Month: September 2011

Nuance’s Speech-to-Text Functionality Currently Being Tested in iOS 5

Remember that Nuance speech-to-text feature that everyone's been so excited about ? A new photo sent to 9t05Mac by a claimed Apple employee appears to confirm its existence, and more importantly, that it's being tested right now as part of iOS 5.

While not yet active in the betas of iOS 5 that developers are getting to test in the wild right now, it is becoming clear that those inside Apple, and possibly those close to the company, have already been testing the feature for a while...

Best Buy Clue Points to October 21 iPhone 5 Release

We might just found our first reliable iPhone 5 release date rumor, and October 21 is looking like the magic day to mark on your calendars. The Verge has received a tip from a Best Buy employee that suggests the retailer is set for an 'Apple fixture' installation on the 21st.

What makes this seem so plausible is the continued rumor that October is indeed the timeframe in which we should expect an iPhone 5 to go on sale, with an announcement coming some time in the next few weeks. Does Best Buy know something we dont? It's entirely possible...

Makayama’s iPad 2 Movie Mount Helps You Shoot Steady Footage On-the-Go

We all love the iPhone 4's camera. The iPhone's success as a camera and HD video recorder has been widely observed, with the smartphone topping the chart of used cameras on Flickr.

The problem is that neither the iPad 2's front or rear-facing camera is very good. Yes, they both work for snapping a simple shot here and there, and the front-facing camera does a reasonable job for FaceTime, but that's about it. The iPad's shear size doesn't help its usefulness as a camera, either.

The iDevice accessory and app makers at Makayama have come up with an iPad 2 movie mount that, they claim, will improve the iPad's shot-taking prowess...

Apple’s New Remote iDevice Diagnostic Tool Detailed, Arriving Soon

We've been hearing little tidbits here and there that point to a new way for Apple to diagnose issues with iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. First, we reported on internal messages being sent to Apple dealers that mention a tool for remote retrieval of logs and error files from devices, and then a patent popped up that ran along very similar lines.

Now, more details have emerged, with 9to5Mac confirming that Apple is indeed planning to roll out a new diagnostic system, and that it will be coming online slowly over the coming months...

San Francisco Police Admits to Helping Apple Retrieve Missing iPhone 5 Prototype

An already strange story has taken a turn for the downright silly, with the news that the San Francisco Police did actually have a hand in the searching of a 22 year old's home, contrary to the authorities' own accounts.

We told you yesterday how Apple's own security firm had taken it upon themselves to search the home of one Sergio Calderón in a hunt for a missing iPhone 5 prototype. Calderón had been told that the people involved were SFPD, but the department's own files said that they had no hand in the search, and furthermore, they had not had any contact from Apple regarding the device.

This now appears to have been incorrect.

In a report for The San Francisco Weekly, we learn that the SFPD did in fact send some officers along for the ride...

How to Create Your Own Cydia Repo on the iPhone

In the jailbreak store known as Cydia, apps and tweaks are distributed by means of independent repositories. These 'repos' serve as distribution channels for offering Cydia packages to customers from different companies and developers.

While larger repos, like BigBoss, index hundreds and hundreds of Cydia packages for users to install, many smaller repos can tend to clutter up the Cydia experience. If you're interested in creating an independent repo of your favorite tweaks, or hosting your own packages in Cydia, there's an easy way to create your very own Cydia repo right on your iPhone...

SmartKeyboard Concept Gives the iPhone a Physical Keyboard Based on the iPad’s Smart Cover

When Apple introduced the iPad 2, the Smart Cover also debuted as a new accessory for the device. Apple designed the iPad 2 with magnets that interface with the Smart Cover to wake the device from sleep when opened.

The iPhone's virtual keyboard is a fantastic replacement for a physical keyboard, but some consider the lack of physical buttons to be the iPhone's main downfall. A genius new concept takes the Smart Cover approach to offering a detachable physical keyboard for the iPhone...

Friday13: Customize Your Calendar App Icon

It has nothing to do with the movie.

Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about Friday13, a recently released jailbreak tweak for the iPhone.

Friday13 is a way to alter the iCal icon on your iPhone's Home screen, nothing more, nothing less. You'll find various color combinations, custom date listings, etc.

If you're growing weary of that boring old red and white iCal icon on your Home screen, then the following video walkthrough is catered towards you...

HiddenCalllog: Keep Prying Eyes Out of Your Call History

Want to keep nosey people out of your call history? Then this simple, yet effective jailbreak tweak entitled HiddenCalllog, might be just what the doctor ordered.

HiddenCalllog makes it easy to quickly disguise yourself as one who has absolutely no friends that care to call you, ever.

Great for keeping nosey folks out of your call log, perhaps not so great in various other situations...

BackForwardList for Safari: Browser History, Evolved

As most of you guys and gals are well aware of, I'm the type of person that loves keeping things stock, or at least stock looking.

My car is stock, my iMac is stock, my iOS devices are jailbroken, but they look close to stock.

For that reason, it's probably no surprise that I continue to use the built in Safari browser for all of my web needs, despite the fact that it's severely lacking when compared to third party options.

That's where handy tweaks like BackForwardList for Safari come in. It allows me to keep the stock browser, while giving it a nice usability boost. See inside for the video evidence...