Apple keeping iPhone 5 suppliers mum about launch date

In a research note, Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities suggests Apple is being extra secretive with its Asian suppliers when ordering parts for the iPhone 5 and is still quietly preparing the next generation handset for a June or July launch. White writes, “Although we do not have a smoking gun that definitively rules out a delayed autumn unveiling or one that supports a launch this summer, there is a pattern of activity in motion with the supply chain that makes us question a delayed launch.”

Circulating rumors suggest Apple may release the iPhone 5 in the fall instead of the summer as it has done in the past. Analysts making this prediction have pointed to a lack of component orders for the iPhone which should have been made if the Cupertino company was targeting a June launch. Other rumors point to a significant overhaul of iOS which may include a cloud-based file locker and music streaming service that could debut this fall along with new iPhone and iPod touch hardware.

White also confirms other reports that suggest Apple is using its cash reserve to secure components for its iPad 2, iPhone and iPod touch. Apple is reportedly offering upfront cash payments to suppliers to keep its production line flowing while blocking out competitors that are not as cash-rich as Apple.

Apple keeping iPhone 5 suppliers mum about launch date originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House passes bill protecting Apple, others from lithium batteries classification

The House approved legislation that would prevent the U.S. from enacting a proposed rule limiting lithium-ion battery shipments by classifying the batteries as hazardous materials. The legislation addresses a rule proposed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) along with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The PHMSA rule would cost companies including Apple an initial $1.3 billion to comply with new packaging, training and handling requirements designed to limit overheating and potential explosion of these batteries while in transit. This rule would apply to stand-alone batteries as well as those included in notebooks, mobile phones, and digital cameras.

All this discussion stems from both explosions and fires caused by poorly manufactured lithium-ion batteries in electronic devices. Apple experienced trouble in the past with the batteries in select iBook, PowerBook and MacBook Pro models. The battery problem was so pronounced in the PowerBook 5300 that it earned the nickname “Hindenbook”. Since those rocky years in the early 2000s, Apple has spent much time and money improving and standardizing lithium battery technology.

[Via AppleInsider]

House passes bill protecting Apple, others from lithium batteries classification originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon iPad 2s feel the need to roam … constantly

A number of owners of Verizon iPad 2s are reporting that their devices seem to be having issues accessing the Verizon 3G network. As discussed in the Apple support forums and reported by GigaOM’s The Apple Blog, the iPads are fine fresh out of the box, displaying Verizon as the carrier in the upper left of the iPad status bar. It’s when owners activate an account with Verizon that things start getting a little strange.

Once the account has been set up, the word “Roaming” appears where the carrier name should be. This is usually an indication that a user is no longer on his or her carrier’s network, and is using data roaming. The problem gets even stranger — to use data service, even in an area with only a strong Verizon network signal, the iPad owner has to turn data roaming on.

GigaOM’s Charles Jade notes that the problem may be related to the Preferred Roaming List, which is an internal database common to CDMA devices that determines how the device connects to a network. Some Verizon iPad 2s just aren’t recognizing Verizon cell towers, so they display the “Roaming” indicator. Verizon doesn’t charge subscribers for U.S. data roaming, so there’s no extra cost involved, but the issue is still annoying.

Affected iPad 2s can be returned to Apple or Verizon stores for replacement, although the replacement models may still exhibit the same symptoms. There is some discussion that iOS 4.3.2 might include a fix for the roaming problem, but until then Verizon iPad 2 owners who are seeing the issue will have to be content to roam.

Verizon iPad 2s feel the need to roam … constantly originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BootCamp updated for 2011 MacBook Pros

Apple has released Boot Camp 3.2 Update for MacBook Pro (early 2011). This update fixes issues with unexpected shutdowns as well as problems with Japanese and Korean keyboards. Of course, it’s recommended for all users. You’ll find it via Software Update if you’ve got the proper machine, or just download it here.

Good luck, and let us know if BootCamp 3.2 solves or causes any trouble for you.

BootCamp updated for 2011 MacBook Pros originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clorox ditches BlackBerry, 92 percent of employees replace it with iPhone

According to Computerworld, Clorox CIO Ralph Loura recently realized that the company’s workers were no longer satisfied with their corporate-issued BlackBerry phones. Loura decided to ditch BlackBerry as a platform and gave 2000 employees three choices for replacements: an iPhone, a phone running Android or a phone running Windows Phone 7. A full 92 percent of employees chose an iPhone, 6 percent picked an Android phone, and a tiny 2 percent (40 employees out of 2000) chose Windows Phone 7 as their platform of choice.

Loura stated that the security concerns that have held back other companies’ IT departments from embracing iOS weren’t an issue for Clorox. “We live in public cloud for mail and messaging. I don’t have to worry about security because I don’t sync data to the iPhones. It remains in the cloud.” He’s also said that Clorox is beginning to deploy a small number of iPads; no one has volunteered to replace their notebook computer with an iPad yet, but Loura does believe it can eventually run cloud-based business apps.

Since Clorox apparently didn’t give employees an option to stick with BlackBerry, it’s unclear how many would have done so given the choice. But according to Loura, “If you believe demographic studies, the workforce in their 20s and 30s isn’t going to accept black corporate PCs with black corporate mobile phones and not be allowed to run Facebook or Angry Bird apps.” The really interesting part is the huge skew in numbers between people choosing the iPhone versus an Android phone; if all the punditry about Android’s ascendency is to be believed, I’d have expected the platform to make a much better showing than 120 out of 2000 employees.

Clorox’s story is only one data point, and there might be other factors at work — maybe the only Android phone Clorox offered its employees was a hunk of junk — but at least in Clorox’s case, Apple’s is the only platform that comes out of this looking like it has a viable future.

[via AppleInsider]

Clorox ditches BlackBerry, 92 percent of employees replace it with iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW’s Daily App: ClubWorld

ClubWorld may not exactly be your kind of game. It’s sort of a mashup of popular freemium gameplay elements. ClubWorld includes Farmville-style time sinks as you build your club up, social environments to customize and share with friends, and even some music-based mini-games. The look and the aesthetic are more tuned towards younger players than the average gamer, and most people old enough to buy an iPhone for themselves probably won’t be too interested.

But that’s not really what’s interesting about ClubWorld. What is interesting is that it’s from Tapulous, the company that’s had so much success on the App Store that it was bought by Disney last year. While Tapulous has been moving towards the freemium model with its Tap Tap Revenge series, ClubWorld is a complete embrace of that model. This looks like a Facebook game more than anything else. There are even in-app purchases for “energy items” (called sugar here) and iTunes referral links to music. Looking at this game, I’d almost call Tapulous a social gaming company rather than an iPhone developer.

ClubWorld does take full advantage of Tapulous’ music expertise, using lots of fully-licensed tracks in the various clubs you can create and play with, but this is much more a stab in the direction of We Rule and even Booyah’s Nightclub City. It’s a very interesting turn for the company; we’ll have to see how it works out. Meanwhile, if you want to give it a try, ClubWorld is a free download right now.

TUAW’s Daily App: ClubWorld originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clik Clok iPad 2 accessory: Be like Flava Flav

To wear what we feel comfortable calling the “Worst. Accessory. Ever,” you need three things. First, more money than sense. Second, a desire to resemble a high-tech version of Flava Flav. And third, a firm belief that the magnets along one side of your iPad 2 are strong enough to hold on to this Clik Clok chain no matter how hard you rap.

“Tired of having to carry your iPad in a bag?” wonders designer Pensa. “Or worse yet…in your hand? Looking for a convenient way to have your iPad with you at all times whether you are at work, out with friends, or working out? Have you ever looked down at your stylish giant clock necklace and wondered, ‘HEY! Why can’t this thing browse the internet, play music, and let me video chat with my friends?’ “

If you recognize yourself in this description or in the picture (nice hat!), then you need Pensa’s gold, red or silver chain necklace that attaches to the magnetic points on your new iPad 2. Will it hold? Remember how worried you were it wouldn’t stick to the fridge, and that worked out fine, right? And as soon as it’s attached, the Clock app fires up automatically. Cool!

The Clik Clok isn’t in production yet, and there’s no price set either, but Pensa describes the Clik Clok concept as “Ready for Kickstarter…” Luckily it also adds, “Hint…we are kidding.”

Still, ask nicely and I’m sure Pensa would make you one to go with your hat.

[Via Likecool]

Clik Clok iPad 2 accessory: Be like Flava Flav originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Condition ONE app combines iPad and photo journalism

Traditional photo journalism has always had a limited point of view. You could only see what was in front of the camera. Video photo journalism added a new dimension to reporting as the camera could pan around an area giving the user views from multiple vantage points. However, with both photo and video journalism, viewers have no control over what they see in the shot. War documentarian Danfung Dennis is on the brink of changing this thanks to a custom camera system and the iPad. The former is a new tool for the photo journalist to record events, and the latter is a tool for the viewer to immerse themselves in that event and control what they see.

Dennis created an app called Condition ONE, which allows viewers to use their iPads as fully interactive windows into photo journalist images. As you can see in the video below (warning, NSFW language), Condition ONE allows you to interact with a current scene in what is probably most easily comparable to a moving photograph from the world of Harry Potter. Users can pan up, down and rotate around to get a complete look at an event in a set moment in time as if they were actually there. Dennis told Time that the point of Condition ONE is to create a new form of storytelling that will “shake viewers out of their numbness to traditional media and provide them a powerful emotional experience.”

While there is no hard launch date or price, the Condition ONE app is set to debut in mid-2011 and is sure to change the way many see an event that has occurred halfway around the world. “Once viewers enter a video experience, they can move the tablet in any direction and see the corresponding field of view,” says Dennis. “The traditional two-dimensional, rectangular frame is shattered as viewers step inside the frame and experience the stories as the protagonists.”

Continue reading Condition ONE app combines iPad and photo journalism

Condition ONE app combines iPad and photo journalism originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atomix is the iPad’s first video game magazine

There are more and more magazines appearing on the iPad now, some good and some bad. Atomix is definitely at the good end of the spectrum, not least because it’s being produced by Area 5, former creators of the 1UP Show at 1UP.com.

“The iPad app is intended as a global product,” says Atomix founder Oscar Noriega, “and we knew we needed to release simultaneously to Spanish and English-language markets.” That and a desire for a heavy video content led to Area 5.

“We loved the idea from the start,” says Area 5 co-founder Ryan O’Donnell. “We’re huge fans of the possibilities inherent in touch-screen devices and we knew even from early versions of the app that Atomix ‘got’ it.”

Atomix sells for US$0.99 per issue at the moment, although subscription options will be available eventually. The magazine will be covering games from all over, not just on the iOS platform; L.A. Noire is on the cover, and among other games, Atomix also covers Killzone 3, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Journey.

Atomix is the iPad’s first video game magazine originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dungeon Raid, Puzzle Quest 2, Pocket God, Disc Drivin’ get big content updates

A lot of developers are apparently doing some spring cleaning, because there have been a whole lot of updates for popular apps swept out the door this week.

That’s updates aplenty for lots of great apps, so make sure you sync your iPhone or iPad soon and check out some of these terrific titles you may have wandered away from.

Dungeon Raid, Puzzle Quest 2, Pocket God, Disc Drivin’ get big content updates originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Apple no longer allows Best Buy to sell the iPad 2 [Updated]

Update: Boy Genius Report has independently confirmed that at least two retail employees at at least two Best Buy stores were told not to sell iPad 2s by managers on Thursday. Additionally, a store spokesperson told BRG that “Our stores have been asked to temporarily hold non-reserved iPad 2 inventory for an upcoming promotion.”

File under “Interesting if true”: A reader tipped us to say that Apple has ordered a freeze on sales of the iPad 2 through Best Buy.

He claims that until further notice, the mammoth electronics retailer has had all stock except demo units pulled. We didn’t put much credence in this rumor until CrunchGear reported the same thing after being tipped by a supposed Best Buy employee; Apple has supposedly banned Best Buy from selling the iPad 2 for the time being.

According to CrunchGear, this doesn’t have anything to do with Best Buy thumbing its nose at the iPad via a recent ad. Instead, CrunchGear says its tipster claimed Best Buy set an artificial daily quota of sales for the iPad 2 and told customers it was out of stock when it did, in fact, still have stock remaining. It’s rumored that Apple’s Tim Cook got wind of this chicanery, and Apple isn’t happy about it at all.

We haven’t received confirmation of any of this yet, so it’s all just a big rumory rumor for now. But if anyone happens to go into a Best Buy tomorrow and finds no iPad 2s available anywhere, it may be that the worldwide shortage of Apple’s newest gadget isn’t to blame, for once.

Rumor: Apple no longer allows Best Buy to sell the iPad 2 [Updated] originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atari’s Greatest Hits – 100 Atari Games for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

Atari’s Greatest Hits is now available for download in the App Store that brings 100 Classic Atari Games to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Atari’s Greatest Hits is a universal app available for free and it comes with playable version of Pong, and the other 99 games as in-app purchases.

Atari’s Greatest Hits Description

Atari’s Greatest Hits brings the best of retro gaming to iOS with 100 Classic Atari Games. This suite brings you the hottest Arcade and 2600 titles from Atari. For those who love the classic gaming experience this handheld breakthrough is sure to guarantee hours of fun.

What we feature is:

  • 18 Classic Atari Arcade Games including PONG
  • 92 Atari 2600 Games
  • Bluetooth Mutliplayer for head to head play for titles such as Pong, Warlords, and more!
  • Original Cabinet and Box Art

Download this App and receive PONG for FREE!

Buy the rest of Atari’s Entire Library in 2 unique ways:

  1. 25 separate packs available for download at $0.99
  2. Buy all 100 games for a discounted price of $14.99 (basically the price of a movie ticket)

Download Atari’s Greatest Hits

You can download Atari’s Greatest Hits from the App Store for Free. [Download Link]

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How to Enable Multitouch Gestures on iOS 4.3.1 [iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch]

Apple introduced 4/5 fingers multitouch gestures in iOS 4.3 beta. However, these features could not made it to the final release of iOS 4.3.1 or 4.3. These are the steps to enable multitouch gestures in iOS 4.3.1 on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch.

This guide involves editing plist files. So, make sure you backup each file before editing it. Let’s enable Multitouch Gestures on iOS 4.3.1 [iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch].

How to Enable Multitouch Gestures on iOS 4.3.1

You iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad must be jailbroken on iOS 4.3.1. Here’s is how to: Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1

Method 1 – Install package from Cydia

  1. Open cydia;
  2. Go to Search tab, and search for MT Gestures;
  3. Install MT Gestures;
  4. Then close Cydia, and go to Settings > General and turn Multitasking Gestures ON.

Method 2 – Editing PLIST Files

Step 2

Now SSH into you iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch;

Step 3

Once you’ve SSH into iDevice, Navigate to: System > Library > CoreServices > SpringBoard.app and copy the following .plist files into your computer:

iPhone 4: N90AP.plist
iPhone 3GS: N88AP.plist
iPod Touch: N81AP.plist
iPad: K48AP.plist

Usually, there’s just one of this file’s kind, so it should not be very difficult to locate.

Step 4

Now edit the copied .plist file with any plist editor. [Windows] [Mac]
and add the following lines, anywhere under <true/> (as shown in the screenshot):

<key>multitasking-gestures</key>
<true/>

and copy the file back to the SpringBoard.app directory.

enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (7)enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (6)

Step 5

Now navigate to Var > mobile > Library > Preferences

Copy the com.apple.springboard.plist file to your computer and add the following two lines of code:

<key>SBUseSystemGestures</key>
<true/>

and then copy the file back to the Preferences directory.

enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (5)enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (4)

Step 6

Navigate to Applications > Preferences.app;
Copy the General.plist file to your computer;

enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (3)

Replace the following block of code;

		<dict>
			<key>cell</key>
			<string>PSGroupCell</string>
			<key>footerCellClass</key>
			<string>MultitaskingGestureExplanationView</string>
			<key>id</key>
			<string>Mutltitasking_Gesture_Group</string>
			<key>requiredCapabilities</key>
			<array>
				<string>multitasking-gestures</string>
			</array>
		</dict>
		<dict>
			<key>cell</key>
			<string>PSSwitchCell</string>
			<key>default</key>
			<true/>
			<key>defaults</key>
			<string>com.apple.springboard</string>
			<key>id</key>
			<string>Mutltitasking_Gesture_Switch</string>
			<key>key</key>
			<string>SBUseSystemGestures</string>
			<key>label</key>
			<string>Multitasking_Gestures</string>
			<key>requiredCapabilities</key>
			<array>
				<string>multitasking-gestures</string>
			</array>
		</dict>

with this code:

		<dict>
			<key>cell</key>
			<string>PSGroupCell</string>
			<key>footerCellClass</key>
			<string>MultitaskingGestureExplanationView</string>
			<key>requiredCapabilities</key>
			<array>
				<string>multitasking-gestures</string>
			</array>
		</dict>
		<dict>
			<key>cell</key>
			<string>PSSwitchCell</string>
			<key>default</key>
			<true/>
			<key>defaults</key>
			<string>com.apple.springboard</string>
			<key>key</key>
			<string>SBUseSystemGestures</string>
			<key>label</key>
			<string>Multitasking Gestures</string>
			<key>requiredCapabilities</key>
			<array>
				<string>multitasking-gestures</string>
			</array>
		</dict>

Then copy the .plist file back to its directory. That’s it.

enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (2)enable multitouch gestures iOS 4.3.1 (1)

Step 7

Now reboot or respring your iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch;
Go to Settings > General;
and Turn Multitasking gestures ON. Following Gestures can be performed after this:

  • Pinch to home screen
  • Swipe up for Multitasking bar
  • Swipe left/right to switch apps

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In App Web Browser for iPhone

This is the “BrowserApp” example. I am going to show you the simplest way to open the browser, from this app you can open any site. Suppose you want to open google.com just type the url and click the submit button.

Step 1: Open the Xcode and create a new Xcode project using View base application template. Give the application name “BrowserApp”. As shown in the figure below:

Step 2: Expand classes and notice Interface Builder created the BrowserAppViewController.h and BrowserAppViewController.m class for you. Expand Resources and notice the template generated a separate nib, BrowserAppViewController.xib.

Step 3: Open the BrowserAppViewController.h file and we have to add IBOutlet UITextField *textdata; To display the textfield, mention two IBAction. To perform the given action make the following changes in the file.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface BrowserAppViewController : UIViewController {
      IBOutlet UITextField *textdata;
      NSString *String;
}
@property (nonatomic retain) IBOutlet UITextField *textdata;
@property (nonatomic, copy) IBOutlet NSString *String;
(IBAction)SubmitB;
@end

Step 4: Double click the BrowserAppViewController.xib file and after that make the following changes.
A) Open the view window, first drag the Round Rect Button from the library and place it to the view window and select the button.

B) Open the view window, and drag the TextField from the library and place it to the view window.

Step 5: Open the BrowserAppViewController.m file and make the following changes in the file.

#import "BrowserAppViewController.h"
#import "BrowserAppAppDelegate.h"

@implementation BrowserAppViewController

@synthesize textdata;
@synthesize String;

(IBAction)SubmitB;    
{
        self.String = textdata.text;
        NSString *nameString = String;
       
        NSString* AUrl = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", nameString];
        [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:AUrl]];
       
}

Step 6: Now build and run the code and View the Output in the Simulator.

You can download source code from here BrowserApp

Parenting: Basics + the Jump Parent

Eran Stern has a new tutorial, Alternative Parenting:

Recently while playing with after effects I found a cool usage for the pick whip parenting tool. This little trick will allow you to create (something similar to) power duplication inside After Effects. You may know this by its official name “Jump Parent”. … To get you started I’ve also included a free AE project which take advantage of this alternative parenting system.


And just a little further back, Chris and Trish Meyer posted CMG Hidden Gems: Chapter 17 – Parenting Skills, on parenting basics, Non-Uniform Transformations, Parenting to Solve Messy Math, and Jump Parenting too. You might want to skim that section and the AE Help link below before you get into Eran’s tutorial.

Parenting is everywhere but here’s few resources with a focus on the subject:


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