iPhone World

iOS 5 mobile operating system

Apple has released the newest beta of their upcoming iOS 5 mobile operating system, and one of the quickly discovered new features is a gesture interface that provides the same functionality as the iPhone and iPad’s hardware buttons.

Listed under the Accessibility settings in the device’s setup area, the new “Assistive Touch” option places a floating button on the screen which allows users to use touch gestures to complete a variety of commands, including returning to the home screen, multitasking, changing the device’s volume and more. While it appears that Assistive Touch is targeted at those who have difficulty with hardware buttons, the feature appearing in this way has signaled to many that Apple is considering dropping hardware buttons in future devices.

There are some gaps in the Assistive Touch software, as would be expected from a beta release. It’s possible to create and save custom gestures for the interface, but as of yet there appears to be no way to actually assign it to do anything. The rest of the interface appears to be working perfectly, however, as users can make use of the Assistive Touch menu system to access four options: Home, Device, Gestures and Favorites.

The “Home” option does exactly what it sounds like, returning the user to the iPhone or iPad’s home screen – similar in function to the hardware button. “Device” offers a multitude of different controls, including those to lock the screen, to change the volume, a button that performs a “shake” of the device, and another to rotate the screen’s orientation. The “Gestures” menu shows options for three, four and five-fingered gestures, which have been popping up in the iPad 2 betas for iOS 5 and are expected to be coming to the device when iOS 5 is officially released. Finally, “Favorites” allows access to custom, saved gestures as well as a handful of other ones such as “pinch” and “swipe”.

Customers of Apple’s devices who may struggle with some or all of the hardware gestures – think elderly users and the “shake” function on an iPad – are likely to be very happy with the company’s implementation of these resources in iOS 5. While the rumor mill is likely to use Assistive Touch as Apple’s means to finally rid their devices of hardware buttons, there’s been no indication from the company that they ever plan to do so, and a great deal of users would be frustrated with the inability to adjust things like an iPhone’s volume without taking the device out of their pocket and accessing the screen. Assistive Touch does show that Apple is paying attention to its customer space, and that they have the skills to produce software interfaces that could eliminate hardware buttons in the future if that’s what the market dictates.

It’s tough to imagine a button-less iPod or iPhone, but this could be relatively feasible for the iPad which is screen-centric and virtually everything is done via the display. Only time will tell if Apple decides to eliminate hardware buttons entirely.

We still have very little “real” information about the iPhone 5 Release Date but will keep everyone updated with rumors and official news.

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board

Apple‘s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple‘s Chief Operating Officer, as the company‘s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

"Steve‘s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world‘s most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple‘s Board. "Steve has made countless contributions to Apple‘s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple‘s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

"The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," added Levinson. "Tim‘s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does."

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.

As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company‘s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple‘s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple‘s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices

New Report Claims Apple Set to Start iPhone 5 Pre-Orders on Sept. 30, Launch is expexted on Oct. 7

Can you tell that we’re getting VERY close to the launch of Apple’s next-generation iPhone? Regardless of which rumors you believe, there’s likely just a few short weeks until Cupertino takes the wraps off of the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4S, or… iPhone ?) and ‘new’ reports surrounding the launch of the device are coming in almost daily.

Today, 9to5Mac posted that their sources are indicating that Apple is planning to start taking pre-orders for the next-generation iPhone handset starting on September 30, with a target launch date of October 7. This agrees with another report from TiPB a few days ago, and falls in line with those who believe that Apple will be launching in late September to finish off the third quarter strongly. 9to5Mac suggests that Apple has been trying to decide between a launch on October 7^th or October 14^th, but as things are going well for Apple in regards to production, the launch is currently set for the 7^th. Now, since this is unofficial and just a rumor, this date could be the right one, could be pushed back, or could be entirely false. But for now, it looks like Apple plans to launch the next iPhone handset on this date.

If the pre-order date is accurate and Apple does intend to start allowing pre-orders on Friday, September 30^ththen it’s almost a certainty that they will hold some form of preview event in early September. Apple has traditionally held an event in September, but the focus of this event was generally around the iPod, iTunes and music in general. With music-only devices starting to become less important to Apple, it’s certainly possible that Apple will use their September event to focus on the new iPhone. Apple has also pointed to a September release for the new version of its iOS mobile operating system, dubbed iOS 5, and with the updated iOS now in its fifth beta it’s likely to be released alongside the next iPhone.

The jury is still out as to what new devices we’ll see out of Apple this fall, with some analysts and media calling for a single new blockbuster handset and others suggesting Apple will release two new iPhones. The 9to5Macreport is in the latter camp, offering that Apple may release a new, more powerful handset than the current iPhone 4 and another less expensive handset that may be destined for prepaid markets. The updated iPhone will most likely gain the newer A5 dual-core processor (currently powering the iPad 2), an upgraded rear camera (likely 8 megapixel), and possibly a larger 4.0” display. If Apple does release a less-expensive prepaid handset, it will almost certainly be an underpowered iPhone 4 with some of the bells and whistles taken out.

As per the usual, there is no word out of Apple to confirm or deny today’s report, or to suggest what’s going on with the next iPhone. If you’re desperately waiting for the iPhone 5, stay tuned as it appears that we’re just a couple of weeks away from hearing a firm date for Apple’s September event, where all will be revealed!

Sprint Set to Join AT&T and Verizon as an iPhone 5 Carrier

According to a report issued today by the Wall Street Journal, Sprint will join AT&T and Verizon in offering iPhone handsets starting this fall with the launch of Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5 handset.

Sprint is currently the third-largest wireless carrier in the country, behind Verizon and AT&T respectively. With more than fifty million customers, Sprint represents a huge new market for Apple and its wildly-selling iPhone. After launching the first iPhone handset exclusively with AT&T, Apple has continually moved to add new carrier partners to continue its push to become the number-one smartphone manufacturer in the world.

Interestingly, the United States was the first country to receive Apple’s iPhone in 2007, but the last to drop carrier exclusivity which only happened in January of this year with the launch of the CDMA iPhone 4 handset on Verizon. The rumor mill has been speculating that Sprint and T-Mobile were possible new carriers that would be on board following the launch of the iPhone 5; this new report from a source as reputable as the Wall Street Journal seemingly confirms it. As T-Mobile is currently in merger negotiations with AT&T, it’s likely that subscribers will have access to the iPhone in the future anyway.

Sprint currently operates its cellular network using the same CDMA technology as Verizon. While this would indicate that Sprint should be able to sell the same iPhone 5 handsets as Verizon does, many reports suggest that Apple may do away with its multiple handsets instead offering a “world phone” capable iPhone 5 that can connect to nearly every cellular company’s network on the planet. A number of news outlets reported this week that app developers have seen an iPhone model like this one reported in app usage logs, so it’s likely that a single iPhone 5 handset will be offered to all of Apple’s carrier partners.

Receiving the hottest-selling smartphone on the planet couldn’t come at a better time for Sprint, a company that has seen its customers leaving in droves due to poor handset selection, and of course because they can’t get an iPhone. AT&T and Verizon have been quick to scoop up these lost customers; AT&T reported half-year sales of over 7 million iPhone handsets (iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4) through June 30, while Verizon sold about 4.5 million iPhone 4 handsets during the same time period.

Finally, a number of reports came out in the last day that suggest Apple may be planning to release a cheaper version of its iPhone 4 handset along with the next-generation iPhone 5 around the end of September. It’s currently unclear if this less-expensive handset would be offered to new carrier partners such as Sprint, or if it would only be offered to carriers that already sell the iPhone 4.

As usual, Apple had no comment surrounding the news that Sprint would be joining its huge family of carrier partners. As the clock ticks toward the inevitable launch of the next iPhone, we shall all see soon enough if today’s news is true.

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You get $100 refund if you bought iPad within last 2 Weeks

Some good news for iPad buyers within last 15 days – Apple will give you a $100 refund for your brand new but outdated 1st gen iPad. But for that to happen you need to produce your receipt and you if you made the purchase on or after the 16th of February 2011.