Category: I-phone

If supplies of certain iMac models are any indication, a refresh of Apple’s all-in-one iMac may be in the works. This would be the first update of the iMac line since July 27, 2010, when the Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 machines first became available.

9to5 Mac is reporting that supplies of the desktop machine are constrained worldwide at this time. An anonymous tipster provided the blog with the screenshot seen at the top of this post, showing four standard versions of the iMac in constrained status with “no ETA” for new shipments.

Not only are iMac shipments constrained, but even replacement parts are currently in short supply. Graphics processors and hard drives are particularly hard to get in the U.S.

As we reported at the end of March, any upcoming iMac refresh would most likely migrate the platform to Intel’s powerful Sandy Bridge processors, as well as the speedy Thunderbolt I/O standard that debuted in the recent MacBook Pro refresh. At that point, we speculated that the refresh would come in late April or early May, and that timeframe looks more valid every day.

If you’re considering the purchase of a new iMac, you may want to put off that purchase for a month or so to benefit from any refresh of the line.

iMac supplies constrained, indicating possible refresh soon originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After being introduced to the US market on March 11th, it’s still not easy to get your hands on an iPad 2. D.L. Horton decided to do something about it, which lead to FindOne, a free iOS app that checks the online inventory of Target and Walmart to see what they have in stock.

Depending upon your criteria — such as AT&T or Verizon, color, storage capacity, or Wi-Fi only — you enter your zip code and up pops a listing of what’s in stock, along with addresses and phone numbers of the stores. Since inventory levels change minute by minute, you are strongly advised to call the stores and find out if the results are accurate and perhaps to reserve an iPad 2.

I called a few stores and found the app to be fairly accurate. It’s not perfect by a long shot, but it’s a great way to start your search. I live in a heavily populated area and got a lot of results, some of them as far as 45 miles away and some as close as only four miles. The site mentions that Best Buy inventory will soon be added to the app.

Yes, it would be nice if the app contained all vendors of iPad 2s, but first, it’s free (advertising-supported) and second, it’s anyone’s guess whether the other vendors have an online inventory system that FindOne can tap into. It’s basic, but I think that FindOne has the potential of helping out some frustrated would-be buyers.

FindOne for iOS helps you get your hands on an iPad 2 originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Popular cloud file syncing service Dropbox, much beloved by TUAW, has been in the news lately. On the one hand, it announced it had hit a new high of 25 million users, which is a number which is both pleasingly big and pleasingly round. On the other hand, it has been the target of some strongly worded criticism for its security features — or, more accurately, problems with them.

The most recent of these criticisms arose from an update to the Dropbox Terms of Service to state that if the government asks, it will hand over your files:

As set forth in our privacy policy, and in compliance with United States law, Dropbox cooperates with United States law enforcement when it receives valid legal process, which may require Dropbox to provide the contents of your private Dropbox. In these cases, Dropbox will remove Dropbox’s encryption from the files before providing them to law enforcement.

This isn’t terribly surprising, although on first glance it might sound awful. Consider the alternatives. If Dropbox receive a legally binding subpoena in a criminal case demanding the release of data, what else could anyone expect them to do except hand the data over, right?

Continue reading Dropbox under fire for security concerns

Dropbox under fire for security concerns originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ITC weighed in on the infringement complaint Apple filed against HTC and Nokia and decided the two handset manufacturers are not liable for infringing on Apple’s patents.

In the Monday hearing, Apple accused HTC of infringing five Apple patents that focus on the “seamless integration of hardware and software.” The patents describe methods for signal processing and inter-process communications. Nokia allegedly infringes on one of these signal processing patents. Apple sought a ban on the import of HTC’s Android handsets as well as select Nokia devices.

This initial ruling is a setback for Apple, but not the end of the line. The full six member ITC commission still has to review the case and rule on this initial decision. The commission has the opportunity to reverse this decision, but this initial ruling often weighs heavily in the commission’s final decision.

Apple could always opt to do what Nokia did when the ITC ruled against the Finnish company in its complaint with Apple. A few days after the ITC ruled against Nokia, the Finnish company filed a second infringement complaint against Apple that focused on seven new patents.

ITC rules in favor of HTC and Nokia in Apple infringement case originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Onion, one of our favorite sources for fake news. Has done a talking heads analysis of whether the unemployed should buy Apple computers. In typical Onion fashion, they miss the point — on purpose of course.

The consensus? Of course the unemployed should buy Apples! You can do graphic design and look cool at Starbucks. The only person with a semi-reasonable point winds up getting tossed off the show for knowing nothing about the problem.

As one analyst mentioned: “I didn’t know that we’d be drinking the Apple Kool-Aid here.” For a good dose of said Kool-Aid, check out the video either on the free Onion app, or on the next page.

Continue reading Should unemployed Americans buy Apple gear? The Onion weighs in

Should unemployed Americans buy Apple gear? The Onion weighs in originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Need an Entourage of Sopranos to entertain you while you manage a Boardwalk Empire with your Band of Brothers? Starting in May, HBO subscribers will be able to enjoy “instant and unlimited access to the best HBO has to offer” using an iPad, iPhone, or Android device. Time Warner subsidiary HBO, one of the leading premium television networks in the U.S., posted a teaser video promoting the upcoming mobile app on YouTube late last week.

HBO began offering streaming services to its subscribers in February, 2010. Today, HBO GO, which offers about 1,400 titles from the network’s library of movies and original TV series, can be accessed only from a desktop or laptop computer using a Flash-enabled web browser. Expected to arrive on May 2, the iOS and Android apps will further extend HBO’s reach beyond the television… ironically, two years after the network ditched the long-running “it’s not TV, it’s HBO” slogan.

Now, it’s time to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Access to HBO GO is limited to customers who subscribe to HBO through a traditional cable television service provider. If you want to enjoy True Blood on your iPad, you’ll need to sign up for television service and subscribe to HBO through Comcast XFINITY TV, Verizon FiOS, Cox Advanced TV, AT&T U-Verse or DirecTV. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes insists the premium network has no current plans to allow customers to cut The Wire and put the cable bill Six Feet Under with an option to subscribe directly to the HBO GO service.

For now, by bringing its streaming Extras to the iPad, iPhone, and Android, HBO is giving its approximately 28 million subscribers one more way to avoid being Bored to Death while on the go. Continue reading to watch the official teaser video for the HBO GO mobile app.

[via TiPb]

Continue reading HBO GO app to bring Tony Soprano to your iOS device

HBO GO app to bring Tony Soprano to your iOS device originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chimei Innolux Corp. is joining TPK Holding Corp. and Wintek Corp. as the third provider of touch panel sensors for the Apple iPad 2. Chimei will begin supplying the panels next month, Bloomberg said. TPK and Wintek will still be the primary suppliers of the touch panels, but Chimei’s contribution will help Apple meet the growing demand for its popular tablet device.

Demand for the iPad 2 is “amazing”, Apple’s spokesperson Trudy Miller said. The tablet device flew off retail store shelves when it launched earlier this year and demand has been high ever since. Despite being available in several retail channels including Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Best Buy, the iPad 2 is still difficult to find in stores, and the wait time for online orders is still two to three weeks.

Incidentally, this deal with Chimei will help solidify Apple’s position with Foxconn, the primary assembler of the iPhone and iPad. Chimei was formed last year when Foxconn-owned Innolux Display merged with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., and TPO Displays Corp.

Apple adds third supplier of iPad 2 touchscreen components originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Tuesday!!! Dave is a nice boyfriend who purchaed an AirPort Extreme for his girlfriend’s birthday in order to help her. While the Extreme solved her printing/backup issues, he wanted to know about playing music through it.

Today we discuss the different AirPort base stations and show Dave his options.

Any questions? Please leave them in the comments or email us. Read on for the video.

Continue reading Ask TUAW Video Edition: Airport Breakdown!

Ask TUAW Video Edition: Airport Breakdown! originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone’s favorite and always accurate source, “analysts,” have been jumping up and down over the past few days saying, “You guys! You guys! Seriously! Apple’s making an HDTV! I’m serious, you guys, it’s coming out later this year!”

This is another one of those Rumors that Just Won’t Die, right alongside such perennial zombie products as an Apple-branded phone and an Apple-branded tablet — wait, those products actually exist? Hmm. Well, does that mean the analysts are on to something? Or are they just on something?

Speculation has run wild over this whole Apple HDTV issue, with half the interested parties saying there’s absolutely no way Apple will make its own HDTV, ever, and here’s the charts and data to prove it, so there. The other half has instead wondered what exactly an HDTV from Apple might be like, and as usual, the feature wishlists exploded into Star Trek fanfiction territory by the end of the afternoon. Starry-eyed wishers have started throwing out phrases like, “Apple will re-define the TV,” and “Apple will free us from the tyranny of the cable box” — all without any proof of the product’s existence, or any realistic notions of its specs, features, price, distribution channel, ad infinitum.

Will Apple make an HDTV? At this point I’d say the safe bet is no, but keep in mind that Apple’s not exactly a company that’s built on safe bets. Lots of people thought the Macintosh would fail in 1984. Instead, it re-invented how the general public interacted with computers. In 2001, Apple introduced the iPod, a product that Slashdot famously dismissed as “lame,” and changed how people interact with music. The iPhone and iPad are still sending shock waves through their respective industries. Apple does have a history of stepping into established spaces with existing products and turning the whole thing on its head, but the question is, what can you do to a TV to make it more than a TV?

Continue reading Apple HDTV vs. Apple TV HD

Apple HDTV vs. Apple TV HD originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few months ago, we reported on how Apple rejected the Sony Reader app from the App Store, seemingly singling out the electronics and media company for punishment when similar apps like Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook readers for iOS were untouched.

Sony appears to have decided to follow the old maxim that “if you at first don’t succeed, try, try again,” since they have had a new app for iOS approved by Apple. The free Crackle app gives access to hundreds of movies in the Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, and Tri-Star libraries, as well as thousands of TV series episodes.

Available for free are movies like Ghostbusters, series like Seinfeld and Married … With Children, and The Three Stooges. According to Crackle’s App Store description, you can build and manage your viewing queue on the app or online, and video streams over Wi-Fi and 3G. More new movies and TV episodes will be added on a regular basis.

So how is Sony making money on this? There are short ads that appear during the video, but most reviewers in the App Store are saying that they’re so short that they’re almost unnoticeable. It’s a free app with free content, no subscription fee, and good quality, so it looks like a winner.

[via MacStories]

Sony’s Crackle app for iOS approved by Apple originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple is not only tweaking its App Store rankings to downrank pay-per-install applications, it may be actively banning these applications from the App Store. According to Tapjoy, several developers within their network are receiving rejection notices from Apple because their applications feature a pay-per-install promotion.

This cross-application promotion lets users buy virtual in-app goods by downloading other applications instead of sending a payment. This practice has been criticized because it artificially boosts the download counts of applications. Users download these advertised applications because they want something for free, not because the app is desirable.

Tapjoy claims these incentive-based downloads are not directly prohibited by Apple’s developers guidelines, but believes Apple is applying section 3.10 to apps within its network. Section 3.10 of Apple’s developer agreement states:

Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the iOS Developer Program

Tapjoy defends its pay-per-install model by claiming the system is misunderstood. It acknowledges that campaigns may boost the downloads of some participating developers, but the overall model is beneficial to users, advertisers, and developers. Tapjoy supports the recent changes to Apple’s ranking algorithm and is asking Apple to reconsider its unofficial ban on pay-per-install applications.

Apple banning pay-per-install apps from the App Store says Tapjoy originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a double whammy for you. Vietnamese site Tinhte (who have a decent record of leaks) has put out a video of what they claim is a) a white iPhone from Apple which is b) running some “test version” of iOS. As you can see in the video on the next page, multitasking in this mystery version presents you with a page full of screens for running applications. They go all jiggly and present the standard close button when long-pressed, and there’s a nifty Search iPhone up top, but seems to be missing from the usual swipe to search function normally used to invoke Spotlight.

Is this real? Well, as Federico Viticci from MacStories points out, the Calculator app uses an old icon, as does the Voice Memo app. But iPhone Dev Team hacker Chronic tweets, there’s nothing from Cydia like this. In fact, Chronic states unequivocally that this is, in fact, simply build 8A216 of iOS 4. The Gold Master version of iOS 4 was 8A293. Nothing to get excited about today it seems, although the way multitasking works here is kinda neat. Perhaps it will live again in iOS 5. For now, we’re not going to say this is indicative of anything but a white iPhone running an old version of iOS 4.

Update: 9to5 Mac posted another video which supports the notion this iPhone is a prototype with 64 GB of memory. Unfortunately they are enthused over what they perceive as iOS 5 features, including such goodies as Facebook integration… We are siding with Chronic on this one and say this is build 8A216.

[via Engadget]

Continue reading White iPhone? Test version of iOS? Tinhte claims both in video

White iPhone? Test version of iOS? Tinhte claims both in video originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News broke yesterday that Apple filed a patent and trademark violation lawsuit against Samsung. The suit claims Samsung stole the physical look, hardware design, software packaging and user interface from Apple and used these Apple-inspired elements in its popular line of Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Samsung has responded strongly to this suit, threatening to fight this lawsuit and retaliate with its own countersuit accusing Apple of violating wireless patents held by the Korean company. This move pits Samsung against its second biggest client in a war over lucrative wireless and smartphone technology. Apple obtains display panels and semiconductors from Samsung and accounted for 4% of the Korean’s company total revenue in 2010.

Samsung will respond strongly to Apple’s lawsuit originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone dev-team released an untethered jailbreak for iOS owners running Apple’s latest 4.3.2 firmware. Good news for jailbreakers as Apple did not patch the hole discovered by @i0n1c. The code for this exploit was used in the untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 and was easily ported over to the jailbreak for this latest version of iOS.

iPad 2 owners cannot join the jailbreak party as the 0.9.6rc14 version of redsn0w only supports the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM), iPod touch 3G/4G and the first generation iPad. Point your browser to the dev-team’s website for more information on the Mac and Windows version of redSn0w.

As always, follow the directions closely and remember you jailbreak at your own risk.

[Via Redmond Pie]

iPhone dev-team releases untethered redsn0w jailbreak for iOS 4.3.2, iPad 2 not included originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An internal memo suggests Apple is ending the US$30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program. The program offers customers a $30 discount on a $99 MobileMe subscription or the $79 iWork suite when they buy a new Mac. According to the memo, Apple has told all resellers to end the program on April 18th. All references to the rebate must be removed by the end of that business day.

This change is stirring up the persistent rumor that MobileMe is undergoing a major overhaul. Apple recently stopped selling boxed copies of MobileMe leading to speculation that some or all the cloud service may be offered for free. This change may be announced in the upcoming months, possibly at WWDC and may be tied to Apple’s iOS 5 update.

The termination of the iWork rebate program is not tied to MobileMe, but it does hint an update to the productivity suite is on the way. The desktop version of the suite was updated in 2009 and is in need of a refresh. Much of the changes to iWork in 2010 focused on bringing the applications to the iPad. iWork 11 was expected to debut with the roll out of the Mac App store, but that rumor failed to materialize.

Apple ends $30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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