Otterbox Reflex case for iPhone 4 review

 

 

Otterbox’s Reflex Series case for the iPhone 4 is great offering for anyone who wants great iPhone protection in a slim and light package. The Reflex is a slider case that comes with two parts: put your iPhone 4 in the bottom piece and then slide on the top piece. The case leaves room for all iPhone 4 access points including the volume rocker, silent/ringer switch, earphone jack, dock connector, speaker, and microphone. The case is made of very tough plastic, but is thin and light enough to fit in your pocket, bag, purse, etc…

The good thing about the case featuring two sliding pieces is that the bottom piece can be removed for easy docking in things like speakers or Apple’s iPhone 4 dock. So, why is the case called the Reflex? Well, the video above demonstrates best. When the phone is dropped on a surface/item it has a small bouncing or rebounding effect. This not only ensures that the case will not look damaged, but more importantly will keep your iPhone 4 in pristine condition. Otterbox is known for their larger, Defender series case that certainly is one of the most, if not the most, protective iPhone 4 cases on the market. The Reflex case takes cues from the Defender, but presents them in a thin and light package that anybody would love to keep their iPhone 4 in.

 

The only major gripe we have with this case – not particularly Otterbox’s fault – is that the new white iPhone 4 does not fit in it. This is because the white model is slightly thicker.And Otterbox confirms this on their website. In any case, if you are looking for a solid and protective case for your black iPhone 4, the Reflex is a great offering.

 

(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)

iOS Water Drops Wallpaper for the Desktop

 

The default iOS water droplets wallpaper is beautiful, but it doesn’t easily stretch to a desktop resolution. No big deal, some crafty Photoshop work from DeviantArt has created this massive 2560×1440 version that closely resembles the default background on new iPhones and iPads.

Click the image above or here for the full image. You can also get the full wallpaper pack in a 17mb zip file from DeviantArt, look for the ‘Download File’ link on the right side of the page. The full pack includes different aspect ratios and resolutions for both desktops and smartphones.

Want some more nice backgrounds? Here’s two from Mac OS X 10.7 Lion:

• Mac OS X Lion Space Wallpaper
• Mac OS X Lion Fuji Mountain Wallpaper

 

 

 

.(Via OS X Daily.)

Rumor: Apple to release new iMacs on Tuesday, May 3

 

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple will release new iMac models next Tuesday, May 3. Citing 'people familiar with the matter' who have 'continually provided accurate information,' AppleInsider states that the next iMacs will sport second-generation Intel Core i5/17 chips and a Thunderbolt port. It could not be confirmed at this time if the new iMacs will feature changes to the display sizes.

AI also states that its sources said the early morning hours of May 3 at Apple Retail stores will be a 'visual night' which means that the new iMacs should be on sale the day they are announced. 'Visual night' is the term when Apple retail employees stay through the night and change merchandising and display planograms in the store in order to prepare a new product for sale. In this case, the older iMacs will be removed and replaced by the newly announced models.

AppleInsider's sources seem to agree with earlier reports from Cnet that new iMacs will ship in April or May. The iMac line was last updated on July 27, 2010.

 

 

 

Rumor: Apple to release new iMacs on Tuesday, May 3 originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST.

Use Dashboard Widgets On Your Desktop [Video How-To]

 

 

Sometimes Dashboard can seem like a hassle. While it can be very handy for quick tasks, having to open a specific application to access these widgets can become cumbersome. It is also impossible to perform other tasks while using these widgets. Well, a simple command can fix all of that, and let you enjoy widgets alongside Mac OS X applications. Find out what to do in this video.

 

 

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

Safari “Reading List” Feature in Mac OS X Lion Lets You Read Webpages Later

 

Apple looks to be developing a new bookmarking feature in Mac OS X Lion that allows users to select web content for reading later. The feature is called Reading List and appears to behave much like Instapaper and ReadItLater, but is currently disabled in Lion Developer Builds of Safari.

MacRumors found the following description that Apple offers for Reading List:

Reading List lets you collect webpages and links for you to read later. To add the current page to your Reading List, click Add Page. You can also Shift-click a link to quickly add it to the list. To hide and show Reading List, click the Reading List icon (eyeglasses) in the bookmarks bar.

Safari’s Reading List could simply be an extension of Safari Reader, a feature that has been in the web browser for a while. Reader strips web content from it’s origin webpage and places it in an overlaid easy to read format (it also skirts around paywalls sometimes).

There is some speculation that Reading List might sync bookmarked pages between your Mac and the iPhone or iPad for later reading, but there is currently no evidence to support this idea.

 

 

 

(Via OS X Daily.)

Sony Bloggie 3D now available for aspiring James Camerons everywhere

 

Sure, we'll never see dreams of a 3D Cisco Flip realized, but Sony's offering the next best thing: the Bloggie 3D. The latest addition to the company's line of pocket camcorders was quietly made available this week. The camera takes a cue from Nintendo's latest portable, with a 2.4 inch 3D display that eschews the need for glasses. Or, if you're not in the mood to squint and don't mind the eyewear, you can output the video to a 3D-enabled HDTV.

 

 

Sony Bloggie 3D now available for aspiring James Camerons everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:14:00 EDT.

AppleWebMaster.......The best YouTube channel there is.

AppleWebMaster YouTube Channel.

 

Click on the link or image above.

 

HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/KREFTOVICH1

 

 

 

Celebrate the Royal Wedding with the Royal iPhone Collection

 

If you haven’t gotten your fill of Royal Wedding Memorabilia yet, and want something that lasts and communicates your feelings, consider the Royal iPhone Collection from Goldgenie. The 32GB Royal iPhone is available in three versions – Platinum, 18 Ct. Gold and Rose Gold and includes a VS1 8.50 ct. diamond and sapphire bezel and embellished Apple logo.

According to Goldgenie, the bezel is set with sapphire and diamonds similar to the late Princes Diana’s wedding ring. Only 50 pieces will be offered for sale.

Pricing befits the Royal Occasion: the Platinum version is £23,050, Gold £20,050 and Rose £20,100. Don’t Wait – Operators are Standing By!

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

If you need a reason to jailbreak, Cydia’s founder has a few

 

It is estimated that one in ten iPhones out there are jailbroken. That is, their software is modified to run apps Apple doesn’t want you to know about. For the vast majority of remaining 90 percent, however, jailbreaking is a borderline underground thing and a big no-no. And who can blame them? Apple was vigilant about jailbreakers , until federal regulators last summer declared jailbreaking legal. Still, many people didn’t get the memo.

That’s why Jay Freeman, also known as Saurik and the man who created Cydia, an unofficial app store for unsanctioned software, set out to educate those not in the known about the benefits of jailbreaking. Saurik sat down with Robert Scoble at the Mobile Connections conference who produced the above video. Would you free your phone from the clutches of curated App Store now that you’ve learned about the benefits of jailbreaking? Meet us in comments.

If you thought unofficial apps are far and few between, think again. Although it carries a lot of free apps like themes and user interface tweaks, the Cydia Store also sells apps, just like the App Store, minus the convenient billing system.

In fact, the Cydia Store  is a big business that had raked in a quarter of million dollars in income as of July 2009. By now, the figure may have approached or surpassed the one million dollar mark. Recently a paid banner advertising the Toyota Scion theme made a lot of noise because it suggested that Cydia cut an advertising deal with the car maker.

Saurik rebuffed the rumor, explaining said banner was being served in the Cydia storefront via ModMyi, but that didn’t stop Apple from asking Toyota to take down the advert.

 

 

(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)

White iPhone 4 is Slightly Thicker – May Not Fit Some Cases

As we are all well aware by now, yesterday saw the launch of the white iPhone 4 in 29 countries around the world. What you may not be aware of, however, is that the white iPhone is ever so slightly thicker than the black model, as discovered by some early adopters of the device.

A MacRumors reader was one of the first to discover the difference, and emailed the site to let them know:

Just picked up the white iPhone 4 and realized it doesn’t fit into my Incase slider case. It appears that Apple has increased the size of the plastic that borders the glass on both sides by about 1mm

Ryan Cash of Marketcircle also discovered the difference, but it didn’t take an ill-fitting case for him to realize: Cash claims to have noticed simply by picking the device up:

A colleague of mine just picked up a 16 GB iPhone 4 in white. I was a bit surprised when I picked it up off his desk (I had my black 32 GB in my other hand at the same time) – it immediately felt thicker. We placed them side-by-side on his desk, and sure enough, the white iPhone was a hair thicker.

Comparison photos taken by Cash demonstrate the slight difference, but it’s not as much as the MacRumors reader had suggested. In fact, the white iPhone 4 is thicker than the black model by just 0.2mm.

After closer inspection, Cash has revealed that the difference is in the iPhone’s stainless steel surround, which is obviously thicker on the white device.

A difference of 0.2mm is never going to cause too many issues, but it’s worth remembering when shopping for a case that some may be a tight fit.

"

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

Foxconn employees arrested for leaking iPad 2 design

Remember those iPad 2 cases we saw in December of last year that hinted at the svelte design and rear-facing camera of the iPad 2? It appears these cases were the real deal and three Foxconn employees may have been the source.

According to China-based sznews.com, Foxconn has accused three employees of leaking the iPad 2 case design to accessory companies in China. These three employees were arrested on December 26, 2010 and charged with trade secret violations on March 23, 2011.

 

 

Foxconn employees arrested for leaking iPad 2 design originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:15:00 EST.

Apple Responds: We Are Not Tracking Your iPhone

 

Apple answered questions about location information stored on the iPhone in a press release issued early Wednesday morning. The official statement follows last week’s revelation at a location services conference that Apple’s iOS 4 included an unencrypted location tracking log file. Here’s Apple’s statement in full:

Apple would like to respond to the questions we have recently received about the gathering and use of location information by our devices.

1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.

2. Then why is everyone so concerned about this?
Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date.

3. Why is my iPhone logging my location?
The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone’s location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements). These calculations are performed live on the iPhone using a crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data that is generated by tens of millions of iPhones sending the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple.

4. Is this crowd-sourced database stored on the iPhone?
The entire crowd-sourced database is too big to store on an iPhone, so we download an appropriate subset (cache) onto each iPhone. This cache is protected but not encrypted, and is backed up in iTunes whenever you back up your iPhone. The backup is encrypted or not, depending on the user settings in iTunes. The location data that researchers are seeing on the iPhone is not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone’s location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone. We plan to cease backing up this cache in a software update coming soon (see Software Update section below).

5. Can Apple locate me based on my geo-tagged Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
No. This data is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form. Apple cannot identify the source of this data.

6. People have identified up to a year’s worth of location data being stored on the iPhone. Why does my iPhone need so much data in order to assist it in finding my location today?
This data is not the iPhone’s location data—it is a subset (cache) of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database which is downloaded from Apple into the iPhone to assist the iPhone in rapidly and accurately calculating location. The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below). We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.

7. When I turn off Location Services, why does my iPhone sometimes continue updating its Wi-Fi and cell tower data from Apple’s crowd-sourced database?
It shouldn’t. This is a bug, which we plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below).

8. What other location data is Apple collecting from the iPhone besides crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.

9. Does Apple currently provide any data collected from iPhones to third parties?
We provide anonymous crash logs from users that have opted in to third-party developers to help them debug their apps. Our iAds advertising system can use location as a factor in targeting ads. Location is not shared with any third party or ad unless the user explicitly approves giving the current location to the current ad (for example, to request the ad locate the Target store nearest them).

10. Does Apple believe that personal information security and privacy are important?
Yes, we strongly do. For example, iPhone was the first to ask users to give their permission for each and every app that wanted to use location. Apple will continue to be one of the leaders in strengthening personal information security and privacy.

Software Update

Sometime in the next few weeks Apple will release a free iOS software update that:

• reduces the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone,
• ceases backing up this cache, and
• deletes this cache entirely when Location Services is turned off.

In the next major iOS software release the cache will also be encrypted on the iPhone.

The ‘discovery’ of the file actually just publicized to a much wider audience what infosec professionals already know, which is that iPhones gather and store device location logs. Nonetheless, the announcement sparked questions from U.S. and international lawmakers, and investigations by the Wall Street Journal and other media entities.

But as Apple’s answers above indicate, the info appearing on your iPhone isn’t necessarily data gathered by your phone itself at all. It’s a selection of anonymous, crowd-sourced data that provides the location of cell towers in your immediate area. That explains why many users were seeing the odd location pinpoint in locations where they hadn’t been or which appeared to be inaccessible (in the middle of a river, etc.). Of course, the end result is still that your phone provides a rough record of where you’ve been.

Apple does admit that location info shouldn’t continue to be gathered for its crowd-sourced database when you have location services turned off, and promises a fix for that bug. It also promises changes to how the data is stored, gathered, and used in backups that should greatly reduce or eliminate any privacy concerns.

Apple answered at length regarding this issue, which was clearly beginning to become a sore spot for the company and the subject of inquiries by lawmakers. Does the answer Cupertino provided put your doubts and fears to rest?

 

 

(Via TheAppleBlog – Apple and iOS News, Tips and Reviews.)

It’s Official: White iPhone 4 Available Tomorrow

 

Apple has today issued a press release and finally confirmed the launch date of the white iPhone 4. It will be available beginning tomorrow, April 28th, from Apple’s online store, its retail stores.

It will be available from various carriers in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand,US and the U.K.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president – who confirmed in a tweet that the device would launch this spring – said in the press release:

The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful. We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.

The device launches 10 months after it was first announced, with various manufacturing issues rumored to be the cause of the delay. Apple’s official statement will finally spell the end of white iPhone 4 rumors. Oh, Lord, what a wonderful day.

 

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

iPad 2 will land in 12 new countries starting with Japan on April 28

 

Apple confirmed the iPad 2 will land in Japan starting tomorrow, April 28. Sales begin at Apple retail stores at 9 am local time. Select authorized resellers will also carry the tablet device and prospective iPad 2 owners should call ahead to confirm availability. If you prefer to shop online and avoid the hubbub of a crowd, you can also order the iPad 2 online from Apple's website starting at 1 am.

Despite facing the 'mother of all backlogs', Apple is determined to continue the rollout of this popular tablet device. The second generation iPad will be also debut in Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UAE starting April 29. China will score the WiFi version of the iPad 2 starting May 6.

 

 

iPad 2 will land in 12 new countries starting with Japan on April 28 originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:45:00 EST.

SETI suspends search for alien life, E.T. weeps in the silent dark of space

 

Our progress toward intergalactic fellowship has suffered another blow, as SETI suspended operations of its Allen Telescope Array. Funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the array is a collection of radio dishes that scan the skies for signs of life; now it'll be in 'hibernation' mode until 2013, when the institute's new round of funding begins. SETI hopes to raise $5 million to bring the Array back online before then, while it continues to use other telescopes around the world, including the Hubble Space Telescope. The budget woes are especially bitter given the number of recently identified alien planets - NASA's Kepler mission found 1,235. If any of them are broadcasting the next Wow! signal, let's hope it doesn't fall on deaf earthling ears.

 

SETI suspends search for alien life, E.T. weeps in the silent dark of space originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:13:00 EDT.

iPhoto 9.1.2 released

 

 

Along with the Snow Leopard Font Upgrade, iPhoto 9.1.2 has just shown up in Software Update. Outside of the usual bug squashing, it brings a few new features and tweaks including new card themes and some enhancements to making photo books. Here's what you'll find in this sizable update:

o. Addresses an issue that prevented the Zoom slider from being accessible in Magnify (1-Up) view
o. Fixes an issue where Toolbars were not auto-hiding in Full Screen view
o. Search field now correctly performs an 'includes' search when searching by text string
o. Fixes minor formatting issues with book, card and calendar themes
o. Message Size of emails now correctly updates when changes are made using the Photo Size menu
o. Addresses an issue that prevented some iPhoto 5 libraries from upgrading correctly
o. Multiple book pages can now be drag-selected when in All Pages view
o. Design tools in print project panels are now accessible via separate Layout and Options buttons
o. Photo backgrounds applied to a book are now preserved when book type is changed
o. Tab key can now be used to navigate through all text fields in a book project

The update is recommended for all all users of iPhoto '11, whether you bought it with iLife '11, or got it with a new Mac. It can be downloaded either here or through Software Update.

 

iPhoto 9.1.2 released originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:30:00 EST.

TweetDeck 2.0 for iPhone: An announcement in a tweet

 TweetDeck Tuesday introduced an updated iPhone app that sports a completely new design. The app is so different, in fact, that it’s actually a brand new app, and requires a separate download, as the previous TweetDeck iOS apps have been removed from the App Store entirely. The changes are good reason for Twitter power-users, who may have given the app a pass previously, to take a second look.

               The new app looks much better than its predecessor. TweetDeck opted for a much cleaner, simpler interface, and one that does a great job of letting your stream of updates take center stage. It’s a smart design that acknowledges the design restrictions of the iPhone’s relatively small screen and only fits into that space what’s necessary, so that nothing comes out feeling crowded.

Apple Finally Wins Patent For The iPod Click Wheel

You’d think this is something Apple would already have locked down already, but the guy who just mindlessly rubber stamps all patent applications at the USPTO apparently lost this one behind some filing cabinets for a few years. No bother, because he found it, and now Cupertino owns a patent for the veritable iPod click wheel… just in time for Apple to eliminate it entirely with the next generation of all touchscreen iPods! Great timing!


(Via Cult of Mac.)

iMac rumor suggests new models could be coming next week

This one is obviously still very much in rumor territory, but a couple of separate reports have cropped up today that suggest Apple could be set to debut some updated iMacs as soon as next week. That includes a report from 9 to 5 Mac that iMac orders are being delayed until May 2nd, despite the fact that they're still listed as shipping within 24 hours on Apple's website, and a separate confirmation from a trusted source of the site, who says that Apple will stop shipping iMacs to retailers this week in advance of next week's supposed release. That's further backed up by a report from Mac Rumors, which cites another source who says that Apple will be changing the promotional materials in its retail stores for a launch on Tuesday, May 3rd. Details are comparatively light on the rumored new iMacs themselves, but the safe money seems to be on Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt ports.

iMac rumor suggests new models could be coming next week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:48:00 EDT.

Watch A Fake Steve Jobs Rehearse His iPhone 5 Keynote

 

If you haven’t had a good laugh today, you should check out this video that’s been circulating of ‘Steve Jobs’ rehearsing his iPhone 5 introduction keynote.

It’s absolutely hilarious to me that anyone would think this video is real, especially after hearing Steve say the iPhone 5 is going to have its own version of smell-o-vision. I also didn’t realize Steve Jobs sounded a lot like George W. Bush, but he does in this video.

The best part though is when Steve decides it’s time to suit up in his ‘go-time’ sneakers, does a quick in-place foot shuffle, then compares the airy weight of his newly donned sneakers to the lightness of the new iPhone 5.

 

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

Preserve your iPhone with Steve Jobs in Carbonite

Now this is cute – and it likely won’t last. Society6 studio Burb is offering a Steve Jobs in Carbonite case for the iPhone. Very touching. Keep your iDevice clean and snug with the essence of Apple retained.
Available for iPhone 4 and 3G/3Gs, £22. Act fast, Apple’s next Cease & Desist is likely on the way…


(Via Cult of Mac.)

iPad vs iPad 2 Speed Comparison Video

 

Wondering how fast the iPad 2 is compared to an iPad in real world tests? This video of side-by-side speed tests shows typical iPad usage, things like booting, launching various apps, and shutting down. You’ll see the iPad 2 excels in most areas but lags, oddly, in shutting down. If you don’t want to watch the video, here are the raw numbers and the tests:

iPad 2 vs iPad Real World Speed Tests

• Booting: 25.3 vs 28.6
• Launching Infinity Blade: 10.6 vs 26
• Launching Google Earth: 17 vs 20.3
• Launch Garage Band: 3 vs 6
• Launching Angry Birds: 8 vs 10.5
• Shutting Down: 26 vs 12

Obviously this test is nonscientific and there’s nothing too groundbreaking here, but it’s interesting to watch anyway. Sure there are improvements in general speed and functionality, but I think we have yet to really see apps that really take advantage of the improved iPad 2 hardware specs.

 

(Via OS X Daily.)

Think You’re an Apple Fanboy? Not Unless You Have This App

If possession of any one app could ever be considered an instant ticket to call yourself an Apple Fanboy, this is it. Mactracker has been around since early 2001.
The app lists painstakingly complete data on every Mac product ever made in an elegant, searchable, easy-to-use interface. The new update even brings with it the ability to track your Macs’ serial numbers, service work performed, etc.
The app is free, but a little donation at the app’s website (which is where those who’re allergic to the App Store can also download the app directly) is money well spent.

High Resolution Icons in Mac OS X Lion Further Hint at Mac Retina Displays?

 

Several applications in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion include unusually high resolution icons, providing another hint that Apple may be laying the groundwork to support retina displays on the Mac platform. The icons measure in at 1024×1024, which are double the current maximum Mac OS X icon resolution of 512×512.

The doubling of pixels and resolutions is significant, as doubling existing resolutions was how Apple handled bringing retina displays to the iPhone 4, and as we saw in some of the possible resolutions for retina Macs, it’s what makes most sense for developers and designers to accommodate.

The high res icons were noticed by Brazil’s MacMagazine, and apply at least to the App Store, AirDrop, and LaunchPad icons under the Lion Developer Preview.

This discovery is after one of our readers noted that Lion’s large 3200×2000 resolution wallpaper may suggest a retina Mac future. If huge icons and default background images weren’t enough, MacRumors pointed out several months ago that so-called ‘HiDPI display modes’ are making an appearance in Lion:

Taking cues from iOS, Apple has reportedly built in support for what it calls ‘HiDPI display modes’. These HiDPI modes allow developers to supply 2x-enlarged images to support double-high resolution displays. Like the iPhone 4′s Retina Display, this means that user interface elements will remain the same size, but everything will be twice the resolution and therefore twice as detailed.

While evidence continues to suggest that Apple is planning for a higher resolution future across their hardware lineup, costs to produce ultra-high resolution displays are likely still prohibitive. In other words, don’t expect displays with these resolutions anytime soon, if ever.

 

 

(Via OS X Daily.)

AppleWebMaster wishes you a happy Easter

 

 

To our readers across the world celebrating the holiday, AppleWebMaster wishes you a very happy Easter.

Figuring Out What Keys Generate What Symbols In OS X [Video How-To]

 

Have you ever needed to insert a special character while typing a document in Mac OS X, but didn’t know how? Apple doesn’t provide an easily accessible way to view which keys generate which characters. Buried in System Preferences though, is a keyboard viewer which will let you figure out which keys give which symbols. This video will show you how to enable this function and use it to discover helpful key combinations.

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

PlayStation Network outage caused by 'external intrusion,' continues for third day

 

It started on a quiet Wednesday night, with PlayStation gamers finding their Network unresponsive to their login attempts, and now continues well into its third day. Sony has now finally shed some light on the problems it's been having with PSN and, to nobody's surprise, the culprit for its troubles has been identified as 'an external intrusion.' The current downtime for PSN is the second of its kind this month, with the Anonymous group of online crusaders claiming responsibility for the first. Sony now intends to keep both PSN and its Qriocity music streaming service offline until it can pinpoint the vulnerability that has been exploited and put a stop to it. Skip past the break for the company's full statement.

Continue reading PlayStation Network outage caused by 'external intrusion,' continues for third day

PlayStation Network outage caused by 'external intrusion,' continues for third day originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:11:00 EDT.

Exclusive: White iPhone 4 lands at Vodafone UK

 

Well, would you have a gander at that? That, friends, is Apple's long-awaited, hardly-forgotten white iPhone 4, and so far as we can tell, this is actually the real deal. We've seen retailers making space for the elusive handset over the past few months, and earlier today, we heard that Vodafone UK's inventory systems were showing the white iPhone 4 as shipping in. Now, we've secured a few images of a 16GB model from a separate source that has seemingly made its way into the hands of one lucky customer (read: bloke) over in Britain.

As the story goes, the salesperson rang it up as a black iPhone to help facilitate the transaction, and shortly after the sale went down, Voda sent out a notice to halt sale of these gems 'until next week.' Just so you know, the MC604B/A model number shown here is particularly interesting when compared to our own in-house UK iPhone 4; the latter, which is also a 16GB edition, sports a model number of MC603B/A. We suspect we aren't going too far out on a limb by suggesting that the '3' and '4' are there to represent hue variations, and if you'd like to stretch the theory one step further, MC605B/A represents the 32GB black iPhone 4. In other words, don't be shocked when the white 32 gigger rolls in as MC606B/A. So, is this the first legitimate sign that a white iPhone 4 is but days away from going on sale? We're hardly experts in meteorology, but it sure felt like spring in Londontown today.

Gallery: Vodafone UK stocks official white iPhone 4

Exclusive: White iPhone 4 lands at Vodafone UK originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:29:00 EDT.

Apple iPad simulator.

Since Apple iPad hits the market  it’s been  a revolution in tablet industry, and after the success of iPad, all market players are now like to taste the success of their tablets. If you are not having an iPad, don’t worry, at least you can feel that on web using a simulator.

 

 

We are talking about an online simulator of Apple iPad where you can slide the screen, see the apps listed on home screen, working home buttons and sleep button, correct time etc (well, not much then). Google Maps works fine in that simulator. Visit Simulator  iPad (To begin just drag the slider to right side as indicated by arrow).

Just How Green Is Your iPhone? This Infographic Will Show You [Earth Day]

Apple does a pretty good job at being an environmentally conscious company. It seems like towards the end of every keynote, Steve Jobs expounds on what Apple is doing to lower the carbon foot print of their products. To celebrate Earth Day the guys over at Geekaphone created a really great info graphic to show just how eco-friendly the iPhone is. Packed with neat little facts, like how the iPhone 4 reduced emissions by 18% where as the iPhone 3G increased emissions by 22%, the big graphic is worth a look for anyone who wants to grasp the picture of their cellphones impact on the environment.

[via Geekaphone via TNW]

Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims

 

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones' resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy's load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we've yet to hear more details about these claims. Apple sued Samsung earlier this week over patent infringements relating to the iPhone and iPad. Apple claims Samsung copied the designs found in the Galaxy S series of phones and tablet devices.

Now we just sit back and enjoy the show -- popcorn, anyone?

Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:08:00 EDT.

Apple's cloud music service ready for launch

A report out of Reuters claims Apple is set to launch its online music storage service. The service would allow users to store their iTunes content in the cloud and access it from an internet-connected device. Apple has yet to secure the licenses for the new service and is in the process of negotiating with the music labels before the service's big launch. No word on whether changes to MobileMe are included with this upcoming launch.

Apple will reportedly beat Google to the punch and launch its music storage and streaming service ahead of the search giant. Hints of Google's foray into music streaming have appeared in the latest builds of Android, but the rollout of this service is reportedly delayed.

Amazon has beaten both Apple and Google with its Cloud Drive and Cloud Player service which lets Amazon users store their music library and other files in the cloud. Amazon's Cloud player can play back these stored music files using a desktop web browser or an Android device. You can use a relatively easy workaround to access Cloud Player on your iOS device as we described here.

Apple's cloud music service ready for launch originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:50:00 EST.

Profile of Mac vs PC Users [Infographic]

Ever wonder what self-described Mac vs PC users identify with? Demographics, favorite TV shows, personality traits, fashion and style, political leanings, even wines, this infographic has it all, provided by users themselves.

It might reinforce a few traditional Mac vs PC stereotypes, but it’s fun to read and interesting to look at, check it out below:

 

 

(Via OS X Daily.)

Rumor: iPhone "4S" prototypes with A5 chips being tested by game developers

Earlier today 9to5Mac reported on a prototype Mac Pro that might be in the offing, and now the blog also has word that iPhone 4s outfitted with Apple's A5 chips have been seeded with developers at certain 'high-level gaming outfits.'

As noted in the post, these prototypes are not necessarily indicative of what we'll see in September, which is when the next-generation iPhone is expected to appear. Instead, these are devices that are designed to let the developers prepare their game titles for the iPhone 5. The source of the information called the device an iPhone 4S, although that name might be nothing more than internal nomenclature.

Other hardware improvements would be expected in any future iPhone, including a rumored 8-megapixel camera and the capability to be used as a true GSM/CDMA 'world phone.' The A5 is currently used in the iPad 2, and is a dual-core high-performance system on a chip. The graphics capabilities of the A5 are outstanding, with a graphics processing unit touted as nine times as powerful as the one in the original iPad.

Apparently, Apple's reasoning for seeding the developers with the high-powered hardware is that the company wishes to make speedy game performance a selling point for the next-generation device. What better way to do that than to take a few best-selling, graphics-intensive games and supercharge them prior to the launch of the iPhone 5?

 

 

Rumor: iPhone '4S' prototypes with A5 chips being tested by game developers originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:45:00 EST.

Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit

 

Apple just announced its earnings for the second quarter of the year, and it's once again beat estimates, with it reporting earnings of $6.40 a share, a total of $24.67 billion in revenue, and a net profit of $5.99 billion. As for the sales breakdown everyone's waiting for, Apple says it sold a whopping 18.6 million iPhones in the quarter (up 113 percent over the previous year, and ahead of estimates of 16 million), plus 4.69 million iPads (actually less than the expected 6.29 million, apparently due to supply issues), and 3.76 million Macs, which represents a 28 percent jump over the same quarter a year ago. Not surprisingly, iPods are the one area that continues to slow, with sales of 9.02 million representing a 17 percent decline over the previous year -- the iPod touch accounted for more than half of those sales. One other big bright spot for the company is the Asia Pacific region, where it saw revenue grow a staggering 151 percent year-over-year.

Interestingly, Apple isn't providing any specific sales numbers for the iPad 2 -- it's only saying that it sold every iPad 2 it could make in the quarter, and that it's working hard to get it into the hands of customers as fast as it can.

Continue reading Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit

Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:35:00 EDT.

Your iPhone is silently and constantly logging your location

 

 

The Guardian reports that independent researchers Pete Warden, a former Apple employee, and Alasdair Allan, a data visualisation scientist, have uncovered a startling file hidden inside iOS backups which appears to track the location of the device going back as far as the installation of iOS4. The above map shows data taken from a test iPhone, and shows a detailed history of the phone's movements around the south of England. Warden and Allan have put up a page with a FAQ discussing their findings and an Open Source software tool you can run on your own backups to see what you iPhone knows about you. They've also published a video demonstrating the problem.

Particularly worrying is that this file is unencrypted and so easily accessible by anyone with access to your computer's iTunes backups folder or with jailbreak access to your device. Because of the way iTunes handles backup-and-restore, the data will even automatically persist across devices if you replace your iPhone.

Continue reading Your iPhone is silently and constantly logging your location

Your iPhone is silently and constantly logging your location originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:40:00 EST.

iPhone 5 production begins in July, ships in September; looks like the iPhone 4 – Reuters

 

Reuters reports that the iPhone 5 will begin production in July and ramp up for a September release.  This fits in with a lot of the chatter out there over the last few months. It isn’t certain why Apple chose to deviate from its previous June/July schedule, but perhaps iPhones are the new back to school items…or are going to be grouped with iPods from now on. Apple typically holds a fall media event at the beginning of September. This would be the perfect place to showcase their new iPhone.

The new smartphone will have a faster processor but will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4, one of the people said. They declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public.

The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.

The next-generation iPhone is rumored to include the dual-core A5 processor and graphics enhancements found in the iPad 2, possibly 64 GB of storage, a larger screen, a metal back, and new cloud-based functionality through Apple’s upcoming iOS 5. We will most likely learn Apple’s thinking behind their fifth-generation handset at the upcoming World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June. This is the event where Apple is promising the introduction of iOS 5.

(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)

Microsoft Releases ‘Photosynth’ – Great New Panorama App for iOS

 

Microsoft’s latest iOS offering hit the App Store today in the form of Photosynth; a fantastic photography application for taking 360º panoramic photos on your iPhone. It’s a free download, and one of the most impressive panorama applications.

The first thing you noticed about Photosynth is how easy it is to create your panorama. You simply tap the screen to start and then move your device around – up, down, left, right – and the application captures the images automatically, so there’s no need to move your device bit by bit while tapping a button to capture each tile.

When you’ve captured the images you want, simply hit finish and Photosynth will start ‘stitching’ your photos together. At this point you’ll notice how quick the application is.You will wait a significantly shorter time than you would have to with other panorama applications – but this will, of course, depend on how many tiles feature in your panorama.

Once you’ve produced your panorama, you can share the photo with your friends via Facebook, or Microsoft’s Photosynth.net service, but you’ll need a Windows Live ID for that.

The quality of the images it produces seems to be pretty good. There’s also a setting to help prevent lighting differences in each capture by locking the camera’s exposure control.

There is one downside to take into account, however; when creating your panorama, you need to remember the bits of your image you’ve already captured, as the application seems to only show you your previous tile. It’s easy to miss bits out or make overlaps if you’re not just moving your device from left to right.

Photosynth is for everyone who enjoys creating panoramic photos. It’s got some really great features and beats some of App Store’s finest panorama apps, such as creating interactive 360º panoramas, and including Bing map data to show where your shots were taken. You can’t ask for more from a free application!

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)