Hello Rob,

 

While I've been using apple products for a couple of years now - I'm not sure I understand what tethering, unlocking & jail breaking is. Would you please explain this on your show when you get a chance & why people do these things.

 

Laurie B in Frisco, TX

Hi Rob,

I have a question for you or your audience. I am looking for a way to get twitter notifications in ios5. I would have thought it is built in to to the OS and twitter app, but I am not getting any notifications. I have notification settings turned on for twitter but still no go. 

 

The only way I get notifications is via text messages. If this is the only way, is there a way to set a different tone when I get a text from twitter?


 

Any help would be appreciated.

-- 

 

Thanks,

Andy

Hi rob,

Should I use one iTunes account for my iPhone and iPad or a different one for each, I  upgraded to ios5 on both . What's best considering iCloud?

Not sure how all that works, 

Steve in springfield 

Hi Steve,

I recommend you use one iTunes account for all your iOS devices - that way you can share the apps purchased.

Then you can set up iMessage with different emails for each device - so you can still get iMessages to just one device.  This is particulary useful if you have multiple family members each with their own iOS device and you want to be able to iMessage between devices.  

Personally I have 5 iOS devices sharing the same iTunes account.  And all that are on iOS 5 - are set up with different email addresses for iMessage - but again they all share the same iTunes account and all hve access to the same apps. 

Regards,

Rob W

Hi Rob,

My question is this

I run 2 iPhone 4 & 1 iPod touch on 1 iTunes account.  Will we be getting 5 gig of storage per device or 5 gig of storage per iTunes account when ios5 & the icloud goes live next week?

Cheers

Craig L

Liverpool England  

Rob,

With the passing of Steve Jobs the visionary how long do you think apple will remain being the leader in new technology and new ground breaking products.like the iphone.

Robert

Hi Robert,

Remaining the leader in new technology requires a few different thngs.  

It requires a mindset / culture to do this - That is something by all acounts that Steve had in place prior to his retirement. 

It also requires capitial investment in R&D - This is something Apple has done over the years and clearly is in a better place to spend money on R&D then anyone else since they have more money than anyone else.  This link is to a post talking about the massive resources Apple is putting towards the custom chips they produce.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/09/apple-1000-engineers-chips/

And it requires being able to slaughter the cash cow if you think there is something better you can do.  Apple is doing this with the iPod line.  Once the reason for Apples stock take off.  Now barely a few minutes of a 2 hour presentation. 

So how long Apple stays in front - is really up to how long Apple can keep the culture Steve Jobs left them in place.  And with Tim Cook in charge by most accounts - that could be for a long time.  

Regards,

Rob W

Hi Rob,

I received my ipad1 as a Christmas gift.

The person who bought it for me thinks he purchased AppleCare with it. But, can't remember for sure, and can't find the receipt. Is there an easy way to find out without bringing it in to an Apple store?

Thanks and keep up the great work.

Larmer

Hello Larmer,

To check the status of your coverage go to 

https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

And then simply enter your serial number. 

Regards,

Rob W

Hi Rob

I'm having a problem updating my apps from the app store on my jailbroker iPhone 4. The message is " cannot connect to itune store". I can connect to itune store for everything except to upgrade.

I hope you can help me

Thanks

Fred

Hi Fred,

I need to ask a few questions.

1. Did you try upgrading the apps on iTunes first and then doing a sync?

2. Are you using any iTunes store apps you get via jailbreaking?  In other words do you have any pirated Apps?

3. Are you getting the error message about not being able to connect the iTunes store on your iPhone via the iTunes app or from your computer?

Regards,

Rob W

Hi Rob,

 

Do you know of any jailbreak apps that send a call directly to voice mail. Sort of a "do not disturb". Also, any apps that block individual numbers. I'm a newbie jail breaker.

 

Thanks.

Lamar

Hi Lamar,

There is a jailbreak app called - CallBar - that puts incoming calls in a small bar and keeps them from interupting what you are (angry birds) doing.  

Then there is an app called - Call Blocker - Which sounds closer to what you want to do - it blocks calls from either All numbers or specific numbers (crazy Ex's).  

You might also want to look at the service YouMail - which does not require jailbreaking.  This also alows for you sending people right to voicemail - it is a free service and they have an app that goes with it - Aptly named the YouMail App

I would recommend starting off with YouMail to see if it does all that you want - and if not then add in the jailbreak apps above. 

Regards,

Rob W

Hi Rob,

I think one of your podcasts talked about an App that could read a web site to you. So it would basically turn the text on a web page into audio. I'm taking a class where I'm assigned lots of reading of long articles online. It would be oh so great if I could listen to these while I run or drive instead of having to sit still and read them.

Yours truly, multitasker at heart

Jennifier

Hi Jennifer,

I believe we were just talking about the Voice Over features built into to iOS 4.  That said there are a few different apps in the app store for doing Text to Speech for Websites:

Knowtilus Pro 

SpeakText

Voice Reader Text to Speech

TextToSpeech

I only put up the link to the Knowtilus Pro app as that is one I own and have used.  So maybe I mentioned it on the show in the past.

It works really well reading out a website from Text to Speech.  The voice is a little on the mechanical side - but it does a good job taking most any webpage and reading the text - including working for the Tii website.  

One thing that separates it from many of the text to speech apps - is this one does not require copying and pasting the content of the site.  You just go to the URL and tap on "Say".  You can also have an option for a small video window showing a computer animated females head reading the text - Yes that is a little bit of fluff.  

I really like that it works in the background - so you can find a long article on the web and start it reading and then put the app into the background and then go and do some other tasks.  

It is not the cheapest App as it is $9.99 - but it works.  

Regards,

Rob W

I had a reporter from Inc.com ask me a few questions on what I thought the iPhone 5 would be like and some other questions with regards to business users. Below is his questions and my answers.  I will be talking more about the iPhone 5 in coming episodes.  

1. What do you think will be 5-6 new features of the iPhone 5?

1. Upgraded camera to an 8 Mega Pixel camera module.  In iOS 5 - Apple has added a few features that are focused on the camera - such as using the volume button as a shutter control and adding quick access to the camera from the lock screen - so an upgraded camera for the iPhone 5 that will be running iOS 5 seems to be a lock.

2. Upgrade of the CPU to the A5 - which is the same processor in the iPad 2.   This follows last years process when the iPad 1 had the A4 Processor first and then when the iPhone 4 came out it also had the A4. Apple will also likely bump up internal ram from 512 MB to 1 GB - but likely will not even mention this.  Other than the CPU - Apple does not like to talk much about the internals of the iPhones. 

3. For Business Travelers - especially on Verizon - the biggest upgrade will be in making it a true world phone.  With a chipset that allows for both CDMA and GSM use from the same phone.  This chip set is already in the Verizon iPhone 4 - but the Verizon iPhone 4 is not optimized to use both GSM and CDMA. The iPhone 5 - will be designed from the ground up to be a true world phone.  

4.  Enhanced Voice Controls / Voice Recognition in iOS 5 - just for the iPhone 5.  This will take advantage of some features from their Siri acquisition and also from work with Nuance.  Expect much greater voice recognition and voice controls with the iPhone 5.  Something to be appreciated by the business person on the go.

5. Enhanced Video out / HDMI out - through a dongle and Mirroring of the screen to an external projector - like with the iPad 2.

6. It will NOT be an LTE / 4G phone.  LTE is just not widely available yet - especially when you look at the hand full of test markets that AT&T just has.  So at this point - it does not seem to make much sense for Apple to go with an LTE phone on Verizon or AT&T.  Plus with both of them restricting data usage - with an LTE smartphone you could burn through your monthly data cap in less than an hour.  

2. For business users, is this going to be a no-brainer upgrade? Why or why not?

Yes - Especially for those that travel internationally.  Having one phone that can work on any US or international carrier will make going to the iPhone 5 an easy decision.  Additionally the advanced voice control / recognition options are likely going to making working on the go easier and safer especially when driving.  

3. What can a business user do to prep for the new model in terms of

support in the workplace, expected costs, etc.?

The biggest thing to do to save on costs at this point is to hold off upgrading to new handsets until the iPhone 5 is available.  If the goal of IT is to get everyone using the same handsets - then upgrading now just weeks before a new iPhone is available will mean companies will have to pay the full unsubsidized pricing for the iPhone 5.  

Per migrating from an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 5 - there really is not much to do - other than to make sure you keep backing up your phone on a regular basis.  Apple makes upgrading to a new phone drop dead simple. 

The most important thing a business user can do - is get approval to purchase the next iPhone now.  It is likely going to be sold out or hard to get ahold of for many months when it does get released.  So if you want one early - best to get your approval ducks in a row now.  If you don't get approval until a few weeks after it is launched - you may not be getting one until sometime in 2012.  

4. How has the Android OS encroached on the iPhone in terms of

business features?

I don't believe it has.  Supporting the iPhone in a business environment has been a focus of Apple.  From security features that have been added with each update of iOS to additional support for exchange. Including in iOS 5 - wirelessly sync'g Exchange tasks.  Also for IT departments - it is easier to support the one or two iPhone handsets and one version of iOS - then it is to support the 70+ handsets on Android and the half a dozen versions of Android OS.  

On the Android front you hear now of more and more mal-ware and other security issues.  This is something you just don't have to deal with on the iOS side.  Add in all the different version of the Hardware manufacturer tweaks to the Android OS - and you get a greater and greater fragmentation of the Android ecosystem - which just means more work for IT managing all that.  

5. Can Apple possibly keep the momentum going with each new iPhone in

terms of capturing market share, etc.? How will they do that?

Apple will also likely add Sprint to the list of carriers in the US that will get the iPhone.  Right now the iPhone 4 even though it is 14 months old is still the number one selling smartphone handset on both AT&T and Verizon.  The iPhone 5 will be the number one selling handset on AT&T, Verizon and now Sprint - thus increasing the number of units sold each quarter to new records.  

I don't think Apple is overly focused on overall Market share.  But rather on increasing the numbers sold each quarter. Expect stock outages through out College basketball season.  

Hi Rob,   Yesterday I became the target of someone texting me that I don't know, and is eating up my number of texts.  I called At&t and their options were rather limited.  Change phone numbers or pay $4.95 a month to block up to 15 numbers.  Being the cheap bastard that I am I figured there might be an app for that.... not my cheapness, but blocking texts from your phone.  Ever heard of one??  Steve

Hi Rob,

Until my son can upgrade what's the best version iOS for the iPhone 3 , not 3GS.?

Says we need to update to 4.1 to install sling box player.

Steve in springfield, mo!!!

Thanks in advance!!!

Steve E

Hi Rob,

I have lost the contacts on my Iphone 4, and nothing seems to work to bring them back.

I even downloaded contact apps and put a few in, but they don't stay.

This started after the last update 4.whatever. I am running window 7, hope you can help.

Thanks,

Karen H

Hi Karen,

This is an issue others have reported on as well.

The fix that usually works is the following.

1. Go To Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> (Scroll Down to)  Import SIM Contacts

2. Then wait until it is finished and your contacts should be back.  

This happens when backing up and sync'g the phone as the iPhone does not by default store your contacts unless you have selected it to do so.  

To change it so it does sync going forward - with your iPhone connected to your computer.  Open iTunes.  

Then select your iPhone from Devices. 

Then go to Info tab.

The top section is for Sync'g Address book contacts - Make sure that is selected. 

Please let me know if this does not fix your problem.

Rob W

Hi Rob, When I said something negative about android to my friend this was the response. I need a rebuttal to this. Help me out? I don't jailbreak my phone if it matters.  Regards, Sean Good luck jailbreaking every p.o.s. iPhone just to give it a third of the capabilities and customization any android phone already has. Apple may eventually realize the open source community is where its at but until then they will steal, yes steal any innovative idea their Developer community creates and brand it there own. Sad really. Their snow and lion OS are great but they also take from the hackintosh,osx86 and dev community. IOS blows dude. Its ok to admit it. While your at it admit that you payed way too much. Maybe you'll realize that when you get your next appstore bill or brick your pretty iPhone trying to jailbreak it. Hah..good luck

Sean, Ok - My comments are marked with in his.   Good luck with him.   Rob W Good luck jailbreaking every p.o.s. iPhone just to give it a third of the capabilities and customization any android phone already has.  --- Really - Please define the 2/3rd of capabilities you get with Android that you can't get with Jailbreaking an iPhone - do you even have the foggiest idea what can be done on the iPhone with jailbreaking.  Like even being able to install Android on the iPhone.  If you are going to make claims like this please back them up with facts -- Apple may eventually realize the open source community is where its at  --- Is this the same open source community that is now pushing malware on the androids. Or the ones that are sharing personal info.  One recent study showed that 8% of Android Apps share personal info. Please tell us again how open is better?  Better for who?  Clearly not the end user.  ----- but until then they will steal, yes steal any innovative idea their Developer community creates and brand it there own.    ----- STEAL - Really!!!! - Like how Google stole or actually cut and pasted code from Suns Java right into Android. Now Oracle is suing their butts.  And Google knew they did this and even tried to settle with Sun before Oracle purchased them.   Then there is the recent ITC ruling that HTC / Android violates 2 Apple patents from 1996.  These are core functions in Android they STOLE from Apple.  Yes - when you talk about stealing one needs look no further than Android - as it is a mishmash of stolen ideas and code. ---  Sad really. Their snow and lion OS are great but they also take from the hackintosh,osx86 and dev community.  -- WTF does that have to do with anything.  Why not complain about the Apple Cube? IOS blows dude. - Nice commentary, well thought out.  Guess that is why iOS not Android has the highest user satisfaction rates and more people say they want an iOS phone not an Android phone.  And also why there are over 220 million iOS devices out there.  Well over 80 Million more than Android.  ----   Its ok to admit it. While your at it admit that you payed way too much.  ----- Way to much vs what?  On the Tablet Side - the iPad is cheaper than most Android Tablets.  Which combined can't even come close to the iPad sales.  The iPod touch has no real competitor - so can't complain on pricing there.  And the iPhone is the same price at AT&T and Verizon as most other Android Phones.  Speaking of which - the last 3 months the Number one selling phone at both AT&T and Verizon was the iPhone4.  A device that is over 12 months old is still is kicking the latest and "Greatest" Android phones butts.  Heck Apple even sold more smartphones world wide last quarter than Nokia.  If it is so over priced and "blows" how do you even start to explain Apples sales figures. ---  Maybe you'll realize that when you get your next appstore bill or brick your pretty iPhone trying to jailbreak it. Hah..good luck -

Give me the name of ONE person that has "Bricked" their iPhone jailbreaking it?  Name one?  You can't because the "bricking" is a urban myth.  All you have to do is put an iPhone in DFU mode and restore if you mess it up.  Unlike some Motorola Droid phones that if you tried to Root them (same as jailbreaking) would actually be bricked and require you to send them to Moto to get them restored.

I find your comments above both lacking in facts, substance and style.  If you are going to attack iOS at least get your facts straight.  The substance and style part - well you choose Android - so not much hope there.

Hi Rob,

I know you've mentioned before what service you use for the Tii voicemail phone number...can you remind me who that is?

-- 

Thank You,

David M

Hi David,

k7.net

It is free and I have been using them for over 6 years.

Rob W

Hello Rob,

My name is Davor from Neve Ilan near Jerusalem, Israel !! 

I have been listening to you for some months and are loving your show.

Thanks for very good work, a lot of info and other substance about iPhone.  Because of iPhone I got interested in Mac and bought an older MacBook.

Now have to learn about that too. What podcast that I can listen and learn with do you suggest?

Regards,

Davor

Hi Davor,

Thanks for listening to the show and the kind words.

For podcasts about the Mac - there are three I recommend.

Maccast

Mac OS Ken

Typical Mac User

Regards,

Rob W

Tii

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.