China's People's Daily reported this week that Apple had met all of the requirements for the iPhone 4S to launch in mainland China, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology granted China Compulsory Certification for the iPhone 4S on December 22. The report claims that the handset will be launched in mainland China before the Chinese New Year that takes place on Monday, January 23, 2012.
Filings with the Chinese government show a WCDMA phone manufactured by Apple was granted approval. Though it does not specifically reveal that the device is the iPhone 4S, it is listed as model number A1431, which is the same number Apple used to obtain a network entry permit for the iPhone 4S. The approval process and anticipated release of the iPhone 4S has dragged out in China as Apple has quickly launched its latest smartphone in other major markets around the world. It's been the fastest rollout ever for a new iPhone model.
Some regional branches of China Unicom have already started taking preorders for the iPhone 4S in anticipation of the device’s launch. Moreover, Siri, Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant application, is rumored to gain support for Mandarin by March of 2012 that will obviously drive sales of the iPhone 4S in China.
UPDATE: Apple released iOS 5.1 that is only tethered jailbreakable with redsn0w. Apple has stopped signing iOS 5.0.1, so you can NOT restore to 5.0.1 any more (both original and custom), unless you have saved your SHSH keys for 5.0.1. If you are on 5.0.1 you can jailbreak with redsn0w.
This is step-by-step instructions on how to perform untethered jailbreak of youriPhone 4 on iOS 5.0.1 firmware using RedSn0w 0.9.10 for Windows.
Untethered jailbreak means that each time you restart your device you will NOT need to connect it to a computer and run utilities.
Untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 has already been released. While there is no reason not to update to iOS 5.0.1, there might be some users who would like to stay on iOS 5 and have untethered jailbreak there too.
Famous hacker Joshua Hill (nickname p0sixninja) has recently posted via twitter that an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5 will be released soon after testing.
@p0sixninja: 5.0 untether will be coming soon, we still have some testing and bugs to work out
Untethered jailbreak is available for iOS 5.0.1 firmware on iPhone3GS, iPhone4, iPhone4-CDMA, iPad1, iPod touch 3G, iPod touch 4G.
1. If you're already on iOS 5.0.1 with a tethered jailbreak, you have two even choices:
Run redsn0w 0.9.10 over your current jailbreak (deselect “Install Cydia”)
Install the Cydia package prepared by the chronic devteam. It is called Corona 5.0.1 Untether. (tutorial)
2. If you are not on 5.0.1 yet, update now! If you unlock via ultrasn0w or gevey, make sure you update to 5.0.1 via a custom IPSW! See our guides for sn0wbreeze here. Once you're at 5.0.1, use the latest redsn0w 0.9.10 to both jailbreak and untether.
Analyst Brian Blair with Wedge Partners said in a note to investors this week that though Apple is believed to have built prototypes for a 7-inch iPad, and rumors of such a device launching persist, he doesn't believe Apple will release a 7-inch tablet in 2012.
"Jobs was emphatic in his view that 7-inch tablets were dead on arrival," Blair wrote, "and we believe it would be unlikely to see the company test the waters in this category anytime soon."
Blair thinks it's more likely that after the launch of a third-generation iPad Apple will keep its current iPad 2 on the production to decrease its price and address demand at the mid-tier range.
"We believe iPad 2's price drop could drop to the $349 to $399 range with Apple offering a single 16GB model," he said.
Hacker pod2g is currently busy working on iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak. He has recently posted an interesting update:
The jailbreak is near ready for prime time (excluding 4S and iPad 2).
For now the jailbreak is tested on all devices, including iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G. iPad 2 and iPhone 4S status is "work in progress".
Apple is progressively expanding the capabilities of its Siri voice assistant feature of the iPhone 4S. Wolfram Alpha reports in its blog that it is now enabling its clients to browse Best Buy's electronics and appliances data provides iPhone 4S Siri users a new way to shop and compare products using their voice. The retailer's database includes 35,000 consumer products.
"We’ve taken the strengths we’ve developed in math, science, and socioeconomic data and created something equally unique and useful for online shoppers," the search provider stated.
Using either the web or one's own voice using Siri, users can search for a general product category or a specific product model and obtain a comprehensive report detailing product features, prices and availability, users ratings, price comparisons with similar models.
Users can even shop for products based on their specific needs, such as asking for "the lightest digital camera under $100 with a pixel resolution greater than 12MP,” or compare multiple models. The Best Buy data is currently only available to users in the United States.
iPhone Dev-Team released RedSn0w 0.9.9b9 with full iOS 5.0.1 support (no need to point to iOS 5.0 any more). New version also features support for SHSH and APTickets:
native support for 5.0.1 (no need to point redsn0w at 5.0 IPSW or use command-line args). Support automatically extends to all of redsn0w’s various functions: “Jailbreak”, “Just boot”, “Fetch blobs”, “Stitch blobs”, “Recovery Fix”
iBooks fixed in 5.0 and 5.0.1. This is a targeted fix that doesn’t remove entire sandbox mechanism. 5.x users already using redsn0w “Just Boot” can just use the new version without redoing entire jailbreak again
3GS old-bootrom owners can now create custom IPSWs without blobs
ultrasn0w compatability update (i.e. same baseband requirements) for 5.0.1 will be available on Cydia Monday
support for newer 8GB iPhone4 (which until now had problems with “Fetch blobs”). Thanks to @JKjeepnJeff for loaning us one of these newer i4 units for testing!
allows Windows users (not just OS X users) to use the “Custom” button to create IPSWs without baseband updates. (Update: please wait for 0.9.9b9b for this!)
accommodates APTickets in 5.x (until next Apple countermove). APTickets are crypto-verified before submitting to Cydia, just like the main blobs. Cydia server support for sending back the APTickets is upcoming. For now, use stitched IPSWs for 5.x. Due to APTickets, stitched 5.x IPSWs now require user to start in “Pwned DFU” mode
Support added for stitching 4.x blobs to iPad2-GSM IPSWs. Similar to @notcom’s TinyCFW but doesn’t require lots of RAM or a TSS-assisted restore. Won’t work for iPad2 5.x blobs (or iPhone4S at all) until a bootrom-level exploit is out
top line now shows whether (and where) a redsn0w update is available, or if the version being run is the latest. Uses DNS TXT record to alleviate any concerns about snooping
no 5.1 beta support at this time (major apps like Cydia are not yet compatible)
@pod2g has been doing a great job porting his 5.x untether…check his blog for updates!
Owners of newer 3GS iPhones must not flash the iPad baseband. The iPad baseband will not work on 3GS iPhones built later than 2011 week 35. You have a week 35 or later device if your serial # starts with xx135.
Update #17b: Version 0.9.9b9b enables the “Custom” button for Windows users, and make the 3GS week 35 warning a more explicit part of the process.
On Monday Apple revealed that over 100 million downloads were made via its Mac App Store in less than one year of availability.
"In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world."
There are now more than 500,000 applications in App Stores for iOS and the Mac that were downloaded more than 18 billion times. More than one billion applications are downloaded per month there. Noteworthy, Apple Stores helped developers achieved success with their applications. Here some comments from the developers whose applications are now available in the Mac App Store.
"The Mac App Store has unparalleled reach and has completely transformed our distribution and development cycle," said Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team. "Offering Pixelmator 2.0 exclusively on the Mac App Store allows us to streamline updates to our image editing software and stay ahead of the competition."
Many Apple fans are interested in discovering hints of Apple's future iOS devices in various configuration files in each beta and public version of iOS. Such references provide essentially no information on the new devices themselves. Most of them simply appear in the form of "iPhone4,1" that meant the iPhone 4S as one example, but they are carefully watched as hints of what devices Apple is likely to be testing with the software at the moment and perhaps how many variations of an upcoming device there might be.
But today Apple has tried to obscure that information having released 5.1 beta 2 with numerous fake references within configuration files. For example, USBDeviceConfiguration.plist has listed about two dozen different device variants.
As discovered by 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman, that list has now ballooned to well over 100 such entries as Apple has seeded it with dozens of new fake references to such future products as "iPad10,1", "iPhone11,3", "iPod11,1", and "AppleTV8,3".
Apple has made more difficult to identify new product, though the change does not shut out examination of the evidence entirely, as unaltered listings are still visible in other locations.
This tutorial is for those users of locked iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, who updated to iOS 5.0.1 and realized that ultrasn0w unlock doesn't work there.
Indeed DevTeam have not updated software unlock utility ultrasn0w to work with the latest iOS 5.0.1. There are two workarounds, that will make ultrasn0w work on 5.0.1.
The ongoing competition between Apple and Samsung may become more intense in February. According to BGR report, Samsung is going to launch 11.6 inch tablet that will have 2560 x 1600 resolution display.
We have recently been able to test NoiseHush NX80 headphones from WirelessGround.com and compare them with Apple headphones.
Just by looking at NoiseHush NX80 headphones one can say they are very well made. In the package you will find headphones with tangle-free red cables, a small pouch and a selection of ear gels (small, medium and large). NoiseHush NX80 headphones have a microphone and a switch button, so users can easily answer calls or switch between the tracks just like when using Apple earphones.
We have found that NoiseHush NX80 3.9 feet cable is more suitable for everyday use, since they indeed tangle less than original Apple Earphones that come with every iPhone and iPod. The red color also looks nice and attractive. The selection of ear gels is very important. They not just make headphones stay in ears, we have also found that the sound quality is much better when appropriate ear gels are used.
Bloomberg reports that Australian appeals court is hearing testimony related to the injunction issued to prevent Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. As you remember, the injunction was result of complaints from Apple of design infringement. Judges in the appeals case are skeptical of the fairness of the injunction.
“The result looks terribly fair to Apple and not terribly fair to Samsung,” Federal Court Justice Lindsay Foster said today at a hearing in Sydney on Samsung’s appeal for the ban to be overturned.
The injunction was issued by Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett on October 13. According to the injunction, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 was banned from selling in Australia until Samsung and Apple resolve the patent dispute. Neil Young, Samsung’s lawyer, said that the Justice did not take into account the “dire consequences” of the ban on Samsung. Judges may allow Samsung to sell the device during two-three months before the full trial can take place in March, believing that it won’t severely harm Apple.