Apple Uses Over-the-Air Software Update for Battery Fix

Apple on Thursday issued a software update for its iOS 5 mobile platform that fixes a number of minor problems on the iPhone and iPad.

The software update, called iOS 5.1, rectifies a battery problem on the iPhone 4S that created less-than-expected battery life on the phone. The update also adds some missing multitasking gestures for the first iPad, fixes a syncing problem with documents and iCloud and improves some minor voice recognition bugs.  Full story

Apple Says Pre-Orders of iPhone 4S Break Record

Apple says first-day pre-orders of the iPhone 4S topped 1 million, breaking the record set by last year’s model. Apple Inc. and various phone companies in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain started taking orders for the phone last Friday. It hits stores this Friday.

The base model of the iPhone 4S costs $200 with a two-year contract. It has a faster processor and an improved camera compared to last year’s model. However, some customers and investors were disappointed that Apple didn’t launch a more radical new model. It’s been more than a year since Apple since the previous model was released.

Despite the record-breaking pace of iPhone 4S pre-orders, it’s hard to determine whether consumer demand is stronger for the new device than it was for previous versions. Although first-day orders for the iPhone 4 were 600,000 when it launched last year, Australia and Canada weren’t among the launch countries then — they got the phone a month later.  Full story

Apple to Announce New iPhone

Finally, it’s here. After months of speculation about timing, shape and sizes, Apple sent out media invites Tuesday for a special event on Apple’s campus next week. The invitation was sparse, with the headline simply saying: “Let’s talk iPhone.”

The event is Oct. 4 and will be at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, Calif. The invitation says it will begin with a “breakfast and coffee bar at 9 a.m.,” followed by an “executive presentation at 10 a.m.” According to sources and rumors sprinkled all over the Web, the event will be held to announce the next generation iPhone 5.

The next generation iPhone is expected to have completely revamped hardware. The camera, processor and other internal organs will all receive drastic upgrades, according to reports. The design of the phone will be different too. Last month, images of an alleged iPhone 5 case appeared online, although only for a short period.  Full story

iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go

Security researchers have discovered that Apple’s iPhone keeps track of where you go – and saves every detail of it to a secret file on the device which is then copied to the owner’s computer when the two are synchronised.

The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone’s recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner’s movements using a simple program.

For some phones, there could be almost a year’s worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple’s iOS 4 update to the phone’s operating system, released in June 2010.

Full story from The Guardian (UK)

Turn Your Ipod Touch into an Iphone (almost)

“…besides having to spend a bit of cash on your microphone solution, all the software used in this tutorial to give your snazzy iPod Touch the functionality of the iPhone is totally free.

There’s no need to jailbreak your iTouch or modify it in any way – all you need is an iPod Touch on 2.x.x firmware, a pair of headphones with a microphone, a WiFi network, and access to Apple’s App Store so you can download and use Fring – a free app which supports several different chat protocols.”  Full Tutorial

You’ve got your Kindle in my Iphone

“What makes Kindle Kindle isn’t software as much as it is content–240,000 books’ worth of it, by far the largest collection of e-books ever assembled. Getting access to those books on a phone is by far the biggest deal in content for Apple devices since Apple itself added movies and TV shows to the iTunes Store”    Full Story

Why You Have To Jailbreak the iPhone

“If you own an iPhone and you’re fairly technical, then you’ve no doubt gone through the steps necessary to “jailbreak” your iPhone – the process that opens up the phone to allow for the installation of unapproved third-party applications. However, for the non-technical consumers who are now purchasing the iPhone in droves, this final, critical step in making the device more usable is often unknown or overlooked.”  Full Story

Search the Web like an iPhone

Searchme is now in public beta.  See your web pages before clicking on them or just marvel at pretty pictures as they flip by jukebox style.