https://touchreviews.net iPhone, iPad Games, Apps, Reviews, News Sat, 01 Aug 2015 15:00:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3 Apple Rumored To Be Interested in ARM https://touchreviews.net/apple-rumor-interest-buy-arm/ https://touchreviews.net/apple-rumor-interest-buy-arm/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:45:21 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6240 Read More]]> Buying chip designers and manufacturers seems to be the new sport in Silicon Valley.

First Apple bought PA Semi and was then rumored to have purchased Intrinsity. Google recently purchased Agnilux. Now rumors are circulating Apple has it’s eyes on the biggest prize of all, ARM. Various news sites around the Internet, including Engadget and TUAW, are reporting a proposed deal around $8 Billion USD that would see the Cupertino giant acquire one of the biggest prizes in the mobile processor space.

To understand the magnitude of such a deal, you need to understand what purchasing ARM would mean. ARM Holdings, as the company is formally known, designs and manufactures processors and systems on a chip for many of the large companies in the mobile space. It either directly creates or licenses its designs to Microsoft, Nokia, Apple, and a host of other top corporations. ARM processors run the iPhone and iPad as well as the mobile devices of some of Apple’s key competitors.

It’s easy to see then that Apple’s motivation in buying ARM would be twofold. First, they would acquire the largest single manufacturer of mobile processors in the world. They could ensure a long term supply of processors for their iPad, iPhone, and any future mobile device platforms. They would no longer be beholden to an outside organisation for a key component. With the design know-how brought in-house, they could also dictate the design and function of future processors. If there’s anything Apple strives for, it is control over every aspect of the product development process. As TUAW points out in their article:

Last January, Apple COO Tim Cook stated, ‘We believe we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.’

The second motivation may be a tad bit more Machiavellian. By purchasing ARM, Apple puts itself in control of the fates of the mobile processors of their competition. While they would probably never dare to completely cut off their competition, they would certainly place themselves in a position where Apple benefited the most from the expertise and capabilities of ARM. And of course, they would be happy to make a profit off the backs of Microsoft and Nokia.

What do you think of an Apple-owned ARM? Would they become an unstoppable juggernaut by controlling every aspect of the design and manufacturing process of their devices? Do you think Apple should be allowed to purchase and consolidate a company like ARM? Leave us a comment and let us know.

[Engadget] [TUAW] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-rumor-interest-buy-arm/feed/ 1 iPhone OS 4.0 already Jailbroken? https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-jailbreak-hack/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-jailbreak-hack/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:30:52 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6008 Read More]]> iPhone OS 4.0 Jailbreak!

As you probably know iPhone OS 4.0 was unveiled in the US yesterday, and was made available for download immediately as a Developer Preview. If you want to have a go then you need to sign up as an Apple Developer, pay $99 and then you’re good to go.

I have it installed on my 3G iPod right now, and it’s fun to play with a new OS, even if it is an early version. General release of the full OS is expected to be in the Summer of 2010.

iPhone hacker “iH8sn0w” has apparently already downloaded the the Developer Preview and said that a jailbreak is possible. At the moment the only details we have are that this hacker might be working on a  jailbreak solution for the new OS in it’s preview form and he has posted the keys online here : [pastie.org]

I suspect a similar solution to the one that other hackers have used to jailbreak iPhone OS3.2 on the iPad and 3.1.3 on the iPod and iPhone.

It’s very unlikely that the actual jailbreak will be made available online until Apple officially launches the new OS to the public though. As I have mentioned before, any time a jailbreak method is made public Apple plugs it pretty  quick.

Anyone else out there playing with iPhone OS 4.0? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. I am preparing an analysis for Touch Reviews which should go online layer today, subscribe to our email updates to know when it goes live!

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-jailbreak-hack/feed/ 0 Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Keynote Event Roundup https://touchreviews.net/apple-iphone-os-40-keynote-event-roundup/ https://touchreviews.net/apple-iphone-os-40-keynote-event-roundup/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:20:34 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=5998 Read More]]> iPhone OS 4 Live keynote event

Apple has certainly been on a streak lately. The public release of the iPad has been a complete success and now the details of the much anticipated iPhone OS 4.0. The new operating system has been the main object of speculation and rumor since the unveiling of the Apple tablet in January. Today’s announcement finally threw back the curtain and gave us all a vision of the future of the iPhone and iPad platforms. While the tech media machine discerned and speculated most of the features beforehand, there were still a few surprises no one saw coming.

Let’s review the seven main features of the announcement:

This was the big feature everyone has been waiting for. While it remains to be seen whether this is true multitasking in the sense that the application runs in the background or is preserved in some kind of frozen state, this feature should enhance the iPhone experience greatly. What we do know is multitasking will support audio, VoIP, location and navigation applications running in the background. In addition to this multitasking will include enhanced push notifications, local notifications, task completion, and fast app switching.

One of the main complaints about the iPhone user interface is the endless succession of home screens full of icons. The Folders feature allows a user to create a pile of icons that appear as a folder on their home screen. Tapping the folder provides access to all of the apps in the folder.

iPhone OS 4.0 will enhance the native Mail app in several significant ways. The most significant is a unified inbox. All of a user’s e-mail can now be delivered to one location. On the e-mail side, messages can now be organized by thread and attachments opened with an external app identified for that purpose or file extension.

Apple will bring the iBooks application to the iPhone.

iPhone OS 4.0 will bring a number of enhancements relevant to Enterprise users. They include increased data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution, multiple Exchange accounts, Exchange Server 2010 support and SSL VPN support.

This was an enhancement no one saw coming. GameCenter provides an Xbox Live type interface for iPhone gaming. It integrates social gaming, friend invites, matchmaking, leaderboards and achievements. It will be interesting to see how developers use this enhancement and how much it cuts into the business of applications like OpenFeint.

iAd is Apple’s entry into mobile advertising. While this may seem like a rather mundane enhancement, iAd will feature rich, in-app interactive and video advertisements. The advertisements demoed at the presentation seemed more like applications than static ads. Apple will sell and host the ads and split revenue 60/40 in favor of developers.

Multitasking was easily the most exciting and interesting announcement. The single criticism most used against the operating system is now gone and if Apple is prepared to release it, you know it has been tested and works extremely well. It may not be the full, preemptive multitasking users are familiar with from a desktop computer paradigm but I think it will be enough to make users happy without running into the problems encountered on mobile platforms like Android.

The move to version 4.0 seems like more of a major upgrade than the move to version 3.0 a year ago. I think this has a lot to do with the fact the iPhone OS now supports a major device in the iPad. I think it’s also indicative of Apple’s vision for the future, a vision where the iPhone OS and its ancestors are the future of Apple computing. Sure, Mac OS will always exist as a full operating system, but as Apple shifts focus from computers to consumer electronics the iPhone OS represents the lightweight operating system required to make such a change. Version 4.0 will be available in the summer for the iPhone and iPod Touch and in the fall for the iPad. The iPad, iPhone 3GS, and 3rd generation Touch will be able to run all of the new features. The iPhone 3G and 2nd generation Touch will run most features but notably multitasking will not be available. No word on pricing as of yet.

What are your thoughts on today’s announcements? Did Apple fill some of the major gaps in the iPhone OS? Would you be compelled to buy a product that runs the new operating system? Are you encouraged by Apple’s vision of the future based on the new OS? Leave us a comment and let us know.

You can read our complete  live coverage here.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-iphone-os-40-keynote-event-roundup/feed/ 3 Apple patents “peer to peer financial transactions” https://touchreviews.net/apple-patents-peer-peer-financial-transactions/ https://touchreviews.net/apple-patents-peer-peer-financial-transactions/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:18:56 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=5992 Read More]]> Could peer to peer financial transactions be part of the iPhone OS 4.0 sneak peek? Seems strange that it should suddenly pop up online now.

I find the whole US patent thing a bit strange. It appears that anyone can patent anything, and then it’s a big free for all in court where the lawyers make out like bandits.

In any case Apple have patented their method for people to make person to person payments with their mobile phones. This is actually something that has been going on in Japan for years. I know because I used it when I lived there! Anyway, this should prove for an interesting escalation in Apple’s and Nokia’s future lawsuits if Nokia ever decides they want to do this too.

And we haven’t even mentioned Google and Android yet!

For those that are interested Patent WO/2010/039337 [wipo.int] was published today.

And the lengthy document with details of the technology and how it works is also here : [wipo.int]

The pictures, for those of you who have a life, are from page 167 onwards. And should give you the basics.

Briefly, looking through the details of the payment system a user can choose to pay someone with a credit or debit card, directly from their bank account or even via iTunes.

Do any of you remember how many credit cards Steve Jobs mentioned they have on file at his last keynote? It was a lot.

I wonder if this could be something that is touched on at the iPhone OS 4.0 sneak peak? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Last chance for bets before our Live Coverage here.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-patents-peer-peer-financial-transactions/feed/ 2 Live Coverage. Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Sneak Peek Keynote Event https://touchreviews.net/live-coverage-apple-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/ https://touchreviews.net/live-coverage-apple-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:40:44 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=5983 Read More]]> apple iphone event OS 4 live coverage

With less than a week after a major product launch Apple’s announcement of iPhone OS 4.0 event was quite unexpected. Apple will give us a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS later today. The event will be live at Apple’s Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino.

There have been many rumors suggesting different features which could possibly be announced today. The iPhone has been often criticized for not supporting multitasking for third party apps and iPhone OS 4.0 might add this highly anticipated feature. The next generation of iPhone OS could also support Apple’s new mobile Ad network (iAds?)

Apple ‘future of iPhone OS’ Event will begin on Thursday, April 8th at 10AM PT. We will start broadcasting the Live feed by 9:00AM.

Bookmark and share this page as we bring you the all-in-one live feed from all popular news sources. We will be updating you with the latest images and features of iPhone OS 4.0 and all other announcements.

No need to refresh the page!

Don’t miss this event, check your time zone:

07:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris

News source: Engadget and Gizmodo
]]> https://touchreviews.net/live-coverage-apple-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/feed/ 2 Is Flash On The Way Out? More Evidence https://touchreviews.net/flash-out-apple-war-iphone-ipad/ https://touchreviews.net/flash-out-apple-war-iphone-ipad/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:11:43 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=5023 Read More]]> Flash or Flame Out?

It may have seemed like a typically hyperbolic Steve Jobs when he labelled Adobe “lazy” during an internal Apple town hall meeting. Yet, as people start to question whether Flash’s time has passed, more evidence mounts that Mr. Jobs may not have been suffering from a fit of pique after all. Case in point: a nasty little bug in Flash that crashes any browser without fail every time.

The bug was discovered by Matthew Dempsky in September 2008. Yes, that’s right, September 2008. And it remains unfixed to this very day. If you go to Matthew’s web site at http://flashcrash.dempsky.org/ there are links to all of the technical details of the bug. Be forewarned though, the site also contains a demonstration of the bug. Unless you’re running a browser that isolates crashed plug-ins like Chrome the site will probably crash your browser window if Flash is running in the background.

How ridiculous is it that Adobe allows a 16 month old bug that crashes any browser window without fail to continue to exist? That doesn’t sound like a leading edge development house that’s responsive to its installed user base. It’s situations like this that reinforce Steve Job’s one man crusade against Flash. It points a glaring spotlight at the shortcomings of the technology, and the company that backs it, and shines another on the technologies waiting to replace it.

As we’ve mentioned on several occasions, the primary technology posed to replace it is HTML 5. Not only will HTML 5 support browser rendered video, something now primarily accomplished with Flash, it will also replace Flash as a means to produce dynamic content. The HTML 5 Canvas Experiment uses pure HTML 5 and Javascript to produce an animated, dynamic web page that’s rendered entirely by the browser, no plug-in required. The project takes 100 Tweets about HTML 5 and displays them using a Javascript-based particle engine. Click on a displayed particle and you get a Tweet. The really fascinating thing about it though is how much it looks like a Flash web site. It’s web sites and technology demonstrators like this that show how quickly time is running out for Flash. Why deal with Flash when you don’t have to any more?

Flash’s days are numbered and it’s only a matter of time before developers start to leave it behind. Internet Explorer is the only mainstream browser that doesn’t fully support HTML 5. That’s bound to change sooner or later. When the web iterates again, it will be browser plug-ins like Flash that get left behind.

Is Flash on the way out? Is all the noise about Flash’s failings and shortcomings just coming from a media in love with Apple? Leave us a comment and weigh in with your opinion.

By: Erin Peterson

]]> https://touchreviews.net/flash-out-apple-war-iphone-ipad/feed/ 1 iPhone/iPod touch Software Version 3.1.3 Now Available https://touchreviews.net/iphone-ipod-touch-software-version-3-1-3-now-available/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-ipod-touch-software-version-3-1-3-now-available/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:22:48 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=4952 Read More]]> iphone 3.1.3 software update

iPhone OS 3.1.3 and iPhone OS 3.1.3 for iPod touch software update details

Impact: Playing a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution

Description: A buffer overflow exists in the handling of mp4 audio files. Playing a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This issue is addressed through improved bounds checking. Credit to Tobias Klein of trapkit.de for reporting this issue.

Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted TIFF image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution

Description: A buffer underflow exists in ImageIO’s handling of TIFF images. Viewing a maliciously crafted TIFF image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This issue is addressed through improved bounds checking.

Impact: A person with physical access to a locked device may be able to access the user’s data

Description: A memory corruption issue exists in the handling of a certain USB control message. A person with physical access to the device could use this to bypass the passcode and access the user’s data. This issue is addressed through improved handling of the USB control message.

Impact: Accessing a maliciously crafted FTP server could result in an unexpected application termination, information disclosure, or arbitrary code execution

Description: Multiple input validation issues exist in WebKit’s handling of FTP directory listings. Accessing a maliciously crafted FTP server may lead to information disclosure, unexpected application termination, or execution of arbitrary code. This update addresses the issues through improved parsing of FTP directory listings. Credit to Michal Zalewski of Google Inc. for reporting these issues.

Impact: Mail may load remote audio and video content when remote image loading is disabled

Description: When WebKit encounters an HTML 5 Media Element pointing to an external resource, it does not issue a resource load callback to determine if the resource should be loaded. This may result in undesired requests to remote servers. As an example, the sender of an HTML-formatted email message could use this to determine that the message was read. This issue is addressed by generating resource load callbacks when WebKit encounters an HTML 5 Media Element.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-ipod-touch-software-version-3-1-3-now-available/feed/ 2 Steve Jobs: ‘No one will be using Flash’ https://touchreviews.net/steve-jobs-no-flash-ipad-iphone/ https://touchreviews.net/steve-jobs-no-flash-ipad-iphone/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:59:05 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=4926 Read More]]>

Yesterday we published an article where we highlighted the growing adoption of HTML5 and how Flash might just be a forgotten technology soon. According to Wired after the iPad announcement Steve Jobs made himself available to employees who could ask him any question.

When Jobs was questioned about his views on Adobe he said:

About Adobe: They are lazy, Jobs says. They have all this potential to do interesting things but they just refuse to do it. They don’t do anything with the approaches that Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy, he says. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash, he says. The world is moving to HTML5.

The above statement clearly suggests that we may never see Flash on iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.  The growing adoption of HTML5 standards and the dominance of Apple in mobile products might just push popular web services to start publishing content tailored for iPhone therefore completely eliminating the need for Flash.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/steve-jobs-no-flash-ipad-iphone/feed/ 6 Jailbroken iPhone Gets iPad UI https://touchreviews.net/ipad-ui-on-iphone-how-to-jailbreak/ https://touchreviews.net/ipad-ui-on-iphone-how-to-jailbreak/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:18:58 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=4890 Read More]]> If you own a jailbroken iPhone and want the UI of your device to look just like the iPad then you can accomplish that by simply installing a few apps from cydia and app store.

Video Instructions

Source: Redmond Pie
]]> https://touchreviews.net/ipad-ui-on-iphone-how-to-jailbreak/feed/ 1