Archive for: ios5
- November 7, 2011 11:14 pm
The previously discovered panoramic capabilities within iOS 5 were again unearthed today by iOS hackers @chpwn and @conradev. Sadly the feature isn’t able to be activated in a non-jailbroken state. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A quick look at the screenshots above show that the functionality is still in its infancy as it’s characterized by rudimentary buttons and UI that would never (normally) see the light of day. Still, elementary UI and all, the feature is capable of producing decent panoramic shots as can be seen by the (drastically reduced) image above — the full-sized image was 6122×2852 pixels.
To enable the panoramic feature all that’s needed is a simple editing of “com.apple.mobileslideshow.plist” by enabling “Firebreak”, a jailbreak app that will at some point be released on Cydia.
Hopefully Apple doesn’t wait until iOS 6 to release this nifty built-in feature. Though if they do, “360″ is a great app to get panoramic shots.
Update
@chpwn has Tweeted that Cydia is now carrying the amazing Firebreak app.
Firebreak (enable the hidden iOS 5 panorama) is now out in Cydia! (Also, a quick appslide update for Notification Center issues is out.)
Has Tweetbot sucked for you since upgrading to iOS 5? We’re hardcore Twitter users and loyal Tweetbot enthusiasts, but since upgrading to iOS 5 opening any type of alert via a Push Notification is met with lag, graphical glitches, and all around sad pandas.
Thankfully the latest update has hit the App Store released (v. 1.7.3) and rectifies the aforementioned issues. We’ve been using the 1.7.3 version for a little over an hour now and are happy to report the issues we’ve seen since upgrading to iOS 5 have been quashed. Sanity is restored. Peace is back in order. Continue on, tweeting about your lives.
Apple has finally released a statement regarding the ever troublesome battery issues surrounding iOS 5. Ever since the release of iOS 5, the interwebs has been bombarded with posts about the issues as well as possible fixes. The Time Zone bug seems to be a culprit, but we are currently testing it, and it doesn’t seem to really make that big of a change. Of course turning off everything that makes a smartphone a smartphone (minus the screen) will help, but that isn’t a viable option.
In a statement to AllThingsD, Apple says:
“A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices.” “We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”
Apple declined to further indulge what bugs they have found, but we are eager to get our hands on the 5.0.1 update. I actually went trolling the Apple Support Community Forums to find any posts about the random crackling I get during phone calls, and had to wade through the never ending battery issue posts. With almost 3 weeks gone since the release of iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S, nothing has come down from Apple on these issues. In normal Apple fashion, they have to wait a while before addressing major consumer issues.
Apple has started seeding 5.0.1 to devs, which expires on Dec 14th. Sad we might have to wait another month before our batteries get better, and our iPad 2′s get a little more secure.
We’ll wait and see what Apple gives us. And until then, turn your phone off and your battery will last a little longer 
The U.S.’ 4th iPhone carrier — Sorry, T-Mo — we told you about back on the 24th has finally seen the details of their “Jesus Phone” released. Pricing for the phones themselves will be the same as over other iPhone carrier:
- 8 GB iPhone 4: $99 | 16 GB iPhone 4S: $199 | 32GB iPhone 4S: $299 | 64 GB iPhone 4S: $399
What’s more interesting than hardware pricing is that of plan pricing. C-Spire will offer unlimited plans ranging from $50-$100, but the two cheapest plans won’t allow “streaming”.
C-Spire iPhone 4/S Plan Pricing
- $50: 500 minutes/500 texts/**Unlimited Data
- $70: Unlimited minutes/unlimited texts/**Unlimited data
- $90: 1,000 minutes/unlimited texts/Unlimited data
- $100: unlimited minutes/unlimited texts/unlimited data
The “**” on the $50 and $70 plan denotes the inability to actively stream content — a unique though flawed way to price/provide data plans to customers. If a user is paying x-amount of dollars for a capped allotment of data and has to pay for overages, there is absolutely no reason to further neuter the plan(s). Essentially, “normal” internet usage that will inevitably include the occasional streaming session costs a minimum of $90/month. For an individual plan that’s actually pretty high.
Still think C-Spire is good choice?
Pre-register for the iPhone 4S on C-Spire right over here.
Apple is famous for sweating the tiniest of details. Steve Jobs was a detail freak (not to mention other people at Apple). While it may make for a stressful, time crunched environment, the end result is a product in which literally every pixel is looked at and ultimately perfected. Illustrating this are several examples of tiny, barely noticeable UI changes between iOS 4 and 5 compliments of Stam Design. Before you hit the source link, take a quick jaunt through iOS 5 and see if you can spot anything different…
When Apple announced iMessage earlier this summer it instantly changed the future for wireless carriers and consumers alike. While similar messaging systems have been utilized by other platforms for man years, the ubiquitous and immediate rollout of iMessage made it possible for millions of iPhone users to simultaneously drop specific SMS/texting plans and rely on solely their data plan (we did). Though while iMessage is great on iOS devices, lack of support on OSX is one glaring hole in an otherwise great product.
According to 9to5Mac and “sources familiar with OSX development”, Apple is currently working on two implementations of iMessage in OSX: a standalone iMessage for OSX application and a version of iChat with iMessage built in. For simplicity’s sake we’d prefer it to be integrated directly into iChat but can see pros to having it split off too. With all that said there has been some leaked code that seemed to point to iMessage integration coming to the desktop OS, though nothing more has been seen or said in the many weeks following the initial leak.
At this time the information is undeniably nothing more than rumor — rumor that we hope materializes in the near future.
Hop past the break to see a video highlighting what iMessage integration in OSX might look like…
Siri on devices other than the 4S has gotten one step closer tonight. iOS hackers chpwn and stroughtonsmith have reportedly gotten Siri up and running on an iPhone 4 and communication with Apple’s servers. According to Stroughtonsmith, the hack requires the use of files directly off of the iPhone 4S, that if copied and redistributed would fall under “illegal” measures. Read: A public release isn’t close, so please leave these incredibly intelligent hackers be!
Update
Aaaand now Siri is (reportedly) working on an iPod Touch too — via @stroughtonsmith. We have a video of Siri running on the iPod after the break.
Anxiously waiting for the iPhone Dev-Team to get Apple’s latest iPhone 4S hacked and cracked so you can decimate it with all of your custom lusts? Keep waiting because it’s not ready for public consumption. But in the meantime here’s what is known regarding the iPhone 4S jailbreak — the iPhone Dev-Team has managed to get the 4S jailbroken and Cydia installed but that’s where the fun stops. According to @Musclenerd the iPhone 4S jailbreak is a:
“VERY preliminary 4S JB. (Huge missing pieces prevent public release. LOTS of work left)”
In short: The iPhone 4S jailbreak is still a ways from prime time/public release and the team can’t give a definite ETA. But knowing that some progress has been made is good, right?
It seems Apples streak of relatively unhindered iCloud service following MobileMe’s less than stellar track record is already getting off on the wrong foot. For several hours now users of Apple’s iCloud service have been unable to send any email with their @me addresses.
We first discovered the issue about 40 minutes ago when trying to set up iCloud (@Me) mail in the latest 1.4.1 Sparrow.app update which among other things, adds iCloud support. During setup we could not get past the smtp screen as it would error out and say it couldn’t contact the server.
As of writing Apple’s iCloud system status page still shows everything as 100% operational.
Drop a line in the comments if you’re seeing the same issue.
Update
We’re still seeing reports of sending mail still being down in iCloud — we’re also seeing reports saying it’s back up. Apple’s own status indicator (linked above) says <1% of iCloud mail and Notes users are affected by service interruptions right now. Time to buy a lottery ticket... We are the 1%... /bad jokes
Update 2
Everything seems to be working for us now. How’s your mileage fairing?
Update 3
Maybe not…
