Tag Archive for 'Apple'

Editorial: How to make a REAL iPad competitor

Alright, there are a lot of tablets circulating around since Apple introduced the iPad. But are any of these tablets actually fit to compete? Absolutely not. Let me explain why.

Let’s talk Android. Android is indeed a wonderful, wonderful mobile operating system for smartphones. Let me emphasise that last phrase: for smartphones. Android isn’t fit whatsoever to be on a tablet and to compete with the iPad. The Market is great and all, but most of the apps are fit for phones. Unless the maker of the tablet decides to make some useful tools such as proper photo editing and a nice video player, Android tablets are doomed for failure.

Secondly, let’s go from Android to Windows 7. The HP Slate is going to fall flat on its face if HP decides to keep going on the 7 edition. Full-blown operating systems on a tablet are very, very bad, and Apple understood this with the iPad and even the iPhone. I can appreciate Microsoft trying to bring Windows 7 to more than one platform, but they should probably stick with Windows Phone 7 (we’ll touch on that later) and build on THAT mobile operating system.

Next, webOS: a fabulous mobile operating system that Palm whipped up for 21st century smartphones. I really love the multitasking features of webOS, and I think webOS tablets would be a great idea if Palm/HP were to modify it and include some productivity apps.

And Windows Phone 7? It’s a great mobile operating system, but in its current form, it’s not fit to be on a tablet. With no multitasking or cut/copy/paste, one shouldn’t even consider a WP7 tablet so early in development. If Microsoft were to create a tablet version of WP7 (Windows Tab 7 *tongue in cheek*), it would be a great tablet OS, especially considering the Metro UI and how it makes browsing a phone easy.

Overall, here’s the perfect tablet that I so dream of and hope someone makes someday. The tablet should run custom software (no Android or anything like that), should include things people do on the go (movies, music, photo editing, games, and so on), and should have a nice interface that is easily accessible without having to go through too much to access an app. The device should run open source software (make developers want to develop for it) and should have an app market that’s moderated strictly, but with no ridiculous restrictions. Team up with companies like Adobe to create simple but functional apps for the tablet, and be sure to work with developers to ensure that the tablet has a nice library of apps in every category.

Have your say in the forums!

Firefox 4 to drop PowerPC arch

Firefoxlogo2It was only a matter of time when Mozilla would decide to drop the ever aging PowerPC architecture, according to Cnet Mozilla, after collecting usage data has noted that they will most likely not support it in the future, which leaves a small crowd of people without the latest version of Firefox.

Not that this is a big surprise to anyone, especially since Apple dropped the gun in 2005 with their new Intel Macs, and have dropped support for the architecture in later versions of Mac OS.

Director of the Firefox, Mike Beltzner, states:

"I am gathering data on the number of PPC users we have, but the likely outcome is that we will not be supporting PPC [PowerPC] for Firefox 4,"

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JailbreakMe released, no computer required

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Comex, who created the popular Spirit jailbreak for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, has just released his new jailbreak for the iPhone 4, iPod Touch, iPad, and all predecessors called JailbreakMe.

Instead of the traditional jailbreak that requires you to plug your device into your computer, this jailbreak works right on the device. Just visit JailbreakMe.com and slide the bottom slider to jailbreak! We’ve been told that Ultrasn0w (iPhone unlock) isn’t working 100% yet, so tread with caution there.

Now, a jailbreak on the device itself brings up the Apple stores. They provide iPhone 4 demo units in-store, but they aren’t hooked up to a computer. But now, people can actually jailbreak the iPhone 4 demo units without a computer. This may spell trouble for Apple.

[via JailbreakMe]

Apple: Jailbreaking ‘voids your warranty’

Apple-logoDespite the decision to allow Jailbreaking/Unlocking for all Electronic Devices, as reported earlier, Apple has made a firm statement noting that if you do so, you would void your warranty, regardless of how you look at it, there’s no way that you would be able to service it if you returned your iDevice back to Apple Jailbroken.

So what did Apple have to say on the matter, according to TUAW, Apple notes

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

So there you have it folks, if you want to know more, check out Apple’s “mouthful” of information on their website.

via TUAW

Tip: iPhone 3G on iOS 4 running slowly? Turn off Spotlight!

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Have you ever wondered why iPhone OS 3.0 suddenly killed the iPhone 3G? And Apple’s real reason to disable multitasking and wallpapers on iOS 4 iPhone 3G edition? Well, the ancient device has had trouble indexing through integrated Spotlight ever since 3.0.

Those on iOS 4.0 have noticed how slow the mobile operating system runs on the ancient iPhone 3G, and here’s a way to make it just a pinch snappier. You know of Spotlight, right? That search system that Apple introduced in 3.0, that allows you to search for everything on your iPhone? Due to the minimum specs of the 3G, indexing is a bit of a bugger for the phone. You see, Spotlight indexes everything on the phone…as you use it. It’s not a noticeable thing on the 3GS or 4 (obviously), but 3G users suffer.

You probably don’t use Spotlight at all, though. So let’s disable it altogether.

Go to Settings.app, and then to General, and finally to Spotlight Search. Uncheck everything you don’t use (or uncheck it all, like I did). Reboot. There you go!

I tried this out with little belief, but I noticed that both the iPhone and apps launched quite a bit faster than they used to. It’s not 3GS iOS 4, but it’s better than nothing, right?

We have a video of iOS 4 vs 3.1.3 on the 3G after the break!

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Jobs: some sjobs@apple.com emails are “made up”

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Steve Jobs doesn’t like people posting his emails to the Web. And he says some of them are “made up”

When asked “you’ve been communicating with customers through email quite a bit — how is that impacting how you’re dealing with these issues?”, he responded, “I always have, and you know, the address is out there and I’ve always emailed people back. I try to reply to some of them because they’re our customers. But now people post them to the web… and some people just make things up. So don’t believe everything you read!”

He didn’t specify which emails were made up, but with a little investigating, that should be easy to find out. So don’t believe everything you read; take every Steve Jobs email with a pinch of salt.

[via Engadget]

Apple will give away free cases to iPhone 4 owners with antenna issues

iphone-reception-pc-0963-rm-eng_5f369ee6-c6d2-4329-81c1-4f1d683e7f26 Steve Jobs has just announced at the Apple iPhone 4 press event today that Apple will give away free cases to the iPhone 4 owners who have antenna issues.

"We think this has been so blown out of proportion… it’s fun to have a story, but it’s not fun on the other side. So here’s what we’re going to do to make our users happy. The first part is the software update, that fixes the way the bars report and other bugs, that’s out now. Second, people said the bumper fixes everything… ‘why don’t you give everybody a case’? Okay — we’ll give you a free case,” he said at the event, “if you got [an iPhone 4], we’ll give you a refund.”

That means that if you bought an iPhone 4 that has the dreaded “death grip”, you’re entitled to a free case (there is a range of cases available). If you aren’t satisfied, you can get a full refund. Owners can apply starting next week.

[via Engadget]

One of the most expensive iPod Touches is…just an iPod Touch

computer_performance20090909 So the most expensive iPod Touch just went up on eBay, did you hear? It’s not a new iPod Touch, it’s not gold encrusted, it’s not autographed by Steve Jobs himself – but it’s $20,000.

According to the seller, the package includes an iPod Touch (no surprise there), headphones, and a charger cable. The headphones and charger cable (I assume), but the iPT is used. But hey, at least if you buy it, you’ll have the deep guilt of buying a $299 device for the price of a decent car.

But seriously, $20,000? Imagine how many iPod Touches I could buy with that kind of money. I’d check, but I’m far too lazy.

Have a look at the source link!

[via eBay]

Apple engineer warned about iPhone 4’s antenna

iphone-4-antenna An engineer at Apple warned the company that the iPhone 4’s antenna would have problems, and he did this last year, Bloomberg reports.

Ruben Cabarello, a top engineer at Apple, spoke with his superiors over his concern that holding the iPhone a certain way could cause reception issues. One of Apple’s carrier partners also expressed concern over this issue.

This is the first indication that Apple actually knew about the problems that the iPhone 4 may have, yet released the product anyway. It’s also a sign that Apple will take action against the problem, including the recent silent recall and the possibility of free bumpers.

[via Gizmodo]

Has Apple started recalling the iPhone 4?

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According to a reader of Gizmodo, the iPhone 4 may not be short of a recall very, very soon.

I’ve been following all of the iPhone 4 stuff since I got mine the day before release. I was able to replicate the signal issue. I also had the proximity sensor issue, causing inadvertent mute button pushing. There were a few other software issues I was experiencing so I consulted Apple at the Fifth Avenue store in New York. They replaced my phone. The diagnostic showed that the OS was corrupt and certain utilities were failing. [They claimed that] all phones with a proximity sensor issue were being sent back to Apple for further study.

Well, when I got the new phone it was different. It was different hardware. The black [plastic] bezel isn’t as black on the new one. I couldn’t see the proximity sensor at all on the previous iPhone 4, now I can. The stainless steel band on the new phone is less ‘steel-y’ and more matte. I’ve also tried to replicate the signal drop and failure. While I can’t say for sure that it is entirely fixed, there is certainly huge improvement. I’m guessing they coated the steel with something, took some black out of the bezel and sent them out without saying too much about it. I also think Apple is willing to warranty a phone for any reason except the signal issue.

The guy next to me said that he had to press the home button several times before the phone would come back from stand-by. This happened once. The Apple tech ran the diagnostic, everything was fine. They still replaced his phone. I think they’re doing a ‘silent recall’.

So is this the first step in a “silent recall” by Apple? We’ll have to wait and see.

[via Gizmodo]