Well, you can’t say Cupertino isn’t being consistent. Just like last time, Apple’s gone and released a new beta of iOS 5, less than two weeks after the last one. Not much of interest pops out of build 9A5313E’s release notes, but we’d presume it squashes a fair share of bugs. Hit up settings to begin the roughly 70MB OTA update, or test those browser downloading skills at the dev portal linked below. And while you’re there, don’t forget to snag updated versions of Xcode, iTunes, and an updated firmware for the second-generation AppleTV. Peep a screenshot of the OTA after the break and let us know how you fare in comments.
HP’s webOS had a feature called Touch to Share which allowed information to easily sync between devices, like the TouchPad and the unreleased Pre 3. Photo by Jon Snyder/Wired
These days, accessing the same files across multiple devices can be a feat. Services like Dropbox can help transfer files from one device to another, but it’s not the most elegant solution.
We’re moving toward a world in which you can swipe, flick and tap to share data from one piece of hardware to another, effortlessly. One where you never have to worry about which device you stored that file on. We want a seamless, integrated computing experience.
Software company Nsquared is working hard to make this a reality. Using a Windows Phone 7 device, a Slate tablet, a large Kinect-controlled television display and a Microsoft Surface smart table, Nsquared came up with a model for how information can be shared and manipulated among a variety of like-branded devices.
When the smartphone is placed on the Microsoft Surface smart table, information instantly branches out onto the table around the perimeter of the phone, displaying the e-mail itself in larger text to the left while other relevant information sits above the top of the phone. The information can be touch-manipulated from either the phone or the table.
When the tablet is placed on the smart table, it renders a different, more detailed view of the floor plan that’s displayed on the table. You can pick up the tablet to provide a 3-D view of that same information, then manipulate your position on the blueprint in the tablet by touching a different point on the smart table. This could foreseeably be convenient for a contractor to show a client details of a space or project — the contractor can manipulate the client’s view on the tablet by tapping on the smart table, guiding them through the project detail by detail, without needing to zoom out on the tablet to figure out where you are in the blueprint again. All you have to do is glance down at the table to see that.
But mobile OS developers themselves have also started implementing features that are bringing us towards a completely integrated computing experience.
HP’s webOS could have offered a really convenient way to share and sync data between devices (before HP killed off its mobile hardware division, that is). The “Touch to Share” feature allowed things like open web pages to be shared between webOS devices like the HP TouchPad and the Veer smartphone with a simple nearby wave.
We’ve also seen that Apple is taking steps toward making seamless computing a reality. Apple’s iCloud service will help make data a non-issue as you switch from one device to another, and iOS 5 will have AirPlay mirroring, so you can wirelessly stream video on your iPad to a larger display. A patent for projection technology, with a feature that allows for information to be swapped from one projected display to another, is another forward-looking implementation of the concept. And if rumors prove true, Apple’s got some sort of revolutionary television up its sleeve that would have iOS integration. You could use your iPhone as a controller for games using its accelerometer and gyroscope, easily swipe what’s playing on your iPad to the TV, and then back to your phone or MacBook Air.
Samsung, which makes a variety of smartphones, televisions, and tablets, is another solid contender for developing its own in-house, completely seamless computing experience. Though it isn’t remarkably popular here in the U.S., the company could use its Bada operating system across its devices to unify the experience and allow for information to easily be shared, swiped and synced between devices.
With its new Tablet S and Tablet P, e-readers, and televisions, Sony is another company that could break into the space if a software platform was unified across its different devices.
There’s obvious incentive for companies to provide a high degree of compatibility and integration between its devices — it means you’re more likely to buy more of their products, rather than their competitors. Customer loyalty.
Currently, Apple is the only one who seems to really be taking advantage of this in-house, but as Nsquared’s video shows, it could certainly be accomplished with other-brand devices.
A mock-up of what some believe the iPhone 5 to look like, based on case-design leaks. Image source: MacRumors
You’d think Apple employees would be a little more careful with their precious prototypes after last year.
Apparently a next-gen iPhone prototype has gone missing, this time from San Francisco bar Cava 22, according to CNET. The device was reportedly lost in late July, and Apple scrambled to recover it over the following days. Instead of being bought by Gawker for five grand, this one sold on Craigslist for $200.
An eerily similar incident occurred with the iPhone 4 in April 2010. Redwood City, California, resident Brian J. Hogan found one at a local bar and sold it to Gawker-owned gadget site Gizmodo. Gizmodo staff involved were recently cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but Hogan was charged with two misdemeanors: misappropriation of lost property and possession of stolen property.
A few days after the latest device was initially lost, Apple representatives contacted San Francisco police, according to CNET. They claimed that the lost device was priceless and that they desperately hoped for its safe return back to 1 Infinite Loop.
There are no details as to what the missing phone looked like or what OS it was running, but Apple was able to trace its location back to a home in a nearby San Francisco neighborhood. The residents of the home, including a 22-year-old man who says he was at Cava 22 that night, denied knowledge of the device (even after being offered a cash reward from Apple). They gave permission for the police to search the house, but nothing was found.
Apple did not immediately return a phone call or e-mail request for comment from Wired.com.
CNET is reporting that Apple has lost another iPhone in another bar. This time, it appears to be an iPhone 5 that’s gone missing. (We say appears because CNET neither confirms this, nor provides any photos of the phone.) More »
Reportedly, in the latest beta of Apple’s Photo Stream app, there’s a verrrry interesting icon repping for the iPhone—an iPhone that sorta doesn’t look any other iPhone yet. More »
Add one more to the tally of patent lawsuits involving Apple and RIM. This time it’s Openwave Systems using the license-by-litigation technique, and it’s alleging that multiple devices infringe five of its patents on mobile internet — including offline email access, cloud computing, and secure server access. The company claims that Apple’s iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4, the iPod Touch, both iPads, plus RIM’s Blackberry Curve 9930 and the PlayBook all infringe its IP. Apparently, Openwave initially took the pacifist route to persuade Cupertino and Waterloo to pay up, but when its overtures were ignored, it decided upon more aggressive tactics. As others before it, Openwave wants to fight a two front war in the ITC and federal court, but we’ll have to wait and see if the ITC elects to take up the cause. Armchair attorneys can get a gander at all the juicy details at the source below.
Windows Phone 7.5 will be wearing more Mac-friendly pajamas when it comes. Microsoft’s Connector app just got updated to Version 2.0 and it enables both Marketplace support and ringtone transfers for Mango-equipped handsets. It also packs some other improvements which already work with WP 7.0, including drag-and-drop file importing from the Browse Device window, better backup and restore operations, and full sync and import support for Apple Aperture software. Connector 2.0 is ready and waiting at the App Store and Mango should poke its head around the mountain any day.
Garmin is best known for its in-car navigation systems, but today delved deeper into the realm of personal navigation with a brand new iPhone app for the eternally lost. For a dollar, you’ll get standard walking, driving and public transportation directions, but go premium for $2.99 a month or $29.99 for the year, and you’ll cop more add-ons designed to transform your iPhone into a full-fledged PND. Like the standard iPhone mapping system or HopStop, the subscription-based version of this app lets you integrate public transportation into your journey — but the added feature here is the ability to view public transit schedules like you can in the Google Maps app for Android. It also has spoken turn-by-turn directions, Garmin’s traffic routing and Google search, making it a handy alternative to a clunky navigation system. Check out the full PR after the break.
According to ComScore, out of the 82.2 million people in the US with a smartphone (up ten percent from last quarter), Android came in first as the biggest platform yet again, capturing a whopping 41.8 percent of the market like a boss. In a not-so-close second, Apple was able to snag 27 percent, followed by RIM in the third place spot with 21.7 percent — down 4 percentage points from last quarter. Pulling up the rear is Microsoft with 5.7 percent, and lastly Symbian with a grim 1.9 percent — both down when compared to the previous three months. As far as US hardware manufacturers goes, Samsung is still on top with 25.5 percent of the market, while LG got 20.9 percent and finally Motorola with 14.1 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from before. Apple was able to snag some standing in the OEM space with a 9.5 percent share, while BlackBerry-maker RIM only captured 7.6 percent. As the battle wages on, looks like Androids, iPhones, and BlackBerrys (oh my) are still on top — at least for this quarter. Check out the PR after the break for the full scorecard.
This article was written on February 13, 2007 by CyberNet.
When we last talked about DivShare, they had just introduced file searching ability, and MP3 streaming. We left off when they were getting ready to allow users to embed MP3’s onto their blogs or websites. So, here we are a few weeks later with several new features which is why DivShare continues to get two-thumbs up from us.
They’ve only been around for two months, and yet they already have 14,000 registered accounts, and they’re hosting 100,000 live files. Another interesting stat is that they just filled up their first terabyte of storage, so they’ll be adding a second storage server.
The newest feature that was just introduced yesterday is the Upload Progress Bar. Before, there was an animated bar that kept on moving so that you knew it was still active, however there was no way of knowing how much it had uploaded, how much was left to download, and the amount of time it will take. The image below shows what the new progress bar looks like. This will be especially useful with larger downloads.
Another recently added addition is the Referer Tracking which will let you know who is linking to your files. DivShare will track the five most recent refers for every file that you have uploaded, and that information will be displayed on your download page.
Now, going back to the embedded MP3 onto blogs or websites, this feature went live January 28th. This feature alone sets DivShare apart from many other file sharing websites. The player looks great, and uses Macromedia’s Flash to play the file.
With all of the new features, we’re left to wonder what will come next. They’ve already given a clue by saying to get your avatar’s ready, because they’re going social. But aside from that, it could be just about anything. Could video uploads possibly be next? They already allow 200MB uploads which is plenty of room for many movies. It would be great if they didn’t restrict the size for uploads in general, because then they’d be a truly unlimited service.
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