We got a chance to catch a glimpse of iPhone OS’s future, after checking out the new Apple patent applications for its future software. Features like face recognition, smarter messaging or voice alteration might make it to iPhone 4.0 or 5.0 OS.
Among Apple’s patent apps there’s also the real world object identification, allowing iPhone users to point to a real world object and have the handset recognize it and provide extra info about it. In order to trigger this feature, you’ll need image recognition technologies, barcode scanners, RFID tags and more.
People will also be able to use object databases/albums for easier future identification of the objects they see. Also, in another patent App, Apple describes how they plan to integrate face detection and recognition on the iPhone and iMac. After the implementation of this feature, it’ll be used to control the security options of the handsets and restrictions.
Text message filtering is also planned for inclusion in the next OS versions and we know that this filtering will be applied to emails that are sent and received, texts, MMS messages, IM and others. More info about the new Apple technologies can be found here.
iPhone users now have plenty of nav app options to go with, if they haven’t bought a GPS yet. There’s TomTom, Navigon and now even iGo has landed on Apple’s handset. The Hungarian blogger who showed us the app for the first time and detailed it is back, with an in-car video demo of iGo My Way for iPhone:
The app looks great on the handset and its interface is very fluid. Portrait and landscape mode are both supported and the 3D UI is very helpful, plus that car cradle seems to fit the phone perfectly. The software senses the direction change immediately, so the response is not an issue and at some point you can even see the Nav N Go (iGo makers) headquarters nearby, which is a great, just for kicks.
We remind you that the iPhone will run the iGo Amigo version, that will be available for $75, bundled with maps.
Apple’s platforms seem to be pretty safe, since we haven’t heard too much about hacks or security issues, specially in the case of the iPhone, their most popular product. Two years after an important iPhone exploit was dealt with, there’s another security hole to plug today.
OS X security expert Charlie Miller is on the case and while speaking at the SyScan conference in Singapore, Mr. Miller announced that he had discovered an issue that allowed hackers to run software code on the iPhone. The vulnerability was triggered by an SMS and allowed hackers to monitor the location of the handset via GPS, also turning on the iPhone’s mike, in order to eavesdrop on people’s conversations.
The same hack could make the iPhone join a distributed denial of service attack or a botnet. The renowned security expert will detail the issue at the Black Hat conference coming soon and Apple hopes to patch it by the end of July.
Who’s losing iPhone prototypes? I bet that if these were 4.0 iPhones, everyone at Apple would be going nuts right now, but all we’ve got here is a 3GS iPhone found at an airport and available on eBay.
Months ago someone found an iPhone 1.0 prototype laying around and also sold it on eBay, but this is a 3GS device we’re talking about here. Too bad that it’s only a brick, stuck on the “Connect to iTunes” screen, so it’s a useful as a tiny block of concrete in your house.
Some guy found this handset in an airport and instead of reporting it at “lost and found”, he gave to a dude, who put it up for sale on eBay. Will this sell for an obscene amount of cash?
If you’ve got an iPhone 3GS and you want to jailbreak it, there’s a brand new solution to use, known as purplera1n and created by developer George Hotz. You’ll be able to download the jailbreak software from here and you need to know that it only works on a Windows PC.
Forget about Windows 7 or a Mac, though, since they’re not supported at the moment. You’ll also need an iPhone 3GS with 3.0 firmware on board and the newest iTunes version, to install the jailbreak. Purplera1n is available in a beta version, so you should backup all the data on your iPhone before proceeding.
All you need to do in order to jailbreak your iPhone is download the software, connect the iPhone to your PC, click on “make it ra1n”, wait, run Freeze on bootup (installer app) and then a pretty foolproof install process will start. More details on the hacker’s blog here.
iPhone 3GS is far from perfection, actually so far that we’ve stumbled upon pretty serious flaws lately, like the overheating issues. Some white models even suffered from discoloration, but have no fear, ’cause Apple has published a guide showing users how to keep their iPhones within acceptable operating temperatures.
You can find the guide here and keep in mind that Apple recommends operating procedures of 32 degrees, up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Apple also claims that low or high temperature conditions might shorten your battery life and even cause the handset to stop working.
Here are a couple of signs showing that overheating is imminent, or it has already started: the phone stops charging, the display dims, cellular signal becomes weak and you’ll see the screen pictured in the image above.
The latest Skype for iPhone version, 1.1 comes with tons of useful options, like multiple supported languages, voicemail and SMS, but sadly it lacks the Push Notification support. This makes the software almost useless, according to the angry users.
Other users have already started claiming that they’ll quit using Skype, because of the lack of Push Notification and the fact that it took one year to come up with an iPhone app that is now incomplete. Some hope that Google Voice manages to properly integrate the iPhone’s features, so they can switch over from Skype 1.1.
Skype has acknowledged the complaints and will use the feedback to upgrade the software, so we’re advised to keep an eye on their official blog and… wait. Great! Problem solved, right?
After seeing TomTom finally announcing an app for the iPhone (and a dock), it’s time for Navigon’s navi software to hit Apple’s handset and we’re waiting for igo to make a move any time now.
If you want to turn your iPhone 3G or the iPhone 3GS into a GPS, you’ll only need 2 things: the new iPhone OS 3.0 and the MobileNavigator software created by Navigon. Starting from this month, the iPhone owners will be able to use this app on their handset.
MobileNavigator supports both landscape and portrait usage, intelligent address entry, speed assistant, it comes with a list of points of interest and Reality View Pro. More info in the video below:
On Monday, Apple revealed the new iPhone 3GS handset, claiming that it’s got twice the speed and performance of the iPhone 3G. These promising specs are based on a powerful 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU and a PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator.
Also, an analysis of the new handset’s hardware reveals that the iPhone 3GS comes with twice the L1 cache of the previous model plus 256KB of L2 cache (not supported on previous iPhones). A GPU upgrade is also present and the PowerVR SGX will now be handling graphics, with a 600% increase in geometry performance and 150% increase in fill rate.
Interestingly enough, this handset manages to support OpenGL ES 2.0, but the old iPhone doesn’t, so good luck to developers trying to create apps for both handsets, specially the software involving OpenGL ES 2.0.
Some lucky folks have managed to pick up the new iPhone 3GS and unbox it, for us all to see. Although the device is officially available in stores on June 19, they managed to get hold of an unit and it’s very much like the iPhone 3G, except for some engraved markings.
The bezel of the iPhone 3GS stands out more than the one on the iPhone 3G, but it may be the fault of the lighting conditions. 3 days from now we’ll be seeing the iPhone 3.0 OS getting launched, which may actually be more interesting than the iPhone 3GS, after all.
We remind you that the new iPhone is far from being impressive, with a mere 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, voice dialing and better performance, compared to the previous handset.
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