This is a summary of the most popular articles published on iDB and our sister,ziPadBlog, this past week.
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Is This What the iPhone 5 Will Look Like?
by Alex Heath on Apr 23, 2011
A new report from This is my next reveals some interesting rumors about the iPhone 5. According to Joshua Topolsky (the former editor-in-chief of Engadget), the iPhone 5 will in fact be a significant redesign of the current iPhone 4.
Topolsky doesn’t cite specific sources, but he claims that the iPhone 5 will have a design very similar to that of the fourth-generation iPod touch. Engadget originally said that the iPhone 5 would be a major evolution of the iPhone 4, and this report from This is my next corroborates that claim. Read More
5 Lessons the iPad 2 Could Learn From the PlayBook
by Cody on Apr 23, 2011
The BlackBerry PlayBook launched last week to some mixed reviews. The latest formidable iPad competitor to enter the market has certainly heard its fair share of criticism. There’s very few usable applications and the operating system isn’t consistent.
Although the tablet doesn’t offer any kind of threat to the iPad 2 in terms of market share at this point, I hope the folks over at Apple are taking notes. There are a few things that the juggernaut could learn from the rookie tablet.
1. Flash Video
You knew it was coming, so we’ll get it out of the way first. Flash. Although I’ve never seen Flash work properly on a mobile device, the BlackBerry PlayBook plays back Flash videos effortlessly. While I admit I probably don’t encounter many problems by not having Flash these days, it’d be nice to have access to Flash-based Videos.
2. Screen Resolution
Believe it or not, those folks over at Research In Motion, known for not being on the cutting edge of technology, produced a brighter and sharper screen than the iPad 2. I’d like to see Apple increase the next iPad’s screen resolution substantially. Retina anyone?
3. Worthy Native Web Browser
While a wealth of 3rd party apps make up for the features Safari lacks, they don’t have the ability to be the default browser. If you open a link from an email or application, you’re tossed right back into Safari. The PlayBook’s web browser, on the other hand, has tabbed windows and an easy way to manage them. The Safari multi-page browsing system works nice on the iPhone, but the iPad could use a different design.
4. Stereo Speakers
So the iPad is touted as a great portable media device that allows you to play games and watch movies, but the mono speaker is so last year. The PlayBook comes with stereo speakers and sounds amazing. I’ve always felt Apple’s iDevice products could use better quality speakers, but I’m sure they just assume accessory makers fill that void.
5. Phone Pairing Capabilities
With the PlayBook, you’re able to tether your BlackBerry smartphone and access all of your information in real time. I know it’s also flawed in this area by not providing native PlayBook Calendar and Contact apps, but it would be nice if the iPhone shared this feature. Imagine not having to use a 3rd party application to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your iPad.
So there you have it, a few things that the BlackBerry PlayBook did right. Obviously RIM’s tablet is in its early stages and the iPad 2 is clearly winning the tablet war. Hopefully though, we’ll see some of the missing features listed above, in the next iteration of Apple’s tablet.
Apple Testing T-Mobile USA iPhone 4?
by Kickstar13 on Apr 23, 2011
Well, well, what do we have here? The folks over at Boy Genuis Report have got their hands on what seems to be a photo of a T-Mobile iPhone 4, with 3G connectivity and all.
Looking at the markings on the back of the handset, in addition to the field-testing settings and applications on the device, it looks to be a prototype. BGR claims that the internal name for this specific model iPhone is N94, while the Verizon model is N92 and the standard GSM variant is N90. Read More
ConnectedDrive Brings Your iPhone and Car Closer Than Ever Before
by Cody on Apr 23, 2011
Many car makers have been looking at integrating smartphones with their latest vehicle models. Just look at the mobile application for the Chevy Volt. The app allows you to unlock and start your car via your smartphone.
Other companies, like BMW, are trying to push the integration even further. While cars have offered iPod interfaces and hands-free systems for quite some time now, they’ve never compared to what the german car maker has been working on with their ConnectedDrive… Read More
PlayStation Network has Been Down for Days, GeoHot Retaliation?
by Cody on Apr 23, 2011
For those who who don’t live for Call of Duty: Black Ops, or other popular PS3 titles, you may not have noticed how much trouble Sony has been having lately. Their free online service, PSN (Playstation Network) has been down since late Wednesday night.
We’re not talking about a a minor inconvenience here, we’re talking about millions of people being blocked from Sony’s version of Xbox live for 4 days now. Netflix, Hulu, and several major online games are feeling the effects of Sony’s crippled network… Read More
EA Games Offers 99 Cent Easter Weekend App Sale
by Kickstar13 on Apr 23, 2011
With Easter right around the corner, several iOS app developers have decided to join in on the Easter fun by discounting their apps for the holiday. One of the bigger and well known iOS development teams include the folks at Electronic Arts.
Electronic Arts is holding their second annual Easter games sale. The sale includes over 30 iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad games available for 99 cents, down from the original prices which range anywhere from $4.99 to $9.99.
iBooks Updated To Version 1.2.2
by Kickstar13 on Apr 23, 2011
I have to say, I absolutely love using the iBooks app on all my iDevices. This has to be one of the best features (in my opinion) in iOS 4, and since its release I’ve been using it at least once every week. If you’re an iBooks user, you’ll be glad to know Apple has pushed out another update to further improve the iBooks experience.
Apple yesterday updated its popular iBook app with several important bug fixes, stability and performance improvements. Read More
Some Cydia Functions Remain Offline Due to Ongoing Amazon Cloud Outage
by Jeff Benjamin on Apr 23, 2011
I think we can pretty much agree that Amazon’s EC2 cloud computing reputation has taken a severe hit over the last couple of days.
It’s now officially Saturday, and while a lot of the sites that were initially impacted by Amazon’s massive cloud computing outage are back up, there are still quite a few casualties out in the wild.
One such casualty hits particularly close to home for the jailbreak community, that of course being Cydia.
Cydia is still partially down as of me writing this, and there is no sure-fire ETA to look forward to… Read More
Apple Fails Greenpeace “Dirty Data” Report
by Cody on Apr 23, 2011
The environmental group known as Greenpeace has been keeping an eye on Apple’s “Green” initiatives for quite some time. Back in 2006, the organization gave Apple an environmental rating of 2.7 out of 10. A year later, the group publicly protested the Mac-maker by shining green spotlights on Apple’s flagship retail store in New York City.
More recently though, the group has commended Apple for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. They actually rated Apple the greenest electronics maker last year. How’d Apple do this time around?
