iOS

50% of iPhones Don’t Currently Get Backed Up – iOS 5 to the Rescue

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Sometimes it's easy to forget that we in the geek world aren't like normal people. We spend our lives connected, and backing up our data is just one of those things we do as a matter of course. Until iOS 5 arrives in the coming months, the only way to back up an iOS iDevice is to plug it into iTunes and let it sync. But does anyone actually do it?

According to a little birdie, only 50% of the customers who take iDevices into Apple Stores for repair have their apps, settings, contacts and the like, backed up.

That's right - around half of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches don't find themselves plugged into iTunes after that initial set up - a set up that won't even need to be done after iOS 5 lands...

Apple’s iCloud Music Service Not Likely Available Internationally Until 2012

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 11, 2011

One of Apple's big announcements at WWDC 2011's keynote was the iCloud music service. Offering cross-device syncing as well as iTunes Match for checking your non-iTunes bought music and adding it to the cloud, iTunes in the Cloud is just one aspect of the very exciting iCloud. While users in the United States can expect the service to go live in the Fall when iOS 5 ships, those living outside the US could be waiting until at least early 2012, according to business insiders.

A spokesman for the Performing Right Society, a group responsible for ensuring musicians and other creative types of the music world get paid, told The Telegraph that negotiations with Apple over the situation are at a very early stage on the international level...

Wi-Fi Sync App Once Rejected by Apple is Now Part of iOS 5

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 10, 2011

When Apple announced its iOS software update at its WWDC keynote on Monday, one much-vaunted feature caught the eye of a university student in Birmingham, England. Greg Hughes apparently looked on in surprise as Apple announced iOS 5's PC-Free credentials including Wi-Fi iTunes syncing. Surprise came from the fact that Hughes had submitted an app to Apple's App Store that did the exact same thing, an app that was rejected by the Cupertino outfit.

Named 'Wi-Fi Sync', the app was originally rejected by Apple way back in May 2010 according to The Register, with Hughes even receiving a personal call from an Apple representative to commend him on his efforts.

Little did he know that Apple would later use the same name and even logo in iOS 5...

SliderBar Jailbreak Tweak Makes Scrolling on the iPhone Faster

Alex Heath ∙ June 10, 2011

As part of the TweakWeek initiative, SliderBar is a free jailbreak tweak developed by Ryan Petrich. SliderBar makes vertical scrolling in iOS a breeze. Instead of scrolling by swiping up and down with your finger, SliderBar allows you to scroll through a vertical page in a more traditional way.

The tweak is very simple, and you may actually miss it in iOS if you don't know what it look for.

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...

iOS 5 & iCloud – A Summary of The New Hotness

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

It's been a hectic day or so here at iDB towers and we're sure we aren't the only ones. Yesterda's WWDC kickoff provided more than a few talking points, with iOS 5 and iCloud being two of the biggest. Granted OS X Lion is one fine looking piece of software, but for us it's the mobile stuff that gets the pulse racing.

This post will be a little roundup of just a few of the most important new things we've learned today, with links to some more in-depth coverage inside the iDB content vaults. So, without further ado, let us begin...

iCloud More iTunes Than MobileMe?

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 5, 2011

We're less than 24 hours away from the big opening to WWDC 2011 now, and the rumors are still flying as to what we will and won't see when Steve Jobs puts sneaker to stage at the Moscone Center. The latest buzz comes courtesy of Apple fanboy and tech pundit John Gruber, with the Daring Fireball himself sharing his thoughts on tomorrow's announcements.

The full post goes on for a good few hundred words and re-hashes much of what the community has already speculated over the last week or so, but with one considerable exception. According to Gruber's fourth-hand information, we shouldn't be thinking of Apple's iCloud as the new MobileMe, but rather the new iTunes. Intrigued? So were we...

iPhone Now More Popular Than BlackBerry in US

Guest Author ∙ June 4, 2011

Apple's iPhone has now overtaken BlackBerry devices to become the second most popular smartphone in the U.S. in terms of active users. While the iPhone has been outselling the BlackBerry family for some time now, it previously sat behind RIM's devices in both platform and hardware.

Data recorded by comScore's MobiLens service has revealed that between the three-month period beginning February and ending April 2011, 74.6 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones, 26% of which were Apple's iPhone...

Location Aware Calendar Alerts Shown in Apple Patent

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 3, 2011

Upcoming iPhone software could take GPS data and information from the internet to provide location and situation-aware calendar events and notifications, if a recently released patent application from Apple ever comes to fruition.

Discovered by AppleInsider, and entitled "Dynamic Alerts for Calendar Events" the patent was first applied for back in 2009 but Apple haven't put it to any useful use. Yet...

Apple Readying Moscone West For WWDC 2011

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 1, 2011

With Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference just a few days away, the Cupertino outfit has begun preparations by decking out its Moscone West venue with a large Apple logo. While the logo isn't yet complete - these people do have to eat and sleep apparently - we're sure everyone can see the finished article will show Apple's iconic logo cover two sides worth of windows...

iWork for iPhone Now Available

Alex Heath ∙ Updated May 26, 2017

Following the announcement that Steve Jobs will unveil iOS 5 and iCloud at WWDC next week, Apple has announced that its productivity suite, iWork, is now available for the iPhone. Keynote, Pages and Numbers were made available on the iPad last year, and Apple has now released iPhone versions in the App Store.

The existing iPad apps can now be updated with universal support for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Pages will allow you to create and edit documents on the fly. Keynote will create stunning presentations straight from the iPhone, and Numbers will make and edit spreadsheets on the go.

Screenshots and press release after the break!

US Government Drops BlackBerry to Adopt iOS Devices

Guest Author ∙ May 31, 2011

United States federal agencies are ditching BlackBerry devices in favor of those powered by iOS, according to a new feature in the Washington Post. Dubbed 'federal government 2.0', the change will see the U.S. government upgraded and the introduction of consumer technologies like the iPhone, iPad, and Google's Gmail service.

The demand for these technologies has not only come from agency directors and senior officials – who want to use iPads, Android phones and web-based email at the office like they do at home – but also from frontline workers who believe consumer technologies can set them free of the office for mobile working arrangements...