Hasta La Gadget!

You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn’t jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver’s Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T’s tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you’re looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry — we can’t imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer.

Update: Looks like the app’s been pulled. Ye who snoozes, ergo must lose. If you did manage to nab and the video below isn’t working (we see it just fine), check out App Shopper for more detailed, text-based instructions.

Continue reading Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (update)

Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Apple’s latest privacy policy revealed the company could track any iPhone’s location in real time, it threw some for a loop… including a pair of gentlemen from the US House of Representatives, who asked what Cupertino was up to. In a thirteen page letter dated July 12, Apple’s legal counsel explains the whole matter away, while giving us a fascinating look into how the company collects — and justifies collecting — all that GPS data. Legally the defense is simple, as Apple claims users grant express permission via pop-up messages for every single location-based service and app, and if you don’t care to be tracked, you can simply shut down location services globally or (in iOS 4) on a per-app basis in the phone’s settings panel.

Where it gets more interesting is when Apple explains what it actually collects, and who they share it with — namely, Google and Skyhook, who provided location services to earlier versions of the operating system. In iOS 3.2 and beyond, only Apple has the keys to the database, and what’s inside are locations of cell towers, WiFi access points, and anonymous GPS coordinates. None of these are personally identifying, as the company doesn’t collect SSIDs or any data, and in the case of device coordinates they’re reportedly collected and sent in encrypted batches only once every 12 hours, using a random ID generated by the phone every 24 hours that apparently can’t be linked back to the device. In the case of iAd, Apple says coordinates don’t even make it to a database, as they’re immediately converted (by remote server) to a advertising-friendly five-digit zip code. Concerning location data collection for services other than iAd, there’s still the little question of why, but we’ll just leave you with Apple legal’s quote on that subject after the break, and let you hit up the full document yourself at Scribd if you want the deep dive.

Continue reading Apple responds to congressional inquiry, details location data collection in 13-page letter

Apple responds to congressional inquiry, details location data collection in 13-page letter originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case it wasn’t obvious enough from Apple‘s agitated response to our question during today’s iPhone 4 Q&A session in Cupertino, there’s no software fix in the pipeline for the antenna issues that are plaguing users today. A prior report in the New York Times seemed fairly confident that the troubles could (and would) be solved in the near term by a simple software update, but the company’s own Scott Forstall called said report “patently false.” So, there you have it — the only thing that’ll be fixed via software is how big your smallest bar of signal is. Beyond that, you’ll need to grab some Duct tape, a free case or a white glove if you’re looking to avoid attenuation entirely.

Apple affirms: no software fix for iPhone 4 antenna issue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Given just how much that white iPhone 4 bumper is about to cost you on eBay, it seems as if a Colorware’d alternative has never been a better bargain. The master of gadget coloration is back once more, this time promising to dress Apple’s latest problem child up with just about any combination of hues that you choose. Consumers can splash paint on the frame, back, button, SIM card tray and earbuds, with the minimum price set at $250 for a sent-in device. There’s no guarantee that a coat of Colorware will serve to remedy those awfully annoying reception issues, but at least you can pocket a beautiful reminder of just how happy a pair of colorful bands can make the average vacationer. And that, friends, is priceless.

Continue reading Colorware douses iPhone 4 in double rainbow, might just solve your reception issues

Colorware douses iPhone 4 in double rainbow, might just solve your reception issues originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take it with a grain of salt, but it’s looking like some prayers have been answered on this Fourth of July — Flash (or is that “Frash”?) is running on this man’s iPad, cleverly ported from Android. The YouTube video claims that by using a compatibility layer, the Android runtime can play Flash content natively in Safari, but only on iPad so far — iPhone 3GS support is planned soon, as is iOS 4, and there’s a call for developers to move the project forward at GitHub. We’ve no way of determining its legitimacy at this moment, but it sure seems like Comex (he of the iPad “Spirit” jailbreak) has outdone himself this time, and hey, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right? See Strongbad answer emails on iOS, right after the break.

Update: It appears Comex has indeed been working on this project for some time; a second blurry video after the break (running on iPhone) shows us what it used to look like.

Continue reading Flash 10.1 ported to iPad, burninates the countryside (video)

Flash 10.1 ported to iPad, burninates the countryside (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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