Category: I-phone

With speculation about suppliers for the 2nd generation iPad already flying about, we’re also hearing that Apple is working on creating a “World iPad” that would contain both GSM and CDMA capabilities making it compatible with phone carriers around the world.

According to All Things Digital, analyst Brian Blair of Denver-based Wedge Partners performed channel checks on wireless supplier Qualcomm and believes that Apple’s next iPad will feature one of Qualcomm’s multi-mode CDMA-GSM chips. Blair went on to say that Apple would be “ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months” prior to starting production of the World iPad. Blair’s recent supplier checks point to Apple building a whopping 48 million iPads during the 2011 calendar year.

The combo iPad would mean that Verizon Wireless, which uses a network based on the CDMA standard, would be able to offer iPads without having to rely on selling a Wi-Fi only model plus a MiFi mobile hotspot.

Blair’s discussions with suppliers also indicate that the next-generation iPad will be thinner than the existing model, made from one piece of metal in a process similar to that used for the unibody MacBook Pros. As expected, the new model will have “at least” a front-facing camera for use in FaceTime video chats.

[via The Mac Observer]

Analyst says Apple is working on thinner CDMA-GSM iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the Web 2.0 Summit was under way from Nov. 15 through Nov. 17, there were a few inevitable pot shots at Apple from attending chief executive officers. This isn’t really a surprise with the ongoing growth of Apple and Apple’s overall value, but it’s definitely interesting to see what those CEOs felt needed to be said.

Shantanu Narayen is the CEO of Adobe Systems, and he told the Web 2.0 Summit audience that “there’s a war happening for developers, there’s a war to get the best applications for a particular platform.” Narayen considered the conflict between Apple and Adobe to be an issue of control and that the two companies are on different sides of that line.

When asked to define how Narayen saw the two sides of the conflict, he was willing to explain. “Apple would like to keep [the web ecosystem] closed and proprietary,” claimed the Adobe CEO. Narayen opined that Apple wants to “ensure that applications created for the iDevices only work on the iDevices if they’re native applications.” By contrast, Narayen claimed that Adobe would prefer to create content across all the web and mobile platforms. As if that weren’t enough, Narayen’s finished off that depiction by declaring, “Let the games begin!”

Jim Balsillie, who is a co-CEO of Research in Motion, was a little more direct when comparing Apple’s iOS devices to the Blackberry. In a soundbite that’s likely to be heard around the world, Balsillie said that users “don’t need an app for the web.” He claimed that RIM’s upcoming tablet, the PlayBook, would be up to four times faster for browsing than the iPad. Balsillie felt that the “appification” of the web shouldn’t be necessary and that websites shouldn’t need to convert to some kind of mobile version to be accessed. Even more importantly, Balsillie predicted later in his Web 2.0 Summit discussion that the “appification” would soon be reversed, and that the era of the app would be passing soon.

Check out the videos for yourself in the second half of this post.

[via TechCrunch and The Telegraph]

Continue reading CEOs discuss Apple at Web 2.0 Summit

CEOs discuss Apple at Web 2.0 Summit originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Redmond Pie reports today that iOS 4.2.1 has been successfully jailbroken, and that a compatible version of Cydia will be available as soon as 4.2.1 reaches the public. This build of iOS can be jailbroken with Redsn0w version 0.9.6b2, the same used with iOS 4.1.

The current version of Cydia is incompatible with iOS 4.2.1 and crashes upon launch. However, a working build is ready to go and will hit your jailbroken phones by the time you’ve got 4.2.1 installed. Until you get it, Redmond Pie suggests installing jailbreak apps via SSH.

Jailbreaking is not for me, but if you’re interested, know that you should be all set as soon as iOS 4.2.1 arrives.

[Via iTWire]

iOS 4.2.1 jailbroken, compatible Cydia store ready originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo has released an iPad version of its popular iPhone Sketch-a-Search app. For those not familiar with the app, Sketch-a-Search lets users simply sketch a line around an area of the built-in Google map to find restaurants within the sketched area. The app on the iPhone is great, and it’s something I’ve always thought Apple would be smart to build in as a feature to iOS’s Google Maps app. Searching a map by drawing a line with your finger is much faster and user-friendly than typing in search queries. The only drawback to the app is that it only searches for restaurants and not other points of interest.

The iPad version of the app is essentially the same as the iPhone version, with the exception of being optimized for the iPad’s larger display. Alongside the release of Sketch-a-Search for iPad, Yahoo updated the iPhone version of the app, too. Both versions now feature Zagat-rated restaurants in the search results, along with the ability to book a table through the app using OpenTable integration. Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search for iPad and Sketch-a-Search for iPhone both require iOS 4 or later, which means that unless you are running the iOS 4.2 beta on iPad, you’re gonna have to wait to use the app even though you can download it now.

Yahoo! releases Sketch-a-Search for iPad, update for iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Website Giz-China has published photos of what appear to be genuine white iPhone 4s on sale in China. The boxes are marked with a label describing them as being “for internal use only,” and certainly look more convincing than many of the knock-offs we see from that area.

Prices reportedly range from 5500 Yuan (about $828 as of this writing) to 8000 Yuan ($1204).

This type of illegal resale has been a persistent problem for Apple. In 2008, the New York Times estimated that there were 1.4 million ill-gotten iPhones in the world. At this time last year, the Wall Street Journal estimated that number had grown to 2 million in China alone.

More recently, security personnel at a Beijing Apple Store were forced to temporarily close the doors while some customers purchased huge numbers of iPhones only to re-sell them just outside the store. Additionally, Apple has begun to introduce new products to the Chinese market more quickly than before, partially in an attempt to eliminate the high-demand, low-supply environment that’s so attractive to opportunistic resellers.

[Via CrunchGear]

Real white iPhone 4s supposedly sold on Chinese grey market originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Once a company’s worth gets into the stratospheric range that Apple now inhabits, financial analysts start to play with the numbers and find all sorts of fascinating things. Stock analysis firm Trefis looked at Apple’s product mix and estimated that the iPhone line accounts for about 53.5% of Apple’s stock value. By comparison, the Mac weighs in at a paltry 18.3%.

Next, Trefis assigned a price estimate of $418 a share to AAPL, which is about 40% ahead of the current stock price but well within estimates from a number of Wall Street analysts. Applying these assumptions — and they’re rather big assumptions — the iPhone would account for $209 billion of the estimated $391 billion value for Apple.

$209 billion… That puts just the iPhone product line at Apple ahead of consumer giants like Coca-Cola ($138 billion), tech heavyweight Google ($204 billion), and any of the pharmaceutical firms, led by Johnson & Johnson ($173 billion). iPhone, Inc. is also worth more than any of the world’s automobile manufacturers, with Toyota ($119 billion) leading the pack, and all but Walmart ($243 billion) in the retail business. The iPhone biz is also bigger than any telecom firm with the exception of one — AT&T at $224 billion.

In this perfect world, Apple is the most highly valued company, followed by Exxon Mobile ($349 billion), three Chinese companies, BHP (mining, $236 billion), IBM, Microsoft, and Proctor & Gamble ($243 billion). Of course, this type of conjecture is based on all sorts of assumptions, but it sure is fun to see.

[via Fortune Tech]

iPhone as a company worth more than all but 10 companies in the world originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve all seen the potential of what a demo like Epic Citadel can do, but while work continues on Infinity Blade, John Carmack’s id Software has released Rage, an iOS-exclusive tie-in to the big FPS console and PC title scheduled to come out next year. The game is a pretty incredible feat in and of itself, with realistic graphics set in Rage’s post-apocalyptic world and an on-rails shooting experience that feels extremely dynamic. It also has a fun reloading mechanic, a dodge button, a constant flow of mutants to shoot, and power-ups and bonuses to grab. At just one or two dollars for the SD or HD versions, Rage is a steal, and if you can play the game in full HD on the iPhone or the iPad, there’s no question you should.

I got the chance to chat with Carmack himself earlier today about this game and what he thinks of the iOS platform, and you can read the results of our interview after the break below. The good news: he says he’s more focused on this kind of mobile development than ever before, and as a result, he’s hoping we’ll see at least two more mobile games from id before the full version of Rage comes out next year.

Continue reading John Carmack talks about Rage SD and HD, iOS, and what’s next for iOS gaming

John Carmack talks about Rage SD and HD, iOS, and what’s next for iOS gaming originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spend some time reading on the iPad and you’ll notice it starts to feel heavy. Apparently Apple is aware of this, as a new patent describes novel materials meant to reduce its weight.

The current model has an aluminum body, but the patent suggests carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP. According to Engineers Paradise, CFRP offers high impact resistance and extreme rigidity, and is often used on high-stress products like bicycle frames and robot arms.

The patent describes “an electronic device or other object” (we’ll let you look at the illustration above and assume what you will) with a CFRP spine that has several layers of CFRP stretched across it.

Of course, the iPad’s shell isn’t fully responsible for its heft. We imagine the batteries and glass display have a little more to do with that. However, every ounce counts when you’re dealing with picky geeks.

[Via The Register]

New Apple patent addresses iPad’s weight originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Would-be air traffic controllers can now get their flight control fix on the Mac or PC. Flight Control HD, the addictive line drawing game that lets you drag aircraft to their landing zones with your finger on iOS, is now available on Steam for US$4.99.

The game, from game house Firemint, was a bona fide hit on the iPhone early on, and then migrated to the iPad earlier this year in the HD format. Flight Control HD has also hit the PS3 in a stereoscopic 3D version that supports the PlayStation Move gesture-based controller.

As with all Steam games, you’ll need to download and install the free game engine first. The Mac version requires an Intel Mac running Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or later (for Leopard users) or 10.6.3 or later for Snow Leopard users.

Once you’re in the game, you’ll find something that is exclusive to the Steam version — a “stunt map” that has you flying through air racing gates to gain extra points before landing.

It’s fascinating to watch the more popular game titles on iOS making their way to the big(ger) screen.

Flight Control HD now available on Steam for Mac originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we wait for iOS 4.2 to drop, Apple is supposedly busy lining up parts suppliers for the next-generation iPad. DigiTimes reports that Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies will be the initial Printed Circuit Board (PCB) suppliers. Their sources say that these companies have received “certification from Apple” and will begin shipping parts in December. They also expect additional suppliers to be added in February.

DigiTimes’ track record is hit-and-miss, so keep that in mind. Here’s what you can bank on: Apple will update the iPad’s hardware. It will include parts, and those parts will be made by someone. The current iPad models will be a year old as of April 3rd, 2011, so it’s reasonable that Apple will release an update near the beginning of next year.

How’s that for a rumor?

[Via AppleInsider]

Next-generation iPad parts suppliers supposedly named originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So you like Flight Control a lot, but you’ve conquered every map and every leaderboard on there already? Then Bee Patrol is exactly what you need. It’s a fun line-drawing title that has you controlling bees back and forth between honeycombs and flowers. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as polished as Flight Control, but heck, what is? Bee Patrol is still a solid line-drawing game, with nine different levels over three worlds, and two modes to play through. Worker mode is like Flight Control’s survival mode, and Queen mode has you collecting as much honey as possible from the flowers available in a certain time period.

The game’s got both Game Center and OpenFeint integration, and the developers are promising more updates in the future as well. The iPhone version is US$0.99, and the iPad version with upsized graphics is a dollar more. There’s a lite version as well, if you want to give the game a try without plunking down a buck. I enjoyed Bee Patrol a lot — I admit that Flight Control has the flight path subgenre locked down, but if you’re looking for a different spin, this one’s worth a shot.

TUAW’s Daily App: Bee Patrol originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update — 9to5Mac published a Stevemail stating that TJ Maxx is not an authorized reseller. We kind of figured that, Steve. Note the 9to5 post suggests that the iPad stock may have come from Costco — however that seems a bit unlikely, considering that the discount membership store chain fell out with Apple over not being allowed to carry the tablet.

Also, the TJ Maxx Twitter feed clarified the timing: the iPads are on sale now, the weekend of 11/19 — not next weekend, the traditional Black Friday shopping crush. TJX is not announcing which stores are stocking iPads, so you’ll have to scout about.
—

In what will probably be the best Apple-related Black Friday deal to be had, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, which are both owned by TJX Companies, Inc., are offering the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi iPad for US$399 on Black Friday. That’s a whopping $100 off the entry-level iPad’s standard price. T.J. Maxx confirmed the rumors today via Twitter after the story broke on Engadget.

If you’re hoping to grab one of these discounted iPads, you’ll need more than just the ability to wait in line for 12 hours before the stores open, however. Luck is going to play a big role. T. J. Maxx tweeted that only select, unadvertised stores are carrying the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad, and quantities will, of course, be limited. How many is “limited?” Only T. J. Maxx knows, but a Mac Rumors forum member did reportedly confirm that Marshalls stores in Florida are going to be receiving 100 iPads a day over the three day weekend. Whether those same quantities will be showing up at the T. J. Maxx stores, and whether those units are all entry-level iPads remains to be seen.

T.J. Maxx and Marshalls offer 16GB Wi-Fi iPad for $399 originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As noted by Mac Rumors, the Mac OS X 10.6.5 software update released last week fixes the display issues some owners were having with their new MacBook Airs. In a new support document released today titled MacBook Air (Late 2010): Video anomalies after waking from sleep, Apple describes the symptoms as “After waking from sleep, your MacBook Air display may flicker or fade from light to dark repeatedly.” Their solution: “Download and apply the Mac OS X v10.6.5 update to resolve this issue.”

No word on why Apple didn’t mention the MacBook Air fix in the 10.6.5 release notes, but owners of the new MacBook Airs will be glad they’ve (probably) already downloaded the fix to prevent the display issues from happening again.

Mac OS X 10.6.5 fixes MacBook Air display issues originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not only are the guys over at Amazing Books great guys and fun to chat with they are also generous.

If you would like to win one of their apps we have three each of “Jack and the Beanstalk 3D” and “The Three Little Pigs 3D“.

All you have to do to win in leave a comment telling us which one you want and what story you would like to see made into a 3D story app. Winners will be chosen and emailed on Friday, November 26th.

While iOS 4.2 final is not yet released to general public, developers has already got access to iOS 4.2.1 GM for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. You can download iOS 4.2.1 GM from the iOS Developer Center if you’re a registered Apple developer.

iOS 4.2.1 GM is aimed at fixing major Exchange and audio issues.

If you’re enrolled in the iPhone Developers Center, you can download iOS 4.2.1 GM from the link below:

Download iOS 4.2.1 GM

We will keep you updated as soon as iOS 4.2/4.2.1 final hits masses. Stay Tuned!

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