iPhone - page 343

You know the drill. You take a walk around a nearby neighborhood at dusk, when it’s dark enough that people have switched their lights on, but not late enough that they have closed their drapes. You glance through the windows and get a tiny, thrilling glimpse into their private world.

But what if you want to get even creepier? How many bedrooms does that house have? How much is it worth? Does it have heating? The answers to these questions can be had using an iPhone app called HomeSnap. Just snap a photo of the home, and it will pull up the details in seconds.

Earlier this week, we highlighted the growing need for companies to develop more comprehensive approaches to iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices than simply purchasing and implementing a mobile device management console. The device-only approach isn’t always a solution in itself and there’s a growing trend of focusing on managing the information and apps on an iOS device instead of (or in addition to) the device itself.

As this multi-tiered model becomes more common, businesses are typically looking at multiple solutions, which is prompting companies in this space to develop strategic partnerships or consider acquisitions as a way of offer businesses a more integrated approach. Two instances of this were the announcement of Good and Box partnering for secure data and enterprise cloud storage and Symantec’s acquisition of Nukona and Odyssey.

Another partnership was announced yesterday between MDM vendor MobileIron and enterprise wireless firm iPass.

Apple’s main supplier pal Foxconn is massive. With multiple mega-factories that can include up to 400,000 workers living on a cramped “campus,” it’s no surprise that Foxconn has quickly become one of the biggest companies in the world. They employ more people than Apple. Not only that, but they’re actually the 10th largest employer in the world, which is freaking enormous when you consider that the US Department of Defense is the world’s largest employer with 3.2 million employees. Foxconn, on the other hand, is just a few notches below them with 1.2million employees. Amazing!

Process is a new take on photo editing apps. It’s simple, fast, powerful and has some very clever ideas about how we edit our photos. The in-app introduction describes it as a “non-linear editor for photos,” and that’s not far from the mark.

In the five years since the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA) launched, the iPhone camera has gone from disappointing to out-snapping Nikon as the most popular camera on Flickr.

As the March 31 deadline for this year’s award approaches, IPPA founder Kenan Aktulun talks to Cult of Mac about his favorite pics, the distinction between good and great iPhone photos and why apps may not help you create them.

Apple’s decision to make Best Buy an official partner for the iPhone is certainly paying off. With 1,100 outlets across the U.S. and an online store, the retailer is now selling almost as many iPhones as Apple itself, according to a survey of customers who purchased the device between December 2011 and February 2012.

Apple and Samsung have battled in court over the design of a number of Samsung’s Galaxy products, which Apple believes were “slavishly” copied from the iPhone and iPad. However, the Korean company’s chief of mobile design maintains that the Galaxy is “original from the beginning,” and believes that one day, he will match Jony Ive by designing a truly iconic product.

Apple’s iOS Safari browser has been the source of many vulnerabilities in the past, and a new discovery reveals a scary bug in the latest version of iOS. When browsing the web on iOS 5.1, there’s the potential that you could run into some address bar spoofing.

What does that mean exactly? Basically, a site URL could be displayed in the address bar that doesn’t actually match the webpage you’re visiting.

With all the rumors surrounding Apple’s intense negotiations to acquire licensing agreements with Hollywood studios for its upcoming television, it can be easy to forget about another aspect of the equation that needs to be reinvented: the remote. When Apple does unveil its long-awaited ‘iTV’ to the dismay of cable providers, you can bet that it won’t come with a clunky clicker like every other TV on the market. If there’s anything that needs to be changed about the industry, it’s the tool we use to communicate with our TV sets.

How would Apple do its own remote? Some have speculated that the iTV will be completely controlled by Siri, but there’s more to the puzzle than just voice control. In fact, you probably already use the future iTV’s remote every day.

RIM has making some interesting choices regarding its future over the past year. The company launched its PlayBook tablet with what was really a beta release of the OS. It expanded its device management platform to include support for managing iOS and Android devices (though many saw that move as too little openness too late in the game). And it introduced support for Android apps in last month’s PlayBook OS update.

In another move that will leave observes scratching their heads, RIM is looking to hire iOS developers. Unlike RIM’s recruitment of Android developers, this doesn’t appear to be in any way aimed at porting existing apps to the PlayBook. The job posting, which lists RIM’s Bellevue, WA location, is for an internal Senior iOS developer that would be creating enterprise-focused iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad.

The app privacy scandal caused by Path’s iPhone app is still leaving its mark, as members of the U.S. Congress have sent out letters to 33 prominent App Store developers to better understand the issue. “We want to better understand the information collection and use policies and practices of apps for Apple’s mobile devices with a social element.”

Apps like the official Facebook and Twitter clients are among the list. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member G. K. Butterfield have requested that the developers behind such apps reveal how Apple imposes its privacy standards and how the standards are implemented.

I used a rotary phone once at my grandma’s house back when I was like 6 years old. It’s the only childhood telephone memory I can recall, but most kids my age have never had the pleasure of seeing the dial slowly rotate back into position with each successive twirling of a number. The iRetroPhone is the closest thing to a rotary phone you’ll find today that also utilizes the best mobile phone in the world. Most people will either cringe or laugh when they see it, but we’re pretty sure hipsters across the globe are gonna love this thing.

We’ve got another great Cult of Mac Deals deal for our readers this time around that is set to wrap up today. It’s one that offers 7 inspiring Mac apps for only $50 that will help you take your ideas from concept to reality with elegance and ease.

Among the apps you’ll get as part of The Mac Designer Bundle is acclaimed calendar app Fantastical, the stellar website creation tool RapidWeaver 5 and the time-saving keyboard shortcut tool, KeyCue. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Back in October, we highlighted one of the new features in iOS 5 that allows you to hide previous App Store purchases from your ‘Purchased’ list. It’s great for removing all those apps and games that you may be ashamed of, such as Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise. But what happens if you want to reveal those purchases again?

Well, thankfully it’s easy to unhide them.

It’s rare to see government agencies at the front of the technology curve, but it’s becoming more common with U.S. federal agencies after U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel declared at CES that 2012 the year of mobile for the federal government. While most agencies have pushed to reevaluate their mobile technology option during the past few months, the Environmental Protection Agency seems to leading the government charge to mobile.

The EPA announced earlier this week that the agency has adopted a new “mobile first” policy. Under the policy, it is a setting forward-thinking IT mandate than even the most tech-savvy companies have yet to consider or embrace: develop solutions for mobile devices first and then re-work those solutions to function on the desktop.

Now that Apple’s brought LTE to the iPad, it seems a certainty it’ll come to the next iPhone in October as well. Lurking deep in the iOS 5.1 plist files, though, may be proof that Apple’s already building support for LTE into their mobile operating system. Or it might just be more confusion over what 4G actually means: LTE or HSPA+.

Those clever Chinese people are great at copying anything. Fake iPhones. Fake Louis Vuitton bags. Fake Gucci sweaters. Fake Disneyland. The list is endless. We’ve even seen quite a few fake Apple Stores pop-up in China over the years. Some even looked like an exact replica of the real thing. Well now some clever Chinese citizens have moved on and are now opening up fake Android stores. The only problem is, Android phones don’t sell so well, so they sell genuine iPhones and iPads

Music streaming services like Spotify, Rhapsody, and Rdio are set to face yet another competitor on iOS, as Sony prepares to make its own service available to the iPhone and iPad. The company’s COO, Shawn Layden, has confirmed that Music Unlimited will be making its way to the App Store “in the next few weeks.”

Lately, RIM has been losing major enterprise customers to Apple on a regular basis. U.S. federal agencies (including NOAA and ATF) have been some of the biggest enterprise switchers from BlackBerry devices to iPhones.

Today’s bad news must have a particularly nasty sting for the BlackBerry manufacturer. For the first time, iPhone sales in RIM’s native Canada have surpassed sales of BlackBerry devices – and by a pretty wide margin. Given the sense of loyalty that many Canadian businesses and consumers have shown to RIM, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, the new numbers highlight the extent of RIM’s challenges and shortcomings.

Prepare yourself for a another look at OS X Mountain Lion and a peak at iOS 6, because Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference looks set to begin in early June. San Francisco’s Moscone Center — the company’s favorite venue for WWDC — has been booked up for a mysterious “corporate meeting” for one week starting June 11.

This hilarious iPhone 4 case will guarantee that you win any dorkathon you choose to enter. The plastic case — which covers the back and sides of the phone — is shaped like a raw hard drive, complete with vendor sticker, fake screws and even SATA connectors.

If it’s not a smaller iPad, it’s a bigger iPhone, and today’s rumor sees the iPhone approaching the absurd size of Samsung’s phablet, the Galaxy Note. The Korean Maeil Business Newspaper cites unnamed sources who claim that Apple is already placing orders to its suppliers for 4.6-inch retina screens.

Angry Birds Space has just survived re-entry and is now in the App Store for just $1. The new Angry Birds, despite the release of the Seasons and Rio editions, is the true sequel to probably the most popular iOS game ever. Also, it rocks.

For many IT shops, the iPad and/or the iPhone can be a conundrum. While iOS has built-in enterprise capabilities, they may not be immediately apparent. There’s also the fact that Apple doesn’t act the same way as most enterprise vendors. Apple does offer enterprise sales and support teams, training and certification programs, and a solid selection of enterprise-related resources, but rarely promotes them. This can be disorienting and frustrating to most IT professionals.

Often there’s a sense of urgency around getting iOS devices integrated securely that adds to this stress – it can be because executives want them, users are bringing them in and doing work on them already with no regard for IT or policies, or because there’s been a decision to offer iPads to specific users or groups.

The ideal beginning when faced with this prospect is to take a deep breath and then to begin breaking down the issues that need to be addressed and prioritizing and handling them. As with other major IT projects, you’ll probably need to develop stop-gap measures to keep things running until your final solution is ready to be rolled out.

Every once in a while a jailbreak tweak comes along that tires to reinvent multitasking on the iPhone. We’ve seen webOS-inspired tweaks like Multifl0w, multiasking-focused tweaks like Zephyr, and many others over the years.

A relatively new package called Imperium aims to change the way we jailbreakers multitask on the iPhone yet again. Is it worth the $1 price tag? Let’s take a closer look.