https://touchreviews.net iPhone, iPad Games, Apps, Reviews, News Thu, 30 Jul 2015 08:09:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3 iPhone 4G Hints in OS 4 and Features Round Up https://touchreviews.net/iphone-4g-hints-os-4-features/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-4g-hints-os-4-features/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 21:16:51 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6973 Read More]]> iPhone OS 4 News

Apple’s WWDC 2010 is scheduled to kick off on June 07 and Steve Jobs is widely rumored to unveil the new iPhone 4G / HD. If you have been following news reports and rumors about the new iPhone 4G then you would probably have a very clear picture of how the next iPhone will look and  know the exact hardware specification which will be offered.

The prototype leak and iPhone OS 4 beta code has revealed some interesting information about upcoming features and heres a round up of what we know so far.

iPhone 4G Hints in OS 4

The values for video capture in the third beta hint at a high resolution camera which could record 720p high-definition video.

iPhone OS 4 beta code had various references to error messages which prompted the user about video call being disconnected because the local Wi-Fi connection was lost.

Various news sources have confirmed that the code in iPhone OS 4 had reference to titles like “Flash is disabled” The design of the leaked iPhone 4G prototype also confirmed that next iPhone will support a camera with flash.

iPhone OS 4 Features Round Up

This has been one of the highly anticipated features for iPhone and Apple will finally allow you to customize the home screen of your device with new wallpapers in the background.

The average number of iPhone apps a user installs is increasing as more and more apps are made available. iPhone OS 4 will enable you to manage your apps with ‘Folders’ You will be able to group 9 apps in one folder to save the number of icons appearing on your home screen. This will also enable users to easily access the frequently used apps and games.

iPhone OS 4 will imporve the SMS app and now you’ll be able to Limit character count, Repeat alert, Show preview, Toggle MMS and group messaging and Toggle subject field viewer.

The fourth beta of iPhone OS 4 had an option in the settings menu which suggests that AT&T will finally be offering internet tethering on iPhone.

Apple provides seven multitaking services as APIs to developers which include Background audio, Voice over IP, Background Location, Push Notifications, Local Notifications, Task Completion and Fast app switching. These APIs will allow you to stream internet radio using Pandora in the background while you surf the internet and receive incoming Skype calls even when when the app is not active.

Multitasking is only supported on iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3rd gen and iPad.

Mail app on iPhone OS 4 will include Unified Inbox, Multiple Exchange Accounts, Fast inbox switching, Threaded messages and the ability to open attachments with apps. This will certainly make emailing on iPhone much more efficient and provide an enhanced user experience. iPhone OS 4 will also add support for Gmail Archive.

If you love reading eBooks on the go then you will finally be able to access the iBooks library on your iPhone running OS 4.

iPhone OS 4 will add software support for orientation lock which will make reading eBooks and performing various actions on your iPhone in the orientation set by you and will not rotate the screen when you change your angle of viewing.

iPhone OS 4 will add new iPad-style spelling correction features to iPhone and iPod touch. If you misspell a word it will be underlined with red color and you will be able to correct it with suggested words which will appear in blue color.

With more than 50,000 games and entertainment titles on iPhone and iPod touch Apple realized the importance of native social gaming network. Game Center will include Matchmaking and leaderboards too.

iPhone OS 4 Rumors

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-4g-hints-os-4-features/feed/ 5 Apple Seeds iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 to Developers. New Features https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os4-beta-4-new-features/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os4-beta-4-new-features/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 15:40:52 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6674 Read More]]> iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 is now available for developers.. This is usual on alternate Tuesdays in the lead up to an iPhone OS launch. Releases may accelerate to every Tuesday as we get closer to WWDC, and the official final release of date.

We will of course keep you updated on what people discover in the new SDK in coming days / weeks.

So far it seems that developers have found some swanky new wallpapers for the new iPhone OS, and also some tell tale dialog changes which seem to suggest AT&T customers may finally be getting tethering.

Of course there is no detail of the costs that may well be incurred for activating that service. It’s likely that AT&T feel more comfortable doing this now that they have technology in place for the iPad which limits video download quality over 3G. Expect that to be put in place for the iPhone also.

Are you excited to finally be perhaps be getting Tethering for your iPhone? Let us know in the comments.

iPhone OS 4 tethering iPhone OS 4 Wallapers iPhone OS4 Wallapers 1 ]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os4-beta-4-new-features/feed/ 0 Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 3 Adds ‘Orientation Lock’ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-beta-3-adds-orientation-lock/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-beta-3-adds-orientation-lock/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 20:35:21 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6455 Read More]]> iPhone OS 4 Beta 3 Orientation Lock

We recently reported that Apple has released the iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3 and now Gizmodo is reporting their experience with the new beta and some new features.

iPhone OS 4 Beta 3 has improved the overall stability of the OS and also restores the ability to take screenshots which was missing in the earlier build. The update makes closing apps in the multitasking drawer easier by allowing you to close multiple apps at once.

The iPad has a dedicated hardware button for orientation lock as reading on the device could be quite frustrating if the device changed its orientation when you changed your angle of reading. iPhone OS 4 will add iBooks app and in order to counter the same issue on iPhone and iPod touch the beta 3 version of iPhone Os 4 adds software support for Orientation Lock.

Have you spotted any undocumented feature in iPhone OS 4 beta 3? Feel free to email us screenshots of any new features you find.

[Gizmodo] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-beta-3-adds-orientation-lock/feed/ 0 Apple’s iPhone, iPad OS 4 Jailbroken? There’s an App For That https://touchreviews.net/limera1n-jailbreak-iphone-4-ipad-app/ https://touchreviews.net/limera1n-jailbreak-iphone-4-ipad-app/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:28:01 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6317 Read More]]> From the dark corners of the Internet comes the news many have been waiting to hear. Tech blog Geekword is reporting famous/infamous iPhone hacker geohot has indirectly leaked the name of his iPhone OS 4.0 jailbreaking tool. According to the report, the domain name limera1n.com is registered to the same owner as blackra1n.com and that owner is geohot of course. Blackra1n is one of the most popular iPhone jailbreaking applications available. It stands to reason Limera1n, with its familiar moniker, is the newest addition to the jailbreaking repertoire.

If geohot has successfully jailbroken iPhone OS 4.0, there are some big implications. This has to be a blow for Apple and the iPad. It is obvious a lot of time and attention was paid to not only the design of the iPad but limiting the avenues of access to it. iTunes is the only way to synchronize media between the computer in the iPad. Input devices are limited to those Apple has sanctioned either explicitly or tacitly by controlling accessories. The only way to get an application on the device is through an Apple controlled storefront. For that matter, you can’t even use the iPad as a standalone device, it must be synchronized with iTunes to function. A jailbroken OS 4.0 means a jailbroken iPad and that means the controls Apple has worked so hard to construct are gone in an instant. Granted, not everyone will jailbreak their iPad, just as not everyone has a jailbroken iPhone, but the option is there now and that will make some people very happy.

Another implication in this report is that hackers are getting faster at hacking. iPhone OS 4.0 isn’t even out of beta yet and a jailbreak exists for it. There use to be some turnaround time involved in hacking but as zero day exploits become more and more common, it shouldn’t be a surprise to any company wishing to construct a walled garden that those that wish to tear it down are quicker and more agile. If geohot did this all by himself, Apple doesn’t need to pursue him, they need to hire him because he’s a genius.

Lastly I think this proves Apple is losing the arms race with the hackers and jailbreakers. Should they try to pursue a strategy of never-ending escalation trying to counter act applications like Limera1n or should they address the issues that underlie it? I’d say 95% of the people that jailbreak now do so to have some choice and decision in how their system operates and what operates on it. Jailbroken iPhones today have multitasking, had copy and paste at least a year before official Apple support, and run the native Google Voice application Apple will be “studying” forever. Instead of building the wall higher around their garden, should Apple throw open the front gate and let everyone in? An Android Marketplace-like iPhone app store would be a hundred times as huge as it is now. If Apple is uncomfortable with that idea for “the sake of the children”, why not even just open up the OS enough to allow for direct download of applications from a URL like Android supports. Apple may not like it but people jailbreak their products for a reason, not just because they’re miscreants living in their mother’s basement with nothing better to do with their time. As long as they don’t address the underlying issues, they will be caught in this arms race with smart folks like geohot who don’t share their world view.

Are you looking forward to jailbreaking your iPhone or iPad running OS 4.0? What additional features or applications would you like to add to such a device? Should Apple continue to fight against the jailbreakers and hackers or resolve the reasons why people jailbreak? Leave us a comment and let us know.

[Geekword] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/limera1n-jailbreak-iphone-4-ipad-app/feed/ 5 Apple adds ‘Gmail Archive’ to iPhone OS 4 https://touchreviews.net/gmail-archive-iphone-os-4/ https://touchreviews.net/gmail-archive-iphone-os-4/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:28:24 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6244 Read More]]> GMAIL archive iPhone OS 4

Apple have added a Gmail “Archive” feature to the iPhone’s native Mail app. It works in a similar way to “Delete”, in that you swipe the mail you want to archive, but choose to archive instead of delete.

Seeing as Gmail accounts have “unlimited” space for archiving to this seems like a neat addition.

The Mail app will bring significant improvements in iPhone OS 4. You will also be able to manage your email accounts in a unified inbox, switch between inboxes more quickly, organize messages by threads, and even open attachments in third-party apps.

What other minor feature bumps are you hoping will show up in iPhone OS 4.0? Let us know in the comments.

[9to5Mac] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/gmail-archive-iphone-os-4/feed/ 0 iPhone OS 4.0 3G Special multitasking “hacked” edition https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-3g-special-multi-tasking-hack-jailbreak/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-3g-special-multi-tasking-hack-jailbreak/#comments Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:13:26 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6146 Read More]]> We predicted that multitasking would not be available on earlier iPhone devices, and were correct. Even still I was personally a little insulted by Apple’s statement that earlier hardware simply can’t support it. That statement taken in its broadest terms could be seen as true, but overall the statement is disingenuous.

It must have had a similar effect on the various hacking teams out there too..

The iPhoneDevTeam have rushed a preliminary beta of their redsn0w jailbreaking tool out. It’s certainly not their usual consumer orientated click and jailbreak solution, and as such it is aimed at experienced developers who operate on the fringes of the developer community. This jailbreak is not for the faint of heart, and will update bits of your iPhone that are not easy to fix and rollback to a previous iPhone OS version. You have been warned.

The idea is that this release by the hacker community gives developers who work on apps which are sold outside the Apple AppStore an opportunity to prepare their apps for the new iPhone OS.

Most noticeably though, this jailbroken version of iPhone OS 4.0 runs multitasking just fine on the iPhone 3G.

Sure, memory is a legitimate argument against multi-tasking on the 3G iPhone. It has 128MB of RAM as opposed to 256MB on all newer iDevices. However, the iPad (Apple’s newest iDevice) has potentially similar issues to the 3G due to the amount of extra RAM it uses both for apps and for its larger screen.

Here is a video if the jailbreak for those that like that kind of thing :

Would you consider jailbreaking your iPhone 3G for multitasking alone? Let us know in the comments..

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-0-3g-special-multi-tasking-hack-jailbreak/feed/ 0 Apple drops unpopular “Rate on Delete” for iPhone OS 4.0 Apps https://touchreviews.net/apple-drops-rate-on-delete-feature-iphone-os-4-0-apps/ https://touchreviews.net/apple-drops-rate-on-delete-feature-iphone-os-4-0-apps/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:06:59 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6099 Read More]]> Some developers who have been trying out iPhone OS 4.0 have noted that the “Rate on Delete” “feature” is not present in the new operating system.

This “feature” has been a controversial facet of the iPhone OS for some time. With a lot of developers feeling that the score people gave to their apps when deleting them may be arbitrary at best, and possibly vindictive at worst. So I doubt it will be missed by people with apps to sell.

It possibly will not be missed by users either, who may have even vented their frustration at another step to go through when removing an app, against the app they were deleting. In any case rating an app when you delete it, for any reason, is probably not the best time to do it – for anybody concerned. I am sure Apple have seen this in their own metrics.

It’s clear to see the “Rate on Delete” does not really work if you scroll through top apps in the App Store. Even supremely popular apps like “Tap Tap Revenge 3″ have almost the same number of 1 star ratings as they do 5 star ratings. And both the 1 and 5 star ratings are an order of magnitude larger than any intermediate scores. Very clearly not representative.

What’s your view on “Rate on Delete”? Will you miss it? Or was it an additional step in app removal you found tiresome?

Let us know in the comments.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-drops-rate-on-delete-feature-iphone-os-4-0-apps/feed/ 1 iPhone OS 4.0 Jailbreak Confirmed (Video) https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-jailbreak-confirmed-video/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-jailbreak-confirmed-video/#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:21:59 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6030 Read More]]> We reported yesterday that iPhone OS 4.0 had either been jailbroken already, or was on the verge of being jailbroken : [touchreviews.net]

Well overnight iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd (@MuscleNerd) managed to complete the jailbreak, and released a video online of his exploits:

In the video we can see a VNC server running on the new iPhone OS 4.0 Developer only Beta release, and his ability to remotely connect, view and control his iPhone from his computer.

We need to remember two things here though :

Firstly, Apple have released this version of iPhone OS 4.0 way ahead of any official launch of the new mobile OS. So they are unlikely to show their hand with any new protection measures, and give hackers advance time to try and work on exploits ready for the official release.

Secondly, the jailbreakers are aware that if they show their hand by making this hack public Apple will certainly plug it before any new release. That is assuming they (Apple) are not already aware of the exploit being used, and don’t plan to plug it anyway.

So don’t expect this to become a publicly available jailbreak solution any time soon. The game of cat & mouse between Apple and Jailbreakers continues. Right now it’s a kind of stalemate.

Let us know your views on these “naughty” hackers, and “oppressive” Apple in the comments.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-jailbreak-confirmed-video/feed/ 2 iPhone OS 4 SDK Hints At Improved Hardware https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-sdk-new-hardware/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-sdk-new-hardware/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:55:47 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6024 Read More]]> We have the iPad and iPhone OS 4.0. The only major item of speculation left for this year is the new iPhone. It is widely expected new iPhone hardware will be introduced at the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) some time this summer. Thanks to some digging by MacRumors and TUAW it now appears a bit more of the new hardware has been revealed.

High on the wish list of many tech pundits and Apple fans has been video conferencing on the iPhone. Many had hoped the iPhone 3GS would implement a forward facing camera but it ultimately did not. What MacRumors has discovered are references to the front facing cameras interspersed in the new 4.0 SDK. Independently, TUAW discovered a process running in the new code called iChatAgent. iChat is Apple’s video chat application that runs on Mac OS. These two pieces together would seem to suggest the long awaited video conferencing capability is on its way.

A dual camera iPhone would have important implications for both the general consumer and enterprise user. Mobile video conferencing would be a differentiating application no current competitor has. If it could be implemented on a more powerful iPhone with the same style and functionality all Apple products carry, it would certainly be another feather in the iPhone’s cap. Apple’s focus this year on adding hardware and software features to the iPhone is also indicative of their realization the competition is getting closer. While no one is yet ready to say Android and Android handsets are an equal of the iPhone environment, Android 2.1 is a world closer to being competitive with the iPhone than earlier versions like 1.5 and 1.6. Apple saw its edge in the 80s lost to Microsoft in the computer operating system space, it isn’t willing to lose the smartphone space to competitors like Android. Its good to see Apple respond instead of resting on previous success.

What do you think of Apple innovating the iPhone platform? Will the software and hardware features being built into the new iPhone allow it to remain the standard for smartphones? Would you be more compelled to wait and buy a new iPhone this summer instead of getting a phone available now? Leave us a comment and let us know.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-sdk-new-hardware/feed/ 1 iPhone OS 4.0 Initial analysis and Developers perspective https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-initial-analysis-developer-perspective/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-initial-analysis-developer-perspective/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:38:14 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6021 Read More]]> The next major iteration of Apple’s strongest facet in it’s increasing domination of the mobile marketplace is upon us, in the form of iPhone OS 4.0

Of course this is just a “sneak peak” of an OS which Apple promises boasts more than 100 new user features, and over 1500 new APIs for developers…

Let’s take a look at the seven main features of the announcement. Most of this is from my perspective as a developer and industry watcher. Obviously some of the features are pretty self explanatory and don’t really fall under my purview. For those I’ll give you my personal reaction and thoughts as an iPhone OS user.

I am playing with iPhone OS 4.0 on my iPod right now. It’s a bit buggy, and obviously until I or someone else writes apps that take advantage of some of these new features (like “multitasking”) I can only speculate about what is in the public domain, and what is blatantly obvious.

If you want to try out iPhone OS 4.0 be aware that it is not 100% stable yet. Nor is it feature complete either. You will need to pay $99 to Apple and register as a developer, and it’s not that easy to downgrade reliably once you’ve upgraded your device. Not in my experience so far anyway. This should be something you should be particularly careful about if you are putting it on your day to day iPhone. You have been warned.

Also remember that these are the “7 Tentpoles” of the new OS. By that I assume that Apple mean that, apart from minor usability changes, all the 100+ features and 1500+ APIs that Apple tout will fall broadly under these categories as the OS matures towards it’s Gold Master release.

Multitasking

Everyone was excited about the possibility of this. But I had my apprehensions. We will have to see how it all pans out. One thing we now know for sure is that only devices from the third generation upwards will support multitasking. i.e. iPhone 3GS, iPod 3G and the iPad.

Apple are explaining that away with a glib statement about “hardware capabilities”. Translated this means that basically they are saying that the 3G iPhone, 2G iPod Touch and original iPhone do not have a powerful enough processor, or enough RAM. Whilst those comments are reasonable, they don’t convey the whole truth.

To put that in perspective think back a few years to the oldest machine you had with multitasking and how powerful it’s processor was, and how capacious it’s RAM was, when compared to any iPhone of any generation.

I’ll let the marinade in your mind for a while. Answers on a postcard, or in the comments please.

Apple wants to sell more devices, and this is a good way to drive upgrades. Steve Jobs said as much himself in the iPhone OS 4.0 presentation when he let slip that “if this drives sales” then that would be a bonus from his point of view.
The other issue some may have with iPhone OS 4.0 “multitasking” is that it’s not really multitasking as we understand it. It’s a very neat technical solution for running multiple apps on a mobile device. But it’s effectively a way that apps are put to sleep, and then their core can then respond to certain callbacks that a developer registers with the iPhone OS. At the moment this is focussed on Music Playback, Location Awareness, and other common iPhone app requirements. What it does not allow us to do is have two or more apps running full bore on our devices. With the possible exception of the “Lengthy Task” feature of multitasking, which I will have to investigate further. So in effect a better name for iPhone multitasking would be “hot-switching” with notifications for “active but paused” apps.

That in itself begs the question again, “Why did Apple restrict it to newer devices”. Even the original iPhone can run music in the background without degrading app performance. One of the new feature’s primary boasts, alongside location based services. We already had that level of “multi-tasking” to some measurable degree, on the iPhone out of the box, with earlier OS incarnations: We can play music from iTunes, while we are playing games, and take calls while running other apps today. All Apple has really done is expose this existing functionality to all apps, albeit with some new bells and whistles.

Some bloggers are saying the reason earlier devices won’t support multi-tasking is down to limited memory. Those of us that have had more than one page open in Mobile Safari on an iPad know that when we switch between things the iPad can get short on memory with it’s 256MB. Anyone had Mobile Safari “forget” what we were doing on one page when we swapped to another yet? Currently the iPad has double the memory of the original iPhone, and the same as the 3G iPod Touch and 3GS iPhone. So Apple will need to address this with some kind of caching or paging on those devices anyway. Why not do it across the board?

All in all iPhone “multitasking” is nice, but it’s not multitasking as people who use Android and Palm know it. And certainly not desktop style multitasking. That is not necessarily a bad thing on mobile devices with memory and power management challenges, because of ever more complex apps and Operating System features. So all in all a good call, but nonetheless frustrating and inconsistent.

Having said that all that, the way it is implemented, will make for a better user experience overall, which is what Apple is all about. It not being available on earlier iDevices was to be expected to be honest. But I think Apple is being disingenuous about the reasons why. That’s what niggles me.

To Summarise : Apple are already going to have to do some clever memory management on more recent iDevices, as I have just explained. Scott Forstall a;sp said as much when pushed at the presentation on memory and multitasking. So why not on earlier iPhones and iPods?

To drive sales and simplify OS development for Apple! They are the simple reasons.

Folders

This is something that a lot of people have been hoping for. Our devices are becoming increasingly cluttered with each of our own subsections of the gazillions of apps available to us from the App Store. And app management has become a bit of a drag. Not to mention some of us have simply run out of effective space in the current Springboard implementation. From a developers perspective there is not a lot I can say other than it does what it says on the box. And it is a welcome addition to the OS. Although why it got such high billing in the announcement I am not sure. Perhaps because Apple realised it was a problem which needed addressing publically, and a headline grabber at the same time.

Enhanced Mail

Mail has been long overdue for an overhaul on the iPhone and iPod Touch. People whipped themselves into a frenzy when the iPad was launched, and even emailed Steve Jobs begging for a Unified Email inbox across all iDevices. He replied affirmatively. They got their wish. I suspect that Steve already had it on his todo list anyway.

I don’t use Mail on my iPhone much. Most of the time I use IMAP enabled accounts, and use it for quick checks, and firing off short replies to urgent emails. So I would work around many of the limitations that the app has by limiting how much I use it.

But features such as being able to organise messages by threads and open emails in third party apps. i.e. The apps I make. Well, that’s a very welcome addition too. And I do plan to use mail more comprehensively on my iPad so all this is welcome news.

iBooks for iPhone

Again, not much I can add here to the announcement. It’s certainly something that many people, myself included, expected. I for one have been considering writing my own book on the iPad (partially as an experiment), and then trying my hand at getting it published in the iBookStore. Knowing that I now have 50 million iPhones and 35 million iPod Touches making a total of 85 million out there as a market, ontop of the half a million or so (and counting) iPads in the wild, certainly makes that idea more appealing.

I also use my iPhone for most of my reading when travelling so this is good news for me personally on that front too. There are certainly some competent eBook readers for the iPhone and iPod already out there. But it’s nice to have an iTunes like eco-system, and Apples software to do my reading on. The main attraction for me there is the ability to read sample pages before I buy.

Enterprise

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. Ooo.. Feeling a bit sleepy there.

For those that are interested in that kind of thing (yawn, sorry!) Apple have it covered here : [apple.com]

I suppose the Wireless App Distribution of in-house apps is quite cool when allied with Mobile Device Management. But do be aware that Apple are not allowing anyone to distribute paid for commercial apps outside of the App Store with this.

Almost dropped off to sleep again there.

Onwards and upwards.

Game Center

This is the most surprising and confusing announcement of the entire iPhone OS 4.0 event.

It certainly shows, finally, that Apple is taking gaming on it’s various mobile devices pretty seriously. Not something Apple have been known for in the past. Cue light applause for Apple.

It’s also unclear exactly how Apple will provide services like matchmaking and leader-boards to developers. Nothing was discussed at the presentation, which leads me to believe that certain aspects of Game Center are still in flux. Will there still be room for SDK developers like GameSpy in all this? Networking perhaps building off the back of existing parts of the SDK for multiplayer gaming? Certainly hope so. But only time will tell.

I think that Game Center will only succeed if Apple can get Ngmoco, Scoreloop and OpenFeint on board as community members. Fragmentation is bad for Apple, and bad for existing Social Gaming Network providers. I presume there are negotiations going on behind the scenes now, frankly. Apple would not have announced this if they didn’t have some plan going forward.

Scott Forstall also himself said that ideally everyone would come together under one roof. I wonder what concessions Apple will have to make, and how willing the existing networks will be to work with them?

The generally fairly positive feedback coming out of the likes of Ngmoco and OpenFeint lead me to believe that negotiations are fairly well advanced already. Scoreloop seems a little more bullish in articles I have read. But these articles are speculative. I wonder where they are at?

iAd

I idly wondered aloud earlier in the week if this would be the only announcement at the iPhone OS 4.0 event. I was of course wrong. But it was certainly the one that Steve was most excited about. The audience didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm though. Perhaps we all feel a little jaded with advertising these days!

What is appealing about this addition to the SDK is that devs. can put their advertising revenue, and their app revenue, under one roof with Apple. But more importantly than that the way that ads are displayed is tightly woven into the iPhone SDK. I have to admit to being enthused about that from a purely academic stand point. I am not a huge fan of ads in any medium.

The integration into the SDK means that working with ads will be even more seamless than it already is when using modules like AdMob, and that we can display movies and other rich media as part of the ad experience for users.
What I would like to see is the possibility of sponsorship in apps. For example, say in a skateboarding or racing game to have images or movies pasted onto billboards along the road or racetrack. If this came to fruition then I would see adds as contributing to the in game experience without detracting form it with immersion breaking popups.

I also think that if Apple are the gatekeeper to what is advertised on iPhones, iPods and iPads then we can expect higher overall revenues as advertisers will pay more, and we’ll also potentially get a higher quality of advertiser and consequently advert content.

What concerns me is that some developers may go mad with this, seeing it as an easy and more legitimate revenue stream now it has tacit Apple endorsement. I hope I am wrong. And I hope that we don’t see ads in paid apps. That would be bad.

One thing I can say for absolutely certain. If I do any work on apps with ads I will be dropping AdMob and moving to iAds. I wonder how many other iPhone Devs are thinking the same thing, and how worried AdMob are?

Well that’s my initial thoughts on the iPhone OS 4.0 sneak peak.

I’ll try to come back with more specifics on each facet of the “7 Tentpoles” as I learn more, In the meantime feel free to give us your views, and feelings, good or bad, on what iPhone OS 4.0 means for you, in the comments.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-os-4-initial-analysis-developer-perspective/feed/ 0 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 Download iPhone OS 4 Keynote Event https://touchreviews.net/download-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/ https://touchreviews.net/download-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:41:32 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6003 Read More]]> Apple has updated their website with information about the upcoming iPhone OS update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In the iPhone OS 4 event Apple gave us a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS. The update will bring many highly anticipated features.

If you missed our live coverage here, you can read our event roudup here.

You can also download the iPhone OS 4 Keynote Event here

The major enhancement for gamers was the introduction of GameCentere which integrates social gaming, friend invites, matchmaking, leaderboards and achievements.

Multitasking, Enhanced Mail and folders will make common tasks on iPhone easier and more efficient.

iPhone OS 4.0 will be available this summer for the iPhone and iPod Touch and in the fall for the iPad. The iPad, iPhone 3GS, and 3rd generation iPod touch will be able to support all of the new features. The iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod touch will run most features but multitasking will not be supported.

Apple did not say anything about the price for the upgrade for iPod touch users and they might offer this as a free upgrade so that they can get maximum people adopt the iAd platform.

]]> https://touchreviews.net/download-iphone-os-4-keynote-event/feed/ 1 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 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
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