One of the biggest news stories around the iPhone in a long time is the recent for lack of a better term – Location Gate fiasco. As with most stories like this fear and link bait ruled (rule) the day. You also had in this case US Senators smelling blood in the water and inserting themselves into the story and in some cases actually contributing to the mis-information out there. Take Senator Al Franken with this quote when talking about the data file that has location information in it.
“Anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user's home, the business he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attends”
Problem is if he or his staffers had looked at the file in question they would have realized that actually was not possible and definitely not an accurate statement. If a bad guy gets your data they will not - repeat NOT - be able to figure out where you live. Not your exact address. Maybe the part of town - but definitely not your specific house (unless your house is the only one for miles). However if they get your phone and they go to your mail app and see who an email was sent to and then go to contacts and find that person - then they can figure out your address. Same thing if they get a hold of your laptop. Lets face facts there are much easier and faster ways for a bad guy to figure out your home address then going through location data in a .db file on your laptop - which by the way as I said still will not give your exact address. Same is true for figuring out where you work or where your kids go to school.
If the Senators people and others making claims like this had taken the time to look at the data in question they would have seen something like the following image:
What you see is a grid pattern. The above image is a screen shot of data collected on my phone / computer. From this image there is no way to tell exactly where my house is – which is in the map above – but around a million other people live in that map area as well. Can you say needle in a Haystack.
It did not help that in Apples own Press ReleaseApple did not state that the data was rounded off. What Apple actually said was:
“The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location”
That has lead people to post that Apple is keeping the precise location of wifi hotspots and one likely is in your house. No – they don’t – Apple is actually rounding off to the grid pattern seen in the image – and not the precise location of Cell towers and wifi hotspots. See the next image for proof of that.
I am 100% certain that there is not a Cell tower or Wifi hotspot in the middle of the Runway of Islip Airport. And the chances that the rest of the Cell towers and Wifi hotspots are that perfectly spaced is Zero.
The data will however show what cities and general areas you visit at a given time. So if you are telling your significant other you are going to meet up with a buddy and go to the ball game and that is on the north side of town and your data shows you were on the south side of town (you know down near where the strip clubs are located) – they are going to know something was up (But they probably would have figured that out by the glitter on your shirt and the smell of cheap purfume or the ATM receipt from Spanky’s). Same if you tell your boss you need off for a day to visit your sick mom in Dayton, Ohio but your location data shows you were in Las Vegas or worse the town or city of your biggest competitor.
So yes this information on your computer and phone is not good. But it is not as bad as a certain Senator and many bloggers made it out to be. And is actually not as bad as even Apple seems to have made it out to be. To Apples credit per their Press Release they did acknowledge this data should not have been gathered and kept for as long as it was and it should not have been so easy to access. They also stated they will be updating their software to fix this issue. It will still gather location data (rounded off) of nearby cell towers and wifi hotspots. They just will not keep the data on your device as long and they will eventually encrypt that data.
I don’t want to make this sound like a non-issue – privacy is a big issue. But if you plan on going somewhere you don’t want someone or anyone to know of – try this – leave your iPhone or Android phone or any cell phone at home.
Apple broke their silence today and responded with a Q&A press release - HERE - That answers many questions about the Location Data being cached on your phone. Bottom line - this was a bug and your exact location was never being tracked (which the later was obvious if you looked at the data). Here is what Apple plans to do:
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.
I will go over the entire PR on the next episode along with many of the other stories and any items not covered by the PR.
I have a jailbroken 3G running 3.1.3 with a baseband of 5.12. If I try 4.2.1 and don't like it can I restore to the 3.1.3 file I downloaded for safekeeping and be back at the 5.12 baseband?
I'm not currently unlocked but when I upgrade to the iPhone 4 or 5 I may want that option for the 3G.
Obligatory but sincere Kiss-up Mode:<ON>
I enjoy the show and have the app with the push updates. (Those late-night notifications are killin' me when I've left the phone on my nightstand - ha.)
Obligatory but sincere Kiss-up Mode:<OFF>
Thanks in advance for your response.
--
Brent from Chicagoland
Hi Brent,
My recommendation to you is to stay where you are at 3.1.3 Getting the baseband downgraded on the 3G - is depending on who you read - very difficult or next to impossible. That said - what you gain by going to iOS 4.x for the 3G is almost nothing - compared to what you can do with the jailbroken 3G. And 3.1.3 is faster and snappier for the 3G then iOS 4.2.1 So my recommendation is to stay put - especially if you want the future option of unlocking and using it on another carrier (t-mobile). Rob W
Long time listener (listened to every episode since your first one) and have recommended it to hundreds of ios users. Just wanted to let you know that I appreciated your Articles responses to NY Times and CR you recently posted!
By the way, can you please tell me what script or service you use to post your articles (that allows others to post responses and comment). If possible, I would like to use it (or if can recommend somehing similar) for my office website.
Thanks and love the great podcast and newly redesigned website!
Sincerely,
Dr. P
Hello Dr. P,
The site and comments are part of my Libsyn.com account.
If you wanted you could set up a blog page for posts and comments via libsyn for as low as $5 a month.
Thanks for broadcasting the show. I really enjoy your show and have found your advice and tips very helpful. I have a Iphone 4 running 4.1.3 and an old Iphone 3GS running IOS 4.1.
I was wondering what the best untethered jailbreak was for the Iphone 3GS running iOS 4.1. I know I'll have to get a sim converter to use the sim card that is in Iphone 4, but I think it would be worth it to jailbreaking so I can use my 3GS as wifi hotspot when I occasionally on the road for work or pleasure. Instead of paying the crazy monthly fee that AT&T is charging I'd rather pay the developer of MyFi $20.
I have been listenening to the show for a while now (months or so) and I love it. you are always my source for all things iOS. That is why I am turning to you. I recently upgraded and jaibroke my 3Gs to 4.3.1. It has been horribly slow. there is a delay of sometimes as much as 5 seconds just when using the keyboard for inputing characters. i sometimes need to hit a key or an on screen button a number of times for press to register. Just wanted to if you knew anything about this, causes, solutions, etc. It may have something to do with the jailbreak as it was not as slow and sluggish before then. thanks for any help you can offer.
Tony
Hi Tony,
First thing to try is quitting out all of the open apps you have.
If you have 10, 20, or more apps open - each one takes up a little bit of memory and that can cause overall slowness of the device.
If that does not fix the issue - then it is likely you will need to restore iOS 4.3.1 and then rejailbreak - sometimes jailbreaking does cause the phone to start acting strange and the slow down is a common issue.
More than likely it is the latter and not the former - but the app shut down is easier to try first.
I'm a new listener of your show and I simply love it, keep up the great job. I downloaded the app Podcaster and that is how I founded your show <330.gif> I started with item 168. Then I wanted to listen to all of them so I started downloading all the shows and so far I'm at item 19, just a few more to catch up
My question is this, what is the most updated version of RedSn0w compatible with iOS 4.1on a 3G iPhone (Right now I have 0.9.6b2 jailbreak) works just fine but I'm concerned as if I need to update or not. A while back I updated to 4.2.1 and used redsnow 0.9.6b2 but it crashed a lot so I downgraded to 4.1.
On the side as you probably know the iPhone 3G jailbroken is pretty slow, so I wanted to mention this app that I found on cydia for all the listeners that are still on iPhone 3G and that is Speed Intensifier and ... it really does the job pretty good.
Regards, Paco.
Hi Paco,
Thanks for listening to the show and the kind words.
If your current jailbreak is working fine - no reason to update.
The main reason for using a new version of Redsn0w is that you have a newer version of iOS that the old version of Redsn0w could not jailbreak.
I was wondering how you back up and restore text messages for an iphone.
Thanks,
Matthew
Hi Matthew,
By default when you sync and backup your iPhone to iTunes on your computer Apple is backing up your text messages. And normally all that is needed to restore your text messages is a restore to previous backup. That is "normally" all that is needed. That said there are times when that does not work or a backup gets corrupted. In those cases there are a couple of different free programs out there to help you. For Mac there is Eric Sudans program - MDHelper. And on Windows there is the program - Reincubate.
Per MDHelper - here are some instructions I found on it.
What you need is one of the folders with tons of numbers as the name, it's inside ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ Place mdhelper in it and run e.g. ./mdhelper -C .jpg The tool will then extract all Jpegs and place it on the Desktop in a folder called "Recovered iPhone Files". You cant run the tool just on the .mdbackup files cause they are semi-encrypted. The information how to extract and de-crypt is sitting inside the file Manifest.plist thats in the folder aswell. For navigating the presence of Info.plist is necessary aswell.
again this is a great tool from Erica! I just ran that on my backups, extracted all pics in about a minute.
One more: If you use ./mdhelper -C .sqlitedb you will get back all your Addressbook and Calendar data, .plist for bookmarks and map bookmarks, .db for sms and notes
If you still have issues with this - there is another program for the Mac you can find here
Per Windows Vista I also found these instructions:
Under Windows Vista, all backup files are stored at
d) Extract the part that is the file content (the "Data" key)
e) Place the content on the "Data" in another file and convert from Base64 to a binary file - There are several different ways to do it - I will leave this one for you to Google.
Voila! Your file is back. I've used this a few times to recover files from iPhones that were "accidentally" upgraded and locked and it works. You will be amazed by the number of files that iTunes back up.
If I could find the source for a binary-plist to xml-plist converter, I can write a backup list-and-restore program (grab the names, convert from the binary, extract the base64 and convert to the original file).
I was helping out a friend with her ipad recently (I seem to be apple support over here ...!)
Safari had completely disappeared ... after scratching my head for a few days thanks to another apple devotee she said to check restrictions and make sure safari is switched on...
now I writing this email to you - its seems so obvious - but I spose as I dont have kids it wasnt something I thought of.. just wanted to mention it in case I can save anyone else the head ache (if you think its worthwhile)..
A listener recently commented about a stylus for his ipad that he was very satisfied with --- unfortunately I can't find that episode.
Can you advise the make? Or the episode?
Skip
Hi Skip, It was on ep 164. I did not put a link to the stylus in the show notes. Shame on me. It was for the DAGi stylus pen, model numbers P601 and P005
It seems like my Iphone 4 (iOS 4.2.1) battery is draining like nuts lately, I went online and see that people are reporting that it could be from having apps open in the background. I hate the process of double clicking and getting the X’s to shut everything down. Is there a setting or app for that?
Thanks,
Karen H
Hi Karen,
It could be an app that has location services activated and / or an app with IM like skype or AOL AIM. Apps like that will eat into battery life quickly. As will Pandora.
Per an easy way to kill all active apps - nope - not yet. Well not unless you jailbreak.
Rob W
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the reply, maybe it was Skype,
Hope you had a great weekend,
Karen
Hi Karen,
Skype is the worst of all of them.
It easily doubles your battery drain while running in the background.
Do you or any of your listeners know how one can manually manage Apps using multiple computers? My main computer is a Mac Pro but I often also use a Macbook. I would like to be able to organize apps on my iPad using either computer. Can it be done?
Also, I know this has probably already been brought to your attention, but in your 1/4/11 episode (0159), you mentioned an app called Toodledo which you pronounced "too-deh-lee-doh!". Shouldn't it be "toodle-doo"? Just curious...
Thanks!
Lizette
Hi Lizette, Thanks for writing and listening to the show. Per your first question. No - you can not do that. You can have multiple IOS devices connected to one computer - but you cannot connect multiple computers to one iOS device. Per your second question - I totally mutilated the pronouncing of Toodledo. Was not the first word I have destroyed - will not be the last. :) Regards, Rob W
I heard you recently mention that Tii v1.9.2 is the latest version.
How do I determine which version of the Tii app I have?
Thanks!
Gregory
Hi Gregory, When you open the Tii App - tap on Extras - the version is at the bottom of the extras page. It is very small at the bottom and barely visible. And yes v1.9.2 is the latest version as of 4/13/11 Rob W
Sorry to bother you for what seems to be a stupid problem but I can't
figure out the cause. I have a jailbroken iphone4 running 4.1. i
recently updated quite a few things on cydia and shortly after my push
notifications stopped coming through. Actually your's was the last one
I have received. The one stating the 4.3.2. Either way I usually
receive several notifications a day with my espn app and some game
apps that I have. Any clue as to whats causing this. My suspicion is
the cydia updates. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Matt in DFW
Hi Matt,
One of the downsides with jailbreaking is that things break.
It could be an issue of a conflict with one of the jailbroken apps you installed.
I would try the following.
1. quit of all apps you have running - double tap home button and close them all out. Then do a reset network settings.
2. Wait and see if that works.
3. If you know your are still not getting pushes - then go into cydia and start "removing" all of your cydia apps. Again checking to see if you are getting pushes.
4. If you get to where all your cydia apps are removed and you are still not getting pushes - then do a complete restore to your current rev of iOS and rejailbreak and that should fix the issue on pushes. Then start reinstalling the apps one at a time confirming that push is still working before you install the next. (Long process - sorry - but that is the downside to jailbreaking.)
Please let me know which step worked for you.
Regards,
Rob W
Hi Rob,
Resetting the network settings worked like a charm! Rob you rock! Thanks a ton! -Matt
On April 20th Apple will announce their Quarterly numbers - so time for me to make myself sound smart or dumb by predicting what Apple will announce - typically I am usually low in my predictions ie dumb.
As I said before I am going with 8.1 Mil iPads sold last quarter. 17.7 Mil iPhone sold last quarter and about 7 Mil iPod Touches. Which Apple will not break out.
But what I do think they will announce is that they have sold over 200 million iOS devices. I had them at over 167 Mil going into the quarter. So if they do announce that - we may be able to see where the iPod touch sales came in by backing into that number.
FYI - I do think Apple combined will be about 33 Mil iOS devices last quarter which is above Android device activations of 31.5 Mil - which is based on Android saying they had 350k in daily activations - which they did not say if that was for a peak day or average. So 31.5 Mil is best case for android.
If you have any predictions put them in the comments below.
When I got my wife her ipad a year ago I set it up using my itunes account.
As she has gained some experience we would like to set it up for her alone without my apps and settings.
Can you advise us how to do this?
Thanks
Skip
Hi Skip,
Are you talking about setting it up for her computer with her own iTunes account? If so - just connect to her computer and try to sync - it will then ask if you want to wipe it clean and go with the new account on her computer.
If you are talking about using it with your current computer and the same iTunes account - Then do a restore but not from any previous back ups. Then go in and set it up as she wants it. Rob W
A couple of weeks ago I decided to jailbreak my iPhone 4 for the first time. The last time I had used a jailbreak was a year ago on my 3GS when the Spirit jailbreak was available, but with redsn0w out for 4.3.1, I decided to try it again since I believe this version will be around for a while (although I have now seen the rumors that 4.3.2 is coming soon). The redsn0w jailbreak was pretty easy. My first attempt failed because when I tried to put my phone into DFU mode, Windows thought it needed to reinstall the USB driver and redsn0w didn't find my phone. After turning my phone back off and restarting redsn0w, it worked. I would recommend that you close iTunes first as redsn0w will forceably close it without warning if it is open, causing iTunes to need to check the library when it starts back up. I thought I would pass along a few jailbreak apps I have found. I don't have a need to unlock or tether, so I haven't picked up any of those apps.
OpenSSH(free) - the first app I installed so I could ssh in and change my root password. The last time I used a jailbreak, Mobile Terminal didn't work so this time I didn't even try it.
SBSettings(free) - this is my favorite jailbreak app. I really think Apple should include a quick method for turning off WI-FI and Bluetooth as it is quite common to need to do so. On my 3GS, I found that Bluetooth drained my battery even with nothing connected so I turned it off when I wasn't using it. I can connect to our WI-FI network at work, but it is often unreliable and 3G can be every bit as fast. I also like having the date available at a glance.
My3G($4) - I don't always download podcasts at home and it it nice to listen to your podcast when I am in the car. If I forget to download before I leave, My3G allows me to download it while I am driving. I have found that the TII app doesn't work well with Navigon pausing it for its numerous announcements.
WeatherIcon(free) - I just found that one yesterday. It replaces the icon on your weather app (built-in or one of the many thirdparty weather apps like The Weather Channel) with one that shows live weather. It will also add the weather to the title bar on your iPhone.
SpringFlash(free) - Double-tap the power button to turn on your LED flashlight. There's also a SBSettings add-on to put an icon in SBSettings.
Wi-Fi Sync($10) - I'm very disappointed in this app. For $10 I would expect a bullet-proof app, not one that I never been able to make work. I have yet to receive a response from the developer and it seems that my experience is quite common. I know several people have called into your show praising this app, but if you look online you will find many people have my problem and have not got a response. I'm hoping version 2.0 will someday come out and will make it work for me. Until then I highly recommend people do not purchase it. The developer could at least offer a free trial so you can test it out like the My3G developer does! Then when it doesn't work you don't feel like you wasted your money. There are very few apps I have paid this much for on my iPhone and this is the first time one failed to even work properly.
Just letting u know the Tii app isn't working on a jailbroken 4.3.1 iPhone 4. Gets all the way to the "play" button then closes out.
Keep up the good work
Jansen
Hi Jansen, The Tii App is working for me on my iPhone 4 - that is jailbroken and running iOS 4.3.1. You might want to try going in and manually closing out all your apps - rebooting the iPhone and then try relaunching the Tii App. When you jailbreak sometimes there is some strange behavior and the best thing to do is a full reboot - where you first make sure all apps are closed out. To do this - double tap the home button - then when it shows the apps that are open at the bottom. Hold down on one of the apps until they wiggle and then close out all the apps in the active app bar. Once every app is closed out - go ahead and reboot the iPhone by powering it off and then back on.
This method is recommended for anyone having any issues with non-jailbroken apps after you first jailbreak. Remember when you jailbreak you should expect a few more issues.
I'm like 99.9% that I paid 4 the extra push notification it use to work but listening to your last podcast I realized I haven't got 1 in a while. Checked settings and notification was off. However when I tried to turn on there is nothing to be turned on. I got the extra feature the week it came out. Please tell me what happened
Thanks Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Check out this link - it offers instructions for Push.
Ok I did a complete delete/install keep getting error "this is not a test user account" create a new account in the sandbox environment
Please help
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
That usually happens if you are on a jailbroken phone and have the app installous.
You need to use the same iTunes account for Push as you used to purchase the Tii App.
Rob W
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your reply, yes I know but unable to purchase the upgrade from itunes store it is grayed out. My original purchase was from the itunes store too. I uninstalled installous still a no go. In fact I've never used it.
Thanks Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
You have to make sure you purchased Push with the same iTunes account as you purchased the in App upgrade.
Additionally - we can not guarantee performance for any jailbroken phones.
Sometimes depending on the apps you have that are installed on a jailbroken phone - it will cause conflicts. For most jailbreakers this is not an issue - but for some it is.
I would recommend going through the steps per this link
You likely will have to completely uninstall the Tii App from your computer and your iPhone and then sync and then re-install on both your computer and iPhone - and then do the upgrade again for iTunes.
As long as you use the same iTunes account as before - you will not be charged again. But you do have to purchase both the Tii App and the Push upgrade from the same iTunes Account.
I'm trying to remember the name of the website that what buy my phones. I think one of the sites was Gazelle but I thought I remember there being another site that was better.
Thanks,
Kie
Hi Kie,
Gazelle seems to have the highest prices. Right now (4/5/11) Gazelle is offering $203 for a perfect 16 GB Wifi iPad1. Nextworth is offering $200 for the same. Rob W
I'm trying to see if I can get my iPhone 4 to display mirror. TO my understanding, this isn't possible. It can only output select content, such as slider show presentation, videos, etc. And, must use dock to VGA, component, or composite cables. If I were to jailbreak, would it allow display mirroring? Or, would I have to jailbreakand get some sort of utility to do this?
Thanks! Keep up great work!
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
You will need to jailbreak.
Only the iPad 2 officially supports video mirroring - via the HDMI cable.
Rob W
Thanks Rob! SO, jailbreak and display mirroring will be available, just like that?
Hi Kevin,
Video Mirroring has been available via jailbreak for quite some time. The app is called ScreenSplitr Check out Ep 107 - I talk about it in that episode.
Update: Make sure to read the comments at the end of trouble shoot help.
This is for Jailbreaking - NOT for unlocking. If you want to take your iPhone to another carrier (unlock) then this is not the tutorial for you.
Note: This tutorial works for iOS 4.3.1 for the iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 3GS, iPad1, iPod Touch 4th Gen, iPod Touch 3rd Gen. If your iOS devices is not listed it is not supported with this tutorial.
There are some very good articles on how to jailbreak but many miss a couple of steps that new jailbreakers need to know especially when it comes to using Cydia - the resource for finding and installing jailbroken apps. This tutorial tries to help those first time jailbreakers by covering both the jailbreak process step by step and also how to use cydia to install an app.
Do not try to jailbreak if you don't like when things go to (expletive). If you need your device for your business and being without it for any period of time will cause you to loose your job - stop now. If you get mad at your significant other at how they fold towels or put the toilet paper on a roll - Jailbreaking is probably not for your personality. Sometimes things break and your device will likely crash more often then if it was not jailbroken. Apple "claims" jailbreak voids your warranty if that is an issue stop now. Squaretrade still covers jailbreaking.
If your iOS device is already jailbroken - then check out this video tutorial on how to back up your jailbroken iOS device. (Thanks Brian for putting this together.)
Step 0 - Before you start make sure you update your iOS device to iOS 4.3.1 if you have not done so already. If you do not know how to update your iOS device jailbreaking may not be for you.
Step 1 - Close out iTunes and Turn off your iOS Device (make sure your iOS device is connected to your computer)
Step 2 - Create a folder called "jailbreak431" on your desktop.
Step 3 - Download Redsn0w from the following links
Step 6 - Move IPSW file into your Jailbreak431 folder.
Step 7 - Open the Jailbreak431 folder and then the Redsn0w folder and launch the Redsn0w App.
Step 8 - Click the browse button and find the Jailbreak431 folder and choose the IPSW file (Firmware).
Step 9 - Click the "Next" button once the firmware has been successfully identified
Step 10 - You will then be taken to a screen on the Redsn0w app that asks you to "select your options" - Instal Cydia will already be selected. For most users that is all you want selected - then click "Next"
Step 11 - You need to make sure your iOS Device is both turned off and connected to your computer. Do not connect via a USB hub or Keyboard or monitor port - Connect directly from the Computer USB port to the iOS device.
Note: If you connect your turned off iOS device to the computer at this stage - it will likely turn on your iOS device. If so after it boots up - hold down the power button and slide to turn it off again.
Once you confirm you are connected directly to your computer and the iOS device is turned off - you can click "Next" - Note this next step will take some good timing and following of directions.
Step 12 - As soon as you click Next - you will need to hold down the power button for 3 seconds
Step 13 - Then you will need to continue to hold the power button while you hold down the home button for 10 seconds
Step 14 - Then you will release just the power button while continuing to hold down the home button for 15 seconds.
If you / when you mess this step up by releasing the wrong button(s) you can click the back button and try again.
Step 15 - You will see a message saying Waiting for reboot.
Then one that says "done" Do NOT click on Finish yet.
On your iOS device you will see a bunch of activity including some code - Do not remove the iOS device from the computer. After a minute or so you will see a Pineapple with legs and a message Moving Applications. At this point just be patient the jailbreak process is finishing up. It will take a few minutes for the process to finish and for your iOS device to reboot. If it has been more than 10 or 15 minutes and the iOS device screen is all black - tap the home button one time - chances are it finished and you missed it. If it shows the slide to unlock screen you can then click "Finish" in the Redsn0w App.
That is it - you are jailbroken.
Step 16 - You can now find the Cydia App on your iOS device. It is a brown icon and labeled as "Cydia". Note some reports say right after the jailbreak - the Cydia App is showing up as all white - but after a reboot of the iOS device it returns to its normal brown icon.
Step 17 - Tap on the Cydia App to launch it. The program will do some maintenance the first time you open it.
Step 18 - Once it is done it will open up and you should see a screen that look like that below.
One App almost everyone will want and that works on the iPhone's, iPod Touch's and the iPad is the app Backgrounder. This app allows true multitasking on your device and it is free. To install this app Tap on "Search" in the bottom row of Cydia and then in the search box type "backgrounder"
Next Tap on "Backgrounder from BigBoss" the second one - not the one that says "(2.x only)"
Then Tap on "Install" in the upper Right corner
Then Tap on "Confirm" in the upper Right corner
At this point you have installed your first jailbroken App. It is recommended you open up Backgrounder and adjust some of the settings.
First tap on "Global". After you make your donation that is.
Set all the switches to "ON". Then go Tap "Back" and then Tap "Control"
Finally scroll through and select how you want to be able to enable and disable backgrounding for apps. Personally I like the "Short Hold" of the Sleep Button. It makes it very easy to enable and is not likely going to be enabled by accident.
Thats it you are now jailbroken and have your first real jailbroken app running on your device.
Please understand sometimes installs of apps are interrupted - in which case you need to try and re-install. Things are not as stable when you jailbreak - expect some additional crashes and conflicts between apps.
Note: If you have an iPad - do not - repeat - do not - install Five icon dock - it will really mess up your iPad and you will need to restore it. However that app works great on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Update: Make sure to read the comments at the end of trouble shoot help.
Do you know if you'll be able to transfer your current iPad apps to your new iPad (or iPhone to iPhone thinking about the summer when I upgrade my phone).
Thanks,
Anthony from Boston
Hi Anthony,
You can have up to 5 iOS devices you sync your apps to. So adding a new device will not be an issue. I am sharing apps now between 1 Pad, and 3 iPhones.
Last week when I was listening to your podcast, which is great I might add, you had an app come in from a teacher that was made by his students. I was amazed that they made an app after nine weeks of his class. I would like to make apps as a hobby maybe more if I get great idea. I was wondering if you could ask the teacher for an outline of what would be the best things to study. If he would be willing he could email me or pass the information back through you if your ok with that. I would really like the hear what HE was teaching not just a link to a site. Thanks for you show and your help Rob. And hopefully Thank him too for his help.
Regards Tyrone.
Hello,
Rob from Tii sent me an email with your question from the show where I talked about the work of my students. Thank you for your compliments on the work of the students.
I have used the following book: The iPhone Developer's Cookbook by Erica Sadun. Her current edition is for the iPhone 3.0 SDK. The first app my students make is her Temperature Converter application. It walks you through creating the application.
Another good book is: Beginning iOS4 Application Development by Wei-Meng Lee.
Finally, you can try Beginning iPhone Development by Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche.
The books were written for XCode 3. The newest version is XCode 4. The concepts are similar for both versions of XCode.
You will need a Mac running Snow Leopard to install XCode.
You can also get a book on Objective C to help you learn some of the programming concepts.
We concentrate on programming concepts such as data types, formatting output, conditional statements (if, if-else, switch), loops, random numbers, error trapping, and data persistence.
I think I am also noticing that my battery life for my iPhone 4 is was way less since I updates to 4.3. Have any more listeners had the same issue? Thanks for the great work Rob. Nice job with the show. :)
Doug
Cincinnati
Hi Doug,
Yes - and many are reporting better battery life with iOS 4.3.1.
Have you upgraded to iOS 4.3.1?
Rob W
Hi Rob,
Finally updated IPhone 4 to 4.3.1. Yes - battery life seems better since the update and I also have Ping turned off. Thanks Rob and always looking forward to a new podcast. Doug
Hi Rob ! My name is Ben from Montreal. On your last episode ( 170 ) you asked if anyone experienced a battery problem with the previous iOS 4.3 Well here is my story. When I updated my iPhone 3GS with the previous iOS 4.3, I realized that my device needed to get recharged more frequently in the first 2 days. I use my device intensively for personal and business as well. So charging it on a daily basis is normal but with iOS 4.3 , I had to constantly connect it to my charger because it would drain my battery way faster. So one night I decided to do a test. I put my phone on airplane mode , left my wifi on , and killed all programs running in the background before I go to bed. Woke up in the morning and checked my device and what a surprise to see that my phone lost 20% of battery life just sitting on a table for 8 hours. Never did I thought upgrading my iOS would be the reason for this problem. So I decided to schedule an appointment with Apple to see how I could take advantage of the battery replacement program. Then the same morning I connected my iPhone to iTunes then I get a notification of iOS 431. I installed it and checked on a forum to read more about this upgrade only to realize that many people had the same issue and 4.3.1 seemed to have improve their battery life. So after the update I felt like I had a new phone. I did not need to charge it as often. Also I did the same overnight test. Switched to airplane mode , killed all apps in the background , left the wifi ON , and fair enough , I lost 2 % of battery charge for the same 8 hours. Thanks for your podcast. I listen to it on a regular basis and it gives me some great information. Ben
I just started listening to your show after browsing a directory to find ipad 2 info and recognising your name from some other podcasting podcasts I listen to.
I am a podcaster myself and I was wondering if the new garage band app on the iPad could be used for recording a show. So far I have only heard a few comments about it and would like to know more.
Thanks for a great show,
Ben
Hi Ben, Yes - you can use the Garageband to record a podcast on your iPad (1 or 2) - however editing is not the easiest. It is also possible to record into your iPad using a good quality USB mic and the Camera connection kit - but you will need a powered USB hub plugged between them. This will supply the needed power to drive the USB mic. I have tested this with the Blue Yeti mic and it works great. Regards, Rob W
PS - I am working on a more detailed article going over using Garageband and the iPad along with a USB mic. That will be up soon in the VIP section.
I was wondering if you had seen that the the restrictions section of iOS now has a feature to prevent accidental deletion of apps.
A feature which I find very useful as my four year old granddaughter takes over my phone when she visits
Regards
Gareth from , Devon,UK
Hi Gareth,
This feature was actually added with iOS v4.2.1 - but I am not sure how much I mentioned it previously - other than in the overview of all the new features back when iOS 4.2.1 was first came out. So it is definitely worth mentioning again - as it is a great feature to have especially if you have young ones using an iOS device that are not 100% sure what they are doing - which is why I have it activated on my kids iPhone 3GS and my wifes iPad1 - Not that I am saying my wife does not know what she is doing - just that the kids use her iPad a lot. To Activate this setting go to:
Settings --> General --> Restrictions --> Then Turn "Deleting Apps" to "Off"
Thanks Gareth for the email and bringing back up this feature.
My date at top is backwards and the calendar is Monday to Sunday instead of Sunday to Saturday. I have no idea how this was changed and cant find a setting to change it back I noticed it after a restore a while ago and haven't been able to find a fix.
This is real annoying and would love to cix it.
Love the show.
Levi Riverside, CA
Hi Levi,
Go into the Settings App --> General --> International --> Region Format
Then change to United States.
Sounds like it has been set to a region format other than the US.
My wife loves to use the "Bell Tower" alarm to get up at 0'Dark-Thirty but the volume seems to be based on the ringer setting. Which is loud, especially with bell tower at 5am.
Is there an independent setting for alarms vs ringing levels?
Love the show and thanks again for doing the work!
Cheers from Sean
Hi Sean,
There is no way in the settings to select a different volume level for the Alarm and the Ringer.
However there is a way around this.
You can create a new ringtone - of the bell towers - but create it a lower volume.
1. Create the new "ring tone" in iTunes.
2. Reduce the volume to low (right click --> get info --> options --> volume adjustment)
3. Then Transfer this new "ring tone" to the iPhone and select it as your alarm.
What kind of bizarro world do you live in in the UK that your Carriers are kind of you know not Evil. Must be nice. Rugby, Shepards Pie and Free Tethering - Yup the UK is the place for me. Some details:
Tethering is now completely free. If you have a 1 GB data allocation, then it doesn't matter if you use that data on the phone or on a connected device -- it's all charged the same.
Do you know how to retrieve or reset my password for my iPhone 4 for the restrictions. Thank you in advance for your time and as always great podcast!
José
Hi Jose,
There are two ways to do this.
One - You just do a restore as new phone - Not ideal - but easy. You just loose all your data.
Two - A bit more complicated. But it gets your PIN. Steps are the following:
1. Download iPhone Backup Extractor http://supercrazyawesome.com/ (This is for OSX, if you are using Windows there are other Backup Extractor programs and you will have to tweak these directions to work with the Windows program, here is one of the Windows programs: http://www.iphonebackupextractor.com/)
2. Extract the Zip file you downloaded, move the App to your Applications folder, then run the App
3. Click on Read Backups, in the window that pops up click on the backup file of the device you need the lost pin for, then click Choose
4. You will have a list of all the Apps on the phone. Scroll to the bottom of the list and click on iOS Files, then click on Extract. Choose a folder where you want the files to be extracted to.
5. After it finishes extracting go to the folder where you extracted the files and follow this directory path: iOS Files --> Library --> Preferences
6. In that folder find the file "com.apple.springboard.plist" and open it. (Read note below if on Windows)
7. In Property List Editor look for the key titled "SBParentalControlsPin"
8. Look to the right of that entry and you will see the 4 digit PIN. You can now remove/modify parental controls
NOTE: If you are on Windows and do not have a program that will read PLIST files then open the file with Notepad instead. It will mostly look like garbled junk and words running together but towards the end of the file look for 4 successive digits, if there is more than one place with 4 successive digits then try them all, one of them will be your pin.
I have a dilemma, I bought an iPhone 4 but had to sell it when my health failed and I had to go on disability. Things are better now financially, but not so much that I want to spend $200. You were alerting your listeners about specials on the iPhone 4 a few months ago. I'm eligible for an upgrade, and wonder if you know of any specials going on now? AT&T always seems to be sold out of refurbs.
Thanks.
Jeff k
Hi Jeff,
Most of those specials we mentioned previously - were by AT&T trying to lock people into a contract prior to the announcement from Verizon about their iPhone.
So sadly - all those deals are over now. However - you will likely see some additional sales / deals around the middle of May - maybe even early May. Then you should also see good deals for old iPhone 4's once the iPhone 5 is made available around the middle of June.
Wasn't the proximitor bug fixed since the release of the iPhone 4?
I bought my iPhone 4 in February (AT&T) and have had quite a few dropped calls; today I even initiated a FaceTime call.
Thought this issue had been fixed.
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
It is still an issue for some users. Yes iOS 4.2.1 solved the issue for some users. But for others the issue continues.
Some speculate it was both a hardware issue with some users (Those that still have an issue) and for others it was a software issue (For those iOS 4.1 or iOS 4.2.1 fixed the issue). Here is a link from the Apple Supports forums.
Cult of Mac also had an article where there is a poll of users and only 46% of those that took the poll said iOS 4.2.1 did fix the issue - but 54% did not feel it fixed the issue.
Please note if you are using a case that covers any of the front of the iPhone - that could also be your issue. Make sure any case you have just covers the sides and back - but not the front of the iPhone 4. There are many reports that the proximity issue for iPhone 4's with cases covering the front will go away when the case is removed.
I know this is not the same as an app rootkitting your device or stealing information, but it is worth mention.
Also, they updated the article you referenced, and said that Google closed the exploit that DreamDroid uses.
However, my question to you is:
How does Apple's walled garden prevent this kind of malware? Do they scan source code for exploits? How do they know what to look for? Has an iOS device never been exploited? I'm not sure what you're saying in your podcast, unless you're saying the problem with Google's market policy is that they don't review(/scan?) apps for exploits. Again that brings up the question of: how do you scan for exploits if you haven't already seen it?
Thanks
Dave
Hi Dave,
Yes Apple scans / looks at the code of all apps - All are scanned by computers looking for strange code - And most are also looked at by humans.
So Apple does have in place the tools to looks for strange code.
And no Google does not look at anything with any apps - you can put up anything with Google. Google waits until someone complains and the reacts. Apple takes a much more proactive stance on looking at apps. Is Apples scanning of apps perfect - NO - But it is a lot better than not looking at all and just waiting until people report issues for apps that are already out in the wild.
There was a question recently about iMovie - and if you could import video shot on another device and edit it on your iPad2.
I say iPad 2 - because iMovie will NOT repeat will NOT work with the iPad1. Yes that sucks.
Ok back to the question about externally shot video and editing it on iMovie. Apple says yes and no. Yes if said video was shot with another iOS device - iPhone 4, iPod touch 4th gen or another iPad2 - but no if that video was show with a camcorder or other smartphone.
However you could always use handbrake to convert said video into the correct format on your computer and then bring it over - but if you are on a trip and it is just you and your camcorder and ipad2 - you are as they say S O L.
If anyone is aware of any apps for the iPad2 that will allow you to import in video from a camcorder and convert it on the iPAd 2 for use with iMovie - and you have done this - please let us know.
I just got my iPad 2 on Friday (3/18), my new and old iPads are 64Gig Wifi only.
I have tested app opening speeds between the two, with the apps not running (closed in multitasking), launched both at the same time on both (well as close as I can).
With all non-ios apps I am seeing a ½ to 7 sec faster on the iPad 2; the iPad 2 got to the apps main user screen ½ to 7 sec before the iPad got to the same screen.
Some of these apps may use the internet during start up.
App name (opening speed diff)
Angry Birds HD (3sec)
The Weather Channel MAX+ (4sec) [internet required]
Keynote (2sec)
TII (7sec) [uses internet but not required]
Cut the Rope (3sec)
Tron Legacy (5sec)
Flight Control HD (4sec)
Amazon (2sec) [internet required]
Apple Store (2sec) [internet required]
Target (4sec) [internet required]
Southwest (3sec) [internet required]
Kindle (3sec) [uses internet but not required]
Netflix (3sec) [internet required]
AutoDesk SketchBook Pro (3sec)
Starwalk (1/2sec)
Pandora Radio (3sec) [internet required]
After the Apps are running in multitasking there is no opening speed diff between the two (well faster than my eyes).
Hi Rob, FIrst, I love the show! I have been listening for about a year now, but as a Verizon customer, I had to wait until the iPhone 4 was available on Verizon. Now that I have it, I am having a blast listening to your podcast and using the information that I learn to make better use of the device. I have the Tii app and look forward to your weekly installment. Now that iPad 2 is out, the iPad 1 has become much more affordable. I would like to buy the 32 GB WiFi-only model. Although I would like 3G data access, I am not willing to shell out the extra bucks for this. Here is my question: Since I have the iPhone 4 with an unlimited data plan, can I tether it to the iPad so that I can get unlimited 3G data on it? I am assuming that I will have to Jailbreak the iPad, which is no problem. Thanks in advance for your insight. Keep up the great work! Darrell
Hi Darrell,
Thanks for listening to the show and for the kind words.
If you can jailbreak your iPhone - there is an App called - MyWi - which will allow you to turn your iPhone 4 into a mobile hot spot.
You can try out MyWi for free for 10 days - then it costs $20 for a one time purchase.
If you need instructions for Jailbreaking your Verizon iPhone - here is a link to a good article.
Per the following email and others I have heard from - it does seem AT&T is sending out their Tethering warning to users - not based on those they know are tethering - but rather those they think are tethering. Here is one of those emails.
Hey Rob,
I received the text telling me about the tethering plan as well. I assumed they were just suggesting it since I consume so much data, so I disregarded it. I have an iPhone 4 that I've never even jailbroken, much less tethered. But after listening to your latest podcast, I'm convinced that they think I'm tethering. Which means the decision to warn me is based on nothing more than my data usage. I watch a lot of Netflix on my phone, as well as stream all my podcasts, so I'm sure they hate me, but I have unlimited data, so I really don't care what they think.
Sincerely, Steve in Knoxville
So it will be interesting to see what type of PR Nightmare and I would guess eventual Class Action lawsuit AT&T will be getting themselves into - once they start changing the billing on customers that are not actually tethering - but just heavy data users. Fun Times
Can you tell me what the digital av cable for the ipad 2 will be able to do on the iphone 4. Specifically what will play or show on your hdtv?
Also if the mirroring for the ipad2 will work for streaming video apps like slingbox and the nba league pass app onto a hdtv.?
Thanks Robert
Hi Robert,
Per the Apple Digital AV Adapter and the iPhone 4 - Apple says the Adapter will allow the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4th gen and the iPad 1 "to pass movies and slideshows on your HDTV up to 720p". Which obviously is not very clear on specifically what Apps will work with it.
Some specific examples of apps that will work with the iPhone 4 are:
iPod App - Videos that play in there will play on the HDTV
Safari - Video Content on webpages
Photos - Slideshow and video playback
Youtube App
iMovie App (See Comments below)
These are some specific Apple Apps that are officially supported with the iPhone 4 and the Apple Digital AV Adapter. Additional 3rd party (non-Apple Apps) may work with the adapter - depending on how they are set up you will want to check the info page in the App store for any specific apps you are interested in.
Per the iPad 2 and the Apple Digital AV adapter - Any thing and every thing that shows up on the screen can / will be mirrored to your HDTV. So yes it will work with your slingbox app and the NBA League Pass app. The mirroring will be done at up to 1080p resolution.
Note: When first connecting to the iPad2 it may take up to 20 seconds for the iPad2 display to show up on your HDTV.
I am planning on getting the iPad 2. Do you know if I get the AT&T version of the ipad if it will also work with the Verizon or do I need to get the Version version.
Also I have been locked into a unlimited data plan for $30 since the days of my iPhone 3G. Do you know if I use the feature of making the iPhone 4 a wifi hotspot if I will have to give up my unlimited data on AT&T?
Thanks so much.
Regards,
C
Hi C,
The AT&T version will not work on Verizon and the Verizon version will not Work on AT&T.
You need to get the one for the network you plan on using.
Sadly it is not a dual mode device. The Choice is GSM (AT&T) or CDMA (Verizon).
Per the Unlimited data plan. Yes if you turn on the Wifi Hot spot on your iPhone - it will kill your unlimited plan and kick you into a limited data plan.
I have an iPhone 4 running 4.2.1. After backing up my device, I used redsn0w to boot cydia on my phone. I was able to do a tethered boot of cydia and it was working. I lost all service to my phone so I turned it off. When I turned it back on, it just boots to show the black screen with the apple logo and stays on that. I can't get iTunes to recognize the phone so I can't restore it. Do you think you could help me?
-- Thank You,
Jason F
Hi Jason,
You need to get your iOS device into DFU mode to restore it. Here is how to get your iOS Device into DFU mode.
Step 1: Run iTunes and connect your iOS Device to your computer
Step 2: Press and hold iPhone “Home” and “Sleep/Wake” button at the same time.
Step 3: After exactly 10 seconds, release the “Sleep/Wake” button put keep holding “Home” button.
Step 4: Now iTunes will detect iPhone in recovery mode and a pop up will appear on iTunes that will say:
"iTunes has detected an (iOS Device) in recovery mode. You must restore this (iOS Device) before it can be used with iTunes:"
That’s it. Your iPhone is now in DFU mode and you can follow iTunes restore process to restore the firmware on your iOS device.
If you have an old iPhone or iPhone 3G that you would like to put Android on because you need to do some testing of Android Apps. Then you are in luck. There is a nice tutorial at Redmond Pie on this. Note you will need to make sure your phone is already jailbroken and it was not the Jailbreakme.com jailbreak. This does not work with that jailbreak.
If you have an iPhone 3G you can find tutorials on doing compatible jailbreaks using Redsn0w here, Blackra1n here and PwnageTool here. For those with an original iPhone you can find tutorials on doing compatible jailbreaks using Redsn0w here, Blackra1n here and PwnageTool here.
Once you have the proper jailbreak in place again this tutorial on Redmond Pie will walk you through getting Android 2.2 installed on your iPhone or iPhone 3G.
Currently this is not publicly available for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or the iPad - but there are some videos out there showing it being done on the iPad.
It is not likely Apple will announce any more updates to iOS devices in 2010 (beyond the actual release of iOS 4.2 in November) – so this of course means it is time for the preview of what updates there will be in the iOS universe in 2011. These predictions were made by analyzing the past words and actions from Apple while also looking at new technologies available, they are not based on any “unnamed inside sources”.
iPad 2:
When –The original iPad launched at the end of March 2010, as such the safe money would put the iPad 2 launching around mid March 2011. However if Apple feels the plethora of Android Tablets being showcased at CES in January will pose a threat to the iPad – they might be proactive and schedule the iPad 2 to be announced right around CES with availability by the end of January.Either way you are looking at late Jan to mid March for iPad 2 to hit the Apple store near you.
What – 100% done deal – A front facing camera with Facetime support. However I do not see a rear-facing camera in the iPad 2’s future, just like there is no rear-facing camera on the Macbook Air. Expect a bump to 512 MB internal ram and a slight speed bump in the processor speed to around 1.2 GHz and a storage option of 128 GB on the top end. Back in June Steve kind of threw the iPad screen’s pixel resolution under the bus when comparing it to the iPhone 4’s Retina display. The iPod touch also has the retina display. I am guessing the Product Manager for the iPad is feeling a little left out, so there is an outside chance the iPad 2 gets a retina display. Finally, one last item that may make its way to the iPad 2 is a second dock connector so you can dock it in both landscape and portrait orientations.
Note - there is zero chance of anything other than the 9.7 inch screen size. Steve made that crystal clear on the October quarterly earnings call.
iOS 5:
When - If the iPad 2 launches before the end of Feb expect in mid March a special Apple event to announce the future features of iOS 5.If the iPad does not launch until March – then expect this event in mid April.Either way Apple will need to start beta testing iOS 5 prior to the end of April to meet a public launch of mid June.
What – First off expect iBooks to be a native App with iOS 5. For other features for iOS 5 you can look to jailbreak apps for hints of what could be added, such as screensplitr that lets you mirror your iOS device on a monitor, or Lockdown that lets you password protect individual apps. Digital zoom for Video recording would also be a nice add.Most of the other new features are likely to revolve around making the iOS devices even more enterprise / IT friendly.
iPhone 5:
When – There are four years of tradition pointing to the iPhone 5 being available in late June 2011.Enough said.
What – Pretty much a lock is the 64 GB storage option. I will also go out on a limb and say Apple will change the antenna design and go back to a metal back (Glass on both sides was like having a piece of toast buttered on both sides, no matter how it lands when you drop it – it is a bad thing).There should be a bump in processor speed same as the iPad and an increase in internal RAM to 1GB. One outside possibility is adding LTE compatibility, which given all the other specs available now for the iPhone 4 this at least gives current users of the iPhone a reason to upgrade. One last rumor that could happen is the Near Field Technology rumor, this would turn your iPhone 5 into a virtual debit/credit card – I think LTE is more likely and I don’t think LTE is all that likely.
Note - Forget about a removable battery and physical keyboard. Nor will there be an SD card slot or mini USB port – there is the dongle for those. Which is why you will not see an HDMI port either – if that support comes it will come via a dongle for the 30 pin connector.
iPod Touch 5th Gen:
When – As sure as the sun rises in the morning – Apple has a music event in September and once again in September 2011 Apple will have said event at which time the iPod Touch 5th Gen will be unveiled.
What – Bump in storage to 128 GB. Same processor bump as iPad and iPhone 5 – pushing to 1.2 GHz. Plus an internal RAM bump to 1GB.Expect an improved rear-facing camera with a flash.But honestly it would be hard for them to not improve the current camera. Finally expect a major change to the exterior of the iPod touch – the current design is a little long in the tooth.
Apple TV2:
I actually don’t see a hardware update for this in 2011 – but rather around the release of iOS 5 in June I think we will see a major software update that will allow for apps to be installed on Apple TV2. At a min expect to see Hulu and ABC added next to Netflix. But since the jailbreakers are already figuring out how to put apps on Apple TV2 – Apple will kind of be forced to follow suit.
While 2011 does not look to be as radical a year as 2010 was for the iOS universe (iPad, AntennaGate, Apple TV2) – there can and will be some solid updates for iOS devices and for the iOS itself.Finally you might be thinking “Hey you did’nt include the Verizon iPhone” to which I respond “No - No I didn’t - Check back next year when I review 2012”
This Article was originally published in September 2010
I read an article recently in Computer World titled “Devs bet big on Android over Apple’s iOS”.If that is not the definition of “link bait” I don’t know what is.Either way, with hook in mouth I surfed over to the article to find the opening paragraph proclaim that “A majority of mobile application developers see Google’s Android as the smart bet over the long run” The article makes it sound like Game Over - Android wins.Well not so fast Computer World and others that misreported on this survey.See these “developers” that were surveyed were developers who use Appcelerators Titanium cross-platform complier to produce iOS and Android Apps.The same cross compilers that up until recently Apple said were not allowed – which was the case at the time of the survey.So asking these developers anything about iOS is like walking into a Biker Bar(A real Biker Bar the type that the women’s rest room looks worse than the men’s - and I know this because I actually worked in a Biker Bar in high school and cleaning the women’s rest room still haunts me) and asking the patrons if they like Honda’s over Harley’s.The results will be skewed “just a tad”.
If you read the A-list Tech blogs and listen to some of the key Tech Podcasts you would get the general feel there are as many if not more Android devices that have been sold to date then there have been iOS devices sold. But what if I told you the reality is far different with over three times more iOS devices sold to date than Android devices and that each month and each quarter the difference between the two platforms has the iOS devices increasing their lead?You would if you read and listen to the aforementioned sources think I was daft – you might even at this point be looking for the comments section below to tell me as much.But the reality is iOS is increasing its lead over Android.Don’t believe me? Then lets look at the numbers:
For Android at the end of 2009 there were 8.5 Mil Android phones that been sold world wide according to Canalys. According to Gartner in Q1 2010 there were 5.2 Mil Android Phones sold and in Q2 2010 there were 10.6 Mil Android Phones sold.Google said they were doing 200,000 activations per day this past quarter, that works out to 18.2 Mil Androids in Q3 2010.Add this all up and the total Androids devices sold to date equals 42.5 Mil units.
For iOS Devices, as of September 1st 2010, Steve Jobs said there were 125 Mil units sold and that they were selling 230,000 per day, which equals 7 Mil units for September, for a grand total of 132 Mil iOS devices sold to date.So here is the real comparison:
132 Mil (iOS) vs 42.5 Mil (Android) – that is a 3.1 to 1 ratio in iOS’s favor.
And when you look at the daily numbers there is a 30,000 unit net gain per day for iOS, which means a 2.7 Mil net gain for iOS over Android in the last quarter alone. This trend can be seen in some numbers from outside the US.Comscores European smart phone market share which showed year over year increase for Apple iPhonesfrom 10.2% to 19.2% vs Androids increase from .5% to 6.1% which is a 5.6% gain in market share for Andriod vs a 9% gain for the iPhone. This is very important because in Europe there is a more level playing field - in that Apple is not hampered by exclusivity in all markets - just a few. Again Apple is pulling away from Android. Yes Android increased their share but not nearly as much as Apple increased theirs. Note: this does NOT include numbers for the other iOS devices, which also are selling well in Europe. And just think what happens when eventually in the US the iPhone is available on the other 3 carriers.
Granted 42.5 Million Android units is nothing to sneeze at, you do need to realize there were many 2 for 1 programs for Android phones including a few plans for carriers where you got the Android phone for free.With the iOS devices – Apple and the Carriers sold each device with no special deals. In other words Apple got full price for each iOS device. Another issue for Android handset manufacturers is the number of manufacturers and devices vs iOS.
For iOS devices there have been a total of Nine devices to date. 4 - iPhones, 4 - iPod Touches and 1 - iPad.From the developers perspective, there really have been just two different screen sizes and all have the same number of buttons for interfacing.This makes it very easy to develop across the iOS platform.More importantly for Apple there was just R&D and marketing costs for 9 devices, and really only 3 at any one point in time for marketing purposes.
With Androids things get a lot more convoluted; there have been over 72 models of Android phones from 22 manufacturers to date.This means there are 8 times the number of devices from 22 times more companies that have to share in a pie that is currently 1/3rd the size as Apple’s pie (Sorry for the bad pun).What this means is Apple makes a lot more money than all the Android manufactures combined and that money can be used in extra and more advanced R&D that ensures Apple can keep and grow its tech lead over its combined competition.
Another issue with Android is there seems to be a lot more buyers remorse then with the iPhone. Survey’s have shown a much larger percentage of Android users are looking to make the jump to the iPhone than the other way around. According to Nielsens 21% of Android owners are looking at the iPhone as their next smart phone with 71% wanting another Android. However just 6% of iPhone owners are looking at going to an Android phone for their next smart phone with 89% planning on getting another iPhone.Throw in Blackberry users for a moment – as they are the biggest market share in the US currently for smart phones and you have 29% of Blackberry owners that want an iPhone for their next smart phone vs. 21% that want an Android phone and just 42% that want another Blackberry.This all bodes very well for the iPhone for the immediate future.
There are a few big differentiators with the iTunes App store vs the Android’s App stores. Key ones being ease of purchase on the iTunes side.But even more important is one you never hear mentioned on TWiT or in any of the key tech blogs and that is the iTunes gift card factor. You can easily find iTunes gift cards in the check out lines of nearly every major retail and drug store in the US. iTunes gift cards are routinely given for birthdays, graduations, holidays, contest prizes and even just as a thank you.iTunes gift cards are basically “funny money” users of iOS devices will then spend on iOS Apps without any real thought. Where as on the Android side it seems people look at it as they are spending hard earned money every time. This is a factor you never hear mentioned but is a key reason why App developers can get rich on the iTunes App store and why most developers know – it is iTunes first and if resources are limited, then iTunes only. That is not just a short-term plan – that is the plan for the foreseeable future by ALL of the developers I talk to.
I think one developer of a poker app explained it best to me.He said that if your App is number one in the iTunes App store that is equivalent to winning the Word Series of Poker’s main event – it is that big of a life changer.While being number one in the Android App store is akin to winning the Friday night poker tournament at your buddies house.It is ok money but nothing that will change your life.
I like walled gardens they are safe and for the most part keep out the predators. However when one or more sneak over the wall the results can be to say the least ugly.With iTunes App store one of the key supposed advantages to the end users is that it is a walled garden and Apple is providing a safe secure environment you can trust in.They vet the apps that are approved and have a mechanism where users can review apps.They even set up the review process such that only those that download the app can review it.In theory this means they are app reviews you can believe in.I say “in theory” because in reality that is not 100% true.
This week the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) reached a settlement with Reverb a public relations agency that was hired by a video game app developer. Reverb had its employees filling out bogus reviews in the iTunes app store with no indication the reviews were from someone connected to the App developer and paid by the app developer.
“Companies, including public relations firms involved in online marketing need to abide by long-held principles of truth in advertising,” said Mary Engle, Director of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. “Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellers.”
Before you say Reverb was just one bad Apple and this is an isolated case, ummm – No.This is not an isolated case.Back on April 30th 2010, on my website I posted an article that exposed a company by the name of YourAppReviewed, which was offering the service of reviewing apps on iTunes.At that time they had apparently reviewed for pay over 50 different apps by over 20 different reviewers.Some of the reviewers clearly were not using the products when you looked at all the apps they were reviewing.Some combinations were actually humorous:
Like Amberg914 that reviewed apps for New Moms, a Wedding Planner, and how to find a man. I guess that is possible. After all - RSS Comm, Violin Lady and Bartsrock all reviewed the New Mom and Wedding planner apps - Maybe they should have reviewed a birth control methods app.
Others were just disgusting:
I came across a review by apple user - RobbyRedPort. It was for the app - Overcome the loss of a loved one with prof McMurphys subliminal techniques - Thats right they appear to be paying to put up a fake review for an app that "prays" on those that lost a loved one.
These reviews were brought to Apples attention. To which I was told Apple was reviewing.Two weeks later all the apps, sans the loss of a loved one app, were still in the App store and there were another dozen or so apps that looked to be added to the group of bogus app reviews.I did a follow up post here on this. To date it still appears all the App reviews are still up and that Apple has done nothing to police these bogus app reviews.
Again before you say well that is just one other company with no morals or regard to the FTC rules out there doing paid app reviews – I need to say nope there are others. There is one person going by the name Samwize that was offering for $5 to do twenty 5-star App reviews in iTunes for your app.He also offered to mix in some 4-star reviews if you wanted.Clearly this was to make the app reviews look as real as possible for the sole purpose of tricking the consumer (you and me). Fortunately for this article Samwize was so hubris in his solicitation of his services he put up a screen shot showing one of his iTunes user names.From there I was able to see many of the Apps he appears to have paid to do reviews for.Many of those reviews happening in July and August 2010.Quite a few of those were from the App developer LOLer Apps – which appears to have paid for the service.Three of their apps – Baby Maker, Anti Theft Alarm and Amazing Human Calculator all have twenty 5-star reviews you can trace back to samwize. Ooooppps.
Per the App developer above I do not know for certain they paid for the App reviews – but it does appear that way.And given that Apps can have access to very personal information about you – I would highly recommend staying away from any app from any developer that may be paying anyone to do bogus app reviews.After all if someone is willing to mislead you about their app, you really have to wonder what else they are capable of.
I am sure the over percentage of apps doing this is small. But there are some signs you can look for to see if an App may have bogus App reviews.When looking at the summary of the reviews in iTunes look for the letter “C”.That is when you see just as many 1 star reviews as you do 5 star reviews – it looks like the letter “C”.That is a clear sign something is not right.Baby Maker and Anti Theft Alarm – both qualify for that – well except Baby Maker has twice as many 1 star reviews as 5 star reviews.
Hopefully Apple will take action on this situation.The FTC already has.Now it is time for Apple to clean up their Walled Garden.But even if they don’t – I have this message from the FTC I would like to send out to those looking to put up bogus App Reviews.“Each violation … may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.”
I wrote part of this article while flying with my 4-year-old son. I saw something on the flight I thought was funny – on the package of peanuts it said “Ingredients: Peanuts Roasted in Peanut and/or Canola Oil, Salt.” Then the line right below that “Produced in a facility that processes peanuts and other nuts.”Really the peanuts were processed in a facility that processes peanuts – who would have thunk.I guess that is a product of our overly litigious society, which often leads to dumb rules and overly complicated ways of doing things. That is why I am such a fan of the iOS UI – it is just plain easy to use. I am also a fan of jailbreaking, which at times has been anything but easy. But now there is a new jailbreak where all you need to do is point your iOS device’s safari browser to – http://www.jailbreakme.com - Then slide the slider and the jailbreak starts. A couple of minutes later you are all done. That is it, no need for a computer, no need for SHSH blobs (if you don’t know what they are you are better off not knowing).
The Details:
The devices this works on are all the iOS devices running iOS 3.2 or later – that includes the iPad running iOS 3.2 or 3.2.1.It also includes the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4, iPod Touch 2nd and 3rd Gens running iOS 4.0 and iOS 4.0.1.Do not upgrade to any version of the iOS outside of those above if you want to keep using this jailbreak method. This method does not care what version of the boot rom you have or if you saved SHSH blobs. It does not care what version of iTunes you are using or if you are mac or pc. The entire jailbreak is done right from the iOS device itself simply by pointing the safari browser to http://www.jailbreakme.com. It is highly recommended when doing so that you have a WiFi connection. Also make sure you do a back up of your iOS device before attempting the jailbreak and make sure your device is updated to iOS 4.0.1 or iOS 3.2.1 (iPad) before attempting.
There can be issues:
As always I need to warn that jailbreaking will make your device less stable then if it was not jailbroken and the more jailbroken apps you download the more likely you are going to have issues. I recommend you only download the apps you need and delete out any you do not like ASAP.Early on with this jailbreak there were reports of Facetime and MMS not working – those issues have been resolved. Some users have reported issues during the jailbreak process where it gives a server time out issue over and over – to resolve this issue you need to close out safari completely (best to restart the device) and then clear the cache and then go back to the jailbreakme.com site.Again as with any jailbreak you are opening the iOS device up to new issues and that can mean the device locks up and needs a full restore. So if you are someone that does not like when things go wrong – this is not for you.Apple states that if you jailbreak you void the warranty of your iOS device, however 3rd party warranty vendor Squaretrade states they still honor their warranty if you jailbreak. Full and fair disclosure – Squaretrade is an advertiser on my podcast – but that does not make them any less cool for standing behind their warranty when you jailbreak whereas Apple goes running for cover – just sayin. But if voiding your warranty is the reason you don’t want to jailbreak, please note there is a 3rd party solution for that.
Too Easy:
This is without a doubt the easiest jailbreak since the original jailbreakme.com jailbreak back in 2007.Anyone and I mean anyone that uses an iPhone can do this.This obviously takes advantage of a major security hole in the iPhone OS – which means Apple WILL patch this on the next update.If you are at all interested in jailbreaking do not upgrade to the next iOS update. Obviously if you can do this by just going to a web page – then someone will come out with an exploit beyond jailbreaking and you should expect to read a lot of FUD about this until said update comes.
Some Apps to Consider:
Here are a few of the important apps to consider once you do jailbreak:
1.Five Icon Doc – Allows 5 icons in your lower dock
2.Backgrounder – Real backgrounding of apps
3.3G Unrestrictor / My3G – Both trick apps into thinking you have a Wifi connection when on 3G
4.MyWi – Turns your iPhone / 3G iPad into a mobile WiFi hotspot (probably why you are jailbreaking)
5.Screensplitr – Mirrors your iOS device on a monitor / computer.
6.Multiflow – Scroll left and right through open Apps
7.Lockdown – Lets you password protect individual apps
8.Spoofapp – Allows for the recording of phone calls.
Its Legal:
Back to the beginning and the Peanuts – that was a process of too much legal intervention. However just last month the US government chimed in specifically about Jailbreaking and they said it is legal to Jailbreak. Kudos go out to the EFF for fighting the good fight and also to the US government for doing what was right.This however does NOT mean Apple has to honor their warranty if you jailbreak – but it does mean those providing us with these great jailbreak services are protected a little more from the horde of Apple lawyers – not that Apple ever went after them in the past – but now at least they are even less likely to try.One thing is for sure it has never been easier or more legal to jailbreak your iOS device than it is today.
Sadly it is now impossible to do a review of the iPhone 4 (iP4) without mentioning the Antenna and the reported issues when you hold the iP4. Which is a shame because there is so much more to the iP4 than the Antenna.That is not to make light of the potential issue – just I want to point out there is much much more to the iP4.To start there is the Retina Display, which is “clearly” the best screen on any smart phone PERIOD. Then there is the improved 5 MP Camera with a flash on the back and the new front facing camera, there is the App Facetime, and there is a faster processor, double the RAM of the 3GS and better battery life.But again it is sadly the Antenna that is getting all of the attention right now.
Antenna Issue:
Per the Antenna issue lets get this out there up front. For those not in the know – there are many videos showing people touching the lower left side of the iP4 and then the number of bars dropping like a rock and in some cases the phone loosing all reception. Now I need to say this does not appear to be the case with all iP4’s.Personally I have not seen this issue with my phone – and I have a video up at todayinios.com showing me using it with my left hand and not being able to replicate the issue.Here is a link to my post that covers this issue and has links to others covering this issue.
Apple has responded and said it is a software issue per iOS 4 and not a hardware issue per the iP4.Clearly this is something Apple will need to address strongly and swiftly. Some have even started saying the iP4 has a hex on it – given the issue of the lost iP4/Gizmodo and now this. The good news is if you have not already purchased an iP4 chances are you will not be able to get one until Apple does address the issue.So for you the rest of this article is sans reference to the Antenna issue and assumes that it is something Apple can address with a software update.
Retina Display:
The most stunning upgrade from the 3GS to the iP4 is the new “Retina Display” which uses the same IPS technology that is in the iPad. The IPS tech offers a very wide viewing angle range. However with the iP4 display Apple one-upped the iPad and I guess four-upped the 3GS with the “Retina Display” which offers four times the number of pixels as the 3GS. Holding the 3GS next to the iP4 it is as “clear” as night and day how much better the iP4 display is. It is like you are looking at something that was printed by a 300+ dpi laser printer. It is without a doubt the best display of any smart phone on the market and is in my opinion much better than the OLED screens. A big issue with OLED screens is that when you walk out in the sunlight they are completely unreadable. The iP4’s “Retina Display” is still very readable in direct mid-day sun – even in Las Vegas. Watching a movie on the new display is simply beautiful and even in heavy action scenes there are none of the digital artifacts you are used to seeing with LCD screens.
Cameras:
With the iP4 Apple not only upgraded the back camera from 3 mega pixels to 5 mega pixels, they also finally added a flash that works as a flash for photos and a light for video recording. But Apple did not stop there they also added the long sought after (at least by me) front facing camera. The camera app for the iP4 switches easily between the front and back camera for both still images and video.The picture quality for the back camera is very good when compared to a stand-alone digital camera and as good if not better than any other smart phone on the market. Yes there are other smart phones with 8 mega pixel cameras – but tests show those pictures are no better than what you get with the iP4 due to sensors used.There are many side by side comparisons of iP4 pictures vs. Digital Cameras / other smart phones where the iP4 comes out on top or just as good as the other devices. I feel I can now finally retire my Casio 5 mega pixel stand-alone camera something I did not even remotely consider with my 3GS.
Facetime:
One of the great new features with the iPhone 4 is Facetime – this feature takes advantage of the front facing camera and allows you to do video chats.There are two caveats however, 1. You must have a WiFi connection, and 2. The other person needs to have an iPhone 4 as well, at least for now (Apple stated they will make the tech an open standard for all to use).Apple realized that people who just got an iPhone 4 might not have anyone to test out the Facetime feature with, so they setup a number for you to call in and try it out.1-888-FACETIME. I gave this a call from the LasVegas AirPort on Sunday morning and they answered quickly within a minute.Facetime worked great!!The video was really clear of the person on the other end.And a nice touch was while doing the Facetime chat the smaller window, that shows you or what you back camera is seeing, was easy to move around.Just touch and move it around if it is in the way of what you wanted to see. While in Facetime you can with one tap switch what the person on the other end sees - from the front camera to the back camera. As such there will be many uses of Facetime Apple never imagined or that at least they would not admit to, some likely involving posts on craigslist. But to me the most compelling one is still per the Apple commercials and that is connecting via video with loved ones.
Benchmark Tests –iPhone 4 vs. 3GS:
Some quick benchmark tests for the iP4 vs. the 3GS showed a little surprising results.The iP4 actually takes longer to boot up from a cold start than the 3GS.The 3GS starts up in about 37.5 secs vs. 43.4 secs for the iPhone 4.Both devices were running iOS 4.Now I am sure the longer boot up times have to do with the additional code to support Facetime – but still I would have expected with the 1Ghz A4 processor that the iP4’s boot time would have been closer to 30 secs considering the iPad using the same processor boots up in 20 secs (Granted the iPad is booting up in iOS 3.2 not iOS 4). A good real world test of processor speed is to see how fast Apps start up. I looked at the load times for three different apps and took the average load times for each app on the iP4 and the 3GS.The three apps were Blowfish, Crazy Hamster and Pocket Ants, all are games and each takes some time to load. Below are the results of those tests.
App:
BlowFish
Crazy Hamster
Pocket Ants
Device:
3GS
iP4
3GS
iP4
3GS
iP4
Avg. Time: (secs)
6.4
5.6
11.7
10.4
8.4
7.5
As expected the iP4 was faster than the 3GS but not quite as fast as you would expect when you consider how much faster the processor is. However these tests only tell part of the story, as the feel of the iP4 seems to be smoother than the 3GS which already felt fast. The iP4 feels equivalent to the iPad in the use of the interface.
How long does the battery really last?
While the iP4 is significantly thinner than the 3GS Apple somehow still managed to put in a bigger battery. Apple claims the iP4 will give you 10 hours of video playback, same as they said for the iPad – which I actually tested out to 13.5 hours. So Apple tends to be conservative with their battery claims. As an example of real world use - Sunday I unplugged my iPhone from the charger at 7:00 AM. I had 4 phone calls with the wife, did the Facetime chat with Apple, received a few other calls for about a total of 52 minutes of calls. I also listened to 7 episodes of Daves Lounge Podcast (A great music podcast I highly recommend you check out) for a total of about 4 hours of audio playback. Additionally I surfed the web and checked emails, took some pictures and sent those pictures via email. At 3:03 PM (8 hours later) my phone was showing 78% battery life.Sure other smart phones have removable batteries – but that is because they NEED them to be removable. But even if you are supper user and need better battery life – there will be many third party cases that have batteries built in – no better place to store the extra battery than right in the case. Interestingly enough if you have the original Mophie Juice Pack for the original iPhone - the iP4 fits in it perfectly.
There are four versions of the iP4. Black with 16 GB or 32 GB of storage or White with 16 GB or 32 GB of storage. Pricing in the US is $199 / $299 for the 16 GB / 32 GB versions respectively (Based on signing a 2 year contract with the Devil AT&T). One caveat is the White versions are not currently available and will likely not be available until late July. Apple stated they were have manufacturing issues with the White iPhone – because you know Apple has never made a white device before. (Yes I am a little bitter I wanted the White one.)The iP4 is a big step up from the 3GS – which was really just a small step up from the 3G which was a small step from the original iPhone. If you are eligible for an upgrade I would highly recommend you do so now. If you are not currently an iPhone owner then there has never been a better time to drink the cool-aid and get one. You might also want to get a case or at least try not let the antenna touch your skin. Just sayin.
One of the early predictions of a Verizon iPhone comes from ZDNet back on November 27th 2007.Back then ZDNet was predicting the iPhone would be on Verizon within a year. Since then there have been countless other stories like this where predictions / rumors / inside sources have talked about a Verizon iPhone “definitely” coming in the next week / month / year.And all obviously have been proven to be false. When Steve Jobs does his WWDC keynote on June 7th, one of the big questions people hope will be answered is what carriers in the US will be getting the next generation iPhone. As anyone who is even remotely interested in the iPhone knows you currently can only get the iPhone in the US on AT&T and depending on where you live that can be a good thing or a very very bad thing (NYC, SFO).Many are hoping for a Verizon iPhone or a Sprint iPhone, and there are many of rumors out there about said devices.
First lets start with the facts.Apple and AT&T in 2007 signed a 5-year exclusive agreement for the US deployment of the iPhone.Apple admitted such in a court case even referencing a USA today article from early 2007 revealing said agreement.So we know 100% without any doubt there was a 5-year exclusive agreement signed that was scheduled to last until 2012.What we don’t know and what neither Apple nor AT&T are saying today is what is the status of that agreement and has it been altered in any way.I have predicted on my podcast many times that Verizon would not get an iPhone until they had their LTE (4G) network built out.Which also is scheduled for mass deployment in 2012.So from both a contractual and a technical perspective a Verizon iPhone does not look likely until 2012.
Here are some more facts that may have some influence with regards to potential Verizon and Sprint iPhones.In the US there are over 140 Million subscribers on Verizon and Sprint combined, compared to just 87 Million on AT&T.A recent survey of Verizon subscribers found 17% likely to get an iPhone if it was available from Verizon.Assuming similar numbers for Sprint, you are looking at Apple selling 23.9 Million iPhones on those two carriers.Assuming an average sales price of $599 per iPhone (what Apple gets per sale) you are looking at over $14 Billion in revenue for Apple.That is clearly motivation for Apple to reconsider their original agreement and it more (much much more) than makes up for any costs to build and test a CDMA phone especially when it is calculated Apple gets better than a 50% gross margin on the iPhone.It does not take $7 Billion, or even $1 Billion for that matter, to develop and test a CDMA version of an existing GSM phone.Plus a CDMA iPhone would also give you a device you could run on China Mobile – the world’s largest cellular carrier with over 500 Million subscribers.
Others have pointed out that since the iPad was exclusive to AT&T in the US – this is proof that the original AT&T / Apple agreement is still in place and still going strong. When you look at the very generous data plan and the terms of that data plan for the 3G iPad, it has others going so far as to say if anything AT&T may have actually successfully negotiated with Apple to extend the original 5 year exclusive agreement by a year or two.
So then why all the rumors recently with regards to a Verizon or Sprint iPhone? One key reason appears to be that for the first time in the US, there were more Android powered smart phones “sold” than iPhone OS smart phones.This per sales for Q1 2010.In all fairness it should be pointed out there were many buy one get one free promotions for Android smart phones in the US in Q1 2010. Also if you throw in the iPod Touch sales – there were actually more devices sold in the US in Q1 that run on the iPhone OS vs the Android OS.Still that Android smart phone sales are getting close to sales of iPhone OS devices in the US is something many speculate is not lost on Apple.Also what is not forgotten is that Apple in its most recent quarterly conference calls has said in those markets that were exclusive to one carrier, that then were opened up to other carriers Apple saw incremental growth in sales of the iPhone.
Without knowing the exact details of the Apple / AT&T iPhone agreement it is hard for us to know the exact value to Apple to keep this exclusive agreement going. So all most people can do is speculate on what is known and those facts make it look like it is in Apple best interest to end their exclusive deal with AT&T and add Verizon and Sprint into the mix. Popular opinion right now is that Apple will announce the end of exclusivity on June 7th and add Verizon and Sprint to iPhone party.However that “popular opinion” is based on imperfect information, for example we do not know how much kick back per month per iPhone subscriber Apple is getting from AT&T.Sadly for those holding out hope for a Verizon or Sprint iPhone I am guessing that kick back is significant enough to make it in Apples best interest to stay exclusive with AT&T for the next two years.Here is hoping on June 7th I am wrong.
We will be updating with reports from Lines at Apple stores and other stores today. Add your info in the comments below.
OnLine Status:
I ordered through the apple store at 6:30am EST and was getting a 5-7 day ship time. Keith R
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I noticed the shipping times on the iPads has gone from 1 - 3 business days to 2 - 3 weeks.
John 11:00 AM ET
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Store Lines:
Apple Store - Woodland Mall - Grand Rapids MI.
At 11:00 AM EDT there are 27 in line. I'm #2 Best... Tom G
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Apple Store - Louisville KY - 40 in line at 11:05 ET
Update - 140 People in line - 1:56 PM ET
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Best Buy - Topeka - 1 Person in line 11:30 AM ET
Lot of unhappy people that thought they'd be getting one at 10am. Got here at 7:30, so far the only one to stay. Got my lawn chair, blanket, water and determination.
They are handing out numbers at 4:30 PM Jeffrey aka The Amish Phonebook Guy
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Best Buy - Hadley MA - No Line at 11:30 AM ET. Handing out numbers at 4:30 PM.
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AT&T - Hadley MA - No iPad2's coming today.
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Apple Store - Lexington KY - Fayette Mall - 40 in line - 12:12 PM ET
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Apple Store - Samta Rosa CA - 0 in Line 9:30 AM PT
Hi. Just left the Apple store in Samta Rosa Ca. at 9:30am No lines They will close this afternoon at 3 to set up for a 5:00pm opening. Cheers, Ron
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Apple Store - Temecula CA - 12 in Line 10:00 AM PT
Hey Rob, Chris in Temecula again, did a drive by on the Temecula Apple Store and there is less than 12 people in line with their folding chairs and black umbrellas. Looks like the store is ready for people to line up though as they have a cart of bottled water and more umbrellas outside the door. It is now 10 am. Thanks! Chris
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Apple Store - Novi Michigan - 100 people in Line - 1:00 PM ET
My SIL is in line at the Apple store in Novi, Michigan. It's 1:00 Eastern time. Been in line since 10:00 am. Says there are 100 people in line. Caryl G
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Apple Store - Knox Store Dallas - 17 in line - 11:34 PM CT
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Apple Store - Natick Mass - 20 People in line - 1:12 PM ET
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Apple Store - Danbury CT - 12 People in line - 11:50 AM ET
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Apple Store - Wellington Mall - West Palm Beach - 67 People in line - 2:30 PM ET
186 people at 4:15 PM.
Rob, I am in line at the Apple store in West Palm Beach at the Wellington Green mall. It is 2:30 and there are 67 people in line. The person in the first position tells me he got into line at 8:30 last night. Fred
I was 38th in line and when I got to the front I was told they have no ATT 3G models left at all. Sigh Fred
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Apple Store - Chestnut Hill - 20 People in line - 1:26 PM ET
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Best Buy - Springfield MO - 50 in line - 1:57 PM CT
Here at 1100 today im number 10, i called att and sams club they do Not have any, heard target had 4 , bb willnnot say how many they have. 1240 now 20 in line- Steve
Its 2:00 50 in line , they are believed to have 300 just a rumor sorry best buy not speaking. Steve
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Hey Rob, Called the local Verizon store in Michigan and they have no iPads in the store. He said Apple release them so fast that they was unable to get them from the warehouse to the Verizon store in time for today. But he did say that you could call back after 5 and they would take your order and ship the iPad Monday. I ordered my iPad 2 from the apple website this morning and received a order acknowledge a few hours later. In the acknowledgment it claims to ship the iPad 2 in 3-5 business days with a estimated delivery of Mar 18-25! There is some good news, my smart cover has a delivery date of Mar 18-21 lol. I guess apple didn't want to leave me empty handed and hopes the smart cover will hold me over until my iPad 2 comes! Quincy
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Apple Store - Palm Beach Gardens Mall - 40 in line at 3:00 PM ET
Rob,
I called the PBG Apple Store and was told that an hour ago there were about 40 in line for the iPad2.
Luis
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Apple Store - NJ - 50 People in line at 3:15 PM ET
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Apple Store - Chestnut Hill, MA - 90 in line at 3:30 PM ET, 150 people at 4:00 PM ET.
About 50th in Chestnut Hill, MA About 40 behind me now. Are being told that there will be enough. No line at Target in Watertown, MA. I just called them. Apple just gave out 20oz bottles of SmartWater to all. -- Marc via iPhone 4
Apple store at Chestnut Hill, MA They ran our of black 64GB+3G. I guess they proud to have whites :-)
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Apple Store - Flatiron Xing - Denver - 70 People in line at 2:30 PM MT
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Apple Store - PeachTree City GA - 30 people in line 4:45 PM ET
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Apple Store - Birmingham AL - Summit store - 100+ in line at 4PM ET
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Best Buy - San Antonio TX - 17 People in line at 4:00 PM CT
Hey Rob! Just wanted to give u a status update from San Antonio, TX. Just showed up to BEST BUY @ the Forum about 4:00pm. Line isn't bad - about 17 people ahead of me laughing and joking with each other just trying to beat the heat. Best buy is handing out tickets @ 430 and product @ 500pm. Im hopeful, but it's not the end of the world if I don't get one. Take care and keep up the good work - thanks for being you!
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Apple Store - Tucson, AZ - 145 in line at 3:28 PM MT
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Apple Store - Greensboro NC - 200+ people in line at 5:33 PM ET
The line is wrapped around the Apple store at Friendly Center. There must be over 200 people in line. I don't think the locals got the message about Walmart or Target selling it.
Brent
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Best Buy - Burnsville MN - 3 People in line at 4:56 PM CT
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Apple Store - Schaumburg, IL - 75 people in line at 4:33 PM CT
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Apple Store - Raleigh NC - 500 People in line at 5:00 PM ET
With the iPhone 4 launching on the Verizon network on Feb 10th (pre-orders starting on Feb 3rd for special Verizon customers) now is a good time to go over some information on what you should and should not expect. But first lets make one thing very clear it is the iPhone 4 on Verizon – it is NOT the Verizon iPhone.And that is a good thing for the end users. There is no crapware pre-installed, there is no Verizon logo on the outside of the iPhone – it looks, feels and has the same apps as the iPhone 4 on AT&T.
There are however a couple of UI differences between the iPhone 4 on Verizon and AT&T.First if you are used to the iPhone on AT&T you may like being able to talk on the phone while checking for and sending emails or accessing the web.That was something that was possible due to the type of network AT&T uses (GSM). Verizon’s network is different (CDMA) and as such does not allow for simultaneous Voice and Data usage. Second with the iPhone 4 on Verizon you can set up your iPhone 4 to work as a WiFi Hot Spot for up to 5 devices. This actually is not really a technical limitation on AT&T’s part – but a business decision by AT&T to not allow this feature (They may allow it in the future if enough people complain).This is a feature that has been the number one reason to jailbreak an iPhone so users could get an app called MyWi, which currently turns your iPhone into a WiFi Hot Spot.
The biggest complaint about the iPhone on AT&T is clearly the issue of dropped calls or the inability to make calls to start with.This is an issue typically seen in large metro areas like New York City and San Francisco. For the most part you do not hear about this issue with the iPhone on other carriers around the world. As such it is expected that the iPhone 4 on Verizon should perform better than the iPhone 4 on AT&T.If you are someone that loves everything about your iPhone – but you need to you know actually make a call, then the iPhone 4 on Verizon is probably something very exciting to you.
With AT&T you have been able to update to the latest iPhone each year at the reduced subsidized pricing. With Verizon it is being reported that if you get the iPhone 4 in February 2011 when it is released you would need to wait 20 months before you could upgrade again. (Note – I contacted Verizon for verification on this detail and it is not yet something they are releasing info on) That would put you out to September 2012 before you could get your next iPhone. By then the iPhone 6 will be about 3 months old. This brings up the dilemma do you get the iPhone 4 on Verizon now knowing that Apple traditionally updates the iPhone in June – just 4 months from now.Or can you hold out until June to see what new wonders the iPhone 5 has to offer.If you are an early adopter personality and you can manage to get by for the next 4 months and money is tight – then you are probably best to wait.If you are on Verizon already and need a new phone now – then there really is no better phone available than the iPhone 4.
Note - there are always services like Gazelle – where you could sell your iPhone 4 latter on and put that money towards a new iPhone 5.Remember the majority of your cost is not actually in the phone itself – but rather in the voice and data plan.Right now with Gazelle you can get $360 for your 32 GB iPhone 4, and even more than that if you sell it on Craigs list or ebay – especially if you jailbreak it first. If you do get the iPhone 4 now on Verizon and then want to upgrade in June – you would be looking at a likely un-subsidized price of $749 for the top end iPhone and probably about $300 to $350 if you sell your 32 GB iPhone 4 on Craigs list or ebay.
While Verizon has not released all information on iPhone pricing they have said the following. Data plans will be unlimited to start and will cost $30 a month. Verizon did say eventually the unlimited plan will go away for new signups. But for now they want to steal as many AT&T customers as possible. AT&T has responded unofficially by offering back the unlimited plans to those that threaten to leave AT&T for Verizon. If you want the option of turning your iPhone into a mobile hot spot that will set you back another $20 a month and you will be limited to 2 GB of data via the hot spot set up. You will be able to pre-order your iPhone on Verizon starting February 3rd at 3:00 AM ET.Again not all details have been released yet but when they are you will be able to find the info at - http://www.verizonwireless.com/iphone - make sure to carefully review the plans before you sign up. As mentioned above the real cost with any smartphone is not with the smartphone – but rather with the Voice/Data plan required for said smartphone.
Word is coming out that in the UK carriers are dropping prices of the iPad - implying the iPad 2 is right around the corner. Plus you know the iPad2 is right around the corner. This means it is time for the iPad2 rumor bingo card. There have been a lot of different rumors about the iPad2 - some going back to right after the iPad launched. The Bingo card above shows many of these rumors. Some will likely be spot on - most will miss the mark - others are just silly. Per my thoughts on those above:
What the Frack is wrong with the NY Times or more specifically Joe Nocera at the NY Times. Did Steve Jobs drown his puppy and run off with his Wife too? Not sure how else to explain the "Article" he posted titled - Verizon Deal May Expose iPhone Flaws. To say it is a flawed post filled with mis-information and is highly biased is really understating how bad this "Article" is. Did the NY Times fire all the editors? To start we have this quote
"Yet for all that it offers, the iPhone has always been plagued by serious drawbacks. The “phone” part of the iPhone has never worked very well, dropping calls with annoying regularity. Even when the phone works, the sound quality is often substandard. You would think in an age when fewer people are using landlines this would matter. Apparently not."
What is not mentioned by Joe is that the iPhone works very well in other countries on other networks. And even in the US the iPhone 4 works very well depending on where you live. NY and San Fran - not so much. But in Kansas City where I live the iPhone 4 is rock solid and the sound quality of the calls is far better than my Wife's smartphone on T-Mobile. I have found the iPhone 4 works in areas my iPhone 3GS never worked.
Joe continues with these gems:
"the iPhone’s lack of a raised keyboard makes it next to impossible to do serious e-mailing. And users have to worry constantly about battery life; if they’re not judicious, the iPhone’s battery can be drained by noon."
Ummm - WOW. Really Joe you are going back to 2007 to bitch about the lack of a Physical Keyboard? That horse has not just been beaten to death - the corpse has long since decomposed and and turned to dust which was then blown away. It is 2011 and to date over 160 Million iOS devices with the virtual keyboard have been sold. Joe - GET OVER IT. Per the second part of that quote - Battery Life - What the Frack? Really - you are complaining about the iPhone's battery life - well then you are about the only one. The iPhone 4 has great battery life, and better than almost all other full screen smart phones. Battery Life ? Joe? Really? Please let us know exactly what other full screen smart phones have a better battery life. Oh I will do that for you - see this link. Looks like only the Droid X has better battery life. Battery Life is not a complaint I get from my listeners. Surely you are not complaining about the lack of a removable battery? If so see comments above about 2007 and the dead horse.
"They never make design compromises at Apple. They make consumer compromises. Yet consumers have always been willing to overlook those compromises so they can claim they own some of the coolest products on the planet."
Joe it appears you just don't get it (understatement of the year). Even if people were just buying the iPhone because it was cool - that would not explain why it turns up on top of EVERYconsumer survey for customer satisfaction. Regardless of the motivation of why people are buying the iPhone - they clearly are very happy once they do get the device. I will not get into the condescending message your quote sends - but clearly you think iPhone owners are mindless drones. Which obviously hit you pretty hard when you found out your son was one of those mindless drones - since he wants the iPhone too. Luckily Joe for your son intelligence comes from the Mother - and that is a better explanation on why your son wants the iPhone.
"As much as anything, the success of Android is what finally pushed Apple into the arms of Verizon Wireless, which got much better terms than AT&T. ... In truth, Apple needed Verizon Wireless more than Verizon Wireless needed Apple. The deal the two companies cut reflects that fact."
Is that the deal that does not put any Crapware on the iPhone and does not put the Verizon Logo on the iPhone? You say "In Truth" like it is fact. But what about the fact that AT&T was adding more subscribers than Verizon every quarter. Reality is both needed each other - but Verizon needed the iPhone more than Apple needed Verizon. Subscriber growth is the life blood for carriers and the iPhone is the key reason why AT&T continually was beating Verizon.
"Mainly, though, the Verizon Wireless subscriber is simply used to a different kind of experience. If they all migrate immediately to the iPhone, then truly I will raise the white flag."
White flags are something you waive in Battle. Obviously Joe, you feel you are in a war with the iPhone - and that comes through perfectly clear in your very biased article. However, what is also very clear based on your mis-information and lack of any real research is that you showed up to a gun fight with just a knife. Remember when you are waiving your white flag to raise it high above your head we would not want you shot by one of those mindless iPhone buying drones or your own son. Metaphorically speaking that is.
What the Frack is wrong with Consumer Reports. Did Steve Jobs drown their puppies before running off with their wives? Because Consumer Reports clearly has become biased in their reporting of the iPhone. And this is really clear with the BS post they put up on the 11th.
They recommended against the Verizon iPhone because it is "middle aged" - ie a new one is likely coming in June - and yes we know that - but that there are new versions of phones from all other manufactures released in shorter periods was not mentioned. Mac Observer had this great observation to make about Consumer Reports "Middle Aged" comments.
By the reasoning they supplied, no one should ever buy a new phone unless it’s the iPhone, and only when it’s a few weeks old.
Consumer Reports also pointed out the issues with CDMA - but did not say that is true of all the smart phones on Verizon. And the craziest of their issues was:
"the iPhone 4 has a 3.5-inch screen in an era where the number of smart phones with 4-inch-plus screens has swelled"
Huh - What the Frack? Did Consumer Reports mention the Retina display has better resolution than the two 4 inch smart phones on Verizon - NOPE. And did they mention those two 4 inch smart phones came out in June & September - You know being "Middle Aged"That was also be a big NOPE.
Did Consumer Reports - report about the lack of Crapware on the iPhone on Verizon - and that it is the only SmartPhone on Verizon without the Crapware - NOPE. They did point out there are 4G Phones out there and listed the CDMA iPhone as a disadvantage compared to 4G. Did Consumer Reports talk about the sparse coverage of 4G at this time? or the battery sucking issues with 4G phones? or that 4G phones on Verizon will not be out until mid-2011?. NOPE, NOPE and NOPE!!!
What did they report about of substance? Well that is not clear - other than they don't like the iPhone 4 and they miss their puppies and wives. When all is said and done I think Antenna Gate and the iPhone 4 will have taken a much bigger toll on Consumer Reports than Apple. At the post on Consumer Reports - the comments are filled with people saying they are canceling their subscriptions to Consumer Reports - and Rightly so.
The Verizon iPhone rumor started back on November 27th 2007. I have since that time been saying 2012 for the Verizon iPhone. I am now changing my tune and officially jumping on the Verizon iPhone rumor Bandwagon. I think the Verizon iPhone will be announced on 1/11/11 at 11:00 AM ET at Verizon's Special event - Just 1141 days since the original rumor surfaced. Here are the reasons why I think this will finally happen.
1. The Verizon Event is 2 days after CES - why not have the event at CES with all the press there already. It would mean the event needs to be something that does not fit in with CES - Like an Apple Announcement. 2. Gizmodo is not invited to the event. 3. MG Sigler is invited - personally and not through tech crunch. MG is the biggest iPhone proponent at Tech Crunch and sometimes the only iPhone Proponent at Tech Crunch. 4. The Event is in NY - the city that is by far the worst of all the Cities for the iPhone on AT&T. What a nice little Jab at AT&T to have it there. I mean invite the press most of which have iPhones to the one place their iPhones will not work. Both Evil and Brilliant at the same time.
5. AT&T just lowered the pricing of the iPhone 3GS to $49, plus you had the lower prices in December for the iPhone from Radio Shack, Best Buy, Sams Club and Radio Shack again. Seems like AT&T is trying to get as many people locked into two more years as they could before the Verizon announcement.
The Stars are all aligning for a Verizon iPhone announcement on 1/11/11 at 11:00 AM. If Verizon does not announce the iPhone at the event, they will have jumped the PR shark even more so than Apple did with their lame Beatles Announcement last year. But at least with that Apple had the good foresight not to invite the press to a special event - just a web page.
The following review of the ZAGGmate was emailed in by a Tii Listener.
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Hi Rob, and Happy New Year to you and all your listeners. I got a ZAGGmate (www.zagg.com) a week ago and had never thought of reviewing it until I heard your request for reviews of similar devices in episode 158. The ZAGGmate is an aluminum case that comes either as just a case or as a case with embedded Bluetooth keyboard. I got the keyboard version which I am using to type this review. The aluminum is a little whiter and more coarsely pitted than the iPad shell but it is a close match and the two look good together. It also seems to be a little softer than the iPad aluminum and mine has already taken a couple of nicks in the edges although I thought I was treating it with care. You can get a ZAGG Invisible Shield specifically designed for it that will protect it from scratches and it ships with four little adesive rubber feet that you will probably have to put on the bottom of the case as it tens to slide around a little on slick table surfaces. It is lined with rubber so it grips the iPad securely and prevents the screen from contacting the keyboard. I don't know what will happen to my screen if I drop the closed iPad/ZAGGmate on a hard surface, but I am confident that the aluminum will protect my screen when the iPad is in a bag or backpack. If you are out walking around with the iPad and there is no surface that you can set it up on there is no way to attach the keyboard to the back of the iPad while you are using the soft keyboard. When closed up in the ZAGGmare my iPad is a little thicker than it is unprotected but only about half as thick as it was on my Simplism folio case and is about the same weight as when it is in the Simplism. You pry the iPad out of the case with the tips of your fingers either at the USB connector cutout or at the cutout at the front of the keyboard that provides access to the first row of keys. At the back of the case there is a little plastic easel that you snap into place which supports the iPad at about a 60° angle. The iPad is inserted into a notch in front of the easel and can be inserted either in portrait or landscape mode. The Bluetooth keyboard is as wide as the iPad is wide in portrait mode so it is a little tight but I find that I adapt to the key spacing quickly and can touch type about as well as I can on a full size keyboard. There is adequate travel, resistance and tactile response from the keypad, which is a scissor design so feels really nice. There are function keys across the top of the keypad which have primary functions as iPad control keys. I say primary functions because you have to shift to get to Function keys (which as far as I can tell are totally functionless), not the iPad functions. Those keys are: F1 = Home F2 = Spotlight F3 = enable/Disable Soft Keyboard F4 = Screen On/Off [Boss Mode, not sleep] F10 = iTunes Previous Track F11 = Pause/Play F12 = Next Track (F13) = Mute (unnumbered Function keys) (F14) = Decrease Volume (F15) = Increase Volume (F16) = Toggle through International Keyboards (I was able to create that indented list using the tab key which didn't move me to another form field.) Function keys F5-F9 are not used for anything but at this point they can't be assigned to anything by the user. The jailbreak community will probably fix that shortcoming. There are also Function, Control, Option and Command keys so many of the MacBook commands like Cut, Copy, Paste, Beginning of Line, etc. will work although I haven't taken the time to figure out which ones don't. There are direction arrows (which are not in the inverted T formation and what give me the most problems) and an embedded numeric keyboard. There is no noticeable lag between pressing a key and seeing the corresponding character on the iPad keyboard. When you turn the unit on the Status LED glows red for a couple of seconds then goes out to conserve battery. I find this disconcerting and wish that it at least flashed every minute or so to reassure me that the keyboard is still on when I am not actually using it. My keyboard has been turned on for a week now and it still hasn't given me a low battery warning. When battery power drops to 20% the Status LED is supposed to start flashing, although I haven't seen that yet, whereupon you are supposed to have about two days of use left before the battery is completely dead. I haven't been able to get information on the battery technology used or how it needs to be treated for maximum life. The battery is not designed to be user replaceable. The keyboard goes into sleep mode after two seconds of no use and wakes up at the press of any key instantaneously. Recharging is via a micro USB connector that can be plugged into the 10v wallwart that came with the iPad or any other 5v powered USB connector and a completely drained battery is supposed to be nearly completely recharged in an hour. They recommend an initial 8-hour charge. The Power LED glows blue while the battery is charging and goes out when it has been completely charged. Pairing is usually fast and simple. Once the iPad and keyboard are both turned on you go into the iPad Settings>General>Bluetooth area and make sure Bluetooth is turned on and the iPad reports that it is discoverable. Press the tiny indented Bluetooth button on the ZAGGmate and the Status LED will begin to flash. ZAGGmate will appear in the list of Bluetooth devices. Click on the blue > button on that line and a dialog box will shortly pop up giving you a series of numbers to type on the ZAGGmate keyboard. Type the numbers and hit enter and the keyboard is connected and the Status LED will go off. There is an active threat on the iPad Forum (http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-accessories/14057-personal-review-zaggmate-bluetooth-keyboard-case.html) where there have been a few reports of people having trouble with pairing. I had a problem after I accidentally upgraded my iPad to iOS 4.2.1 but it may have been because I may have neglected the click the blue > button step. ZAGG has a presence in that thread and was even there on Christmas day to address issues new users were having. My main issue with the keyboard is with the F3, Soft Keyboard toggle. I invariably get into bed and find that my soft keyboard doesn't pop up when I try to enter text in a form. I have to get up and walk across the room with a flashlight to press the F3 button of the keyboard that is sitting on the table. It is a small price to pay for the convenience of having a real keyboard. It is going to make the iPad more of a content creation device and a netbook replacement. I have noticed that when I am typing on the ZAGGmate autocorrection doesn't seem to replace words as often and I haven't decided whether it is a compatibility issue or if I have mistyped those words so often that the iPad also thinks the correct spelling is what I typed. Sorry to be so long winded, but I guess you can tell that I like my ZAGGmate. Charlie
If you have listened to the Today in iOS podcast long enough you know that I have a love / hate relationship with stats. As in I love them when they prove my point and hate then when they don't.
Well Google just gave some stats I kind of think I love. Way back in August Google said Android phones were being activated at a clip of 200,000 per day. And that was the last time they talked about those numbers - that is until Monday December 6th when Google said they are now up to 214,000 activations per day.
During that time Apple went from 230,000 activations of iOS devices per day on September 1st to 270,000 average activations per day in Mid October. Which is a nice growth vs Android phones which actually have seen lower per day activation numbers since August. But Rob Going from 200,000 to 214,000 is an increase you say. Ah but least we forget that the Samsung Galaxy tab which is in that 214,000 per day number and they represent approx. 17,000 activations per day. So for Android phones since August there is actually about a 3,000 per day decrease. See why I can love stats.
And if you take these number further. On an average day there are 56,000 more iOS devices activated then there are Android devices. But since everyone likes to talk about quarterly numbers - this quarter based on those number Apple will increase its lead of iOS over Android OS by over 5 Million units. That is a lot more potential iOS customers for App developers vs Android.
If you have a question about your iOS device or an iOS App or anything else related to the iOS universe - put it in the comments below and we will answer with a new post.
It looks like third time is a charm - As in third golden master. Or I guess first - really as both iOS 4.2 GM's were bypassed for iOS 4.2.1 - so for the public there is no iOS 4.2. Just a jump to iOS 4.2.1. We have mentioned some of the new features in the past - but a quick summary of the new features are:
1. AirPrint - Which allows direct Printing to an ePrint Printer, or to any printer connected to your Mac - while you Mac is turned on.Update - Per printing to any Printer connected to a mac that was true in the beta version of Mac OS 10.6.5 - but was removed for the GM version.
2. AirPlay - Which allows streaming of audio or video from your iOS device to your Apple TV.
3. Improved Bluetooth control - allowing for AVRCP control. You know skip tracks, volume control, and more from your bluetooth headset.
4. Find my iOS device - for free. You can easily set up your iOS device for the find my device feature and if your device gets lost - you can locate it on a map, send a message to it, lock it down or even remote wipe it - all for free - no more need for a paid mobileme account.
NOTE: If your iPhone is Unlocked and/or your iOS device is Jailbroken - you should not update to iOS 4.2.1 at this time. Please wait for more info on this to come shortly (hopefully).
If you are on an iPad - you get all the features from iOS 4.0 and 4.1 as well. So for iPad owners it is a major plus plus update. For iPad owners you also get - folders, multitasking, GameCenter, Unified Mailbox, iAds, and a bunch of smaller features.
If you have an iPhone 3G - iOS 4.2.1 brings one key new feature - Usability - as in you can use your iPhone 3G again. If you updated your iPhone 3G to iOS 4.0 or iOS 4.1 - you may have noticed a little bug where in your iPhone 3G slowed to 1/4 impulse power. Well now it looks like your iPhone 3G is back up to full impulse power. Granted not at warp speed like the iPhone 4 - but back to what you were used to in iOS 3.x
"The Find My iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) feature is now free to use without a MobileMeâ„ subscription and helps you locate your missing device.* The Find My iPhone app is a free download on the App Storeâ„ and lets users easily locate a missing device on a map and have it display a message or play a sound. Users can even remotely lock or wipe data from a lost device to protect privacy."
I set this up for my iPhone 4 and it was quick to set up and easy to use and I did not have to pay for mobile me for this. So I do find it interesting that Apple made one of the most compelling reasons for getting mobileme - a free option. I wonder if this means in the near future all of mobileme features will be free to iOS owners. I hope so.
According to Apple you can use Find My iPhone for free with your iPhone 4, iPad, or 4th generation iPod touch that has iOS 4.2 installed. Or you can use Find My iPhone with a paid MobileMe subscription. Again not sure on that paid subscription thing now. But lets say you have in addition to an iOS device from 2010 (iPhone 4, iPad or iPod touch 4th gen) that have a pre 2010 iOS device. Like the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G and you want to set up find my iPhone on them - are you SOL - NO no you are not. You just need to set up your 2010 iOS device first.
Life hacker has an article that goes over this. I have not had a chance to try this out on my 3GS yet - as I have not updated it to iOS 4.2.1 - as it is jailbroken and I was going to wait. But if anyone else does this with success - as the authors of the lifehacker article claim to - please let me know. But it does look like it is easy to do assuming you also happen to have a 2010 iOS device.
One other feature I did not mention that is added to iOS 4.2.1 is the ability to set specific SMS alert tones for your contacts. You are still limited to using the stock SMS tones - but that list of stock SMS tones has grown - but sadly most are still long tones - which is not the best for Text messages. Who wants a 10 sec tone when you are getting a test message every 5 secs. Just sayin. So this is not custom SMS tones - it is specific SMS tones from a predetermined list of tones that you can assign to your contacts - which is still much better than how it was before - if you are someone that is looking to set up specific tones to different people.
Feedback from many different listeners has been very positive for this update. The one issue that has been reported more than once was after the initial update - the Apps and podcasts did not get sync'd over and it required another sync to get that content brought over. So as long as you are NOT jailbreaking and / or unlocking - it does look safe to update. But you should still backup before you do the update - as always.
You may have heard/read about the 16 GB iPad showing up at TJ Maxx and it just costing $399 - a $100 discount.
“The rumors are TRUE! Select (unadvertised) locations/limited quant,” TJ Maxx tweeted.
Many speculated this was an Apple sanctioned event and even a way for them to sell off some excess Inventory to make way for the upcoming iPad 2. Others even said this was a major blow to Apples Image and showed they were having lower than expected sales of the iPad by doing this.
However, those who said these things appear to be wrong as it looks to be mostly a publicity stunt by TJ maxx who purchased units in bulk and then unloaded them in their stores as a way to get some buzz going. Why would TJ Maxx do this - well it probably cost them less to do this than it would have cost for all the advertising it would have taken to get this buzz. CNET estimates we are talking about 80 or so iPads spread across multiple stores mostly on the east coast and they are all sold out now. So this looks to have cost them about $10,000.
To TJ Maxx almost well done - You really should have waited until Tuesday to do it and then word would have spread on Wednesday and Thursday and that would have in turn had many people waiting on Black Friday to get into their local TJ Maxx to see if there were any iPads to be had at the low low price of $399. Ok $399 is still a lot of money - but it is much better than the $488 price at Sams Club. I would suggest you check your local Apple Store on Friday the 26th to see what they are offering for a price on the iPad - and also check the online Apple store. In the past Apple has offered some discounts on Black Friday. However it does not look like you will be getting a $399 price at TJ Maxx or Marshalls or anywhere else.
Windows Phone 7 - well one of them at least - can lay claim to winning a heads up contest with the iPhone 4 and an android phone. Actually lets get specific it was the HTC Surround Windows Phone 7 phone vs the iPhone 4 and Android G2 - and in this specific contest the Windows Phone won. All 3 phones were placed on an ezgrill and then they were barbequed. The G2 shut down first and then the iPhone 4 and finally the Widows Phone 7. I hear the folks in Redmond are already making a commercial about this. Hey a win is a win. So if you are a person that likes to leave your smart phone on a lit barbeque grill - then Windows Phone 7 is the smartphone for you. Get in Get out Get Grilled
I went hard after Ryan Block for his "breaking" of the Glassgate story last month. And well then I forgot about the story just like everyone else. Part of the reason I went strong after him and the story was that he said it was an issue as big as antennagate - and well at that time no one and I mean no one was complaining about the issue - at least with antennagate there were people actually complaining. I put out a call for anyone to let me know if they had this issue - and the lack of replies was a big reason I forgot about this story. Now Cult of Mac is doing a little link baiting / reporting - still not sure which one. They are reporting all slide on cases are removed from the Apple store - which is what I thought Ryan reported back in October. Anyway the case manufacturers are claiming they are not getting reports of issues and Apple is not saying anything so right now I am not quite ready to issue an apology to Ryan. But if it turns out to be an issue I may issue a partial one. Maybe. But still the original claim that this was a big as Antennagate - nope I don't see that regardless of what the status of slide on cases is or is not at the Apple stores.
There is a video out there for a product called Stunfone. And you can see the video at Stunfone.com Most people yours truly included think this is a hoax - a well done hoax - but a hoax none the less. They have a second video claiming it is not a hoax and on the 12th will have a live demo. but I think it is the way the first video was done that screams hoax. But still I have to give it to them for a good idea - Hoax wise that is. FYi if you did not figure it out stunfone is an attachment for your iphone that turns it into a stun gun, which they demo in their video by stun gunning three people. A buddy, a karate master they found on Craigslist, and the cheating boyfriend of a women scorned. Yeah - can't imagine why most people think this is a hoax. Jeff the guy in the MIT shirt says the following in comments to an article about this at the LA Times:
because I might like to be playful with my words, I'm invalidated from being genuine and/or sophisticated enough to have made this? Thankfully I pay it no mind because I believe it was Aristotle who said, "Haters gunna hate".
Below is the email you get if you sign up for info. Again this screams HOAX. If it is not - then it is brilliant marketing to get people talking about it. Either way they did a great job in getting people talking about it.
Stun Fone Fans,
Thank you for your interest in the Stun Fone!Traffic to stunfone.com this week has been crazy, far beyond what we anticipated, and while we’re very excited I would like to apologize for the delay in fulfilling your order.This e-mail will give you priority on the top of the wait list, we’re hoping more shipments will begin as early as next week.
What has been most surprising over the last week is all the bloggers, tweeters, and social media folks claiming that our product is some kind of gag or hoax.I assure you that the Stun Fone is the real deal and—to satisfy the haters—will be doing a demonstration live via webcam on Friday, November 12th @ 1:00 PM (PST) to prove it (zero editing).Tune in at www.stunfone.com and check it out.
When I graduated college, some 20 plus years ago, I moved to Overland Park Kansas. The first weekend in town I remember going to the local mall. I was on the second floor and needed to go down to the first floor. As I approached the escalator I noticed that in between the up and down sides was a shiny unobstructed metal surface that lead all the way down to the lower level. While the mall owners did not intend to put a “slide” in between the escalator to me it was just too tempting – so I jumped on and down I went.At the bottom I was “greeted” by a security officer who then promptly walked me out of the mall and told me not to come back. Over the next year I probably was escorted out of the mall a dozen times. The owners of the mall, I was told, just wanted me to stand there and let the escalator move me to the lower level – How boring.Sadly today there are metal bumps in the middle to keep people from doing what I used to do.
When it comes to the iPhone and iPod touch you can have more fun than Apple wants you to, you just need to remove those “metal bumps” Apple put up to impede your fun. The process of removing those bumps is called “Jailbreaking”.When Apple announced the new features for iPhone OS 4 they did not list any support for the 6.12 Million original iPhones and only limited supported for the roughly 20 Million iPhone 3G phones.This means roughly half of all the iPhones in the market will not be able to take advantage of all the features in the new OS.On the iPod touch side the 1st gen iPod touch is not listed as being supported and the 2nd Gen iPod touch is getting only limited support.While Apple may be (probably is) hoping this helps get most users to upgrade to the latest and greatest iPhone / iPod touch, it will also likely cause many for the first timeto consider jailbreaking.
This article is not going to show you how to jailbreak – rather it is going to show you why you might want to.(To learn how go to TodayiniPhone.com – http://www.todayiniphone.com - and on the left hand side at the bottom are links to tutorials on how to jailbreak.) NOTE: Do not try to jailbreak if you don't like when things go to (expletive). If you need your phone for your business and being without it for any period of time will cause you to loose your job - stop now. If you get mad at your significant other at how they fold towels or put the toilet paper on a roll - Jailbreaking is probably not for your personality. Sometimes things break and your phone will likely crash more often then if it was not jailbroken.
One of the key features of OS 4 that only iPhone 3GS and 3rd Gen iPod touch owners will get to use is multitasking.However there is an app on the jailbreak side called – Backgrounder – that unlike Apples multitasking, allows you to place any app into the background and it keeps the whole app running.Combine this with the app – Multiflow – and you can then scroll left to right through all the apps that are active (in the background).
In OS 4 there are folders to put multiple apps into, with jailbreaking there is an app called – Categories – that lets you place apps into folders.And there is another app called – Overboard – that allows you to see all the apps on the 12 homescreens at once.Another app that is a favorite of mine is called - FiveiCon Dock – which as it sounds lets you place five app icons in your dock.
With OS 4 Apple finally announced Bluetooth keyboard support for the iPhone, with jailbreaking the app – BTstack – has been providing that feature for quite some time. Apple also said with OS 4 you could finally add / change the image behind the homescreen.This is something jailbreakers have been doing for some time with the app – Winterboard – this app allows for customization of the background image and adds in themes for other images in the iPhone interface.The app – Springlocker – allows you to lock down apps so you or someone using your phone cannot accidentally delete or even move an app, this is a feature missing from OS 4.The same with the app – Lockdown – that lets you password protect specific applications from others.With jailbreaking you can actually make your iPhone more secure then with Apples out of the box OS.
There are many other great apps that allow you to do things beyond what Apple ever intended or wanted you to be able to do. There is an app called – MyWi – that turns your iPhone into a mobile Wifi hotspot. Which is very nice for tethering your laptop or iPad to your iPhone. A great app for those that do presentations is called – ScreenSplitr – that allows you to share / mirror your iPhone screen on a TV or a computer. Another very popular app is – 3G Unrestrictor – that makes the iPhone think you are connected to the web via Wifi and not 3G, thus allowing apps that were restricted to use just on Wifi to actually work on 3G.And there are many many more great apps on the jailbreak side that add even more capabilities to your iPhone or iPod touch.
If you want you can step on to the metaphoric escalator and let Apple move you from point A to point B at their pace or you can jump in the middle of that escalator and feel the wind whip through your hair as you fly down that shiny metal surface.I know which path I am going – well except for the hair part.
Not since the time of Mosses has there been this much anticipation and talk about a tablet. Many would say / have said / continue to say the iPad is nothing more than a big iPod touch, and while that is true from a certain perspective those people really miss the big screen picture.When comparing the iPod Touch to the iPad, the iPod touch would only be able to fit the first two commandments and maybe part of the third on its screen. Where as, the iPad could comfortably fit all ten on the screen.
I don’t want to get into trying to tell you whom the iPad is and is not for. I think that would be a fool’s errand. For some people the iPad makes a nice media device to complement their current computer, for others it will become their main computer. I hope this review will help you decide if the iPad fits into your computing needs.For full and fair disclosure with regards to this review I want to point out I have nothing to disclose, I purchased my iPad with my own money, it was not a unit given to me by Apple.
What you get in the Box:
When you purchase your iPad, be it the 16, 32 or 64 GB version, in the box you get the following: 1. The iPad.2. The power adapter with USB cable.That is it (well actually you get a couple of Apple stickers). I found it rather cheap strange on Apples part to ship a media device without headphones or even a cloth to clean the touch screen for that matter.Granted when you buy a laptop from Apple it does not come with headphones either, but for the iPad it is the first iPxxx product not to ship with headphones. Note: The iPhone 3GS headphones will work in the iPad including the volume control and the pause button – so getting a pair of headphones that are compatible with the iPhone 3GS is recommended.
Setting up the iPad:
Note: If you don’t plan to sync your iPad to a computer at your home, then you should go to an Apple store and let them know you plan on using the iPad as a stand-alone computer. This can be done, but it is best to have the folks at the Apple store help you set it up before you leave as you do need iTunes to get it set up. You could also use a friends / relatives computer if you ordered online.
For everyone else what you need to do when you get your iPad home is to connect it to your computer and use iTunes to activate it. If you have ever used iTunes with an iPhone, iPod or iPod touch than you are already trained on how to activate the iPad. The iPads integration with iTunes really is a key differentiator to other “competing” tablet devices that are or will be coming out. Getting the iPad set up was really very easy.It took just a few minutes, and then I started syncing the various media files, which again was very easy to do. (Note “easy” does not mean “fast” – as my 4,000 plus pictures and videos in iPhoto needed to be optimized for the iPad and that took a couple of hours.)
Adding in an email account to your iPad for a Gmail account was as simple as giving your Name, email address and password. That was it, nothing more was need for me to send and receive emails. No adding in pop account id’s and outgoing server configuration.It was both very easy and very fast to get set up for email at least with a simple Gmail account.
Benchmark Tests – 2G vs. 3GS vs. iPad:
The geek in me really wanted to know how fast the iPad is from processor speeds compared to the iPhone. I looked at the load times for three different apps and took the average load times for each app on an Original iPhone 2G, an iPhone 3GS and the iPad.The three apps were Blowfish, Crazy Hamster and Pocket Ants, all are games and each takes some time to load. Below are the results of those tests.
App:
BlowFish
Crazy Hamster
Pocket Ants
Device:
2G
3GS
iPad
2G
3GS
iPad
2G
3GS
iPad
Avg. Time: (secs)
17.7
7.0
5.1
14.9
9.7
8.3
24.9
13.9
12.3
As was already known the 3GS is considerably faster than the iPhone 2G (FYI - The iPhone 2G and 3G use the same processor). The iPad as can be seen above tested faster than the 3GS, although the gap in performance between the iPad and the 3GS is not as great as that between the 3GS and the 2G. However these tests only tell part of the story, as the feel of the iPad seems to be much smoother than the 3GS which already felt fast. It is actually difficult to describe how great the interface feels / works on the iPad without coming off as a total Apple fan boy.
How long does the battery really last?
When Apple announced the iPad in January they said it would have 10 hours of battery life playing video.Many bloggers said no way. Some even said it was impossible to get to 10 hours of video with that size screen in a unit that weighed only a pound and a half. This was the first real test I wanted to do with my iPad and what better way to test the battery life claim of 10 hours than to have a Torchwood marathon. These are TV shows downloaded from iTunes. On the iPad I turned off WiFi and Bluetooth and set the video brightness to the 50% mark and turned off Auto-brightness. I wanted it to be as close to how you would have it set when on an Airplane. The results were much better than expected. After 4 hours and 9 minutes the iPad showed 75% charge left. After 7 hours and 20 minutes the iPad was at a 50% charge. After 10 hours and 36 minutes the iPad was down to a 25% charge and the iPad finally ran out of juice after 13 hours and 24 minutes of continuous video playback. Please note if you are streaming video from Youtube over Wifi the battery life will be less – probably right in that 10 hour range Apple claimed. The test above was done with those in mind that travel on long flights and don’t have access to power outlets. For regular or even semi regular international or bi-costal travelers the iPad is in my opinion a must have device.
I was also going to do some temperature testing – but feeling the iPad after 10 hours of continuous use and I found it was barely above room temperature. A key “feature” of the iPad compared to my MacBook – no need for a fan - hence no fan noise. Plus no keyboard – so the next time I am in bed next to my wife I will be able to surf the web and tap out emails in complete silence. Trust me if you knew how cranky (And justifiable so) my wife can get at 1:30 AM after I wake her up with fan noise or keyboard noise from my Macbook, you would know right there the iPad is worth the purchase.Silence is as they say Golden.
Once the iPad was completely drained the next question was how long would it take to recharge the iPad to 100%.Using the power charger that comes with the iPad it was back to 25% charge in 52 minutes, 50% charge in 1 hour and 47 minutes, 75% charge in 2 hours and 44 minutes and 100% charge in 4 hours and 13 minutes.That means you can basically use it all day long and charge it while you sleep and then repeat. I should point out if you have it connected via USB to older Macs and most PC’s it will not charge while operating.You will see a message saying it is “Not Charging” in the upper right. This also happens when connected through most USB hubs. As they do not have enough power to charge the iPad while it is running. However once you put it to sleep it does start charging the iPad regardless of what it said when powered on – which is causing lots of confusion as people are reporting that the iPad can not be charged by PC’s, when really it is that the iPad when in use, cannot be charged by PC’s, older Macs and most USB hubs.
Some Apps are missing:
The iPad comes with some Apple created apps pre-installed. iBooks is not one of them – not yet at least – you will need to download that App (It is free) if you want access to the iBook store. There are also a few other apps missing that are on the iPhone and iPod touch. Voice Memo, Stocks, Weather and Calculator are the Apps that Apple did not include with the initial launch of the iPad. Considering how the other apps such as Photos, Youtube, Mail have been specially redesigned just for the iPad it is likely those missing apps will be introduced to the iPad in the near future.
There has a been a lot said about the iPhone OS and hence the iPad not supporting flash and that you can not get video on the iPad.While it is true that it does not support flash – the part about not being able to get video on the iPad is false.The iPad comes with a Youtube App that allows you to see most youtube videos.So if you want to see the latest viral video – no fears you can see Charlie biting his brothers finger or Marina telling you the meaning of your favorite word.For most users the lack of flash will be a non-issue, just as it is for most iPhone and iPod touch owners.
In addition to the Youtube app that comes pre-loaded there is the free App for Netflix – however it does require a roughly $10 a month Netflix account. Once you have that you can stream any of the Netflix instant play videos to your iPad. Setting up the app was as simple as putting in your Netflix username and password. After that you could start streaming videos from the instant queue / Watch now feature. I tested it out with an episode of Torchwood and it looked just as good as the episodes I purchased from iTunes. If you are a Netflix subscriber the iPad is in my opinion and from feedback from many of my listeners already a must have device.
One Paper Cut:
This is minor but still a paper cut when it comes to the interface.Apple has trained me these past 1000+ days on the iPhone that the return key is at the bottom right next to the space bar and the delete key is next to the M key right above the return key.Now with the iPad the Delete key is moved to the top right next to the P key and the return key is right below it and next to the L key.This is a paper cut as in I keep hitting the return key when I mean delete – which can get embarrassing when it sends out an IM when you had something you wanted to change.It is minor – but will require some extra grey matter to get used to – since I am still using my iPhone.This is a case where Apple should realize that it might be best to keep it consistent across the iPhone OS.
If you are on the fence on whether or not to get the 3G or Wifi only model I did a post at http://bit.ly/dtQJ5h that goes over the total cost of ownership of the iPad with 3G and AT&T and Wifi only and then going with Verizon, Sprint or Clear for a mobile hotspot.
Per my household I see the iPad serving as my Wife’s primary computer and for me as a complement to my Macbook especially late at night when I need something that is quiet but has a larger screen than my iPhone. At the beginning of this Article I talked about the Ten Commandments so in closing, it is only fitting to say if you purchase an iPad there is a good chance when you show it to your neighbors that they will break the 10th commandment – “Thou shall not covet anything that is your neighbors”