Apple, this morning announced that there are 100 million iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices that are using the latest version of its iOS – version 6, that was released last week. That is an incredible uptake, especially when compared to the previous version iOS 5.0. Read more »
Cloud-based storage and cross-device syncing of media content are two of the most competitive areas in consumer IT. Apple, Google and Amazon see cloud-based media services both as a way to increase attachment to their platforms and a means to extend and amplify their broader strategic goals. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Custom ringtones are great for knowing who’s calling, but those of us whose phones are on vibrate get left out of that party. One of the less advertised features of iOS 5 is the ability to to assign custom vibration patterns to individual callers. Here’s how. Read more »
One of the jailbreak features I really wish would come to the platform legitimately is the ability to use launchers to quickly start an app without digging through multiple home screens. Luckily, you can mimic the behavior of a quick launcher with iOS 5′s Notification Centre. Read more »
Apple admitted on Thursday it has used and supported in the past CarrierIQ software, but it says it hasn’t used it for tracking keystrokes or messages. The company says it stopped supporting this software “in most” of its products with iOS 5. Read more »
We’ve heard about and been excited by the possibility of iMessage coming to the OS X desktop, but there are hints that the Mac’s iChat application could jump the other way and become part of Apple’s Messages app on iOS devices. Read more »
After many users reported still seeing problems with battery life under iOS 5.0.1, a release intended to fix said issues, Apple has issued a short statement addressing remaining concerns. The statement, made to AllThingsD, says that Apple will “continue to investigate” remaining problems. Read more »
Apple released iOS 5.0.1 on Thursday after a remarkably short beta testing period. But was the release too expedited? A number of complaints from iOS 5 device owners on the Apple Support Discussion forums suggest that could be the case. Read more »
Three weeks after iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S debuted, Apple has released a software update intended to reign in oft-reported problems related to battery life and some other software issues. On Thursday Apple started to make iOS 5.0.1 available to users. Read more »
It’s no secret now that Apple is working hard on getting a fix for iOS 5 battery issues out the door. But battery life isn’t the only problem new iPhone 4S owners are having with their devices. Here are three other common complaints. Read more »
The team behind TRVL, a free iPad-exclusive digital travel magazine, was very excited about the prospect of Newsstand; after all, recent numbers show that some publishers are seeing their products reach as many as 268 percent more subscribers. But there’s a problem: Newsstand doesn’t do free. Read more »
Many have been hoping that Apple plans to bring Siri to other existing iOS devices besides the iPhone 4S, and recent rumors suggested that could indeed be in the works. But a new report indicates that probably isn’t the case, at least not right now. Read more »
Apple had previously released iOS 5.0.1 to developers for beta testing, but as of Tuesday, a report claims it is now extending that testing pool to include some ordinary end users, too. 9t05Mac received an invitation to download the pre-release software through Apple’s software seed program. Read more »
Apple is apparently trying out Siri on iOS 5 devices, according to reports circulating this past weekend. But how likely is it that those of us who aren’t Apple engineers will ever get to use the personal assistant on anything other than an iPhone 4S? Read more »
Siri went down on Thursday for its first extended outage — around five hours, according to most counts. Five hours is hardly three days (like another noteworthy recent mobile service blackout), but the reaction of media and users show Apple’s personal assistant is making its presence felt. Read more »
On Wednesday, Yahoo released its Livestand app, which combines aspects of apps like Flipboard and Zite with the digital magazine rack concept of Apple’s Newsstand. I took the app through its paces to see how the hybrid approach holds up in the face of the competition. Read more »
Apple said in a short statement Wednesday to AllThingsD that it has found iOS 5 bugs responsible for battery issues experienced by many iPhone 4S (and other device) owners, and will issue “a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks.” Read more »
iMessage, the new free messaging service introduced in iOS 5, is easy to set up, but group messaging can be a bit harder to work out straight away. There are a couple of limitations to know about, but generally, group messages work really well with iMessage. Read more »
Apple launched a new page today that announces the Tech Talk World Tour 2011 for iOS 5. These developer-focused events haven’t been put on by Apple since 2009, before the introduction of the iPad. Apple previously held Tech Talk World Tours in 2008 and 2009. Read more »
I’ve had voice-powered features on my phone for nearly a decade now, but I seldom if ever used them until Siri on the iPhone 4S. Now, I can’t stop. What is it about Apple’s new “personal assistant” that makes doing what seemed wrong feel so right? Read more »
While Apple delivered an overwhelming batch of updates, new features and new software in recent weeks, there are still some loose ends it could stand to tie up. Read on to discover why features like iMessage, Siri and AirPlay mirroring still feel somewhat incomplete. Read more »
A newly revealed anecdote suggests just how dedicated Steve Jobs was to Apple. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son attended the iPhone 4S announcement event, and learned from Tim Cook that Jobs wanted to talk to the new Apple CEO about the company’s “next product” that very day. Read more »
The uptake of the iOS 5 update for Apple customers was fast and far-reaching. But what did that look like to the ISPs who provide the bandwidth for Apple customers to update? Here’s a chart that shows what Sonic.net saw. Read more »
With the arrival of iCloud backups we are free from needing to attach your iOS device to iTunes to have it backed up. Gone are the annoying delays when you just want to sync something quick, but need to suffer through “Backing up…” first. Read more »
Apple launched iOS 5 last week, which introduced Newsstand. Early reports and the tale told by App Store charts suggest Newsstand could be Apple’s smartest move in terms of demonstrating the value of its in-app subscription service and growing its digital magazine sales. Read more »
Twitter has only just begun to see the effects of its integration with Apple’s iOS 5 operating system. But just days after iOS 5′s debut last week, Twitter’s CEO says it has already started to see a big lift from the partnership. Read more »
Apple revealed Monday that iOS 5 was already being used by 25 million iOS device owners, and now an upcoming Localytics study finds that 1 in 3 devices capable of running iOS 5 are already doing so, not even a week after its release. Read more »
New hardware helped Apple sell 4 million iPhone 4S handsets over the weekend, but Siri, the personal assistant software, may be the most groundbreaking aspect. Here’s a closer look at the difference in voice command and intelligence between the two largest mobile platforms: iOS and Android. Read more »
A common theme of questions I’m seeing about iOS 5 relates to how the update plays well with shared family devices and Apple ID accounts. People obviously love using iOS among family, and that will probably only become more the case with iOS 5 and iCloud. Read more »
Join Matt and Kevin for hands on thoughts of the new iPhone 4S, iOS 5 and Siri, Apple’s new personal assistant. We even ask Siri which is the best mobile phone; the answer is typical Apple. Plus first impressions of Nokia’s N9 smartphone with MeeGo. Read more »
Before iOS 5, getting auto-correct to ignore strange or unfamiliar words was difficult and tedious. Now, however, there’s an easy way to not only add terms to the auto-correct dictionary, but also to create handy shortcuts for quickly typing out commonly-used phrases. Read more »
One big advantage of iOS 5 is the ability to use it independently of a Mac or PC. Here’s how to cut the cord if you’d rather your mobile devices and traditional computers live separate (but connected) lives. Read more »
When I wrote about Documents in the Cloud, one of my chief complaints was that the only way to upload and download files on my Mac was through the iCloud web interface. Turns out there is a way, thanks to an easy backdoor trick I discovered. Read more »
Configuring your iOS device to take advantage of new iCloud services is resulting in confusion and frustration for many. At the core of this confusion is the Apple ID. Here’s a thorough explanation of your options using Apple IDs with the iTunes Store, and with iCloud. Read more »
Despite appearances to the contrary, the new Newsstand app in iOS 5 can in fact be stored away in a folder with some easy trickery, and without the need to jailbreak.Very useful if you don’t use it and don’t want it cluttering up your home screen. Read more »
Thursday, I guest-hosted a live Q&A session at The Washington Post. The topic was upgrading to iOS 5, and also included questions about how iOS 5 and iCloud work, what features they offer, and how to transition to iCloud from other services. Read more »
Of all the iOS 5/iCloud announcements made during this summer’s WWDC, the one that excited me the most was Documents in the Cloud. Unfortunately, it’s also turned into the one that disappointed me the most at launch, thanks to a number of issues. Read more »
With iCloud, Apple introduced Photo Stream, a new feature that automatically syncs your photos across iOS devices, Macs and Windows computers. It makes transferring photos absolutely painless, but comes with one big caveat: Synced photos can’t be deleted from iCloud as of right now. Read more »
It’s happening again: three years after myriad problems derailed a massive relaunch of an Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Web service, Apple’s servers we… Read more at paidContent »
Sure, there are plenty of new features with iOS 5, but at what cost? Sometimes, the cost for software updates comes in the form of degraded performance of day-to-day core features that you may depend upon. Let’s see if that’s the case with iOS 5. Read more »
