SDK

The highly anticipated update to the Facebook App has been submitted to Apple for approval.

The 3.0 update brings many feature rich optimizations to the iPhone App following Apple’s public release of Firmware 3.0 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. New in this update is a totally revamped user interface, news feed and functions for creating Photo Albums. However, the 3.0 update lacks push notification which is scheduled for the 3.1 release. Joe Hewitt posted details about the new Facebook iPhone App on his Twitter feed:

Just uploaded Facebook for iPhone 3.0 to the App Store for review. I’ll be posting more details and screen shots to the app’s page on Facebook this week

Via: Macworld

A new update is ready for SlingPlayer that will enable 3G streaming for non-US iPhones if Apple approves the App.

If you’ve been following the recent controversy surrounding Apple’s ridiculous App Store rules then you surely know that one of the more popular Apps available, SlingPlayer, is limited to use over an active WiFi connection. However, the App was supposed to use both WiFi and 3G to stream content from a compatible SlingBox until AT&T stepped in and asked Apple not to approve the App as it would consume too much bandwidth. While Apple and AT&T have yet to allow a 3G compatible SlingBox, a version for iPhones outside of the US will be made available that brings the feature.

“The 1.1 update will be capable of showing 16 x 9 video to fill the entire screen of an iPhone or iPod touch. Additionally, the remote control interface has been updated and overall speed and response times have been improved. The added DISH Network support allows the app to connect directly to DISH hardware and pull guide information that can be easily searched within the app.”

Apple has yet to approve the… more...

Apple has seeded out its 3rd beta of Firmware 3.1 to developers which supplants the recently expired 2nd beta.

Along with the usual bug fixes, beta 3 comes in at 307MB but brings some more improvements. Copy and paste for videos has been improved allowing the capture of bigger files as Justin of WhenWillApple explains:

“I was able to copy, paste, and email a 33 second / 14.7MB file through gmail. I got the file at the full 640×480 / 30fps. Sending the same file via the share function yeild a file size of 3.21MB at the compressed 480×320 / 30fps.”

Also, a counter for tethered data appears alongside cellular data usage in the network settings.

Via: The iPhone Blog

Push Notification for the iPhone has been making waves lately thanks to a recent “push” by Apple to demonstrate the feature for developers.

For non developers however, you can view a gallery of images that show just how Push Notification works here

Via: iPhone Alley

Specs have been piling in on what the next generation iPhone will pack, one of them being a digital compass that will of course give you the exact direction you were facing when taking a picture or which way to walk in Google Maps. While it’s all up in the air at this point, Asahi Kasei may be the confirmed magnetometer supplier for the iPhone.

The hint was found in some header files for the newest Firmware 3.0 Beta. Apple Insider has more on the chip:

More specifically, the files identify Asahi Kasei’s azimuth sensor No. AK8973, a 16-pin leadless IC package measuring 4mm square and 0.7mm thick, as the chip that will help future iPhone users determine their direction. It bundles a master clock oscillator.

While we’ll have to wait for the official spec unveiling once Apple introduces the next generation iPhone, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this make it’s way in to the final hardware build. It’s expected APple will unveil the next generation iPhone during it’s annual World Wide Developers Conference just as it did last year with the iPhone 3G.

Via: Macrumors

… more...

The run around between background processing for select Apps and Push Notification emulating such functionality has been a favorite topic for the rumor mill and even when Apple vehemently denied allowing Apps to run once they’re closed, the hope for having more than one App run at a time didn’t diminish. This time around, Apple may allow background processing on the next generation iPhone thanks to improvements in the underlying Hardware.

It’s rumored that the next generation iPhone will see a small bump to its Hardware specs, the most notable being the jump in RAM from 128 MB to 256 MB according to a Chinese tipster. Secondly, Apple may be considering a special set of designated Apps that can run in the background or continue separate processes (such as downloading or media playback) which could be selected by the user. As of now, the current Beta of Firmware 3.0 only supports Push Notification but once Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference rolls around, we could see more additions to each Beta build.

Via: iPhone Alley

While digital everything seems to be the mantra of today’s tech obsessed world, what better than to digitize everything including a compass in the next generation iPhone?

Hidden settings in the Firmware 3.0 indicate that a magnetometer support will be available once the Software exits out of Beta in to its final release. The Magnetometer in the iPhone would allow Apps to recognize which direction the user is pointing and work hand in hand with Google Maps to create accurate turn-by-turn directions.

Via: Top IPhone News

As Apple rolls out updates for the iPhone, new features are being piled in for developers to test out to their hearts content but a few things obviously slip by like the improved image quality of snapshots in Firmware 3.0.

According to iPhones.ru (the premier iPhone website if your language gamut spans Russian and Apple) Firmware 3.0 takes better snapshots and have shown it off with a side by side comparison.

Via: iPhones Talk

Coming only 8 days after the iPhone 3.0 beta 4, Apple has released iPhone beta 5.

With WWDC just a month away, this could indicate Apple is trying to have iPhone 3.0 all but ready for launch around the same time. My gut feeling had been we wouldn’t see it or new iPhones available until early July, but hopefully this is an indicator of something sooner.

Source: MacRumors

A small amount of developers who have downloaded Beta 4 of the 3.0 Firmware are reporting that a “pink screen of death” appears after installing the Software.

The pink screen of death that shows up in this Beta disappears for most when they restart their devices and may have been caused by the way they install the Firmware. A majority of those who have been plagued by PSOD installed the Beta Firmware through Xcode instead of downloading the iTunes 8.2 prerelease and using that to install but the root cause is still unknown.

This isn’t the first time developers have been hit with a pink screen of death. When Apple was late in seeding out the third Beta for the Firmware 2.0 last year, the current Beta expired and rendered most iPhones and iPod Touches used for development inoperable.

Via: The iPhone Blog