Phone Tips : 2015

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Apples Bluetooth based wireless hotspot tech prime candidate for iWatch

In its application for "Network access using short-range connectability," Apple proposes a method by which a device can connect to, and share a network with, a second device via low-power communications, such as Bluetooth.

Source: USPTO

Specifically mentioned in the document is a primary device that has the ability to establish a connection with a remote network, but may not have a built-in radio transceiver, as would a smartphone. A second device, which has such a radio, is paired to the first and can provide the necessary communications access by allowing the first device to pair and share data over protocols such as Bluetooth. This also lets the primary unit stay in a low-power state, thereby increasing battery life.

The invention works much like existing Bluetooth tech. A supporting device, such as an iPhone, can broadcast a signal, advertising the availability of its shared network to other electronics within range. In turn, the device without a cellular radio can send a request to pair with the host, asking that its network sharing be activated. Pairing takes place when the supporting machine activates the shared network and begins sending data to the first device. All this is done without user intervention.

Apple intends for the hotspot pairing to be brief, leaving enough time to obtain push notifications, messages, emails, news and other Web-based assets. In one embodiment, the first device establishes or re-establishes a connection with a remote cloud server, like iCloud, for various updates. Once this task is complete, the shared connection is severed by the host device, allowing both units to return to a low-power sleep mode.

From the filings description:

In this manner, users can leverage their mobile radio communication devices, such as their cell phones, to provide network access to their other devices without having to manually enable such connections. In turn, the other devices can benefit from the network access while remaining in low-power mode during a short-range connection that uses a low-power enabled connection.

Although the invention makes no mention of a watch, the techs low-power data transfer capabilities are in line with features some speculate will be incorporated into the so-called "iWatch." For example, the wearable device may rely on another iDevice for heavy computation and other power-hungry operations via Bluetooth, making it somewhat of a "headless" product. This idea was first seen in an Apple patent application published earlier this year.

It should be noted, however, that other industry watchers see Apple building in Wi-Fi connectivity and possibly high-functioning components like GPS modules. Alternatively, the purported watch may use the above described technology as means of power savings, while still sporting Wi-Fi and other advanced communications hardware.

The most recent iWatch rumors point to the inclusion of a low-energy, flexible OLED display manufactured by LG, though specifics are scarce as usual.

Apples short-range communications patent application was filed for in March and credits Daniel Borges, Michael Jason Giles, and Michael Larson as its inventors. The invention first passed the USPTOs desk as a provisional patent application in 2012.

Data source: via AppleInsider (By Mikey Campbell)

Image source: TC

Endorsed by Tim Cook at WWDC Anki Drive likely to launch this month

With Apple CEO Tim Cook’s endorsement, Anki, a company with artificial intelligence and robots-based products, debuted Anki Drive at WWDC earlier this year.

Anki Drive is a car game for iOS that connects to physical cars. The app is currently available via the App Store while the cars and mat system will be available via retail channels…

The demo from Apple’s 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference can be seen above. At the event, the creators of the product said that it would ship this fall. Today, we’ve learned that the company plans to make Anki Drive available in both Apple Retail Stores and Apple’s Online Store as soon as this month.

Of course, the debut could be delayed for several reasons, but October is the current launch plan. A spokesperson for Anki

Data source: via 9To5Mac (By Mark Gurman)

The 10 best new photography features in iOS 7

One major reason—maybe the reason—to snap up iOS 7 is the new photographic capabilities built into the Camera and Photos apps. The new features expand the range of photos you can take, and most are accessible and easy to use.

iOS 7 works on the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, and the fifth-generation iPod touch, though you’ll see some variation in features depending on the model you have.

Shooting

1. The Camera app’s new vision: Apple completely overhauled the Camera app’s interface in iOS 7, giving it a different look, feel, and style of operation, with slick performance throughout. Using the text-based swipe interface is much easier than poking at tiny buttons, as in previous versions, and it lets you access the different camera types much more quickly and easily. Just swipe to the Photo camera and tap, and you have a picture. Do it again, and you have a video, a square image, a panorama, or (if you have the iPhone 5s) a slow-motion video.

Slo-mo (iPhone 5s only) and Square are the new cameras added to the revamped Camera app.

2. Slo-mo camera: Slow-motion videos play back to the viewer at a speed slower than the one they were shot at—we’ve all seen sports video replays where the action is slowed dramatically so you can get a better view of a brilliant play. With the iPhone 5s (but not with any other iPhone), iOS 7 lets you use one of the built-in video cameras to shoot a video and then choose which parts to slow down. Designed to capture quick-action shots, the camera shoots at 120 frames per second, but you can use built-in software to slow down the playback at the points you choose while keeping the rest at “normal” speed.

Slo-mo video shoots at 120 fps, but you can later trim the video and choose the precise portions that should be slow.

3. Bursting at the seams: Nothing is simpler or more useful than the new Camera’s burst mode. Burst mode functions here just the way it does on your DSLR. You hold down the shutter button, and the camera captures 10 frames per second. It’s a great way to catch fast, full-resolution action without having to shoot a video.

Burst mode lets you take many images in sequence to capture just the right instant.

4. It’s hip to be square: The new Square camera is Apple’s answer to the Instagram-style cam that has become ubiquitous since Instagram arrived on the scene and square photos became uber-cool to a generation born too late for the original Polaroid era. With iOS 7 anyone can take a square photo—with or without the obligatory filter. For some snapshooters, that capability may be enough to entice them away from Instagram altogether.

Organizing and sharing

5. A photo finish: Apple overhauled and simplified the Photos app’s interface, with three major panes: Photos, Shared, and Albums. Within Photos, the Years block shows what looks like a computer-generated collage, except that it consists of each photo you took with or synced to your phone. Each year shows up as its own block, with a general location. This looks extremely cool, but it takes a little getting used to and would benefit from some refinement. If you tap a block lightly, you get a thumbnail of the image you’re touching—but because the thumbnails are so tiny, it’s difficult to aim precisely. Thankfully, tapping inside the Years block breaks it out into larger, more usable thumbnail sets called Collections, each labeled with date and location. Tap again and you get the precise image or Moment you want to see. From there you can edit or share your picture.

The Years pane takes some getting used to. You can tap to see a

larger thumbnail of a particular photo, but its hard to aim.

6. Filter finesse: About 100 million photo filters, available from countless iOS apps, will give you any special effect you choose. So you might say it’s about time Apple got on the filter bandwagon (or you might say “why bother?”). Apple provides only eight filters—three of them monochromatic—but they’re arguably the ones whose effects photographers use most often, and some might even improve on auto-enhance button. If you’re the kind of iPhoneographer who tends to default to the native camera, Apple’s new filters will give you yet another reason not to leave the app.

Built-in filters give you three monochrome settings and five popular camera-based
variations to apply before or after taking your shot.

7. Map this: When you’re constantly snapping images, remembering where you took each shot in the Camera Roll becomes a chore. Although iOS 6 did have a photo mapper, that mapper wasn’t nearly as specific as the new Collections feature. Collections sorts through all your photos and organizes them by date and location. When you tap the location, it automatically moves you to the map.

Tap the location in a Collection or Moment, and it will automatically map your image set.

8. Better albums: The Albums pane is more granular than in the past, but in a good way. The Photos software separates your panoramas and videos from the rest of the images on your Camera Roll, making them easier to find in a hurry, but retaining them in your main Camera Roll with all your other images.

Global controls

9. Control Center launch: iOS 7 gives you a new, super-quick way to launch the Camera app and to access the Camera Roll: the new Control Center. Unlock the phone, swipe up to access Control Center, and tap the camera icon. That’s even easier than searching for the Camera app’s icon on your home screen.

Swipe up, tap the camera icon at bottom right,

and shoot. What could be faster?

10. Shared streams: iCloud has always let you stream photos, but now you can have a shared photo stream that selected people can contribute to and comment on. It’s still limited to the most recent 1000 images uploaded, but you can restrict who has access to or can comment on your photos. This feature is especially useful for sharing a group activity—letting multiple people add shots to the shared photo stream can lend various perspectives to the same event.

Data source: via Macworld (By Jackie Dove)

Apples smart dock would give Siri a permanent place in the home

Apples "Smart dock for activating a voice recognition mode of a portable electronic device" filing clearly describes an iOS device accessory unlike anything the company has manufactured.

Like third-party peripherals, Apples proposed dock can include a speaker, microphone and built-in screen, but goes further by allowing access to the Siri virtual assistant.

Source: USPTO

Currently, Apples only docking solutions for both the iPhone and iPad are limited to charging and line-out audio. In contrast, the proposed dock would have a screen, tactile controls or a touch panel with which a user can interface. Other embodiments include a scroll wheel, buttons and other manual controls.

Instead of carrying Siri onboard, the dock would be mostly headless until an iPhone or iPad was operatively coupled to the unit. Basic functionality like a clock and radio are provided, but voice recognition and heavy processing are accomplished by the iOS device.

Basically, the dock listens for a specific prompt, recognizes an activation request by the user, relays commands to the docked iPhone and executes any operations returned by the device. Examples could be playing a song or facilitating communication between the user and Siri.

In operation, a user would perform an initial setup that would include assigning an audio prompt, such as a spoken word or hand clap, that will be used to activate the unit and its services. For example, a user may want to set the prompt as a finger snap. When in listening mode, if the dock "hears" a finger snap, it will activate the iPhones voice recognition feature.

By setting listening thresholds, the dock can selectively filter out ambient noise while still allowing a user to operate their device remotely using only audio cues. Since the system relies primarily on audio input, an effective limiter must be implemented to ignore responses by Siri. In these scenarios, the dock would deactivate listening mode during voice recognition operations.

Internal components include a wireless communications module for accessing off-site databases and Internet assets like webpages or cloud storage. If, for example, a user wanted to change their schedule for the day, they could initiate Siri via the always-listening dock and modify a calendar stored in iCloud.

In addition to the built-in hardware, the dock can also be fitted with add-ons like a removable hard drive, environmental sensors, a GPS module and more. Some embodiments allow for the dock and iOS device to be paired but uncoupled, meaning the dock would transform into a sort of smart wireless speaker system.

Finally, users can force the dock to deactivate Siri by issuing a verbal command or other audio input. Alternatively, the dock itself can time out Siri voice recognition and put the iOS device to sleep after a predetermined time period. There is also a provision for wireless inductive charging.

Apples smart dock patent application was first filed for in May 2012 and credits Scott Krueger, Jesse Dorogusker and Erik Wang as its inventors.

Data source: via AppleInsider (By Mikey Campbell)
Image source: TC

Fine you can have a physical keyboard on your iPhone

Remember back when all the iPhone naysayers cried "Fail!" because the device lacked a physical keyboard? They were wrong, but the Typo Keyboard Case is a glimpse at what those sad souls apparently wanted. Adding a full qwerty keyboard to the bottom of the phone, the Typo connects via Bluetooth, features backlit keys and can be recharged within one hour.

The device is currently available for pre-order, so we havent gotten a chance to go hands-on with one, but from a design perspective, the Typo seems like a mixed bag. If youre curious about where the Home Button went -- which was my first concern upon seeing the keyboard placement -- it has been relocated to the bottom-right of the keyboard itself, which means no more Touch ID functionality. Bummer.

Still, if youve been searching for physical keys on your iPhone for the past five years, US$99 will make that dream come true, starting in January 2014.

Data source: via TUAW (By Mike Wehner)
Origine source: Typokeyboards

Analyst predicts two iPhone releases per year after meeting with Apples CEO CFO

In a Wednesday note to investors, Morgan Stanley Apple watcher Katy Huberty called the iPhone line divergence "a thoughtful approach" following conversations with Cook and Apples Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer. Huberty believes Apple is now primed for "multiple refreshes per year" of the popular device, akin to the twin launches of iPad 3 and iPad 4 in 2012.

As the iPhone and iPad demand increasingly larger portions of Apples resources and attention, the companys product cycle strategy does appear to be shifting. Apples traditionally iPod-focused September event, for instance, now revolves around the iPhone, while the music players have not received any notable updates in 2013.

Huberty also sees services growing into a more prominent profit driver for Cupertino. She cites the potential advantages of integrating Apples nearly 600 million "high-end" customer accounts, most linked to credit cards, with new hardware like the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to create "new services revenue streams."

The majority of Apples existing service offerings are available for free or for relatively low cost. iTunes Match, for example, which stores a users entire music collection in Apples datacenters and allows for downloading and streaming that music to any of the users devices, costs just $25 per year.

Many believe that Apple is in the early stages of a strategy that would use Touch ID alongside iOS 7s Bluetooth-based iBeacons functionality to create a new mobile payment system. Such a system, if implemented, could be a significant revenue source for Apple thanks to the size of the iOS device installed base alone.

Data source: via AppleInsider (By Shane Cole)

Beyond Siri Dictation tricks for the iPhone and iPad

You’re probably familiar with using Siri to make calls on your iPhone, as well as to open apps on your iOS device, get information, and set up appointments.
But you may be less familiar with iOS’s other dictation feature, the one that lets you talk to your iOS device while it converts your words into text.

I’ve long used dictation on my iPhone, because I have fat thumbs and find the keyboard too slow to use. As long as I’m in a not-too-noisy environment, it works quite well. I have to make corrections at times, but I can dictate long emails, short text messages, and even use dictation to enter search terms in Safari or to enter text in text fields on webpages. Better still, in my early tests, dictation in iOS 7 seems much more accurate. Here’s how you can use dictation on an iOS device and save a lot of time typing.

Turn on dictation

First, you need to make sure dictation is turned on. To do this, go to Settings > General > Siri, and then turn Siri on. Even if you don’t want to use Siri’s personal assistant features, you need to turn it on for speech recognition to work. You can choose which language you’re using here, which is especially useful if you speak with an accent. I live in the United Kingdom, but since I’m American, I set the language in Siri’s preferences to English (United States). However, I set my Region settings to reflect UK dates and times. (Tap General and then International).

Dictate anywhere…almost

You can dictate anywhere in iOS where you can enter text. For example, you can compose emails, dictate texts, and even dictate search terms in Safari’s search field. Any time you see the small microphone icon next to the spacebar on the iOS keyboard, dictation is available. Just tap anyplace you can type text, and then tap the microphone icon to start dictating. When you’re finished, tap Done and then wait for your words to be processed. It can take a few seconds for text to appear.

Whenever you see the microphone icon (circled), you have the opportunity to dictate.

Stay in the zone: If you’re using iOS 7, when you begin talking, you’ll see a feedback pane with a wavering line showing the volume of your speech. The louder you speaker, the greater the amplitude of the wave. (If you’re using iOS 6, or youre using an app that hasnt been updated for iOS 7, you’ll see a microphone; as you speak, the microphone will fill with purple light.)

When you begin talking, you’ll see a feedback pane with a wavering line showing the volume of your speech. The louder you speaker, the wider the wave.

Talk into the microphone: You don’t need to speak very loudly; but you should keep your iPhone close to your mouth, especially if you’re outdoors. There are two microphones at the bottom of the iPhone, and a single microphone on iPads, located at the top of the device. It’s not easy to speak directly into the iPad mic while looking at the screen. Speak into the tiny hole at the top of your tablet.

You’ll find dictation in noisy environments works much better with an iPhone, because it’s easier to speak close to the microphone. The iPhone also has a noise-canceling mic, which filters out background noises. You might find that the Apple earbuds that come with an iPhone—which have an inline mic—offer better speech recognition, as do third-party headphones with mics, as long as you hold them fairly close to your mouth.

Dictate when connected to Wi-Fi: Dictation to an iOS device requires that your voice be sent to a server, where it is recognized and transcribed, and then sent back to your iOS device. For this reason, dictating to an iOS device works best when you’re using Wi-Fi; it also works well with a 3G connection; but anything slower is hit or miss, in my experience.

Dictate efficiently

If you’re familiar with dictating into software such as Nuance Software’s $160 Dragon Dictate, you already have an idea of how to dictate into an iPhone or iPad. But some desktop techniques don’t work. Here are a few tips to make dictation more efficient.

Speak clearly: You don’t need to speak especially slowly, but speaking too quickly will lead to errors. The general idea is to talk like a newscaster: Enunciate, but don’t exaggerate.

Don’t say too much: Your voice has to be sent to a remote server, so keep your dictation segments under 30 seconds. (Longer than that might be too much for a 3G connection.)

Take advantage of autocorrect: While you can’t correct mistakes in iOS dictation by voice, you will occasionally see words that iOS thinks might be incorrect. They appear with dotted blue lines underneath them. Tap an underlined word or phrase, and you’ll see one or more options you can choose from.

Make a mistake? If you tap a word underlined in blue, iOS will offer suggestions.

Speak punctuation and symbols: To include punctuation in your dictation, you need to say “comma,” “period,” “hyphen,” and so on. Watch out for language differences. For instance, if you’re using British English, you need to say “full stop” instead of “period.”

You can say “new line” to dictate a return character, and “new paragraph” to add two returns. You say “apostrophe” for a possessive noun, such as “Jerry Garcia apostrophe guitar,” for Jerry Garcia’s guitar.

You’ll also say things like “dollar sign,” “euro sign,” and “pound sterling sign” to get type the corresponding symbols.

When you want to capitalize a word, say “cap.” If you’re sending a message to someone about a movie preference, for example, you might say “I’d like to watch cap lord of the cap rings.”

Use acronyms with care: You can dictate some acronyms, but not all. You’ll find over time which ones work and which don’t. When spelling acronyms, make sure to pause between letters just enough for them to be discrete.

If you need to include an acronym in your dictation, give it a try. Often iOS will understand what you’re saying as long as you pause slightly between letters.

Add emoticons: Do you want to type smileys? It’s easier to dictate them than to switch to the number keyboard. Just say “smiley,” “winky,” or “frowny,” for :-) , ;-) , or :-( .

Proofread what you dictate: While some errors will be obvious, and other misinterpretations may have blue dotted lines highlighting them, there will be typos—or, more correctly, speech-os.

As you get used to dictating into your iPhone or iPad, you’ll figure out the right cadence and volume to get the most precise recognition. If you need to type a lot on an iOS device, try using dictation. Whether you use it for text messages or emails, it may save you a lot of time.

Data source: via Macworld (By Kirk McElhearn)

RoomScan Get your Room Area Just by Tapping your iPhone on the Walls Video

To measure the area of your room floor that may take some time, especially if the shape of the room is not equilateral, and measurement process may become troublesome in the absence of the assitance.

With a RoomScan app it takes just seconds all you have to do is walk around and tap the iPhone on the walls to get the floor plans on your device.

There are two version of the RoomScan, you can measure a single rooms with free version, and this is good to experience the program and its effectiveness, and the extent of reliance upon it. While the Pro version is avialable with more advanced features.

• The floor plan appears in seconds, with approximate wall lengths and floor area.

• RoomScan can draw floor plans of L-shaped and complex rooms just as easily as small rectangular rooms.

• Measurements are estimated to the nearest 10cm (or half a foot if using feet).

• For super-accurate instant floor plans, use RoomScan in conjunction with a laser measure. Just tap a wall on the finished floor plan and input your measurement. RoomScan intelligently combines its own measurements with yours to create a perfect plan.

• Add doors as you walk around the room - no need to "drag and drop" them on later (RoomScan Pro only).

• Rooms are automatically connected together to create a plan of the whole floor (RoomScan Pro only).

• Choose your own custom floor plan colours (RoomScan Pro only).

• Measurements are available in metric, feet & inches and East Asian units (坪 / つぼ / 평).

RoomScan guides you through the voice in what to do, if it feels doesnt have accurate data it will ask you to repeat the process again.

To get started with RommScan as mentioned, just touch your iPhone to any wall wait for the beep, and move to next wall and so on. When you have touched all the walls, go back and touch your original wall, then tap the finish button. RoomScan then "draws a reasonably accurate floor plan".

RoomScan also works on the iPad, with an optimised interface for the bigger screen.

To review and download RoomScan on the App Store click here.

Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Free Apss
Category: Utilities
Updated: Mar 13, 2014
Version: 4.1.1
Size: 7.7 MB

Read also:

Accurate Laser Measurement Gadget Right On Your iPhone

Optrix, The Rugged, Underwater iPhone 5 Case For Photographers

Data source: via TUAW

Strong demand of Apples iPhone 5 series driving an anti fragmentation of iOS

Data from Web ad network Chitika tracking the source of mobile web requests in North America indicates what the company called "a "remarkable
achievement" and represents a "significant impact on the iPhone ecosystem," with "obvious implications for mobile application and Web developers in terms of compatibility and functionality issues, but also for the technology industry as a whole."

While Apple is already known to have a growing percentage of smartphone sales (via Kantar) and subscribers (via comScore) in North America, the premium route buyers are taking to arrive on iOS is also newsworthy.

While Apple had made its latest iOS 7 software available to devices dating back to the iPhone 4 released in 2010, users are aggressively upgrading in large numbers to Apples newest hardware. The majority of new iPhones sold last year were iPhone 5. That trend is continuing even faster now that Apple sells two iPhone 5 models, representing an increasing percentage of the iPhone installed base with a high-end model.

Just last month, Chitika saw 36.5 percent of North American iPhone web traffic originating from the iPhone 5. In three weeks, that figure has jumped by more than ten percent. As the trend continues, the firm notes that within a few months, "Apple will have a plurality, and possibly a majority, of its iPhone customer base using a device less than one and a half years old."

The company observed, "Should this occur, it would be a remarkable achievement, especially for an industry player as large as Apple."

Down on Fragle Roid

In stark contrast, Androids growth, primarily through its leading licensee Samsung, was won through shipments of large volumes of low end, budget-priced devices equipped with old versions of Googles OS. Sales of higher end, iPhone-class smartphones, such as the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, have fallen significantly below expectations.

Thats perpetuating fragmentation on the Android platform, most obviously in software. Developers have little incentive to take advantage of new features and must write for the lowest common denominator to reach a wide installed base of users, as even relatively new phones often ship with an old OS and rarely get software upgrades.

However, Androids fragmentation is also rooted in hardware, because low end, volume shipments are distributing outdated devices that are not only unreliable and frustratingly laggy, but also cut corners with weak graphics, slow processors, limited memory and other design shortcuts that make it difficult to develop apps and games that work well across the platform.

Google has acknowledged and pointedly sought to address Androids fragmentation problems for more than two years. Despite those efforts, the ACLU issued a complaint with the FCC this year describing how Androids fragmentation was exposing users to significant privacy risks.

Research firm Flurry also documented how Androids fragmentation makes things difficult for developers, particularly smaller independent programmers seeking to get started.

"This further clarifies why developer support for iOS is disproportionate to iOSs share of the installed device space," wrote the companys Dr. Mary Ellen Gordon. "Developers can reach more active devices by developing for a smaller number of device models on iOS and they can also capture the attention of very active users."

Analysts have repeatedly voiced expectations that Androids volumes would eventually attract developers attention away from iOS, but that isnt happening.

Analysts have repeatedly voiced expectations that Androids volumes would eventually attract developers attention away from iOS, but that isnt happening due to the market barriers and risks involved with Androids fragmented platform.

A Schmidt-load of failed predictions

Two years ago, Googles chairman Eric Schmidt predicted that within six months, developers would be targeting Android first instead of iOS, and said they would be taking advantage of features in the newly released Android 4.0.

That didnt happen. Instead, two years later just two-thirds of the installed base of active Google Play users are even running a variant of Android 4.0, and few developers are taking any special advantage of its features. Most apps are aimed at running on Android 2.x devices, from the paleolithic era of Apples iOS 3.0.

Schmidt made similarly hollow predictions about widespread adoption of Google TV and more recently insisted that Android is "more secure than the iPhone," a remark that was met by laughter during a Gartner Symposium earlier this month.

Data source: AppleInsider (By Daniel Eran Dilger)

Apple Stores to soon offer iPhone 5s 5c screen replacements other repairs

Apple is gearing up to soon begin hardware repairs for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in its chain of retail stores, according to sources with knowledge of the upcoming initiative. These sources say that Apple Stores will be able to replace several parts of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on-site, meaning that Apple will no-longer need to fully replace iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units with damage or other problems…

The sources say that Apple will be providing its stores with special machinery to replace the touchscreens on both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. These machines will be used specifically to calibrate the displays. The screen replacements cost $149 for each device, and this price point is significantly more affordable than the several-hundred dollars required to completely replace a device with a damaged/cracked screen.

In addition to displays, Apple will have the capability to replace the volume buttons, vibrating motor, rear-camera, and speaker system on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Apple Stores will be able to replace the conventional Home button on the iPhone 5c, but it does not appear that Apple will be able to conduct swaps for the Touch ID-based button on the iPhone 5s.

If a customer’s iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c is under an AppleCare warranty, part replacements due to defects will be free of charge. If the iPhone is not under warranty, there will be fees for individual part replacements. For example, a battery replacement will cost $79, and a new iPhone 5c Home button will cost $29.

The screen replacements inside Apple Stores typically take approximately one hour (sometimes around 30 minutes), but that amount time may be considered short in comparison to the amount of time required for syncing, backing up, and replacing content on brand-new replacement iPhone.

Apple began conducting in-store display replacements and repairs with the iPhone 5 earlier this year. Besides the factor of saving customers time and money, this process saves Apple the money required for producing replacement iPhones and handling the entire replacement process.

Sources say that the replacement parts, new iPhone screen calibration machines, and training manuals for conducing these repairs have begun arriving at some Apple Stores, so it seems likely that Apple will boot up the new in-store repair programs in the near-future.

Data source: via 9To5Mac (By Mark Gurman)

Image source: iFixit

New Visual Changes in iOS 7 Beta 5 Shift and Caps Lock and More Public Launch Coming Weeks

Apple released the fifth beta of iOS 7.1 to developers, as in the case of earlier iOS 7.1 betas, the update included both bug fixes and a new changes to the operating system. but this time iOS 7.1 beta 5 included just a few additional tweaks to further streamline the look of iOS 7.

Keyboard: Apple has made some changes to the Shift and Caps Lock key in the keyboard in beta 5, so it becomes more clearly compared with changes in iOS 7.1 beta 3.

Shift enabled to the left, shift disabled in middle, caps lock enabled to the right.

Siri: iOS 7.1 beta 5 adds new natural-sounding voices for English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin – China).

Calendar: In beta 5, the toggle for the list view has been made bolder and easier to see.

iTunes Radio: Has a new “Buy album” button that lets you buy the individual song.

iOS 7 Jailbreak: Apple patched an evasi0n iOS 7 jailbreak exploit in beta 4 and it appears to have issued another patch for additional exploits in beta 5.

AirDrop: According to several reports on MacRumors forums, AirDrop appears to be experiencing some issues in iOS 7.1 beta 5.

Wallpaper: Apple has renamed the option to disable the parallax effect in wallpapers as “Perspective Zoom” instead of “Motion.”

Here are a number of the new features and improvements that have been discovered in the past beta versions of iOS 7.1:

iOS 7.1 beta 4

iOS 7.1 beta 3

iOS 7.1 beta 2

iOS 7.1 beta 1

Back to December BGR reported that Apple will release the iOS 7.1 to the public until sometime in March but new report also from BGR retracts the initial March release estimate and suggests the software will be released to the public in the "coming weeks".

Source: via MacRumors

iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will launch in 35 countries on October 25 then 16 more on November 1

The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available in Italy, Russia, Spain and more than 25 other countries on October 25, Apple announced today.
The full list is as follows:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand.

The two smartphones will then launch in the following countries on November 1:

Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE.

Data source: via TNW (By Nick Summers)

iPhone Market Share Expected to Hit 68 in the United States by 2017

68% of Americans are expected to own an iPhone when the smartphone market reaches its saturation point in 2017, according to new research done by Asymco analyst Horace Dediu.

Citing a parallel between the growth of the smartphone market and the growth of the iPhone over the years, Dediu predicts that both will continue to grow alongside each other as the smartphone market hits a saturation point at 90% in February 2017 with a predicted 180 million U.S. iPhone owners by that time, giving Apple a 68% market share.

If we believe that the iPhone can be modeled behaviorally then it may be possible to forecast its growth. One can simply draw a line extending the existing red segment above and read the F/(1-F) figure at any point in time. Solving for F results in a measure of penetration and hence number of users (if population is known.)

An alternative is to use the following formula derived from the linear interpolation of the two measured market shares. iPhone market share is y/(1+y) where y=0.21x and x = F/(1-F) and F is the expected market penetration of smartphones.

So if F = 91%, x = 10, y = 2.11 and therefore the iPhone market share = 68%.

We also know from the plot of the market that F = .91 is reached around February 2017. So we can suggest that at 90% penetration (approximately saturation) the iPhone will have 68% market share of users in the US. Forecasting the addressable market (US population aged older than 13) at about 266 million that implies 180 million US users of the iPhone by early 2017.

As Forbes points out, the idea of smartphones being used by 90% of the population by Dedius projected date would mean that the market would hit full saturation less than 10 years since the introduction of the original iPhone, making smartphones the fastest adopted technology in history:

And the remarkable thing about this is that the smartphone won’t even be ten years old by that point. Yes, the first real smartphone (there were attempts before this but nothing that really grasped peoples’ attention) was indeed the iPhone and it was released in 2007. But not until June: so if market saturation comes in Feb 2017 then market saturation will come in just under a decade.

And that is just amazing, stupendous in fact. It makes the smartphone by far the fastest adopted technology ever.

According to data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel posted earlier this month, the iPhones market share in the U.S. hit 52.8% in October following the launch of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. In the previous year, Apples market share was at 53.3% following the launch of the iPhone 5, and was at 36% and 25% in the two years priorwith the launch of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, respectively.

Data source: via MacRumors (By Richard Padilla)

iPhone Tops J D Power’s Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings For Fifth Year Straight

Apple has gone and topped the J.D. Power rankings for smartphone satisfaction. Again.

This marks the tenth straight time Apple has dominated the likes of Nokia, Samsung, HTC, and Motorola in the bi-annual poll, and with the iPhone 5s shattering sales records on opening weekend, the streak looks like it might continue for some time.

This year’s survey included a breakdown of smartphone satisfaction by carrier for the first time ever and revealed Verizon customers are slightly happier with the iPhone than those on AT&T, with scores of 861 and 856 respectively.

Here’s the full breakdown:

Data source: via CultofMac (BY Buster Heine)

Origine source: JDpower

Protect Your iPhone from Theft by This Scaring and Abhorring Case

Smartphone theft become an obsession of many people, Apple was the one of early companies that have sought to reduce this phenomenon, that through Find My iPhone service, and its new "Activation Lock" feature, which prohibits iPhones thief to use the device without a permission from owner of the device. As we know also many iPhones accessories are tracking the same oriented, to protect your iPhone to fall in the wrong hand. With us today one of this productions, that may scare or abhor anyone trying to get closer to your iPhone, at least even to realize what it is.

The talk here about a case which is a giant isopod, has designed accurately, highlighting of the small details for this insect, like frighteningly legs, mandibles, a set of scales which represent its shell and tiny tails. while your precious iPhone will be stationed inside this giant insect, held by its legs, a device will insert in the case through disassembling of the lower part.

The "isopod case" seems will take not too bad space of your wallet, and it comes in two colors, with limited quantity, its available for order from Japan, is priced at US$80 and $120.

Source: ITmedia

Read also

Protect Your iPhone From Theft and Damages With Kenu Highline Case

How to Use Find My iPhone Pre and After the Losing of Your iPhone

Activation Lock Feature in Find My iPhone Has Contributed in Reduction of iPhones Robberies

iOS 8 Brings New Option "Send Last Location" To Find My iPhone or iPad

Using Find My iPhone to locate a misplaced iOS device

Most iPhone users have activation lock enabled, survey finds

How to Use AirPlay Mirroring on an iPhone or iPad

There are many reasons may make you to seek to display your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch content on a big screen.

With AirPlay Mirroring you can mirror exactly what’s on your iPhone or iPad to your HDTV over to an Apple TV or a compatible AirPlay receiver app on a Mac or PC like Reflector or XBMC, including the audio stream if one is avialable.

You can through Airplay Mirroring feature watching video on a larger screen, web browsing, gaming on a bigger display, teach or demonstrate iOS apps or anything of your interest, look at picture slideshows, and so much more.

AirPlay Mirroring Requirements

In case you would used the feature with Apple TV:

iPhone 4 or later, iPad 2 or later, iPod touch (5 generation) Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation.)

Both the iOS device and you Apple TV must be on the same wi-fi network.

How to Use AirPlay Mirroring in iPhone or iPad

Swipe up from the bottom of your iOS device screen to bring up Control Center, then tap AirPlay icon.

Tap the name of the Apple TV, then toggle “Mirroring” to ON.

Tap Done.

Once the AirPlay Mirroring is enabled, your iOS device screen will be mirrored on your Apple TV.

If “AirPlay” icon is not visible in Control Center be sure that the Apple TV is online and active. You can enable or disable AirPlay on Apple TV in the AirPlay menu: Settings > AirPlay.

AirPlay issues

If your are facing some problems with AirPay often linked to the Wi-Fi network, so please make sure the settings of the network in you iOS devices and the gadgets attached to it, and Apple always recommend to update your software devices to the last version.

One other common problem is if you find only the audio is streaming over without the screen display showing up on the Apple TV, you are probably simply forgot to toggle the “Mirroring” option ON from the Control Center, so enable it as described above.

How to turning Off AirPlay Mirroring in your iPhone or iPad

AirPlay will stay on until you turn it off, to do that from Control Center again, tap on the ‘AirPlay’ button.

Select the device name from the list, and tap "Done" to prevent both the AirPLay and the mirrored stream instantly.

If you just switched the "Mirror"option to off, the display will turn off while keeping the AirPlay audio stream active, so you will want to tap onto the device name to turn off the entire feature.

AirPlay in iOS 8

AirPay became more easy in iOS 8, that through new iOS 8 peer-to-peer AirPlay feature. You can now stream your iPhone (iPad, iPod) content to Apple TV without the need for a shared network connection, so it became far easier for people to use AirPlay in classrooms and businesses that may have complicated networks.

With iOS 8, you can wirelessly connect iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to Apple TV without first connecting to the organizations network. Which means you can present or share your work even if youre offline or the organization has a complex network.

AirPlay with AirPort Express and third parity apps

AirPort Express

Generally AirPlay feature used to stream video, music, and photos wirelessly to Apple TV and other AirPlay-enabled devices, you can use the feature (without Mirroring) in case you want just to stream the music, that through the AirPort Express device, or Airplay-enabled speakers or receivers.

As mentioned above you can also use Airplay mirroring with third parity apps that run in OS X, Linux, or Windows, like the Reflector, or XBMC to stream your iOS device content to your PC With the possibility of recording this content.

Capture your iPhone or iPad screen in iOS 8 by a Mac

You can now in iOS 8 capture an iOS device screen-content without a third party app. If you plugged an iOS 8 device into a Mac via USB will show up as a camera, which can have its screen be recorded in QuickTime.

Lightning to VGA Adapter

We would also pointed out that you can connect iPhone to a TV, projector, or other external display using the appropriate Apple cable or adapter, like the Lightning to Digital AV Adapter or the Lightning to VGA Adapter.

All points on iOS 8 are updated.

Read also:

You can now set up Chromecast on your iPhone or iPad

How-to Setup and start using Evernote

Heres How To Create Custom Vibration Patterns To Use As Ringtones In iOS 7

iOS 7 Tips: Monitor & track your cellular data usage

The Common Problems With iOS 7.1 and iOS 7.0, and how to Fix Them

Apple announces sales of 9 million iPhone 5s 5c units in first 3 days

The launch weekend for the new flagship iPhone 5s and colorful iPhone 5c proved to be the most successful smartphone debut ever for Apple, with a record 9 million units being sold in the first three days.

"This is our best iPhone launch yet--more than nine million new iPhones sold--a new record for first weekend sales," said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook. "The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while weve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyones patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone."

The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c both went on sale last Friday. This year marks the first time Apple has debuted two new iPhone models on the same day.

That strategy paid off, as Apple easily exceeded the record 5 million iPhone 5 units the company sold on that devices launch weekend last year.

Unsurprisingly, Apple did not give a breakdown of iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c sales. The company does not reveal sales of individual smartphone models, citing competitive reasons.

Apple also announced on Monday that more than 200 million devices are running the redesigned iOS 7, making it the fastest upgrade in history. In comparison, last year 100 million users upgraded to iOS 6 in the first few days of availability.

The record launch for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c exceeded expectations, which pegged sales in the first three days at around 6 million. Last Fridays launch drew massive crowds at Apple stores and iPhone resellers around the world.

Its likely that the iPhone 5s was the most popular choice over the weekend, as it is Apples latest flagship device and would likely be a more popular choice for early adopters. Data released earlier Monday suggested the iPhone 5s outsold the iPhone 5c by a factor of 3.4.

Data source: via AppleInsider (By AppleInsider Staff)

An iMessage prank every iPhone owner needs to know about

One of the advantages that iMessage has over text messaging is that an indicator is displayed when the other person in the conversation is typing a message. This simple animation gives you a heads-up of an incoming message; I often find myself staring at the dancing dots until the message eventually comes through.

That same feature can also be the center of a prank. Yesterday I spotted a tweet from @Panzer linking to a GIF-based iMessage prank. I wasnt sure what to expect when I clicked on the link, but I was not disappointed.

What youll need to do in order to pull off the prank is visit this page on the Miscellaneous Mischief Web site using your iPhone. Save the GIF displayed under Step 1 to your iPhones Camera Roll by placing your finger on the image until the prompt to save is displayed. Dont worry if the picture isnt moving when you view it in your Camera Roll, it will become animated as soon as you tap Send in iMessage.

Once you have that GIF saved to your iPhone, you can copy and paste it into any iMessage conversation and it will give the impression to the recipient that youre typing. And typing. And typing. With no end in sight.

The top typing bubble is the animated GIF. The bottom bubble is what it

looks like when someone is really typing. Notice the subtle differences

so you dont fall victim to this prank.

I tested this on a few different people last night, and I found the prank to be most effective when I sent it in the middle of a conversation. Sending the GIF as the first message would often lead to the recipient receiving an alert on the iPhones lock screen, which also includes a preview of the image.

So to get the most out of the prank, I would start a conversation and begin sending a series of message to ensure that the recipient was looking at the screen, waiting for the next message to come through. Then I would paste the GIF into the text field and send. After you send the GIF, dont start typing anything. Just sit there, watching the dots move back and forth, and laugh.

One other tip when using this prank: make sure the recipient is on an iPhone, not a Mac or iPad thats also using iMessage. The GIF doesnt appear at the right size on either device, and its obvious that shenanigans are afoot.

Data source: via Cnet (By Jason Cipriani)

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Optrix, The Rugged, Underwater iPhone 5 Case For Photographers

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