First don't let the ominous term jailbreak scare you. There are plenty of honest hacks worth jailbreaking your phone for. My favorite is a shortcut to my settings. With SBSettings installed from Cydia, in just two gestures I can toggle Wi-Fi on or off or adjust the brightness. This lets me tuck away the settings icon and place something more valuable on my home screen, like Words With Friends.
iPhoneSchool show just how easy it is.
Apple's iPhone 3GS can be had for $49 with AT&T, but will the price drop to zero?
AppleInsider reports analyst Mike Abramsky with RBC Capital Markets says Apple is "expected" to offer the device for free alongside the iPhone 5 launch.
Offering a free iPhone 3GS with a contract is a mostly psychological strategy that could reach out to lower cost consumers.
A free Apple device may seem like far reach, but Apple's upcoming mobile operating system will support the aging iPhone 3GS which does give credence to the idea. The offer could also be used to clear left over 3GS inventory still left on the shelves by then. Apple takes the competition with Android seriously and this could be an aggressive move in the smartphone OS wars.
Previous reports have also claimed Apple will unveil two new iPhones later this year: the iPhone 5 and a second lower spec model. Apple could announce the devices at an August music event allegedly being planned.
While reports have been pointing to September for the new iPhone release, one analyst predicts that Apple will unveil two new iPhones and possibly with a new type of data plan.
The iPhone 5, which is rumored to be a large leap from the current iPhone 4, could be supported by a less expensive, lower spec device a la an iPhone 4S with a new twist on iPhone data plans.
"With Nokia and RIM struggling, the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the mid-range smartphone market," says Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore according to BusinessInsider.com.
It is not the first time a two-model strategy has been mentioned, but as with the price and feature diversity in the Android lineup, it makes more sense now than ever.
Could Apple even be considering a pre-paid device? Whitmore goes further to suggest the device could have a data plan similar to that of the iPad.
A recent report from Bloomberg claims the new iPhone 5 running iOS 5 will be launched with a version of the A5 chip currently used in the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera.
According to BGR's sources, consumers should expect a design radically different from the current device. Reports of a refreshed version similar to the current phone may have been based on a test mule.
Apple has already released its new mobile operating system iOS 5 to developers. It is believed to have substantial voice recognition and voice control features that are yet to be fully discovered.
Computer maker Apple has received clearance to compete against Google in an auction for the patent portfolio owned by bankrupt Nortel Networks.
According to Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal, Apple has received anti-trust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to bid on Nortel's patents. The regulatory clearance sets up a potential bidding war between two of the nation's most prominent technology companies.
The winning bidder could walk away with some 6,000 Nortel patents in a legal strategy that would position the patent owner to sell technology licensing rights as well challenge product infringements by competitors. Nortel specialized in telecommunications technology, including Voice over Internet Protocol, network management and data security.
Nortel, once one of the Triangle's biggest employers with 10,000 workers here, declared bankruptcy in January 2009 after a nearly a decade of financial setbacks and accounting scandals. The Canadian company, which today employs about 160 in Research Triangle Park, has sold off all major business divisions and corporate assets except its patent portfolio.
Google had initially offered $900 million for Nortel's patents, according to news reports, but last week Nortel said it has received significant eleventh-hour interest in its patent portfolio, suggesting that the technology auction could yield well over $1 billion in proceeds for creditors and bankruptcy lawyers.
Apple's successor in its iconic line of smartphones looks set to go on sale in September.
The latest report from Bloomberg says that a new iPhone running iOS 5 will be launched with a version of the A5 chip currently used in the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera.
According to BGR's sources, consumers should expect a design radically different from the current device. Reports of a refreshed version similar to the current phone may have been based on a test mule.
Apple has already released its new mobile operating system iOS 5 to developers. It is believed to have substantial voice recognition and voice control features that are yet to be fully discovered.
What will matter most to consumers is what Apple's 4G network implementation will be. Verizon has been aggressively rolling out LTE. AT&T has been beefing up with HSPA+ while its LTE rollout will come later. Previously Apple has never been quick to adopt the latest in wireless networks, but now it has increasing pressure from other manufacturers.
BGR also says the announcement could come from an August event Apple is rumored to be planning.
Bloomberg also says Apple is testing a higher-resolution iPad "about one-third higher" than the iPad 2.
The sources are of course unidentified. It is not uncommon for companies to issue controlled "leaks" to generate buzz around a product or lure it away from competitors.
Apple has laid down the law on apps that warn users of DUI checkpoints.
MacRumors highlighted the change in Apple's App Store Review Guidelines.
"Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected."
Advocacy groups both for and against the sharing of DUI checkpoint information have been sparring over the past few months.
In March, a group of senators fired a letter to the mobile industry heavyweights calling for a ban of such apps.
The letter from Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Harry Reid, (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and Tom Udall (D-NM) was sent to Apple, Google and RIM.
"With more than 10,000 Americans dying in drunk-driving crashes every year, providing access to iPhone and iPad applications that alert users to DUI checkpoints is harmful to public safety," they stated in the letter.
There have been a number of apps available in the major mobile software markets that alert drivers from DUI checkpoints to speed traps which often depend on crowd-sourcing.
There are some law enforcement departments that share their checkpoint information ahead of time.
Apple or any other company has the right to apply their own guidelines. Sharing the information is not illegal, but it has obvious implications as far as aiding those who abuse their driving privlages.
What if the information is shared on Facebook or Twitter? Can they be expected to police that information as well?
Apple said today that its recently completed data center in Maiden will be one of three centers used to offer its new cloud service.
The service, called iCloud, will allow users to store the content on their Apple devices remotely and wirelessly access it from anywhere on multiple devices.
The Maiden facility, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte in Catawba County, was specifically built to handle the data storage demands that are expected to be created by iCloud.
The service will be available this fall for free.
Any music purchased through Apple's iTunes service will be accessible through iCloud.
Apple also plans to offer an iTunes Match service for $24.99 a year that will allow user's to access other songs in their iTunes library from the cloud.
YouTube via RedmondPie.com
Bloomberg News is reporting that Apple has reached an agreement with three major record labels to let people who use their new music service access their songs from handheld devices via the Internet. It's quoting people "with knowledge of the deals."
The news has implications for North Carolina. The data and networking demands of such usage will be accomodated at the $1 billion data center Apple has built in western North Carolina.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting earlier this year, executives said the Maiden facility would be a hub for its iTunes and MobileMe services. The 184,000 facility is expected to open any day now.
Apple selected the site site in 2009 and was expected to open it last year. The entire facility encompasses about 500,000 square feet, and will also support Apple's corporate systems.
Earlier this week, CNET reported that Apple had signed a licensing agreement with EMI Music and that it already had a deal with Warner Music. That just left Sony Music and Universal Music to succumb to Apple's considerable, uh, charms.
The deals basically mean this: If you buy music from iTunes, Apple's online store, you can store it on Apple's servers and then access it online rather than downloading each song onto your computer, iPod or tablet.
Scammers are preying on Facebook users' yearning for a "dislike" button, and the lure of deals on Apple products.
Links appearing to be from Facebook friends offer to install a "dislike" button. Instead it tricks you for access to your account allowing them to spam your friends with your name.
The fake message is spread to all of your online friends by posting it to your profile, and according to security firm Sophos, runs an obfuscated Javascript on your computer.
There is no Facebook dislike button nor is there likely to ever be one. It should go without saying, but Facebook users should be weary of any application asking for account access.
TUAW.com reports a phishing scam is spoofing Apple Store email linking to sites that resemble their online store. They mention ways to spot the fake which would be obvious to most users, but perhaps not all. Pretty much any site with broken english might be one to avoid ordering from.
