iOS

Ten years of iPods: A look back in photos

On October 23, a full 10 years will have transpired since the very first iPod was announced in 2001.

The original iPod earned mixed reactions after its debut, but it rapidly gained ground to steal popularity from other MP3 players. Some only saw the iPod as a me-too device, while others, such as CNET's Eliot Van Buskirk, foresaw it as the precursor to a new future of handheld computing. Ten years later, the iPod brand covers a whole family of products, each its own designs and functions. Click below for a look back at the iPod's biggest moments and its evolutionary transformations, some more successful than others. … Read more

iPad 2 Smart Cover 'flaw' discovered in iOS 5

iPad 2 owners who use the Smart Cover and Smart Cover unlocking in iOS 5 are exposed to a bug that can potentially leave sensitive information open to others, Apple blog 9to5Mac is reporting.

According to the blog, if users have Smart Cover unlocking enabled in iOS 5 and use a Smart Cover to protect the iPad 2, the last screen they left open before locking the tablet can be accessed with some trickery.

In order to recreate the flaw, 9to5Mac says users must have the iPad 2 password-protected. After the device is locked, those who want to gain access to data need to hold the power button down so the software reveals the slider allowing them to power the tablet down. On that screen, users must close the Smart Cover over the iPad 2, open it back up, and click the "cancel" key. Upon doing so, they'll be brought to the last screen that was open on the tablet.… Read more

Android coming on strong in tablets, Q3 data shows

Apple's iPad easily dominated the tablet market last quarter, but Android is coming on strong, a study from research firm Strategy Analytics has found.

During the third quarter, worldwide tablet shipments totaled 16.7 million units. Apple shipped 11.1 million iPads during the period, helping iOS secure 66.6 percent of the tablet space. Android-based tablet shipments hit 4.5 million in the third quarter, for a 26.9 percent share during the period.

All told, iOS and Android secured nearly 93.5 percent of the tablet market between them, easily overshadowing the 2.4 percent market share … Read more

Apple airs humor-free new Siri iPhone 4S ad

Siri's legend goes before her.

She has a sense of humor. She knows when you're offering her innuendo. She answers in a way that you wish your lover--and even your Starbucks barista--would answer.

So how would Apple advertise its new frightfully sassy, intelligent concierge?

Disappointingly, with no humor whatsoever.

The new iPhone 4S ad, which I caught in the entirely humor-free World Series Game 2 between Texas and St. Louis, presents Siri in a highly secretarial way.

We see people asking her to help with many routine tasks. (Other than, perhaps, "What does a weasel look like?&… Read more

Steve Jobs felt Android was a 'stolen product'

Steve Jobs felt that Android was a rip-off of Apple's iOS and wasn't going to settle any lawsuits with Google or its partners no matter what.

As details emerge from Walter Isaacson biography on Jobs--the Apple co-founder's decision to put off cancer surgery--his hatred of Android may be overlooked. Isaacson's bio launches on Monday and he will detail some of the book Sunday on 60 Minutes. The Jobs biography is published by Simon & Shuster, a unit of CBS, owner of CNET.

The Associated Press details Jobs' view of Android and his relationship with former Google … Read more

Android Ice Cream Sandwich versus iOS 5: Killer features

What I'm about to attempt--comparing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Apple iOS 5--is a little like tiptoeing through a minefield. Most of you won't be happy and somebody could get hurt. (Read: me.)

Yet, this comparison must be done. For one thing, Google and Apple have both recently unveiled huge changes that respectively make their mobile operating systems far more powerful, and in some ways more similar to each other. For another thing, weighing the pros and cons of each platform against the other is a scenario that's played out daily among many people who are deciding which phone to buy.

Just a few parameters before diving in. First, I'm overwhelmingly looking at software, not hardware, but I'll point out where hardware does factor in. iOS 5 runs on multiple devices, but is the most powerful right now on the iPhone 4S. Ditto Ice Cream Sandwich. The unreleased Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the one phone that can currently show off the OS update's full spectrum of features, since it was purpose-built to be compatible with them all. That will change for both operating systems as additional future devices are built with the hardware to support the new software.

Second, I'm not just talking about new additions, but trying to look at the OS in its entirety.

Third, I'm looking at what each OS can do natively. Yes, there are scores of third-party apps you can download to do just about anything to satisfy something that one OS lacks that another has, but what we're looking at here is what Apple and Google have decided to bestow, not clever external developers. And I'm not talking about anything you can achieve only by jailbreaking or rooting. Official, but optional apps created by Apple and Google are OK--like Find My Friends and Google Voice.

Third, I'm throwing in two "fun" features for each (these will be the last two). I wouldn't recommend buying an iOS 5 or Ice Cream Sandwich device solely because of them, but they're pleasantly show-offy conversation pieces unique to each platform.

Got all that? Let's go.… Read more

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is more than just a promotion

Fruit Ninja was one of the early hits at the iTunes App Store, and continues to endure as a perennial top-10 favorite in the paid apps category for its simple, but satisfying game mechanic.

Today Halfbrick--the makers of Fruit Ninja and hit game Jetpack Joyride--released another version of Fruit Ninja, but this time with a movie tie-in. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots offers the same fruit-slicing action, but adds a new game type that fans of the game will definitely want to check out.

Though Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an obvious promotion for the upcoming Dreamworks Animations … Read more

What humanizing Siri, Ice Cream Sandwich says about us

commentary Like it or not, chances are that one of your most prized relationships is with your smartphone.

You love a phone design or you viscerally hate it; you can't stand this wallpaper, so you add that one. Your phone's design or color is a statement of your identity. Like all products it says something about you: you're hip and edgy, you're a top-notch professional, you're more subtle and value utility. If you invest in custom cases or stickers, is it only for protection, or also an act of self-expression?

Then there's the wallpaper you choose, the ringtones and alarms you set, the apps you download, that all create an environment uniquely shaped by and descriptive of you.

All this is a good thing, at least if you make or sell smartphones, and it's a tacit principle that the mobile industry thrives on. People don't just like their phones, we need them. And if you lose or leave behind your phone, you mourn every minute it's outside of your possession. Have you ever thought: my life is on my phone?

Yep, it's not for nothing that cell phones are called the most personal of consumer electronics.… Read more

How to make free ringtones and text tones in iOS 5

A little-known feature in iOS 5 is the new option to create free, custom ringtones and text message alert tones.

The iTunes store is flooding with tones for $0.99 to $1.29, prices that are high enough to make you stick with the iPhone's default tones. But now, with a few easy steps, you can make unique tones that set your phone apart from the many others who share the same standard tones.

Watch the video to learn how: