Apple on Tuesday posted a new TV ad spot for iPhone called ‘FaceTime Every Day’. The ad is similar in concept to the previously released ads ‘Music Every Day‘ and ‘Photos Every Day‘.

The ad shows iPhone customers using FaceTime feature in different locations and situations. It ends with a message that says, “everyday more people connect face to face on the iPhone than any other phone”.

The latest series of TV ad focusses on the popularity of photos, music and now the use of FaceTime on the iPhone. iPhone has been the most popular camera to take photos according to the number of uploads to social sharing sites and iTunes music store is the number one digital store.

iPhone product line is due for a refresh this fall and as rumors about new product launch rise Apple experiences low sales for the existing models. The ad is released just at the time when most news outlets are discussing the next-gen iPhone. With the latest ad Apple would hope to pull customers interest towards iPhone 5.

According to many reports the next-gen iPhone is expected to feature a finger print scanner, most likely, under the home button. In addition to that, new camera hardware and new faster processors would be a part of the next-gen launch.

Apple has launched new TV ad campaigns, focusing on the App Store and the range of apps offered for iOS devices. On Sunday, Apple aired two new TV ads for its iPad and iPad mini, called ‘Alive’ and ‘Together’, highlighting the over 300,000 apps available for the device. The ads, both of which had a similar theme, showed a number of words flashing across the screen, stopping at a few to describe the device.

At the same time, applications from the App Store were in use on the iPad including AmpliTube, Style.com, GarageBand, TED, iMovie, iBooks, Dinosaur Zoo, Toca Hair Salon, Vimeo, Rockmate, Glow Hockey 2 HD, and FaceTime.The ads arrive after Apple launched a billboard campaign with a similar theme, and seem to accompany the billboards posted along many highways and train stations in major metropolitan areas.

Apple’s latest ad campaign appears to show a range of applications from gaming and reading, to built in features such as FaceTime. In a 9to5Mac report about the new Apple ad, the site posted a tweet from one of its users, which noted that the hands using the device in the new ads change depending on the type of app. At one point, a baby appears to be using one of the word identification applications in the ad, “Together”.

Apple’s ad campaigns have been highly successful in the past, particularly those introduced for the iPad mini following its release. Apple has always been focused on the usability of a device instead of the device’s technology since the introduction of the original iPad in 2010. However, the company appears to be refocusing its ads on the applications available for the device, which has also played a large part in the iPad’s success.

{Via MacRumors}

AT&T is making changes to its data plan offerings, opening up FaceTime over Cellular to all customers who currently have a tiered data plan. AT&T has been carrying the iPhone since the original model, after it acquired Cingular in 2007. Initially, AT&T restricted FaceTime over Cellular to devices with 4G LTE, including the iPhone 5, iPad mini, and the third and fourth generation iPad as well as those who have Mobile Share plans.

Those who have grandfathered unlimited data plans do not have access to the feature, as they are sticking with older devices. All devices currently activated with AT&T require one of the tiered plans.

When FaceTime over Cellular launched in September 2012, we explained that we wanted to roll it out gradually to ensure the service had minimal impact on the mobile experience for all of our customers.

As a result of ongoing testing, we’re announcing AT&T will enable FaceTime over Cellular at no extra charge for customers with any tiered data plan using a compatible iOS device.

This means iPhone 4S customers with tiered plans will be able to make FaceTime calls over the AT&T cellular network. AT&T previously made FaceTime over Cellular available to customers with a Mobile Share plan and those with an LTE device on tiered plans.

AT&T is not enabling this feature right away, and instead is gradually rolling out the feature to users. As AT&T mentioned in its announcement, users with an iPhone 4S or a newer device will be able to use this feature over the next several months.

Both Sprint and Verizon currently allows its customers to use FaceTime over Cellular, as long as they are using an iPhone 4S or newerd device. AT&T appears to the only carrier that held off but is now slowly rolling it out to users who are on tiered data plans.

{Via MacRumors}

On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the new iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad, Apple Inc. (AAPL) also went ahead to introduce a thinner, lighter 13 inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display. The new MacBook Pro is only 0.75 inches and 3.57 pounds in weight, making nearly 20% thinner than its predecessor and about a pound lighter and also has a FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones, improved speakers, faster 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a MagSafe 2 charging port.

With the newest addition to the MacBook lineup, AAPL has made nearly all of its products into portable machines. The 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display does not have an optical drive as with most of Apple’s Mac products, and instead sports a slimmer form factor with a Retina Display that has 227 pixels per inch and flash storage that is faster upon startup.

With the transition to flash storage, Apple can produce thinner and lighter machines that start up and run programs much faster than the last generation. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now one of Apple’s base models, with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at only US$1,699. Users then have the option to configure their machines with 256GB of flash storage coming in at US$1,999.

The 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pros with Retina Display are on sale in Apple Stores and online with free shipping.

Are you planning to buy the MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Do you think it is worth the upgrade?

It’s only been 6 months since the introduction of the third generation iPad, and Apple has already introduced a new version of it. On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the iPad mini, Apple introduced the refreshed iPad, calling it the 4th gen iPad instead.

The 4th generation iPad has been updated with the new Lightning connector currently on the iPhone 5, 4th gen iPod touch, and the new iPad mini as well as a new A6X processor as previously predicted, and FaceTime HD.

Until now, the FaceTime camera on the iPad was the same basic VGA camera that shipped on the iPhone 4, 4S and iPad 2. According to Phil Schiller, SVP of Product Marketing, the 4th generation iPad has expanded LTE support for more carriers around the world as well as faster WiFi speeds, twice as fast as on the third generation iPad.

Pricing for the 4th generation iPad remains the same $499/$599/$699 for the same 16GB/32GB/64GB capacities. WiFi+Cellular versions of the 4th generation iPad also remain the same, coming in at $629/$729/$829 for 16GB/32GB/64GB respectively. The 4th generation iPad will be available in stores and online for sale on November 2nd and is currently available for Pre-Order.

It’s finally here! On Tuesday, Apple introduced the iPad mini during a media event at the California Theatre in San Jose, California. The iPad Mini has been a rumor around the web for several months now, and several weeks prior to announcement, parts began to leak. The iPad Mini is only 7.2-mm thin, down from the full sized iPad’s 9.4 mm and sports a 7.9 inch screen.

This is a drastic reduction from Apple’s full sized iPad, which sports a 9.7 inch Retina Display. The iPad mini, although much lighter and thinner resembles more an iPhone then an iPad and houses the same internals as the 4th generation iPod touch, including the 5MP iSight Camera for images and video, as well as the FaceTime HD camera for video calls, and the A5 chip. 4G LTE will also be available on the Cellular model of the mini.

The iPad mini also has the same resolution as the iPad 2 at 1024 by 768 pixels and weighs only 0.68 pounds, half the weight of a full sized iPad. Even with these lower than full sized specs, Apple is introducing a thinner, lighter, and powerful product to the tablet market, which has recently seen an increase in 6-8 inch devices. Amazon’s Kindle has dominated the e-reader market, and Apple is getting a leg-up by introducing a product that, when paired with iBooks can compete directly.

It is yet unknown whether the iPad mini will cannibalize sales of the iPod touch, which carries the same technical specs and now has a 4 inch screen. The iPad mini is priced at $329, as predicted for a base WiFi model and adds on another $130 for WiFi+Cellular. It will be available for Pe-Order on October 26 and will go on sale on November 02.

{Image Credit: Fox News}

Apple has begun rolling out iOS 6 software download for supported iOS devices. The sixth major release of iOS was announced at this years WWDC keynote event, the update brings in some new features, many enhancements and new API’s for app developers.

The highlight feature of iOS 6 is Apple designed Maps app. Since the original iPhone launch in 2007  Apple had licensed Google Maps to be used in iPhone and all other iOS devices however, with growing differences between Google and Apple and the Cupertino, Calif. based company decided to build its own solution. Maps in iOS 6 brings 3D Maps to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with a unique feature called Flyover, that offers ariel view of the supported locations.

Apple has also updated Siri for iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPod touch 5G to support sports, restaurants and movie related searches. Siri continues to remain in beta and availability of features varies from country to country.

After Twitter was deeply integrated in iOS 5, Apple has finally added Facebook in iOS 6. This allows you to post status updates from Notification Center, share webpage, post photos and even allow single sign on for all apps for ease of use.

One of the exciting new features is Share Photo Streams which can be used if you share photos with friends and family from the Photos app. This makes sharing, commenting and liking photos extremely easy and now you can avoid sending emails with large attachments and view inline comments.

Passbook introduces a new way of managing your tickets, boarding pass, coupons and more. This app updates the loyalty cards, check in timing for your flight and even has location based alerts. We are expecting to see many retailers and airlines to start supporting Passbook fairly soon.

Other enhancements include, FaceTime over cellular for iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad 3. The phone app has also been improved to support sending canned messages when declining a call, Mail now supports VIP list and easy flagging. Safari adds iCloud tabs, offline reading and full screen browsing.

iOS 6 download has been released and should be appearing via over-the-air update for iOS 5 devices. You can also update your device by connecting your device to iTunes via USB cable. It’s advisable to backup your device either using iCloud or manual iTunes sync before beginning the software update.

Have you already downloaded iOS 6 software update? What are your thoughts on the new features and changes? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Here’s the complete changelog of iOS 6:

Following months of speculation and rumors, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller took the stage on Wednesday to introduce the long awaited iPhone 5. The media event, which was scheduled a week ago pointed to such a release and now the device has finally been revealed.

The iPhone 5, as expected has a larger 4 inch screen, and runs all pre-installed apps with a larger vertical area, and runs non-optimized third party apps letterboxed. The home screen has been stretched out a bit to hold 5 rows of apps, as opposed to 4 and the display is still the Retina Display with a 1136 x 640 resolution. The iPhone 5 now has an aspect ratio close to 16:9 now, making it great for watching widescreen movies.

The iPhone 5 now also carries faster LTE networking which will be supported by Sprint, AT&T and Verizon in the United States, Rogers, Telus, Bell, Fido, Virgin in Canada and numerous other carriers overseas. The iPhone also includes WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n, and is dual-channel, up to 150Mbps, making it much faster than the iPhone 4S. All of the networking and the larger Retina Display is powered by an all new A6 chip produced by Apple.

The A6 chip is 22% smaller than its predecessor, the A5 and has a 2X faster CPU and 2x graphics compared to the A5. During the keynote, Apple invited up EA games to demo Real Racing 3, showing off new improvements in graphics performance. Other major changes include the larger, all metal and glass design leaked prior to the event, along with a relocated FaceTime camera above the earpiece. Other features include:

Battery

The larger battery in the iPhone 5 shell now allows 8 hours of 3G or LTE talk time or 10 hours on WiFi while browsing

Camera

The iPhone 5 will carry the same specs as the iPhone 4S camera but will do so in a much thinner package. It has the same 8-megapixels and a 5-element lens as the 4S but will have a Sapphire crystal lens cover for more clarity and durability. The new A6 will provide for less noise during image captures along with a “smart filter” for better color matching. Apple, as expected prior to the event will also be including Panorama imaging, capturing images at 28 megapixels in one clean sweep.

The company also updated the front facing FaceTime camera to 720P HD and backside illuminated. FaceTime is now also possible over Cellular announced during WWDC.

Audio

The iPhone now has 3 microphones, one on the front, one in front for noise cancellation, and one on the back.

Dock Connector

The dock connector, called Lightning, will be an all digital 8 pin design and is 80% thinner than the previous design. The Lightning charger can now be plugged in any way and does not have a designated side. There is also a converter for the new dock connector that has the ability to work with the current 30 pin connectors.

Apple’s iPhone 5, with all of its new improvements alongside iOS 6 will make this Apple’s most powerful iPhone to date. iOS 6 will be released to the public on September 19th and will ship on the new iPhone 5, and will run on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, 3GS, new iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch.

The iPhone 5 will be available on contract for $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB respectively. The iPhone 5 will be available for Pre-Order starting Friday the 14th and will be shipping on September 21st in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It will be arriving to 20 more countries later this month.

{Image Credit: Engadget}

Sprint has already confirmed that they will not charge extra and will continue unlimited data and Verizon is stilll unsure what to charge. However, AT&T announced on Friday that customers will need a new Mobile Share plan in order to enjoy FaceTime over cellular. Although the company did not initially mention anything about the change, they are now publicly addressing the new plans:

AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.

With almost every carrier except Sprint introducing tiered data plans, there is no doubt that FaceTime would use up incredible amounts of data, more than some networks can handle. Some iOS developers have noted that when trying to use the service in the beta, they were urged to call and activate it.

AT&T is forcing its customers to purchase the new Mobile Share in order to use the new feature, while Sprint is already laid out. Verizon is now the only carrier yet to introduce any pricing, although it may be waiting to see a response from both Sprint and AT&T customers before introducing anything.

{via iMore}

Several days after releasing images of the next generation iPhone 5 mini dock connector, French site, Nowhereelse.fr reposted images from forum Weiphone of what appears to be the iPhone 5 logic board. The logic board, which houses the processor and chips for other functions appears to be built differently than the iPhone 4 and the current iPhone 4S. Leaked parts for the upcoming iPhone 5 have been coming out for several months now, and new parts have been appearing as the announcement date draws closer.

Nowhereelse noted in their report that this logic board likely belongs to the iPhone 5 because of how the screw holes line up with other logic board shells leaked prior to this one. Weiphone has a proven track record with photos of iPhone logic boards, accurately releasing images of the iPhone 4S logic board which turned out to house the A5 chip.

In recent months, a number of parts have surfaced for the next generation iPhone 5, including a 9 pin charger and even a fully assembled model. The iPhone 5 is expected to be announced as soon as September 12th and will likely be available for pre-order soon after, perhaps even the same day. The iPhone 5 is expected to have a larger 4 inch screen, likely a faster processor, mini dock connector, relocated FaceTime camera and headphone jack, and a thinner unibody design. Apple’s iOS 6 is also slated for release alongside the iPhone 5.

{via MacRumors}

Apple announced iOS 6 during the company’s annual WWDC conference, and showcased some of the main features of the new update including a revamped Maps application and Siri improvements. The Cupertino company released an initial beta to developers directly after the conference, allowing developers to test the new features on the their devices and then released iOS 6 beta 2 in late June.

On Monday, Apple released iOS 6 beta 3 to developers, fixing bugs and adding a number of new features. This latest beta comes comes as Build 10A5355d, about three weeks after the last with Build 10A5338d. Some of the features of iOS 6 beta 3 include:

• Roadwork and traffic accidents showing up in Maps app
• Answer and Decline buttons for FaceTime calls have returned
• iMessage on iPad now accepting phone number as valid contact info
• Greater 3D Flyover coverage in Maps
• Glyphs for bookmarks, Reading List, and history in Safari
• Auto-brightness changes gradually

One of the other main features noticed was a change under the Navigation settings, giving users the option to measure distance in kilometers or meters, adjust the volume of the navigation voice, and providing map labels in either normal or large that can display in a local language or strictly English.

Apple’s iOS 6 betas continue to improve with each release and give developers the chance to test each feature and use it with their own apps. Apple is expected to release several more betas before the final public release, which is expected during the September / October timeframe. It is also likely that the public version of iOS 6 will release alongside the next generation iPhone 5 which is also expected during the same timeframe.

{via MacRumors — Image Credit: 9to5Mac}

Apple is expected to release its next iPhone 5 later this year, and a number of reports have suggested that the screen is going to be made taller to accommodate up to 4 inches. These rumors were entirely speculative until a recent report from japanese site Macotakara, which posted images and a video showing what appears to a taller iPhone 5 screen, with an overall design that looks very similar to the current iPhone 4S screen. The front panel also had a relocated FaceTime camera, now above the earpiece of the iPhone and centered on the device, similar to the iPod touch.

This is the first time that a part capable of being for the next gen iPhone 5 has surfaced and is likely not only taller, but from the images, wider as well. With iOS 6, Apple will likely expand the existing apps on the App Store, in order to fit the new screen size without compromising the number of pixels per inch. Earlier in the month, reports that Apple was purchasing 4 inch screens from a number of suppliers surfaced. Suppliers included LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display Inc., which also supply Apple with screens for a number of its other iOS products.

The iPhone’s screen size has remained the same since the introduction of the original iPhone in 2007, only experiencing a major change during the release of the Retina Display. This would be the first time that Apple would change the 3.5 inch display in any way, and it appears in good fashion too, making it much taller than the current display. Apple has not changed the width, and has emphasized in the past that this would cause issues with resolution and users being able to text with one hand.

Apple’s next gen iPhone 5 is expected to be released during the same October timeframe as the iPhone 4S and will likely be released alongside iOS 6 after a developer preview of the new software during Apple’s WWDC conference from June 11-15.

{via AppleInsider — Image Credit: Macotakara}

FaceTime, even with the faster 4G LTE on the iPad 3 is limited mainly because of carriers worrying about the overuse of data, which can bog down the network and can ultimately slow it for other users. On Thursday, in a report, The Verge revealed that FaceTime does not work on LTE network. A notification pops up, alerting the user that they are not connected to a WiFi and that FaceTime does not operate over 4G LTE.

In June 2010, Steve Jobs noted during the iPhone 4 keynote that Apple had yet to work with carriers in order to allow usage of FaceTime over 3G or 4G. Currently, Apple limits most of their products unless they can guarantee that the users will get a seamless experience and this most certainly falls in that category. Apple will likely allow FaceTime over 4G once the iPhone receives faster 4G LTE networking. This means that FaceTime over cellular network, unfortunately, may be limited for a few more years.

Apple’s next gen iPad rumored to be called “iPad 3″ is expected to receive a 2048×1536 Retina display, a quad-core A6 system-on-a-chip, and possibly 4G LTE networking. Apple is consistently changing product cycle for the announcement of their next generation products, which was seen during the release of the iPhone 4S and the iPod refresh in 2011.

There have been many conflicting reports as to whether Apple will be retaining the current Apple A5 SoC, or switching to Quad Core A6 chip, which is almost double the power and would be able to handle a significant amount of usage and provide more RAM for applications.

Another interesting move by Apple could be 4G LTE networking, which is most notably available on Verizon and AT&T’s networks, which would allow the iPad to surf, download and upload at significantly faster than the current 3G speeds. However, many reports also deny that Apple will make the change to 4G LTE, with the high speed network still being in infancy and still being tested. It would be very un-Apple like to move to 4G LTE, which is a very risky move as it hasn’t been available for too long, making it very likely that Apple won’t be moving to LTE networks until the iPhone 5 at least.

As for the iPad 3’s cameras, rumors from iLounge suggest that Apple is looking to include a 5 or 8 megapixel rear camera and a FaceTime HD front camera. While the 5 megapixel camera seems more realistic for the iPad 3, an HD FaceTime camera seems unlikely.

Speculations of hardware additions for the iPad 3 have been circulating over the past few weeks, suggesting that the device is around the corner. Expect more rumors to surface in the coming weeks and around the first week of March.

Apple introduced a new messaging service for iOS device users called iMessage with iOS 5. The service allows users to send unlimited text, video and photo messages over WiFi or 3G. iMessage was clearly seen as an attempt to compete with BlackBerry’s popular BBM app.

Now, according to a new report published by BGR it has been revealed that Apple may actually be planning to extend its offering on the iOS platform with the introduction of a native IM client that could integrate Apple’s existing services and offer users an all-in-one experience.

John Heaton, iOS developer, recently revealed that he had discovered a string of iOS code that suggests Apple’s interest in bringing iChat to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as a part of iOS 6, the next major version of iOS.

iChat currently available on Mac OS X allows users to send IM using various messaging clients such as Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo! and more. On the Mac iChat not only allows you to send instant messages but also supports video chats.

On iOS Apple integrated iMessage with the default Messages app to offer a unified experience however, FaceTime continues to be a separate app for video calls on iPad and iPod touch. It’s possible that the Cupertino, California-based company could be looking at introducing iChat that could merge all services in one app and could also allow messaging between Macs and iOS devices.

The existence of references to iChat in iOS code certainly points to the fact that Apple is at least testing or thought about introducing iChat. It will be interesting to see if iOS 6 actually introduces iChat for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Apple recently aired two new ads on television that toted the same, “If you don’t have an iPhone” tag line and showed some of the features of the iPhone. No new features were highlighted, however, Apple did go further into detail on some features introduced in iOS 4. The first ad, highlighted the features of Airplay and how photos and videos can be streamed onto a HDTV directly from the device.

The second advertisement released by Apple, featured FaceTime and briefly showed all of the different devices that currently run FaceTime.

The “If you don’t have an iPhone” ad campaign started in late March and continued into Summer 2011. However, this time, the ads end with “just one more thing that makes an iPhone an iPhone.”

Apple introduces new tag lines in a series of advertisements and usually releases ads in installments of two. Apple will likely change the ad campaign once again, following the release of iOS 5, which is pegged for a September release, alongside a rumoured iPad 3 or iPad HD.

{via MacRumors}

On Friday Skype reportedly uploaded a demo video of their upcoming app ‘Skype for iPad’ and then removed it from YouTube. Currently the company offers only the iPhone version on the App Store and was rumored to be working on the iPad version.

The iPad version is a complete re-design and takes advantage of the large screen. ‘Skype for iPad’ supports video chat and you can use both front and back camera just like FaceTime. Full-screen video call is also supported and you can easily access the dial pad from the top right to enter a phone number and make a call using Skype Credit.

While you are engaged in a video chat you will still be able to send an instant message and insert emoticons too. According to TUAW, Skype VP of Consumer and product design Rick Osterloh has confirmed that the the app would be approved “soon”.

It’s not clear if the app will support video calls over 3G but if rumors about Apple enabling FaceTime over 3G turn out to be true then it’s highly possible that even Skype could support it.

Check out the video below originally posted by @trackizmy1 and let us know what you think in the comments below.

{via This is my next}

We recently reported that iOS 4.3.2 was expected soon and Apple on Friday released the software update for iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (3rd and 4th gen) and iPad (1st and 2nd gen).

The update as the release notes state “contain improvements and other bug fixes”. In particular iOS 4.3.2 fixes a bug which would occasionally cause a blank or frozen video during FaceTime call. It also fixes 3G connectivity issue being faced by some iPad users and contains security updates.

Apple has been releasing maintenance updates quite frequently of late. This probably won’t be an issue for many however, users who jailbreak their devices need to first wait for the Dev-Team to confirm if existing hack works or if it requires an update to work with with latest update.

This time just hours after the update was released, the firmware was jailbroken and a tethered solution was available for users. 9to5 Mac notes that:

You will need custom PwnageTool bundles for iPhone 4, PwnageTool version 4.3 and tetheredboot utility. A Mac OS X machine and iTunes 10.2.1 are also necessary. Do not jailbreak if you’re device is unlocked because there is no unlock for the new baseband on iOS 4.3.2 yet.

Last week we reported that Apple is expected to release iOS 4.3.2 in the coming weeks and now a new report indicates that the software update will fix FaceTime, Verizon iPad 2 issues in addition to some security vulnerabilities.

BGR claims that according to their “Apple sources” iOS 4.3.2 “will fix the issues we’ve been hearing about with some Verizon iPad 2 models” and it will also “contain a fix for FaceTime in addition to security fixes for things like WebKit vulnerabilities and other minor changes.”

iOS 4.3 has obviously not turned out to be a very stable release for Apple as  we saw iOS 4.3.1 update in late March and now we are hearing about iOS 4.3.2. However, it’s good to know that Apple is being prompt in fixing bugs and security holes. This might put jailbreak community on the fence as they would need to wait for Dev-Team to first test the update and then confirm if the jailbreak will work or if they have to release another update.

Apple will “unveil the future of iOS” during WWDC which will kick start on June 6. iOS 5 is expected to introduce new cloud services which will be closely tied with MobileMe.

9to5 Mac have seen pictures of iPad 2 screen protectors from two independent sources. Both of those sources have obtained screen protectors which bear a small hole in them at the very top, and centralized; directly opposite the hole for the iPad’s Home Button.

Apple don’t endorse screen protectors, and don’t in fact stock them in their stores. But there is a thriving business in them in the third party market.

And although Apple supply some information to third parties for making cases for products, most of these manufacturers actually talk to the production lines in China, and elsewhere, to try and verify measurements and unannounced details of Apple products.

So we can be fairly sure that a third party screen protector manufacturer, with low profit margins, would make sure they checked their facts quite carefully before they mass produced a big batch of screen protectors with holes in them!

So it seems that a front facing camera, at the top middle of the iPad 2’s bezel, when held in Portrait mode, is where the Facetime camera will be on Apple’s next iPad.

Apparently the placement of the iPad 2’s camera was also briefly spotted on an iPad 2 unit at the News Corp “The Daily” launch.

Can you see any problems with Apple’s camera placement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

{via 9to5Mac}

In the video you can see that the iPad it is running on doesn’t have its own video feed sending (as it has no camera!), or an inset image of that video feed, but it is receiving an image from another iOS device, and the whole thing works rather well in full screen on the device.

All the on screen controls are scaled to fit the iPad’s bigger screen, but then iOS will do that with any iPod or iPhone app “automagically”.

However, the Facetime logo from the iOS 4.3 Beta is significantly different from that in existing versions of iOS, and there are specific controls, and positioning for those controls that makes this version of the video communications app from Apple look very specific to the iPad.

All in all it seems to confirm what we all expected; that the iPad 2 will have a front facing camera and fully become a member of the iOS Facetime fraternity.

Are you excited about Facetime on the iPad2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…

One of the more interesting, and fun ones, is a list of possible video effects which many believe will become part of the Facetime experience for iOS users. This is very similar to the kind of effects that debuted as part of Apple’s OS X desktop iChat video calling service.

The list includes such effects as…

Thermal Camera
X-ray
Kaleidoscope
Normal
Tunnel of Light
Collapse
Turbine
Enlarge

Facetime could be a whole lot more fun than it already is. It’s almost a shame that its a whole year until New Year again as I had a lot of fun with Facetime on New Years Eve in 2010. Perhaps in 2011 I will be able to call people from outer space!

Are you excited about the new Facetime features coming to iOS 4.3? Let us know in the comments…

{via BGR}

With Apple’s Facetime strategy very obviously being to put their video calling service on every device they manufacture it is something of a no-brainer that the next generation iPad would at least have a front facing camera.

But AppleInsider have obtained information that claims that a company called OmniVision will supply both front and rear facing cameras for Apple’s new iPad, due in early 2011. OmniVision is also the supplier for Apple’s iPhone 4’s cameras.

Further details seem to indicate that the quality of the cameras will be in line with that currently found in the iPhone 4. So a 5MP camera for stills, and a lower quality VGA camera for Facetime.

No further details have been forthcoming from Apple or its suppliers. Which is not really surprising as this kind of information could well slow sales of the current generation iPad as consumers hold on for an update.

Assuming that you haven’t got one already, does hearing this news make you inclined to wait for the next iPad? Let us know in the comments…

Last month we reported that a Facebook thread from SaudiMac noted that all reference to FaceTime had been removed from Apple’s regional sites which lead to speculation in the blogosphere which suggested that FaceTime would not be available in some countries. This rumor turned out to be true when Apple updated a support document on its site which clearly outlined that FaceTime will not be available in Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It wasn’t clear if this was Apple who decided to pull these features or if it was due to carrier restrictions.

Today, 9 to 5 Mac reported that according to iRamadah FaceTime works in the Middle East, but only with the new iPod touch 4. This certainly implies that the absence of FaceTime on iPhone 4 is due to carrier restrictions. This is very interesting to note as FaceTime does not use carrier’s network and only works over WiFi.

Originally reported by SoudiMac, it appears Apple’s FaceTime is indeed unavailable in the region, no matter which of its 5 carriers you use.

The info comes courtesy of an Apple Support Article (number HT1937 in fact) listing all the carriers offering the iPhone throughout the world.

As you can see from the image above, all five carriers covering Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE have a note attached: FaceTime is not available on this carrier.

Two questions do spring to mind here. Firstly, why block it? The data goes over WiFi anyway so the carrier itself doesn’t experience any higher data usage as a result of FaceTime being allowed. Perhaps the carriers aren’t the ones behind this?

Secondly, how are they doing it? I doubt there has been a hardware modification added to iPhones sold in the area, so software seems to be the best bet. Perhaps a carrier update via iTunes at initial setup? If that is indeed the case, expect to see jailbreaking becoming popular very soon in the middle eastern countries.

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