iOS 4

On the heels of today's announcement of iOS 4.1 (coming to iPhone and iPod touch next week), Apple has given developers the iOS 4.1 Gold Master version, the last development step before the public software release and the last chance for Apple to spot any bugs we will be blogging about in a couple weeks.

As noted in Steve Jobs' keynote address at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, iOS 4.1 looks to solve many of the bugs we tech writers have been using for blog fodder over the last few months. Fixes include improvements to the proximity sensors … Read more

As a portable media player/gaming device/minitablet computer, Apple's iPod Touch has been blowing us away since 2007. The only thing really to say about the fourth-generation model unveiled Wednesday is that it is predictably more awesome, yet still not quite a match for the capabilities of the iPhone 4.

The pricing is the same at the high end, with a 32GB model going for $299, and a 64GB version for $399. The 8GB entry model is $229, which is pricier than the $199 8GB version they kept around last year, but has the advantage of sharing all … Read more

Though music and entertainment were the of focus of Wednesday's Apple press conference in San Francisco, CEO Steve Jobs devoted a few minutes to the next release of the company's mobile operating system. iOS 4.1 will be available next week for the iPhone and iPod Touch. And in a change from previous OS updates, it will be free for iPod Touch users.

Here's a summary of the new features that Jobs announced. We'll add to this list as we learn of other additions and we'll follow up with a hands-on review after next week'… Read more

iPad owners: Are you feeling left out by all the iOS 4.1 love on the iPhone 4 and the new iPod Touch? Don't worry, you're being remembered. Unfortunately, you still won't get multitasking till November.

During Apple's music event, Steve Jobs gave a brief preview of iOS 4.2, the iOS update that will finally bring the iPad up to speed. In November, the update will finally bring the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad up to the same iOS version, and it will also bring Game Center to the iPad.

Other new features revealed were … Read more

Ever since Apple's spring run-down of iOS 4, we've been curious about Game Center, Apple's attempt to add an across-the-board social gaming dashboard for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple left it out of iOS 4's release, but it will finally be available for free next week as a download after the release of iOS 4.1, and will appear on iOS 4.2 on the iPad.

Game Center was given a quick demo at today's Apple music event, and it seems to offer some actually useful features. While social multiplayer services such as OpenFeint … Read more

With the Dropbox-powered Elements, text editing on the go is more accessible than ever. A basic but functional feature set keeps Elements light, but still incredibly useful.

If you already have a Dropbox account, just sign in when Elements launches and you'll get a new folder on your account to store your Elements documents.

I ran in to some issues when setting up a new Dropbox account from my iPhone 4. The setup link brought me to Dropbox's downloads page for the Mac client and attempts to auto-download. This, of course, ended in an error due to being … Read more

When Apple released iOS 4 in June, owners of older-model iPhones who upgraded to the latest iOS software complained of slowness and shorter battery life. Apple said in July it was "investigating" the complaints.

Almost three weeks have passed since then and there hasn't been an update. That is, until Friday, when a customer took his complaint about his iPhone 3G lagging on zooming, scrolling, and typing to the boss himself, CEO Steve Jobs, and got a short, clipped answer via e-mail, according to the account posted on MacRumors: "Software update coming soon."

If it … Read more

One of the oddest things I have encountered while using my new iPhone 4 running iOS 4 is the occasional blank e-mail message or lack of message preview in Mail. A few simple steps can help alleviate the issue and have you back to your normal message-reading sanity.

After setting up a new account on your iOS 4 device, you may find that the Mail App will not load message previews or show that you have a message from "(No Sender)."

First, be sure message previews are enabled for each of your Mail accounts. Navigate to Settings > … Read more

If you have vivid memories of heading down to the arcade to get in a few hours of pinball after school before dinner, Pinball HD for iPhone ($1.99) and iPad ($2.99) is your 2010 tech toy equivalent.

The basics for any good iOS game are all there--great graphics, smooth and addicting gameplay, and easy controls. Pinball HD does all three well adding the element of nostalgia to make it a nice addition to your gaming repertoire. The killer feature is the pan and zoom ball-tracking camera in portrait mode, while landscape mode allows you to see the entire … Read more