Monday, November 12, 2012

Accelerate significantly speeds up iOS animations

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Are your finding the iOS experience to be a bit on the slow side? Are you using an olderiOS device, and finding it to be unbearably sluggish? If you’re jailbroken, and this has been your experience, then you might want to give this new tweak a go.
Accelerate is a recently released jailbreak tweak that speeds up the animations withiniOS. While it’s technically not making the experience any faster, the perceived speed increase may go a long way towards curing your blues.
Take a gander at our video inside for a demonstration that shows how it works.
Accelerate features a vast array of animation speeds to choose from, and it also has built in options to disabled the acceleration effect for specific animations. I found the disable feature to be particularly buggy with my jailbroken iOS 6 installation on myiPhone 4, but your mileage may vary.
The good news is that Accelerate is a free tweak, so it won’t hurt to give it a try. If you want a perceived speed increase on your iOS device, then head over to Cydia’s BigBoss repo where it can be had for free. Be sure to share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/accelerate/
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New in iOS 6.1: Reset Advertising Identifier

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With the release of iOS 6, Apple replaced its controversial unique device identifier system (or UDID) with the Advertising Identifier. It’s a non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier, that advertising networks use to track your behavior.
Since its introduction, users who don’t like targeted advertisements have had the ability to limit ad tracking via a toggle in the Settings application. And in iOS 6.1, users will gain the ability to reset their Advertising Identifier as well…
Apple seeded beta 2 of iOS 6.1 today. And among other changes, the release notes point to a new button in the Advertising section of iOS labeled Reset Advertising Identifier. It’s kind of like resetting your browser history, but for targeted ads.
“In iOS 6.1, a new Reset Advertising Identifier button has been added to Advertising Settings. This button resets the Advertising Identifier so that future requests will return a different value.”
It’s worth noting that the first beta of iOS 6.1 actually has this button too. It’s a nice little addition that should help keep personal ads more relevant.


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/reset-ad-identifier-ios-6/
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iPhone 5 shipping estimates improve to 2-3 weeks

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Availability of the iPhone 5 is finally improving as Apple, its suppliers and contract manufacturers bind forces to improve manufacturing yield rates. When Apple in September started accepting online pre-orders for the device, shipping times quoted on the online Apple Store fell to 3-4 weeks within 45 minutes.
Availability would not improve until today. Now, after admitting to falling behind the iPhone 5 demand, Apple’s contract manufacturer Foxconn has been hard at work with suppliers like Sharp to remove bottlenecks. Analysts who last week surveyed over a hundred Apple Stores, found out the device could be consistently available within 2 to 3 weeks.
We’re happy to report that today, estimated shipping times for new iPhone 5 orders on the online Apple store dropped to 2-3 weeks, another sign of the iPhone maker and its supply chain slowly beginning to catch up to strong demand for the popular device…
A quick glance over the iPhone 5 listing on the US online Apple store reveals a 2-3 week delivery estimate for new orders, down from the previously quoted 3-4 weeks estimate.
It’s welcome news to folks who’ve been on the lookout for Apple’s new phone.
It remains to be seen when Apple will reach the supply-demand balance.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call last month that “the demand for iPhone 5 is extremely robust”, adding that Apple is “in a significant state of backlog”.
If history is an indication, it’s gonna be awhile before we see estimated iPhone 5 shipping times dropping from weeks to days. The iPhone 4S shipping times had been sitting at 1-2 weeks for nearly three months before inventory levels improved.
Let’s not forget that Apple has yet to release the iPhone 5 in China and a number of other markets worldwide. The aggressive roll-out should see the company launching the device in over a hundred countries and across 240 carriers by year’s end.
What’s important, I think, is that Apple is finally making progress toward meeting demand for the handset, no?


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/iphone-5-shipping-2-3-weeks/
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New iOS-friendly Fender guitar spotted in Apple’s web store

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With the holidays just around the corner, Apple has been seen stocking up on app-enabled accessories. A few weeks ago we noted that the iPad-maker had started sellingiPhone-controlled lightbulbs, and now it’s added an iOS-friendly guitar to its inventory.
Fender, a long-time legend in the guitar business, has created a custom version of its popular Squier Stratocaster guitar with built-in USB and iOS connectivity. This means that you can plug into anything from a complex digital studio, to your iPad, and rock out…
Some of the guitar’s features include:
  • Pickup select switch
  • Pickup volume control
  • Pickup tone control
  • Headphone volume control
  • 1/4-inch passive guitar output
  • 1/8-inch (3.5mm) stereo headphone jack
  • Type Mini-B USB connector offering bi-directional audio streaming
You can use the Squier as a standard guitar, or, with the included cables, you can use it to record audio straight to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Unfortunately there’s no Lightning interface, so new iDevice owners will have to shell out an extra $30 for an adapter.
If you’re interested, you can find the Squier by Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar in Apple’s web store (there’s no word if it’s in retail stores yet) for $199.95. We could certainly think of worse things you could find to spend $200.
What do you think?
[via 9to5Mac]


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/apple-online-fender-store/
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Google faces FTC ultimatum over patent and search abuse

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Bloomberg reports that Google is facing an ultimatum from FTC on antitrust deal talks. Apparently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is pressuring Google to make an offer and finally settle FTC’s antitrust investigation over whether the dominant search engine abused its market power in search and misused patent protection in smartphone wars. And should Google fail to “make an acceptable settlement proposal”, sources say, the FTC is prepared to mount a massive case against the search giant whose “Don’t be evil” motto has long become the subject of mockery…
Sara Forden, reporting for Bloomberg:
Google has been engaged in discussions with the agency for about two weeks and hasn’t put any remedy proposals on the table, said the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private.
Unless the search Goliath complies in the next few days, two people familiar with the situation said, it will face a formal complaint.
It gets worse.
The FTC has told Google it won’t accept a resolution short of a consent decree and is prepared to take action in the next week or two, one of the people said.
Make no mistake about it, the government won’t release Google off the hook and consequences could be more damaging for the Mountain View, California-headquartered company than first thought.
FTC took issue with Google prioritizing its services in search rankings, for signing exclusive agreements to provide search services to online publishers and for making it difficult for advertisers to compare Google campaigns to those on competing search platforms.
And this helps explain why Google has been tiring of patent wars lately.
The staff has also recommended the agency issue a complaint against Google for misusing patent protections to block rivals’ smartphones from coming to market, the people have said.
If you’re wondering why post this here on iDB, bear in mind that this is huge news, one that could drastically change Google as we know it.
What do you think of the development?


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/google-ftc-ultimatum/
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AT&T to start offering Samsung’s 4G Android camera November 16

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Back in August, Samsung unveiled a handful of new products at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany. It showed off the Galaxy Note 2 phablet, a new Windows Phone 8 handset, and some Windows 8 machines. It also took the wraps off its new Android camera.
The Galaxy Camera is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a 16MP camera with a 4.8-inch screen, quad core processor, and built-in 3G/4G connectivity running Android software. And for those interested, AT&T will start offering the device this Friday for $500…
Here’s a breakdown of the Galaxy Camera’s features
  • 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD™ screen
  • 21x optical zoom lens
  • super-bright 16MP backside illuminated CMOS sensor
  • quad-core 1.4 GHz processor
  • 1,650mAh battery
  • Android 4.1
The Camera will go on sale November 16 for $499.99. If that’s too steep, AT&T is currently running a promotion that knocks $100 off of any Samsung device, including the Galaxy Camera, with purchase of another Samsung smartphone. Here’s your data plans:
  • AT&T Mobile Share: $10 to share between 1 GB and 20GB
  • AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $15 for 250MB
  • AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
  • AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB
AT&T also notes that the Galaxy Camera will have access to AT&T Locker, the carrier’s free and easy-to-use photo and video sharing service for its subscribers. AT&T Locker users get 5 GB of storage for free – enough for about 5,000 photos, but can add more if needed.
It’s going to be interesting to see how consumers react to this particular product. $500 plus an additional monthly data fee on top of what you are paying for your smartphone and tablet just seems silly. Then again, maybe this is where those shared data plans come in.
I can kind of see the logic here. A 3G/4G-enabled Android camera would make it possible to snap photos, and quickly edit and share them with a number of apps and services. But I’m not sure if better Instagram and Facebook photos is worth the extra money,
And Samsung’s not the only one trying this whole Android-based camera thing out. Nikon has one, and word is that Fuji and Olympus are both mulling the idea. So obviously they think there is a gap in the market for these “smart” cameras. But what do you think?
Is there really a market for these things? Is this something Apple should be getting into?
[AT&T via 9to5Google]


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/samsung-4g-camera/
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Apple posts iOS 6.1 Beta 2, new Apple TV beta

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Apple just seeded its registered developers with the second beta of iOS 6.1. The software follows November 1 release of the first iOS 6.1 beta which brought out MapsKit improvements and other tidbits.
Beta 2 has a build number of 10B5105c versus 10B5095f for Beta 1. Apple says iOS 6 Beta 2 contains bug fixes and improvements over iOS 6.0.1, in addition to tweaks like a new information card in the Passbook app.
A new beta of the Apple TV software is also available. The new iOS 6.1 beta is available for the various iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV devices. Apple’s registered developers can download them via the company’s developer portal.
The iPhone maker also released Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 2 today (build 4H95e), its preferred development environment for third-parties that write Mac and iOS apps. Your release notes and additional info are right below…
And in response to user feedback, Apple added  a new Passbook information card which explains what the software is capable of. Previously, launching Passbook was confusing because the app lacks sample cards or any viable explanation revealing its purpose.
The new information card in the Passbook app was first noted by RazorianFly.
The card’s appearance is substantially different to the information screen that used to greet users on first run.
The Panorama mode in the Camera app now works again and users - fortunately - are again able to download individual songs from iTunes Match (in Beta 1, you could only download whole albums).
Registered Apple developers can download an appropriate build of the new iOS and Apple TV software for their devices throught the Apple Developer web site. The second iOS 6.1 Beta build is compatible with the second, third and fourth-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5 plus fourth and fifth-gen iPod touch.
Existing devices with iOS 6.1 Beta 1 can also upgraded to today’s software over-the-air, by choosing General > Software Update in the Settings app.
iPhone 5 owners can determine the proper download for their device here.
Today’s build expires on Friday, December 28.

The new beta software for the Apple TV is provided for both second and third-generation of the set-top-box.
Here are the full iOS SDK Release Notes for iOS 6.1 Beta 2.

Apple TV

Notes
None.
Known Issues
When browsing the iTunes Store, TV Shows is missing Networks, Genres, and Genius from the top menu.
The Top Movies and Top TV Shows grids are missing the featured carousels, as well as several featured shelves.
Podcasts is missing the Providers item from the top menu

Core Image

Notes
None
Known Issues
In iOS 6.0 and later, Core Image introduced new filters to the set provided in iOS 5. The complete set of filters can be found in Core Image Filter Reference.
Also in iOS 6.0 and later, Core Image allows for the creation of CIImage objects that reference OpenGL texture objects via the imageWithTexture:size:flipped:colorSpace: method.

iCloud

Notes
None.
Known Issues
In iOS 6.1 beta 1, you will not be able to upgrade or downgrade your iCloud storage (5 GB is free). As a workaround, please use either the latest OS X or a device running iOS 6.0.

Maps

Notes
In iOS 6.1, the Map Kit framework introduces the MKLocalSearch, MKLocalSearchRequest, and MKLocalSearchResponse classes. Apps can use these classes to perform map-based searches for addresses and points of interest. The results are then delivered to the app as an array of map item objects. For information about these new classes, see Map Kit Framework Reference.
Known Issues
None.

Passbook

Notes
As of iOS 6.1, the relevance behavior has changed for boarding passes that include both a relevant date and a relevant location. The date must match for these passes to be relevant. If both the date and location match, they are relevant for a longer window of time. You are encouraged to provide both pieces of information when they make sense for your passes
Known Issues
None.

Settings

Notes
In iOS 6.1, a new Reset Advertising Identifier button has been added to Advertising Settings. This button resets the Advertising Identifier so that future requests will return a different value.
Known Issues
None.

Simulator

Notes
This release does not support testing In-App Purchase in iOS Simulator. For apps that use this feature, please test on a device.
Known Issues
None.

Social

Notes
Weibo shows up in the Settings app only if a Chinese keyboard is enabled.
When using the iOS 6.1 SDK on OS X v10.8 (Mountain Lion), if you use the iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.1 “Legacy SDK” in iOS Simulator, you will not be able to sign in to Twitter via the Settings pane and Twitter.frameworkwill not work correctly. If you need to test Twitter features, you will need to choose either the iOS 6.1 or iOS 6.0 Simulator run destination or test with iOS 5.x on a device. These problems do not occur when running Simulator on OS X v10.7 (Lion).
Known Issues
None.
Ping us in comments of any changes you happen to spot in iOS 6.1 Beta 2.


Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/ios-6-1-beta-2-is-out/
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