Carrier Threats Lead Apple To Abandon Integrated iPhone SIM Plan

By Jack Loftus on November 22, 2010 at 6:00 AM at Gizmodo

The Telegraph reports today that Apple has scrapped plans for its own brand of SIM card after carriers threatened to stop selling the iPhone. Theoretically, the integrated SIM could have removed carriers from the purchasing process. Sorry consumers!

The carriers were unsurprisingly pleased with themselves following the news:

A senior source at a mobile operator said: “Apple has long been trying to build closer and closer relationships and cut out the operators. But this time they have been sent back to the drawing board with their tails between their legs.”

Nevertheless, rumour has it Apple is still going forward with an integrated SIM card in its next gen iPad. According to an anonymous Telegraph source, these iPads will sport subtle tweaks, like the aforementioned SIM and a redesigned mute button that replaces the locking slider on the side of the tablet.

Another Week, Another iOS 4.2 GM, Still No Public Release Date

Fri, Nov 19, 2010 | by Andy Boxall

This time last week our iPads and iPhones remained frustratingly up-to-date, but we were a tiny bit hopeful they would have the pleasure of welcoming iOS 4.2 onboard during this past week.  But this was not to be, as here we are on Friday with news of another GM build being sent to developers.

The third release has been labeled iOS 4.2.1, but we expect it’ll revert back to plain, old iOS 4.2 when it’s released to the public.  According to comments made over at Tipb.com, this latest build has fixed the Wi-Fi problem reported to have been a major cause of the delay; so providing no other problems are found, it should be a go for everyone else.

The question is when?  The 24th November has been suggested before, but that only leaves a few days of testing before sending the firmware out into the world.  Could Apple now decide to wait until the last day of the month, thus still meeting their own deadline while maximising testing time?

In a way we hope they don’t, but we’d also like to be sure the firmware is stable when we install it.  It’s back to the waiting game, then!

Keyboard Buddy iPhone 4 Case Offers Slide-out Keyboard

by PatrickJ on November 20th, 2010 on iSource

Here’s an iPhone accessory that made me do a double-take when I first saw it. It’s the Keyboard Buddy Case for the iPhone 4, from Boxwave. Here’s a little background on it, via its page at the Boxwave site:

Clean and modern, the Keyboard Buddy Case appears to simply be a protective case when the keyboard is not in use. Combining ergonomic technology with sleek aesthetics, the Keyboard Buddy Case is a protective backing for your Apple iPhone 4 that also includes an integrated slide-out Bluetooth keyboard. The low-profile keyboard slides out smoothly, allowing you to easily transition between the Apple iPhone 4’s touch screen and a physical keyboard.
At BoxWave, we believe in adding to the functionality of your device, not just simply maintaining it. With the Keyboard Buddy Case, rest easy knowing that the best of both worlds is at your fingertips.

I imagine this one will be a very tough sell to most iPhone users. I know I’ve become used to and more than happy with the virtual keyboard over the years of iPhone use. The fact that it uses Bluetooth is also a big minus for me, given the battery life implications.

If this is the missing piece you’ve been waiting for on your iPhone 4, you can pick one up at Boxwave for $69.95:

http://www.boxwave.com/products/keyboardbuddycase/apple-iphone-4-keyboard-buddy-case_3968.htm

What do you all think? Do you need / want a slide-out keyboard for your iPhone?

Spotted via: Macgasm

Apple Releases New iPhone 4 Ad: ‘Longer’

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday November 17, 2010 10:54 AM on MacRumours

Earlier this week, Apple released a new television commercial for the iPhone 4 entitled “Longer”, highlighting the device’s battery life.

This is the iPhone 4. Its lithium-polymer battery lets you work longer, play longer, laugh longer, listen longer, shoot, edit, share, update, download, read, write, and even FaceTime longer. All on the world’s thinnest smartphone – the iPhone 4.

The commercial is also featured in Apple’s iPhone 4 ad gallery.

Apple released a similar feature-specific commercial last month focusing on the iPhone 4′s high-resolution Retina display.

‘Twitter’ for iPhone Gains Push Notifications

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday November 17, 2010 01:26 PM on MacRumours

Twitter yesterday updated its official application for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, bringing push notifications to the iPhone version for the first time. The update also delivers several fixes to the iPhone version while offering improvements and fixes for the iPad version.

What’s new

iPhone:
- Push notifications for @mentions and messages
- Improved display of shortened URLs
- Correctly load reserved Twitter.com paths, such as http://twitter.com/newtwitter
- Fix connection error caused by a device clock being set incorrectly
- Additional retina graphics
- Enable geotagging in your account with one tap
- fix itunes links

iPad:
- Inline media
- Manage saved searches
- UI improvements

Twitter began life as the third-party Tweetie application, but was acquired by Twitter and rebranded back in May. The application became universal in early September with the addition of a native iPad version.

Apple to Offer Free MobileMe Service to Some iOS Users?

posted by Eric Slivka on Friday November 19, 2010 10:40 PM on MacRumours

Earlier this month, it was noted that the original golden master version of iOS 4.2 appeared to be preparing to allow users to sign in to MobileMe using their Apple IDs and even offer users the ability create a free Apple ID right from the MobileMe settings page in iOS. At the time, we cautioned about reading too much into the change but speculated that Apple could be looking at bringing some of the features of the paid MobileMe service to a new free offering tied to users’ Apple IDs. At a minimum, it appeared that Apple was looking to create a consolidated login to allow MobileMe users to access features with their Apple IDs.

New evidence uncovered in recent iOS 4.2 builds and the iOS 4.2.1 golden master seed is suggesting, however, that Apple will be offering a free MobileMe tier to users. The evidence comes in the form of a new private framework known as AppleAccounts.framework that includes a series of device-specific error messages referring to free MobileMe accounts. In particular, the error messages include alerts regarding having reached “the maximum number of free accounts” for a given device and certain devices not being “qualified for free MobileMe service”.

The framework has been localized for dozens of languages and countries, and is not present in the currently-shipping iOS 4.1. Meanwhile, an error message in another part of iOS suggests that free accounts may be used for features other than email, as an error message specifically restricts certain Apple IDs from being used with MobileMe Mail:

“This Apple ID cannot be used for MobileMe Mail, but you can use it for other MobileMe services.”

Other MobileMe iPhone services include Find My iPhone, iDisk, Contact/Calendar/Safari/Notes over-the-air sync, and Photo Galleries.

This might fit nicely with a previously unconfirmed rumor that Apple would begin offering MobileMe syncing services for free. Over-the-air syncing has been an area where iOS has lagged in comparison to Google’s Android operating system.