News

Apple’s New Patent Filing Raises Concerns

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Last week iDB reported that Apple had filed for a patent that would grant them the ability to remotely wipe and disable your iPhone. According to Mac Rumors the concerns surrounding this ability continue to grow.

The vagueness of the term "unauthorized user" combined with leery methods of detection have some users questioning the control this would give Cupertino. Facial recognition, heartbeat detection and fingerprint analysis are among the ways listed of identifying whomever is in control of the handheld in question...

Can Humidity Trigger The iPhone’s Water Sensors?

Guest Author ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

This is quite the contrast to the over-heating problem experienced by some iPhone owners. Gizmodo reports that Asian countries that deal with humidity indexes that average over 95% are suffering voided warranties due to water sensors' inability to handle the sticky conditions. As if living in 95% humidity wasn't bad enough in itself.

Apparently message boards have been lighting up to this topic and The South China Morning Post confirms the allegations that the devices suffering from the problem have been chalked up as water damaged. Back in April in the United States a class action lawsuit was filed over the same issue...

The iPad is Shipping Faster and Faster

Sébastien Page ∙ August 19, 2010

About a month ago we reported that there was production delays for the iPad, pushing the shipping time to about 7-10 days. Apple's website now shows shipping times of about 3-5 days, which is basically twice as fast as it used to be. In the meantime, it looks like the iPhone 4 production is accelerating too as shortages are expected to be a thing of the past soon.

Are you still waiting for an iPad or an iPhone 4?

[TUAW]

Apple CEO Steve Jobs Can Finally Bring The House Down

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Poor Steve. All he's wanted to do since 2004 is tear down his old mansion in Woodside, California. The Jackling House as it's called has been owned by Jobs since 1984 and apparently has historical significance that local preservationists wanted to keep around. I say that in past tense because as it seems is the case with everything Steve wants, Steve gets.

The house was designed and manufactured in 1925 for copper mining magnate Daniel Cowan Jackling. The architect behind the mastery was drafted by a celebrated Californian named George Washington Smith. Apparently that means something to a certain amount of someones.

9 to 5 Mac reports that back in '04, Jobs was given permission to tear down and renovate the structure but a group called Uphold Our Heritage sued the city and the Apple CEO. The courts finally backed down if no appeal against the demolishing permit was filed. The dedicated members of Uphold Our Heritage dropped their last appeal on July 19th after Steve tactfully didn't move on the tear down requested by a couple of local residents.

I say tactfully because now that appeal against such procedure has been abandoned, his lawyer Howard Ellman states "we're going forward". Not without an inventory though. A Quote from the Almanac News Report reads:

The town has hired architectural historian Michael R. Corbett to conduct an inventory of historically significant parts of the house. Preserving these items for posterity is a key condition of the demolition permit issued by the town in 2009.

All this seems insane really. I'm typically not for the destruction of historical landmarks but since this is technically a man's house, he should be able to paint it bright magenta and put a Richard Simmons statue in his bathroom. It would be different if he was trying to buy an already marked landmark. Do you think the Jobs should have just left this alone and allowed the house to be used for historical reasons? Let us know in the never to be demolished comment box below.

TetherMe Brings Native Tethering to the iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 4, 2021

TetherMe is a jailbreak tweak that brings native tethering to the iPhone, even when your carrier normally bars you for. Such activities. According to the app description, it should work for any carrier without the need for customized bundles or preferences.

TetherMe has been tested to work on all iOS versions from 8-14 and works by telling the iPhone to allow tethering on any APN that is used for iPhone data. As a result, you should not be charged extra from your phone company as all tethering data appears to come from the phone itself.

TetherMe also bypasses signature checking and allows you to edit your carrier bundle manually if you so desire. This is required to enable MMS functionality on T-Mobile. TetherMe does NOT enable the loading of APN configurations from .mobileconfig profiles at this time.

This app is different from my favorite jailbreak app MyWi, which allows to turn your iPhone into a wifi hotspot. Instead, TetherMe allows for native tethering as Apple intended it to be, using Bluetooth or USB.

There is no icon for this item. After installation and reboot, you'll be able to turn tethering ON in Settings > General > Network, or install the Tethering Toggle for SBSettings.

Available for $4.99 in Cydia, TetherMe is a great alternative to the more expensive MyWi if you don't want to share your Internet connection with other devices. If however you want to use your iPhone as a hotspot, then MyWy will still be your best bet.

Please let us know what you think of this application by leaving a comment below.

LG Can't Meet the iPad Demand

Sébastien Page ∙ July 23, 2010

LG, the manufacturer of the iPad display, said yesterday that even though it's currently running at full capacity, the company won't be able to meet Apple's demand.

"Demand keeps growing and we can't meet it all" said LG CEO Kwon Young-soo talking about Apple's iPad. He added that "overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year". The executive admitted that LG won't be available to meet the demand until the second quarter of 2011.

The iPad launched in 9 more countries today so this won't make the situation any better. "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand" said an LG executive to Reuters.

If you want an iPad for Christmas, you'd better get on the waiting list now...

[Apple Insider]

iPad Available in 9 More Countries Today

Sébastien Page ∙ July 23, 2010

The iPad will be available in 9 more countries as of today. If you live in one of these countries and were waiting for the iPad to arrive, then run to your local Apple Store or authorized retailer:

Austria Belgium Hong Kong Ireland Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Singapore

White iPhone Release Date: Still TBA

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 27, 2018

Looks like those of us (myself included) who were holding out for a white iPhone 4 might as well throw in the towel. In a disappointing yet unsurprising statement earlier today, Cupertino admitted that

White models of Apple's new iPhone® 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

The journey of the fabled white iPhone 4 started as a slight delay in pre ordering, then went on to an irritating one month push back, and after promises of an end of July release date has been completely shelved for the time being. Several reports from paint color and opacity problems to inability to meet high demand for the glass panels needed for the front and back casing of the iPhone 4 have been circling the web since the iPhone 4 launched back in mid June.

Weekly Wrapup: BlackRa1n, BlackSn0w, and More…

Sébastien Page ∙ November 1, 2009

In case you missed the festivities, this is a summary of this week's articles.

BlackRa1n is available - It seems that GeoHot was quicker at releasing BlackRa1n RC2 than he thought. Originally, BlackRa1n RC2 was supposed to be out tomorrow but GeoHot said on Twitter that it was already available for download.

BlackRa1n RC2 guide & tutorial - This step-by-step guide and tutorial will show you how to use BlackRa1n RC2 to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch, either on a Mac or a PC.

Xpandr shortcuts for iPhone - Xpandr is a shortcut expander for the iPhone / iPod touch. It allows you to define an unlimited number of shortcuts to save time and make your life easier.

Geohot offered $10,000 to unlock 05.11.07 - GeoHot, the little genius behind BlackRa1n is back at work and is reportedly working on an unlock for baseband 05.11.07.

GriP (Growl for iPhone) - GriP (Growl for iPhone), a Project by KennyTM, author of other well known projects like QuickScroll, presents a great alternative to the stock notification system, even on its current beta stage.

iTunes 9.0.2 safe for jailbreakers - MuscleNerd confirmed that iTunes 9.0.2 won’t interfere with your jailbreak and/or unlock.

BlackSn0w - After being offered a bounty of $10,000, GeoHot started working on BlackSn0w, an unlock for the iPhone 3.1.2 baseband 05.11.07, and it seems he’s getting closer to finding a solution.

GeoHot unlocks iPhone 3.1.2 05.11.07 - GeoHot just published a video of the first unlocked iPhone running OS 3.1.2 and baseband 05.11.07 using BlackSn0w.

GeoHot declines $10,000 for BlackSn0w - GeoHot finally came back to reality and realized that working for Jody Sanders was not a good move.

The Blog Has A Facebook Page. Join Us and Get Free Stuff

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

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iPhoneDownloadBlog on Facebook

I wanted to let everyone know that we created a Facebook page for the blog. I resisted as long as I could but more and more people were actually asking for it so I jumped on the FB bandwagon and put up a page together.

Our Facebook page will aggregate articles from the blog but we'll also be using it to share other news and information that didn't make it to the blog. It will be a great way for you to post your news, links, videos, etc, too.

From time to time, we'll also do some freebie giveaways, mostly promo codes for applications. We're actually going to start today. I have 6 promo codes for Speednote, a slick application that helps you create notes more quickly.

How to enter the contest for a chance to win free apps? Well, you just have to become a fan (note that I really dislike the term "fan"). You were already following us on Twitter, now you can follow us on Facebook as well :)

Sorry About That

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

I wanted to apologize to all of you guys for the ups and downs on the site today.

Most of you won't notice anything but if you've spent a few minutes on the blog and tried to browse various pages today, you probably saw the "Internal Server Error" message.

There are 2 reasons for this. For one, my host is crap. For two, I am working with an amazing developer on a BIG project for the site. Those of you who follow me on Twitter might already have seen some of it although it hasn't been officially announced.

I have been super busy all day working with this dev to make things happen, which is why there won't be any new article on the blog today.

On top of that, I have been notified by my ex-girlfriend that she's going to put her cat "the Nos" to sleep. I'm going to go to the vet with her soon. Nos was my favorite cat ever and I am sure he will go to Cats Heaven ;)

I felt like sharing this info with you because I think it's very important.

Stay tuned!

Steve Jobs’ Health Is Declining Rapidly

Sébastien Page ∙ December 30, 2008

Gizmodo reported today that according to one of their insider sources, Steve Jobs' health is getting worse and worse, which is the reason behind Macworld and Jobs keynote cancellations.

According to Gizmodo's source:

Steves health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.

This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why Macworld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [Macworld] is the cover designed by the worldwide "loyalty" department.

Apparently, this source has always been 100% right in the past, which leads us to think that it might be right again.

Gizmodo argues that Jobs' health is nobody's business but I completely disagree with that. Jobs' health is pretty much everybody's business, especially Apple's investors. However, I do agree with Jesus Diaz when he says that "we believe that there's a line between saying "no-comment" and plainly misleading—once again—the public.", talking about how Apple is lying to the public about Jobs' health.