Multiple tricks for gaining quick access to settings toggles on the iPhone’s Home screen have been making the news lately, and many rejoiced that such a thing could be accomplished without needing to jailbreak.
In the iOS 5.1 beta, it’s been discovered that Apple has blocked access to these settings shortcuts. How lame!
Other than some minor bug fixes, code references, and limited Siri API access for developers, iOS 5.1 doesn’t bring much of anything new to the table. It does, however, block the use of URL schemes to access system settings on the Home screen.
iSpazio sounded the alarm earlier today, and we’ve been able to independently confirm that both IconProject and Jeff Broderick’s beautiful web app workaround have been blocked.
Why do they no longer work? We wish we knew. Hopefully Apple isn’t concerned with such trivial things at the moment when we still can’t get the iPhone’s battery to last half a day.
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You love your iPhone with a passion that knows no bounds. But that's not to say that occasionally your head isn't turned by a good-looking feature on another smartphone platform. If you've been curious about some of the capabilities and user interface glitz of Windows Phone 7.5 (AKA Mango) you're in luck. Microsoft has figured out a way for you to try out those features on your iPhone, so you don't have to embarrass yourself going to a Microsoft Store or playing with a Windows Phone device at Best Buy.
How do you sample a juicy Mango without actually catching cooties from touching a Windows Phone? It's easy -- just point your browser to
http://aka.ms/wpdemo, and you are presented with a sparkly representation of the Windows Phone 7.5 Metro UI that you can touch and swipe.
I'll admit it. I went and took a look at Windows Phone 7.5, and then I washed my hands with a sterilizing soap, and put in eyedrops in an attempt to get the UI out of my eyes. But it's well worth a look, just so you know what passes for a mobile operating system in Redmond, Washington.
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While smartphones sales continue to grow in the U.S., accounting for 56 percent of all cellphone sales in Q3, Apple remained the top individual device maker despite buyers holding out for October's iPhone 4S release.
According to findings released on Tuesday by Nielsen, Apple retained its place as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. in the third quarter with a nearly 30% share, while the overall market continues to shift toward smart devices, reports Fortune.
The Android and iOS mobile platforms dominate the expanding smartphone market with a 71.1% share, holding 42.8% and 28.3% respectively. Nearly half of all mobile users in the U.S. now own a smartphone, with the devices accounting for 56% of handset purchases made during the quarter ending in September.
RIM's BlackBerry platform came in third with 17.8%, and was followed by Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, HP's Palm/webOS, Symbian and the fledgling Windows Phone.
In the segmented OS marketplace, Apple's third quarter performance was followed by HTC with a 20.3% share. It should be noted, however, that the Chinese manufacturer's slice of the market includes units running not only Android, but also Microsoft's Windows Mobile and the newer Windows Phone platforms.
Blackberry's third place finish was followed by Samsung's various offerings, which garnered the Korean company a 10% market share. Rounding out the top five was Motorola with 10.6%.
App downloads in the third quarter saw Google and Apple enjoying the lion's share of activity, with a combined total of 83% of all downloads made in the past month coming from Android and iOS devices.
The findings point to a download ratio that is disproportionate to its user base, though an obvious lack of apps from RIM and a transitioning Windows mobile platform partially explain the disparity.
Recently, Google revealed that the company "wasn't happy" about the rate of Android app sales, and hinted to upcoming changes that would bring its online store more in line with Apple's.
Android's proliferation in the mobile space is expected to push app downloads past those of iOS, though AppleInsider recently reported that Google's revenue from its app store is grossly outpaced by Apple's model.
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After former Microsoft Business Unit head Stephen Elop (now CEO of Nokia) strongly hinted at it (above on the iPhone) and told T3 they were considering it, a report from The Daily claims sources have confirmed Microsoft has an iPad version of its Office app in the works alongside a new Lion compatible version of the desktop suite. Up until now the iWork suite of apps– Keynote, Numbers, and Pages– have arguably been the go to productivity apps on iOS and the counterpart to Microsoft Office’s dominance on OS X and Windows PCs. If implemented well, we could theoretically see Office for iOS eating into some of Apple’s and the iWork suite’s user base. Microsoft is expected to introduce the app(s) at a similar price point as well. The Daily reports:
It’s assumed that both of these would work with Office 365 as well as mobile versions, such as Windows Phone’s Office Hub. Because it would be compatible with these full suites rather than as stand-alone apps, the pricing will most likely be significantly lower than existing Office products. In fact, it’s likely the cost will be around the $10 price point that Apple has established for its Pages, Numbers and Keynote products.
There has, however, been some conflicting reports regarding whether or not Microsoft is actively developing the app. In April 2010,Elop said they would take the “wait and see” approach when it comes to supporting iPad telling Bloomberg, ”We never say never, but we have no current plans”.
An iPad edition of Office would likely be built by a unit within Microsoft’s consumer business that creates versions of Office that work with Apple’s Macintosh personal computers. Kristen Woody, a spokesman for that unit, says it “doesn’t have anything to share at this time.”
Microsoft has an important decision to make: Do they “bless” the iPad with the critical business software that businesses need but at the same time risk hurting their Windows PC business by making them replaceable?
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Apple has released Safari 5.1.2 to users this afternoon, available by direct download or by hitting up Software Update. The update is relatively minor, but brings along bug fixes that address issues of stability, extensive memory usage, fixing webpages that were flashing white, and now allows PDFs to be displayed within web content. Go ahead and download!
Improve stability
Address issues that could cause hangs and excessive memory usage
Address issues that could cause webpages to flash white
Allow PDFs to be displayed within web content
