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

Google today announced the official launch of Instant Previews for mobile devices running Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.0+, offering preview snapshots of webpages right from search results. Similar to the desktop version of Instant Previews, you can visually compare search results from webpage snapshots, making it easier to choose the right result faster, especially when you have an idea of the content ...

BGR reports that Research in Motion is planning to bring its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) system to the iOS and Android platforms, expanding the instant messaging system that has been a key feature of the BlackBerry operating system for many years. According to our sources, RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software...

This one's going to be for only a select audience. Old Apple //gs owners who enjoyed graphical demos by the Free Tools Association (FTA) will be surprised to find that they have released a "Best Of" collection for the iPhone: To celebrate the 20 years of the *Free Tools Association*, here comes a collection of the best programs developed by the members of the FTA team : Nucleus, Modulae,...

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has agreed to take a look at Apple's in app purchasing mechanism as complaints of children being able to spend hundreds of dollars on in-game purchases have continued to rise. The review is being sparked by a letter from U.S. Represenative Ed Markey expressing concern over how such purchases are being marketed to young children ...

ifoAppleStore reports that Verizon is offering excellent deals on service plans for Apple's retail store employees, encouraging them to switch over to the carrier's services for their wireless needs. According to tipsters, employees can pay the non-subsidized price of $649.99 for a 16 Gb iPhone 4, for example, and then pay just $25 a month for 1,500 monthly minutes, along with unlimited texts...

The Wall Street Journal reports that employees of Chinese carrier China Telecom have successfully jailbroken and unlocked the CDMA iPhone 4, getting the device to run on the company's network. Employees of the Guangdong branch of China Telecom teased users this week with a post on its microblog saying they were working on a way to crack Verizon Wireless' CDMA iPhone, suggesting users might be...

In yet another attempt to differentiate its own iPhone offerings from those of Verizon, AT&T has begun airing a new television commercial promoting the 8 GB iPhone 3GS and its recently-lowered $49 price tag. The iPhone 3GS from AT&T. The phone that changed everything. But think about it - how can you make one of the most amazing phones the world has ever seen more amazing? Make it $49. Yep,...

Following through on its announcement from earlier this month that it would bump monthly data limits for customers on its DataPro + Tethering plan from 2 GB to 4 GB, AT&T has now sent out text messages to customers confirming that the change has been made. AT&T's DataPro plan offers customers 2 GB of mobile data for $25 per month. The carrier had offered the ability for customers to tether...

As noted by The Next Web, Skype has issued an update to its iOS application, adding video calling compatibility with a broader array of devices, most notably Skype for TV. If the idea of making a video call from some far-flung corner of the world back to a family TV sounds appealing to you, you'll need a TV that specifically supports Skype. A number of Panasonic and Samsung sets will do the job, ...

In what could be viewed as yet another bid by AT&T to keep customers from defecting to the Verizon iPhone, the carrier today announced that it will launch tomorrow a new "Mobile to Any Mobile" feature allowing unlimited calling from AT&T phones to other mobile phones in the U.S., regardless of carrier. The feature, which rolls out tomorrow, requires customers to be on a qualifying voice plan ...

Google today announced the release of a new Google Translate [App Store] application for iOS devices, offering such features as translation of spoken words and phrases and the ability to listen to translations spoken aloud. Speak to translate The new app accepts voice input for 15 languages, and - just like the web app - you can translate a word or phrase into one of more than 50 languages. For ...

As noted by BGR, an entry in Verizon's iPhone 4 FAQ reveals that the company is offering a couple of minor breaks to existing customers who recently purchased a Verizon phone but are looking to switch to the iPhone 4 when it launches on the carrier on February 10th. According to the FAQ entry, customers who purchased a Verizon phone between November 26th and January 10th can return the...

Google today announced the launch of a new Google Places application for iOS devices, offering users the ability to search for nearby places and incorporating the users' own ratings in the results algorithm. In case you aren't familiar with Google Places, it lets you quickly search for places nearby and personalizes the results based on places you've rated. We get you started with a few popular...

Google today announced that it has updated the "Google Goggles" feature of its Google Mobile App for iOS devices, bringing two major new features in print ad recognition and automatic Sudoku solving. Print ad recognition allows users to simply snap pictures of print ads in major U.S. magazines and newspapers to retrieve web search results about the products and brands featured in the ads. We'r...

Several months ago, we noted that major GPS company Garmin was considering developing iOS applications after abandoning its partnership with ASUS to produce Garmin-branded phones, and it now appears that Garmin has followed through on those plans. Garmin today announced a number of new standalone GPS products and iOS and Android applications, with the most prominent of those applications...

Ford today announced that early next year it will debut its SYNC AppLink voice control integration for select iPhone applications, allowing users to easily control their devices without needing to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. Launching today for 2011 Ford Fiesta owners using BlackBerry and Android devices, iPhone compatibility is set for an early 2011 launch....

Apple today released iPhone Configuration Utility 3.2 for Mac and Windows, an update to the company's software to allow system administrators to deploy iOS devices in enterprise settings. iPhone Configuration Utility lets you easily create, maintain, encrypt, and install configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information...

Apple has posted a new iPhone 4 advertisement tonight. This one is a holiday themed FaceTime ad showing a son talking to his father dressed as Santa...