iPhone Exploit Puts Passwords At Risk Within Minutes

By Graham Spencer

German researchers have demonstrated the ability to reveal passwords stored in a locked iPhone in six minutes and without needing to crack the passcode. The attack targets Apple’s password management system known as keychain and is based on existing jailbreak exploits that gives the attacker wide access to the iPhone’s internal data.

Once jailbroken, the researchers installed an SSH server on the iPhone and install a keychain access script. This keychain access script utilizes functions that are built within the phone to access passwords and other data stored in keychain which is then outputted to the attacker. For a demo of the exploit, jump the break.

More Evidence of iOS Gaming on the Apple TV Unearthed, Online Multiplayer too?

By Graham Spencer

Since the Apple TV was revised last year with an iOS backend there has been ample speculation that Apple would eventually allow users to run apps and games and Engadget has today reported that some code in iOS 4.3 beta 3 further backs up that speculation. More specifically, the uncovered code references “ATVGames” and “ATVThunder” which also point to leaderboards, a controller, a way to schedule games and a storefront.

Two other strings were particularly noteworthy; “com.apple.appletv.play.live.thunder” and “.play.archive.thunder”. No one is really sure what they fully mean but as Engadget points out, the AppleTV is limited to 8GB’s of storage which is admittedly fairly minimal possibly suggesting that “archive” or “live” could mean streaming games or multiplayer. Engadget’s source also comments that “OpenGL is mature and thoroughly implemented enough that streaming low bandwidth data and computing locally could happen”.

Are iOS Game Prices Creating Culture of Disposability? Nintendo Boss Thinks So

By Graham Spencer

The head honcho of Nintendo North America, Reggie Fils-Aime has criticized the price levels of apps in the iTunes App Store claiming that the low prices create a “mentality” for consumers that portable games should only be a few dollars. Fils-Aimes who is the Nintendo North American president and chief operating officer felt that such a mentality also breeds a culture that believes content is disposable because of the cheap price and that this was one of the gaming industries biggest risks today.

Whilst Fils-Aime’s is not the most independent commentator on this issue with his company’s Nintendo DS platform directly competing with the gaming aspects of iOS, his points do have some validity. Games on the App store have tended to be below $5 compared to DS and PSP games that are typically well above that range. The presumption is the Fils-Aime’s fears that the App store prices will spread across to all platforms and lead to more gimmicky, simplistic games rather than well though out, in-depth game experiences.

Instagram Shifting Focus to an Open Platform With API

By Graham Spencer

Instagram has been a phenomenal success story gaining a user base of 2 million people in just four months that are now uploading 300,000 photos a day and now the developers are inviting developers to sign up for access to an Instagram API. In a blog post, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said that the guiding principle for Instagram was to “create and maintain an open ecosystem that changes the way we see our world,” opening up Instagram to other developers is their next step to fulfilling that principle.

The opening up of a developers API seems to indicate a shift by Instagram from one of giving users an app to edit photos and share, to one dominated by creating a social image sharing service. This could allow other apps such as Hipstamatic to hook into Instagram and let users share their Hipstamatic photo’s on through Instagram. The blog post doesn’t quite make it clear if this is their intention but it most definitely seems like the logical iteration.

Verizon iPhone 4’s Starting to Arrive Today For Those Who Pre-Ordered

By Graham Spencer

If you are one of those who stayed up till 3am last week and ordered the Verizon iPhone you might be one of the lucky first few to get your hands on the long awaited phone. Engadget reports that it is receiving lots of tips that deliveries are happening this Monday morning.

Boy Genius Report also got their Verizon iPhone 4 delivered this morning and they have an unboxing gallery up for your viewing pleasure!

[Via Engadget, Boy Genius Report]

2011 WWDC Rumored to be June 5 – 9

By Graham Spencer

Setteb.it has done some investigating and it seems that if Apple follows previous trends from past WWDC’s, it would appear that the 2011 dates for WWDC would be June 5 - 9. The above image gives a rundown of booked events in the Moscone center in downtown San Francisco and the dates of June 5 - 9 are just labelled as a ‘Corporate Meeting’, as Apple has done so in past years.

WWDC, or the World Wide Developers Conference has been the place Apple has revealed it’s new iPhones (except the original) and major updates iOS updates. The keynote on June 5th would also be a really nice tie in for the launch of the iPhone 5! Last years WWDC was on June 7 - 11.

[Via 9to5Mac, Setteb.it]

Update: AppleBitch spotted the rumored WWDC dates last week.

iPads to Enter Yet Another Parliament, This Time in Britain

By Graham Spencer

The British House of Lords is set to soon allow it’s parliamentarians to use the iPad and other tablets, smartphones and e-readers, for a one year trial period. This embrace of the iPad is just the latest in a long line of examples where the iPad has gone beyond just a consumer entertainment device to one that is for students, Fortune 500 companies and politicians across the world.

The British parliamentarians will however be restricted to only accessing parliamentary documents and other clearly related files and websites to ensure that the devices do not detract from the key role of the House. This is undoubtedly a rule to try and avoid what happened last week in Italy when a member of their parliament, Simeone Di Cagno Abbrescia was caught browsing certain escort agency websites on the iPad during a parliamentary sitting.

The Plaza Hotel Deploys iPads in Every Room

By Graham Spencer

The five star The Plaza hotel in New York city has recently deployed iPads to every single one of it’s rooms and has a seriously cool iPad app running on them. The application allows the hotel visitors to do everything from turning lights on, changing the air conditioning, making restaurant reservations, ordering amenities and much more.

According to The Plaza’s general manager they had previously tried a similar system that was a touch panel but it “wasn’t sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do” and the iPad was chosen because “it is a great piece of equipment that is here to stay and won’t disappear tomorrow.”

Jump the break for a demo of the iPad app, made by Intelity, and its wide range of abilities.
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iPad Helping Remove Bookshelves, Save Space in Japan

By Graham Spencer

With Japan’s cramped living quarters, arrival of the iPad and other tablets and it’s non-existent e-book market, there has been an explosion of start-ups offering consumers to turn their paper books into e-books that can be used on such tablets as the iPad. Japan currently has the largest market for paper books and magazines, worth over $24 billion a year, yet the e-book market is currently earning less than $1 billion per year, driving customers to alternatives such as scanning books into PDF’s for use on tablets and e-readers.

One such start-up, Bookscan was founded by Yusuke Ohki and childhood friend, Shinya Iwamatsu last April and has done gangbusters, expanding its workforce to 120 people in less than 12 months. Ohki said to Bloomberg “the iPad’s release is the biggest factor in making this business possible” and said his inspiration for starting the business was the 2000 physical books that were crowding out his small Tokyo apartment.