The iPhone 4′s radio woes are well-documented. The most recent tests, like our own, show dramatic radio performance issues when a part of the external antenna is gripped.
This week on the Roundtable, we delve into the electronic and radio engineering issues affecting the iPhone 4′s antennas, as well as other phones. Our guests are CNET’s own Maggie Reardon, author of 5-bar phone signal: What’s it get you?, and AnandTech’s Brian (more…)
A few reports are surfacing that claim the current reception problem with the iPhone 4 could be an issue with the phone’s OS software instead of the phone’s construction. Similar to the recent videos showing the grip on the iPhone 4 resulting in signal loss, others have released videos showing the same things happening on older models after having upgraded to iOS 4. This indicates the problem is in the operating system instead of the phone’s hardware, (more…)
Moodspin, a very eccentric social-networking add-on service has just had its app (link opens in iTunes) approved on the App Store. In case you’re unfamiliar with the site, it currently works only on Twitter, and lets you very quickly broadcast how you’re feeling to the people who follow you.
But here’s the catch: it’s not just text, the service goes in and makes small changes to your profile icon, adding that same (more…)
Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 3G S is tops in touch-screen phones.
(Credit:
CBS Interactive)
Market research firm ComScore reported on Tuesday that touch-screen mobile-phone adoption is not only on the rise, it’s growing at a rapid rate.
Touch-screen phone adoption grew by 159 percent between August 2008 and August 2009, according to ComScore. The firm also found that by the end of August 2009, there were (more…)
Virgin Atlantic releases a Flying Without Fear app that features a panic button replete with breathing exercises.
(Credit:
Virgin Atlantic)
Virgin Atlantic has already worked to put passengers at ease with its Flying Without Fear course, which the airline claims has a whopping 98 percent success rate. So it only makes sense that Virgin would release the course in the far more mobile format of an iPhone app.
More than 100,000 apps are now available for download from Apple ‘s App Store, making it the largest such retailer in the world.
App Store icon
(Credit:
Apple )
The App Store launched in July 2008 with just 500 applications. The store is now available in 77 countries, which has contributed to what Apple said Wednesday is well over 2 billion downloads.
Apps from the App Store work with both (more…)
There’s a reason you always see coin-op racing games lined up two, four, or even eight in a row: It’s a lot more fun to race against live humans than AI opponents.
Unfortunately, only a handful of otherwise excellent iPhone racing games offer multiplayer modes. And most of those limit you to local competition via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi–only a couple offer online multiplayer.
I’m happy to report (more…)
Perhaps you remember Case-mate’s 99-cent cardboard iPhone “recession” case, which we wrote about back in September and deemed one of the better product publicity stunts in recent memory. Well, Case-mate is now hosting a decorate-your-recession-case contest with users submitting photos of their creations. The pic with the most votes wins a Suzuki moped from the ’80s.
We gotta say, the entries are pretty amusing, (more…)
The $2.99 Public Radio App puts three of your favorite stations just one tap away.
iPhones may not have FM tuners built in, but they can do a damn fine impression of a radio. In fact, where public radio is concerned, an iPhone is even better than the real thing.
Apps like NPR News and Public Radio Player 2.0, for example, let you tune into live streams from hundreds of stations and listen to (more…)
iPhone OS hacker, GeoHot, has announced the successful creation of an iPhone unlock for the iPhone OS 3.1.2 baseband. The new app called, Blacksn0w, will allow iPhone users to use their phone on non-Apple sanctioned carriers.
You’ll have to wait a bit though, since the application will not be released by GeoHot until November 4th, 2009.
GeoHot, “To clarify, I have arbitrary code running on the baseband. (more…)
