News tagged ‘Wi-Fi’

HardMac reports that  that the latest iMac family released this week support up to 450 Mbit/sec Wi-Fi. Apple first brought the 450Mbps WiFi features in the 2011 MacBook Pro family, but they haven’t been actively advertising it. Apple changed their Airport card and also installed 3 antennas (instead of 2 before), something indispensable to be able simultaneously to use 3 channels of 150 Mbits/s. Each antenna is capable of a data rate of 150 Mbit/sec. Combined, the three antennas achieve the 450 Mbit/sec speeds using the multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) wireless standard.

As noted by AppleInsider, the newest iMacs and MacBook Pros must be running a developer build of Lion to take advantage of the 450 Mbit/sec speeds. And MacRumors notes that in order to actually take advantage of the 450 Mbit/sec speed, you'll need to have a compatible wireless router, such as the latest AirPort Extreme or TimeCapsule.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple wants to provide convenience to their iPhone users and is negotiating with Verizon about delivering over-the-air iOS updates starting with iOS 5.

Multiple sources say the new feature will debut in iOS 5, meaning iOS 5 will not come over-the-air but following point updates to it will. Just like tethering in iOS 3, Apple has the technology but cannot just unleash it everywhere. Apple and Verizon Wireless are said to have been in talks over these wireless software updates since early this year. Sources could not comment on whether or not Apple is negotiating similar deals with AT&T or international iPhone carriers.

Read the rest of this entry »

After a week of discussions around the discovery that the iPhone has an inbuilt algorithm of keeping track of users' locations in unencrypted file, Apple finally shed light on the subject.

Before we repost the company's official statement, here is a short summary. Apple says it's not tracking the location of iPhone users. It maintains a database of celltowers and Wi-Fi hotspots that allows to calculate your location when requested much more quickly than it can be made with the help of GPS only. The location data is being sent to Apple in anonymous form, and users' iPhones download only the necessary part of the database.

Read the rest of this entry »

A test conducted by The Wall Street Journal reveals that Apple’s iPhone collects and stores location information even if its location services are turned off.

It was also found that the device collects location data using Wi-Fi access points and cellphone towers (triangulation method). However, this information is not being transmitted to Apple.

Read the rest of this entry »

iPad 2 antenna: GSM (top), CDMA (middle), and Wi-Fi (bottom)

iFixit announced that they completed the teardowns of the GSM and CDMA models of iPad 2. Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 was torn down on launch day. The GSM model has the micro-SIM card slot along the upper left edge to provide the device with subscriber information. On the CDMA version such information stores directly on the WWAN board inside. The CDMA iPad offer slightly different antenna configurations, it has an additional antenna and an integrated GPS receiver. What’s really curious is that the 3G version of iPad 2 has the older Infineon 337Se833 baseband chip rather than a dual-mode Gobi chip found inside the CDMA iPad 2. Maybe it was a supply issue or an engineering decision designed to cut costs a bit.

Read the rest of this entry »

Apple seems really dislike everything that helps users to jailbreak their devices. This time Apple blocked access to the Cydia website via Wi-Fi network in Apple retail stores. If you try accessing Cydia on a device connected to one of Apple’s Wi-Fi hotspots, you’ll be surprised to see Apple’s website load instead. As far as we remember, last year federal regulators said that it was no longer illegal to hack or jailbreak an iPhone. However, Apple doesn’t care about that and continues its “war” with jailbroken devices.

iPad 2 microphones: 3G (top) vs. Wi-Fi (bottom)

iLounge found out that the microphones on Wi-Fi and 3G models of iPad 2 have differences in quality of sound.  The best sound quality was demonstrated by the Wi-Fi model.  It might be caused by the fact that the mic on the Wi-Fi model is on an aluminum surface while on 3G is on the black plastic. The differences are most noticeable when the iPad is held facing the user, for example, when using FaceTime or other video applications.

Perhaps due to this change in materials, the Wi-Fi model offers markedly cleaner audio than that of the 3G, which sounds slightly muffled and echo-prone as a result. Curiously, we found the GSM 3G model's audio to be slightly preferable to that of the CDMA model, which seemed to suffer the issues more severely.

In the previous model of iPad the microphone located next to the headphone jack on the top edge but in iPad 2 Apple decided to place it in the center. Though, it seems that such change does Apple more harm than good.

After earthquake happened in Japan lots of people gathered around Apple Stores to use the internet connections. Using Skype and FaceTime, victims were able to contact family members.

Staff brought out surge protectors and extension cords with 10s of iOS device adapters so people could charge their phones & pads and contact their loved ones," the manager wrote, noting that the Apple retail stores are some of the only locations to offer free Wi-Fi in Japan. "Even after we finally had to close 10pm, crowds of people huddled in front of our stores to use the wifi into the night, as it was still the only way to get access to the outside world.

Read the rest of this entry »

iFixit, as usual, prefers not to waste time and has already teardown newly released iPad 2 16 GB Wi-Fi model. The iPad 2 wasn’t easy to open because of tons of glue (not screws) used to seal it. The iPad 2 is very densely packed and has less empty space inside the body comparing with the original iPad. Here are the initials found inside:

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday ChangeWave revealed the results of another survey, which shows that 82% of future tablet owners would prefer to buy an iPad instead of its competitors, namely Motorola Xoom and RIM Playbook.

3,091 consumers were asked in February what tablet would they like to buy and only 4% and 3% would choose Xoom and PlayBook respectively. Another 3% would stick with Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

New rumors say that Apple will release iOS 4.3 today. We have no idea if this is true, but we know for sure that it will be released by 11 of March.

iOS 4.3 has plenty of new features including the Nitro JavaScript engine, which will increase Safari Web browsing speeds, iTunes Home Sharing, and enhancements to AirPlay. One feature that many people are interested in is the Personal Hotspot used for sharing the cell signal over Wi-Fi.

GadgetsDNA reports that a radical new design is in the works for iPhone 5. According to a Chinese source, Apple will be moving back to an aluminum casing, just like old iPhone 2G.

The antenna will also be redesigned which means Apple will also be abandoning the current external iPhone 4 antenna design.

Here's some machine translated quote:

Read the rest of this entry »

Apple has dropped the prices of its first generation iPads by $100 each. The cheapest iPad 1G us now available for just $399 (Wi-Fi 16GB) and most expensive - $729 (3G 64GB). You can order one in Apple online store.

During yesterday’s iPad 2 media event Apple announced that the new iOS 4.3 is to be released on March 11th.

"With more than 160 million iOS devices worldwide, including over 100 million iPhones, the growth of the iOS platform has been unprecedented," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "iOS 4.3 adds even more features to the world's most advanced mobile operating system, across three blockbuster devices-iPad, iPhone and iPod touch-providing an ecosystem that offers customers an incredibly rich experience and developers unlimited opportunities."

iOS 4.3 will include a number of new features such as:

Read the rest of this entry »