• android,  droid,  eris,  google,  verizon

    Verizon HTC Droid Eris OTA Update Still Rolling Out

    July 24, 2010 /

    I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve finally received my upgrade noticed for the MR4 Android update for my Verizon HTC Droid Eries. Android Central reported that the update began to trickle out to customers starting last week.

    MR4 is a maintenance release that addresses the “silent call” issues with the Eris and other minor fixes. The update weighs in at just under 13MB and will take about 30 minutes to install on your device from the time you start the download to the time you finish installing the update.

    You can check for the update by going to Settings > About Phone > System updates.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  touch

    Apple Releases iTunes, iBooks Updates

    July 20, 2010 /

    Apple has released updates to iTunes 9.2.1 and iBooks 1.1.1 today.

    iTunes 9.2.1

    iTunes 9.2.1, available for Mac OS X and Windows PCs, is mostly a maintenance update that addresses bug fixes, performance issues, and will disable “older versions of some incompatible third-party [iTunes] plug-ins.”

    I don’t use any plug-ins with iTunes, but if you do, you’ll want to double-check yours for iTunes 9.2.1 compatibility before applying this update.

    iTunes 9.2.1 is available for download on Mac OS X and Windows PCs from the Apple Software Update control panel.

    iBooks 1.1.1 for iPad, iOS 4 Devices

    The iBooks update adds some nice features to Apple’s ebook reader. This update includes improved support for books and PDF files with images and adds support for books and documents with audio and video content, as well as additional performance tweaks and bug fixes.

    You can download the iBooks update directly to your iPad or iOS 4 device by using App Store on the device or by downloading the update from iTunes and syncing it over to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes

    iOS 3.2.1 for Apple iPad Now Available

    July 17, 2010 /

    Amid the iOS 4.0.1 update hoopla yesterday, Apple also released iOS 3.2.1 for the iPad. I installed the iOS 3.2.1 on my 32GB Apple iPad this morning. The whole affair took about 20 minutes to download and install the software on my iPad.

    The big fix in iOS 3.2.1 is to address the Wi-Fi connectivity issues that some people have been having since the Wi-Fi only model went on sale earlier this year. I’ve run into this problem once or twice since April 3rd when I picked up my iPad on launch day.

    Unlike app updates, you will need to download iOS 3.2.1 by connecting your iPad to a Mac or PC and syncing it with iTunes 9.2. I had to select my iPad in the source pane and then click the “Check for Update” button.

    The upgrade was painless, and I would expect nothing less from Apple. Using my upgraded iPad at work and at home, I did not notice any real differences between iOS 3.2 and 3.2.1; but then again I didn’t have the Wi-Fi issue at the house or office.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  iphone

    iPhone 4 Antenna Press Event Video Stream Posted

    July 16, 2010 /

    Love it or hate it, Apple has sold over 3 million iPhone 4 smartphones since it was launched 3 weeks ago. Earlier today, Apple co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs took the stage to directly address “Antennagate” (aka: hardware antenna reception problems).

    The streaming video feed of today’s invitation only media press conference has been posted on the Apple website for your viewing pleasure.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone

    Apple To Hold Media Event On Friday

    July 15, 2010 /

    Boy Genius Report is running a breaking story in the last hour stating that Apple will be holding an invitation only media event this Friday.

    “Invites were sent out this evening to media outlets around the country. What do you think Apple is going to say?”

    I doubt this is to talk about a new iPod, smaller iPhone, or iOS 4 for iPad. I’ll hold off talking about the iPhone 4 drama until after the Apple event.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

    Read More
  • ces,  microsoft,  windows,  windows phone

    Steve Ballmer To Deliver Kickoff CES 2011 Keynote

    July 11, 2010 /

    John Paczkowski, of All Things D fame, is reporting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will deliver the kick-off keynote address during the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

    Mr. Paczkowski writes:

    “This will be Ballmer’s third time headlining CES, and after his first two appearances, I don’t think anyone’s expecting too much. The highlight of his 2009 keynote: The widely expected announcement of the Windows 7 beta. The highlights of his 2010 address: An ill-starred Windows-based tablet and Project Natal, a controllerless game interface system the company debuted at E3 months earlier.”

    If “The Other Steve” wants to keep things interesting, he will have to really play up his company’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system and have a slew of OEM and carrier partners on stage to help launch the new phones.

    I have to admit that I’ve never watched a Steve Ballmer keynote. They lack the excitement of even the dullest Apple keynote or media event. The last Microsoft event that I watched was the “Windows Longhorn is Windows Vista” keynote. We all know how that turned out. (Because of Vista, I switched back to all Macs at my home office.)

    You can read the full article on the DigitalDaily website.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  iphone

    Jailbreakers Holding Up iPhone 4 Update?

    July 10, 2010 /

    Are iPhone jailbreakers holding up the next ROM update for the iPhone 4? They might be if an article posted by RedmondPie.com is true.

    “[A] recent tweet by a twitter user @MaxdMerc, a guy working at the Apple Store, Lakeside (UK) has reportedly confirmed that the next firmware update might be delayed slightly due to Apple working on a fix to patch the hole, recently used to jailbreak iOS 4.”

    I have to believe that this is something that Apple would do to, as some would say, “protect” the iPhone and iPhone customers.

    [Via RedmondPie.com…]

    Read More
  • android,  apple,  google,  ios,  iphone,  itunes

    For Apple, Google, the Stakes Are Sky High

    July 10, 2010 /

    Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platform are on top of the smartphone world right now.

    Any one who has been watching both Apple’s and Google’s rise in the smartphone, music, and video businesses knows that the two tech titans are headed for a high stakes showdown in the sky.

    Apple’s approach to smartphones, and the entire iTunes ecosystem, is a walled garden that takes care of your every need; as long as you are using iTunes on your Mac or PC and an iDevice running iOS 3 or 4. Google, following in Microsoft’s desktop footsteps, has flung open the doors to their Android operating system and allows anyone with the ambition and the know-how to develop a new phone or develop applications for their smartphone platform.

    For both companies, streaming content over the Internet, or the “Cloud” as some like to say, is the next battleground for the hearts, minds, and dollars of gadget lovers across the globe.

    A recent online Baron’s Technology Trader column, How a Droid Could Eat Apple’s Lunch” talks about how Google’s and Apple’s approach to “locking” customers into their ecosystems have taken divergent paths toward the same goal. Right now, Apple is sitting pretty as the undisputed king of the kill. The number of Android smartphones being put on the market is staggering when compared to the number of carriers selling the iPhone, which is only available from Apple.

    It’s hard to say who will be the winner of this show down. Barron’s columnist Mark Veverka writes:

    “There are other reasons why Android is gaining momentum. Many Silicon Valley veterans envision Apple’s repeating the mistakes it made during the rollout of its first personal computers, when it chose to keep a closed proprietary system over a more pervasive operating system pushed by IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC). The WinTel collaboration took Apple to the brink of bankruptcy, and some fear that Apple is going down the same path with the iOS. “Android attacks Apple at its weakest point, which is its walled-garden ecosystem[.]”

    You can read the full article on Barron’s website.

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  iphone

    Shocker: iPhone 4 Issues Requires More Than A Software Fix

    July 7, 2010 /

    Over the weekend, I Twittered the following as I was trying to catch up on the latest iPhone 4 cellular radio no-you’re-holding-it-wrong PR disaster.

    I wrote:

    1. NYTimes: Apple Acknowledges Flaw in iPhone Signal Meter http://nyti.ms/ajIgZc 9:50 AM Jul 3rd via NYT Editors’ Choice

    2. Why Apple’s iPhone 4 Update Won’t Fix Your Reception Problem http://bit.ly/cpqTNR 10:49 AM Jul 3rd via mobile web

    3. Apple says software will fix iPhone 4, others say that this is a hardware problem. What do you think? Me? I think it’s both hard/software. 10:51 AM Jul 3rd via mobile web

    Then, over on Jimmie’s GadgetsOnTheGo blog (where I sometimes write articles), this story is posted, in part:

    “Apple released that “official statement” about a software update coming in a few weeks to fix the iPhone 4 reception problem. Apple claimed that there really isn’t a problem, it’s more of a psychosomatic issue with the signal bars on the iPhone 4. Apple will release an update to fix the signal bars displayed rather than fix what’s really going on.

    Gizmodo is now reporting that when they spoke to AppleCare three different times today AppleCare confirmed the software update will NOT fix the reception issue.

    • There is an antenna interference problem when you hold the iPhone 4 in a certain way (the tests by Anandtech and many demonstration videos in the internet show that the signal drop will happen every time when you touch the phone’s dead spot, on the left bottom corner).
    • One solution is to hold the phone differently, avoiding to touch the left bottom corner of the phone (coincidentally, this is how models hold the iPhone 4 in most of Apple’s promotional material).
    • The other other solution is to buy a case or one of Apple’s $30 bumpers
    • The incoming software update will not fix this antenna problem, only change the way the phone displays the available signal, make it more accurate.”

    Any way you cut it, this is a poor situation to be in for iPhone 4 customers. Apple has stated in an open letter on their website that, “[a]s a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.”

    I don’t have an iPhone 4, but I am in support of the free Apple iPhone bumpers idea being floated around. Apple is sitting on a mountain of cash, and what better way to make lemonade out of lemons than giving away free bumpers until Apple is able to re-engineer the radio dead spot?

    So how about it, Apple? Are you guys game? The legions of Apple fans have earned a little kick-back for their fanatical support over the last 10 years.

    [Via GadgetsOnTheGo.net…; Gizmodo.com…]

    Read More
  • android,  apple,  ios,  iphone,  motorola

    Motorola Has Some Fun At Apple’s Expense

    July 6, 2010 /

    Looks like Motorola is jumping at the chance to go after Apple and their widely publicized reception problems with the new iPhone 4.

    A full page ad that appeared in the New York Times over the weekend, the ad reads:

    “Most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design,” the advertisement reads. “The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls. You have a voice. And you deserve to be heard.”

    Ouch!

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

    Read More