News tagged ‘bluetooth’

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple an original iPhone patent for editing lists by using touch gestures. Such technology gives an opportunity for inventions regarding use of the handset as a portable hard drive and a filing for the company's now defunct Bluetooth headset.

The original touchscreen patent, first filed for in June 2007, covers a method for displaying and managing lists on a portable multifunction device, and details a simple computer user interface controlled by finger gestures rather than a sequence of button presses and stylus touches. What the abstract describes is the basic list management system found on current iOS devices.

Included in the patent background is a look at the state of portable devices at the time, which Apple claimed "resorted to adding more pushbuttons, increasing the density of push buttons, overloading the functions of pushbuttons, or using complex menu systems to allow a user to access, store and manipulate data." A far cry from what the company eventually released in the original one-button iPhone.

The company explains that devices which rely on physical pushbuttons are inherently limited in their configurability, and that a conventional user may find it frustrating to operate such an inflexible interface.

Because such devices are designed to read the precise pinpoint contact of the stylus (when a user makes a selection on the touch screen with the stylus), making selections on the touch screen of the device without a stylus, for example, with a user's finger, can prove to be somewhat difficult.

There have been a few attempts at releasing a physical game contrloller for Apple’s smartphone. ThinkGeek iCade has apparently been the most successful among them.

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According to Japanese blog Macotakara, Apple held a MFI Conference for iPod / iPhone / iPad for accessory manufacturers in Shenzen, China this past week.  During the conference Apple reported that the company was going to introduce a new chip for MFI program ("MFI" means Apple's Made iPod / iPhone / iPad certification program) in order to encourage manufactures to produce more iOS-compatible accessories. The rumored chip will provide access to devices running iOS via AirPlay, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The current program for iOS devices is limited to physical dock accessories.

TouchArcade has confirmed these rumors by its recent article telling us about iOS gaming accessories. TouchArcade explains that the reason why all the current gaming accessories rely on Bluetooth keyboard emulation is due to the restrictions Apple has placed over bluetooth connections and with the new chip such restrictions seems to be loosed opening the way to analog control sticks for iOS devices.

Moreover, Apple has recently revealed that the company would be adding support for AirPlay over Bluetooth. It is unclear what advantages this will offer.

German site Macerkopf reports that Apple is working on two software updates for iOS 5 to fix battery issues and to add new features to Apple’s voice recognition assistant Siri. Macerkopf tells us:

iOS 5.0.2 coming very soon, solving the battery bugs. Should arrive before the end of next week. Apple is working hard on the update. In addition Apple is working on the first big iOS 5 Update (iOS 5.1), bringing some Siri-extensions. Also the Siri hardware-control is in work "take a picture", "make a video", "switch on/off WiFi", "switch on/off BT" and more.

The new update will be iOS 5.0.2 and is expected to be released next week to address continued battery life issues even after last week's release of iOS 5.0.1 that was also targeted at solving battery issues. But there are still no signs of developer testing for an iOS 5.0.2. The other update Apple is working on to improve Siri functionality on the iPhone 4S will be probably dubbed iOS 5.1. The update seems to be released earlier next year. Apple may add new languages and expansion of maps and local search to new countries in the update.

Until Siri is able to snap pictures with your iPhone on your signal, snapping up perfect group pictures is not an easy task that involves using camera apps with timer capability (such as Camera+). Accessory producer Belkin has addressed this issue and designed an accessory for iPhone that allows you to remotely release the camera shutter on your device.

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Yesterday during the expected media event Apple announced the new iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the existing iPhone 4 with improved A5 processor, new 8 MP camera with better optics, faster download speed on 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, and more. Media members who attended Apple's iPhone 4S event had the opportunity to spend some time with the new hardware following the presentation, and immediately started posting their first impressions about the iPhone 4S.

Engadget highlights the improved internal specifications of the new iPhone 4S, noting that it is faster than the previous model, with faster navigating between pages and opening the camera application. Engadget was also able to test the new voice assistant, Siri:

The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone — but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests... Siri never faltered, never missed a beat… There’s nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we’re hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update.

Jim Dalrymple at The Loop covers the differences in antenna design:

The current model has three bands — one on each side on the bottom, and one on the top. The iPhone 4S has four bands — two on the top and two on the bottom. The bands are where Apple houses the antennas for the device. The Wi-Fi, wireless and Bluetooth technologies use these areas. It’s not clear at this point if Apple moved any antennas or what they added the extra band.

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It's finally happened, today Apple has finally announced new iPhone 4S. Here's our usual comparison table iPhone 4S vs iPhone 4:

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AllThingsD reported on an interesting app from Disney that uses iPad’s capabilities in unusual way. So-called Appmates are toy cars that interact with the app via the iPad’s display. Writer of the publication Tricia Duryee explains:

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Today Skype updated its app for iPad as well as version for iPhone and iPod touch. Now the Skype app for iPad has Bluetooth connectivity on iPad 2 and a bugfix for security problems. Also the app can operate both on iPad and iPad 2. The program for iPhone/iPod touch also supports Bluetooth on the fourth-gen iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4.

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We have already heard many rumors about upgrade of Apple’s smartphone line this fall, as well as information about the release of next-generation tablet. Also rumors about launch of iPod touch with 3G modem have been circulating. But we forgot that upgrade of all iPod line is planned on September.

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Latest MacBook Airs and Mac Minis incorporate new Bluetooth 4.0 chips. This technology includes Bluetooth Low Energy specification that provides low-latency and low-power implementation. One of the examples of its possible usage is Nike+ accessory, which isn’t actually based on this technology, but works very similar to it. It's based on a sensor that transfers signals wirelessly from your shoe to your iOS device in order to record your daily run.

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Five years ago, Swoosh has released its Nike+ iPod kit intended for the morning jogging fans. To celebrate the anniversary of this event, Nike offers for free its Nike+ app at the App Store, the regular price of which is $2. The app is based on the iPhone’s GPS and MotionX technologyto track your jogging route (as in some places the GPS signals are weak, the MotionX tech is intended to bridge the gaps). The same technology by the way has been used in Jawbone’s stunning new Era Bluetooth headset.

You can download it here to enjoy the app and its additional motivational features and post-run sharing options.

And hurry up, as the app will probably become paid again.

Apple just released new iOS 4.3 firmware. Jailbreakers and unlockers should wait for new tools. Everybody else will benefit. iOS 4.3 has Safari speed improvements, AirPlay features, hotspot, Home sharing, a new option for customizing the iPad's side switch to serve as a mute toggle or screen orientation lock and much more:

This update contains new features and improvements, including the following:

* Personal Hotspot
- Share iPhone 4 cellular data with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth, and 1 USB)

* iTunes Home Sharing
- Play music, movies, and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)

* New AirPlay features
- Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
- Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV

* Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine

* HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter
- View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display

* Ping features
- Push notifications for comments and follow requests
- Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
- Parental controls

* New Settings
- Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
- iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects

* Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode

* Bug fixes

Products compatible with the software update:

• iPhone 4 (GSM model)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)
• Apple TV 2G

iPhone 3G, iPod Touch 2G and iPhone 4 Verizon do not have iOS 4.3 update.

Here are the direct links to download iOS 4.3:

device
version
release date


AppleTV(2G) (AppleTV2,1)
4.3 (8F191m)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPad (iPad1,1)
4.3 (8F190)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPad2,1 (iPad2,1)
4.3 (8F191)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPad2,2 (iPad2,2)
4.3 (8F191)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPad2,3 (iPad2,3)
4.3 (8F191)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPhone3GS (iPhone2,1)
4.3 (8F190)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPhone4 (iPhone3,1)
4.3 (8F190)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPodTouch(3G) (iPod3,1)
4.3 (8F190)
03/09/2011 13:07:02


iPodTouch(4G) (iPod4,1)
4.3 (8F190)
03/09/2011 13:07:02

Since Apple today announced iPad 2, it is a good time to compare it with other devices on the market. Let's see the spec diffs of Apple iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, HP TouchPad and BlackBerry PlayBook:

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