After months of debate surrounding the iPhone 4‘s antenna issues, the New York Times is reporting that Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive responsible for overseeing the iPhone’s hardware, has left the company. More »
We’re not quite sure chip guru Mark Papermaster ever truly settled into his role as Apple’s SVP of Devices Hardware Engineering in the year and four months since he finally walked through the door, but after the recent antenna troubles someone decided that he wasn’t going to work there anymore. The New York Times reports that Papermaster has left and Bob Mansfeld (SVP of Mac Engineering) will assume his role. So far, there’s been no official statement as to why the departure is occurring, whether he was ousted or left of his own volition (again, though he oversaw the new iPhone, his background is in processor design) but either way, the former SVP’s picture and bio have already been removed from Apple’s website. The man himself reportedly refused to comment when contacted by the Times, but as with all truths we’re sure this one will come out eventually.
Update: The ever-resourceful John Gruber says that Papermaster’s departure may be more closely related to Apple’s antenna troubles than we originally thought:
Inside Apple, he’s “the guy responsible for the antenna” – that’s a quote from a source back on July 23. (Another quote from the same source: “Apparently the antenna guys used to have a big chip on their shoulder. No more.”)
Mark Papermaster leaves Apple for reasons and destinations unknown (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
9 to 5 Mac | 
New York Times | Email this | Comments
Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice? Fuhgetaboutit. Apple has a thing for introducing new iPods each fall, and given that the existing touch is being given away gratis with a new student computer (not to mention how long in the tooth it is), we’re guessing the tradition will continue in 2010. We’d heard earlier on in the year that Apple may toss FaceTime over to the iPod line whenever it finally gained a front-facing camera, and now the evidence is nearly too strong to ignore. In the latest iOS 4.1 beta (numero three, if you’re keeping count), there’s an option to connect to a contact via FaceTime by ringing their digits or by pinging their email address. We’re guessing that the latter is there mostly for iPod touch users (the ones without Apple Peel 520s, anyway), and it’s the most glaring sign yet that the next generation touch will flippin’ finally boast a camera (or just a way around that SMS-based activation?). Still, we wouldn’t get our hopes up too high — falling ain’t no fun, you know?
Email-based FaceTime support surfaces in iOS 4.1 beta 3 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jailbreaking is truly and totally back for every iDevice, and it hasn’t been this easy for years. But with iOS 4’s new features, is it worth the (minimal) effort? 16 times yes. More »
There’s been a bit of a furor in the past couple days over Apple using third-party app screenshots in several patent applications that were just made public — the most talked-about example is a screenshot of an app called Where To? that appears in a travel-related patent, but other apps like a Ralph Lauren app appear in a shopping-related patent as well. And, since it’s Apple, there’s been the usual blind panic of hysterical reactions, with some claiming that Cupertino’s trying to patent third-party app ideas and pull the rug out from under its own developers. At this point, we hope you know better — let’s take a look at what’s really going on.
First of all, all of the patent applications in question are just that — applications. None of them have been granted, and since all of them are still so new, it’s a virtual certainty they’ll be narrowed in scope as Apple’s attorneys and the Patent Office continue through the patent prosecution process — a process that typically takes years.
Second, the only operative parts of a patent are the claims — not the drawings, and not the description, which are technically known as the “specification.” (We’ve now repeated this basic axiom of patent interpretation so many times we’re considering making T-shirts.) The only reason the drawings and description are there is to explain the claimed invention in sufficient detail so that someone else can make it. Remember, patents are a trade: in order to get protection, you have to give up the full details of how your invention works. (The other option is to keep your invention a trade secret, but then you can’t prevent anyone else from figuring it out and using it if it gets out.) Bottom line? If it’s not in the claims, it’s not in the patent. So… let’s look at the claims, shall we?
Apple uses third-party app screenshots in patent applications, world erupts in hysteria originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Unwired View, TechCrunch | Travel Patent (PDF), Fashion Patent (PDF), FutureTap | Email this | Comments
We suppose the good news is that Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge mentioned the intent is to bring all of its services — broadcast TV, video on-demand — to networked devices capable of displaying video, specifically mentioning the iPad, and that it is also working on program guide software for Android and PCs. Unfortunately, unlike the TV Everywhere websites from others like Comcast, or Dish’s Sling-powered placeshifting Cablevision only plans to allow access within the residence. According to Light Reading, the comments came during the company’s second quarter earnings call, when he also noted that the PC to TV Media Relay for bringing web video to the cable box was still undergoing testing ahead of a fourth quarter launch, while the long awaited network DVR is in its second phase of testing will also begin rolling out later this year. We’re not sure if Cablevision’s reluctance to extend video beyond our four walls is a technical issue, greed, or if it’s simply tired of fighting Hollywood over content rights after the network DVR legal battle, but we’re still hoping for a change of plans down the line.
Cablevision promises TV, VOD streaming to iPads, other networked devices — but only at home originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It’s always been said that the iPod Touch is just an iPhone without the phone. A new adapter, which adds phone functions to the iPad, proves that this isn’t quite the case.
The “Apple Peel 520″ cradle, first spied a week ago with a Sprint logo on the back, adds a cell radio and an extended battery to the Touch. And while it works, it doesn’t exactly turn your iPod into an iPhone. The adapter is made by Chinese manufacturer Yosion, and has been tested by the folks at the MIC Gadget blog.
The Yosion box is a rubber case with a cell-radio, a vibrator, mic and speaker, a dock connector to interface with the Touch and an 800mAh battery to power it (three hours talk, 120 hours standby). It’s pretty thick, and has no volume buttons so you can’t change the volume of a call, and while a 3G SIM will work for calls, you won’t get 3G internet, which kind of makes it pointless.
How do you use it? First, you need to jailbrak the iPod, and then you have to install the Yosion SMS and phone apps. It all works just like the iPhone from there, although sometimes, according to MIC Gadget, the caller ID info doesn’t show up, and missed call alerts will be blank (only marginally less useful than the iPhone’s real alerts).
It’s not all bad, though: The case only costs just $388 RMB in China, or around $57. That’s certainly cheaper than an iPhone.
Apple Peel 520 Review [MIC Gadget via Engadget]
See Also:
Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.
We love Android‘s 24-hour app return policy, so when we heard about Apple opening a “Try Before You Buy” section in the App Store, we grabbed the closest iDevice in our proximity to see what exactly was up. Only, it isn’t exactly what we expected given the name. Located under Features -> Free on the App Store, the new section serves only to highlight the free / “lite” edition of apps with premium older siblings. A smart and organized section, sure, but the for-pay programs without a demo will still be a risk your iTunes account will have to take. Them’s the breaks; might as well add it to your personal iOS 5 wishlist alongside widgets and a new notification system.
iPhone’s App Store ‘Try Before You Buy’ section isn’t exactly what you’re hoping for originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If there are still doubts about the Android juggernaut, the latest numbers from Google should help settle it. Some 200,000 new Android devices are being sold each day, up from about 100,000 just two months ago, says Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Schmidt told attendees at the Techonomy conference, “Android is not just phenomenal but incredibly phenomenal in its growth rate.”
Google’s comment comes on the heels of data from Nielsen earlier this week that showed, for the first time, that people in the U.S. bought more Android phones than iPhones.
Research firm iSuppli predicts Android’s market share will surpass that of the iPhone’s iOS in 2012.
By 2012, Android will be used in 75 million smartphones, up from 5 million in 2009, says iSuppli. IOS will be in 62 million phones in 2012, up from 25 million in 2009.
That means in two years, Android will have a 19.4 percent market share worldwide among smartphone operating systems, up from 2.7 percent in 2009. Apple’s iOS for the iPhone will see its share go up to 15.9 percent in 2012 from 13.8 percent in 2009, says iSuppli.
Android’s rapid growth should come as no surprise to industry watchers. Since Google worked with HTC and T-Mobile to launch the first Android-based smartphone in 2008, the open-source operating system has been adopted by major handset manufacturers including Samsung, Motorola and HTC.
“The OS started with entry-level models in 2008, but the flexibility Android offers for hardware designs and its appealing business model in terms of revenue sharing have attracted vigorous support,” says Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications for iSuppli.
Check out iSuppli’s forecast for Android and iOS usage worldwide:
See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Oh man. If the LiveRider is anywhere near as good as it looks, then it’s going to sell roughly one zillion units. It’s a hardware/software combo that turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a cycling computer, and it looks pretty hot.
First, the hardware. It comprises a frame-mounted sensor which cable-ties onto the chainstay and senses speed and cadence via magnets attached to the wheel and crank. This beams its info via 2.4 GHz RF to a dongle plugged in to the iPhone. The iPhone itself sits snug in a shock-absorbing handlebar-mount.
You then fire up the free companion app and get access to all the usual data: speed, cadence, calories burned and so on, but on the big screen and in easy-to-view color. If you have GPS in your iDevice, it will also use that to let you know where you are.
My favorite feature is called “Chase Rider”, and it is like nothing so much as the ghost-driver feature in Super Mario Kart. It will remember past rides and play them back so you can race against your own best times. Neat.
The whole setup weighs in at just 3-ounces, and costs a very reasonable $100. You will, of course, need to supply your own iPhone (everything fits except the first and last iPhones). UPDATE the folks behind the LiveRider tell me that it will fit all iPhones, including the 1G and the iPhone 4. Available now.
LiveRider [New Potato Tech]
See Also:
Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
