iOS

The iPod Touch has always played second fiddle to the iPhone. Most people can't even get the name right. More often than not I hear it referred to as the "iTouch." When asked to describe it, though, the explanation is invariably the same: "It's an iPhone without the phone."

The truth is that the iPod Touch lacks much more than just the iPhone's ability to dial phone numbers. It's missing a GPS receiver, a high-quality camera, a native text messaging app, and most of all, it's missing a cellular data connection. Still, considering that the device sells for as little as $200 with no contract and offers 90 percent of the iPhone's features, it seems inevitable that Apple would close the gap some day by integrating 3G.

We've seen products like the ZTE Peel attempt to address the iPod's lack of 3G, but the result is bulky and still burdens you with a two-year contract. The same goes for MiFi-style 3G/4G puck solutions. They're inelegant, require separate charging, and always come with a contract attached.

Will 2011 be the year Apple integrates 3G into the iPod Touch? The skeptic in me thinks that no carrier would agree to it and that Apple wouldn't cannibalize iPhone sales to make a 3G iPod Touch happen. But then again, the steps the company has made with the iPad's data plan, and the advancements it has shown for iOS 5, set the stage perfectly for just such a product.… Read more

Apple will unveil its next model iPhone in September with a faster chip and a more advanced camera, Bloomberg said today, citing information from "people familiar with the plans."

Adding fuel to the latest fires about the next-generation iPhone, Bloomberg said the new phone will come equipped with an A5 processor, which Apple already added to the iPad 2 earlier in the year. Other reports have also pointed to the speedy, dual-core A5 as the chip that would power the new iPhone.

The next iPhone would also include an 8-megapixel camera, according to Bloomberg, a healthy leap from … Read more

Apple could sign up as many as 150 million iPhone users to its new iCloud service, according to projections based on a survey from RBC Capital Markets.

In a report released today, RBC found that 76 percent of the 1,500 iPhone users polled from June 7 to 14 intend to use the iCloud service. Unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, iCloud will allow iOS device users to store, access, and sync their iTunes content online.

iMessage also should be a hot item, according to RBC. The survey found 73 percent of iPhone users plan to … Read more

Flixlab is a free app that has been available on the iPhone for a couple of months now, letting you quickly make movies and share them with your Facebook friends without a lot of hassle. Today, the Flixlab app was updated to include a cooperative movie-making mode: you'll now be able to take pictures and videos of an event with a friend and then quickly share and combine the content from both of your iPhones into one video.

Flixlab takes all the busywork out of making good-looking movies by adding all effects, transitions, and music before you share them … Read more

Does your dad like golf? With Father's Day this weekend and the summer finally hitting its stride, heading out to the links is probably on a lot of dads' minds. But why let your dad's golfing be limited to the weekend or the warm months of summer when you can bring the links to him on his iOS device?

This week's collection of apps is all about playing a quick game of golf during downtime. The first app lets you play through nine-hole courses in strange, multilevel fantasy 2D worlds. The second lets you join one of the best golfers around, in a more involved golf simulation, playing on real-world courses. The last, out this week, is the sequel to an excellent pick-up-and-play golf game, perfect for when you need a quick fix.

Super Stickman Golf (99 cents) is a 2D golf game that's really easy to pick up and play, with tons of fantastical themed courses, interesting power-ups, and excellent physics-based gameplay. Though the game has a huge number of arcadelike features, the goal is always the same: try to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. The challenge is that it can be much harder than it looks.

Rather than your standard 3D layout as seen in many golf games, Super Stickman Golf offers up a 2D platformer experience. The courses often have multiple levels you'll need to reach and obstacles you'll need to avoid to finally get on the green.

The interface consists of arrows on the left to adjust the arc of your shot, a button in the middle for bringing in bonus items, and a "Go!" button you'll need to hit twice for each shot: once to start the swing, and a second time to adjust shot power.… Read more

Microsoft has declared WebGL too risky to use, but it turns out Apple is an ally of the 3D Web graphics technology.

Apple hasn't said whether it plans to ship WebGL, though nightly builds of the WebKit open-source browser on which Safari is based include support. But an Apple employee said this week it will be an option on iOS 5--for iAds only.

"WebGL will not be publicly available in iOS 5. It will only be available to iAd developers," said Apple's Chris Marrin on a WebGL mailing list.

That's right--all you folks who relished … Read more

It looks likely that Apple's iOS 5 will will address an issue that deprived some Web apps from a speed boost that came to the mobile version of Safari.

On iOS, Web sites and Web apps can be launched from an icon that the user places on the home screen from Safari. Those apps didn't benefit from a speed-up that came with Safari in iOS 4.3, though: the Nitro engine that runs Web-based code is written in the ever-more-important JavaScript language.

It appears iOS 5 could address this issue, though.

"Did they fix the bug from … Read more

Icebreaker Hockey (99 cents) hit the iTunes App Store recently, adding another sport to the challenging 3D tilt-to-control sports arcade franchise from developer NaturalMotion. Now you'll be able to take to the ice and work your way around defenders until it's your turn to take a shot on the goal.

Many iOS gamers will remember Backbreaker Football, one of the early great iPhone games at the iTunes App Store. Taking advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer, Backbreaker Football let you tilt and touch buttons to maneuver a football player downfield to score a touchdown.… Read more

A new patent application released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today shows that Apple's "find my iPhone" service may one day morph into a much more complex system for keeping tabs on and recovering lost or stolen Apple devices.

The patent, which was published by the USPTO this morning and later picked up by Patently Apple, covers "systems for proactively securing mobile devices." In short, its drawings and descriptions hint at a service wherein an owner can selectively pick and choose what data and applications can be accessed, while keeping sensitive data … Read more