About This iPad 2 HD

According to a new report published today by Joshua Topolsky at This is my next, Apple is gearing up to release an “iPad 2 HD” this Fall alongside a new model of the iPhone, as previous speculation has largely confirmed with different reports about an “iPhone 5” or slightly redesigned “iPhone 4S”. According to Topolsky, the contradicting reports of a major redesign for the next iPhone and a slight hardware refresh using the existing iPhone 4 design have generated from the fact that Apple has been secretly testing the iPhone 5 components inside an iPhone 4 case – thus leading to reports from several media outlets about a new iPhone that could either feature a thinner, radically different design, or something along the lines of the iPhone 4, only faster and with better cameras. This is my next had previously claimed the iPhone 5 would feature a new “tear drop” case design, as well as a 3.7-inch screen (versus the current 3.5-inch display), a different Home button and worldphone capabilities for CDMA/GSM compatibility. This last tidbit has also been hinted by Verizon’s CFO back in April. Topolsky says Apple is likely to abandon the iPhone 4’s industrial design as it’s “out of favor” with the company’s executives.

Our sources tell us that the company has been testing the new components in old iPhone cases, for obvious reasons. Some of those reports we’ve heard about a larger screen for the old design would make sense too, as a slight tweak of the size (say, to a 3.7-inch display), would be barely noticeable to the eye, but obvious in internal component design. So if you’ve been wondering why the rumors about the iPhone 4S rose to such a din, now you know.

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Apple Reveals Over 15 Billion Apps Have Been Downloaded From The App Store

Apple just issued a press release that reveals over 15 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store. Apple notes that it has more 425,000 apps, including 100,000 native iPad apps. It comes just six months after the App Store hit 10 billion downloads in January this year.

More than 15 billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 425,000 apps are available, including more than 100,000 native iPad apps, to consumers in 90 countries. Users of the more than 200 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, education, sports, health, reference and travel. Apple has paid developers over $2.5 billion to date.

In the press release, a few people who run some of the most popular apps are quoted singing the praises of the App Store and the opportunities it has allowed, including Ge Wang from Smule, Mark Rein of Epic Games and Nicholas Callaway of Callaway Digital Arts. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing says in the press release:

In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.

As Business Insider points out, these statistics reveal that, averaged out, each iOS device owner has download 75 apps - any way you cut it, that is an impressive figure. Similarly, AllThingsD notes that just last month at WWDC, Apple revealed that 14 billion apps had been downloaded, meaning roughly a billion apps have been download in just a month.

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WSJ: iPhone 5 Is Thinner And Lighter, iPhone 6 May Have New Way Of Charging

Late yesterday night The Wall Street Journal published an article which included some rumors about the next two iPhones. Interestingly it noted that this years iPhone refresh would be thinner and lighter with an 8MP camera (up from 5 MP), whilst the company focuses on a more ambitious 2012 iPhone, even including experimenting on a “new way of charging” the iPhone.

These people said the new iPhone is expected to be similar to the current iPhone 4, but thinner and lighter with an improved eight-megapixel camera.

Whilst the WSJ doesn’t have any specific details on this new way of charging the device, one potential technological possibility is using induction charging. If it did use such a technology it would not be the first smartphone to use it, back in 2009 Palm revealed their Pre smartphone which came with an optional inductive charger accessory. Yet two years later, inductive charging has not been used on a widespread basis, if Apple adopted it in a future iPhone it could spur such widespread adoption. It would also achieve somewhat of a philosophical goal that Apple has had in removing cables wherever possible.

Curiously, the WSJ suggests that the release of the iPhone 5 was pushed to Fall instead of its usual June announcement because the device simply wasn’t ready yet. It also warns that if their manufacturer, Foxconn, cannot improve their production yield, the device may be further delayed. The WSJ’s source also noted that Apple had been working on an edge-to-edge screen that could possibly debut on a second, less-expensive, iPhone.

[Via The Wall Street Journal]

Apple Promises Software Update To Fix iOS PDF Vulnerability

Following the release of @comex’s latest jailbreak tool yesterday, JailbreakMe 3.0, many wondered how long it would take for Apple to take action and patch the security hole that allows special PDF documents opened through Mobile Safari to give admin privileges to code hidden inside them. The method, discovered and developed by comex, enables JailbreakMe to install Cydia on devices running iOS 4.3 and above with a simple click, making it the easiest jailbreak ever developed for a variety of devices including the iPad 2. The exploit works on various versions of iOS after 4.3, but the iPad 2 is only being targeted on iOS 4.3.3. As a preliminary version of the exploit leaked online before the official jailbreak was released, comex had already warned users that Apple would soon issue a software update to patch the vulnerability.

The Associated Press reports [via The Next Web] Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd has confirmed the company is aware of the issue and is developing a fix that will be available via Software Update. A group of German researchers took a look at comex’s exploit yesterday, and warned Apple that any maliciously crafted PDF could take advantage of the Safari hole to install code on a device without a user’s consent.

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is “aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update.”

She declined to specify when the update would be available.

In the past, Apple closed another PDF vulnerability that allowed the installation of Cydia through JailbreakMe 2.0 in roughly a week. Whilst Cydia developers are relying on an exploit that could also be used by malware creators, they’re also taking the necessary steps to prevent the vulnerability from working again after the jailbreak is done and Cydia is installed. In fact, they have released a “PDF Patcher” tool that, once installed from Cydia, will make the exploit used to jailbreak a device unusable. For this reason, Apple will soon issue a software update to officially close the hole, but it’s very likely that several users who don’t want to lose their jailbreaks, yet want to stay secure, will install the unofficial patcher from Cydia.

Judge Denies Apple’s Attempt For Injunction Against Amazon Over ‘Appstore’ Name

Reuters

is reporting that a Californian judge has denied Apple’s attempt to quickly stop Amazon from using the term ‘Appstore’, which they have been using for their Android app download service. Apple had earlier this year filed a trademark lawsuit that claimed Amazon was improperly using the ‘App Store’ name in a way that will “confuse and mislead customers”. Amazon had claimed that the term was generic and therefore not protectable.

Whilst the full trial is set to take place in October of next year, this decision was in response to Apple’s request of an injunction against Amazon from using the name. In her decision, U.S. District court Judge Phyllis Hamilton said she did not agree with Amazon’s claim that it was “purely generic” but similarly found that Apple had not established “a likelihood of confusion” required to get an immediate injunction against Amazon’s service.

If the injunction had been successful, Amazon would have had to nearly immediately ceased using the name for their service. Neither Apple nor Amazon responded to Reuter’s requests for comment on the news on the injunction. This trial has attracted the attention of other players in the smartphone app market including Microsoft, Nokia and HTC, all of whom have filed complaints against Apple’s attempt to file a trademark for the term ‘App Store’.

[Via Reuters]

Growl 1.3 To Be Released on Mac App Store, Introduce Lion Support and Drop GrowlMail Support

The developers of Growl, a popular notification system for OS X that’s been around for years and it’s completely free to use, have announced that the plugin is going to become a Mac App Store application through a complete rewrite with OS X Lion in mind, dropping support for older frameworks and “hacks” like GrowlMail and GrowlSafari that wouldn’t probably make it past Apple’s approval. For those not familiar with Growl, the notification system became popular among Mac users because of its highly customizable nature that enabled almost anyone with basic coding and design knowledge to create “themes” for it that changed the appearance and animations of the notification tickets displayed on screen. Growl is supported by hundreds of different applications for the Mac, including big names like Twitter and Dropbox. We have covered a handful of beautiful themes for Growl in the past, and the success of this plugin also inspired several iOS developers to create mobile apps capable of plugging into the desktop system to fetch or send remote notifications. Growl is the undiscussed king of notifications for OS X apps.

Yet the developers are willing to change everything about Growl to get it ready for the Mac App Store and turn it into an app as requested by Apple to developers submitting software to iTunes. In a post on Growl’s official Google Group [via Steve Streza], developer Christopher Forsythe has announced that the upcoming 1.3 release will bring important changes such as the aforementioned Store availability, as well as full support for Lion and a new “app” form that has the obvious advantage of allowing users to easily upgrade to new versions by simply checking on their Mac App Store purchase page. One of the common complaints about Growl, in fact, is that the app often requires the user to download and perform an upgrade. As the existing version comes with a .DMG file that contains an installer for a System Preferences panel, the current Growl 1.2.2 forces users to manually upgrade every time a new version is out. With the Mac App Store and Growl becoming “an app”, the developers want to eliminate the convoluted process of opening and mounting a disk image file, running an installer, and manually upgrading from System Preferences. Read more

The Hit List 1.0 Now Available for iPhone

After a long wait, and a seemingly long approval process from Apple, Potion Factory’s The Hit List is now available for iPhone. It was only a little over a month ago that the Mac counterpart was released as well. The Mac version of The Hit List features Smart Folders, iCal Sync, Quick Entry, a built-in Timer, and AppleScript support among many other great features.

The app(s) features a $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year cloud sync service that syncs with all your Macs and iOS devices wherever The Hit List is installed. NOTE: MacHeist customers can receive 3 months of sync subscription by entering a license key here.

The iPhone counterpart is very much like the Mac version but made for a smaller screen. It features Lists, the Today and Upcoming List, Tags, Tasks and Subtasks, Smart Folders, Start and Due Dates and Cards. The Hit List for iPhone is available in the iTunes App Store for $9.99. We’ll have a full review in the coming weeks (now that the iPhone app is out).

Airfoil 4.5 Released: Extended AirPlay Support & Enhanced Remote Controls

Back in December we reviewed Airfoil 4, an update to Rogue Amoeba’s powerful audio tool for OS X that streamlined the process of sending audio content from various applications to external speakers, computers or Apple TVs, also using the new AirPlay technology. Airfoil 4.5, a major update released today and free for existing customers, builds upon the excellent feature set of version 4 to deliver an even easier AirPlay integration that will allow iOS users to beam any kind of audio from any iOS app to the Airfoil Speakers app running on a Mac. This new functionality may sound very similar to other desktop AirPlay receivers like AirServer, and indeed it is, with the exception that Airfoil Speakers runs in its (beautiful) standalone window that, among other things, visualizes music controls and album artworks even during a wireless AirPlay session.

Rogue Amoeba explains:

First and foremost, Airfoil Speakers for Mac can now receive audio from your iOS device! Launch Airfoil Speakers, and it will appear in the list of AirPlay devices on iOS. When you play audio in an app on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you can select Airfoil Speakers from the AirPlay list, and you’ll hear the audio right on your Mac.

The new, powerful Airfoil Speakers are now compatible with iTunes on any Mac or PC and MacStories favorite Radium as well. Similarly to The Iconfactory’s latest update to Take Five for Mac, Airfoil 4.5 can now control apps like Spotify, Rdio and Radium so you’ll see control buttons alongside album artworks and track titles when grabbing audio from these sources. This change is welcome as you won’t be forced to switch to the original application to see what’s playing anymore.

Last, Rogue Amoeba says they’ve added support for AirPlay devices “from companies like iHome, JBL, and many more”, and that AirPlay-enabled hardware will work with Airfoil out of the box with no further configuration needed.

Airfoil 4.5 is a free update for licensed owners of Airfoil 4, and a license key can be purchased here at $25 to unlock the full app (free trial is available). With the much improved Airfoil Speakers utility, at this point we can’t help but recommend Airfoil if you’re looking for a simple, good-looking and powerful solution to manage audio in your house, room or office, and integrate it with Apple’s AirPlay.