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MSN UK Release Pulse-like iPad App

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:13:00 +0000

Microsoft have just released their latest iPad application which comes hot on the heels of the first Xbox Live application that was released in December 2011. This latest release presents the exclusive content found on MSN UK website in a format designed for the iPad.

This newest MSN UK app follows a tried and tested format which has been cropping up in a number of news based applications with many people comparing it to the Pulse iPad app. The MSN UK app features stories which are split up into a total of six main viewable channels which are Entertainment, Lifestyle, Cars, News, Sport and Video with a dedicated section for the editor's pick.

Each of the sections contain exactly what you would expect, breaking news from around the world and information relating to each topic. If you are a regular visitor to the MSN UK site you will immediately recognize the content in the app and feel right at home using it. The app also features MSN's award winning Cars channel which compiles a large amount of information sure to be enough for any hardcore motoring enthusiast.

This brand new app makes use of simple swipe gestures so that users can navigate through each of the topics timelines with ease. This app can be opened with a single tap and the posts can be viewed in both main orientations of the iPad with the formatting of text and images amending itself to suit the chosen position. Video can also be viewed within the application as with most news apps with the option toggle seamlessly between high definition and standard definition video, depending on your network connection. Articles and posts can also be downloaded and saved offline for viewing at a later date.

The MSN UK app is very appealing and the content is broken down into a user friendly set of topics and some great text and images that don't distract the user from the primary purpose of the app. This new MSN UK app can be downloaded from the App store free of charge.

Send Tweets Natively Using Siri With New Jailbreak Tweak

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:08:00 +0000

We have been getting to know Siri since October 2011 when the iPhone 4S was launched. There is no denying that Siri is a great addition to the iPhone with its intelligent voice assistant being able to analyze voice commands and perform specific tasks based on this audible user instruction. A lot of people however still aren't convinced and many people say it is the lack of scope that is leaving them on the bench where Siri is concerned.

When the iPhone 4s and Siri were launched the software was billed and advertised as a personal assistant that would let you send messages, schedule meetings, make phones calls and a lot of other impressive things. One of the major benefits was the ability to talk to Siri like a real person forming full sentences to instruct the software of what you wanted it to do. Siri would then analyze the sentence, understand it and process it. For a lot of things Siri works great but unfortunately the technology has not been integrated deeply enough into the iOS and there are some things that we would love Siri to be able to do that it just can't.

The jailbreak community have as always stepped forward and we are starting to see some great Siri-based tweaks popping up in Cydia. Some of these add additional power to Siri by hooking into certain settings and allowing users to launch specific applications using voice commands.

Apple made a big deal about the fact that they were partnering with Twitter to deeply integrate this social service into iOS. After the initial excitement died down all users really got was native account registering through settings and a framework for developers which negates the need to deal with Twitter's unfriendly APIs. IOS developer Tyler Nettleton posted on his Twitter account to see if any of his followers would be interested in a tweak that would allow Siri to write and post tweets.

It seems Nettleton's tweak allows users to activate Siri and simply say “tweet...” followed by a message which is immediately posted to twitter. This tweak has not been completed as yet but it sounds great and very promising indeed and we can't wait till it is released to the public. Of course you will need to have a jailbroken iPhone 4S to use it but that shouldn't be a problem as there are a number of jailbreak options available.

Untethered iPad 2 Jailbreak Running Successfully On iOS 5.0.1

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:01:00 +0000

All those who have been patiently waiting on the release of an untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S can now breathe a small sigh of relief. The timescales for this release are indeed shortening and a public release could happen at any time.

Every blog and twitter update signals that Pod2g and his dream team of developers are winning their battle against the A5 devices. This whole process began back in November last year and judging by the amount of retweets and replies that each update receives, the jailbreak community is waiting in anticipation of A5 liberation. The people that have been involved in this process have been drip feeding information to the community whenever a goal has been reached or a problem has occurred. This jailbreak journey really has been one of the most transparent in jailbreak history with Pod2g really doing a great job of keeping his fans in the loop.

Recent updates from Pod2g have included a video which shows the iPhone 4S running iOS 5.0.1 with an untethered jailbreak. Now we have perhaps the shortest ever blog post by Pod2g which just showed an image and four words. It showed a picture of an iPad 2 with Cydia 1.1.3 running full screen and clearly showing that it is running on iOS 5.0.1. The post simply said, “no more to say!”, and this clearly showed that the net really is closing in and a release of the jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 is now imminent.

Apple Planning Media Event For iPad 3 And iOS 5.1 In February

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:58:00 +0000

Most people already know that that iPad 3 can't be very far away especially if Apple is to follow their usual release schedule. A new report has suggested that we might only have to wait a couple of weeks though rather than months for this big announcement.

Japanese website Macotakara has cited sources that claim Apple is set to announce their next generation iPad sooner rather than later. It looks as if a release date for sometime during March is to be expected and an announcement is due to come towards the end of February. This time scale seems to fit in with all the reports that the new iPad 3 is being produced and will likely reach capacity during the coming weeks.

With the next iPad rumors now in full circulation the real questions remaining for many are about the hardware specifications that will be released. Many are wondering if Apple will bring LTE to the new iPad. This may not happen considering that this technology is still in its infancy so we might have to wait a little longer for this. A quad core A6 CPU is looking likely but there is a debate about whether so much power will be required.

The most talked about feature of the new iPad 3 is a retina display especially after its rapid acceptance in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Apple is also expected to announce the final build of iOS 5.1 for all iOS devices which is also going to bring Siri dictation to the iPad. We will be keeping a close eye on what happens over the next coming weeks and you can be sure that whatever we hear we will be reporting it right back to you.

iOS 5 Beta 3 Includes More iPad 3 And Facebook Integration References

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:33:00 +0000

Whenever Apple releases a new beta version of their iOS some clever people go snooping to see what they can find hidden inside. The latest beta version iOS 5.1 beta 3 seems to be no different and this time two new iPad references have been discovered again.

Two new code names, J1AP and J2AP have been discovered in the latest beta release which appear to link with recent reports that suggest the iPad 3 is being developed under the J1 and J2 names. It is presumed that one of these is the Wi-Fi only version and the other will also have a 3G radio.

Apple has always been known to test new hardware using the latest betas of the newest iOS whilst adding new features that are due to debut with the hardware. The betas that were released for iOS 5 has reference to Siri and voice dictation which are two new features that came with the iPhone 4S release.

We all know that Apple is working on an iPad 3 and if they follow their existing release cycle then we should expect to hear about a possible announcement within the next three months. Another new feature to be spotted in the latest beta release of iOS 5.1 is an old one that never made it into the shipping version of iOS 5 and this is the Facebook integration which is similar to the Twitter integration that we have today. This was supposed to be part of the iOS 5 release but apparently Apple and Facebook couldn't reach an agreement. It looks as though this feature could be back but whether it comes with the shipped version of iOS 5.1 still remains a mystery.

Use Sn0wbreeze 2.9 to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untethered On iPhone, iPad And iPod Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:27:00 +0000

It looks like Pod2g's Corona untethered exploit for iOS 5.0.1 has breathed some new life into the jailbreak community which has had very little to boost about since the release of iOS 5 just over two months ago. Those of you who are running iOS 5.0.1 can now enjoy an untethered jailbreak 5.0.1 using this exploit.

A tethered jailbreak has been available all along using both Sn0wbreeze and Redsn0w but now it seems as if the full untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 has finally arrived. You may not know this but Pod2g's progress only applies to devices running on the older A4 chip so this is available for the iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch. Many users did infact stick with iOS 4.3.3 or previous to enjoy their untethered freedom that was given to them by Comex or the Chronic Dev Team, but now those users can download the latest iOS firmware complete with the Notification Centre and more.

Sn0wbreeze which is a very popular Windows only jailbreak utility for creating custom iOS firmware with preserved basebands, has now been updated to jailbreak untethered which is great news and you can find plenty of great tutorials on how to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 untethered using Sn0wbreeze. For Mac users it is worth noting that the PwnageTool has also been updated which means these users can also enjoy an untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak.

If you are looking to unlock your iDevice many of the newer basebands are simply too tough to crack at the moment so it is worth noting that both Sn0wbreeze and PwnageTool can help with baseband preservation which will allow you to use Ultrasn0w to unlock your device.

If you are running an A5 device such as the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 you will have to wait a little longer to see a jailbreak as these devices are proving quite difficult for the modders and dev teams to infiltrate. A lot of progress has been made on the A5 front so hopefully it won't be too long before there is an untethered jailbreak available for the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 running iOS 5.0.1.

Get Cydia Package Updates For iPhone And iPad With CydiaBulletin

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:25:00 +0000

The reason that many people jailbreak their iOS device is to have the freedom to do what they like with it without Apple's restrictions. Jailbreakers love Apple's devices but they also know that by opening up the device to modification and enhancement really is a great thing.

Jailbreaking encourages innovation among developers and it encourages coders to enhance the existing features of iOS and also add functionality that they feel should already be there. The Cydia store is amazing and it provides users with a platform where they can install software via APT repositories which is the main port of call for all jailbroken users. Cydia basically acts as a third party unofficial store which gives users access to privately owned repositories containing apps, tweaks and tool which are not available on the App Store due to guideline infringements. Cydia therefore gives users unlimited choice when it comes to customizing their idevice but there is one thing missing when it is compared to the official Apple App Store.

A recent upgrade to the App Store means that the application icon is now automatically badged if an update becomes available for any installed apps. This alerts users to any updates allowing them to enter the App Store to download what they need. Cydia however is still like the old App Store in that users have no idea if there is an update to a tweak or theme unless they go into Cydia.

IOS developer Ryan Petrich has taken some steps to rectify this issue with a tweak he is calling CydiaBulletin. This new tweak provides Notification Centre alerts when a new version of an installed tweak is available. This tweak should hopefully offers all the functionality of other alerts such as being available on the lock screen, an audible tone and swiping alert to go straight to Cydia.

This tweak is still in its initial stages and there is no estimated time of release as yet but it does sound very promising and as soon as it is made available to the public we will be sure to let you know.

Apple Sends Out Invites For Special Event On January 19 In New York

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:08:00 +0000

We mentioned previously that Apple were planning to hold a small scale event in New York this month which would take them away from their usual event home in San Francisco. There wasn't a great deal of information available last week but it now looks like Apple have sent out media invites for this event which will be held on the 19th of January in New York.

These invitations follow the familiar pattern of being visually simplistic and not giving away any specifics other than confirming the date and that it will be based around an educational announcement.

Now that this event data and topic have been confirmed speculation can begin on the actual specifics of the event and the nature of the announcement that Apple will be making. Back in December 2011, the Michigan Institute of Education announced the launch of an online learning initiative which will offer a select portfolio of MIT courses through a web based platform. It is well known that Cupertino has a long standing relationship with MIT and people are wondering if this is what the announcement will be about.

Other stories have centred around the fact that the announcement could be related to the iBooks store and application which users can download free of charge and many are thinking that learning text books could become available on iBooks. Others are wondering if Apple are going to introduce a platform where people can create and upload their own books to the iBooks store similar to Amazon Kindle.

The iPad is also something that many are taking about and many are wondering if the adoption of the iPad into educational learning environments could be on the cards. Whatever January 19th brings you can be sure that we will be reporting and bringing you all the details.

Rival To Apple's iOS Music App Has Been Released Called Shazam

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:05:00 +0000

If you are a fan of using music on your smartphone then you have probably already heard about the Shazam service. For those of you who haven't, Shazam is a service that launched in 1999 as a company who provided users with the ability to identify music using their mobile phones. Well now it seems that Shazam player for the iPhone has been released to rival Apple's iOS Music App.

Shazam works by creating an acoustic fingerprint of the music it hears through the microphone and it is then compared to a central database where it matches the song. Shazam is already available for Android, Blackberry and Nokia devices that have java. It has been downloaded over 165 million times since 2008 and it seems they have decided to expand their portfolio.

Shazam has decided to work on creating a new music player application the will compete against the stock music app on iOS devices. This brand new application is being billed as a free of charge replacement for the current iOS music app and it is promising to offer much more functionality than is given by Apple. This includes the ability to have synced lyrics, artist biographies, smart playlists and social sharing capabilities meaning that users can share their content on Facebook, Twitter and other services. LyricPlay is one of the great features of this new app and it allows users to view the lyrics from songs directly in their music library. This feature does require licenses from rights owners and at the moment there are approximately 50,000 sets of lyrics available.

If this sounds good to you then why not check out the Shazam app today and see if it is what you are looking for.

Untethered Jailbreak For iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Well Underway

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:03:00 +0000

You may remember last week that we bought you news that Pod2g an iOS security researcher had enlisted the help and support of some of the best developers and hackers in the jailbreaking community in a bid to pursue an untethered jailbreak solution for iOS 5 on A5 devices. Well it seems that significant progress is being made on this jailbreak and we want to bring you the latest news.

Pod2g has taken his research and development as far as he can and he is now collaborating with members of the Chronic and iPhone Dev teams to complete what he has started. He recently released an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5 on older generation devices so this is the next step. We have already seen Pod2g's work in the updated version of Redsn0w and in the Corona utility on Cydia so things are really looking up.

Unfortunately though for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners the teams have been unable to release an untethered iOS 5 jailbreak for these devices because they don't have the relevant exploits to inject the untethered files. The exploit that has been used to jailbreak the developers test devices requires the use of an official developer account and this means it cannot be released to the public.

For all those anxiously waiting for news of this new jailbreak it appears that MuscleNerd is also in on the action as well as Cydia Founder Jay Freeman aka Saurik and they have been posting updates via Twitter. It looks like progress is being made and they are hoping to have the A5 jailbreak available as soon as possible. As soon as we have any further updates we will be sure to let you know.

New Untethered Jailbreak For iPhone 4S and iPad 2 To Be Released Next Week

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:03:00 +0000

Two days after Christmas the iOS community were treated to the release of an untethered jailbreak for all A4 devices running iOS 5.0.1. This jailbreak represented nearly two months of hard work and research by pod2g followed by some great work by the iPhone Dev and Chronic Dev teams to package the jailbreak and make it available to the public.

Pod2g has been at it again and this time he tweeted that he has made progress on the A5 jailbreak development and that he expects to see a jailbreak release within a week. This means that all iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners could soon be set free to enjoy all that jailbreaking has to offer including Cydia. This isn’t a guarantee that there will be a release next week but at least we have an update on the situation and initial time release estimation. Once everything else goes to plan we should see things happening very quickly.

The Chronic Dev team also tweeted an update and member p0sixninja alerted jailbreakers via twitter that they should upgrade their devices to iOS 5.0.1 while they still can. If you are one of the many people waiting for an A5 untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 then get ready for the good news to be released. We are pretty sure that developers have already been producing some great tweaks for iOS 5 and Siri are more than ready to welcome some new jailbroken devices into the jailbreak community.

Apple Planning A Media Event For January?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:41:00 +0000

According to company sources it seems that New York may soon be welcoming Apple to what is reportedly going to be a small scale media event to be held at the end of January. This will see Apple moving away from their usual home in Cupertino and San Francisco and sources close to the alleged event claim that Apple will invade New York towards the end of January in order to host an event that will have a media related announcement.

Rumors are already circulating that they might be going to announce the iPad 3 or an interactive television set. Perhaps it will be an update to iOS or more. The answers to these questions cannot be answered at the moment but like all Apple events there is sure to be something interesting and noteworthy to this event.

Some reports are suggesting that Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue will be attending and playing a big part in this event. Eddy Cue is in control of a large batch of Apple media units, which includes the iTunes Store, the iBooks store, App Store and the iAd network. Apple also has an office in New York where part of the iAd team work from.

Until an official statement is released we really don’t have any idea what this event is New York is all about but what we do know is that it will be eagerly awaited as are all the Apple events and I’m sure in the weeks running up to it we will see a lot more rumors and reports surfacing.

How Corona Untethered Jailbreak Works For iOS 5.0.1

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:37:00 +0000

Corona is an untethered jailbreak that works on iOS 5.0.1 released by pod2g. This A4 only exploit is now released to the public and pod2g has explained in a blog post exactly what Corona is, what it does and how it has sped up the process of finding an untethered jailbreak.

It has previously been the userland exploit that hackers were using in order to breach the stringent iOS security structure. With the iOS 5.0.1 release, Apple has patched all the pre-existing userland holes. This meant that pod2g and other hackers had to look for other ways to deliver jailbreaks. If you are not familiar with the jargon used in software development you might find the explanation below a little difficult to comprehend.

Pre-iOS 5, security researchers used to include the untethered payload as a data page, rather than a code page in the Mach-O binary. The Mach-O loader never bothered checking the authenticity which was great when hackers were looking for security flaws. ROP enabled the execution of code to occur by using signed code in the dyld cache as opposed to writing new executable code. Techniques discovered by the likes of Comex enabled ROP to be started by the Mach-O loader.

Now that Apple has upped its security game, data pages now require signature via their servers in order for the loader to authenticate the binary. @i0n1c has demonstrated ways of passing through the verification process and this method could possibly be used in an iOS 5.1 jailbreak.

With the Corona exploit, pod2g looked for a way to initialize unsigned code without using the Mach-O loader, looking for flaws in the existing Apple binaries that could be found using standard launched plist mechanisms. By using a fuzzer he discovered a format string vulnerability in theracoon configuration parsing code.

In order to apply the jailbreak at boot, racoon is started by a launched plist file which then executes the file which exploits the format string bug and gets the unsigned code going. There is a lot of in-depth information in pod2g’s blog post and for those who aren’t familiar with the jargon it may be too much to read. All that readers need to know is that this untethered jailbreak works.

Display Your Now Playing Song’s Album Art In iOS 5 App Switcher

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 08:37:00 +0000

There is another great new jailbreak tweak called AlbumArt which allows you to display your now playing song’s album art in your App Switcher. This is a great tweak for music lovers so let’s see what all the fuss is about.

AlbumArt has been developed by deVbug on AppSwitcher and it looks to be one of the simplest tweaks we have seen in a long time. It is a one trick tweak and it does this very well. All you have to do is install it and it will replace the Music.app icon on your iOS 5 App Switcher with album art for the current song being played. Here’s is what it says on Cydia:

Requires iOS 5 or higher

Show album art on app switcher. support iPod app and other music app (it should be show album art on lockscreen).

No icons added to home screen. No options to configure.

This new tweak has been tested on the iPhone 4 on iOS 5 and it works just as advertised. It is coupled with the back/play/forward button which means you basically get a full Android like widget for the Music app under the app switcher. This really is a great tweak and if you have album art associated with your songs you will love it. If you don’t have album art associated with your music all you will see is a black and which music icon. Thanks to the amazing retina display featured on the iPhone 4 this tweak looks really great.

In order to use this tweak you will need to have a jailbroken device and you can jailbreak iOS 5 using Redsn0w or Sn0wbreeze. AlbumArt on AppSwitcher can be downloaded for free from the BigBoss repository under Cydia.

Fix Sim Errors On iPhone 4S With iOS 5.0.1 Build 9A406

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:37:00 +0000

iOS 5.0.1 was launched specifically to fix battery issues occurring on the iPhone 4S. Apple has however managed to deliver a couple more surprises with this release including the fact that invalid SIM or No SIM card installed errors.

Security issues have been scarce since the initial release of iOS 5.0 back in October. Apple has however managed to allow modders and developers some promise in their quest to port Siri through to devices other than the latest iPhone 4S.

MacRumors has reported that iOS 5.0.1 also fixes another problem with the iPhone 4S and that is the No SIM card installed error that some people are having problems with. According to a new supporting document that has been released by the Cupertino based outfit it has become clear that the build 9A406 has been issued to those users that have experienced these SIM related errors. This update comes ahead of the next update which is expected to be iOS 5.1.

The battery drainage issue has gained a lot of attention on Apple’s discussion forums and it has also been revealed here that a number of users are having problems with SIM card errors too. Here is what Apples new support document has to say:

In certain situations, iPhone 4S may have difficulty recognizing a micro-SIM card, resulting in the following behaviors:

- "Invalid SIM" or "No SIM Card installed" alert appears intermittently.

- Status bar displays "No Service" or "Searching" in a location with good network coverage.

The document then goes on to describe the recommended solution to these issues and this includes backing up and then restoring the device. This involves iTunes pulling down the new Build 9A406 of iOS 5.0.1 and installing it on your device. Once you restore your iPhone 4S you can then restore your content and settings from the backup.

Some users have reported that this does fix the SIM card errors whilst others have stated that there has been no improvement. It’s not sure what the problem is and if there are other issues that need to be addressed but for the moment we have to wait to see what more users have to say before specific conclusions can be made.

Seas0nPass Lets You Jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:32:00 +0000

If you are looking to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 you can now do so using Seas0nPass for Windows and Mac. Apple released a firmware update for the Apple TV device which has fixed a number of bugs and as with all firmware updates many users have been looking for information about a potential jailbreak.

Seas0nPass is a utility much like the Pwnage Tool which has been designed specifically for the 2nd generation Apple TV and this will now help users to jailbreak and boot Apple TV. Seas0nPass allows users to create custom firmware files for the Apple TV which renders this jailbreak process very easy and simple to do. There are plenty of great tutorials that will show you how to successfully jailbreak Apple TV.

The Seas0nPass jailbreak is a tethered jailbreak and this means that you need to manually put your Apple TV into a jailbroken state every time you turn it off. The jailbreak does however allow for a little more freedom and usability than Apple would like and it also opens the doors to some great new possibilities too. You can even turn your Apple TV into your very own web server to running XBMC.

The Seas0nPass is not like jailbreaks for touch based devices and there is no Cydia or tweaks available to enhance the users experience. That being said however, it is a worthwhile venture and makes Apple TV a little more interesting. Apple TV costs you just $99 and it is a really cheap and compact device that does a really good job. If you have Apple TV and you are looking to jailbreak it then now you can with Seas0nPass.

All New iOS 5.1 Wallpapers For iPhone, iPad And iPod Touch Now Available

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:14:00 +0000

Apple have introduced some brand new iOS 5.1 wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch which is going to get a lot of people excited. Whenever Apple releases a new version of its mobile operating system there are usually plenty of new features, changes to existing ones and more. In the beta release of iOS 5.1 Apple included some new wallpapers.

Apple has included four new wallpapers in iOS 5.1 but they are only showing in the iPad version and not the iPhone one. This has led to some speculation that they will be available to the iPad 3 at launch and that iPhone users will not get these new wallpapers.

The four new wallpapers look very similar to what you might expect to see on a Mac desktop but they have been scaled to fit the iPad screen. The four wallpapers are water on a sand covered beach, blades of grass and two new ocean wallpapers. 9to5Mac have made these wallpapers available for download for those people who don’t want to wait for iOS 5.1 to be released. They have even scaled down some of them to fit the iPhone too which is an added bonus.

9to5Mac also stated that the last time new wallpapers were made available was when the iPhone 4 was released and this was also the first time that Apple changed the screen resolution on an iOS device. This could suggest that a retina display iPad is indeed in the works. If you want to get your hands on these new wallpapers all you have to do is head over to 9to5Mac and download them.

iPhone 4S Now Available In Over 21 Countries

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:12:00 +0000

The iPhone 4S is now available in more than 21 countries and in this post we are going to look at the sky high prices that are being charged for this latest Apple device. Fans of the iPhone can now buy the brand new iPhone 4S in more than 21 countries across the world. This comes after Apple made the handset available to new territories last week.

The 21 new countries now offering the iPhone 4S either through Apple’s own online stores or through carrier parties are: Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

Brazil is the country where buyers will have to fork out the most cash and the reason for this is the huge import tax that is being placed on devices such as smartphones. The price of the iPhone 4S through Apple’s Brazilian online store starts at the equivalent of $1410 for the 16GB model and goes up to $1845 for the 64GB model. In the US people are paying $649 for the 16GB and $849 for the 64GB unit. This is a massive price difference and hopefully the decision to build some of Apple’s inventory in Brazil itself will help to reduce the costs.

People in Russia are paying really high prices too and these work out at $1131 to 41350 which again is a big difference when compared with American prices. If you live in any of these additional 21 countries you had better be prepared to hand over a great deal more if you want to own an iPhone 4S. With these prices it just goes to show that the iPhone 4S is not as expensive in the US as people might think.

New 7.85 Inch iPad To Hit Shops In 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:12:00 +0000

According to reports, Apple is preparing a 7.85 inch iPad for launch in late 2012 to cash in on the markets demands for smaller tablets. DigiTimes is where this report comes from and they are citing that source in the supply chain claim that Apple is looking to launch a smaller iPad that will be released next year.

Here’s an extract from the report:

Apple is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 in addition to a new iPad scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter, according to sources in the supply chain.

The first point in the report about a smaller iPad has to be discussed. Here is what Steve Jobs said in October 2010:

“7-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad,” said Jobs, adding that competing manufacturers were struggling to meet the price point of the iPad, which starts at $500.

“These are among the reasons that the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA — dead on arrival,” Jobs said.

What this leads to is a question as to whether Tim Cook will go against Steve Jobs. This is highly unlikely as Steve Jobs’ beliefs in design are the same as his entire company’s beliefs in design. The Apple designers did their homework on tablet display sizes and decided on a 9.7” display back in 2010 and it is highly unlikely that they will change this just to meet market demand.

The claim that two iPads will be released in 2012 is also highly unlikely. The iPad sells really well based on the experience it offers not on the specifications it has under the hood. We really don’t believe that Apple will introduce an iPad with a smaller display but as with all rumors and stories that appear there is no evidence until an official statement is released from Apple. What do you think?

Untethered Jailbreak For iOS 5 Now Works On iOS 5.0.1

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Last week you may have heard about iOS developer and hacker Pod2g’s new untethered jailbreak exploit that ran on iOS 5. This was tested using a third generation iPod Touch running iOS 5.0 and he wasn’t sure if it would work on the new iOS 5.0.1 as well. He did say however that he would test it on iOS 5.0.1 and report back with his results.

Well the wait is over and we can confirm that after testing the exploit on his iPhone 4 running the latest iOS 5.0.1 firmware, he has confirmed via Twitter that it is working. This ultimately means that you can now update your iOS device to iOS 5.0.1 and still jailbreak it. If you are an iPhone owner who relies on Ultrasn0w for your unlock you are advised against upgrading to preserve your old baseband.

Here’s what Pod2g has to say on his twitter account: Got an untethered iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1. Feel free to update.

This is great news for anyone who accidentally updated to iOS 5.0.1 only to find that they were locked out on the new firmware with no way to downgrade to iOS 5.0. It is important to note that so far the exploit has only been confirmed working on A4 based devices and below like the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G and 3G, Apple TV and the first generation iPad. There has been no confirmation as yet as to whether this will work on A5 based devices such as the new iPhone 4S or the iPad 2.

Currently there is only a semi-tethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 and you can choose from either Redsn0w, Ac1dsn0w or Sn0wbreeze. If this new jailbreak works untethered then this really is great news.

Angry Birds 2.0 Now Available For iPhone And iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:45:00 +0000

Angry Birds has taken the world by storm and now Angry Birds 2.0 has been released. This new version comes with 15 brand new levels and is sure to be a big hit. So far there have been over half a billion downloads across all gaming platforms and this is only set to get bigger and bigger.

If you have been hiding under a rock for the past two years and you don’t know what Angry Birds is, here is a brief description. Angry Birds is a game that has birds, slingshots, pigs and explosives. All you have to do is fire the birds at the pigs. Take out all the pigs on the level and you win.

In order to celebrate just how successful Angry Birds has been, Rovio has created a new update for Angry Birds. This is Angry Birds 2.0 and is an update to the existing version that you will find in the App Store. This new version comes with new menus, graphics and 15 special themed levels.

For those less skilful players, you will be happy to hear that all episodes of the game have been unlocked which means you can start playing anywhere inside the game. The new levels are not unlocked and you will have to unlock these yourself. In addition to the new levels there is also a new bird added to this update. This is an orange colored bird and he has the ability to expand and destroy the level structures when it hits something.

If you fancy getting your hands on this new version of Angry Birds you can find it at the App Store right now for just $0.99. Join the rest of the world and start playing Angry Birds today.

ESRA Jailbreak App Is Siri For Older iOS Devices

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:41:00 +0000

There have been a number of Siri like apps, tweaks and plugins popping up lately. It seems as if anything that has a speaker and internet connection is being looked at and there are some options available in both the App Store and Cydia. So far however, none of these have come close to replicating the functionality of Siri. ESRA has just been announced so will this beat the competition?

ESRA has been released and is available for all jailbroken iOS devices. You will find it in Cydia under the BigBoss repo. It stands for Experimental Speech Response Application but does it really work? ESRA tries to offer Siri-like functions and features for devices other than the iPhone 4S. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the power of Siri’s real language recognition behind it which leads to plenty of instances where the app just doesn’t know what you have said.

ESRA is currently in the very early stages of development so it may be a little hard to compare it to Siri which is an application that has had a lot of work put into it. Siri has also benefited from everything that Apple has to offer and this is why it has become the prime feature of the iPhone 4S. ESRA has not had this benefit so we will have to wait and see what happens.

ESRA could be the next big thing for jailbroken older iOS devices and for those who want Siri-like functionality without having to spend the money necessary for an iphone 4S.

Customize Every Aspect Of Your iPhone Now With Springtomize 2 For iOS 5

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:03:00 +0000

A new tweak called Springtomize has been released which will allow users to customize every aspect of their iPhone. This new app has so many great settings all packed into one tiny application. Here’s what the BigBoss has to say about Springtomize:

Springtomize allows you to customize your SpringBoard, to make it look and feel how you want. It provides plenty of options to modify even the littlest aspect of your device. Springtomize is really the only tweak you need to customize your device, and it provides all the settings you may need in a single, convenient interface.

In order to use Springtomize you will need to have a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 5. It will cost you $2.99 for this app and it only takes up 495kb on your iPhone. The price is great considering the amount of options you get. Here’s a few of the options that we found really great.

Animations

With animations there are a couple of different options including settings for the color, sound, duration and direction of each animation when switching between screens on your iPhone.

Capabilities

The capabilities panel is great and you can use this to deactivate some of the iPhone feature that you might not use or find useful. You can deactivate such things as Voice Control or Multitasking.

Lockscreen

There are lots of options in this panel and you can enable or disable default settings on your lockscreen such as camera or cover art. You can even change the standard slide to unlock text from here.

There are lots more options in this app including icons, folders, app switcher, status bar, pages and themes. Springtomize 2 can be downloaded from the Big Boss repo and as far as we’re concerned it really is a great app with so much to offer. Remember in order to be able to use this app you will need to have a jailbroken device and if you are looking to jailbreak iOS 5 you can get a tethered jailbreak using Redsn0w or Sn0wbreeze.

No Apple Support For Carrier IQ In iOS 5

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

It seems that Apple has stopped supporting Carrier IQ in iOS 5 and plans to completely remove it in their future software updates. Let’s face it, we all love our smartphones but the one thing we don’t like is the key logging software such as Carrier IQ that is added without our knowledge.

The main perpetrator in the Carrier IQ saga is Google’s Android Software which reportedly monitors SMS, web usage data and any keystrokes it feels like logging. We also reported not so long ago that Carrier IQ was also keeping tabs on the iPhone which has added even more fuel to the fire. The iOS iteration even though it is not as daunting as the Google Android still poses as an invasion of privacy.

Apple has confirmed that they are currently in the phasing out process of the controversial software and that they will be completely removing it in a future software update. They have not stated when this future update will be and iOS 5.1 has already been sent out to developers but whether it has been removed or not we don’t know.

Apple did release a statement in relation to this matter and this is what they had to say:

We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.

If you do have an iPhone or other iDevice and you want to make sure that you are not being watched over you can do this manually by opening the settings icon and going to General > About > Diagnostics & Usage > and opt for Don’t Send. This will ensure that all your information and data is kept private until Apple completely remove the Carrier IQ from their software.

Siri0us Allows You To Install Siri Dictation On iPhone 4, 3GS And iPod Touch 4G

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Evans) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:34:00 +0000

Apple really has made its mark with the release of Siri and there is nothing quite like this available on any other device. The decision to limit its availability to the new iPhone 4S is a shame but what we have to report today could allow you to enjoy some of the benefits of Siri on your iPhone 4 without having to upgrade to the iPhone 4S.

Since the release of the iPhone 4S every hacker available has been trying to get Siri to run on all iDevices. They have also proven that it is possible but that because Siri needs to talk to Apple’s servers and the authentication that it requires it has been difficult for it to make its way into the public domain.

Thanks to a new jailbreak tweak by developer Eric Day you can now get half of the Siri experience. The new app which is called Siri0us is available to download from Cydia and won’t cost you anything if you don’t mind having a few adds thrown into the process. So what does this new app give users? Well users won’t get the actual Siri integration but they will get the Nuance powered dictation feature. This tweak really does work and if you have been waiting to talk to your iPhone but just don’t have the money to upgrade to the iPhone 4S then this could be a great app to get.

One word of warning – some users have reported issues when trying to install this tweak, and if you’re device keeps on respringing there is a fix at hand.

The developer has noted a bug that some may run into when trying to install. If your iDevice keeps respringing, do not restore! Use a SSH tool to remove the /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AssistantServices.framework file.

Other than that this seems to work really well but remember you will need to have a jailbroken device in order to use it.