Eee Pad Transformer Prime gets handled, fawned over

We've seen the Eee Pad Transformer Prime work out its camera, take a bite out of Ice Cream Sandwich and slide through a Portuguese hands-on, but we're more than happy to take a peek at Ritchie's Room's "first look" as well. Their impressions? Pretty positive -- Ritchie had nary a negative thing to say about the ASUS slate, optimistically noting that folks screaming for ice cream will eventually be able to sooth their throats with an update. The outfit confirmed a handful of details we'd already deduced -- the prime's svelte 8.33mm (0.33

inches) and 586 gram (1.29 pound) measurements leave it just a hair thinner than the iPad 2, and as we suspected, make it incompatible with the original Transformer's keyboard dock. Hit the source link below for a mess of photos and a glowing write-up.

E-shoppers go mobile on Thanksgiving, Black Friday

Apple's iPhone and iPad helped make mobile devices a key driver of Thanksgiving and Black Friday e-commerce this year, according to a report from IBM Coremetrics.

Online Thanksgiving shopping grew by 39.3 percent year over year, creating momentum that continued into Black Friday, where online sales grew by 24.3 percent compared with the same period last year, said the report (PDF).And Black Friday witnessed the arrival of the mobile deal seeker,

 who embraced his or her mobile device as a research tool for in-store and online bargains. Mobile traffic came close to tripling year over year, to 14.3 percent on Black Friday 2011 from 5.6 percent last year.

The iPhone and the iPad accounted for 10.2 percent of all Black Friday online traffic. The iPhone and the iPad ranked 1 and 2 for mobile device retail traffic (5.4 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively). Android-based devices came in third at 4.1 percent.

But it's not all about mobile browsing. The value of individual orders also increased, while the number of items purchased decreased. Home goods, for example, saw an average order-value increase of nearly 16 percent, while the number of items per order dropped by more than 6 percent.

Here's a rundown of the report's other key findings:

    Sales on mobile devices surged year over year, to 9.8 percent from 3.2 percent.

    Shoppers using the iPad accounted for more actual purchases per visit than shoppers using other mobile devices, with conversion rates reaching 4.6 percent for the Apple device versus 2.8 percent for overall mobile devices.

    Mobile shoppers demonstrated a laser focus that surpassed that of other online shoppers, with a 41.3 percent bounce rate on mobile devices versus a rate of 33.1 percent for shoppers on other computing gadgets. The bounce rate records how often people jump from one site to another looking for the best deal on a particular item, rather than browsing around through various items in a more leisurely fashion.

    Shoppers referred from social networks generated 0.53 percent of all online sales on Black Friday. Facebook led the pack, accounting for 75 percent of all traffic from social networks.

The gains in online shopping come amid a push from traditional brick-and-mortar stores to offer better online experiences.

And while stores like Macys offered "doorbuster" sales to bring more customers into its brick-and-mortar locations (and ostensibly spend more money in them), a greater number of people appear to be splitting their purchasing between online and retail.

The National Retail Federation estimates that as many as 152 million Americans are expected to shop this weekend, up from last year's 138 million.

Banks scrambling to serve tablet users

Devin Davis wanted to use his tablet for his online banking. But after one too many botched transfers from account to account -- because of the imprecision of using the touchscreen without an application designed for the tablet -- he went back to his laptop.

"I found myself going to my computer because it was faster, easier and more exact," the Oakland, California resident says. Then a new app came out. Now, he says, the experience is far better.

With the success of Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet on the heels of Apple's pioneering iPad, the growing number of tablet users like Davis who want to do their banking on the device are likely to notice something lacking in the experience.

Of the nation's biggest banks, only 30 percent offer a tablet-specific app, says Mary Monahan, the head of mobile devices research at Javelin Research & Strategies. And that's just for iPad users. So far, none of the banks have a specific application for iPad's Android-based competitors that are gobbling up market share, including Kindle Fire.

For tablet junkies, that means an often frustrating experience. They can either do their online banking through the less-visual mobile portal or through the less-functional website.

Monahan says banks need to serve this space because of demand from tech-savvy consumers. "It's going to revolutionize banking in the same way the smartphone did. The banks have to be ready for this," she says. And there are signs that many will be be moving there within the next year. Software developers hired by financial institutions say they are under pressure to quickly put their clients into the tablet marketplace.

Big banks currently offering iPad apps include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank and USAA. Bank of America officials say they've tried to stay at the front of the pack when it comes to mobile applications. "It is about providing our customers with a safe and secure way to bank while at the same time providing them with convenience, choice and flexibility," says Marc Warshawsky, a mobile channel executive for Bank of America.

Being something of a cross between computers and smartphones, tablets benefit greatly from applications being written specifically for them so users can easily move through touchscreen menus.

"It's an entirely new kind of device, and needs a new type of user experience to go with it," says Carl Tsukahara, vice president of Clairmail, which designs mobile programs for banks. "It can't be smartphone banking, but bigger, and it can't be a shrunken version of online banking."

Already, Monahan says, 8 percent of consumers have tablets and this holiday shopping season is sure to grow that figure significantly. "There are going to be a lot of Kindle Fires under Christmas trees this year," she says.

One of the main differences with tablets vs. smartphones when it comes to banking is the time users have. Tablet users are more likely to be at home. They tend to be less rushed and expect a richer visual experience.

"We're seeing the opportunity coming alive right before our eyes," says John Flora, director of product management for mobile for Intuit Financial Services. "The demand for it is very high. We have a backlog of customers were are working on."

There are no real limitations for tablet usage, Flora says. It's just a matter of designing the applications to take advantage of all that the tablet can deliver. "They're going to become part of everyone's everyday life," he says.

Next week, next iPhone? (Apple Talk Weekly)

Next week the rumors, the speculation, and the curiosity come to an end. Or at least that's the hope.

Apple on Tuesday is holding an event at its campus with the tag line "Let's talk iPhone." It's been more than a year since the last iPhone came out, and the event is expected to bring a full unveiling of its successor.

Along with the iPhone, next week's event should give us full details, if not the formal release, of iOS 5 as well as iCloud, the latter being the company's backup and synchronization service. Both got their debut in June during WWDC with the promise of a release this fall.

We'll be there to cover the news live, as it happens. Look for more details on how to view our live coverage in the coming days. Now, as usual, here's a wrap up of some of this week's big Apple news and rumors to get you all caught up.

News of the week

Apple sets Oct. 4 as date for iPhone event

As mentioned above, Apple sent out its invites to select press bright and early Tuesday morning, a week from when the event is being held. The invite features a cluster of four iOS icons and the tag line "Let's talk iPhone" (see above). The move is a departure to last year, when Apple took the wraps off a new iPhone at its annual developers conference in San Francisco. This time around, the event is being held at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

iPod click wheel games disappear from the iTunes Store 

You might remember that not too long before the App Store, Apple began selling games through iTunes for its click wheel iPods. Even since the popularity of Apple's touch-screen iPods and the iPhone and iPad, those games have remained. But as noted by AppleInsider, Apple quietly removed them from the iTunes Store earlier this week, prompting speculation that the click wheel sporting iPod Classic is well and truly on its way out.

Apple denied Multi-Touch Trademark

A filing picked up on this week by MacRumors shows that the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied Apple's application to trademark the term "Multi-Touch," the technology that registers multiple touches at once on touch-screen devices. The filing says the mark was denied for simply describing the feature and not backing up the application with proof that consumers associate the term with Apple. The application itself goes back to when Apple first introduced the iPhone in 2007, which made use of multi-touch in apps like viewing photos and navigating through maps.

New European countries get iTunes Stores

Apple's iTunes Store expanded into new territory this week. As noted by MacRumors on Wednesday, Apple's iTunes Music Store launched in a number of new countries, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.

Court sides with Apple in Mac clone case

An appeals court this week sided with Apple against Mac clone maker Psystar for infringing on its copyrights. You might remember that as the company that began offering custom-built PCs running Apple's Mac OS X. Apple filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Psystar for doing that in 2008, winning in a ruling a year later. Apple was also awarded a permanent injunction against Psystar, keeping the company from selling any hardware.

Rumors of the week

Next iPhone to sport 1GB RAM, voice assistant

A new rumor roundup of sorts from 9to5mac this week claimed Apple's next iPhone will sport 1GB of RAM as well as a substantially more complex voice-recognition control system that lets users navigate about the phone as well as launch apps with their voice. Apple has long been rumored to be working on such efforts given its pick-up of Siri and its voice-activated assistant application last year. Macrumors piled on, providing mock-ups of what the system is said to look like, as well as a video of how it works.

New iPhones, iPods in Apple's inventory system

Citing new information from "Mr. X," a frequent leaker of Apple product numbers, 9to5mac this week reported that two new iPhones have appeared in the company's inventory system alongside three new iPod Touch models. Before getting too excited, the blog suggests the iPods could just be white versions of existing models, with the iPhones being a low capacity model of the iPhone 4 aimed at budget-conscious buyers.

iPad shipments cut 25 percent? Not so fast

A report from a J.P. Morgan Chase analyst made waves at the beginning of the week, suggesting that Apple cut fourth-quarter iPad shipments by 25 percent, a signal sales of the device might be slowing. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster disputed the idea, suggesting any drop in Apple's iPad production in Asia could be due to a ramp up in iPad production in Brazil.

A lost Foxconn iPhone 5 prototype the cause for case designs?

What's up with that bevy of iPhone 5 cases that have popped up in the last few months? Well, according to a new report, you can blame that on a prototype of the device that went missing earlier this year. Blog M.I.C. Gadget said that while visiting Shenzhen, China, last week, it heard from an "iPhone accessories supplier" that a prototype of the device had gone missing from Foxconn's factory in that area. The tipster alleged that the device had then been sold to case makers who were eager to get a head start on production.

iPod Classic and Shuffle to be discontinued?

The non-touch based version of the iPod's taken a back seat to the iPhone for years now, but people are still snapping up millions of them each quarter. Nonetheless, that number's long been in decline. A new report from TUAW this week suggested Apple plans to trim some of the fat by shelving its two non-touch-screen based iPods: the Classic and the Shuffle. Following the quiet removal of iPod click wheel games from iTunes this week, this rumor certainly becomes a whole lot more interesting.

See also my colleague Donald Bell's take on why it might not be a bad time to kill off the product that helped turn Apple into a consumer tech giant.

Patent of the week

A 2010 application published this week points to some interesting video stabilization technology Apple is seeking to patent.

The filing, picked up by Patently Apple, is for "accelerometer/gyro-facilitated video stabilization." In short, it details a system for making use of the accelerometer and/or gyroscope to track when shaking is happening during video recordings. The patent then describes a system for selectively running that data stream through any stabilization process to smooth out just the bits that register with lots of shakes.

Apple already offers stabilization in its video editing software, including both iMovie and Final Cut Pro X. The first Apple portable hardware to ship with both an accelerometer and a gyro was last year's iPhone 4, though the patent suggests the system could be used in other portable devices like handheld video cameras and portable computers.

Rumor: iPhone 5 will be in very short supply when it launches

The iPhone 5 is one elusive smartphone. It'll either be very similar to the iPhone 4, with just a spec-bump or come with a completely redesigned body. Our bet is Apple will take the wraps off both models, but it seems the iPhone 5 might see a shortage.

9to5Mac is reporting that it's heard the iPhone 5 — the slightly taller, wider and thinner version "is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line (Apple has multiple production sources - Pegatron, Foxconn, etc).  We therefore think that iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012."

A shortage? Is that really a surprise? Not really. Whether it's a production problem or a consumer one, Apple's mobile devices hve historically managed to sell out — as was the case with the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Shortages are to be expected. The problem is, Apple just won't be able to meet demand.

Meanwhile, Case-Mate who "accidentally" posted pics (since removed) of cases for the iPhone 5 online also backs claims that the device will sport a new form factor, going as far as to say that the screen will be 4-inches, the home button will elongated, camera will jump up to 8-megapixels, and will feature wireless charging.

Case-Mate claims both an iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 model will be launching in early October. The New York Times also says an iPhone 5 is on its way in the next few weeks.

For sure, iPhones are en route — two of them — but what's the hold up? We've heard nothing about Apple's annual September music event, that usually brings with it redesigned iPods. Maybe those production problems are real. The only way to guarantee you get an iPhone 5 will be to pre-order one as soon as Apple and its wireless carrier partners all buyers to do so.

iOS 5 rumored Sept. 23-30; iPhone 5 mid-October?

Apple plans to release the Golden Master of iOS 5 to its overseas assemblers between September 23 and 30 according to a new rumor, which would peg the iPhone 5 at around mid-October.

Apple plans to release the Golden Master (”GM”) of iOS 5 to its overseas assemblers between September

23 and September 30 according to a report from AppleInsider (via CNet). This would mean that iOS 5 — and the  fifth-generation iPhone by extension – would be on schedule a mid-October launch.

Citing analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, AI notes that the Golden Master (GM) version of the much-anticipated software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch is scheduled to go to overseas “assemblers” in as soon as 11 days. The report also states that new iPhone and iPod touch went into mass production in late August.

Upon receiving the software, Apple’s overseas assemblers will be able to install it on the finalized hardware and prepare it for shipping. The latest version of iOS will come preinstalled on both the fifth-generation models of the iPhone and iPod touch, set to be released in the coming weeks.

A release of iOS 5 to assemblers the week of Sept. 23 means its likely finalized hardware units for the new iPhone and iPod touch will begin to ship at the end of September. With an estimated 10 to 12 days for shipping, the two new devices are likely to be available by mid-October, Kuo said.

This will come as great news to people clinging to dying iPhone 3G and 3GS’.

Microsoft Prepares Windows 8 for Battle Against the iPad

Microsoft is set to unveil the next-generation of Windows tomorrow. The new operating system, currently known as Windows 8, is the tech giant’s attempt to regain ground that it has lost to Apple, which surpassed Microsoft last year as the world’s most valuable company.

It isn’t the MacBook or Mac OS X Lion that has Microsoft executives worried, though. It’s the sheer dominance of the iPad.

The iPad hasn’t skipped a beat since its debut last year. Thanks to Apple’s ingenuity, a shockingly low starting price and a strong marketing campaign, the device has sold more than 25 million units in less than a year-and-a-half. More importantly, it has defined a whole new category of consumer devices. And it dominates that category with an iron fist.

iPad competitors have come and gone, but none have been able to make a dent in the iPad’s rapid growth. HP has given up on the TouchPad, the RIM Playbook has underperformed and countless Android tablets have fallen by the wayside. Nothing has emerged as the alternative to the iPad.

This presents a dangerous problem and an opportunity for Microsoft. The tech giant cannot let Apple monopolize the tablet market like Microsoft did with the desktop OS. That would seal its fate as a technology power destined to diminish into a shell of its former self.

There is a need for a legitimate alternative to the iPad, though, and the company that gets it right will emerge in a strong position to take a big piece of the fast-growing tablet market. Success in tablets would boost Microsoft’s profits, ease investor concerns about the shrinking PC market and set it up for future growth.

That’s where Windows 8 comes in. The next-generation OS, which will be unveiled at the Microsoft Build conference on Tuesday, is not only designed for PCs, but it is also made to work on tablets as well. We got a taste of its touchscreen capabilities at the D9 conference earlier this year, but we expect Microsoft to unveil the first Windows 8 tablet during Tuesday’s keynote. Our sources tell us that the device will be manufactured by Samsung, but has been designed meticulously by Microsoft in an attempt to create the iPad alternative.

Will Microsoft’s gamble work? Can the company create an OS that works seamlessly on both tablets and PCs? And most of all, will it be useful enough, different enough and cheap enough to give the iPad a run for its money?

We’ll be closer to knowing the answers to those questions on Tuesday morning. The tablet wars are about to begin in earnest.

Amazon's cheaper Android tablet could change the industry

Apple has made it look easy with the iPad.

It has sold tens of millions of the tablet computers -- singularly defining an entire category of mobile devices -- as competitors have tried and failed to gain any significant traction against it.

But there will likely be a newcomer to the race this fall that could change the tablet industry forever.

Online retail giant Amazon has hinted that it plans to offer its own tablet computer running Google's Android operating system, perhaps as early as October.

Research firm Forrester said last week that it expects Amazon to sell 3 million to 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter this year if it can keep up with the demand.

The main reason: Amazon is willing to sell hardware at a loss.

Amazon's tablet could be priced at $300 or lower, significantly less than the base-level $500 iPad.

Like Apple, Amazon is also in the business of selling e-books, streaming movies and digital music. The more tablets it has in users' hands, the more e-books it can sell to them -- which is where Amazon is hoping to make even more money.

"Amazon's quick ascension in the tablet market will completely disrupt the status quo," said the report's author, Sarah Rotman Epps.

Amazon has sold millions of its Kindle e-readers using this strategy. The Kindle starts at $114 for the ad-supported WiFi version.

Software follows hardware

The likely success of a tablet from Amazon would be sure to invigorate the Android software system, which has faltered without a compelling piece of hardware.

Several Android tablets have been released this year, but each has landed with a thud -- too heavy, too expensive or just not quite there.

That has kept many software developers from creating apps for Android tablets, which causes even more consumers to choose the iPad.

Google doesn't make an exact count of tablet-optimized apps available, but most educated guesses place it in the low three figures.

Apple has more than 120,000 apps for its tablet.

A blockbuster tablet from Amazon would change things, creating a serious incentive for tablet app developers to work on both platforms.

I don't often advocate waiting on the sidelines for an eventual product release.

But the prospect of a less-expensive Android tablet, especially when paired with the expansive digital media offerings of Amazon, is enough to give a buyer some serious pause this fall.

Here’s the full change log for iOS 5 beta 5

Apple just pushed iOS 5 beta 5 out to developers and wouldn’t you know, we’ve got the full change log for you to feast your eyes on. Hit the jump for all the iOS 5 changes you can handle.

Thanks, Jean!

NOTES AND KNOWN ISSUES

The following issues relate to using the 5.0 SDK to develop code.

Accounts

When creating an iCloud account, you can use any Apple ID as long as it is a full email address and not a MobileMe account. If you have a MobileMe account, you can move that account to iCloud. You can find more information on iCloud at: http://developer.apple.com/icloud

When setting up an iCloud or MobileMe account using the setup assistant and leaving Find My iPhone on, it might actually turn Find my iPhone off after the setup. Please verify in Settings/Mail, Contacts, Calendar/YourAccount that Find my iPhone is toggled On after leaving the setup assistant.

NEW: Enabling iCloud services in Setup Assistant may not always be saved correctly. After completing Setup Assistant you should visit Settings > iCloud to verify the state of the iCloud account. If you have multiple iCloud or MobileMe accounts configured on the device you should also visit each of those accounts in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar to verify each account.

It is recommended that you disable Bookmarks on multiple accounts. If they are enabled, the results might be undefined.

AirPlay

Starting in iOS 5, video content in applications and websites are AirPlay-enabled by default.

iOS 5 supports AirPlay of video via AV Foundation.

Apple TV

Apple TV Software beta enables users to mirror the contents of an iPad 2 to an Apple TV (2nd generation) using AirPlay. This beta software also enables Photo Stream on Apple TV so users can access photos stored in iCloud. Apple TV Software beta is being provided to test the latest AirPlay functionality with your iOS 5 apps and web sites. If you wish to install Apple TV Software beta on your device, you must first register your device UDID in the iOS Developer Program Portal.

Calendar

Birthday calendars are not currently available via the icloud.com website or in Windows. They will be available in a future release.

NEW: The default calendar is still the On My iPhone calendar despite setting up an iCloud account during Setup Assistant. As a workaround, reset the default Calendar after finishing Setup Assistant in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Default Calendar.

NEW: Pushing iCloud Calendar data is not working in iOS. To sync your iCloud Calendar, launch the Calendar app or refresh the calendars manually using the Calendars button in the top left corner.

Core Image

Several filters have been added since beta 1. The current list now includes the following filters:CIAdditionCompositing, CIAffineTransform, CICheckerboardGenerator, CIColorBlendMode, CIColorBurnBlendMode, CIColorControls, CIColorCube, CIColorDodgeBlendMode, CIColorInvert,CIColorMatrix, CIColorMonochrome, CIConstantColorGenerator, CICrop, CIDarkenBlendMode, CIDifferenceBlendMode, CIExclusionBlendMode, CIExposureAdjust, CIFalseColor, CIGammaAdjust,CIGaussianGradient, CIHardLightBlendMode, CIHighlightShadowAdjust, CIHueAdjust, CIHueBlendMode, CILightenBlendMode, CILinearGradient, CILuminosityBlendMode,CIMaximumCompositing, CIMinimumCompositing, CIMultiplyBlendMode, CIMultiplyCompositing, CIOverlayBlendMode, CIRadialGradient, CISaturationBlendMode, CIScreenBlendMode,CISepiaTone, CISoftLightBlendMode, CISourceAtopCompositing, CISourceInCompositing, CISourceOutCompositing, CISourceOverCompositing, CIStraightenFilter, CIStripesGenerator,CITemperatureAndTint, CIToneCurve, CIVibrance, CIVignette, and CIWhitePointAdjust

GameKit

Match data for turn based matches is currently limited to 4 KB of data.

NEW: When logging in to Game Center, the password may clear and login may not complete. Trying a second time will succeed.

NEW: In this beta, GameKit Invites may fail. As a workaround, try restarting the device.

iBooks

iBooks 1.2.2 may fail to display some text or images in books. Please update to iBooks 1.3 in the App Store.

iCloud Backup

As this is beta software, it is recommended that you do not use the iCloud services to store any critical data or information. If you enable iCloud Backup, automatic backup with iTunes when syncing will be disabled. We also suggest that you manually back up your device with iTunes. Backups made with earlier versions of iOS 5 beta will soon become incompatible, and will no longer be available. It is strongly advised you upgrade to this version of the iOS 5 beta in order to continue backing up your devices. If you encounter errors restoring from a backup, or enabling a backup more than one hour after signing into iCloud, try deleting your iCloud account from Settings and adding it back. If errors persist, please try erasing your device and initiating the restore again.

iCloud Storage

During the iOS 5 beta period, any documents stored on the servers might be purged periodically before GM. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you do not store any critical documents or information on the servers.

NEW: Provisioning Profiles no longer need to be enabled for iCloud in the iOS Provisioning Portal. All newly generated provisioning profiles are now automatically enabled for iCloud. If you are using an Xcode managed Team Provisioning Profile, click refresh in the Xcode Organizer to obtain a new iCloud-enabled profile. To enable all other provisioning profiles for iCloud, simply regenerate your profiles in the iOS Provisioning Portal.

If your application is using the NSMetadataQuery class, you must set a predicate, even though the predicate itself is ignored.

In this beta, the setSortDescriptors: method of NSMetadataQuery is not supported.

FIXED: To use iCloud prior to beta 5, you had to manually specify various container identifiers (your application’s Display set) within an Entitlements file for both of your Mac OS X and iOS projects.Starting in beta 5, to enable iCloud storage within your apps, simply click the “Enable Entitlements” checkbox in the Summary pane of your project. Xcode will create a custom entitlements file for your project that automatically includes your Team ID. You can add additional iCloud Container values as required by your application. (Note that you must regenerate your existing provisioning profiles, either with Xcode or in the iOS Provisioning Portal, to use iCloud storage.)If you specify a custom identifier string for your iCloud Key-Value Store or iCloud Container entitlement values, you no longer need to prepend your Team ID to the beginning of the string. Xcode will prepend your Team ID to these entries automatically

The container identifier string you pass to the URLForUbiquityContainerIdentifier: method of NSFileManager MUST include the team ID at the beginning of the string. As a convenience, if you pass nil, Foundation uses the first document container ID specified in your app’s entitlements.

There are issues using the Cloud Storage document API in conjunction with protected data which can lead to data corruption.

FIXED: In this beta, document-based applications cannot always detect when files change, move, or are deleted out from underneath them.

In this beta, file presenters (objects that adopt the NSFilePresenter protocol) do not receive some of the messages that they’re supposed to receive, especially:

presentedItemDidChange

presentedSubitemDidAppearAtURL:

presentedSubitemDidChangeAtURL:

You can workaround this by implementing the relinquishPresentedItemToWriter: method and checking to see if the writer actually wrote when your file presenter reacquires. You can also use FSEvents to observe file system changes

In this beta, messages about changes to files in a directory are not getting delivered to objects that adopt the NSFilePresenter protocol.

While reporting a bug related to the iCloud storage interfaces, please include the logs collected during your debugging session. To generate these logs, you must install a special debug profile on your device.The debug profile can be obtained from http://connect.apple.com. This profile enables the generation of debug logs that are needed to diagnose any problems using iCloud storage. The instructions to collect the logs are:

Install the profile. (The easiest way to do this is to mail it to yourself and open the attachment on their device.)

Reproduce the bug.

Sync with iTunes to pull the logs off your device.

Attach the logs to your bug report. You can find the logs in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/DeviceName/DiagnosticLogs.

These logs can grow large very quickly, so you should remove the profile after you have reproduced the problem and pulled the logs for the bug report.

NEW: File names are case-insensitive in OS X but case-sensitive in iOS. This can lead to problems when syncing files between the two. You should take steps on iOS to avoid creating files whose names differ only by case.

iMessage

iMessage beta 1 will be unable to communicate with iMessage users on beta 2 or later.

iPod

NEW: When using the volume buttons on the device, or on headphones, the volume slider in the UI of applications may not update even though the volume level has changed.

iTunes

The version of iTunes that comes with beta 5 cannot sync devices that have the beta 4 software installed. To avoid this problem, do the following:

Sync any devices that have beta 4 installed to the version of iTunes that came with beta 4.

Upgrade iTunes to the version that comes with beta 5.

Connect the device and install the beta 5 software. (Understand that you might see a failure to sync error when you first connect the device.)

After installing the beta 5 software, restore from your the backup you made in step 1.

Videos purchased from the iTunes Store do not play on a 2nd generation AppleTV over AirPlay with iTunes 10.5.

Location

FIXED: The startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges method of CLLocationManager does not cause applications to be resumed or launched in the background for significant location change updates. However, if a backup from a previous software version (where an application was monitoring significant location changes) is restored to the device, significant location change monitoring will continue to cause that application to be resumed or launched in the background.

Mail

FIXED: Forwarding a message with attachments included does not attach the file and the message compose screen does not change from “Loading….”

NEW: When changing the host name of an email account in settings, blank messages may be seen in the unified inbox. As a workaround, delete and re-add the account instead of changing its host name.

Music Library

FIXED: Some songs are missing their album artwork after changing the device library via syncing.

OpenGL ES

FIXED: In iOS 5.0 beta 4, several OpenGL ES extensions have been moved from the APPLE namespace to the EXT namespace, causing some API to be renamed. The altered extensions are EXT_color_buffer_half_float,EXT_occlusion_query_boolean, EXT_separate_shader_objects, EXT_shadow_samplers, EXT_texture_rg, EXT_debug_label, and EXT_debug_marker.

OTA Software Update

If you are doing an OTA software update, you will need to re-sync your photos with iTunes.”

Personal HotSpot

FIXED: In this beta, iPhone 4 device cannot join personal hotspot even if it is on due to a non functional Wi-Fi tethering on these devices.

Photos

FIXED: If you apply red-eye adjustments in iOS, and import your image into the iPhoto seed build, the red-eye adjustments will not appear on that image in iPhoto. As a result, subsequent syncing of your image back to the iOS device from iPhoto will not show the red-eye adjustments.

NEW: When restoring photo libraries from an iTunes backup, some photos may not appear in the Photos application after restore. Please back up your photos before updating to iOS Beta 5.

Simulator

Location services are not functional in iOS 4.3 simulator running on Mac OS 10.7 with Xcode 4.2.

Springboard

Push and local notifications for apps appear in the new Notification Center in iOS 5. Notification Center displays notifications that are considered “unread.” In order to accommodate push and local notifications that have no “unread” status, developers can use their application badge count to trigger a clearing of notifications from Notification Center. When an application clears its badge count (by setting it to zero), iOS 5 will clear its notifications from Notification Center.

FIXED: iOS 5.0 terminates VoIP applications that are resumed in the background for incoming network traffic with extreme frequency. Developers are encouraged to make sure all incoming data is read from VoIP sockets to avoid this condition.

NEW: The UIPrerenderedIcon key (in the Info.plist file) is not honored in this build.

StoreKit

NEW: In-App purchase will not work for developers testing their apps with the iTunes Sandbox.

Twitter

FIXED: When tweeting your location from Safari and exiting before the location can be established, the location arrow will stay in the status bar. The arrow can be removed by killing Safari from the task switcher.

UI Automation

FIXED: Instruments overwrites the loaded automation script, even if another program is editing it.

FIXED: The play and record buttons in the Automation instrument script editor may not work properly after targeting an application that was launched by a trace session and has ended. They may also not work if you target an application that was suspended. If you run into this problem and it persists, you may need to close and reopen the trace document to get back into a functional state.

FIXED: When capturing actions into a script using the Automation instrument, interfaces with web views or table cells that contain a high number of off screen elements may take an extremely long time before returning with an expression.

The lock() and unlock() functions of UIATarget have been replaced with the lockForDuration(<seconds>) function.

Starting in iOS 5 beta 2, you can now trigger the execution of an UI Automation script on an iOS device from the host terminal by using the instruments tool. The command is:

instruments -w <device id> -t <template> <application>

When using the cli instruments for UI Automation you can now target the default Automation Template and pass the script and results path into the tool as environment variable options. For example:

instruments -w <device id> -t /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/Library/Instruments/PlugIns/AutomationInstrument.bundle/Contents/Resources/Automation.tracetemplate <application> -e UIASCRIPT <script> -e UIARESULTSPATH <results path>

UIKit

Starting in iOS 5 beta 3, the exclusiveTouch property of UIControl has returned to its original default value of NO.

Returning nil from the tableView:viewForHeaderInSection: method (or its footer equivalent) is no longer sufficient to hide a header. You must override tableView:heightForHeaderInSection: and return0.0 to hide a header.

In the iOS 5 beta, the UITableView class has two methods to move one cell from one row to another with defined parameters. These APIs are:

moveSection:toSection:

moveRowAtIndexPath:toIndexPath:

Using the UIWebView class in Interface Builder, setting transparent background color is possible in iOS 5. Developers compiling against the new SDK can check their XIB for the UIWebView transparent setting.

In the iOS 5 beta, the UINavigationBar, UIToolbar, and UITabBar implementations have changed so that the drawRect: method is not called on instances of these classes unless it is implemented in a subclass. Apps that have re-implemented drawRect: in a category on any of these classes will find that the drawRect: method isn’t called. UIKit does link-checking to keep the method from being called in apps linked before iOS 5 but does not support this design on iOS 5 or later. Apps can either:

Use the customization API for bars that in iOS 5 and later, which is the preferred way.

Subclass UINavigationBar (or the other bar classes) and override drawRect: in the subclass.

The indexPathForRow:inSection:, section, and row methods of NSIndexPath now use NSInteger instead of NSUInteger, so that these types match with methods defined on UITableView.

Touch events are not getting forwarded to the view in the cameraOverlayView property of UIImagePickerController.

We have changed the behavior of scrollToRowAtIndexPath:atScrollPosition:animated: such that UITableViewScrollPositionTop and UITableViewScrollPositionBottom now adjust for the top and bottom portions of the contentInset property.

WebKit

In iOS 5, a new inherited CSS property, -webkit-overflow-scrolling, is available. The value touch allows the web developer to opt in to native-style scrolling in an overflow:scroll element. The default value for this property is auto, which allows single-finger scrolling without momentum.

NEW: In beta 5, accessing sites that use client side SSL certificates does not work and may cause the application to crash.

The WebKit framework has picked up a newer WebKit engine, which closely matches Safari 5.1. Some areas to be aware of with the new WebKit framework on iOS:

There is a new HTML5-compliant parser.

Text layout width may change slightly because word-rounding behavior now has floating-point-based precision.

There is improved validation of the <input> form field, which includes removing leading zeros and number formatting.

Touch events are now supported on input fields.

window.onerror is now supported.

There is a new user agent that does not have locale information in the User Agent string.

NEW: URLs are now canonicalized by making the scheme all lowercase. If a fake URL is used to pass information from a UIWebView back to native code, make sure that the scheme is always lowercase, or that the native code compares the scheme in a case-insensitive manner.

Wi-Fi Syncing

In iOS 5 beta 4 and later, wireless syncing is now available on Windows as well as the Mac. (This support requires OS X 10.6.8 or Lion.) You will see an option to enable wireless syncing when you connect your device to iTunes with the USB cable. It is recommended you perform your initial sync with a cable after restoring your device.

Wireless syncing is triggered automatically when the device is connected to power and on the same network as the paired computer. Or, you can manually trigger a sync from iTunes or from Settings > General > iTunes Sync (same network as paired computer required).

If you find issues with apps, media and/or photos synced to your device, you can reset then resync. From Settings > General > Reset, choose Erase all Content and Settings. Then reconnect to iTunes and sync again.

In some cases, your device may fail to sync contacts, calendars and account settings, or back up to iTunes. If this happens, reboot your device and re-sync.

FIXED: In some cases, syncing photos may result in only thumbnails on your device. If this happens, unsync Photos then re-sync again.

Xcode

FIXED: In beta 4, device restores using Xcode were disabled. This has been fixed. Device restores are now enabled and work in Xcode.

In some cases, Xcode 4.2 Organizer does not display a device that is in restore mode. As a workaround you can use iTunes to restore.

In iOS 5 beta 5, iOS Simulator is not compatible with previous releases of the iCloud Developer Seed for OS X. It is highly recommended that you update to the latest iCloud Developer Seed to ensure compatibility.

iOS 5.0 SDK supports both iOS 4.3 and iOS 5.0 simulators.

NEW: Xcode fails to build a Page-based template. You can work around this issue by adding the Core Graphics framework to your project.

Purported 'iPhone 5' cases proliferate in China ahead of expected Sept. launch

Chinese case makers have begun distributing cases allegedly for Apple's next-generation iPhone, with one report calling the cases "everywhere in China."

Earlier this week a schematic emerged claiming to show Apple's new design for the so-called iPhone 5 M.I.C

Gadget now reports that the alleged iPhone 5 cases are "everywhere in China now."

One vendor is selling the silicon cases on Chinese trade site Alibaba.com for 2CNY ($0.31) each with a minimum order of 500 pieces. Similar to the images published earlier this week, the cases feature curved sides and locate the vibrate switch on the opposite side of last year's iPhone 4 design.

The case designs contradict some pre-existing rumors regarding Apple's next-generation smartphone. In May, parts (1, 2) allegedly for the fifth-generation iPhone suggested that Apple would move the camera flash away from the rear-camera. But, the cases being distributed in China place the flash component in the same location.Chinese case makers have begun distributing cases allegedly for Apple's next-generation iPhone, with one report calling the cases "everywhere in China."

Earlier this week a schematic emerged claiming to show Apple's new design for the so-called iPhone 5 M.I.C Gadget now reports that the alleged iPhone 5 cases are "everywhere in China now."

One vendor is selling the silicon cases on Chinese trade site Alibaba.com for 2CNY ($0.31) each with a minimum order of 500 pieces. Similar to the images published earlier this week, the cases feature curved sides and locate the vibrate switch on the opposite side of last year's iPhone 4 design.

The case designs contradict some pre-existing rumors regarding Apple's next-generation smartphone. In May, parts (1, 2) allegedly for the fifth-generation iPhone suggested that Apple would move the camera flash away from the rear-camera. But, the cases being distributed in China place the flash component in the same location.A number of reports had also suggested that the next iPhone would contain only "slight modifications" from the iPhone 4, with some calling the next device the "iPhone 4GS."

Chinese case manufacturers have in the past been the source of leaks of upcoming Apple products, such as the iPad 2. Last year, Foxconn reportedly became suspicious of the accuracy of leaked cases for the then-unreleased second-generation iPad and reported the issue to local police.

Last December, three Foxconn employees were arrested for allegedly leaking the design of the iPad 2 to accessory companies in China. This June, a court sentenced two former Foxconn employees and a manager at an accessories manufacturer and to prison terms. Court documents show that the employees were paid 20,000CNY ($3107) to provide advance digital images of the touchscreen tablet.

Apple is expected to introduce the next-generation iPhone this fall, with recent rumors pegging the launch for mid-September. The device is believed to include the new A5 processor, a dual-mode baseband chip and an 8-megapixel camera.

iPhone 5 to launch in early September, report says

Hang on to your hats, because there's another rumored release date for Apple's next-generation iPhone.

The latest comes from the China Times (translation), which says that Apple plans to produce 4 million units of the device following a production run of 400,000 test units. That's all to ready the device for a release in the

second week of September.

Other tidbits from the report, which was picked up this morning by Macrumors, include Apple purportedly working to ready another version of the iPad to bring to market "before Thanksgiving." That would give Apple a late-year product launch that--as the last two iPad launches have proven--would make for a tough-to-get gadget during the frenzied holiday shopping season.

The China Times report has some weight in terms of timing. Apple has made a habit of holding its annual iPod-focused music event in September, usually during that first or second week of the month. Apple has also promised to release iOS 5 in "the fall," which officially begins a few weeks later.

Turning to CNET's lovingly updated iPhone 5 rumor roundup, this is the latest in a series of September mentions, the earliest being a Reuters report saying that the new device would be ready to go by then. In early May, Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek weighed in, saying something akin to an iPhone 3GS-like update would be hitting store shelves in September. That was followed just a few days later by a Digitimes report, echoing the same timeline and noting that it would be an incremental update.

In late June, a Bloomberg report said that a new iPhone would be hitting in September to coincide with iOS 5's debut. Digitimes followed, saying Apple had actually placed an order for 15 million of the devices in time for a September release, well above what China Times is now reporting. All this was topped off with a U.K. job posting earlier this month looking to staff up iPhone sales specialists for Apple's retail stores to work from mid-August through the end of October for "an exciting project." Two separate reports from Macrumors and Boy Genius Report later noted that Apple and AT&T were readying employees for something big right around that same time.

As for an iPad 2 follow-up this year, this is not the first such murmur. A report from Digitimes at the start of this month said Apple was pulling together materials to start work on an iPad follow-up, in time for an October release. Days later, blog This is my next chimed in, claiming Apple was planning to launch an HD model of the iPad aimed at the high-end market, sporting a display with double the resolution that could run pro-level photo and video applications. That model was said to be launching in the fall, alongside a new iPhone.

Got all that?

Apple has released a new iPhone every year since unleashing the original model on June 29, 2007. The latest, the iPhone 4, is now more than a year old. The company reported sales of 20.34 million iPhones in its most recent fiscal quarter, which was up from 18.65 million units the quarter before. While Apple doesn't break out those sales in terms of the differing models, it did say that it's now up to 220 million iOS devices total.

Lenovo Jumps into Tablet Market: 10 Features They Need to Succeed(Photo-Gallery)

Lenovo is the latest company to jump into the tablet fray with its ThinkPad and IdeaPad K1 tablets. The company also unveiled its P1 Windows 7-based tablet, but this column will only focus on the prospects for the Android models.

At first glance, the ThinkPad and K1 are quite similar, offering 10.1-inch screens, Android 3.1 and the 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2processor. However, the ThinkPad option is designed for enterprise users, while the K1 is made for consumers.

By joining the tablet space, Lenovo is now going up against Apple and the countless number of Android tablet makers out there. Now Lenovo, like all the others that came before it, will need to find a way to differentiate its products and appeal to customers who might not want to buy an iPad.

Admittedly, doing so is difficult in today’s crowded tablet space. The chances of Lenovo overcoming even the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to earn the second spot in the tablet space behind the iPad 2 are slim. But it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With the right strategy and a few tweaks, Lenovo’s tablets have a chance at becoming a success.

Read on to find out what Lenovo should do to make its K1 and ThinkPad tablets successful.

1. Focus on the screen size

One of the major advantages of Lenovo’s tablets is their screen size. According to the company, both the ThinkPad tablet and the K1 offer 10.1-inch screens. The iPad 2, on the other hand, comes with just a 9.7-inch display. The difference might not be great, but in both the consumer and enterprise markets, larger screens are preferred. Lenovo must keep that in mind and make that a key component in its marketing.

2. Android 3.1 is integral to success

If Lenovo’s tablets shipped with Android 3.0, they would be failures out of the gate. But by offering Android 3.1, the tablets are on the same level as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which also runs the operating system. Google’s first foray in the tablet space with Android 3.0 was a bit of a misstep, but most critics agree that version 3.1 is a fine improvement. Lenovo should make it clear to customers that unlike some other Android tablets, its products are running the best version yet of Google’s tablet platform.

3. A clear delineation

By selling two tablets, Lenovo is putting itself in an unenviable position. Rather than simply try to make customers get excited about a single tablet, the hardware maker must try and sell two different products aimed at two separate markets. In order to be successful at that, Lenovo needs to make it abundantly clear to customers that the ThinkPad is for businesses, and the K1 is for consumers. They should also be different enough to convince a tablet buyer that they should buy two tablets, one for their home and another for the office. If they seem too similar, Lenovo’s tablets could have trouble finding a suitable marketplace.

4. Talk about pricing

According to Lenovo, it’s selling the K1 tablet for just $499 for 32GB of storage. Apple’s iPad, on the other hand, retails for $599 for the same amount of storage. The company’s 16GB model goes for $499. That is a major selling point for Lenovo. As the economy still continues to struggle to turn around, consumers looking to get a tablet want the best value for their cash. Making them aware of its K1 pricing might help Lenovo appeal to those customers.

5. Enterprise, enterprise, enterprise

The corporate world has largely been left out of the discussion on tablets. Save for the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook and the Cisco Cius, today’s tablets are designed with consumers in mind. But as a trusted enterprise PC maker, Lenovo has the unique opportunity to capitalize on the business space with its ThinkPad. If it does a good job at it, the company might be able to cement its position at the top of the enterprise market. For Lenovo, promoting its ThinkPad tablet to the enterprise might be its most important strategy decision.

6. Slim them down

One of the biggest issues with Lenovo’s tablets is their size. According to the company, its K1 tablet is 0.5 inches thick and weighs about 1.7 pounds. The company’s ThinkPad starts at 1.65 pounds. That’s not a good thing. Apple’s iPad, for example, comes in at just 0.34 inches thick and weighs 1.33 pounds. Lenovo’s devices simply seem bulky and overweight—two features consumers and enterprise users don’t like. Although the device designs are final, Lenovo needs to make a solid case for why customers should buy its bulkier options.

7. The digitizer pen is a home run

Lost amid the discussion on Lenovo’s tablets has been the company’s decision to offer an optional digitizer pen with the ThinkPad. The pen offers far more functionality for enterprise users that don’t want to rely so heavily upon their fingers to get work done. For consumers, a digitizer pen might actually be a liability. But for the corporate world, it’s an advantage. Lenovo should rely upon that advantage as much as possible as it starts promoting its devices.

8. Market them effectively

One of the biggest issues in the Android tablet market has been the general inability by vendors to promote their products effectively. Commercials promoting tablets haven’t compelled customers to buy a device, online ads have been oddly devised, and the companies seemingly don’t know who they’re targeting and why. Lenovo simply can’t fall into that trap. If the company’s tablets become successful, it will be because the firm knows now to properly market its products.

9. Focus on the extras

One of the nice things about Lenovo’s tablets is that they’re chock full of extras. The ThinkPad tablet, for example, includes an SD card slot, microUSB and USB 2.0 ports, and mini-HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output. The K1 has a MicroSD card reader and a mini HDMI connector, as well. Those are nice additions to have, and they are conspicuously missing from competing devices. Lenovo needs to place those extras at center stage.

10. Target the Apple haters

It’s a rather odd thing in the tablet space, but so far, no company has been willing to directly target Apple haters in the consumer market. In fact, most firms are trying to appeal to all consumers. The only problem is, Apple is selling boatloads of iPads, and even people that don’t swear allegiance to the company are buying its tablets. However, there are still millions around the globe that can’t stand Apple and the very thought of buying its tablets sickens them. That’s the market Lenovo should capitalize on. After all, in that space, the company doesn’t need to compete against the most dangerous alternative in the industry.

Apple Shares Jump on Record IPhone, IPad Sales

Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s stock price jumped to more than $400 for the first time, after record sales of iPhones and iPads helped third-quarter profit blow past estimates.

Net income in the period more than doubled to $7.31 billion, or $7.79 a share, from $3.25 billion, or $3.51,

a year earlier, Apple said yesterday in a statement. Sales climbed 82 percent to $28.6 billion. Analysts had predicted profit of $5.87 a share and revenue of $25 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

IPhone sales were buoyed by international demand, particularly in China, where total revenue jumped sixfold to $3.8 billion. After overcoming supply shortages for the iPad 2 following its March debut, Apple saw sales of the tablet soar. The device is now its second-biggest revenue source -- behind the iPhone -- less than two years after first being introduced.

“They have the wind at their backs in a big way, and it’s being reflected in these numbers,” said Ryan Jacob, an Apple investor at Jacob Asset Management. “They have a unique ability to increase market share and introduce new products.”

Apple shares jumped as much as 7.5 percent to $405 in extended trading after the results were posted. The stock, up 17 percent this year, had closed at a record $376.85 yesterday in regular Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

The report eased investors’ concerns that sales would suffer from the lack of a new iPhone, which isn’t expected until September. The Cupertino, California-based company also has been operating without the day-to-day attention of Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January.

‘A Juggernaut’

“Apple is a juggernaut and they prove it every quarter,” said Mike Binger, an Apple investor at Thrivent Asset Management in Appleton, Wisconsin, which has about $70 billion under management.

Apple’s expansion into China and other fast-growing economies helped make up for slower growth in the U.S. Sales in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have totaled $8.8 billion in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, Apple said.

“China was very key to our results,” said Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who is handling day-to-day leadership during Jobs’s medical leave. “This has been a substantial opportunity for Apple, and I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now.”

Apple sold 20.3 million iPhones and 9.3 million iPads in the third quarter, which ended June 25. Mac computer sales were 3.95 million, short of a record.

Fourth Quarter

The company said profit in the fourth quarter would be about $5.50 a share on sales of $25 billion. Analysts on average predict $6.41 a share on sales of $27.7 billion for that period, which ends in September.

Apple typically gives a lowball forecast, making it less relevant to investors. The company had previously beaten the average earning projection for at least 29 straight quarters, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The forecast is meaningless,” said Thrivent’s Binger.

In the third quarter, gross profit margin, the percentage of sales left after deducting production costs, was 41.7 percent, compared with 39.1 percent a year earlier.

Since Jobs went on leave, some members of Apple’s board have discussed CEO succession with executive recruiters, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The talks included at least one head of a high-profile technology company, the Journal said.

Jobs’s Health

The health of Jobs, who has struggled with a rare form of cancer, is the only major concern for Apple, said Erick Maronak, chief investment officer of Victory Capital Management Inc. in New York, which has about $2.5 billion under management.

“In the end, it’s really all going to circle back to Jobs -- his health, his role,” Maronak said. Apple is his firm’s largest holding, accounting for about 5 percent, he said.

Jobs's health wasn't discussed on Apple's conference call yesterday, and no analysts inquired about it.

Apple is expanding its retail operations by opening 30 locations in the September period, including in Hong Kong. The chain of stores generated $3.5 billion last quarter.

The results reinforced the idea that tablets are taking sales from traditional personal computers. Apple said 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies are testing or deploying the iPad, and that sales of the tablet topped those of the Mac computer among primary and secondary schools.

“We sold every iPad we could make,” Peter Oppenheimer, the company’s chief financial officer, said on the call.

Patent Fights

Apple also discussed its patent disputes, which involve rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC Corp. (2498)

“We have a very simple view here, and that view is we love competition,” Cook said. “We think it’s great for us and for everyone. But we want people to invent their own self, and we’re going to make sure that we defend our portfolio.”

The iPod, meanwhile, fell short of projections. Apple sold 7.54 million units of the media player last quarter, compared with the 8.5 million predicted by analysts. That product is the oldest of Apple’s main mobile devices and faces cannibalization from the iPhone and iPad, which also can play music.

It was the first time since 2008 that the third-quarter results didn’t include the release of a new iPhone. The new model slated for September has a faster chip for processing data and an 8-megapixel camera, two people familiar with the matter said last month.

The company also is introducing a new Mac operating system called OS X Lion today. And later this year it will release its iCloud service, which let users store, synchronize and access music, pictures and documents from different Apple devices.

“We are extremely pleased with the momentum of our business,” Oppenheimer said.

iOS 4.3.4 Patches Jailbreak Exploit… And Is Immediately Jailbroken

On Friday, Apple released a minor update to iOS, version 4.3.4. The update patched the famous PDF exploit used by JailbreakMe 3.0, which allowed users to jailbreak any iDevice (including iPad 2) through a website. Some bloggers purported the latest update would also quell future jailbreaks- which anyone

following the cat-and-mouse game between Apple and iOS hackers should know would turn out false. Well, it did, and less than 12 hours after the release of 4.3.4, a jailbreak was released by RedmondPie.
The jailbreak comes either in the form of a custom 4.3.4 bundle to be used with PwnageTool or simply by using the newly updated redsn0w tool. It is a tethered jailbreak, meaning if your device is restarted, the jailbreak must be reinstalled. RedmondPie's jailbreak does not work on iPad 2.
While Apple has made pretty clear their opposition of jailbreaking, it is important to emphasize that 4.3.4 fixes a critical security hole- regardless of its use as a jailbreak exploit, a patch was necessary.

Swiftkey X Review for Android Handsets(Photos)

We had a vision, a great vision of the future, a future where everyone, great and small, had one keyboard on their mobile device to rule them all. Or, on the other hand, to have you rule it. This is a keyboard with predictive text, the ability to change the way it looks, and the ability to take in gestures to affect the text.

Sounds fun already? Let’s have a look for all you not using it already (shouldn’t be too many, right? Right!) This is SwiftKey X, one half of the two-app review sent out today by the makers of the original SwiftKey keyboard!
Why would I want a new keyboard on my Android?
Well certainly that is a valid question and indeed the very first one you should also be asking yourself if you’re considering replacing one of the most curtail components of your Android device. Here’s the answer: this is the best. This is the greatest learning-type keyboard on the market and you’ve just GOT to check it out. Especially right now here and today, as after today this handset version will end up costing $3.99 instead of today’s opening ceremony sale which puts that app at $1.99 for 24 hours. What a really awesome deal!

I’ve got SwiftKey on my tablet also – does learning transfer?
At the moment, Swiftkey stores all your information right there with you on the handset, not on any database they own. Therefor you’ll not have to connect to the internet every time you want some sweet predictive text. That also means that you’ll have to have the system re-learn everything from scratch basically each time you own a new device. Is this enough to deter us from purchase? No way mang, not gonna happen.
What are the special features of this keyboard?

There are quite a few different little items you can do, quite a few of them behind the scenes in settings. One of these is your ability to choose a theme and layout – you’ve got a selection of three different themes, each of them just totally excellent in their own right – light, neon (which you see above and below) and dark. Dark is white on black, light is the opposite, and TRON is the third.

You’ll also be working with some new gesture commands, one of them being a swipe from the upper right to the lower left. What this does is delete the last word you just wrote, no matter what it was. You can do something similar in swiping downward to then – poof! Minimize the keyboard. Above each key there’s an alternative character which you can get to by long-pressing each key long enough to squeeze out an “&” symbol.

Then of course, there’s the Prediction Bar.
FUN OFFICIAL FACT: SwiftKey X uses TouchType’s fluency 2.0 AI engine to learn from, and then think like you to help predict word (Now with even better accuracy).
The Prediction Bar

This bar is the thing that’ll either cut out the stragglers and toss them to the ground as if they were slain or carry them up to quicker typing heaven – joy to the heavens! This prediction bar can not only act as a fixer of words, but it can predict what you might say next and suggest that for a single tap input from you to make it happen. This can get really quick, extremely fast, that’s for sure.

Improvements versus previous versions
We’ve got a pretty sweet list here of items that’ve been updated since the last time we got to look at a full out-of-beta release look at SwifKey, and wouldn’t you know it, here they are now!
• Fixed the fast typing problem where previous prediction is taken over current prediction.
• Fixed the disabled clear language data option bug.
• Updated neon theme candidate buttons.
• Updated summary for ‘show all foreign characters’ option.
• Fixed xlarge landscape spacebar in ‘shortmessage’ fields.
• Enabled Scandinavian layouts for tablets.
• Added split Scandinavian layouts for tablets.
• Added T-comma character to DroidSans font for Romanian.
• Added the “Share SwiftKey X on your Facebook Wall?” functionality to personalization.
• Fixed the shiftstate toggle on orientation change bug.
• Fixed the Honeycomb backspace problem and updated IEM tests.
• Fixed incorrectly aligned keys.
• Added in the new sharing URL (http://skx.me)
• Disabled the QuickPeriod checkbox when the autocomplete selection makes it irrelevant
Mostly bug fixes, that’s what this amounts to. Of course all these fixes add up to create the greatest version of SwiftKey yet, and we’re the most pumped up EVER to help grace the world with its excellence. And of course there’s a dash of voice integration in there as well, just for fun!

Wrap-Up
What you’re getting here is a whole new keying experience. You’re not going to find anything like this anywhere else in the Android OR Apple universe – unless of course it’s a clone or something. AND you’ve got to get pumped up about how this app is $1.99 for today only. Go get yourself some sweeter keying all night long with it! Worth the day!
This app can be found in the Android Marketplace aside the SwiftKey Tablet X application, another typing implementation by the same group, also reviewed this morning by your favorite gadget and tech crew right here at SlashGear!