• apple,  exchange server,  ios,  iphone,  microsoft

    iOS 6.1.2 Rumored To Be Released Next Week

    February 16, 2013 /

    Apple has been scrambling to address issues with iOS 6.  The next security and maintenance release for iDevices is reportedly scheduled for release next week.

    From MacRumors.com:

    “German site iPhone-Ticker reports [Google translation] that Apple is planning to release iOS 6.1.2 early next week to address both the Exchange bug and lock screen passcode issue affecting iOS 6.1 users. According to the report, iOS 6.1.2 is likely to arrive before Wednesday, February 20.”

    Apple has been trying to squash bugs related to battery performance on with the iPhone 4S, recurring meeting invitations being sent from users of Microsoft Exchange Server, and a particularly worrisome lock screen bypass bug.

    [Via MacRumors.com…]

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  • apple,  ios,  iphone

    Annoying Bugs Continue with Apple iOS 6.1

    February 15, 2013 /

    One step forward, two steps back might be how some iOS 6 users feel right now.  In addition to the previously reported bugs in iOS 6 effecting battery life and Microsoft’s Exchange Server, add lock screen by pass ‘trick’ to the list of Apple headaches.

    “Reached for comment, Apple said it is hard at work on a fix. “Apple takes user security very seriously” spokeswoman Trudy Muller told AllThingsD. “We are aware of this issue, and will deliver a fix in a future software update.””

    Apple is working developing a fix for the by pass bug (which has happened before with iOS 4.1) as well as the bug with recurring meeting invitations sent from users of Microsoft’s Exchange Server.

    [Via AllThingsD.com…]

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  • apple,  att,  ios,  iphone,  sprint,  verizon

    Apple Releases iOS 6.1.1 for iPhone 4S

    February 11, 2013 /

    Surprise!  Earlier today, Apple released iOS 6.1.1 specifically targeted at the iPhone 4S.

    Over the weekend and as late as this afternoon, I was blogging about the first developer release of iOS 6.1.1 with regard to improving Apple’s Maps app, addressing an Exchange Server bug bedeviling corporate customers, and poor battery performance.

    This evening, Apple rolled out a very narrowly targeted version of iOS 6.1.1 specifically to address that last problem – poor battery performance with the iPhone 4S.

    “This update fixes an issue that could impact cellular performance and reliability for the iPhone 4S.”

    The 23MB over-the-air (OTA) update was available on my Sprint and Verizon iPhone 4S handsets.

    There is no word on whether or not Apple will release an iOS 6.1.1 for all other current model iDevices or if Apple will just move on to the next version number such as 6.1.2 or 6.2.  We also don’t know when we might expect a fix to the bug in Microsoft’s Exchange Server messaging platform that causes devices running iOS 6.1 to get stuck in a loop when trying to accept an invitation to recurring meetings.

    There was no word on when an update to Apple’s Maps application would be made available either.

    The iOS 6.1.1 OTA update took about 15-20 minutes start to finish on my iPhone 4S units.  The update is also available as a wired update via iTunes for Mac OS X and Windows PCs.

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  • apple,  exchange server,  ios,  iphone,  microsoft,  vodafone

    3G Battery Performance May Also Be Contributing to iOS 6.1.1 Being Fast Tracked [Updated]

    February 11, 2013 /

    Following up on the Apple iOS 6.1.1 beta release to developers story from yesterday, Ars Technica has some more information about potential iOS 6.1 battery life issues.

    From Ars Technica:

    “Things heated up on Friday when Vodafone issued a warning to its UK subscribers saying not to download iOS 6.1 to their devices. The company sent a text message to subscribers and posted a notice on its forums (hat tip to MacRumors) saying iOS 6.1 “impacts performance on 3G” for Vodafone’s iPhone 4S users.” 

    “Some customers may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the Internet. Apple is working on a solution to their software issue. These connection problems are intermittent,” the company wrote. “While Apple’s investigations continue, we would recommend that anyone who has not yet installed iOS 6.1 on their iPhone 4s should delay doing so until Apple has confirmed that their problem has been fixed.”

    Stay tuned. I would say that if we see the a release before the end of March and/or with four or less beta builds, iOS 6.1.1 was an emergency release to address a recurring meeting bug with Microsoft Exchange Server, something that will be a big problem for Apple customers who rely on Microsoft’s corporate email, calendaring, and messaging platform and 3G battery life issues the Vodafone mentioned.

    Update

    Apple has released iOS 6.1.1 specifically for the iPhone 4S to address “cellular performance”.

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  • amazon,  android,  app st,  apple,  ea games,  games,  google,  ios

    Real Racing 3 Will Be Free, Multi-platform on Feb 28

    February 11, 2013 /

    Electronic Arts will be launching Real Racing 3 for free on February 28 for Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones and tablets as well as in the Amazon App Store.

    From the Firemonkeys Forums:

    “Today we announced Real Racing 3 will be free. And yes, Real Racing 3 was designed from the ground up to be a free to play experience. We are so excited about this game and wanted it to be accessible to everyone so we didn’t want there to be any barriers to entry. This accessibility is also what drives the awesome new Time Shifted Multiplayer feature, in that you can play competitive multiplayer with anyone any time, and they don’t need to be online with you at the same time.” 

    “At launch we have 46 licensed vehicles covering 3 classes, a 22 car grid, real world tracks, 8 varied event types and 900+ events. This means hundreds of hours of gameplay for free making this one of the most expansive games ever on mobile. We plan to continue to add more free and exciting content with every update.”

    Bloomberg has this to add:

    “Electronic Arts will appeal to a wider audience of casual players by making the “Real Racing 3” multiplayer game free, said Nick Earl, the company’s senior vice president for mobile and social game development.” 

    “Electronic Arts Inc. will offer free downloads of its newest “Real Racing” title as the second- largest U.S. video-game publisher works to draw the increasing number of gamers using mobile devices.”

    The draw, I think, for this game, is the offline multiplayer mode that will allow you to race against your friends at different times.  Might be worth a test drive.  I’m not a big racing game fan, even though I own both Real Racing HD and Real Racing 2 HD.  (I bought them when they were on sale in the iOS App Store.)

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  • apple,  exchange server,  ios,  microsoft

    Exchange Server Bug May Be Cause of iOS 6.1 Battery Issues

    February 10, 2013 /

    Just days after Apple released iOS 6.1 to the public, iOS 6.1.1 was released to developers.  It’s not uncommon for companies to quickly begin working on the next version of their software.  What is unusual is how quickly the beta was turned over to developers outside of Apple so quickly.

    We might now know of the drivers to get iOS 6.1.1 out into customer’s hands.  A number of reports have sprung up over the last few days indicating that the battery problems reported after the release of iOS 6.1 could be related to a bug in Microsoft Exchange Server when a new recurring meeting invitation is received by an iOS device.

    AOL CIO Michael Freker, yes, *that* AOL, has written the following excerpt in an internal company email:

    “We have researched this problem and it appears to be connected to a recently identified issue that seems to cause these iOS devices to continuously loop while synchronizing a recurring calendar meeting invitation. Similar problems have been reported by a number of sources to several media outlets across the Web in the past few days.”

    There is a growing thread on Apple’s own support forms that suggests and unnamed employee working for ‘the fruit company’ suggests as a workaround fix for the issue until an official fix is released.

    “The Official Solution from an unnamed source within that fruit company in Cupertino:

    The bug in iOS 6.1 is a ping-pong infinite loop trying to talk to the Exchange server. Unfortunately, just rebooting doesn’t fix the issue. Deleting the account is necessary to remove the problematic invitation response from the queue. 

    The workaround is annoying, but effective:
    – Delete your Exchange account
    – Recreate the Exchange account
    – Do not respond to meeting invitations from the device until 6.1.1 comes out.”

    In other words, if you use your iOS 6.1 device with an Exchange Server, it is a good idea to not accept recurring meetings until a fix is released.

    I have a company issued iPhone 4S and I have not seen this issue, but then again, I don’t receive many recurring meetings, and if I do, I then to reply to those meeting invitations from Windows 7 laptop with Outlook 2007.

    For more on this store, visit iDownloadBlog.com.

    [Via iDownloadBlog.com…]

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  • gmail,  google,  ios,  productivity

    Mailbox Has Landed in the App Store, Reservations Rolling Out

    February 8, 2013 /

    Earlier today, Orchestra Inc’s new productivity app, Mailbox, landed in the App Store and reservation requests started rolling out to people who have been (digitally) standing in line to get their download and activation.

    Mailbox is an email client for iPhone that integrates task management for a truly unique and refreshing approach to managing your Google Gmail email account and the tasks that need to be taken care of as a result of the email.

    Orchestra describes Mailbox this way:

    “It’s how email on the phone should work: Mailbox checks your email from the cloud and delivers it to your phone with lightning-fast speed. A colorful swipe-based UI makes processing a delight. And unique “snooze buttons” let you put off messages until later.  

    Mailbox makes getting to zero—and staying there—a breeze. After you experience a clean inbox, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.”

    Mailbox will work like you would expect an iOS mail client with a threaded message view that looks clean and easy to read.  The neat twist comes in when you are in the inbox view where you can swipe messages left to right to mark that message as “done”.  Additionally, you can manage messages in your inbox like a to-do list and “tag” messages as tasks to be followed up on later that day, later that evening, tomorrow, someday (my favorite), a date you specific, etc.  Want to see Mailbox in action? Hit up the video at the end of this post.
    This really does seem like a cool way to approach your mailbox, especially if you are a “Getting Things Done” kind of person.
    Mailbox is a free application today.  The plan is to keep the app free and in the future there will be paid set of premium features that you will be able to upgrade to.
    While the app is free to download today, according to Orchestra, clients will be rolled out based on a first come, first served reservation system.  As of about 5:30pm eastern time today, I was 134,171 in line. There was another 215,781 in the queue behind me.
    For more information on Mailbox, head over to the Mailbox website. If you are ready to download Mailbox, and reserve your spot in line, head over to the App Store.

    [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/54553882 w=500&h=281]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  ipad mini,  iphone,  ipod touch

    Apple Releases iOS 6.1.1 Beta to Developers

    February 6, 2013 /

    It seems like it was just 10 days ago that Apple released iOS 6.1 and here we are getting word that the first beta of iOS 6.1.1 has gone out to developers.

    Unlike the iOS 6.1 maintenance update, iOS 6.1.1 seems to targeted at enhancing Apple’s Maps application.

    In a note to developers accommodating the release, Apple said iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 includes the following improvements to Maps for Japan:

    • Improved pronunciation of roads during turn-by-turn navigation
    • Optimized directions to more strongly prefer highways over narrower roads
    • Now indicates upcoming toll roads during turn-by-turn navigation
    • Added labels for junctions, interchanges, on-ramps, off-ramps, and intersections
    • Added indicators for transit station buildings, subway lines, and traffic lights
    • Updated freeway color to green
    • Updated icons for some location categories including fire stations, hospitals, and post offices Added 3D buildings including Tokyo Station, Japan Imperial Palace, and Tokyo Tower

    The iOS 6.1.1 beta is said to work with the iPhone 3GS and later, the iPad 2 and later, and the iPod touch fourth generation and later.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  troubleshooting,  upgrade

    iOS 6.1 Upgrade Loads Without Problem on My iPad 3

    January 29, 2013 /

    For all the trouble I had installing the iOS 6.1 upgrade last night on my iPhone 4S, the same upgrade when flawlessly on my iPad 3.

    From what I can tell, it was a fluke that something when wrong on my iPhone. I’m a member of #TeamPure and I don’t jailbreak my gear so I’m really unsure of what actually went wrong.

    I’ll just chalk it up to ‘fun and excitement with technology’ and get back to using my iDevices.

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  • apple,  ios,  iphone,  troubleshooting,  upgrade

    My iPhone 4S is OK, iOS 6.1 Installed

    January 29, 2013 /
    I was annoyed this evening while untangling a failed iOS 6.1 OTA upgrade this evening.  The good news is that my iPhone is alive and well.  I did have to spend a ridiculous amount of time downloading and reinstalling iOS 6.1 via iTunes to get the iPhone out of recovery mode.
    In the end, I was able to get my iPhone working again, but after the install of the iOS 6.1 upgrade from iTunes, the iPhone is behaving like a new device.  Looks like a little while longer getting my iCloud backup restored and making sure everything truly is back to normal.
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