Apple has put iOS 4.2.6 for Verizon iPhone (iPhone 3,3) up on their servers in advance of the February 10 launch date. The firmware version shown off at the Verizon iPhone launch event was 4.2.5 so there’s been a minor point bump worth of updates since then.
Those hoping the Verizon iPhone would ship with iOS 4.3, anticipating a wide release for iOS 4.3 for the AT&T/GSM iPhone (iPhone 3,1) at the same time, will no doubt be disappointed (and no, there doesn’t seem to be a 4.2.6 for the AT&T/GSM iPhone posted at this time.)
So if you’re testing out a Verizon iPhone, your update is ready. Everyone else, the wait continues!
Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak, recently confirmed that issues with the infamous white iPhone 4 are fixed and that the product would be ready to ship in the near future. In an interview with Engadget, Woz addressed some of the mysterious problems that have been preventing the white iPhone 4 from shipping.
According to Woz, the white paint was not the only problem with the mythical unicorn. The white iPhone parts were causing the iPhone’s camera to malfunction.
In the interview, Woz claims that Apple has fixed the production line issues with the white iPhone 4, and that shipping should begin in the distant future…
According to Android Central this is Motorola’s big Superbowl commercial for their new Android 3.0 Honeycomb-running Xoom tablet, and it’s targeting Apple’s iPad by once again trotting out the old canard of Apple fascism. I’m glad AC managed to sleuth that out because I’m not sure many mainstream football viewers are going to have any idea at all what this thing is about.
It sure would be fun to guess though. I’m going for Spaceballs sequel. Leave your funniest answer in the comments!
In an interview on the Engadget Show yesterday Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak speculated the white iPhone 4 will be coming very soon, stating his belief manufacturing problems had been resolved and Apple would begin shipments in the near future.
Woz specifically mentioned camera issues with some of the DIY conversion kits recently circulated using leaked parts from component suppliers — something he personally experimented with himself. He went on to explain that photos taken with modded parts looked like they were “taken through cellophone” due to light leaking through the painted glass, and that he thinks Apple decided against shipping because they couldn’t find a way to fix the problem.
Do you think we could finally be seeing the mystical white iPhone 4 soon, or is it still just a pipe dream? Sound off in the comments below!
UPDATE: We altered the language slightly — seems Woz is basing his comments on rumors just like the rest of us. No special Apple co-founder info involved.
I have to admit, this is a pretty good commercial. But will it actually change anyone’s mind when it comes to purchasing an iPhone or an iPad?
Will people walk into the Apple store, start playing with all of the products and then think, “You know what, that Motorola commercial had a point… I’m outta here!”
Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities released a note to investors today detailing his ideas on the iPad 2′s components. The analyst seems to agree with
href="http://www.9to5mac.com/47070/ipad-2-will-take-pics-shoot-flicks">9to5mac
href="http://www.9to5mac.com/47070/ipad-2-will-take-pics-shoot-flicks">‘s findings in the SDK and is claiming the iPad 2 will keep the iPad 1′s 1024 x 768 display, but will introduce some improvements like a thinner panel and Kindle-like anti-reflection.
That’s a slice from
href="http://www.9to5mac.com/49798/analyst-on-ipad-2-3-versions-ipod-touch-cameras-1024-x-768-display">a report at 9to5Mac yesterday on the latest iPad 2 rumored specs. The same report also says that the next gen iPad will:
Have a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor
Offer three connectivity options – WiFi, WiFi + GSM (for AT&T and others), and CDMA (for Verizon and others)
Have a front camera ‘that’s a 0.3 megapixel VGA shooter and a back camera that’s a 1 megapixel lens’
The above points match 9to5Mac’s findings when digging through the iOS 4.3 SDK.
All of this sounds good to me. The anti-reflective display would be a big plus, the rest is pretty much inline with what we’ve been hearing for a while now about the iPad 2. I really want to know about how much RAM the iPad 2 will have – I think 512MB is a minimum and hope we’ll see 1GB.
The Macworld Expo is a giant technology conference that takes place once a year in California. Unlike the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Macworld is totally focused on everything Apple. The entire conference is devoted to Macs, iPhones, iPads, iPods, hardware, accessories, etc. Journalists and Apple pundits meet at Macworld to discuss the state of Apple’s technology and speculate about what is to come.
Hardware is a huge part of Macworld, with more and more attention increasingly being given to iOS hardware and accessories. The guys over at Mac Life posted a great gallery of some iOS hardware/accessories that stood out at Macworld this year. Here are a couple highlights from their findings…
Have you ever accidentally updated your jailbroken or unlocked iDevice, leaving you without a jailbreak or unlock for weeks or even months? Well, there’s finally a solution to stop accidental updating.
From the creator of MiTime and Pushfix, comes another extremely useful utility! RecoveryGuard is a new tool which prevents accidental upgrade and restore of your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Check inside for details on how it works…
Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.
To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!
Alli’s pick: Words With Friends
Words With Friends, is simply the same Scrabble we all grew up playing on a board. It scores you automatically, and with push notifications, will even tell you when it’s your turn to play.
I have questioned some of the words it accepts, but for the most part it uses the lexicon found in any traditional Scrabble dictionary. The main screen is divided into games where it is your turn (top), games awaiting your opponent (center), and finished games (bottom).
While there is a free version of Words With Friends, if you are a true devoté of Scrabble, you will want to spend the .99 for the version that doesn’t make you pause after each play to view ads. The full version also allows you unlimited games, which is especially nice if some of your opponents only make one or two moves a week. (WWF also has an HD version available for iPad.)
If you’re a fan of Navigon MobileNavigator for your iPhone then you’ll definitely want to check out Navigon Now, a great single-purpose app made to assist iPhone users who use Navigon as their GPS navigation system. Navigon Now is another one of those one-trick pony apps that has limited functionality and isn’t feature-rich, but at the same time is extremely useful and has become one of those apps I couldn’t live without.
If you’ve ever tried to manually enter an address in Navigon then you already know it can get a little finicky, involving multiple pages and steps before actually routing your destination. The app is very simple and has just one function by way of letting users enter any standard street address and launch directly into Navigon to route your destination — it even recognizes a copied address and pastes it into the input field upon launching the app! So if you’re in Maps, just copy the address, launch Navigon Now and it will open Navigon and navigate to that address. Navigon Now makes the overall process of navigating to any given address in Navigon much easier. Also check out TomTom Now which, you guessed it, does the same exact thing but for the TomTom GPS app.
My pick of the week is the DirecTV app. I recently made the switch over to DirecTV and I’ve got to say I have loved having their app on my iPhone. I always seem to be out when a show that I have been waiting weeks to watch airs for the first time. My problem is I tend to forget to set a recording for it because I figure I will be home to watch the show. Well now if I forget I can simply launch the DirecTV app and set my receiver to record the show. You can also browse shows and movies using their simple interface. If you have DirecTV there is no reason to not have this free application on your iPhone to help you never miss a show or movie again!
I recently downloaded the free app form the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. They publish a weekly professional journal, SCIENCE,
that is pretty well known among researcher (it has one of the highest impact
factors out there, up there with Nature and PNAS). They have recently come out
with a great app, called “Science Mobile”, that bundles a few nice features for
people interested in the scientific fields. With the app, you can read
summaries and abstracts from the most recent issue of Science Magazine, email
yourself full links, get news clippings from ScienceNOW, and access various
multimedia resources, including podcasts. While it doesn’t give you a free
subscription to the magazine, it is a useful app for people who want to keep on
top of things, or people who do have a subscription but don’t always find the
time to look through each issue. In addition, if you are looking for a job in
the field, it contains job opportunities from the website Science Careers.
AS the iPad and iPhone develop, I hope to see more and more professional
services, apps, and features like this that would benefit people beyond the
Busienss/Tech areas. Other apps (like Inkling) have started to look into the
school/student area, but I hope that we continue to see more for the research
professional/professor! But that’s for the future. Now, Science Mobile is a
great way to start keeping abreast on issues and cutting edge research in just
about every scientific field.
TVCatchUp is a free service that allows you to watch free Live TV on your iOS device.
The service requires a free sign up, and will stream, most of the 30 FreeView Channels.
With a simple user interface, all you have to do is select the channel you want, and it will start streaming, in high quality, whether you are on wifi or 3G.
So when all you have is your iPhone or iPad for entertainment, use the TVCatchUp web app and you can watch all the TV you want, wherever you want.
I am by no means an artist, but I still enjoy drawing and painting with ArtStudio. Combined with my Ten One Design Pogo Sketch], it is more enjoyable to draw with this app than with real art materials because I can easily undo my many mistakes and not have the mess associated with paint. ArtStudio does a fantastic job of looking authentic with its customizable brushes and layers. And for non-artists like myself, there are lessons that teach you how to draw. If you or your child love to draw, check this one out!
Apple’s App Store app, tragic icon aside, is one of those apps I tend to ignore… until I need it. No, not for shopping, I still ignore that. However, whenever I have a problem with my iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Mac I go run to it like a victim in a horror movie. SAVE ME!
Then, with just a couple taps, I have my local Apple Store loaded up, I can see when the Genius Bar has a free appointment, I can book it, and I can have it remind me when I need to be there. It’s part convenience, part location, and all awesome.
(Yeah, it’s disappointingly US App Store only but since, like I said, I don’t care to shop with it I just grabbed it and it works fine for store appointments in Canada anyway).
Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!
BeejiveIM for Facebook Chat: Reliable, full-featured IM client specifically for Facebook. [Free - iTunes link]
PhatPad: Note-taking and brainstorming app with handwriting recognition – even with basic shapes, and now including voice notes and VGA monitor support. [.99 - iTunes link]
PhotoToMac: Transfer full-resolution photos and videos to your Mac over Wi-Fi. [.99 - iTunes link]
Facepad – Facebook for iPad: Now with push notifications. [Free - iTunes link]
RunKeeper Pro: Now FREE and staying that way. [Free - iTunes link]
Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!
