As WWDC and the unveiling of iOS 5 approaches, we’re all wondering what Apple may or may not bring to its devices with the next major iOS release. One thing that could be introduced is speech recognition, courtesy of Nuance Communications – the company behind the Dragon Dictation applications for the iPhone and iPad.

According to a TechCrunch report that cites “multiple sources,” Apple has been negotiating a deal with Nuance which could see them integrate the company’s speech recognition technology into the iOS platform. While negotiations could have potentially been about an Apple takeover of Nuance, TechCrunch believes that at this point that’s unlikely.

Apple’s iOS updates lately have been interesting because they haven’t performed a complete restore and recovery of my data — in other words I didn’t have to reload all my apps, media, etc. after the firmware was updated. This happened recently with iOS 4.3.3 and previously with iOS 4.3.2.

In some cases after short firmware updates like these I’ve experienced problems with apps, my internet connection, multitasking, and a few other things. Here are some tips that will help you eliminate these problems if you encounter them.

I often take these basic iOS troubleshooting tips for granted and I thought that this would be a good time to share them with all of you.

The iPad 2 came to China this morning and sold out in less than 4 hours, according to our friends at M.I.C. Gadget.

Apple’s flagship store in Beijing attracted a massive crowd of customers and scalpers, who started lining up at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Overnight customers were treated well: there was a special waiting room for them to sleep in, and everyone got a wristband, allowing them to leave the line for an hour and return to their place in line.

There was even a special section for scalpers, who set up shop behind a barrier. Here’s the details:

When people look for cases and other accessories for their new gadgets, they tend to turn towards name-brand manufacturers. Me? I head straight for eBay. For years, I’ve purchased dozens upon dozens of cases and screen protectors for extremely good prices on eBay, and the quality of most of them were quite exceptional.

For less than $17, you can order a faux-leather iPad 2 case (in white), an iPad 2 screen protector, and a stylus. After about 2 weeks of using all of them, I’m ready to give you my verdict.

In an effort to appease the angered politicians in Washington, Apple is sending VP of Software, Bud Tribble, to the Senate hearing to discuss the storage of location data on iPhones. Location-Gate became one of the hottest topics concerning privacy and the use of cellular phones recently. At the center of the controversy, Apple quickly released an update to iOS (4.3.3) to amend the issue of iPhones storing user’s location data, which could possibly be acquired via a third-party to discern everywhere the user has been over the past few months. Senator Alan Franken has been the most vocal opponent of the recent discovery and was the one to initiate the hearing.

Bud Tribble has been with Apple since the 80’s, but as a Jobs loyalist, he left the company when Steve was ousted and became one of the founding members of NeXT, serving as the company’s VP of Software Development where he worked on projects that would later become the foundation for OS X.

We close another week of bargains and deals. In the spotlight are a number of Mac minis, starting at $599 for a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo desktop. Next is a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad from the Apple Store for just $349. Finally, several leather iPad cases are available from rooCase.

Along the way, we also check out various accessories for your favorite Apple product, plus software for the Mac. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Last night, the iPhone-Dev Team updated redsn0w, PwnageTool, and ultrasn0w to take advantage of iOS 4.3.3. Fortunately, Apple didn’t patch i0nic’s exploits, so he just needed to update his untether exploit to work with iOS 4.3.3 on the usual set of devices. More information and IPSW download links below.

Shipment delays to the iPad during the last quarter were reportedly due to light leakage issues with displays produced by LG, according to a DigiTimes report. Apple’s other supply partners were forced to increase their shipments this quarter to rectify the shortage.

During the first quarter, Samsung supplied a total of 4 million 9.7-inch iPad panels, outpacing its rival, LG, who only shipped 3.2 million. It is believed, however, that now LG’s light leakage issues have been resolved, it will increase its supply of displays during the second quarter.

Review: Early 2011 Apple iMac (27-inch screen, 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5)

Apple updated its venerable iMac this week with new machines that are fast, sleek, and beautifully packaged.

Sporting Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, powerful new graphics cards and Thunderbolt ports that can support two external monitors, the new iMac is the undisputed champion of all-in-one machines. Plus, it’s the only one out there that’s not butt ugly.

As well as being the most attractive desktop computer available, it offers just about everything modern computer users might need in a self-contained package, from a HD webcam to a gesture-sensitive trackpad.

I’ve been testing a 27-inch model with a 3.1Ghz Core i5 chip (the biggest, fastest stock model currently available at the Apple Store), and it may sound silly, but it’s almost too much machine for my needs. The screen is so big, I have to sit back lest I get motion sickness. And the i5 chip has power to spare for someone like me, who doesn’t do high-end video or graphics work.

Still, I’ll take it. If the chip is too powerful now, it sure won’t be in a couple of years.

Summer is upon us friends, and if you haven’t started losing that winter gut to get ready for the beach and other summer festivities now is as good a time as ever to get started. A lot of the guys here at Cult of Mac are fans of cycling and our favorite iPhone app for cycling workouts is the recently updated Cyclemeter ($4.99) by Abivo. One of the nicest things about the app is that it can be used not only for cycling but also running, swimming, or hiking. To celebrate the coming of summer, Abivo sent us 10 promo codes to give out today. We’ll be giving them out to 10 of our faithful Twitter followers on Saturday, May 7th at 10am PST.

Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

1: Follow Cult of Mac on Twitter (this contest is open to current followers and new followers).

2: Tweet the following line: “I need the new Cyclemeter app from @cultofmac because [insert your personal reason]”

3: 10 winners will be selected on Saturday morning at 10AM PST. I’ll DM the winners their promo codes.

Note: 5 Instant Winners will be chosen for the first 5 people who tweet us a picture of them riding a kids bike in Walmart.

Have fun, and good luck.

The hits just keep coming from Cupertino. Apple is breathing down the neck of cell phone giant Nokia, posting triple-digit year-over-year growth in smartphones — and climbing to the 35th spot on the Fortune 500 list of U.S. corporations.

Apple “not only continues to expand its reach in existing markets, it also keeps creating new ones,” lauds Fortune. The iPad maker not only “showed the world the power of tablet computing” but also introduced the iPad, “one of the most highly anticipated electronic products this year.” The tech giant rose more than 20 places on the vaunted list compared to 2010, when Apple ranked 56th.

Ben Hopkins is the developer of the forthcoming iOS platformer, 1-Bit Ninja, and while ostensibly the aesthetic he’s going for is that of the Game & Watch titles of his youth, the effect is much closer to early Gameboy titles. For my money, that’s a good thing, and has made 1-Bit Ninja a title to watch out for, even if its Fez-like 3D effect — in which the game world is rotated by a multitouch gesture to reveal its depth — appears to be a cool but ultimately pointless gimmick.

1-Bit Ninja is due out later this month.

The iPhone Dev-Team’s PwnageTool has just been updated for Mac OS X users to provide a stable jailbreak for the latest iOS 4.3.3 release. Just as before the application provides an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad (1st-gen) and the iPod touch (3rd- & 4th-gen).

PwnageTool uses i0nic’s untethered exploit to safely install jailbroken 4.3.3 firmware whilst preserving your 1.59.00 baseband. This gives users the opportunity to continue to use UltraSn0w to unlock their device.

Like Mike Schramm over at TUAW, I love this photo of an iPhone that has been “aged to perfection”. In fact, it looks very similarly to the way my first iPhone looked a few years in.

No doubt Steve Jobs’ heart would stop if he saw one of his products looking this way, but in truth, that’s one of my issues with Apple’s products: they have never been designed to age gracefully, but instead, seemingly to exist in a vacuum of asceticism.

It’s something I have always liked about the first iPhone that it can handle scratches better than the models that followed it, as long as the display is protected. It’s hard to imagine that a workman’s iPhone 4 will look nearly as good despite its blemishes four years down the line.

According to Semiaccurate, Apple is working on a plan to migrate all of their MacBooks over to ultra-efficient ARM processors by 2013. But does that really make sense?

Other World Computing has just announced its latest Mercury Aura Pro Express solid-state drive designed for the latest generation of MacBook Airs. Boasting a whopping 480GB of storage, the upgrade offers nearly 4x more capacity than currently available from factory available SSDs, and is an incredible 68% faster.

As you’d expect from an SSD, however, especially one designed for the latest MacBook Air, these babies come at one heck of a price. The 480GB upgrade will set you back a staggering $1,579.99, but you’re not going to find this kind of storage for Apple’s ultra portable notebook anywhere else.

Working conditions at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China, have long been the center of attention. 1 million Chinese workers build electronics for Apple, HP, Nokia, Palm and Sony at the plant, some are reportedly as young as 12; having to endure long, repetitive work under notoriously harsh conditions. At last count, at least 14 Foxconn workers have committed suicide in the last 16 months.

The plant is now ordering its employees to sign an ‘anti-suicide pledge’, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Under the pledge, employees must not attempt to kill themselves, and if they do, their families can only seek the minimum in damages.

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Apple has provided us with some of the best ads ever created. The Mac vs PC Campaign ads have been some of the most memorably entertaining advertisements to grace the television. Unfortunately Apple pulled the plug on the fun banter between Mac (Justin Long) and PC (John Hodgman) last year. However, should you feel so inclined to walk down memory lane with the plethora of Mac vs PC advertisements, Adweek has compiled all 66 ads for your viewing pleasure. They’ve even got them ordered out chronologically.

[via Adweek]

update: you can also view the ads in a much more pleasant layout on Squrl.

Have a new white iPhone 4? Looking for a case to go along with it? The SwitchEasy TRIM ($19.95, Big Shoulder Devices) in white just might be the one that you’re looking for. It’s made of “super tough Scratch Resistant Hydro Polymer materialfused with highly durable polycarbonate” to give your iPhone 4 some great protection as well as making it look pretty slick. It’s available in several different colors, and is all around a nice value. Check out my full review below.

Contrary to reports of growing friction between Apple and publishers over iPad subscriptions, the Telegraph said working with Apple was just peachy.

Telegraph Media Group digital editor Edward Roussel told the Financial Times that Apple has been “cooperative and helpful” during the development of the newspaper’s latest iPad app which launched today.

Roussel says his company has no gripes with forking over a percentage of profits to Apple because the app store is such a “user-friendly” way to pay – and similar to the costs of distributing a print product.

Subscribers who want to read daily will fork over £9.99 a month (nearly US$15); single editions of the digital paper can be bought for £1.19. The app is free to download.

“The bottom line is we don’t have a gripe with Apple on the subscription model that they have,” Roussel says. “We found they were prepared to enter into a dialogue with us.”

Via FT

Adult chat service iP4Play has been using FaceTime, Apple’s live video chat service, for one-on-one video sex chats since August 2010.

Following the adult industry’s long tradition of calendar girls and monthly playmates, they’ve named the first Miss FaceTime, Charlotte Stokely. To celebrate the crowning of the petite Utah-born blonde, iP4Play is giving away an iPad 2 to a randomly selected customer May 5.

CultofMac.com talked exclusively to this former “PC girl” about her Apple gear and why FaceTime is “incredibly arousing.”

If you are looking for a MacBook Pro, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we feature two version of the computer. First up is a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo-powered laptop with 13-inch LED screen for $1,049. If that’s not the right fit, how about a Dual Core i5-powered MacBook Pro for $1,049? Finally, we turn the deal spotlight on an 8GB iPod touch (previous generation) for $149.

Along the way, we check out a number of cases for the iPod touch, nano, as well as the iPhone 4 and iPad. As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

More than 8 out of 10 U.S. tablet users own the iPad. That’s the word from a new survey of the domestic tablet market and the device’s impact on PCs, e-readers and game consoles. The news reminds us of Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty’s remark that the iPad could have “iPod-like market share.”

“Despite the addition to the market of new tablet computers like the Samsung Galaxy and the Motorola Xoom, in the United States, Apple’s iPad is still dominating the conversation — and the market,” research firm Nielsen announced Thursday. The Android-based tablets have single-digit market share.

Morgan Stanley’s chief Apple analyst Katheryn Huberty recently visited Oz (also known as Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple) and came away with “increasing confidence” in the iPad-maker’s continued ability to amaze Wall Street. After a general conversation with finance head Peter Oppenheimer, Apple Store chief Ron Johnson, and Internet guru Eddy Cue, Huberty believes more than ever in a bullish future.

Apple iPads sales could grow 74 percent over the next two years, describing an “iPod-like market share in tablets.” Likewise, iPhone sales may grow 55 percent in what she sees as a “natural expansion” of distribution. As for Apple Stores, which celebrate their 10th anniversary on May 19, the company will build up to 50 new locations, expanding current stores to handle more product set-up services, Huberty reported.

Popular jailbreak tool PdaNet has just been updated to introduce a nice new feature that hides iPhone tethering usage from its carrier. The update comes as AT&T begins a crackdown on customers who illegally use their device’s data connection without paying for a tethering plan.

To identify illegal tethering, AT&T looks at the type of packets hitting its network; any packet that doesn’t come from an iPhone is checked and warnings are then sent to the offenders informing them they must cease their wrongdoing or be billed for their use.

PdaNet’s new feature works by masking those packets and making the carrier believe they’re coming from an iPhone, and that all of their subscribers are being good boys and girls.