Earlier this year, in February, Apple promised its iAd developers that they would increase their payouts later on in the year. This would give the developers who use the iAd service a 10% increase from the current 60% of total earnings. Apple’s decision to raise the payouts isn’t all that surprising, when considering that Apple currently pays its iOS app developers 70% of the total revenue, 30% of which Apple keeps for themselves.

Now, the iAd platform is on the same level of iOS development in terms of profit for both the developers and the Cupertino based company. During iAd’s initial launch, it gained only a small network of advertisers willing to put up with Apple’s higher than usual prices, and a number of restrictions by which they must comply. The minimum buy-in for the mobile ad platform was decreased by Apple from $1 million to $100,000 since its launch in July 2010 with iOS 4.

This new price is down from a $300,000 minimum which took effect last July. AdMob is the leading mobile ad service of choice, particularly on the Android platform, because of its abilities to support multiple platforms at once, and with its substantially higher adoption and usage than Apple’s iAd. With this increase in payouts, Apple may increase the number of developers in its iAd program, however, the company still has much improvement before the service experiences increased adoption.

{via iMore}

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}

This also suggests that Apple could be looking at a September launch event for iPhone 5 which would leave iOS 5 for the fifth gen and fourth gen iPhone.

It’s worth noting that Apple released iOS 4.0 for iPhone 3G, 3GS and fourth gen model. But, they stopped supporting iPhone 3GS since the first beta of iOS 4.3 was seeded to developers.

Earlier today MacStories noted that Eldar Murtazin, editor-in-chief of Russian mobile phone blog Mobile-Review in a tweet commented:

Just one comment. Apple iPhone 3Gs wont be upgradable to iOS 5.x. iPhone 4 will.

There is obviously no way to confirm this claim however, MacRumors notes that Murtazin “does have a very solid reputation in the mobile phone rumor community.”

This rumor is contrary to the report published by 9to5 Mac which noted that Apple had begun widespread testing of iOS 5 and iPhone 3GS was indeed included in the testing.

During Verizon’s press event where the CDMA network provider showed the demo version of Verizon iPhone 4, the phone was running iOS 4.2.5 which suggests that Apple might have fixed some bugs and made some last minute performance optimization.

Apple is already beta testing the upcoming iOS 4.3 update and on Tuesday they released the third beta to developers.

If you are an existing customer of Verizon Wireless and you qualify for an upgrade then you will be able to enjoy the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 on 3rd February at 3 AM ET. Verizon expects huge demand and will offer the phone on “a first-come, first-served basis.”

It has been speculated that Apple has posted iOS 4.2.6 (direct download) for CDMA iPhone ahead of its launch for the review units which have been sent to select reviewers and journalists so that they can be ready with the reviews and first impressions.

The feature was picked up by Occipital after they developed a new panoramic photo app for the iPhone. They discovered the feature, which uses the gyroscope in the iPhone 4 and fourth gen iPod Touch, to deliver an augmented reality experience within the Safari browser.

The discovery of this feature is pretty awesome, and I can’t believe we’ve gone this long before it was noticed, or that Apple have kept it quiet. Could this be the beginning of websites that we navigate using our gyroscopes? I sure hope so!

For a demo of this feature, visit http://occip.it/pt3dmqna on one of the supported devices mentioned above and let us know what you think.

{via BGR}

The expectation was that Apple were waiting for iOS 4.2 to land, but Ping is now available thanks to an update to Apple’s iTunes Store. It’s not the first time Apple has updated features from the on-device store without needing a software update, and is clearly one of the benefits of operating a web-based solution.

To access Ping on an iPad, fire up the iTunes app and tap the newly arrived Ping tab. In there you’ll find all the usual Ping goodness, including who you’re following, who follows you and so on.

The only issue now is, does Ping provide enough functionality to make it worthwhile, even with support on the iPad.

Many theorized that with Apple about to roll out iOS 4.2, they may well ship a new OS to iPhone users in the US before they too got hit by the DST bug. However, a few days ago Apple slipped out a support document acknowledging the issue, and advising users how best to avoid it, and when it would cease to be a problem.

Basically, by the time you are reading this you should be in the clear. But this does make us wonder if Apple expects us to stick with iOS 4.1 for another week or so yet.

In case you missed the support document here is what it had to say :

Symptoms

In some regions, shortly before or after the daylight saving time (DST) change, repeating alarms created in the Clock app may work incorrectly.

Products Affected

iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (2nd generation)

Resolution

To resolve this behavior for existing alarms, set the repeat interval to Never. You will need to reset these alarms for each day you need them.

After November 7th, 2010, you can set your alarms to repeat again.

So does this mean we still have another week to go before iOS 4.2 is released?

Have you been bitten by the DST iOS bug? Or did our news story last week give you a heads up? Let us know in the comments…

Originally slated for release sometime in November, people (including yours truly) assumed this meant the last week of the month as is usual with such releases. The actual release date could be as soon as the 9th according to German operator Deutsche Telekom, but 9to5 Mac is citing German blog iFun as a source saying the date may in fact be the 12th.

The reason behind iFun’s belief that the 12th is indeed the day to watch, is the discovery that Apple intends to push out a carrier update on that date. It’s not too far a stretch to think that this could be too big a coincidence.

With iOS 4.2 due to bring both iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to the same operating system for the first time, and with new features such as AirPrint and AirPlay, iOS 4.2 is shaping up to be the most anticipated release of iOS since, well, 4.0. Multitasking alone is one reason iPad owners are clamoring for the release and evidence seems to point to a shorter wait than originally anticipated. Good news!

The iOS 4 software launched for the iPhone 3G and 3GS users just days before the launch of the iPhone 4, and users of the earlier model iPhone soon began to realize that the software wasn’t what they were hoping for, with many reports of extremely slow performance, and a long list of bugs. 3G users were also unhappy that their devices missed out on new features, like multitasking, home screen backgrounds, and Apple’s Game Centre.

Wofford hopes to get her lawsuit elevated to class action status, and she claims Apple knew that the update from iOS 3 would turn her iPhone 3G into a “device with little more use than that of a paper weight.” Moreover, Wofford criticizes Apple for not allowing users to simply downgrade their device software without becoming a “hacker.” I’m sure most iOS users will agree, that, once you’ve updated your software, for the average user it isn’t easy to downgrade again.

“Even though Apple has actual knowledge of thousands of complaints from iPhone 3G/3GS consumers, Apple does not allow for those same users/consumers of third generation devices to download and re-install earlier and optimized iOS3.x operating system without resorting to ‘hacker’ tactics that will void Apple warranties and violate iPhone user agreements,” Wofford wrote.

Although Wofford’s case joins a long list of others filed by unhappy users over iPhone-related issues, this is the first to take aim at the performance of iOS 4 on Apple’s aging 3G device. And Wofford’s issues have been very well documented since the release of the iOS 4 firmware.

Will Wofford’s case disappear like the many others, never to be heard of again? Or will it motivate Apple to finally reach out to the many unhappy 3G users and allow them to downgrade their device’s firmware through iTunes? Let’s wait and see!

Are you using an iPhone 3G running the iOS 4 firmware? If so, what’s your experience been like, and given the opportunity, would you downgrade to iOS 3? Let us know in the comments.

We reported yesterday that Apple has already asked all developers to submit apps for the upcoming release of iOS 4.2, which unifies all three of Apple’s iOS devices under one operating system.

And the fact that they did this, and are now pushing out apps approved to run on that OS revision seems to hint that the update is going to drop really soon.

Have you seen any other iOS 4.2 apps popping up in the App Store? Let everyone know in the comments.

Apple has already told us that iOS 4.2 will ship for the iPhone 4, iPod Touch and iPad in November. And the Gold Master is nearly always identical to the final version of any OS that will ship to consumers.

So this new iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system should be available to everyone very shortly. The App Store is likely to be inundated with both new and updated apps which take advantage of AirPlay, AirPrint etc. at that time.

As soon as we hear news of any exciting tidbits that developers leak about any new widgets, or fixes that Apple may have snuck into this final version of iOS, we’ll let you know.

Perhaps there will be a fix for the Daylight Savings bug we reported on yesterday!

In the meantime let us know if you hear of anything new, in the comments…

Looking forward to getting iOS 4.2 on your iPad but don’t want to give up your jailbreak? Fear not, for the clever hackers have already jailbroken it after using the third beta as a testbed.

Twitter user and renowned iOS hacker @iH8Sn0w tweeted a picture of a jailbroken iPad running MobileTerminal.  By way of proof that the iPad is indeed running iOS 4.2, the picture also shows the multitasking window beneath the app.

With Apple giving a release date of November for its latest iOS release we can expect a GM build (Golden Master) any day now, which would mean the OS is feature-complete.  A public release would follow that, and that’s when your jailbreaking fun can begin.

I’d love to know if you’ll be continuing to jailbreak your iPad once multitasking is officially supported. Is that enough for you?  Will you be hacking your iPad to run anything in particular?  Let us know in the comments!

The screenshot below, taken by 9to5 Mac, shows that the tethering options previously available are no longer present under the ‘Cellular Data’ fields within the settings app on the iPad.

The removal of the tethering feature from the latest beta could mean several things. Although it won’t necessarily mean that the feature has been scrapped for the tablet device, as 9to5 Mac points out, it could be that a code mix-up with the iPhone caused the feature to appear in the software for the iPad. However, it could be that the feature wasn’t quite ready, and that it will reappear in a later beta or in the final release of the 4.2 iOS software.

The latest iOS 4.2 beta, version 3, is now available for download on the Developer Portal. No information on what’s new as yet, but we’ll be updating this post once we know more.

Hopefully this release will add the full AirPlay functionality we’ve been waiting for – current betas only allow audio streaming with video promised for the final release.

If you notice anything new let us know in the comments section or email us. Check back soon for more updates on this topic.

Update 1: AppAdvice reports that beta 3 is sans AirPlay – even the previous audio-only version is now gone. No word yet as to why it’s been pulled or whether it will be back. It’s not unknown for Apple to remove features from betas and put them back in a final release.

Update 2: Airplay is still present in everything except the YouTube app. However, opening a video via YouTube.com still gives you the option to use Airplay.

Confirmed: I just updated my iPad to iOS 4.2 beta 3 and can confirm the YouTube app no longer supports AirPlay in any form.

Visiting YouTube on the web does in fact work as expected, though still no video being pushed to my new Apple TV.

Speed: the iPad does feel snappier, fast app switching is smoother.

BBC iPlayer: previous betas caused a crash when trying to play video from iPlayer – this is mow fixed. Good news for us UK dwellers.

More as we find it!

Having been the victim of a similar bug in the “F1 Timing App” for the iPhone, which got me out of bed an entire week early for the Japanese Grand Prix, I can sympathise with those people in Oz who are waiting on a fix for their iPhone’s alarm clock app.

Today Apple promised a fix for the problem would be coming along very soon, in the shape of iOS 4.1.1.

We are hearing that iOS 4.1.1 will also patch the most recent jailbreak solutions which have hit the web in the last few weeks.

Are you sick of having to set your alarms an hour ahead? Or worried what else Apple may hide in this next update? Have your say in the comments…

It seems that Apple has had many of these kinds of services on hold as it struggles to keep manageable the sometimes unstable tower of new technology and services it is pushing out every few months.

Most recently Apple has relaxed a lot of its App Store guidelines, and opened up the App Store review guidelines for all the world to comment on. Not to mention adding an App Store Review Board, for app Rejection Appeals. Apple seems to have even relaxed restrictions for Flash on iDevices.

Apple ticked off yet another job on their “todo” yesterday with the release of a unified iOS Beta for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad: iOS 4.2. And even added yet more new, and compelling features like AirPrint to it’s mobile OS.

And following on from that it is being reported by various newspapers that they are in talks with Apple to produce iPad app versions of their publications targeted at subscribers. Apple is expected to take 30% of these subscription model packages as its cut, and a further 40% from iAd Revenue germinated from those publications.

It occurs to me that AirPrint is a rather timely OS feature. Because if we all get newspapers on our devices we can print copies out to read, or to give to friends! I wonder if anyone has thought of that? It also occurs to me that using “Air” in any iOS apps or Apple related products could be difficult in future. But I digress..

One big bone of contention between magazines, newspapers and Apple has always been the rules around collecting user data. User data is the holy grail of any kind of targeted, ad laden media. As we all know! The rub there is that Apple has insisted on allowing users to opt out of this kind of data harvesting if they like. Chalk one up for us, the consumer, there.

Perhaps one day you’ll be reading me writing for Touch Reviews, on an iPad!

Are you interested in newspapers and magazines being delivered to your iPad, rather than your doorstep? What would you pay for this kind of product? Have your say in the comments…

The update also adds Game Center, which is Apple’s take on social gaming. It enables users to auto-match with others, compare scores on leaderboards, unlock achievements and more.

During the special music event Steve Jobs announced that iOS 4.1 would enable users to take HDR photos, rent TV shows and upload videos to YouTube over Wi-Fi on iPhone 4 and all these features will be installed on your device after you have finished upgrading.

Complete list of iOS 4.1 features and improvements:

• Game Center

• Send and receive friend requests
• Invite friends to multi-player games over the Internet
• Play multi-player games by auto-matching with other
  players
• View Leaderboards and Achievements
• Discover new games from friends

• High dynamic range (HDR) photos on iPhone 4
• Support for TV show rentals on iTunes
• Ability to upload HD videos to YouTube and MobileMe over Wi-Fi on iPhone 4
• Additional support for AVRCP-supported accessories, including next & previous track control
• FaceTime calling directly from Favorites

Bug fixes, including:

• iPhone 4 proximity sensor performance
• iPhone 3G performance
• Nike+iPod fixes
• Bluetooth improvements

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 3G
• iPod touch 2nd generation, or later

Game Center requires iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 2nd generation or later.

At Apple’s September 2nd media event yesterday Steve Jobs announced the next update for iOS 4.1 as coming next week. Registered iPhone Developers have had a while to experiment with an earlier Beta build of iOS4.1. But this latest Gold Master version has only been available to them since immediately after the announcement. If all goes well, and it usually does at this stage, that is the version that will be publicly available next week.

During the event Steve Jobs announced an HDR photo feature in this latest version of iOS. This allows the iPhone to take three shots instead of one each time it takes a photo. Each image is exposed to a slightly different level. One under exposed, the second at a mid-point and a third overexposed. This then gives the iPhone software the ability to provide better quality shots using a combination of those three images based on user preference, and the scene being photographed.

It’s likely that Apple wanted to keep that feature under its hat until the announcement, hence the last minute release to developers.

Also promised are…

• Fixes to the iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor issue which is said to plague some.
• General enhancements to iOS 4 for the iPhone 3G.
• HD uploading of images. A much requested feature.
• and finally, The enabling of Game Center.

As promised this update is free for all iOS users. As we hear more news we’ll keep you posted. Have you tried the iOS 4.1 GM out yet? If you have, feel free to share with us in the comments…

A frustrated iPhone 3G user has emailed Steve Jobs with the following, quite reasonable, request:

I’ve waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I’ve read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.

And apparently Steve has replied saying:

Software update coming soon.

Sent from my iPhone

Developers have been testing iOS 4.1 for some time now. And overall it does seem to offer some performance improvements for all devices. The iPhone 3G particularly.

As for when this update will be made public, we still don’t know. But it is at least reassuring to know that Apple are working on it, and there is light at the end of the tunnel for beleaguered 3G users.

Do you have an iPhone 3G? How has iOS performance been for you so far? Are you hanging out for an update? Have your say in the comments…

Boy Genius Report have had an interesting tip from a source. An enterprising developer, or hacker, has found references to two new iOS devices from Apple. In a code snippet found in iOS is a hack to allow these devices to be activated without going through iTunes. Something that may be of use for field testing of preproduction devices.

Based on the timing of previous sightings of similar functionality in Apple’s mobile OS, two new devices are going to be released by Apple in the near future. From the recognisable Apple designations of the devices it is clear that one is an iPhone and the other is an iPad.

So iPad 2? Or iPad speed / RAM bump?

And does this confirm a CDMA / Verizon iPhone is in field testing right now?

What do you think these iOS devices are? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

WSJ today published a news story where they reported that an Apple spokeswoman confirmed that they are aware of these issues:

Apple is investigating reports that the latest iPhone operating system causes problems for users of the iPhone 3G, after a series of complaints on Apple support forums and technology blogs. Apple is aware of the reports and is looking into the matter

The latest operating system brings more than 100 new features but the older models do not support all the features. It’s not just iPhone 3G which suffers from slow performance even iPod touch 2G users are experiencing similar issues.

Have you upgraded your iPhone 3G to iOS 4? Are you experiencing sluggish performance? Let us know in the comments section.

[Engadget] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-3g-slow-after-ios-4-upgrade/feed/ 38 https://touchreviews.net/ios-4-email-bug-bizarre-emails-december-1969/ https://touchreviews.net/ios-4-email-bug-bizarre-emails-december-1969/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:49:20 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=7940 Read More]]> Cult of Mac are reporting that a number of iPhone and iPod Touch users are reporting a fairly innocuous, and yet quite bizarre bug in the latest iOS 4 update.

The bug manifests itself in the form of an email from December the 31st, 1969 popping up in their email in-box. The message has no subject, sender or any content. This also seems to be limited to MobileMe and GMail accounts only.

There is a fix. But it involves 34 steps, apparently. Deleting the email has no effect.

I have several devices on various versions of iOS 4.x, and I only use GMail and MobileMe mail accounts on a daily basis. But I have not seen this bug yet. I feel a little left out as I was 2 months old in December 1969!

Apple have not commented on the bug yet.

Has this issue with iOS 4 hit you? Please let us know in the comments…

We recently reported that Apple might be releasing iOS 4.0.1 software update for iPhone 4 owners today and now Engadget has confirmed that the update is available for download.

The update “improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display.”

You can download the update by connecting your iPhone 4 to iTunes and clicking “check for updates”

iOS 4.0.1 is available for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

Download Links:

iPhone 4 – 4.0.1

iPhone 3GS – 4.0.1

iPhone 3G – 4.0.1

Let us know if you notice any other changes.

Update:

Apple has also released a software update for iPad. iOS 3.2.1 software update for iPad appears to be contain bug fixes and improves overall performance.

Download Link for iPad – 3.2.1

The beta release of iOS 4.1 updates the modem firmware version to 02.07.01. It is not known whether or not this will affect the current jailbreak and unlock efforts that are ongoing. It was rumored that Apple held back on releasing a software patch for the signal meter algorithm issues until they could patch up the exploits used to jailbreak and unlock the phone. We would suggest for all iPhone jailbreak/unlock hopefuls to stay away from this update. As far as the signal meter patch goes, it is not known whether or not it made it into this release.

Apple has not announced when iOS 4.1 will be released to the general public but based on previous beta and release schedules, iOS 4.1 is at least a couple of months away.

The new update brings Game Center and also allows you to turn off the new spelling feature in the settings menu.

Initial reports suggest that the new version does not fix the Death Grip issue.

iOS 4.1 doesn’t fix the iPhone 4’s death grip antenna issue

If you have access to the iOS 4.1 beta, let us know your thoughts and experiences with this new version.

One of Poly9’s products is a “cross browser, cross platform 3D globe which does not require any download”. It is similar to Google Earth, and it provides real time statistics on a user’s location as well as altitude.

As usual with any Apple strategy details are sparse and employees have apparently been asked not to talk about their, or Apple’s future plans.

Apple purchased Placebase, another mapping company, last year, and advertised at the time for a project leader to help take the iPhone’s mapping apps “to the next level”. This has led people to speculate that Apple is looking to at least mitigate its dependence on Google for mapping services on its platforms.

When one considers the new location related hardware in Apple’s iPhone 4, and its push to get into both advertising, mobile finances, and consumer product search, as well as service location and ultimately sales (with its purchase of Siri), it seems quite clear that a road map is emerging for iOS devices to incorporate location awareness into every aspect of our lives.

Do you see the synergy emerging between Apple’s various purchases and product enhancements? Let us know your views in the comments…