Federico Viticci

10958 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

WiFi Connection Issues Still Affecting iOS 4.2.1 for iPad?

On November 12th we reported Apple was planning to “delay” the release of iOS 4.2 due to the WiFi connection issues reported by several users running the GM build seeded to developers on November 1st. Indeed, the plan was to release iOS 4.2 on November 12th but Apple decided to release a second GM build for iPad to address the WiFi issues instead.

Eventually Apple released another GM build of iOS 4.2 to address other minor issues, which is the iOS 4.2.1 version that’s currently shipping to users – even if Apple simply calls it “iOS 4.2”. We did a little research on Apple’s discussion boards and MacRumors forums though, and we found out that, actually, WiFi issues are still being widely reported by users who have recently upgraded to iOS 4.2.1. Read more

DisplayOut and FullForce Now iOS 4.2.1 Compatible | Cydia

As tweeted by developer Ryan Petrich a few hours ago, popular Cydia tweaks FullForce (which allows you to scale iPhone apps for the iPad’s larger screen, something we covered when the first iPad jailbreak came out) and DisplayOut (which mirrors the iPhone’s screen on a TV using a VGA cable) have been updated to support iOS 4.2.1.

DisplayOut is available at $2.99 in the Cydia Store. We highly recommend it as it’s the best tweak currently available to, say, show off an iPhone app on a bigger screen or external monitor.

iPad Snow Globe Makes An Appearance At Apple Stores

Apple is getting ready for the holiday season and, Black Friday sale aside, they have started decorating Apple Stores with  giant iPad snow globes. Oh, and some Beatles stuff, too.

As spotted by TiPB, the giant iPad is set to play a video containing iBooks and the Gourmet Live app for the holidays – which undoubtedly is a good move to tout the tablet as the go-to device for people looking to enrich their cooking skills with some geek love this year. As for the Beatles, we’re not really surprised. They’re part of a huge marketing campaign from Apple aimed at promoting both iTunes and the band, so putting some promo material in Apple stores was the most logical step.

Check out the iPad snow globe video below. Read more

Apple Kills The Steve Jobs Action Figure

Last week Mic Gadget posted shots of a pretty realistic Steve Jobs action figure: slightly taller than an iPhone 4 and representing Apple CEO with his blue Levi jeans and black turtleneck, it’s no wonder the action figure made the rounds. It looked really well realized.

Too bad it’ll never see the light of day and if you hoped you could put SJ on your desk in a few week, well I’m sorry for you. A law firm representing Apple, Inc apparently sent a letter to Mic Gadget:

Unauthorized use of a person’s name and/or likeness constitutes a violation of California Civil Code Section 3344, which prohibits the use of any person’s name, photograph or likeness in a product without that person’s prior consent.

Too bad. It looked nice.

Report: Apple Is Shipping One Million MacBooks Per Month

Digitimes has other interesting tidbits to share this morning: according to sources close to component makers (the ones being used in Apple’s computers), Apple is set to ship around one million MacBook units per month in Q4 2010, with the new MacBook Airs accounting to 20-25% of the volume.

The sources cited IDC’s figures and pointed out that Apple’s combined shipments for the first three quarters of 2010 reached about 6.88 million units, and its global notebook market share rose from 3.7% in the first quarter to 5.2% in the third, while its market share in the US market surged from 6.7% to 12.6%.

Rumors have also surfaced in the past few days regarding Apple willing to remove optical disk support and add SSD to the next generation MacBook Pros, which will likely be refreshed next Spring.

With shipments of current MacBooks ramping up to 1 million per month, the Mac App Store opening in January, new MacBook Pros on the horizon and OS X Lion coming next summer – it looks like 2011 will be an interesting year for Mac users.

iPad 2: Retina Display, Lighter, Camera, Gyroscope and…USB Port?

According to a report from Chinese-language Economy Daily News also published by Digitimes, industry sources are claiming these will be the five key features Apple will add to the next generation iPad:

  • Video phone
  • Better mobility
  • USB port
  • New display technology
  • 3-axis gyroscope

Which, put simply, means: FaceTime camera, thinner and lighter device, a USB port, a Retina Display and same iPhone 4 gyroscope. Many reports have surfaced from “industry sources” close to Digitimes in the past, and with rumors of Apple ramping up production of the next generation iPad for a Q1 2011 launch it is possible that these rumors have a solid foudation. Read more

Three UK Teases Subsidized iPad Plans

With a brief post on the company’s blog this morning, Three UK confirmed that they’ll be offering subsidized iPads “in the coming months”. The plan is to offer new purchase options for the WiFi + 3G model when combined with a data plan.

Three today announced it will offer new purchase options for iPad users, including more affordable prices when purchased with a data service plan, for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models in the coming months. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.

Carrier Orange UK confirmed rumors of subsidized iPads just three days ago. Three’s current Micro-SIM data plans are available here.

European iPad Signed By President Obama [Video]

At a rally at the University of Washington in October, president Barack Obama signed an iPad. Maybe you remember the viral video that made the rounds of internet where this guy was staring at the president with his finger pointing at the tablet’s screen, on which he had prepared a sketching app for the president to put his signature on.

Pretty much the same happened a few days ago at the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Obama walks his, security all around him, a man approaches him and asks him to sign his iPad. “Sign my iPad. I’ve done this once before”, jokes the president, clearly aware of the fact that the Washington video was posted on basically every tech blog out there.

Very cool. Check out the video below. Read more