0 RIM's Playbook vs Apple's iPad : The browser speed test

Today RIM posted a video of their PlayBook vs. Apple’s iPad to demonstrate the browsing ability and speeds the PlayBook has to offer. The results are interesting but seemingly skewed as well.
There were three different tests RIM used to compare the browers on the two devices. They went head-to-head in raw web-site rendering, Acid3, and Java.
To start out they are both directed towards UEFA.com and then CBS.com. The PlayBook clearly finishing loading and rendering both web-sites faster than the iPad. The CBS site however has flash content on it and obviously will not fully load on the iPad.
On the Acid3 test both devices managed to score 100/100 but RIM boasts that the iPad has an HTML error during this test.
The funny thing about these tests are that the iPad is over 6 months old compared to the PlayBook not even being out yet for sale. Also an interesting note is the fact the PlayBook is running on QNX which is Adobe Flash and AIR programs so naturally it will run flash sites as compared to the iPad not having flash capabilities.
It will be far more interesting to see the 2nd generation iPad pitted versus the PlayBook as the two devices will be on a much more level playing field. Do you think this test has any validity given the fact the iPad is real and the PlayBook is still technically vaporware or do you think this is Apple’s chance to step up their game and blow the PlayBook out of the water?
Check out the video after the break!

0 Google Voice For iPhone Hits App Store , Ready For Download

Google’s official Google Voice app for iPhone has just hit the iTunes App Store.

• Access your Google Voice account right from your iPhone.
• Receive push notifications for new text or voicemail messages.
• Send free text messages to U.S. numbers and make international calls at cheap rates.
• Listen to your voicemail, read transcripts and manage your Google Voice inbox.
• Display your Google Voice number as caller ID when making calls.
• Call contacts from your iPhone Address Book or enter new numbers on the dialpad.
• A Google Voice account is required to use this app. To sign up go to www.google.com/voice.
• Google Voice is only available in the United States.

Wow, who thought we’d ever get to type those words? While the last bullet point is a bit of a bummer, there’s no denying this ends one of the darker chapters of iOS and App Store history — which included an FCC investigation and revealed the first cracks in what had previously been an Apple/Google love-fest.
If you’re trying it out let us know how you like it and how it compares to GV Mobile and other 3rd party offerings.
Now where’s the official Gmail app?
[Free - iTunes link]

0 iPhone 4 : The shatter effect

In a report by SquareTrade, a company that sells extended warranties for many mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone 4 was found to be the device least likely to have electronic malfunctions. However, it also had the highest likelihood of breaking when dropped. From TechCrunch:

The year long study looked at 50,000 warranty replacements. The iPhone 4 had the fewest malfunctions not due to accidental damage while Motorola and HTC Android phones tied for second. As for breakage, the iPhone 4 is king of the heap with 9.4%

Not related to the possible Glassgate situation, this news is still rather off-putting in a world where the iPhone 4 is one of the greatest designed phones around — but that design includes glass on both sides.

0 Sprint's ZTE PEEL : An innovation for iPod touch announced

 

Well, everything about the ZTE PEEL from Sprint has been correct so far, including the November 14th launch date, so why not just make things more official with an announcement from the good people at Sprint? This 3G-capable cradle for the iPod touch will turn your portable media player into a VoIP-capable mobile device, retailing for $79.99 with a month-to-month rolling data contract. In simpler terms, this is a 3G mobile hotspot that allows you to share its EVDO Rev.A connection with up to a couple of Wi-Fi clients simultaneously.

Bear in mind that it is unable to work with the first generation iPod touch, so that leaves the second and third generations only. Sprint has touted a 3 hours battery life with its integrated 900mAh battery, alongside WEP 64-bit encryption. As for its aforementioned monthly plan, that is going for $29.99, netting you 1GB in the process with no yearly agreement to make it a decent enough device to pair up with your notebook to go online wherever you are. The 1GB data cap seems rather unreasonable in this day and age though, so hopefully more monthly plans can be offered in due time.

0 Android phones rank second in terms of sales according to Gartner Q3 reports

During Steve Jobs’ recent anti-Android tirade on an Apple earnings call, Jobs said his company “anxiously” awaited a report that would show which mobile operating system had the best performance. Here it is, Mr. Jobs.

Gartner released its Q3 2010 estimates and Symbian retained the top spot as best-selling mobile OS. But to Jobs’ likely dismay, Android has surpassed iOS to become the second most popular operating system among handsets sold in the last three months.

Android has already established itself as the best in the U.S., but not in the rest of the world. Gartner reports that Android accounted for 25.5 percent of global smartphone sales; iOS accounted for 16.7 percent. That’s a complete role reversal from Android’s 3.5 percent during Q3 2009 and iOS’s 17 percent.

Read the full report from Gartner. Here are a couple of cool nuggets from the report.

• Android is the No. 2 global operating system, but it’s No. 1 on Verizon. Gartner estimates that 75 to 80 percent of phones sold on Verizon were Android.
• The Galaxy S line helped Samsung become the second best-performing manufacturer, though that includes non-Android products.
• Other Android-producing companies include Sony Ericsson at No. 6, Motorola at #7, and HTC at #8.

0 iOS 4.2 launching on Friday - Rumor or News ?

 

MacStories.net is reporting that one of their sources working close with AT&T revealed that Apple will release iOS 4.2 on Friday at 10AM PST for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. MacStories is also reporting that tomorrow will see the release of iTunes 10.1 and Mac OS X 10.6.5 via Software Update. Both iTunes 10.1 and Mac OS X 10.6.5 are presumed to be required for the iOS 4.2 update for its AirPlay and AirPrint functionality.

Last week the Gold Master of iOS 4.2 was released to developers and just last night a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.5 was seeded to devs. Apple had previously stated that iOS 4.2 would be released sometime this month.

0 Square card : Now accept Credit cards on the go

 

Remember the Square card reader and payment service from our first hands-on video in January at Macworld Expo 2010? Square makes it possible for anyone, whether an individual or small business, to take payments via credit card. Shortly after Macworld Expo, I signed up for the service; I finally received my free credit card reader yesterday.
The reader is a tiny square box that plugs into the audio port on iOS devices or other smartphones. Rather than using an expensive (usually $75 or more) "sled" reader like those used in Apple's retail stores, Square developed a reader that did not use the dock connector or need the blessing of Apple's "Made For iPhone" certification. These readers have no moving parts and are so inexpensive to manufacture that Square can give them away.
Anyone can sign up for the service and get a free reader. If you want to be able to split a bar tab with friends and have them pay you via credit card, you can get a Square account and reader, and then simply swipe your friends cards to get paid. Square takes 2.75% of the transaction + 15¢ per swipe if you can get your drunk friends to provide their finger-written signatures, and 3.5% + 15¢ if they don't sign. Does that sound like a lot? To an individual, it might, but to small businesses who are used to hefty sign-up fees, monthly account minimums, merchant account fees, and higher percentages, Square is a hell of a deal.

Check out the Aquare card gallery below :

0 The super sized 58" multi touch tablet running via iPhone

The guys behind the iPhone-powered 58-inch multitouch table (think Microsoft Surface) have released a video demonstrating how the system works. Essentially, all you do is hook up your iPhone 4 to the table-top display and away you go. The iPhone 4 display is replicated on the 58-inch screen, and behaves the same way a normal iPhone would (save for the 17x size amplification, of course).

The two guys in the video seem to access the Springboard just fine, they swipe between pages and launch the Photos app. It doesn’t look like a fake, as many readers claimed. The iPhone also seems to be able to output UI elements on that bigger screen just fine.

Check out the video below to get a better impression of how it’s working so far. Although this is just a couple of dudes putting a good idea into effect, it would be awesome if we actually see this hit the market sometime down the road.
Video after the break. Would you be willing to slap down your hard-earned cash for something like this if it’s ever released?

0 Apple iTunes Song previews extended to 90 seconds in US

We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States. We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.

  --says Apple iTunes

Apple has been busy informing music labels that it will be extending the length of the iTunes Store song previews in the US to 90 seconds for songs that are at least 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, while shorter songs will continue to receive the current 30 second samples. It was also mentioned that by continuing to offer their music on the iTunes Store, labels are indicating their acceptance of the new terms while those who do not agree must withdraw their music from the iTunes Store. If you're always complaining that 30 seconds isn't long enough to get into the main part of the song, this is definitely a win for you.

0 Apple's patent allegations over Nokia are groundless say ITC staff

 

The US International Trade Commission kicks off the trial over whether Nokia has violated four Apple patents today, with Apple having requested that Nokia devices be blocked from entering the US.  Still, if we were the Cupertino legal team, we probably wouldn’t be buying crates of celebratory champagne quite yet; according to Bloomberg, the staff of the USITC has said it believes “the evidence will not establish a violation.”

The staff at the USITC acts as a third-party on behalf of the public in cases such as these, though the judge – in this case Charles Bullock – is not under obligation to rule in the same way that the staff are leaning.  Their opinion is that Apple’s patents are either invalid or have not in fact been infringed.
Judge Bullock’s ruling isn’t expected until February 2011, whereupon it will be subject to a further review scheduled to be completed by the end of June.  Meanwhile Nokia’s own case against Apple is expected to begin trial on November 29.

0 Screen issues give a thumbs down to the new Macbook Air

No product launch is ever 100-percent perfect, and it appears Apple’s MacBook Air is the latest to suffer some teething pains.  Some users are reporting visual glitches, display failures and other issues related to the new ultraportable’s screen, with both 11.6- and 13.3-inch versions of the Air experiencing the faults.

Via SlashGear

Apple has apparently been replacing most of the machines with issues, though custom orders have been taking longer since Apple Stores only generally carry the stock configurations.  Since the Air uses soldered RAM, the 4GB upgrade is a common one, and that has been leading to delays in replacements since a straight swap isn’t possible.
The company is yet to comment officially on the issue, and we’re yet to see the problem either on our review unit from Apple or the MacBook Air units that members of the SlashGear team have purchased.  Still, some people aren’t so lucky. Are you one of those ?

0 Apple : No more plans for the white iPhone

Building on yesterday’s story of Apple announcing they wouldn’t be releasing the white iPhone 4 until Spring 2011 comes new rumors that they’ve cancelled the phantom shade indefinitely, and will not be making it available whatsoever.  BGR reports:

According to a previous source of ours, we have been told that Apple in fact has no plans to release the white model iPhone 4.

With all of the mixed reports we’ve been seeing on the white iPhone lately, we don’t know what to believe anymore.  It’s possible that, due to the timeline and events played out so far, Apple may just wait until the iPhone 5 is released in summer 2011 before officially bringing the white iPhone to the table.
What do you think? Will we ever see it? Do you even care anymore?

0 Apple plans 'secret summit' with select iPhone developers ... Now what does secret mean ?

 
Business Insider is reporting that Apple is set to hold a secret iOS developer summit next week. The event apparently begins next Tuesday and will run for three days. While Business Insider doesn't have any firm details yet, they speculate that the purpose of the summit is to improve the quality of apps on iOS devices in order to stave off competition from Google's Android App Store.

The event coincides with the stated sometime-in-November release date of iOS 4.2, which will be available for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. iOS 4.2 will be the first major update to the iPad since its launch in March. It's unknown what developers will be in attendance, but Business Insider speculates that whatever app developers are in attendance, they'll likely get "some extra face time with Apple engineers" and some hands on dev help.

This story is just breaking and we'll get you all the details as they leak out.

0 iPhone app search now on Google mobile

Google has added iPhone app search to their mobile interface. Just tap “more” and the drop down menu now includes “iPhone apps”. A search will display apps with their icons, price, star rating, and part of a review. Tapping on one brings you to that app in the App Store. Basically, Google has provided an alternate way to search for iPhone apps – and it’s good.
Anyone planning to search for iPhone apps with Google instead of the App Store itself?

0 iPhone no more needs a Sim card or carrier activation, its just a App that you need

Is Apple about to take carrier disintermediation to the next level by contracting their own, built-in SIM card for future iPhones? GigaOm thinks so:

Sources inside European carriers have reported that Apple has been working with SIM-card manufacturer Gemalto to create a special SIM card that would allow consumers in Europe to buy a phone via the web or at the Apple Store and get the phones working using Apple’s App Store.

Right now, even with unlocked iPhones and iPads, you still need to get a carrier-specific SIM card. If the SIM were embedded, however, that’s one less carrier interaction to worry about. The entire process could be shifted to the device, much as plan management is already done on the iPad.

The Gemalto SIM, according to my sources, is embedded in a chip that has an upgradeable flash component and a ROM area. The ROM area contains data provided by Gemalto with everything related to IT and network security, except for the carrier-related information. The flash component will receive the carrier related data via a local connection which could be the PC or a dedicated device, so it can be activated on the network. Gemalto will provide the back-end infrastructure that allows service and number provisioning on the carrier network.

Would it present a problem for multi-device power users accustomed to swapping SIMs between iPhone, Android, webOS, and other handsets? Hopefully not. They’d still have to get a SIM from their carrier, same as now. They just wouldn’t have to worry about swapping their iPhone anymore.

0 iPad now available on Verizon and AT&T

As previously announced, Verizon and AT&T have started selling the iPad today. AT&T is selling iPad Wi-Fi + 3G at the standard pricing for both device and data plan. Verizon is offering the wifi-only iPad bundled with their own Verizon MiFi, for more flexible, if less integrated 3G connectivity.
Once again, the bundle prices are:

• 16GB iPad and MiFi – $629.99
• 32GB iPad and MiFi – $729.99
• 64GB iPad and MiFi – $829.99

Data Prices (per/month):

• 1GB – $20
• 3GB – $35
• 5GB – $50

Since the AT&T iPad is pretty much what we’ve had all along, we’re more interested in asking if anyone will be opting instead for a Verizon iPad + MiFi this holiday season?

0 iPad with iOS 4.2 beta 3 jailbroken !!!!

Hackers have had their hands on the iOS 4.2 beta 3 for iPad long enough to jailbreak it. Last night, well-known iOS hacker @iH8sn0w tweeted a picture of an iPad running MobileTerminal, a jailbreak app giving the user full access to the terminal command line interface. From iH8sn0w:

Yay! iPad 4.2 b3 jailbroken — Weird that MobileTerminal runs in simulator

Going along with Apple’s normal beta schedule, it would seem they missed the beta 4 release window this past Tuesday. This could signal that Apple may skip beta 4 altogether and go straight to a GM build sometime next week. (Maybe that’s connected to the stealth developer summit Apple is rumored to be holding in Cupertino next week?)
So what does this all mean? Once Apple releases iOS 4.2 there will likely be a jailbreak available shortly (if not immediately). No need to worry about having to wait before you upgrade to if you’re a dedicated jailbreaker!
Will you be jailbreaking your iPad once 4.2 hits? Let us know in the comments!

0 VLC for iPhone now available on App Store

VLC has been updated as a universal app that now supports iPhone as well as iPad. The update is now available in the iTunes App Store and allows you to:

• Watch natively unsupported videos on your iPhone or iPad (WMV, AVI etc)
• Open natively unsupported video attachments from emails/internet
• Open natively unsupported videos from other apps, like Dropbox

VLC also allows you to sync your favourite videos to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad without having the need to convert them.
Free - iTunes link, thanks to everyone who sent this in!

0 iOS 4.1 to hit September 8th says Apple UK website

Some good news for Apple iPhone lovers , the iOS 4.1 round the corner and from what Apple's UK website states iOS4.1 will be seen as soon as September 8th while the US version still has a "Coming Soon" message , so we know what to do , keep our eyes wide open and lets see if we have some shiny new iPod's for retail that day .