Apple is Cracking Down Unauthorized Devices Running iOS 5 Betas

iOS fans are about to be given a treat this upcoming fall when Apple finally launches their much awaited upgrade to their mobile OS, the iOS 5. Back in last June's WWDC, Apple previewed iOS 5 during their keynote presentation where the company highlighted its many new features. Currently, the iOS 5 is under its 4th beta release and like all firmware betas, it is only available to those who have enrolled an account in Apple's Developer Center. Apparently, many people are too eager to get their hands on the iOS 5 that they somehow find ways to install and activate iOS 5 even without a developer account. Well, according to Apple, your days of unauthorized firmware usage might be numbered.
According to a report by AppleInsider, the Cupertino company is now cracking down on developers who have been discovered selling their iOS 5 beta slots. In case you don't know, before you can activate the iOS 5 you will be brought to set-up wizard where the system will check for your developer's UDID. So even if you somehow got your hands to IPSW of iOS 5 without a developer's account, your device will be rendered useless unless you downgrade. Somehow some developers found a way to make a profit out of this setup by selling their iOS 5 beta slots which allows installation of the said firmware to non-developer iDevices.

So Apple is now reportedly warning those developers and letting them know that the company has discovered their illicit activities and is on to them. Furthermore, the fruit company has also started closing several developer accounts that are found to be guilty of selling their device slots. And those UDIDs that are associated to those accounts in violation have also been flagged by Apple, which means they will be left with an unusable device. According to the report:

Once Apple locks your iOS device, the phone will enter the initial setup mode asking you to connect to a WiFi network. And nothing happens more than that.
There's a reason why iOS betas are only exclusive to developers. Early iOS builds have the potential for many bugs and you can't expect stability from them. That is why they are recommended only to those who knows what they are doing. It is never meant to be used in a non-developer iOS device. In addition to that, if that's not obvious enough, selling your developer iOS 5 device slots to an unauthorized, non-developer device is a direct violation of the iOS Developer Program rules.

If you are someone who's currently running the iOS 5 without a developer's account, then it might be a good idea to downgrade to the latest iOS 4 version, the iOS 4.3.5. Or if you want the latest untethered jailbreak, then you might want to settle with iOS 4.3.3. Or if you want to continue using iOS 5 without all the illegalities, then why don't you sign-up for an account over at Apple's iOS Dev Center? Aside from the $99 annual fee, there are no other requirements for you to fulfill. It is definitely a worthy investment for any Apple enthusiast.

Or you know, you could just wait for iOS 5 to be launched this coming fall. As we have reported yesterday, Apple has already started approving apps for iOS 5, so for it to be released next month is not really that far off.

Forbes Ranks Apple as World’s Fifth Most Innovative Company

Apple has received numerous awards throughout the years for its incredible success in the tech industry, and now Apple has received recognition once again from Forbes.

Forbes Magazine has compiled a list of the world’s most innovative companies based on what it calls “the five skills of disruptive innovators.”
“Questioning allows innovators to challenge the status quo and consider new possibilities;

Observing helps innovators detect small details—in the activities of customers, suppliers and other companies—that suggest new ways of doing things

Networking permits innovators to gain radically different perspectives from individuals with diverse backgrounds;

Experimenting prompts innovators to relentlessly try out new experiences, take things apart and test new ideas;

Associational thinking—drawing connections among questions, problems or ideas from unrelated fields—is triggered by questioning, observing, networking and experimenting and is the catalyst for creative ideas.”

In this list, Cupertino based Apple ranked fifth. Google also made the list, but surprisingly it ranked seventh. Microsoft was found near the bottom of the list, ranking 86th.

Some notable mentions:

Forbes’ World’s Most Innovative Companies:
1. Salesforce.com
2. Amazon.com
3. Intuitive Surgical
4. Tencent Holdings
5. Apple
6. Hindustan Unilever
7. Google
8. Natura Cosméticos
9. Bharat Heavy Electricals
10. Monsanto
…
20. Nintendo
…
54. Adobe Systems
…
56. HTC Corp
…
77. Oracle
…
84. Intuit
…
86. Microsoft

Do you agree with this list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Vongae Releases iPhone App With Discounted International Calling, 15 Minutes Free For Early Adopters

Vonage has released an interesting application in the App Store that offers incredibly cheap rates on voice calling with access to over 100 countries for international calling. The app, called Time to Call, works like popular VoIP services (Skype) to deliver pay per calls and discounted rates for iPhone users.

With Time to Call, you’ll be able to talk internationally for 15 minutes at no charge, and then be charged $1.99 for each 15 minute international call after the first.
Vonage is offering the free 15 minutes of calling to early adopters, so be sure to get the app now if you’re interested. Features include:

■Pay per call and talk for up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less (excluding applicable taxes)
■For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15-minutes for $2.99 to $9.99 (excluding applicable taxes)
■Bill directly to your iTunes account
■Works on Wi-Fi® worldwide
■Also for use on high quality 3G networks in the U.S. and Canada
■Special bonus! For a limited time, unused minutes can be used for additional calls
■No need to be a Vonage home customer
Vonage actually offers a web tool to view the different calling plans and find what’s right for you. It doesn’t matter what iDevice you use with the app, because the service works through Wi-Fi. All billing will be sent to your iTunes account.

Internationally, a landline call through Skype costs 2 cents per minute, while a call to a mobile handset costs 27 cents per minute on a pay-as-you-go plan. This Vonage solution could be seen as a more attractive service for travelers, due to the fact that it doesn’t require a subscription or separate billing process.

What do you think of Vonage’s Time to Call app? Useful to you?

The Worst iPhone Case Ever

We’ve seen our fair share of weird and creepy iPhone accessories, but this one might reach a new height. Coming from Japan, let me introduce you to the Hand Case.

We don’t know much about this case. I can’t tell you where you can get it or how much it costs, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue as I doubt you’d be interested in buying it anyway…

Now if you’re looking for a real case, we have plenty in our iDB Store. Make sure to check them out!

GLMPS: This App Adds a Touch of Motion to Your Captured Photos

Those who love taking photos with their iPhones are certainly spoiled as the iTunes App Store is flooded with photography apps. While the photo sharing section of the App Store is certainly populated and popular, not many of them can be called as groundbreaking or unique. Fortunately there's a newly released app that looks to change that. The name of the app is GLMPS (pronounced as glimpse). So what makes this particular photography app special? Read on.
GLMPS is like your basic photography app but with a pretty cool twist. Basically what the app does is integrate video with the traditional image capturing. This way the last 5 seconds before the photo was snapped will be captured in video form. This is pretty much like pressing play on your photos. When viewing a photo, a small moving thumbnail will appear at the lower right corner which is actually the last seconds that lead to the shot. The idea has been implemented before by Sony but the feature is only limited to a particular camera. The only problem is, the camera itself costs quite a lot so the idea never really took off.

From GLMPS App Store page:

GLMPS is a magical way to share life.

A video clip is automatically captured with every picture you take – the result is a creatively packaged glimpse of the moment that can be shared with friends & family in real-time.

Lovingly designed and built by people who believe it should be simple to share moments that matter.
Once you have taken a photo, the photo-video is then loaded into the iPhone's photo library and from there you can share them via various social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and so on. You can also send them through email and SMS. According to the GLMPS team, there are plans to allow users to create multiple glmpses and turn them into a collection which can be uploaded to YouTube. More publishing sources are also to be added with future updates.
While this is certainly a cool idea for a photography app, there are some glaring drawbacks that may be a big deal for some users. First is the quality of the glmpses. The team are fully aware that users will be using cellular connection to upload their photo-video, so this must have been why the quality is low-res and heavily compressed. It also turns out that the image part of the glmpse is taken using the iPhone's video camera which means you'll be getting a photo with 640×480 resolution or even lower.

Another concern is the stability of the app itself. There have numerous problems with uploading with quite a few crashes in between. To be fair, the app is still relatively new and this is not something that can't be ironed out with future updates.

If you are someone who's looking for a new and fresh photo sharing app,  then we recommend that you check out GLMPS. You can download the GLMPS app from the iTunes App Store for FREE.

Apple Will Only Release a Cheaper iPhone if it Had “Category Killer Experience”

If you have been following the news with regards to Apple's next big hit smartphone, the iPhone 5, then you should know that rumors about this soon to be "killer" handset are pretty much everywhere. Pretty much every aspect of the iPhone 5 have been rumored, speculated and predicted already. But probably one of the most interesting one is that Apple is allegedly planning to release not one but two iPhones this year. One will be the direct successor to the highly successful iPhone 4 while the other is a handset similar to the iPhone 4 but will be much cheaper and will be targeted towards individuals with less budget and developing countries.
Now according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky, the fruit company will only release a low-end iPhone if it can fulfill one major prerequisite: that is if the handset can provide an "innovative, category-killer experience."

Abramsky revealed this information after a meeting with Apple's two top executives, COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer back in Wednesday. Abramsky did not provide any direct quote from the two executives but he said, "Apple’s primary criterion for launching a lower-end iPhone is an innovative, category-killer experience." If anyone can recall, the only time that Apple COO Tim Cook commented on this particular issue is when he said that the iPhone is "not just for the rich" which one only assume that the Cupertino giant is planning to release a lower-end iPhone.

So what does it mean to have an innovative, category-killer experience for the iPhone? According to Abramsky, the market for low-end smartphones have been flooded with cheap Android smartphones which can be quite an attractive market. This particular “explosion of low-priced Android smartphones” have grabbed the attention of Apple who's willing to go head-to-head with the competition with their "sustained advantages" over Google's platform.

Despite the expected explosion of low-priced Android smartphones – detrimental to Nokia, RIM, others – Apple believes a) its integrated approach to hardware/software, b) oversight of user experience (including its ruthlessness about taking things out, and c) application ecosystem “curation” will sustain its competitive advantages and premium positioning.
Whether Apple is ready or not to take on the prepaid market, one can't deny that it would be a sensible move for the company if it really wants to considerably expand their market. According to Abramsky, Apple executives have also affirmed the "untapped global opportunity" which could only mean countries like China, Latin America, the Middle East and India. There have been reports that Apple is preparing to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone 4 on China Mobile, the world's largest carrier. A low-end iPhone would certainly be instrumental in tapping China's huge prepaid market.

The analyst also added that Apple is readying the iCloud for "significant scale" citing that the company had already learned from their previous online offering, the MobileMe service.

The iPhone 5 is expected to launch by the end of September or at least it should have been announced by then. There has been a significant amount of hype surrounding its release and it only grows as its expected release date draws to a close. If Apple indeed releases a low-end iPhone, then it has a potential to be a game changer. It is hard to deny that one of the biggest reasons why pre-paid users are reluctant to buy an iPhone is due to the cost. But with low-end iPhones being available, what's stopping them to buy finally get their hands on Apple's handset? Well that's assuming of course, that they actually want it.

Why We Could See a Retooled iPhone 4 This Fall

BGR picked up on some interesting comments made by Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities yesterday. In a note to investors, the analyst cited a report from Sohu.com claiming that Apple and China Telecom were putting the finishing touches on an iPhone 5 partnership.

We’ve known for quite some time that Apple was working on closing a deal with China’s 3rd largest carrier, but we didn’t know how soon it’d be finished. White told shareholders yesterday that China Telecom would have 2 iPhone models by October of this year — 2 very different models…
The first model is — stop me if you’ve heard this before — a revamped iPhone 5 that will be Apple’s flagship smartphone. And the other would be that low-priced model that we’ve been hearing about for months.

But while we’ve heard theories that the low-budget device could be the iPhone 3GS reincarnated, White believes it’s going to be a retooled version of the iPhone 4. Now I know we’ve heard hundreds of predictions about the mysterious device, but this particular one seems to make a bit of sense. Stop me if this sounds too crazy.

The iPhone 4 has been one of Apple’s greatest successes. People love the way it looks and how it works — it’s a hit. But one of the things holding it back from reaching a much wider audience is its price tag. Its glass casing and the complexities in manufacturing it brings will continue to keep the device pricey.

But imagine if Apple replaced the expensive glass panels with cheaper plastic ones. This would save money on both component and manufacturing costs, and would allow Apple to be more aggressive with the device’s pricing. And here’s the twist, we may have already seen it. Remember that iPhone 4 “Lite” that recently surfaced?

You know the one I’m talking about, the device that appeared to be an iPhone 4 with a “conversion kit.” A lot of folks wrote it off as a fraud, pointing out its awkward appearance and the fact that it was jailbroken. But why couldn’t this be an iPhone 4 Lite?

The fact that we’ve continuously heard 2 very stark but different possibilities for the next iPhone seems to confirm that there will indeed be 2 models. And an economized iPhone 4 would make sense as the low-end device, considering all of the rumors we’ve heard that Apple’s next smartphone will look very similar to its predecessor.

If you haven’t heard the latest projections, Apple could sell as many as 30 million iPhones next quarter. Now those are some big shoes to fill. But if Apple can produce an attractive phone cheap enough to make inroads with the prepaid markets that dominate Europe and Asia, they might just have a shot.

Thoughts?

Apple Orders 10 Million iPhone 5 Units in Preparation for its Big Launch [Rumor]

There is no doubt that Apple's next major smartphone release which is dubbed the iPhone 5 is currently on the hot seat. We have been getting reports about rumors left and right and it doesn't look like it is going to stop anytime soon, especially when the expected launch date draws to a close. Just last month there has been a report that Apple was diversifying their supply chain by adding more manufacturing contractors in addition to Foxconn, which is the main company who assembles the iPhone for many years now. This addition of more companies to assemble the iPhone is said to be Apple's preparation for the next iPhone's launch.
Apple Orders 10 Million iPhone 5 Units in Preparation for its Big Launch [Rumor]
Posted by Jack on August 4, 2011

 There is no doubt that Apple's next major smartphone release which is dubbed the iPhone 5 is currently on the hot seat. We have been getting reports about rumors left and right and it doesn't look like it is going to stop anytime soon, especially when the expected launch date draws to a close. Just last month there has been a report that Apple was diversifying their supply chain by adding more manufacturing contractors in addition to Foxconn, which is the main company who assembles the iPhone for many years now. This addition of more companies to assemble the iPhone is said to be Apple's preparation for the next iPhone's launch.

Now there's a report from Taiwan-based IT news website DigiTimes, that manufacturing company Pegatron has received orders to build 10 million units of iPhone 5. Pegatron is a Taiwanese manufacturing contractor that is said to be one of the companies that was hired by Apple to manufacture its next iPhone. According to the brief report of DigiTimes:

Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 10 million units of iPhone 5 to become the second ODM of the smartphone. Shipments will start in September, according to industry sources.

As iPhone gross margins are relatively small, Pegatron aims to compete for orders for iPad, MacBook Air and other Apple products and has increased production equipment and employment, the sources said.

This is presumably just for the initial release of the product and it won't be much of a surprise if Pegatron keeps manufacturing the iPhone 5 throughout its life cycle. For the most part, Foxconn is still expected to be the main iPhone manufacturer although one could only assume that Apple hired more manufacturers for two main reasons.

First, it is possible that this is Apple's way of cutting off manufacturing costs. Over the years, with higher labor and manufacturing expenses, it is quite plausible that Foxconn started to charge higher for their services. If anyone can recall just recently, Apple contracted Pegatron in order to assemble CDMA-based iPhones for Verizon Network. Second, this diversification of the Apple's supply chain could also mean that Apple is just trying to prevent any manufacturing mishaps and ensure a smooth launch for the iPhone 5. Considering just how in-demand the next iPhone will be, any shortages of products could be disastrous for Apple.

Yesterday we brought to you a report regarding a leaked document from Canadian carrier Telus. The document points to an October 1st release. On the other hand, this report suggests that the iPhone 5 will be available by September. Well for someone who's eagerly anticipating the release of the next iPhone, the sooner is definitely the better.

Comex Wins a Pwnie Award for his JailbreakMe Exploit, GeoHot Wins Best Song

For those who aren’t familiar with the event, the Pwnie Awards is an annual awards show celebrating failures and achievements in the security community. This year’s ceremony took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the BlackHat security conference.

All together there were 9 awards handed out, and it probably won’t surprise you that a certain iDevice hacker took home one of them. As a matter of fact, 2 well known members of the jailbreak community ended up taking home Pwnies…
It’s not hard to believe that the 19-year old Comex took the award for the Best Client-Side Bug with his JailbreakMe PDF exploit. After all, the tool is attributed with jailbreaking over a million iDevices, and exposing an extremely dangerous security flaw in iOS.

“Comex exploited a vulnerability in the interpreter for Type 1 font programs in the FreeType library used by Mobile Safari. This exploit is a great example of programming a weird machine to exploit a modern system. Comex used his control over the interpreter to construct a highly sophisticated ROP payload at runtime and bypass the ASLR protection in iOS.”

There was also a Best Song category, and believe it or not,  GeoHot took home the gold. His Light it Up Contest video, which the hacker made in response to his legal battles with Sony, won the Pwnie for the best hacker-written ballad. In other news, Sony took home the Most Epic FAIL award.

As easy as it is these days for us to jailbreak our devices, it’s easy to forget how hard others work to make it possible. It’s very nice to see Comex rewarded for his efforts. And GeoHot? Well, I suppose he deserved his Pwnie too. His rap was pretty entertaining.

What do you think?

New Twitter.com for iPad Design Rolling Out this Week

Folks who prefer browsing Twitter.com with the iPad instead of using a native Twitter client will be happy to hear that the social networking giant is updating the site to be more compatible with Apple’s tablet.

Up until now, navigating Twitter’s website from the iPad was unpleasant. You had the choice to view the site in desktop mode, or an upscaled mobile view — neither one is very tablet-friendly. But that’s all going to change during the next 7 days…
According to the company’s twittermobile account, a new HTML5 version of Twitter.com for the iPad went live yesterday. The new design will be rolling out to iPad users over the next week, so you may not see the change right away.

“The HTML5 app provides a great option for people who prefer to use the browser over native apps. it’s two-color view is consistent with the Twitter experience you’re used to (on Twitter.com), and it takes advantage of touch gestures and other device capabilities.”

It seems there has been a big push recently to make sites more compatible with tablet browsers. Google just updated their site with a new interface for the iPad, and Facebook is expected to launch their big HTML5-based Project Spartan in the near future.

Have you received the Twitter.com update for the iPad? Do you like it?

iPhone 5 to Ship in September?

A new rumor claims that Petragon will begin shipping an order of 10 million iPhone 5 units in September. This order would place Petragon as Apple’s second design manufacturer, and would match recent rumors of iPhone 5 production beginning overseas.

This report is similar to other claims that Apple will begin shipping its next iPhone in September. The most recent rumor counters a September timeframe for Apple’s announcement with an expected October release. However, a September date still seems to make more sense for an expected iPhone 5 announcement.
“Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 10 million units of iPhone 5 to become the second ODM of the smartphone. Shipments will start in September, according to industry sources.”

A recent report turned the rumor mill on its head with an October date for Apple’s next iPhone. The odds of an October release still seem slim, as the evidence continues to point towards a September timeframe.

iPhone 3GS supplies have begun to tighten alongside retail iPhone 4 discounts. The iPhone 5 refresh is expected to be “bigger than expected,” and it is even speculated that disguised units have been sent to carriers for testing.

Whether Apple announces the next iPhone in September or October, production for the device will have begin very soon.

No Untethered Jailbreak Coming Until iOS 5

If you are currently jailbroken on iOS 4.3.5, we have some bad news. There is going to be no untethered jailbreak until iOS 5 is released. This is because the various jailbreak teams are saving their exploits for iOS 5. They could release an untethered jailbreak right now, but then it would take longer to find an exploit for iOS 5…
It would be a smart move for jailbreak devs to wait because Apple doesn’t know what to patch, and, if released now, an untethered exploit would not work on iOS 5. Along with that, a tethered Apple A5 jailbreak is also being worked on. This is a bootrom exploit, meaning that this can’t be patched. This is also being saved so that when the iPhone 5 releases, it can be jailbroken quickly.

Are you excited for an iPhone 5/iPad 2 bootrom exploit? Remember, iOS 5 is set to debut in the September timeframe. The iPhone 5 is expected to come out during September, too.