on world, and with it a big sad bomb: those nifty iPad multitasking gestures we discovered in beta 1 won’t be enabled when 4.3 ships to customers. Instead, Cupertino says it’s “providing this preview to gather input on how these gestures work with your apps,” Oh well — there’s always 4.4, or even iOS 5, we suppose. We’re on the lookout for other new features, but for now let us know what else you spot in comments, okay?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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