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Apple, Verizon to offer wireless updates to iPhone?
Will Verizon iPhone users finally be able to update their devices wirelessly without the need for iTunes?
Multiple sources have told Apple news site 9to5Mac that Apple and Verizon Wireless will soon offer over-the-air updates to the iPhone following this fall's expected release of iOS 5. Although iOS 5 itself won't be available wirelessly, 9to5Mac reports that any future updates to the OS will come over the air. With such a change, people would no longer need a PC and iTunes to act as the middlemen to keep their smartphones current.
If the reports are true, Apple would join rival Google, which already offers Android users the ability to update their devices sans computer. Apple reportedly also has the technology to update its devices over the air already, but the company has apparently been cautious about opening it up everywhere. However, Apple has been chatting with Verizon about unleashing this technology since early this year, said 9to5Mac.
The sources didn't say whether wireless updates would also be available on AT&T or international carriers of the iPhone. No specific mention was made to the iPad or iPod Touch, but the same technology logically should extend to all of Apple's iOS devices.
Though over-the-air updates would provide a convenient, mobile way to keep the iPhone updated, there are a couple of potential pitfalls.… Read more
