Month: June 2011

48 Hours in – What Apple Needs to Fix in iOS 5

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated February 16, 2018

So here we are, two days after Apple released the first beta of its feature-packed iOS 5 mobile operating system. This also means we've had 48 hours to play with test out iOS 5 on both iPads and iPhones of varying specification and we've come to some conclusions. While the OS is a surprisingly stable first effort, there are still some rough edges to smooth out.

Here are a few of the things we've discovered over the last couple of days - perhaps this will put you off installing the beta considering there doesn't appear to be a way to go back to good ol' iOS 4.3.3...

New in iOS 5: LED Flash Alerts

IDB Staff ∙ June 9, 2011

I remember a long time ago when I had my BlackBerry, one of the simple features I appreciated the most was the little LED flashing everytime I received a call, or if I had an unread text message. It was an unobtrusive way to tell me something was going on.

iOS 5 is bringing this idea to the iPhone 4. If you go to Settings > General > Accessibility, and turn LED Flash for Alerts ON, your iPhone camera flash will now flash when receiving a call or an alert...

Speed Test: iOS 5 vs iOS 4.3.3

IDB Staff ∙ June 8, 2011

So I've been playing with iOS 5 beta 1 on my iPhone 3GS for a couple of days now and my first impression is that it looks really good. Good enough to make me consider giving up my jailbreak and unlock to install iOS 5 on my iPhone 4 - don't worry, I won't.

One thing I've noticed about Apple's latest beta is that it is a little sluggish. I know an iPhone 3GS isn't the ideal device to test a new OS on, so I thought I'd put it to the test against the same device, but on the current iOS 4.3.3...

Apple Changes App Store Submission Guidelines, No More DUI Apps

Cody Lee ∙ June 8, 2011

Last month, Apple's VP of software technology, Bud Tribble, participated in a U.S. Senate hearing on mobile privacy. Although the conference was focused on consumer location tracking, at one point the conversation turned to Apple's App Store policies.

The senate expressed their disappointment with the Cupertino company for allowing applications like Fuzz Alert in their App Store, and gave Apple a month to do something about it...

New in iOS 5: Easy Hotmail Set Up

IDB Staff ∙ June 8, 2011

I remember a few years ago when the iPhone first came out, getting your Hotmail emails on the Email app was just a struggle. Then Microsoft figured it out and let its users easily set up Hotmail on the iPhone and other devices.

Adding an Hotmail account on the iPhone is going to be even easier with iOS 5 as it is now a default option, just like Gmail, Yahoo, or AOL are...

FaceTime to Go 3G in iOS 5, Carrier-Pending of Course

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

I'm sure most of you have seen the T-Mobile commercials that poke fun at the iPhone 4's inability to make video calls outside of a Wi-Fi area. The tagline at the end of the ads is always "Introducing the new T-Mobile MyTouch 4G, video chat without needing Wi-Fi."

Although the commercials don't account for services like Skype or jailbreakers using the My3G utility, they are otherwise spot-on. Apple's popular FaceTime video chat service has been restricted to Wi-Fi usage since its inception last year, but that could all change in iOS 5...

New in iOS 5: Emoji

IDB Staff ∙ June 8, 2011

No more workarounds needed to enjoy Emoji icons on your iPhone with iOS 5. This feature is now completely integrated in Apple's latest OS and can be activated in just a few simple steps.

To activate Emoji in iOS 5, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > International Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > Emoji. Once turned on, you can easily switch between your primary keyboard and the Emoji keyboard by hitting the "globe" icon on your keyboard...

How to Enable Automatic Downloads in iTunes 10.3

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

Although the average consumer has to wait a month or more to get their paws on the new Mac operating system, and twice that long for iOS 5, there is one cool new feature Apple unveiled this week that users can take advantage of right away.

The iDevice community all let out a synchronous sigh of relief on Monday as Apple announced the new Automatic Download feature for iTunes and iDevices. While there are some limitations, the feature can help you cut the cord between your iPhone and your computer.

The built-in utility instantly recognizes when you download media on an iDevice or desktop, and automatically pushes that media out to your other devices. Once enabled, any app, song or iBook title you download on one device, will automatically push out to your other gadgets.

Essentially, any iDevice with iOS 4.3.3 or computer with the latest version of iTunes qualifies for the new feature, as long as they are all using a common iTunes account. It doesn't take much to turn on Automatic Downloads and it can be a real timesaver. Check out this quick tutorial:

Apple Quickly Updates iTunes to Version 10.3.1

Sébastien Page ∙ June 8, 2011

The latest iTunes (version 10.3) just shipped a couple days ago but it appears some users were encountering the "unknown error (-50)" when trying to sync their device. Even though there seemed to be some workarounds around that, it was clear that iTunes itself was the cause of the problem.

Today, Apple shipped iTunes 10.3.1 which apparently fixes this issue. If you were having syncing issues with iTunes 10.3, make sure to hit the "Check for Updates" option in iTunes to download the latest version...

New in iOS 5: Swipe from Camera to Camera Roll

IDB Staff ∙ June 8, 2011

Yet another new feature that made it to iOS 5. When using the camera app, you can swipe to the right to bring your camera roll. From there, you can flick left and right to go to previous pictures or go back to your camera app.

At any time, you can tap anywhere on the screen to bring some of the picture controls and tap "done" to return to your camera app...

Nuance Voice Integration Not Currently in iOS 5, But There’s Still Hope

Alex Heath ∙ June 8, 2011

Apple unveiled a truckload of iOS 5 features at WWDC on Monday, but one major thing was missing: Nuance voice integration. There was a strong series of rumors leading right up to the keynote that claimed iOS 5 would boast huge improvements in voice integration.

Unfortunately, no voice-related features were previewed during Monday's keynote, and the first iOS 5 developer beta has no voice additions to speak of.

Has Apple abandoned their partnership with Nuance in iOS? Or will we still see deeper voice integration in iOS 5 before it's released to the public in the next few months?

New in iOS 5: Stop the Hackers Tapping Your Line With Unsecured Call Warnings

Guest Author ∙ Updated November 26, 2016

Did you know that while you're running iOS 4 on your iPhone, hackers can intercept your phone calls and listen in on your conversations like they do in the movies? Thankfully, however, a new feature in iOS 5 will warn you when you're at risk.

Under the first beta release of iOS 5, if you attempt to make a call that hackers can tap into, you will receive a warning to tell you that the network you're using is not encrypted...