MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

Samsung is continuing its string of Galaxy S II television ads directly targeting the iPhone with a new commercial highlighting the iPhone's lack of built-in turn-by-turn directions. The ad contrasts that with the Galaxy S II (and other Android devices), where the functionality comes standard through Google's mapping services. The new commercial uses the familiar scenario of devoted Apple...

Last week, we noted that several carriers in Singapore were working to offer camera-less iPhone 4S models for users whose professions prevented them from carrying camera-equipped mobile phones. With Singapore requiring all male citizens and many permanent residents to serve up to two years in the military, there is a significant market for camera-less phones in the country. CNET Asia now...

TechCrunch summarizes notes from today's media event. Of interest, they seem to reveal that Apple's interactive textbook format is not quite the official ePub 3 spec:Books are not technically in the EPUB format, but they borrow from it (likely EPUB 3). Certain interactive elements of the books require the files to be done in the slightly different iBooks format, Apple says.Earlier rumors had...

Engadget highlights the economics of publishing iBooks Textbooks to the iBookstore, noting that paid downloads follow Apple's traditional App Store and iBookstore model where the company takes a 30% cut of the purchase price of each book. Authors are free to set their own pricing, although Apple has placed a maximum price tag of $14.99 on the textbooks. In addition, the report notes that...

Cult of Mac took a look at the size of the digital textbooks available on iBooks after today's education-focused media event. File sizes range from Pearson's 793MB Environmental Science up to a hefty 2.77GB for Biology. - Pearson’s Environmental Science – 793MB - National’s Chemistry – 959MB - E.O. Wilson’s Life On Earth – 965MB - McGraw Hill’s Algebra 1 – 1.09GB - McGraw Hill’s Geometry ...

With the introduction of new iPhone data plans from AT&T, here's a look at the data plans from the three providers that natively sell the iPhone in the United States. AT&T: - $20/month for 300MB data with a $20 charge for each additional 300MB - $30/month for 3GB data with a $10 charge for each additional 1GB - $50/month for 5GB data with mobile hotspot/tethering and a $10 charge for each ...

Last week, research firm NPD released data showing that Apple's iOS had significantly closed the gap on Android in new U.S. smartphone sales in October and November, narrowing Android's 34 percentage-point lead to just four points in the wake of the iPhone 4S debut. Nielsen now takes a look at its own data, showing similar momentum that had carried over through the end of 2011.Among recent...

Incase has introduced a new version of its popular Snap Case made with a heat-activated thermochromatic finish. The $35 pink Thermo Snap Case changes color when held, like heat-activated t-shirts from the 80's. Incase may be the most recent case-maker to release a color-changing case, but they are far from the only one. XtremeMac offers the $30 Tuffwrap Shift that has a similar design to...

Late last year, AT&T began throttling the data speeds of its highest-use unlimited data customers, knocking down the ability of the top 5% of its users to consume data for the remainder of a billing period once they hit certain thresholds. While AT&T no longer offers unlimited data plans, it did so for several years with the iPhone, and users who had previously signed up for the unlimited have...

Bloomberg reports that Apple has filed a new lawsuit in Germany against Samsung, seeking to ban sales of ten different smartphone models over alleged design infringement.Apple Inc. (AAPL) filed another suit in Germany, seeking to ban sales of Samsung Electronics (005930) Co.’s smartphone models, including the Galaxy S Plus and the S II. The suit targeting 10 smartphones was filed in the...

Less than a week after Dutch music copyright organization Buma/Stemra announced that it had struck a deal with Apple regarding iTunes Match, the service has now gone live in the Dutch iTunes Store. An iTunes Match link is not yet showing up on the front page of the Dutch iTunes Store, but Apple has updated the iTunes Store terms and conditions in the Netherlands with new text covering the...

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, former Apple CEO John Sculley was asked about Jobs killing off the Newton, and what he thought of the product in retrospect. Sculley admitted that the Newton was "clearly too ambitious" but nailed "many of the concepts." Perhaps most importantly, Sculley points out that Apple had to develop a new type of microprocessor to power the Newton, co-founding...

Last August, Apple expanded its recycling program in the United States to allow customers to turn in their used iPhones and iPads for Apple gift cards. As noted by Macworld UK and Macerkopf.de [Google translation], Apple has once again expanded its recycling efforts by bringing a similar initiative to the UK, France, and Germany. But rather than offering payment in the form of an Apple...

The Jakarta Globe reports that Apple's three carrier partners in Singapore are making plans to offer iPhone 4S models lacking cameras, with the move said to be targeting members of the military who are prohibited from bringing camera-equipped phones onto their bases. Carrier M1 even briefly offered camera-less models on its website earlier this week. "iPhone 4S Non Camera" listing on M1's ...

VentureBeat reports that Sony will be bringing its "Music Unlimited" streaming service to the iPhone and iPod touch within the next three months, looking to make inroads into Apple's ecosystem that has been dominated on the music side by iTunes.The electronics company will offer a free iPhone and iPad app for Music Unlimited at some point this quarter, Tim Schaaff, head of Sony Entertainment...

Apple's big education announcement may be January 19th in New York City, but that doesn't mean Apple is the only company innovating in the educational space. University of Michigan professor Perry Samson has developed an iPad app called LectureTools that Samson hopes can turn laptops and iPads from a way to distract bored students into an interactive learning tool that keeps them engaged....

Infinity Field HD, a space shooter from Forzefield Studios, has been updated with extensive Joypad support. Joypad is a separate app that allows gamers to control supported games on an iPad or Mac from their iPhone, turning it into a wireless virtual controller with a configurable set of buttons. Infinity Field HD is the first app to include multiplayer Joypad support, allowing two players to...

Behringer is on hand at CES 2012, displaying its enormous iNuke Boom iPhone speaker dock that was announced last month. The over-the-top accessory is 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall and weighs over 700 pounds. Billed as the loudest iPhone speaker dock, the 10,000-watt speaker can indeed put out overwhelming sound. A dock with a 30-pin connector on the top allows direct connection of an iPhone or ...