Month: September 2012

Tim Cook kicks off iPhone 5 event with the usual run of statistics

This is it, the moment we've all been waiting for for the last 11 months is finally here. The iPhone 5 event has just started, and Apple's CEO Tim Cook is now on stage.

As usual, Cook is kicking things off with a slew of interesting statistics regarding iOS devices, and other recent Apple accomplishments and milestones...

Is this the final iPhone 5 design?

French website nowhereelse.fr appears to be at it again, this time leaking what is purportedly the final design for the iPhone 5.

The new updated design looks very similar to leaks we've seen in the past, except this version features a white band wrapping around the exterior of the device to fill in the gap between the screen, and the outer edges of the device's frame.

WSJ claims iOS 6 can block unwanted calls

As you know, iOS 6 comes with an improved stock Phone app which enables some interesting new call management features. For example, you can choose to reply to an incoming calls with a message or be reminded about it later.

When a call comes in that you can’t answer right away, users can just swipe up to reveal options. Surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal claimed yesterday that iOS 6 also, among other things, includes new features that allow people to block unwanted calls...

New iPhone 5 logic board photo: A6 chip, Qualcomm LTE modem, Hynix flash

We're less than three hours away from Apple's big presser and, conveniently, a new high-quality photo surfaced alleging to represent the iPhone 5 logic board. From what can be gleaned, the board clearly shows an Apple-designed chip labeled "A6", in addition to other chips that indicate LTE world-phone functionality, also proving that Apple could indeed be reducing its dependency on fellow smartphone maker and frenemy Samsung, which supplies Cupertino with more than one-third of components that go inside the current-generation iPhone...

Report: iPod touch upgrade to include new colors, GPS and enhanced camera

Not all of today's news centers on Apple's much-awaited next-gen iPhone. The iPod touch, seen as the 'gateway drug' for the iPhone, is also expected to debut with a wider palette of colors, global positioning and a better camera. Indeed, one analyst is calling the 2012 iPod touch the "biggest upgrade ever."

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the most noticeable change will be an expanded choice of colors beyond the current black or white.

Expect sleeker, faster iTunes 11 today as well

iTunes, Apple's more than a decade old jukebox and digital content management software, could be updated today alongside the iPhone, iPod and possibly iMac and the AirPort wireless base station lineup.

This comes by way of search engine queries that also revealed the iPhone 5 name earlier today alongside LTE, new iPod touches and revamped nanos.

This information aligns nicely with a Bloomberg report earlier in the summer which claimed iTunes would receive a substantial makeover by year's end...

Chronic claims the iPhone 5 has NFC chip

A well-known iOS developer with a strong track record of Apple reporting took to Twitter this morning to argue that prototypes of Apple's next iPhone do contain a Near-Field Communication (NFC) sensor inside. This shouldn't be deciphered as the definite proof of an NFC-enabled iPhone 5 as Apple and other handset makers often test several device prototypes before settling on one model.

Furthermore, even if the iPhone 5 has NFC, this should not be confused with an NFC-driven mobile payment system. We also know from Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller's interview with the Wall Street Journal (Apple's unofficial mouthpiece) that digital wallet mobile-payment services are “all fighting over their piece of the pie", adding that "we aren’t doing that"...

Privata makes it easier to enable private browsing in Safari

Enabling private browsing in Mobile Safari is a chore, because you have to exit the app, go to Settings, and enable it from there. There's actually no way to enable private browsing from inside the app itself, which is kind of lame.

Wouldn't it be better if you could enable private browsing quickly from the share menu in Safari? That's the exact premise behind Privata — a new jailbreak tweak that's available for free on Cydia's ModMyi repo.

MissionBoard Pro is a complete app switcher alternative

MissionBoard Pro — like the original MissionBoard — is a jailbreak tweak that acts as an app switcher replacement for the iPhone.

In contrast with the basic version of MissionBoard, the pro version features elements like music controls and toggles to make it much more suitable as an outright app switcher replacement. But is it worth its steep $2.99 asking price?

Undercover Chinese journalist infiltrates iPhone 5 production line

Talk about timing. Just hours ahead of Apple's highly-anticpated iPhone event, a story has surfaced of a Chinese journalist who recently went undercover as a worker in one of Foxconn's factories.

The reporter, who works for the Shanghai Evening Post, got a job at the manufacturer's Tai Yuan plant in China's Shanxi province, and spent 10 days working on one of its iPhone 5 production lines...