Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 342

Most users would not notice them because they were issued as part of the Iphone 3.0 operating system.

While the tame Mac press rushed to praise Apple for its "stellar security" reputation it had to admit that 45 is a large number when it comes to counting patches.

If it were Microsoft releasing this many the Mac Fanbois would be dribbling with bile by now. Linux fanbois would just laugh at them both, of course.

Waiting days in the blistering sun for a phone that more level-headed folks (that is, not us) will be able to get by simply waltzing into a store a few days later just isn't what it used to be, is it? As iPhones make the inevitable transition from wildly-anticipated objects of lust to commodities, it seems that Apple's putting progressively less effort into carefully orchestrating and micro-managing launches -- and if you want solid proof of that, look no further than the shipping tracking numbers coming off of the online Apple Store's order status site where you'll find that some iPhone 3G S units should be in buyers' hands tomorrow

When we were breaking down the meaty differences between the old-school 3G and the 3G S yesterday, we made an assumption about support for OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics APIs in the original iPhone 3G based on the fact that it had been available in the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK for several betas. Turns out, though, that the graphics processor in the 3G S -- the PowerVR SGX -- supports hardware acceleration of both OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 while the more pedestrian PowerVR MBX found in the iPhone 3G supports 1.1 alone.

What does this mean to you? OpenGL ES is the lightweight version of OpenGL, a powerful library of real-time 3D rendering APIs; many modern phones and other handheld devices support the older 1.1 specification, but 2.0 is less common -- it kicks things up a notch by supporting more complex textures and shading operations, which basically means games written to support it look more badass. Here's the problem, though: because OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 are completely incompatible with each other, apps need to be written to support both if they're going to be maximally compatible.

12:03PM "So today, we've shown you a whole new line of MacBook Pros, Snow Leopard, really our first public demo, Scott showed you iPhone OS 3.0, and I've shown you the iPhone 3GS."

12:02PM New ad! Ha -- more of the spy theme. A lens looking at the 3GS "I think it's the same."

12:02PM "After that even more countries, over 80 countries will have it by August."

12:01PM "So when does the iPhone 3GS become available? Just a week and a half."

12:01PM "And that starts today..."

12:00PM "But we want to reach even more customers. So we're going to keep the iPhone 3G on the market... at $99."

12:00PM Black and white... no colors.

11:59AM 16GB of storage, and $299 for a 32GB version.

11:59AM "The iPhone 3GS... just $199."

11:59AM Okay... now let's get this price.

11:58AM "The 3GS -- the most powerful iPhone yet."

11:58AM Also a greener device. 23% smaller packaging.

11:58AM Up to 5 hours 3G talk time, 9 hours of WiFI internet.

11:57AM "All this... and yet we've improved battery life as well."

11:57AM "And something businesses have asked for... hardware encryption. All new iPhone 3GSs will have it."

The company on Tuesday launched its virtual Ovi Store, where users can download games, videos and other applications on their mobile phones. The store is available in five languages, including English, Spanish and Russian.

Many users have left comments on the Ovi Store blog, expressing their disappointment because the website was too slow and they could not install applications on their mobile phone.

"We have apologised to users on the blog and we encourage people to carry on giving us feedback as we develop the service better," Nokia spokesman Andrew Flowers told AFP.

People listening to one of the devices in extremely dry air are most at risk of receiving a static electricity shock through the ear buds, according to a warning posted on Apple's Web site. The post likened the condition to the discharge that occurs when a person drags his or her feet across a carpet then gets a shock by touching a door knob.

"This condition is not limited to Apple hardware and static can potentially build up on almost any hardware and could be discharged using any brand of earbuds," Apple said.

Overall, if these claims are true, this is a relatively minor upgrade. The most notable new features would be the built-in compass (which appeared in earlier rumor reports), the video recorder and editor (the current iPhones don't support video recording unless you Jailbreak them), the built-in FM transmitter and the OLED screen (which would improve battery life).

One of the features that sticks out to me is the built-in FM transmitter. I see no compelling reason for Apple to put this in the iPhone, as it is not a feature that users have been demanding, and it hasn't appeared in other iPods.

Another specification I find strange is the OLED screen. That would be a welcome change because it would look nicer than the current LED screen. But OLEDs are generally pricey, and if the current price points are maintained, I'm not sure if I believe this one.

We've toyed with beta 4 for just a few quick moments now, and naturally, the first thing we had to check out was that previously-empty "Store" settings pane. It's now populated, and it's mega-boring; all it does is allow you to sign in and out of your iTunes account, and while signed in, there's an Account Info button that lets you get booted out to an unstyled web page where you can view and edit your credit card information and the like. On the iTunes 8.2 side of things, we noticed that we were explicitly warned that the app would verify that our phone was activated for use with the beta firmware.

Ars Technica's sources are of the anonymous variety, but they claim that these new voice features are code-named "Jibbler" and will not only provide voice synthesis but voice recognition.

Ars says Jibbler appears be an enhancement to the iPhone's Finder-like SpringBoard program, which you see whenever the iPhone's Home button is pressed. It serves as an application launcher and will support the newly announced 3.0 Spotlight search.

The article states:
Jibbler may be controlled via the iPhone headset--button squeezes could be used to record short voice segments from the user, which Jibbler will then interpret. Voice synthesis can then be used to give the user a response, similar to the latest-generation iPod shuffle, which can 'read' playlists and track names--the difference being that the iPhone hardware itself could handle real-time voice synthesis.