Federico Viticci

10779 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
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@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

Wozniak Is Happy About Verizon iPhone, Says LTE Will Come

Steve Wozniak is glad about the iPhone finally available on Verizon, arguably the “best carrier in the United States”. In the following video posted by VentureBeat, the Woz also goes on to say he’s excited about the mobile hotspot feature which, in the past, saved him a couple of times. Woz, as usual, is a fan of choice, and he thinks that the device available on two carriers will give people the chance to evaluate options and pick the carrier that has the best reception where they live.

About different carriers, Woz explains he was happy when in the early days of unlocked phones you could have a device with two numbers on two carriers at the same time. He says he would be glad to see this coming back in the future, with iPhone capable of easily switching between AT&T and Verizon. Oh, and 4G LTE? Woz says it’ll come, to the iPhone as well. That’s pretty much a given, although we don’t know when.

Check out the video of the Verizon-loving Woz below. Read more

Reeder for iPhone Adds Readability Support, Fullscreen Image Viewing

Reeder for iPhone, our favorite RSS client on iOS, was updated a few minutes ago to include features already seen in the iPad version. Reeder 2.3, available in the App Store at $2.99, now allows you to read full-length articles from any website thanks to Readability integration. Readability, also used by Apple in Safari Reader, can fetch text from articles on the web removing all the clutter such as unnecessary ads and banners. Reeder can now display this “elegant” content with the tap of a button while in reading mode. You can also pinch to open an article through Readability.

Another neat feature of this new version is fullscreen image viewing. Available only on iOS 4 and later, you can pinch on images to reveal them in fullscreen and tap to read an image’s description. Pinch out, and you go back to the standard article mode.

Last, the app can now load up to 5,000 unread items. This should be great news for those who daily skim through a huge list of unread feeds – personally, I never found myself in the situation of having to deal with thousands of articles waiting to be marked as read. Still, the functionality is in there now.

Reeder is a $2.99 purchase in the App Store and it’s an absolute must-have for iPhone owners.

Verizon iPhone, Personal Hotspot and MyWi - Which One?

With the Verizon iPhone, Apple today showcased a new software feature that comes pre-installed with the slightly-redesigned device: Personal Hotspot. Already available for several Android devices running on Verizon’s network and made deeply integrated into iOS with a new software build, Personal Hotspot will allow you to create a mobile WiFi network to share your 3G connection with up to 5 nearby WiFi devices. The feature, put simply, looks great: you can activate wireless tethering with literally two taps and a password, or go with Bluetooth and USB tethering. As suggested by Apple’s Phil Schiller himself, Personal Hotspot makes for a great alternative to popular MiFi hotspots and will allow iPad owners to carry around an iPhone on Verizon’s network and have constant access to the Internet even if the iPad is WiFi-only. Read more

Verizon To Start Selling CDMA iPad, Too?

It looks like Verizon doesn’t want to stop at a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 that runs on its network. According to Bloomberg, Verizon Wireless will start selling iPads that can connect “directly” to its network. Such an iPad would have to include a CDMA chip to eliminate the need of a portable, external hotspot as in the current iPad configuration Verizon is selling in its retail stores.

Verizon Wireless will sell a version of Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer that can connect directly to its network, posing another challenge to AT&T Inc. as the carrier’s exclusive hold on the iPhone draws to a close.

Verizon will get an embedded chip in the iPad for use on its network, Francis Shammo, chief financial officer of Verizon Communications Inc., the parent of the wireless unit, said today in an interview in New York. IPad users currently need an extra device to connect to Verizon’s network. Shammo declined to say when the change may happen.

Verizon started selling the iPad on October 28th, offering the option to bundle the device with a mobile hotspot for 3G connectivity. Verizon’s current pricing for iPad + MiFi is the following: a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad bundled with MiFi costs $630, 32GB Wi-Fi iPad + MiFi is $730, and 64GB Wi-Fi iPad plus MiFi is $830. A CDMA-enabled iPad wouldn’t need an additional hotspot or a SIM card slot as seen in the current iPad WiFi + 3G units, also sold by AT&T.

Twitter for Mac Bookmarklet→

Twitter for Mac Bookmarklet

This one’s a useful bookmarklet you can use in your default browser to send the current webpage title and link to Twitter for Mac. Works great – too bad Twitter for Mac doesn’t offer a way to wrap links in your own shortener instead of the not-so-popular t.co.

Install here.

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VerizoniPhoneCaseGate - Or, Some Cases Won’t Fit

Amidst the excitement for the finally-announced iPhone 4 on Verizon, here come some interesting news for owners of an iPhone 4 on AT&T willing to switch to Big Red: some cases for the non-CDMA iPhone won’t fit with the new unit. The Verizon iPhone has, in fact, relocated buttons that will make it impossible for some accessories to fit in properly. Namely, the mute switch and volume buttons have been relocated to a lower position to make room for the new antenna design at the top.

Should you worry and start thinking about signing petitions online for Apple to revise its position on the buttons? Not really. While Apple’s own Bumpers may have problems to work with the slightly new design, it’s likely that Apple has already teamed up with accessory makers to provide a variety of CDMA iPhone-compatible cases at launch on February 10. Plus, many cases have a larger opening for the aforementioned buttons than necessary – meaning that even in the new “location”, the cases will be just fine.

So, the Verizon iPhone’s volume buttons and mute switch are in a different position than before. This, however, should not affect most of the cases currently on the market, and we’re sure Apple will provide CDMA-ready solution come the official launch.

iOS 4.2.5 To Be Released With Verizon iPhone?

Here’s another interesting tidbit coming from the first hands-on with the just announced Verizon iPhone, which, as you may know, happens to be a regular iPhone 4 running on CDMA.

The Personal Hotspot functionality is located in the Settings app, as noted by Engadget. That lead the Engadget folks to wonder if the unit was running a new firmware and, indeed, the Verizon iPhone they’re testing now is running iOS 4.2.5. Probably, it’s a simple update to iOS 4.2 to make it compatible with Verizon’s chip and enable the hotspot functionality.

A major iOS update that includes the “iTunes app subscriptions” system is expected to be released soon together with Murdoch’s iPad app “The Daily”, but we really don’t know about this iOS 4.2.5. Guess it’ll just ship by default on every Verizon iPhone on February 10?

It’s Official: The iPhone 4 Comes to Verizon

After years of speculation, it’s now official. At the special media event in New York, Verizon has just announced that Apple’s iPhone is coming to their network. “If the press writes something long enough, eventually it comes true”, said Verizon’s Lowell MacAdam before the announcement. “Today we’re partnering with a giant of the industry, and that’s Apple.”

The iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon next month, as the rumors suggested. Apple and Verizon began testing CDMA iPhone in 2008, and Apple then released the iPad on Verizon in 2010. The iPhone is coming in February, it will be CDMA (no LTE) and it’s already listed on Verizon’s website. It’s the same iPhone 4 you know and love, only on Verizon and it connects to CDMA and EvDO networks. Read more